Kōwhai News Week 9

Welcome to the last two weeks of the school year. Here are a few final updates from the team.


Sherrilee's Farewell
Sherrilee, who has taught Te Reo Māori and kapa haka  at Beckenham for 25 years will be farewelled at a special assembly in our courtyard on Wednesday 11th starting at 9:30am. Parents are welcome to attend. 

Inquiry
the children have made some wonderful creation suing electrical circuits. some of the circuits do not have a switch co can you keep a close eye on them so they do not get too hot!

Final Assembly
This coming Friday 13th December is our Final Celebration Assembly for the year. Feel  free to come along if you have children receiving Kete Awards or would like to farewell any of the staff that  are leaving.
Graduation Assembly is on Wednesday 16th December. 

Books
On Friday, we will be sending home the children's books and stationery from this year. This will include used and unused items. Please put any unused items in a safe place as they can be used for both Kōwhai and Pōhutukawa in 2020. 
For our Year 4 moving to Pōhutukawa next year, we do strongly recommend that your child have their own device. This will last them until they leave in Year 8 and are a great investment.
On Monday, we will send home any art work from the hub. Please send your child with an extra bag in case they need it.

Transition to Pōhutukawa
This week, we have been providing time for the Year 4s to visit the team so they can see the many similarities in our teams. The children are letting us know how many visits they need and for many they have commented that it's just like going home as this was our team hub last year.

Last Week of Fun
Friday 13th - Squirt Mania The children can bring along a water pistol, togs or change of clothes. We will be having a wacky and wet afternoon of fun!
Monday 16th - Children are able to bring along their favourite game to play as part of their 'Be a teacher for the day'.
Wednesday 18th- Squirt Mania.The children can bring along a water pistol, togs or change of clothes. We will be having a wacky and wet afternoon of fun!
Thursday 18th- Visit new home rooms and teacher. School finishes at lunchtime (12.40pm)

That's all for now
Kōwhai Teaching Team

Upcoming Events

We are nearing the end of term and it is a busy time for us all! Here are the upcoming events for the rest of the term:


  • Tuesday 10th December - Helpers' Thank-you Coffee and Croissants 8:30am
  • Wednesday 11th December - Sherrilee's Farewell Assembly 9.30-10:30am
  • Friday 13th December - Final Assembly 9:15-10:30am
  • Friday 13th December - Kahikatea end of year Performance 2:15-2:45pm
  • Monday 16th December - Kahikatea Waltham Park and Pool Day 11am-3pm
  • Tuesday 17th December - House Games and School Picnic 12pm (Beckenham Park)
  • Thursday 19th December - School finishes for the year 12:30pm

Over the next week and a half, the children will be bringing home their books and any artwork or writing which has been displayed. 

We are all looking forward to our day at Waltham Park and Pool. It is going to be an amazing day. Here is a link to the social story for Waltham Park and Pool. Please take the time to look through it with your child and go over the expectations. We look forward to a successful and fun day! If you are able to help out on this trip, we are looking for more parent helpers. Please, can you let your homegroup teacher know as soon as possible. Thank you!

Our Final Koru Team Post for 2019

Kia ora, whānau,

It's hard to believe that the end of the year is almost upon us, and yet there is still a great deal to be squeezed in over the final week and a half!

A plea:
Please, would you send a strong bag (large enough to hold your children's books and belongings) in to school this week? We will be gathering the children's many workbooks, as well as their works of art and other items, to send home with them in the final week of school.
Also, if any parents have the time (and inclination), we would love some help in learning spaces as we begin the job of sorting, tidying and cleaning. Please see your child's Home Group teacher if you are able to help out at all.

Transitions:
At the start of this week, to support those of our children who are going to be transitioning through to Kahikatea in 2020, we are all going to be making visits over to the Kahikatea team's learning spaces, to become familiar with the settings and areas in which those children will be learning next year. The teachers from Kahikatea have also been over visiting us, in both Pūkaki and Kōmanawa, at various times over the past two weeks. A letter will be sent home with your child, at the end of the school year, to inform you as to which team (Koru or Kahikatea) they will be in, and who their Home Group teacher will be, in 2020.

Next year's New Entrants have also been visiting us in the Koru team during Discovery Times over the past fortnight and will be again on tomorrow (Tuesday), to familiarise themselves with the spaces and their teachers for next year.






Our farm trip:
What fantastic days we all had the week before last, visiting the Frei family farm. Our sincere thanks go out to so many people:

  • firstly, to Amanda Frei and Ernst Frei, for being so generous and accommodating in allowing us all to visit, and for ensuring that we all had such a memorable time
  • to all of the parents who supported us on the days of our visits - without you, an outing such as this would not be possible, so thank you so much
  • to Jo, for doing such a great job of ensuring that our organisation on each day was perfect
  • to Nigel, for accompanying the Wednesday group, and for doing such a great job of supervising the flying fox
  • and to Paul, 'sausage sizzler' extraordinaire!
 And now... so many photos - so difficult to choose!




































Discovery:














DMIC:
Our Maths problem solving has taken a farm-related theme over the past couple of weeks, and continues to go from strength to strength, as the children work with buddies to solve challenging number problems...





Pebbles:
Our hearts have been touched, and in some cases, melted (!), by visits from little Pebbles, who is looking set, once old enough, to become a new Beckenham te Kura bunny, most likely based in the Kōwhai team from the start of next year. Pebbles was found, aged 4 weeks, in a garden, and despite best efforts, her owner has not been found. She spent a day with us in the Koru team, and very bravely met up with Peter and Ben, both many times her size!







Thank you:
As this is our final blog post for 2019, we would like to convey our sincere thanks to you all for your unstinting support for your children, and us, throughout this year of learning. You have all helped in so many different ways, from small, but nevertheless meaningful comments, through to weekly parent help in the learning spaces, including the commitment shown, by one or two, to putting our team's reading books away for us each week! We truly appreciate you all. We trust we will see you at the coffee and croissants 'breakfast' event for helpers tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8:30 a.m.

We have all had a wonderful, wonderful year of teaching and learning, and teachers will miss the wee ones and their families over the long summer break. We look forward to seeing your children growing and developing throughout their years at Beckenham te Kura.

All best to you all for a very happy, relaxing and safe summer holiday.
Jo, Elizabeth, Kristika and Stacey

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 4 Week 9

We are nearly at the end of the school year and have lots of fun activities planned before the 19th. Please read on for all details.

Monday (Dec 9) Production


Just one more sleep until the opening night of our production, Kauri Whānau Musical Mashup!  On Friday we made sure that everyone was sorted with the costume they needed. We have quite a few items at school that we have matched with children. All costumes need to be at school tomorrow (Monday), as we have a dress rehearsal in the morning and a performance for the school, in the afternoon.

Cats
Leggings or shorts - black, grey, white, beige, brown
Long-sleeved top (if possible) in similar colours
Greased Lightning
Dark pants
White T-shirt
We Go Together
T-shirt
Sneakers (converse if you have them)
You Can’t Stop the Beat
Party dress
Who Will Buy
Trousers / long skirts
Plain colours
Blouses / shirts
caps
Fame
Dance wear
Pick a Pocket
Shirts and school shorts
Caps or messy hair
Footloose
Bright t-shirts and shorts
You are more than welcome to bring as many friends and family as would like to come. Shows start at 7pm on Monday and Wednesday. We will be all finished before 8pm. Children needing face paint (Cats and Oliver) should meet in our hub between 5:30 and 6:30pm. All other children need to arrive at school dressed in costume and ready to perform by 6:45pm. 

Wednesday (Dec 11) Sherrilee's Farewell, Production and Year 8 Transition Afternoon

Sherrilee, who has taught Te Reo Māori and kapa haka  at Beckenham for 25 years will be farewelled at a special assembly in our courtyard starting at 9:30. Parents are welcome to attend. 

We love having Dave, our 24/7 youth worker, as part of our team. He is a friend to all and a support for many. On Wednesday afternoon Dave has organised for the 24/7 youth workers from Cashmere High to come along and meet our Year 8s. They will run through a slideshow and then move out to the field for some fun activities. All Year 8s can join in the fun, no matter what high school they are heading to next year.

Our final production performance starts at 7pm. Same applies as has been written above for Monday.

Friday (Dec 13) Final Assembly and Corsair Bay Trip

Our final celebration assembly for the year will start at the earlier time of 9:15 and will probably go for an hour.

At 10:30 we will be jumping on two buses and heading to Corsair Bay for a fun day by the water. The forecast is for a hot day - hooray! Children need to come to school in uniform and bring the following in their bags:
  • Togs and towel
  • Sunhat
  • Sunscreen
  • Lunch and water bottle (no ordering that day)
  • Personal medication, such as inhalers
  • Optional - picnic rug
We will be swimming, exploring the shore, playing on the beach, walking to Cass Bay and chilling out with friends.

Monday (Dec 16) Victoria Park Walk and Year 8 Pool and Pizza Party

Children are to come to school in mufti suitable for hill walking. We will be leaving school soon after 10am, headed for Bowenvale Ave and then up the walking track to Victoria Park. Once there we will have lunch and play before returning to school. We will be back by 3pm. Children need to bring the following:
  • Sunhat
  • Sunscreen
  • Lunch and water bottle
  • Asthma inhalers/antihistamine for those who need them
The Cockfield's have very kindly offered to host this year's pool and pizza party for Year 8. Their house is just below Cashmere Primary School. We will email out the address later in the week. As the name suggests, there is a pool and spa and we will provide the pizza and a drink. We also have access to the Cashmere Primary playground. The party starts at 4pm and children need to be collected by 6pm. 

Wednesday (Dec 18) Leaver's Graduation Assembly 


Graduation assembly starts at 11am. Year 8 are to arrive at school at the usual time, dressed in their best mufti. A lunch for Year 8s and their parents / caregivers will follow assembly at 12:30. By 1:15 all Year 8s should be on their way home. They will be finished for the year.

Thursday (Dec 19)

Last day for Year 1-7. School finishes for the year at lunchtime.