School Notices

Building Updates:

Catch up with the latest building news through the Building Blog, and see the new timelapse video of the East Hub so far.

School Road Patrol:

We are looking for some adult volunteers to operate our morning road patrol.  You would need to be at school by 8:30am, the patrol closes at about 8:55am.  This is a great way to meet the school community and helps keep our children safe travelling to school.  If you think you might be interested in being part of the team, please contact Michelle Maule and she will give you more details.
deputy.principal@beckenham.school.nz

School Hats - required for Term 1
Please remember that hats are required for children when they are playing or participating in outside activities during Term 1.
Hats should be plain black or plain red in the bucket or wide-brimmed style. Red or Black bucket hats can be purchased at the office for $10 each. As we now have EFTPOS at the office, we will not be putting hats on accounts.

Social Media Accounts - Be aware!

At the end of last year there was some discussion among students and some parents about a new social media app called COCO. It seems that some of the children are using this app to communicate with each other and this led to some misunderstandings and inappropriate comments being sent back and forth. We strongly encourage families to closely monitor their children’s use of any social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or COCO as the minimum age for these apps is usually 13.  Whilst COCO doesn’t appear to have an age restriction when one logs in as a new user, however, hidden in the ‘Terms and Conditions’ are the following which all parents need to be extremely aware of:

6. Warranty Disclaimer
You must be 18 years of age or older to visit or use “Meet Someone New” in any manner. By using “Meet Someone New”, you represent and warrant to Coco that you are 18 years of age or older, and that you have the right, authority and capacity to agree to and abide by the Terms of Use. You also represent and warrant to Coco that you will use “Meet Someone New” in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations. ... You agree that “Meet Someone New” may expose you to Content that may be objectionable or offensive. We shall not be responsible to you in any way for the Content that appears on the Coco Service....

9. Ability to Accept Terms of Service
... you affirm that you are at least 13 years old as the Coco Service is not intended for children under 13. If you are under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to use the Coco Service.

Parents are responsible for monitoring their children’s use of devices and internet services out of school hours. It is critical that you do monitor this on a regular basis, including being aware of apps and related passwords that your child has on their device and monitoring the content of what they are doing on their device.

As part of our school cyber safety agreement children are not permitted to subscribe to any social media accounts or non using their school email account.

Public Health Nurses (PHN)

Public Health Nurses are Registered Nurses who specialise in child and family health. They are employed by the Canterbury District Health Board and provide a free and confidential health service for children aged 5 – 18 years. All schools in Canterbury have a PHN assigned to their school to assist children, parents/caregivers and teachers with health concerns, resources and/or information.  Your designated Public Health Nurse is Natasha Graham.

If you are worried about your child’s health you can contact the PHN Service yourself or a referral can be made (with your permission) by school staff or your GP. Common referrals to the PHN service may include - allergies and anaphylaxis, wetting, soiling, head lice, uncontrolled medical conditions (e.g. epilepsy, diabetes, medication, asthma), eating/nutrition, hygiene, skin conditions (e.g. eczema, scabies), puberty/sexuality/sexual health, and emotional issues (e.g. significant changes in behaviour at home, grief and loss, friendships/relationships).

Public Health Nurses are able to meet with parents/caregivers at home, school or work to provide health support, assessment, advice and to coordinate family health, school or support services if required.

You can contact the Public Health Nursing Service through your school or phone Natasha on (03) 3836877 or email natasha.graham@cdhb.health.nz. If you’d like to refer direct to the Public Health Nursing Service you can find the referral form online: http://www.cdhb.health.nz/Hospitals-Services/Community-Rural-Health-Services/phns/Pages/Referrals-PHNS-Service.aspx.

Community Notices

HALSWELL UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

SUMMER FOOTBALL - Online registrations are OPEN for TERM 1, 2017.
First Kicks/Fun Football (ages 4-8). Skill Centres (ages 8-16). Girls Only HUB (ages 5-12).
Please visit our website for more information: www.hawkfootball.org.nz/summer
WINTER SEASON – Online registrations OPEN 30th January 2017. For ALL players aged 4 to 70+
The season starts 1st April to end of August (early bird fees before end of March).
Grading days for 9th-14th Grades are Sunday 12th & 19th February 2017.
For more information please visit our website at: www.hawkfootball.org.nz/register
Senior Men & Women – Casual Kick arounds from end January on Wednesdays, 6.30pm (Halswell Domain)
Any questions/queries please email Sam Bunn (General Manager): huafcGM@gmail.com

Children's Day:

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

So the end of the 2016 school year has arrived!

Yesterday we had our very special Year 8 Graduation Assembly. What an honour it was to be able to farewell these stunning young people who are our Year 8 graduates for 2016. Thank you to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this day so special.


Thanks to Don Ferguson for this video montage he put together from the ceremony yesterday...

You can view it through Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/195739199

We wish all of our leavers, both from Year 8, and from other levels in the school who are moving to other schools for 2017, all the very best for their futures. We are always sad to say goodbye and we encourage you all to stay in contact with the school in the future.

Learning Conferences

If you have not yet booked your learning conference for the start of 2017, please do that as soon as possible.
www.schoolinterviews.co.nz
Code: 6h5xw
If you need childcare on either of the two learning conference days, you can book this through BOSCO at no charge by emailing manager@bosco.org.nz.

Once again, I would like to thank all of our amazing staff for their commitment and dedication to our children and our school.  It has been a very big year for our school with the rebuild and working from two sites and their continued adaptability and positivity has been unwavering.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish all of our school community a very Happy Christmas, and a safe and relaxing holiday. Your continued support of us all is very much appreciated.


Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

The Community Dental Service will operate an emergency service over the school holidays.
This service is to provide relief of pain only and will not undertake ‘routine’ treatment. The
service will be available each working day from 8:30am until 12:30pm from the Hillmorton
Hospital site.
Tuesday, 10 th January to Friday, 13 th January 2017 (excluding weekends)
Monday, 16 th January to Friday, 20 th January 2017 (excluding weekends)
Monday, 23 rd January to Friday, 27 th January 2017 (excluding weekends)
And
Monday, 30 th January 2017
This service will operate by appointment only and if we are unable to see your child,
alternative options will be given. If your child has dental pain as a result of an accident please
contact your dentist in the first instance.
You can phone and make an appointment for the emergency clinic by ringing 0800 846 983