It has been very busy at school these past weeks as we have been working through a number of changes to our staffing for 2019. We are very excited to have such talented new staff coming on board to compliment our current practice and work alongside us to help our tamariki to grow and succeed. We believe that we have put together some fabulous combinations of talent, new teachers with existing teachers, and we have some teachers moving around our teams too. This enables teachers to share the experiences and learning that teachers in different teams have gained with others and to enable all of our teachers to continue to learn from one another.
In 2019 our roll is expected to be slightly bigger next year than this year, and we have decided to go back to having five distinct teams again. This means that our NE team will be called Koru, and our Year 1/2 team will take on again the name of Kahikatea (a name that they had about 3 years ago before we combined the teams).
The Pōhutukawa (Year 5/6) team will be our biggest team in 2019 so they will be moving over to Parenga next to the Year 7/8 Kauri team (where the Year 3/4 Kōwhai Team are currently). This will allow them to utilise the three classrooms of Kōmanawa and Hangere as break out spaces. Kōwhai (Y3/4) will move into the space in Tahaki currently occupied by the Pōhutkawa Team.
This map may help!
2019 learning spaces:
On Monday this week, at our Staff Only Day, we were fortunate to have our new staff for 2019 join us. Each 2019 team spent the day working together, beginning to learn about the strengths and opportunities that their new team will be able to offer the children.
In 2019 we are hoping to keep our Teaching Assistants (previously called Teacher Aides more linked with one team in 2019 so that they too can build strong relationships with the teachers and the children in the team, and their strengths can be utilised to their potential.
We are excited to introduce you to the teams for 2019:
Koru Team - New Entrants
Elizabeth Drummond, Sue Leadbetter (Team Leader), Stacey McLachlan, Jo Smith
Kahikatea Team (Year 1/2/3)
Paul McKinnel (Teaching Assistant), Jeanette Amies (Teaching Assistant), Jules May, Kristika Burridge, Anna Reid, Amber Donovan (Team Leader), Charlotte Verity
Kōwhai Team (Year 3/4)
Paulette Newton (Team Leader), Rowena Barker, Kate Swann, Nick Bruce (Teaching Assistant yet to be confirmed)
Pōhutukawa Team (Year 5/6)
Rae Smith, Steve Cooke, Katie McFarlane Pip Wareing (Teaching Assistant), Gayle McNaughton, Tracy Inwood (Team Leader), Kerilea Quinn (Teaching Assistant)
We are currently finalising the home groups for 2019, ensuring that they are balanced within each team. Some teams have already begun a transition process for children - visiting the new hubs that they will be learning in next year, and getting to know teachers around the school who are not currently so familiar to them. This will continue over the remaining weeks of the term. We understand that for some of our learners, change can be a time of heightened uncertainty, so our goal is to smooth this journey as much as possible over the next three weeks.
Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Mon 10 Dec - Kauri production. 7 - 8pm Wed 12 Dec - Kauri production. 7 - 8pm Fri 14 Dec - Final Celebration Assembly. 9:30 - 10:30am in the school hall Thu 19 Dec - Year 8 Leavers' assembly and luncheon Thu 20 Dec - last day of term 4. School finishes at 12:30pm
It is time to look under your beds, in your closets, your school desk, behind cupboards and dark places to get those books back to the school library BEFORE December 10.
Congratulations to...
2019 Student Leaders:
Earlier this month we interviewed Year 7 students who applied for House Captain and Student Council Exec positions for 2019. We had 30 people applying and the group interviews saw fabulous attitudes and ideas. Actually, the whole year has been a bit of an 'extended interview', as we have watched how the children responded in a wide range of situations. Our current Year 7 cohort has an interesting gender distribution, with 18 boys and 41 girls. 3/4 of the people applying for positions were girls. This year we have decided to move away from our traditional approach of having one boy and one girl as captains/deputies of each house. Being selected as a House Captain means that students may need to change house for your Year 8 year.
House Captains for 2019:
Freddie Winsor Ben Evans Emily Eade Vienna Scott Maddi McIvor Gemma York Sophia Brown Meg McDonald
Deputy House Captains for 2019:
Jack Barton Arran Robertson Dom Hamilton Ella Clarke Roxy Murfin Morvern McDaid Samantha Maule Matilda Hindin Student Council Exec: Chairperson: Lucy Gray Secretary: Paolo Reid Treasurer: Helena Sice
Te Reo Champion (new role):
Maia Davis
One area our school will be giving more attention to in 2019 is the use of Te reo Māori in a simple and integrated way, so that whānau, staff and students can learn and use it together. Our Te Reo Champion will play a pivotal role in supporting us all to make this happen.
We have many more leadership positions that will be sorted at the beginning of the school year in 2019.
Sports News
Canterbury Triathlon
The rain poured for the duration of the Canterbury Triathlon at Pegasus this week. Extremely undesirable conditions for a swim, bike and run but this added challenge did not deter our competitors nor did it dampen the smiles. We are incredibly proud of the determination and physical endurance of our six competitors from Years 5 to 8.
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
Aquagym
459 Cashel Street, Ph: 3810299. Learn to Swim & Coaching. Aquagym and Sumner Pool. Book now for January Holidays and Term 1. Leaders in Aquatic Education.
An Outdoor Spaces Committee has been established to help guide and oversee the development of the outdoor spaces at Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto. The PTA has done an INCREDIBLE job over the past 2-3 years dedicating their fundraising efforts to enable us to develop the outside areas across the school.
The committee comprises of: Matthew McDonald (BOT), Paulette Newton (staff), Amanda Wolt (PTA), Natalie Doering (parent) and Carmel Wade (parent/architect).
The committee has been meeting each fortnight and so far has worked together to:
Develop a set of guidelines and processes to enable the school to achieve the best outcome for our students.
Identified the the purpose of the outdoor spaces so there is a natural a ‘flow’ across the school. Criteria:
Reflect the school’s cultural narrative
Accessible for all
Fun and meet the needs of all students
To grow as the school grows.
Identified areas across the school for development and begun to create a timeline for these.
Present and ask for school engagement in the process. We have met with the Student School Council about using the school logo - Matau (hook) - to influence the shape of the renewed play space at the centre of the school. They were very excited about this!
We understand that this will be an ongoing plan that will have a number of smaller projects within it. The costings for each of the projects will need to be worked through. The fundraising the PTA have done will be a wonderful contribution towards getting these plans underway, but we don’t assume for a moment that it will cover the total costs! We will be making grant applications and seeking further funding from a variety of sources. Ministry of Education operational funding that the school receives each year is not able to be used to support significant capital investments such as these.
As the children are the Kaitiaki (guardians) of the school grounds and will be the ones using the spaces, it is essential they have a strong voice in this process. Much of the planning and design work will be developed and generated by the students, which is an authentic learning experience. This is such an exciting opportunity, and one that we know will take time to plan to ensure we get the best outcome possible.
The first area that we hope to develop with the students is Pūkaki (new entrants hub). The students have begun the process of generating ideas for this area. We hope to share the ideas before the end of term and work towards development early in term 1.
We will put regular updates in the school newsletter to keep you informed of proposed plans, and at times we will be seeking your input and ideas and offers of support for working bees as we action different areas across the school.
On Tuesday we will be starting our Sexuality Road topic as part of the Health curriculum.
We will be teaching the unit in pairs. Tracy and Katie will be taking the Year 6 students, while Gayle and Nick will be taking the Y5 students.
The Y4 students will be joining in with Kōwhai for the afternoons we have Health.
As discussed at the parent meeting at the beginning of the term, we will be covering the following topics:
Year 5
Year 6
Changing bodies and feelings
Puberty - exploring changes
Identifying external body parts
Being unique
Puberty - exploring changes
Identifying external body parts
Reproductive systems
Hygiene
Relationships
Friendships
Respect and tolerance
Personal opinions
Gender stereotypes - impact on relationships, roles and behaviours
Defining relationships
Communication & decision making
Decision making - demands, practise, thinking ahead about possible consequences
Media - remaining unique and individual
Passive, assertive, aggressive communication
Reproduction
Conception
Eggs and sperm
Explain conception and stages of pregnancy
Where can I go
Support networks
Support networks
We will be encouraging the students to talk about their learning at home with whānau.
Staff Only Day on Monday 26 November
Tomorrow school will be closed due to a staff only day.
Camp helpers' reflections
Many thanks again to our fabulous camp helpers. Your assistance on camp was invaluable. If you have completed the reflection sent home with your poppet, it would be great to have that returned to Tracy at school. Thank you to the four parents who have already returned theirs. It is really helpful to have different perspectives on how the camp went.
Waltham Pool trip
We now have enough support for our trip to Waltham pool in the last week of school. Thank you so much to the volunteers!
Lost property from camp
We would love to reunite this property with owners!! Numerous socks, a single, blue, fitted sheet and a sleeping bag cover.
We'll start with a reminder about the Staff Only Day on Monday which has been in every newsletter since 31st August. School is CLOSED on Monday and we will be working with staff on our planning for 2019.
It's been three weeks since the last newsletter, and there has been a lot happening at school. The weather is certainly keeping us all on our toes at the moment with its extreme fluctuations and changability. Our Pōhutukawa team struck it extremely well for their camp at Living Springs last week. A huge 'thank you' to the teachers and the parents who helped to make that camp such a success.
Our New Entrants had two wonderful days of trips to a farm belonging to the whānau of one of our children. The exploration and discovery of life on a farm and the experience of just being in the outdoors in a different environment was amazing. Every child had their own personal highlights including going on the bus, climbing on the tractor, feeding out hay to the cows, toasting marshmallows, eating sausages cooked over the firepit, playing on the trampoline or the flying fox, collecting treasures like wool from the fence as we walked around the farm, or simply being at the farm with friends.
A group of Year 7/8 students, with the blessing of the local authorities, are working on beautifying the Eastern Terrace ponds toilet block with a fabulous mural. Special thanks to Ira Kirk, a local artist and past parent of the school, for giving her expert assistance with this project.
The Koru Year 1/2 team had a big trip on Friday to the Art Gallery. We will try and include a couple of photos from that in next week's newsletter.
Staff News
Rebekah Stoop and her partner have made the decision to return to their home province of West Otago and are relocating to Tapanui at the end of the year. Rebekah has won a position at Tapanui Primary School and we wish her all the best with her new role. Rebekah started at Beckenham in 2015 and has made a wonderful contribution to our school and the teams she has taught in.
After seven years at Beckenham, Mike Matulewicz has decided to give himself the challenge of moving to another school to further develop his professional capacity and direction in different ways. He has won a position at Heathcote Valley School and will start there in the new year. This school is in the same cluster of schools as Redcliffs School, where Mike's two boys are enrolled, so this move will also give him the opportunity to be a dad on the sideline at local zone sports events. Mike has been teaching at Beckenham since the start of 2011 and has also made a wonderful contribution to the school and the teams he has taught in. We wish him all the best in his new role.
Our school roll is growing and we are on the cusp of having the biggest roll the school has ever had with 488 students at the moment. We have made the decision to grow our Leadership Team next year and to have two Deputy Principals, rather than just one. We currently have an advertisement out for this position, and hope to be able to appoint before the end of the school year.
There will be another newsletter next Friday, which will outline the teaching teams for 2019.
Ngā mihi nui Sandy Hastings Principal - Tumuaki
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Sat 25 Nov - PTA Top Team Family picnic Wed 28 Nov - CSM Blow Test at school, 9am Wed 28 Nov - BOT Meeting 5:30 7:30pm Wed 28 Nov - PTA Meeting 7:30 - 9:30pm Mon 3 Dec - Yr 7/8 Debating final Wed 5 Dec - Canterbury Athletics, Nga Puna Wai Park, Wigram. Fri 14 Dec - Final Celebration Assembly. 9:30 - 10:30am in the school hall Thu 20 Dec - last day of term 4. School finishes at 12:30pm
James, you are a creative and inquisitive learner. You love the environment and are the expert in the hub on native bird life and all the treasures of the Port Hills. You demonstrate amazing problem solving skills during Discovery and persevere with your learning until you achieve success. You are a loyal friend and always treat others with respect and kindness.
Abigael Cockfield - Year 6
Abby, you are a very kind and caring member of the Pōhutukawa team. You volunteer to help when you see a need and you are always looking out for others. Your quirky sense of humour entertains us, as does your love of drama and performing. Abby, you are articulate and hard working. You are a fabulous role model in our hub.
Family Support
We are very proud to bring you a webinar series we've produced about reducing stress in children. There are 6 short episodes helping to explain stress in children and how to deal with it. The episodes will be released over the next few weeks. The work is based on the research of Kathleen Liberty from the University of Canterbury and her team. We thank Dai Henwood for his time, and the many others who have helped bring this project to you.
Presented by Neighbourhood Trust & Papanui Youth Development Trust.
School Notices
Year 7/8 Debate Competition
Three teams from Year 7 and 8 participated in a debate competition against St Martins School on Monday evening. The topic was: Social media’s ability to replace face to face communication is of great benefit to society. Beckenham had two affirmative teams and one negative team. Many fantastic arguments were built and rebutted. St Martins were well prepared with well-written speeches that were convincingly delivered. Senior students from Cashmere High’s debate teams were our adjudicators and gave the children great feedback to work on. In the end, it was Beckenham’s day with each team ultimately winning each debate. For now, it is back to the drawing board as the teams prepare for a new topic, ready to meet St Martins again in three weeks time.
Special Group and New Entrant Photos
Order forms for these were distributed this week. Please bring the completed order forms to the office
CSM Beckenham Band Programme
Every year, children from Year 4 - Year 7 are invited to join the CSM Beckenham Band programme for the following year. Parents of Year 4-7 children were sent a separate email about this opportunity early this week.
Maree Parr, who runs the band programme, will be organising the process slightly differently this year. The Blowtest on Wednesday this week, will only involve the children who have been pre-registered. You can find out more about the programme, and how to pre-register through this link.
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following students who recently passed their music exams:
Clarinet:
Georgina Cockfield grade 4 (Merit),
Charlotte Grey grade 3 (Distinction),
Emily Rowe grade 3
Trumpet:
Tom Woodhouse grade 4 (Merit)
Flute:
Charlotte O Connor grade 3,
Mia Aramowicz grade 2 ( Merit),
Eva Cameron grade 2 (Merit)
Alto Jazz sax:
Hannah Winchester grade 3 (Merit),
Joel Kingham grade 2 (Merit)
Sports News
Athletics
We recently held our senior school athletics day. This is an event where our school values are out in force as children put their PE learning to the test and encourage each other to go higher, further and faster. One of many examples of this was the Year 7 girls whose cheers filled the park as each competitor took on the challenge of the ever-increasing high jump bar. The sprint finals were the concluding part of the day with the House Relay providing an exciting and nail-biting finale. In the end, it was Fisher who brought it home with the staff and parents managing a respectable 2nd place, (a vast improvement on last year).
This year, we invited Year 4s who wanted to embrace the challenge of competitive sport to participate in the day. Like the year 5 to 8s, they had been out in the park learning technique and developing their fitness on many afternoons in the lead up to the event. This dedicated practice paid off and there was lots of fantastic technique on display and school records being broken. Above all else, there were lots of smiles; I’m a firm believer that if you look like your having a good time, you’re doing it right.
On Monday last week, over 50 children from Year 5 - 8 represented Beckenham at our zone athletics. The children all did their school proud, demonstrating great sportsmanship and holding their own among the best athletes from our zone. Eleven of our students have qualified from that event, to represent our school at the Canterbury Athletics competition which will be held on Wednesday, December 5th at the new Nga Puna Wai Park in Wigram. This is the first year since 2011 that we have been able to have the Canterbury Athletics in Christchurch rather than having to travel to Ashburton Domain for the day.
Summer Tournament
Last Wednesday teams from Year 7/8 competed in a fast and furious round robin tournament in the sports of slow pitch, orienteering, tennis and kiwi tag (touch). We met some really polished competition, which tested the children’s perseverance. The orienteering team, which comprised of Gemma York, Santi Montejo, Lucy Gray and Ella Clarke, came second in both the rogaine and orienteering. Many thanks to George York and Simon Scott, who managed teams during the day and to all the parents who helped with transport.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Winni Goldsbury, who came second in the Girls On Dirt Advanced Downhill Race in the under 15 years category. It is impressive enough that she can ride such an advanced track, let alone tackle such terrain at race speed!
Congratulations to Harper Ford who has been selected to represent NZ in baseball.
Also congratulations to Thomas Lyall who, in September, achieved a bronze medal in the Senior boys (11-14 years) under 40kg category of the South Island Judo Championship held in Nelson.
Special Congratulations also go to the following past students of Beckenham who recently graduated from Cashmere High School with the following distinctions:
Thomas Flynn - Head of Sheppard House Award
James Hanlon - Student Representative on the Board of Trustees
Sabine Grey - Leaders of tomorrow Scholarship
Briana Steven - Emerging leaders Scholarship, Engineering high achievers Scholarship, Hugh McDougall Rankin Science Scholarship, The Foundation Pupils All Round Excellence Prize, Cartwright Prize for Academic Excellence in Year 13, Dux.
Sportsperson of the Year - Liliana Braun, also a past Beckenham student. Liliana is currently in Year 12 and this award is usually reserved for year 13 students.
We wish them all the very best for their futures.
PTA News
IT'S BACK!
Registrations are now open for the 2018/2019 Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kid TRYathlon Series!
The world’s largest kids TRYathlon series is back. Open to kiwi kids aged 7-15 years of all sporting abilities, the Sanitarium Weet-Bix kids TRYathlon is a fun day out for the whole family. Swim, bike and run your way to the finish line as an individual or in a team of two, and receive your very own gold medal from top Kiwi sporting stars. Go on give it a TRY!
Register NOW to receive the Early Bird Discount price of only $40.00 per participant. Be sure to link your entry to Beckenham School - the school with the most entries can win LOADS of prizes!! To register under the Beckenham School Group use the link below;
Time to Celebrate!.....We want to THANK everyone for helping us reach our target Please come along to the BeckenhamTe Kura o Pūroto TOP Team Challenge & Family Picnic - just ONE week away today for some well deserved FUN & GAMES. Come in a team, $10 per team: https://goo.gl/forms/oPqxEmaeEyG7Ckbz2 OR Come & help: https://goo.gl/forms/6NH4CzeIf4m6Zhe63 OR come & be a SPECTATOR....however you want to participate, make sure you & your family are there. So lock this date into your calendar NOW: Sunday 25th November from 2pm. Let's celebrate reaching our OUTDOOR SPACES Target. We got there together & we deserve to have some FUN with a capital F! The PTA are subsidising this event to ensure ALL can participate. If the $10 fee per TEAM is preventing your family from participating in this Challenge please email pta@beckenham.school.nz & we will assist.
BECKENHAM "We Care" XMAS DEAL:
JUST in time for Christmas & proudly brought to you by the PTA - the BECKENHAM “We Care” Products are available to ORDER NOW ready for Santa to deliver!
All orders will be ready for collection before December 1st, making overseas posting an option.
AND with the XMAS DEAL-FREE Jute Bag for all orders over $30, how can you resist? Help your school & the environment with these sustainable products. These affordable items will make fabulous gifts for family and friends.
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
SURFKIDS
Childrens Surfing Programme.
Learn the skills of Surfing in a fun, safe environment. All equipment provided and professional instruction from Aaron Lock and team. For kids 8 - 14 years. Sundays 10am to 12pm. Dec / Jan Holidays : from 17th Dec, 10am -12pm Cost $30 per day or $135 for five. Bookings essential. Venue :Sumner. Call Aaron on 0800 80 SURF (7873) or register online at surfcoach.co.nz
Starfish Swim School
Bookings for the January Holiday Programme are now open! Mo 21 Jan - Fri 25 Jan, $65 for the week. info@starfishswimschool.co.nz. Ph: 033381795. 2 Nash Road, Aidanfield.
Beckenham Community Christmas Celebration
In the grounds of Beckenham School. Wednesday 13th December 2018 5.00pm -7.00pm Free BBQ and/or bring a picnic. Come and join the Choir, join in or just listen to some community carol singing. Organised by Beckenham locals for the Beckenham community. BBQ provided by Beckenham Neighbourhood Association.
Over the weekend, if you are visiting a takeaway food outlet, can you please put aside any packaging, cups etc and send these to school on Tuesday. Chip packets and other plastic throw-aways would also be appreciated. We need this waste for our production props.
No school Monday:
A reminder that we are having a staff only day on Monday.
Canteen closed at South on Tuesday:
Please pack morning tea for Tuesday, not money, as the canteen at South will be closed this week.
Production dates:
A reminder about our production dates, Monday, Dec 10th and Wednesday, Dec 12th. We need all children at both shows. Start time is 7pm and we should be all done by 7:40pm.
Painting progress:
We have been making the most of the fine weather to work on our mural...
Mandy, our local park ranger, joined us on Thursday.
