Kauri News: Week 8, Term 2

 Despite the rainy weather keeping us indoors last week, our ākonga stayed energised with some high-tempo movement breaks. Just Dance is always a hit and a great way to refresh our bodies and minds before settling back into learning.

English: Exploring Rivet Boy and Human Rights

This term in English, we’ve been diving into the historical novel Rivet Boy by Barbara Henderson. Set in Victorian-era Scotland, the novel provides powerful insights into the working conditions of children during the Industrial Revolution. Using this text as a springboard, we’ve been expanding our vocabulary and experimenting with sentence structure such as, learning to craft simple, compound, and complex sentences that suit different purposes and enhance meaning.

Our focus has been on persuasive writing, with the big question: Is using children as slave labour a violation of basic human rights? Learners have been exploring this idea from multiple perspectives and using evidence from the text and wider reading to justify their opinions. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to connect literature with real-world issues, particularly around human rights.

Maths: Building Fluency Through Games

In Year 7 Maths, we begin each session with a quick fluency game to strengthen concept knowledge. These games support learners to think flexibly and confidently with numbers while having fun and working collaboratively.

One of the games we’ve been playing is Barrier Game – 2D Shapes, which helps develop understanding of location, transformation, and properties of two-dimensional shapes. It's not only about getting the correct shape or position, but also about using precise mathematical language to describe and interpret.

Some of the questions we use to deepen mathematical thinking include:

  • “What words do you think will be helpful for this activity?”

  • “Can you say that again another way?”

  • “What would you do differently next time you played?”

Fluency games like these are a quick and easy way to reinforce key concepts, promote communication, and build confidence. We encourage whānau to ask their children about these games and even have a go at home, many of them require nothing more than a pencil, paper, and a willingness to think!

Matariki Night a Wonderful Success

Our Matariki celebration night was a huge success, filled with connection, creativity, and culture. The evening began with a performance by our kapa haka group, setting the tone for a special night of reflection and celebration.

Whānau then moved through a range of engaging workshops across the hubs. Getting the chance to make traditional kites, create their own poi, learn about the Matariki stars from our students, and even try some delicious paraoa parai / fry bread. 

It was heartening to see our community come together to honour Matariki — a time to remember, celebrate, and look ahead. Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening so memorable!



Term 2, Week 8 -  All Ages

Staying Safe Online: Scams

People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!


It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.


Read their scam tips here





Koru News Term 2 Week 8

Kia ora e te whānau,

It has been a fun fortnight in the Koru team, with our first-ever school trip and Matariki evening.


Christchurch Art Gallery Trip

We had a great time travelling on the bus into the city to visit the Christchurch Art Gallery on Monday. The children did an amazing job at showing 'We Care' and 'We Get There Together' by staying together as a group, listening carefully, and participating in the activities. 

On arrival, we met with the educator, who explained that we would be visiting an exhibition and then have the opportunity to create our own artworks.

Fred Graham: Toi Whakaata / Reflections: We were very fortunate to be shown around the Fred Graham exhibition. Tamariki were able to make connections between Māori myths and legends and Fred Graham's sculptures and relief works. We looked for shapes and patterns within each artwork, and children had a chance to draw the shapes and patterns that they could see.

Back in the Art Gallery classroom, children had a great time drawing shapes and koru patterns onto folded paper, which, once folded out, created really effective designs.






Matariki Evening

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to come together as a school community to acknowledge Matariki. 



Here is a song that we have been singing to help us learn the nine stars of Matariki.


Bee-Bots

Recently, children in the Koru team have been introduced to basic coding concepts as part of our maths learning, as well as during Learning Through Play. The Bee-Bots are programmable floor robots that help children learn about sequencing, directional language, and algorithms.  




Cybersafety

Staying Safe Online: Bullying

One in five young people in New Zealand have been the target of online bullying – it can happen to anyone, and it

can be hard for parents and whānau to deal with. Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto takes online bullying seriously and

would encourage you to chat to your tamariki’s teacher if you have any concerns about online bullying.

Visit Netsafe’s Online Bullying Advice for Parents to read more.


Wishing you all a happy, safe and relaxing long weekend.

The Koru team

katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

elizabeth.drummond@beckenham.school.nz

niquita.dalley@beckenham.school.nz

stacey.mclachlan@beckenham.school.nz

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 8

 Kia ora e te Whānau, 


Welcome to the Week 8 Kōwhai blog.


Matariki 


Mānawatia a Matariki! Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades, which rises in mid-winter and marks the beginning of the Māori New Year. It is a time of remembrance, celebration, and renewal. Over the last two weeks, children have been learning about the different stars that make up the cluster. The nine stars of Matariki are Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna-ā-Rangi, Tupuānuku, Tupuārangi, Ururangi, Pōhutukawa, Hiwa-i-te-Rangi and Matariki. In te ao Māori, each star has a special job to do to look after our wellbeing and environment. Please see this slideshow for more information. 


On Tuesday evening, we held a Matariki evening at school. It was wonderful to see so many parents coming to see the kapa haka group perform and share in our Matariki activities. The Kōwhai students did a fantastic job performing, and we were very impressed by their effort. 



Reports and Learning Conferences 


Last week, we celebrated the Kōwhai students' progress and success during learning conferences. Thank you to everyone who came to a conference. It was great to have the opportunity to reflect on the first two terms of 2025 and discuss the amazing learning students have been doing. 


PB4L 


This term, the Kōwhai students have been engaging in Positive Behaviour For Learning lessons (PB4L) on Tuesday mornings. The objective of these sessions has been to support students to develop social/emotional skills and develop strategies to manage challenges and improve their wellbeing. Over the term, there have been several topics that we have covered. These have included: 


  • Understanding our emotions in relation to cross country

  • Appreciating our differences 

  • How to be a good friend


It has been wonderful to see students contributing and participating during these sessions and applying what they have learnt.  Here is an example of an activity students did around celebrating diversity.


For information about Wellbeing at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto please follow this link.

Instructional Writing 


Over the past few weeks, Kōwhai students have been learning how to write an instructional text. An instruction text is a type of non-fiction text that provides step-by-step instructions on how to complete a task. The text may include organisational devices. As part of the writing process, students have been learning how to follow a set of sequenced instructions and then write about their experiences. For some classes, this has involved doing some baking and creating!


For more information about instructional texts, have a look at this slideshow.







Ferrymead 


The Kōwhai Ferrymead Trip is coming up next week, Tuesday 24th June and Wednesday 25th June (Week 9).


A reminder that on the day your child is attending the trip, they need to be at school before 8:45 am. They will also need to bring: 

  • A lunch box with enough morning tea and lunch for the day

  • A full water bottle 

  • A polar fleece or jersey 

  • A light waterproof coat if it appears overcast

  • Comfortable walking shoes

If you have any questions or concerns, please email your child's homegroup teacher or Georgia (georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz).


Head Lice

Unfortunately, we have had a growing number of cases of headlice reported across the school. Can you please check your child's head for eggs and live lice regularly and treat accordingly if detected. The following link has very helpful information about headlice and how to treat it.

https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/head-lice#main-content


Staying Safe Online: Scams

People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!


It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.


Read their scam tips here


 


Lost Property

If your child/children are missing any of the lost property items in the photo below, please contact the office to retrieve them. Thank you!


We hope you have a wonderful Matariki weekend. 

Ngā mihi, 

The Kōwhai team


Kahikatea News: Term 2, Week 8

 Kia ora whānau,

It was lovely to catch up with you all at our recent learning conferences and at our whole school Matariki night. 

We cannot believe we are nearing the end of the term and nearly half a year gone with your, wonderful tamariki.

As you are aware, we are creating a fourth home group in our team. This home group will be taught by Kendall Skelton, who is currently a teacher in the Kowhai team and a parent to one of our Year 1 students. We are so excited to welcome Kendall to our team, we know she will be a great asset to us for the remainder of the year. 


Technology:
As part of our toys inquiry, we have designed a toy which we are going to attempt to start to make next week.
If you have any crafty items such as: buttons, fabric, cardboard, egg cartons, bottle caps, wires, plastic etc that you could send in, please do so by Wednesday of next week.
We will leave a big my food bag box in the Maker Space, on top of the bench by the sink for you to pop bits in!


Learning in Kahikatea:

We have been busy in maths where our focus over the past two weeks has been on Geometry-looking at the properties of  2D and 3D shapes and time. 



























Literacy:

Next term reading books will come home on a Thursday For the week. This means reading folders need to come to school on Thursdays instead of Mondays. This is to allow teachers to work through the books more than once before sending them home.

Library days are the same:

Tuesday-Amber and Talia

Thursday-Sarah and Kendall

Sarah's Literacy group looked at the story of the 'Gardeners' Maze. We had a go at solving some mazes, then created our own mazes for our friends to attempt to solve!











Matariki:

Over the past few weeks, we have been learning about all of the Matariki stars and what they represent, listening to many myths and legends and creating lots of artwork. Our Matariki night at Kura was a huge success. We hope you have a restful Matariki break with those who are near and dear to you.









Lost Property:
There is a few items of lost property over in the school office. Please pop in and grab these if any belong to you!

Thanks Team Kahikatea




Pōhutukawa News Term 2 Week 8 2025


 


Ngā mihi e te whānau,

It was fantastic to see so many of you at our Learning Conferences last week, we really appreciate the whanaungatanga that comes as a result of these conversations. If you were unable to make it, we urge yout to touch base with your child's homeroom teacher for a quick update on learning. Mā tātou te katoa te waka e hoe, we are all rowing the waka together.

Mānawatia a Matariki

It was rawe, awesome, to see so many whānau at our Matariki celebration last week, and to see the kapa haka rōpu up on stage doing their thing. Matariki is an opportunity to reflect on the past 4 seasons, celebrate the present with whanau, and look forward to what is to come as the days get longer... if not warmer quite yet! We have been learning all about Matariki over the past few weeks. Of the 9 stars we acknowledge, 2 are associated with the natural elements of wind and rain. We certainly had those elements in play over the last few weeks and a lot of learning also came with them. It would be wonderful to reflect on this learning with your tamariki over the holidays. He taonga te ako, the treasure is learning.








Shoes/ Ngā hū

It has been really great to see the students 'stepping up' to show We Care for our school environment by removing their shoes during this wet and muddy season.  We are lucky to have wonderful underfloor heating in the classrooms, so feet stay nice and warm, and as an added benefit our carpet stays mud-free! In addition to this, we suggest that if your child is coming home with very muddy clothes, please consider supplying them with a spare pair of school shorts and a spare school top for them to change into once they finish their games. 

 BYOD/ Cyber Safety

We are so lucky to have such a huge uptake of whānau signing up their children to bring their own devices to school. We'd like to ask these whānau to please remind your children to bring their devices to school, and fully charged. This enables the school Chromebooks to be used by those students who do not bring their own devices to school. Learning online continues to be a vital part of our learning at school, and the cyber safety of our tamariki is always at the forefront of what we do. At the beginning of the year, we held workshops on how to be cyber safe, and also expectations around using devices. We have recently been revisiting some of these ideas, and reminding our students that their school accounts are for learning purposes only. Mā tātou te katoa te waka e hoe, we are all rowing the waka together.

Winter Sports/ Hākinakina

Our Winter Sports programme is also now full steam ahead, with all of our students getting some amazing netball, football and hockey coaching and tautoko, support from our Year 8 student leaders on Wednesday afternoons. Our competitive teams are enjoying themselves in the South Zone competition and representing Beckenham admirably. A huge mihi, thanks to the parents who are helping out on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. We simply couldn't do it without your help and support.

Stationery

As we are at the halfway point in the year, we'd really appreciate it if you could check with your tamariki about their stationery and what they need. Essential and consumable items that all students require are: HB pencils, an eraser, glue sticks, a highlighter, and a blue pen. We have gone through the students' remaining stationery , and they will be able to tell you what they need. Thanks for your support with this, mā tātou kātoa te waka e hoe.

Lost and Found

These items have been handed into the office lately. If you recognise anything as yours please go and see the lovely ladies in Admin to claim them!