Learning Conferences: Book now for 31 July and 2 August

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Learning Conferences

Kia ora whānau

At the end of this newsletter is the information you need to book your child's next Learning Conference on Tuesday 31st July or Thursday 2nd August - Week 2 of the coming new term.

Feedback from Learning Conference review 2017

Following the learning conferences in Term 3 last year, we asked for your feedback on a number of aspects of the learning conference process and outcomes. Thank you very much to the 120 people who responded to this survey. This was a significant response to a request for feedback.

Some trends became very clear and we learned that the new format of children directing the learning conferences and a fluid approach to meeting with all of the teachers working with your child (particularly from Years 1-6) had mixed responses from whānau.

This is seen by the results of the graph below (where 1 = not beneficial and 5 = extremely beneficial)



There was also a mixed response to the statement: "There was enough time to talk with the teacher about the learning." seen on the graph below:



We were heartened by the response to the following question about whether the purpose of the learning conference had been met (where 1=not met and 5= completely met):

We were also heartened by the response to the statement "The teacher(s) really knew my child and his/her next steps" 


What was the most helpful were the 71 individual 'additional comments' that you took the time to write. These really captured the individual stories we needed to hear and helped explain in more detail why you had responded to the questions above in the way you had.

We have done lots of reflecting on the feedback that we received on the process we used last year, and the opportunities and challenges that it provided for whānau, children and the teachers.

Whilst finding a model that works perfectly for every child and their whānau would be wonderful, it is not realistic. What we have done, is taken all of your feedback, and tried to improve the areas that were causing the most concern.

We have focused on improving the following areas:
  • ensuring that you have guaranteed time with your child's point of contact teacher
  • consistency within and across teams 
  • scaffolding the process to better support all children to be actively engaged in the conversation about their learning
  • making sure that the learning conference is a 'conversation' about learning and next steps, not just a 'show and tell'
  • having the learning conferences for Years 1-6 be 15 minutes with just the point of contact teacher and more support in place for the child, teacher and whānau to each be able to lead the conversations.
  • keeping the learning conferences at Year 7/8 longer (30mins) with the students expected to take more leadership in their conferences with all three of their teachers

Please book a Learning Conference for each of your children now...

The next Learning Conferences will be taking place in Week 2 of the new term, on Tuesday 31st July and Thursday 2nd August. Note that school will finish at the earlier time of 2pm on both days to allow for Learning Conferences to happen.

If you want your child to stay at school between 2pm and 3pm on one or both of those days, please remember to let Jacky in the office know (office@beckenham.school.nz) so we can arrange supervision.

To book, please go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz or click on this link and use the code z8vr4

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy and the team.

Resilience Movie July 2018

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Resilience the movie.... about adversity
Relationship of disease and behaviours.
Looking at relationship of abuse... the ten aces adversee childhood experiences.  
Look at ace scores.... 
Adverse Child experiences... ace study.
Exposure to trauma.stressful things affect the health.. not getting to the root it's not a.d.d and medications won't help this. 
Score of 4 or more 32 more times likely to have a behaviour problem at school. 
Tall about  adreleline and cortisol. It takes a toll on the body if you are exposed to it too long. 
Exposure to trauma effects the brain. 
Toxic stress what do we do about it...
Friends to talk too. 
When there is no support.
When you are young you can't pull your socks up. 
How can you plan for future when you are focused on just getting through the day.
Running a programme that is training adults to treat children the right way.
How you feel is how you interact with your children and people around you. If you feel stressed or worried you won't be yourself. 
Use techniques to voice what their worries are will help them maintain their resilience.  
Drama therapy with kiss to help a calmNess. Mis kendra curriculum. 

Screening for an ace score.
What next....
Reduce adversity...home visits to see challenges at home.
Buffering the parent to 
Mindfulness and meditation... help to identify feeling
Nutrition
Exercise 
Sleep hygiene 


Shift it's not what's wrong with you it's what happened to you. 
Knowing about the risk factors and knowing you can do something about it. 

Wwe. Resilience movie. Com

Nadine harrit burke... 

Offering resilience training. Rtlb service







 


Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter 6th July

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

...and another term comes to an end! I'm not sure that the weeks fly by for the children as fast as they seem to for all of the adults at school, but this term really has felt like a full and fast one!

This is a short newsletter this week, just to put some final end of term notices in, and to wish you all a safe and restful break.

You should have received your child's report today. They were handed out to children in the afternoon. If you have not received a report, please email Jacky in the office, and she will chase that up for you at the start of the new term. Some children have brought home a second copy for parents who live separately, and others have had a second copy emailed or posted out by Jacky today, according to the instructions we have on our system. If you need to update your family information, contact details or your child's health details at any stage, please do so by contacting Jacky in the office - preferably in writing/email, so that she can update this.

There will be an email coming out during the holidays about booking Learning Conferences for Week 2 of next term. The dates are on the calendar info below.

A huge thank you to the PTA who organised and ran three fabulous Discos, back to back, last Friday. What a lot of fun was had by our children!

As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, I have been fortunate to have been awarded a Ministry of Education scholarship to travel to Adelaide for the first four weeks of Term 3 to shadow a principal there. I am very grateful for the opportunity and will be there with another Canterbury principal, Jo Earl, from St Francis of Assisi School in Mairehau. We will return in Week 5 of next term, and the two principals who we have been shadowing then come to Christchurch to shadow us for the last four weeks of Term 3. A great opportunity to understand how other schools and leaders operate and to learn from one another.

During my absence, Sue Leadbetter will be Acting Principal and Nicky Dunlop and Paulette Newton will be sharing the Deputy Principal role supporting Sue.

A highlight of the last day of term for me today, was participating in the staff vs students volleyball match in the hall at lunchtime! I never did find out who actually won, but we all, including the 100 or so spectators, had a huge amount of fun!


Best wishes to you all for the holidays

Ngā mihi
Sandy Hastings
Principal / Tumuaki  

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Mon 23 Jul - Term 3, classes start at 8:55am

Fri 27 Jul - Welcome Assembly.  10:50 - 11:20am. a special assembly to welcome all those who are new to the Beckenham Te Kura community. Morning tea hosted by the PTA will follow this assembly.
Fri 27 Jul -  Years 5 - 8 Weekly winter sport

Mon 30 Jul - Zone Winter tournament years 5-8, 9am - 12:30pm at South Hagley Park.

Thu 9 Aug - Yrs 7 & 8 Ski Trip

Term Dates

Click here to view 2018 term dates.

School Notices

NEWS FLASH

Following the responses in our uniform survey we are in the final stages of confirming a new uniform provider.  Rest assured that any items of clothing that are currently listed as uniform items for Beckenham will remain so - we are not changing the items of clothing, just the provider.  Full details at the beginning of Term 3.  

Congratulations to...

Sir Peter Blake Award winners...

This year we could not separate two young leaders. Both are strongly admired and respected by their peers. Over the past two years, one has consistently displayed outstanding leadership skills, while the other has evolved into an outstanding leader.


Tilly

From your first day in the Kauri Whānau, you shone as a natural and capable leader. Your peers respect your calm, proactive and reliable attitude.  You are naturally reflective, displaying empathy towards others and offering kind, genuine encouragement to all. You are community minded, able to identify the bigger picture and put others’ needs ahead of your own. You lead with a quiet confidence: your peers recognise you as approachable, patient and supportive. You excel in the face of challenge, readily stepping out of your comfort zone and encouraging others to do the same. 

Thom

Kauri Whānau has watched you evolve into a very confident, self-assured and enthusiastic leader over the past 18 months. Your charismatic personality makes others feel welcomed, safe and willing to take risks. You are non-judgmental in the way that you accept others and make every person in a group feel valued. You walk beside those who you lead, regularly stepping outside your comfort zone and in the process encouraging others to do so too. Your peers recognise the 150% that you consistently give and the perseverance with which you approach all that you do. 

PTA News

In conjunction with PLASTIC FREE JULY we are offering a FREE Jute Shopping Bag (valued $10) for all BEESWAX FOOD WRAPS orders over the value of $30 (equivalent to TWO x Multi-packs)
We want to make it easier for you to go PLASTIC FREE for July AND the rest of the year
OFFER valid for the FIRST 50 orders only
Please note the wrap designs shown may differ from the wraps provided. 
Check out our other Beckenham "We Care" products on offer.
Help us wage the war on PLASTICS
(click on the video below...)


Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

McMillan's Aquatic Centre

McMillan's Aquatic Centre is 7km & only 12 mins drive from Beckenham.
We are offering free assessments now for Term 3 bookings.

Location:                                    54 Wickham St, Bromley (off Dyers Rd)
Lesson Times:                            3.25 - 6pm
Adult lessons/Lane Hire:           1pm - 3pm & 6pm - 8pm
Cost:                                           $150 for 10 x 30 minute lessons.

Call Louise on 332 4617 or email bees.swim@xtra.co.nz to book in now.

www.macswimming.co.nz




Virtuoso Strings Orchestra

Transforming lives through music.
Months of hard work and practise will come to fruition for members of the Virtuoso Strings Orchestra (VSO), who are touring the South Island in July.
Forty-two talented school students will entertain audiences with a fun mix of classical, popular and traditional tunes, in what is the highlight of the year for the young musicians.
The students, ranging in age from 8 years to 17 years, form a tightly knit group who practise incredibly hard together to perfect their ensemble skills, VSO Co-founder Dr Elizabeth (Liz) Sneyd says.
“Their love of music is infectious and their performances shatter every stereotype of classical music that is out there.”
In 2012, Liz along with Craig Utting formed VSO and today the popular youth orchestra is based in Cannons Creek, Porirua, and run by the Virtuoso Strings Charitable Trust.
The VSO South Island Tour kicks off on July 13 in Christchurch, and wraps up in
Mosgiel on July 19. All concerts are free and all are welcome.

Court Theatre

We have afterschool drama classes for ages 7- 9 Drama 1 and ages 10- 12 Drama 2 as well as Junior Improv Classes for ages 12- 15.



Nathan Wallis Talk:

Cashmere Primary Te Pae Kereru PTA is very fortunate to have Nathan Wallis, X-Factor Education come to our school and speaking about brain development for children aged 5-12 years.   Nathan is a specialist in brain research, an educator and a very inspiring speaker.  We would like to open this evening up to Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. 

The presentation will take place on Thursday 2 August 2018, 7.30pm to 9.00pm in our School Hall.  Tickets are limited and will be available for purchase from 15 July 2018. Tickets cost $25.00 per person. 

Parents/Whānau can purchase a ticket via our KINDO online PTA shop.  Here is the link https://bit.ly/2z33zAd. 

Please note if you already have a Kindo account you will be prompted to add details to the Cashmere Primary Te Pae Kereru Fundraiser account.  If you are new to Kindo then you will be directed to the Join Up / Create an account section.  For any assistance please do not hesitate to contact theKindo Helpdesk on freephone 0508 KINDO (0508 454 636).

If you have any questions about the evening, please feel free to contact Nic Falloon, PTA Secretary at pta@cashmereprimary.school.nz

We look forward to your parents and whānau joining us for this evening.



Kauri Whānau: Date Correction

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Cantamath Projects:

Oh dear, I put the wrong month for the due date of Cantamath projects next term, in yesterday's post. These are due on Monday August 13th, not September. Ideas brainstorming over the holidays would be great. There will be a slideshow of ideas posted in the Kauri 2018 google classroom, which the children can access from home.


Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 2 Week 10

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We are on the home straight now, with just two days until the end of term. Your child will come home with their school report, technology report and languages report on Friday. There are three pieces of work that we expect the children to finish this week: their argument writing, their artwork and their camp photo presentation. Those who are finished by Friday will get some free choice time in the afternoon.

Ski trip:

Have you filled in the ski trip information form for your child yet? If the answer is no, please click here. If the answer was yes, thanks!

Home learning for everyone:

In the first three weeks of next term all children will have a Cantamath design or research project to work on at home. We will be introducing this project to the children tomorrow, Thursday. They are most welcome to put in some time on this over the holidays. A Cantamath project requires the generation of an idea, planning and creating. It would be expected that at least 5 hours of work would be required. Projects will be due at school on Monday the 13th of September, however these can come to school if they are finished earlier. Work that is of an exceptional standard will be entered in the Cantamath Competition in Week 5, and will earn points towards the 'We Love Learning' Kete Badge. 

Speeches coming up next term:

Next term the first writing topic is for our speech competition, which takes place in the middle of the term. This year the children will write story-telling speeches. They will be able to retell a personal story, or take an existing story and either re-tell it, tell it from a different perspective or create a fractured fairytale. Over the holidays it would be great to brainstorm ideas at home; please don't encourage your child to start writing yet. Speech time brings on anxiety for a number of children. To alleviate this, there will be two options for presenting, either presenting live to their home-group or videoing their speech. A live presentation will be needed to be considered for our hub final. Thanks for your support with discussing ideas with your child. 

Blogging:

We have been thrilled to see a number of students in Kauri Hub earning their Kete Badges! In order to earn one of these badges, tamariki have to complete 60 points worth of actions and write about what they have done on their blogs. Please ask your child to have a look at their blog to see what they have been up to.

Many students have been putting fantastic effort into their posts. At the moment, the blogs are all set to private, with only invited readers being able to read posts (and invitations limited to the Kauri teachers). We are wanting to make these blogs public so that others are able to see the awesome actions that are being carried out. If you have any concerns about your child's blog being made public, please contact Hannah on hannah.elliott@beckenham.school.nz.

Prior to any blog going public, we will be going through all posts to check that there are no posts that provide information that could lead to safety concerns. Students will also be doing some learning around what sorts of things should be left out of future posts. It is unlikely that children will get large numbers of views; all this should do is make it easier for you to see what your child is posting and share it with other family members. In the extremely unlikely event that any issue arises, we can very easily revert the blog back to being private.

Winter Tournament:

On the second Monday of next term, we have our Winter Tournament. This is where our Friday Winter Sport team battle in out against other teams in our zone in a morning full of fast and furious games. It's a fun and action packed morning at Hagley Park. A number of our Friday Winter Sport Coaches are already on board to support our teams, which we greatly appreciate. We are in need of a few more parents to support teams in getting around to each of their games and to umpire/referee. We will be in particular need for football managers as each team gets split in half as the football games are 5-a-side. Please email Jenny asap if you are able to help out. You will be need to be available until 12:30. 

Congratulations:

We are extremely proud of Tilly, who has been selected for the Canterbury Primary Schools Netball Metro Representative team. This was after a number of trials and to be selected from such a huge number of players is absolutely fabulous!