Principal's Patch
Kia ora koutou
Well, the end of the year is racing along now, with just one week of school remaining. We are ticking off items each day from the very long list of end of year jobs that need to be done, and celebratory events that are such an important part of this time of the year.
We had a fabulous final celebration assembly on Thursday where we also took the opportunity to acknowledge Audrey Cooper's 30 years working at Beckenham. Audrey's connection with the school began when she was a pupil here as a 5 year old, then continued when her own children attended the school and she began working here in 1986. Her two granddaughters now also attend the school. We are very grateful for Audrey's commitment and dedication to the school over this time and wish her all the very best in her retirement. We aren't really saying goodbye, as we know we will see her in the school being a grandparent helper and supporting her grandchildren and other children over the years to come.
We are grateful to Tracy Dunn who is filling in and doing our accounts at the moment. The Executive Officer position will be advertised mid January on SEEK and will run until mid-February. We hope to have a permanent appointment made to this position by March 2017.
We also acknowledged and farewelled April Chapman and Megan Harris. Both have been on leave this year and, sadly for us, both have decided to move on to new challenges in 2017. We wish them both every success.
We also thanked Jo Smith for her contribution to our school community, taking our most recent group of New Entrant students from the middle of Term 3. We wish Jo all the best for what her future brings for 2017.
We wished Amanda McLean well as she takes 2017 off to become a first-time-parent and we wished Tracy Inwood well as she also takes a year off, to spend some time travelling and exploring a different pace of life and interests for 2017.
This coming week we farewell our current Year 8 students at their Graduation and Prizegiving Ceremony on Thursday at 11am. On Thursday afternoon, the rest of the students will be meeting in their 2017 learning groups with their new teachers to spend some time together, before the year ends.
We are planning to send reports and 2017 stationery lists home this Wednesday - please keep a look out for these.
Ngā mihi
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Mon 12 Dec10:15am-1:40pm Koru team visit to Champion St
Tue 13 Dec
Kauri Team trip to Corsair Bay
12noon - 2pm Pohutukawa trip to Margaret Mahy Playground
5:30pm - Community Christmas Celebration - Junior Playground (see community notices)
Thu 15 Dec
11am-12pm Year 8 Graduation Assembly followed by Leavers' Lunch
12:30-3pm Y4-7 students bus to Champion St to meet 2017 learning groups and teachers
1:30-2:30pm NE-Y3 students meet new learning groups and teachers at Beckenham Site
Fri 16 Dec
11am-12:30pm Junior School Athletics
Term 4 ends. School finishes at 12:30pm
Term Dates
Click here to view the 2016 and 2017 term dates.Citizen of the Week
William Day Year - 4
William, the Kowhai whānau have been immensely proud of your progress this year. You have consistently made great choices for your learning as the year has progressed. You have shown focus and determination and have challenged yourself when learning about topics that are of great importance to you. You have increasingly participated and contributed alongside your peers, demonstrating growth and maturity and the ability to monitor your own interactions. We have seen more of your lovely, empathetic nature when you have supported your team mates using kind words and actions, on many occasions. Tino pai William.School Notices
School Reports:
As usual reports and stationery lists for 2017 will be sent home in the final week of school. This year some of them will be in window envelopes as we attempt to use up some of our surplus stock. Generally we would use window envelopes when we post out the statements for students, but as we are now emailing statements these envelopes are being repurposed!End of Year Reports Guide for E.S.O.L families
If your child receives ESOL support at school, they will receive an End of Year report and also an ESOL report. Please click on the following link to view the guide to these reports and for ideas on how you can support your child at home.http://bit.ly/2g27PWW
Library Returns
As the end of term is nearly here it would be much appreciated if all library books could be returned to school. Either bring them into the office or hand them in to a teacher.
Updates for 2017:
By now you will have received notification of which hub your child will be in for 2017. Please take a moment to visit www.lunchonline and update your child's details so that lunches get delivered to the correct hub and more particularly the correct site in 2017. Only do this when you're sure you will not be ordering any more lunches this year!!Learning Conferences - 31 January and 1 February
As usual, we will begin the year with learning conferences on the first two days of term. Please ensure that you have booked a learning conference before you go on holiday! Book it now if you haven't already done this!www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and use the code 6h5xw
Help with one-off uniform and stationery costs:
Since 25 October, changes made to the Ministry of Social Development’s online service MyMSD allow some MSD clients to apply online for assistance with school uniform and stationery costs. Applicants can upload and send verification of the cost, which will likely be a quote from the supplier. If the payment is approved, they will receive notification by text or by email and the approved amount will be loaded to their payment card. The card can only be used for the amount and supplier for which it was approved. Many of the applications that MSD approves for help with school uniforms and stationery are paid to schools. General information for suppliers is available here on the MSD website
Schools are asked to draw the following to parents’ attention: Can you claim a tax credit for donations? If you’ve made a donation, you may be able to claim a tax credit. To be eligible, you need to have made a receipted donation of $5 or more to: • an approved donee organisation • an approved New Zealand religious or educational organisation • approved overseas aid funds • kindergartens • state schools, state integrated schools, other schools who have been approved as a donee organisation, school boards of trustees or parent teacher associations. Find out more about tax credits for donations
Year 8 Leavers' Book
It is a tradition for our year 8 leavers to receive a Beckenham School Year 8 Leavers book, at their graduation ceremony, which contains photos of each student, their memories and memories from staff who knew them well. For the past three years, this has been fully funded by Debbie Pettigrew from Grenadier Harcourts. We really appreciate her generosity for supporting this wonderful memento for our students.PTA News
Beckenham School PTA organises the ordering of the senior jackets. These can only be worn by year 7 & 8 students. The jacket is aimed at giving the students both pride in themselves and pride in their school. Please note the jacket is not a compulsory item of uniform.Jackets cost $70 and are available in various sizes.
To try a jacket on and for an order form, please come to the office.
Payment can be made by cash, internet banking or cheque. Please note - Eftpos will be available for this item in the new year, when the PTA account has been registered to the school eftpos machine.
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
In the grounds of Beckenham School
Tuesday 13th December 2016 5.00-7.00pm
FREE FAMILY EVENT
Free BBQ and/or bring a picnic.
Come and join the Choir, join in or just listen to some community carol singing.
Come in Christmas dress-ups
Organised by Beckenham locals for the Beckenham community. BBQ provided by Beckenham Neighbourhood Association and cooked and served by local Cub Scouts. Music provided by local choirs and other keen folk.
Guitar, Bass and Ukulele Tuition 2017
Beginner Guitar, Bass and ukulele lessons, both group and some individual are available duringschool time beginning February 2017.
Roger Hamilton has been teaching these instruments for 10, 2 and 4 years respectively and does
so in 2 other South West Christchurch schools as well.
For further information, contact Roger directly on the address or phone number below.
email: rbhamilt@gmail.com
cell: 027 3070466 / 9424619
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.
December : 19 to 23 Dec. and 27 to 31 Dec.
January : 9 to 13 Jan. and 16 to 20 Jan. plus 23 to 27 Jan.
Cost $30 per day or $135 for five. Bookings essential.
Venue :Sumner.
Call Aaron on 0800 80 SURF (7873) or register online at www.surfcoach.co.nz
The School for Young Writers
For Year 4-9Bookings essential
Ideal for young writers wishing to sharpen their writing skills before school starts.
Ideal for parents looking for worthwhile holiday activities.
Easily affordable thanks to Creative Communities partial funding.
Bookings now open: youngwriters@xtra.co.nz
