Principal's Patch
Kia ora e te whānau
Today was Day 2 of our Staff Only Days and it is wonderful to have all of our staff back on site and talking with excitement and anticipation about the year ahead.
Yesterday we spent time introducing our 7 new staff and getting to know one another. We talked about how we work at Beckenham and what collaboration across and within our school looks like.
Today we spent the day working with Jo from Autism New Zealand as we learned about the way that we, as adults, can understand and support those children who are, or who might be, on the Autism Spectrum. It was a very interesting day which provided lots of great information and examples for us to reference during the year ahead.
Below are some important reminders for preparing for the start of school.
Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the teamLearning Conferences - this Thursday and Friday
We are looking forward to seeing you all at Learning Conferences on Thursday and Friday this week. There is still time to book if you haven't yet done this.
Go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the code:
xn8bmIf you have any questions or need help with booking, please ring Jacky in the office between 8:30am and 4pm on 337 1404
The Learning Conference will take two parts. In the first 10 or so minutes, you will have the opportunity to meet all of the teachers in your child's team. The remaining 20 or so minutes will be spent with your child's homegroup teacher.
Your child’s homegroup teacher will be asking some questions to find out a bit more about the things that are important to your child and your family.
We are sharing these questions with you so you have the opportunity to discuss them with your child before the conference:
- What are your child’s strengths/passions - both academic and other.
- What kind of play (juniors) or after school activities do they enjoy/engage in regularly?
- What specific needs does your child have?
- What goals / aspirations do you and your child have for this year?
- Is there anything else you would like to share (eg particular needs - glasses, left-handed etc)
How does your child learn best? (the following questions may help)
- What physical space helps your child to focus and learn best? e.g. seating, desk, high table standing, comfy seat, ground, need to move around a bit …
- Would you rather work on a task: on their own/in a pair/group
- Do you prefer learning something new through: a small group with teacher/with a buddy/show me website and I’ll teach myself thanks/other
- Would you rather learn by: reading and writing/seeing pictures, mind maps etc/hearing and listening/doing a practical activity/other
- What helps you to focus: exercise break/particular working space?
- Noise level: silent to focus/Ok with low noise/don’t mind
- How much water do you usually drink during school day?
- What are your after-school commitments?
- Is there anything else you would like to share?
Contact sheets being updated at Learning Conferences
During the Learning Conferences, you will be given a copy of the contact details that are held on our files for your child and your family. Please take the time to check these carefully and return them at the Learning Conference so we can ensure our records are up to date.
Stationery
If you have not yet organised your child's stationery, and are not sure where you have put the list, you can download the stationery lists from the website
here, or pop into the office and pick up a new one during the learning conferences. Children can bring their stationery to the learning conference or bring it on the first day of school.
Sunhats
Please remember that sunhats are required for all children (and staff!) during Term 1 and Term 4. Sunhats need to be either plain red or plain black and can be either wide-brimmed (purchased through another supplier) or a bucket style hat which is available through the school office for $10.00
Nude Food LunchboxesDuring our schoolwide focus on Sustainability last year, we began to realise how much rubbish we end up with at school that then has to be disposed of, and the impact of rubbish on our planet. Many of our children became more aware of actions they can take to reduce their use of plastic, including cling film. Our PTA also promoted the use of beeswax wrappers for food. Please consider if you need to send food to school wrapped in clingfilm so that we can all be making a positive impact on reducing waste.
Uniform
Remember new uniform can be sourced from Mainland Uniforms CITY store (189 Peterborough St) or purchased online:
www.mainlanduniforms.co.nzHouse Shirts are only available from the school office and cost $25. They are worn on Fridays and help the children to recognise the other children in their house and develop a sense of pride in their house group.
The PTA will be opening the
SECOND-HAND UNIFORM shop on BOTH the school conference days, Thursday 31st Jan and Friday 1st Feb from 10am-12pm & again at 3-5:30pm. The shop is located on the corner of Eastern Tce & Sandwich Rd in the old dental clinic.
All items need to be named, please!
Please make sure that all items sent to school are clearly named. This includes uniform, bag, shoes, lunchboxes, and all other items. We regularly end up with an enormous volume of un-named uniform in the lost property box - all of which could be reunited with its owner if it was named.
Contact sheets being updated at Learning Conferences
During the Learning Conferences you will be asked given a copy of the contact details that are held on our files for your child and your family. Please take the time to check these carefully and return them at the Learning Conference.
Drink to Think
Staying well hydrated is critical for good brain function and for learning. Please ensure that your child brings a named water bottle to school from Day 1 of the term.
School hours
Please remember that school does not open until 8:30am each day. Children should not arrive at school before 8:30am as staff will not be available for support or supervision until 8:30am. If you need to drop your child at school before 8:30am please contact BOSCO and book your child into the before school care programme.
The bell to begin classes goes at 8:55am. Please ensure that your child arrives at school in time to be ready to start in class by this time. It is difficult for children to start the day successfully and is disrupting for other children and the teacher when children are late to school in the morning.
School finishes at 3pm and at 3:15pm there will be a bell rung to remind any children who haven't been collected to come to the office. This bell also reminds teachers that any meetings that they have are starting. Children should all be collected by 3:15pm. If your child is still at school at 3:15pm they need to come to the office and we will contact you to let you know that they haven't been collected.
Parking- Drop off Zone
Please remember that the parking area closest to the Administration building on Sandwich Road is a drop-off / pick-up zone only from 8:30-9:30am and from 2:30-3:30pm each day.
School Values
Our school vision and values underpin everything that we do. We encourage you to become familiar with them and use them as one way of talking with your child about school life.
Shared Common Language
With the shift from individual classrooms with one class and a teacher, to collaborative learning spaces, the language we use at school to describe groups and spaces has had to change accordingly.
Home Group
What we used to call a ‘class’ - a group of 20-30 learners who have a teacher as their primary point of contact. This home group will typically start and end each day together, and will spend other parts of the day together too, depending on the way that the team has organised their teaching and learning programme.
Each home group’ belongs to a larger team - eg Kauri Team
Home groups are identified by their point of contact teacher’s name - e.g. Elizabeth’s Home Group.
Learning Group
A learning group is a group of learners who have been put together for learning. These groups can be fluid or fixed; and children can be in a number of different learning groups, based on need, social groupings, and the type of programme that is being run
Examples of learning groups are reading groups, maths groups, sport rotations, arts groups, writing groups, etc.
Year Level
Every child belongs to a year level eg Year 1, Year 2 etc. These groups are rarely used for physical grouping of children within school and exist to show the annual progress of a child through the NZ schooling system.
Year groups are used for supporting teacher judgements about assessment, progress and achievement - how is the child doing in relation to expectations for that year level.
Team - (Collaborative Team)
Koru, Kahakitea, Kōwhai, Pōhutukawa, Kauri, Ferndale
A team made up of teachers and their home groups who plan, teach and learn together.
A team usually consists of learners from 2- 3 year levels eg Kauri Team is where all of the Year 7&8 learners are. This year the Pōhutukawa Team has all of the Year 5/6 learners, plus a small group of Year 4s
Hub
A hub is the learning area of a building, occupied by a particular team. Eg - Parenga building has three learning Hubs within it - one for Ferndale, one for Kauri and one for Kōwhai - usually referred to as the ‘Ferndale Hub’, the Kōwhai Hub’ and the ‘Kauri Hub’
A team may operate in more than one building, eg Koru team have the Y1/2 hub in Tahaki and the NE Hubs in both Pukaki and Kōmanawa.
Buildings
Each building in the school has its own name. These names were given in consultation with Ngāi Tahu as part of the Canterbury Rebuild process. The names of our buildings all reflect bodies of water - and relate to our school name - ‘Te Kura o Pūroto - the school of the ponds’.
Room numbers
Room numbers are now redundant and are not used for anything other than allocating a number to a teacher and a group of children in eTap, our Student Management System.
Teachers do not refer to their Home Group by the Room number to whānau or to children.
How you can help at school
The support of whānau at school is always very welcome. There are many ways you can help at school, including coming into the class to support during the day with particular groups, helping at lunchtime as a Parent Duty Helper in the Junior playground, helping on a school trip or camp, helping the teachers with resource preparation or organisation, joining the PTA or putting your name forward to be on the Board of Trustees, to name a few.
Please keep an eye on the school and team newsletters for requests for help that you can respond to as fit with your circumstances.
2019 Term Dates
Click here to view 2019 term dates.
