Kia ora, whānau,
Welcome to term four and to an exciting, busy one at that!
Our Discovery provocations, relating to nature and the environment, have been welcomed with keen interest and creativity. During week one we introduced 'Creepy Crawlies,' followed by 'Habitats,' in week two. If only there was more time in the day to research and explore, as it is proving to be a very strong interest for many. Building bug hotels, bumblebee sketching and creating a variety of other little critters, are just a few of the recent 'Learning Through Play,' activities.
'Bring a soft toy to school' has been a hit this week! Thank you for the variety of boxes that were brought in. There were beds, houses, vehicles (some fancy enough to have TV screens), and other comforts, imagined and created. Measuring and comparing each toy created a fun way to strengthen mathematical knowledge. In the Junior years, measuring length is introduced by measuring in units (such as cubes) versus centimeters, so for the larger toys that was a lot of counting!
Tino pai, tamariki. It has been a fun two weeks!
Thank you,
Elizabeth, Jo, Kristika and Stacey
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Pōhutukawa – Cycle safety on Friday – Y6 students
Cycle safety on Friday for Year 6 students
Unfortunately, due to the changeable cold weather, the Cycle Safety team have had to swap around the groups to share out the time left for Cycle Safe.
On Friday there will be another on-road session from 9am to morning tea with Group 2. This will mean they have had 3 sessions on the road.
Group 1 is going to head out on road for the last 2 sessions of Friday (after morning tea and after lunch).
This means that both groups (so ALL Year 6 students) will need their bikes at school tomorrow, Friday.
T4 W2 in Pōhutukawa
Athletics Day
This year, Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto is excited to announce that we will be holding our athletics celebration as a whole school event. This will take place on Monday the 4th of November (week 4). Years 5 to 8 will be out on Beckenham Park competing in field and track rotations all day. Years 0 - 4 will start the day with their usual school routine and join us on the park for their run, jump, throw rotations from 11:50 am.
Athletics learning is a key part of our PE curriculum across all teams. The children are being taught safe and effective techniques as well as perseverance, resilience and sportsmanship. Our whole school athletics day is a celebration of this learning.
This year, all children will compete alongside each other rather than in boy/girl events. This is one way that we are seeking to make the event inclusive to all. Sport Canterbury do have gender-based divisions for zone level competition and we will still be able to identify qualifying athletes from Years 5 - 8 to represent our kura at this event. To achieve this we will run our sprint finals for Years 5 - 8 by gender. Like previous years, we will be identifying a top girl and boy athlete from each year level from 5 - 8 who will be recognised at a Celebration Assembly following the event.
Our athletics day concludes with sprint finals, starting at 2:00. Our whole school will come together to cheer on the runners. The final event is a House Relay, which doubles up as an adult versus children race. With years 0 - 8 participating in this relay, we are going to need your support to make up an adult team. Bring your running shoes!
Long jump for years 5 - 8 will be held at Hillview Christian School, on a separate date, yet to be confirmed.
More detailed information about the day’s programme will be communicated to you before the event.
The children are training most days in the field events, and it is great to see so many children prepared with appropriate footwear.
Sun Hats
During Terms 1 and 4, the expectation is that everyone is to wear a sunhat. We require everyone to wear hats that shade the face, neck, and ears, whenever the children are outside and involved in school activities. Hats must be broad-brimmed (min. 7.5 cm), or legionnaire/bucket hats (min. 6 cm brim, deep crown). These hats provide significant protection to the eyes. If a child does not have a hat at school, they will be asked to stay in an allocated shaded area. For Year 5 - 8 this area is in the courtyard.
Thank you to those parents who have dug out a sun hat already!
Cycle Safety
This week our year 6 students are involved in the Cycle Safe Programme provided by the Christchurch City Council.
Cycle Safe is a cycle skills education programme for schools. Students learn the benefits of cycling and how to ride with confidence and be road-wise.
The programme includes:
- Cycle maintenance and helmet fitting
- Basic cycling skills
- Road rules
- On road cycling
The students are to bring with them their bike, lock and helmet to school on the days their group is taking part.
The groups are as follows:
Group 1 (participating Tuesday and Wednesday)
Ava , Grace H, Zoe L, Syesha, Mila, Molly, Zoe C (R), Ilia, Imedha, Olive, Jayda, Sophie R, Josh B, Max, Morgan, Sachit, Josh W, Riley, Brooklyn, Caleb, Deakyn, Julia, Rosie, Isabella, Luca & Te Paea.
Group 2 (participating Thursday and Friday)
Zara B, Nela, Aydan, Tabea, Zoe-Arianna, Jonty, Mahli, Jill, Marriyah, Lexie, Gracie, Eli, Justine, Fern, Nevannah, Matilda, Layla W, Zara M, Fergus McM, Layla J, Aarav, Cooper, Seth, Otis, Connor C, Mac, Connor I & Marcellus.
Sexuality Education
As part of our health curriculum, we will be teaching 'Nagivating the Journey: Sexuality Education' to our Year 5 - 8 classes this term. If you would like to find out what is involved in these lessons or have any questions, you are invited to attend a parent meeting in the staffroom on Monday November 11th, between 7 and 8pm. Please indicate on this form if you plan to attend.
Speeches
Our topic for writing at the moment is speeches. Every student should be underway with planning or writing their speech. Each student will present their speech to their home group unless there has been consultation with the home group teacher. The speech finals for our team will be Thursday 14 November at 2pm in the hall.
Kōwhai News T4 Week 1
Welcome back everyone. We have had a great first week back and loved the 'hum' in the hub as the children chatted about their holidays. We are really looking forward to this term as we know the weather will only continue to get warmer as we head towards summer.

Lunch and morning tea
Starting next week, the children will be keeping their lunch boxes inside their school bags as they often get the sunshine on the shelves when the weather warms up. We want to make sure the children's lunches are kept hygienic. To make it easy for them to access their morning tea, it would be really helpful if this was in a separate container for the children to put into their tote tray in the hub. Thanks so much.
1. Electricity is a form of energy
2. Electrical energy can be generated in a number of ways
3. For electricity to flow through a circuit it needs to be closed.
4. There are different types of circuits (series, simple, parallel)
5. Switches can turn circuits off
The children will exercise thier creativity by being innovative with applying this knowledge to a gadget or toy. We look forward to sharing this learning as the term progresses.
TORCHES
One of our lessons requires the children to investigate how a torch works. If you have any old torches that you are happy for us to dismantle to discover how they work, please send them to school on Monday or Tuesday.
As a team, we are having a focus this term on basic facts. We have identified areas the children need to work on and are using Study Ladder and an app that Nick has created to support this learning. You might like to ask your child what skill they are working on and give them time to practice at home.
28th October- Labour Day (school closed)
4th November- School Athletics Day
8th November- Whānau Rōpū Hui
13th November- CSO Big Bang Concert (Trip to the Town Hall)
15th November - Canterbury Show Day (school closed)
20th November- Training Band Concert
That's all for now
Kōwhai Teaching Team
Athletics
At the moment we are currently teaching the children some basic athletics skills including discus, shot put, high jump, long jump and running (sprints and relays) each Thursday afternoon. During this time the children are being taught safe and effective techniques as well as perseverance, resilience and sportsmanship. Our whole school athletics day is a celebration of this learning which will be held on Monday 4th of November. Kōwhai team will begin at 11:50 am.Hats / Drink bottles / Lunch
Just a reminder that all children need their hat at school EVERY day. Please check with your child to make sure they have their hat (clearly named) in their school bag. As the weather continues to warm up, it is really important for the children to stay hydrated. We will be providing regular 'Drink to Think' times during the day for the children to have some water. We would love your support with ensuring your child has their drink bottle at school.Lunch and morning tea
Starting next week, the children will be keeping their lunch boxes inside their school bags as they often get the sunshine on the shelves when the weather warms up. We want to make sure the children's lunches are kept hygienic. To make it easy for them to access their morning tea, it would be really helpful if this was in a separate container for the children to put into their tote tray in the hub. Thanks so much.
Inquiry
This term, we are continuing to explore the concept, 'Innovation requires Creativity and has ethical implications'. Our main curriculum focus this term is Science with the children learning about electricity and circuits. Some of the Big Ideas we aim to teach this term include:1. Electricity is a form of energy
2. Electrical energy can be generated in a number of ways
3. For electricity to flow through a circuit it needs to be closed.
4. There are different types of circuits (series, simple, parallel)
5. Switches can turn circuits off
The children will exercise thier creativity by being innovative with applying this knowledge to a gadget or toy. We look forward to sharing this learning as the term progresses.
TORCHES
One of our lessons requires the children to investigate how a torch works. If you have any old torches that you are happy for us to dismantle to discover how they work, please send them to school on Monday or Tuesday.
Music
This term the children are lucky to be able to receive specialist music tuition. Josie is continuing to teach recorder and will provide lessons for Rowe and Paulette's home group and Roger Hamilton is teaching Nick and Kate's home group ukulele. Our lessons are every Tuesday afternoon. We hope these lessons will inspire some of the children to learn a musical instrument next year.Literacy- Speeches
At the moment most of the children are all in the process of writing a simple speech to share with their peers. We have provided the children with agency to choose their own topic to talk about. It's been wonderful to see the children so motivated and keen to share their expertise on a specific topic. The children will share their speeches in the hub over the next couple of weeks. Some children might want to practice their speech at home, and if so, will bring their cue cards home to do so.Basic Facts
Discovery
We understand the importance of providing the children with agency and time to develop their communication, problem solving, leadership or cooperative skills, perseverance and risk taking. This term during our Discovery Time, the children will have the opportunity to learn how to programme (code) a sphero, gain art skills, learn some basic cooking/food preparation skills, and complete engineering tasks and challenges. Here are some of the children in action this week.Dates for the Diary
28th October- Labour Day (school closed)
4th November- School Athletics Day
8th November- Whānau Rōpū Hui
13th November- CSO Big Bang Concert (Trip to the Town Hall)
15th November - Canterbury Show Day (school closed)
20th November- Training Band Concert
That's all for now
Kōwhai Teaching Team