Kahikatea News: Term 4, Week 8

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Kia ora whānau,

How are we already in Week 8?

It has been a very busy few weeks here in Kahikatea, and we’re excited to share some of the highlights with you.

Colour Run

Our Beckenham School Colour Run was a huge success! Together, we raised an incredible $16,733 toward a brand-new playing turf that will be used for netball, hockey, soccer, pickleball and more. Even better, everyone had an absolute blast!
It was the perfect day for running, laughing, and getting absolutely covered in rainbow dye. It was wonderful seeing the tamariki giving it their all and finishing with big smiles, colourful shirts, bright faces and… even brighter hair!

Here are some pics from the event!


















Chicks in the Hub

With our chicks hatched, we were lucky enough to welcome 19 fluffy visitors into Kahikatea for several days. The children loved watching them, helping to care for them, and keeping the hub calm and quiet while they settled in. Many of our tamariki even had the chance to gently hold the chicks!








Dance, Dance, Dance!

Every Tuesday this term, we’ve been lucky to have Legacy Dance Studio working with us. They’ve been teaching us a fun new routine, and we are getting pretty good!
Here are some photos of us busting our moves.








Peer Reading

We’ve recently begun a new reading routine focused on building fluency through peer reading. Students are buddied up and take turns reading a non-fiction passage aloud before swapping. This encourages self-correction, buddy feedback, confidence, and exposure to a range of texts. We are already seeing great engagement and can’t wait to see the progress that follows!










Reading Books

A friendly reminder to please keep returning reading books to school. These may include Little Learners Love Literacy, Ready to Read Phonics Plus, or Junior Journals.

Next week will be the final week for reading books. On Thursday, your child will bring home a book if they have their folder. In Week 10, they will bring this book back but will not take a new one home.
We’ve noticed a drop in the number of reading folders coming to school on Thursdays. Please help your child remember, as repeated reading practice is so important!

Dress-Ups Wanted!

At the end of the year, we will be doing a refresh of our dress-ups, as they are very well-loved and used very regularly! Over the holidays, if you come across any dress-ups your child no longer uses, we would be grateful to add them to our collection.

As we head toward the end of the year, tiredness definitely starts to set in. Enjoy the sunshine, take time to rest when you can, and have a wonderful weekend.

Ngā mihi nui,

The Kahikatea Team — Amber, Kendall, Sarah and Talia 

Koru News Term 4 Week 8

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Kia ora e te whānau, 

We have had a busy and exciting fortnight in our Koru hub, filled with hands-on learning, hot days, and big smiles! 

Colour Run

Last Friday, we had our much-anticipated colour run! The children had an amazing time getting sprayed, splashed, and sprinting through the colourful course, twice! A big thank you to the PTA and all the parent helpers who came along to support.






Chickens

One of our favourite highlights was having the baby chickens in for a special visit. The children loved watching them play, eat, and explore. We even had the chance to gently hold them and notice how much they have grown since we last saw them. 

Some of our students also teamed up with their big buddies from Year 7/8. They took a closer look at the chicks together and enjoyed some reciprocal reading time focused on chicks. It was such a beautiful moment of tuakana-teina learning in action. 

Chicken Dance

Here is the cute poem we read last week - The Chick 

























Maths

This week in maths, we have been exploring repeating patterns. Looking for them, making them, and thinking about what comes next. Students have been creating patterns using shapes, colours, movements and numbers. This has strengthened our noticing skills and our algebraic thinking.













Literacy Folders

A friendly reminder to please keep bringing literacy folders every morning. Even though we are getting close to the end of the term, daily practice and reading make a huge difference.

Hats Hats Hats

Summer is definitely here! Please make sure your child brings a hat to school each day. Hats are required for outside play during the day. Children without a hat will need to play under the Hall verandah. 

Transition Visits

In the next couple of weeks, Koru will begin visiting their new learning spaces for next year. These visits help tamariki feel confident and settled for next year.


Have a wonderful weekend, 

The Koru team, 

Niquita, Katie, Elizabeth, and Stacey








Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Schoolwide Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 21st November 2025

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Principal's Update

Kia ora koutou

What an incredible end to our Colour Run fundraising campaign! Thanks to the enthusiasm and generosity of our community, we not only reached our fundraising goal - we exceeded it. Together, we raised over $16,000 to support the new sports turf project. This is an outstanding achievement and a testament to the strength of our school whānau.


A huge acknowledgement goes to our amazing PTA, whose organisation, commitment, and energy brought this event to life. From planning and preparation to creating a vibrant and joyful atmosphere on the day, their work ensured the Colour Run was a highlight of the year for our tamariki.


It’s also important to recognise the cultural roots of this celebration. Colour runs around the world draw inspiration from the Indian festival of Holi, a joyful celebration of colour, renewal, and community. At its heart, Holi is about togetherness, and we are grateful for the opportunity to participate in an event inspired by such a rich cultural tradition. Our Colour Run reflected that same spirit - a sense of collective joy, belonging, and celebration.


And of course… reaching the fundraising goal meant I had to uphold my end of the deal! The students were absolutely delighted to see me slimed at Assembly, and I’m not sure who enjoyed it more - the crowd or the students holding the buckets. It was a messy, memorable moment and a fun way to acknowledge the community effort behind the fundraising success.


Thank you once again to everyone who contributed, whether through donations, volunteering, cheering from the sidelines, or helping your children get involved. This was a true community effort, and the positive impact will be felt by our learners for years to come.

Ngā mihi

Cade

Principal / Tumuaki

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

Important Dates

Upcoming Events - Term 4

WEEK 8 

Wed 26 Nov - PTA Meeting (7:30-9:30pm)

Thu 27 Nov - Board of Trustees Meeting (5:30-7:30pm)

Fri 28 Nov - Whānau and Volunteers Thank you (8:15-9:00am)

Fri 28 Nov - Celebration Assembly (10:00-10:30am)


WEEK 9

Wed 3 Dec - Kauri Production (1:30-3:00pm Matinee & 4:30-6:30pm Evening)

Thu 4 Dec - Kōwhai Production (11:30-12:30pm)

Fri 5 Dec - Celebration Assembly (10:00-10:30am)


WEEK 10

Mon 8 Dec - Kauri Victoria Park Walk & Waltham Pool Party

Wed 10 Dec - Kauri Cass Bay Trip

Fri 12 Dec - Final Celebration Assembly (9:45am-10:30am)


WEEK 11

Tue 16 Dec - Year 8 Graduation Assembly (11:00-12:00pm, Leavers Lunch: 12:00-1:00pm)

Wed 17 Dec - Last Day of the Year, School finishes at 12:30pm


2026 Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Thalia - Year 4

Thalia, you are an outstanding role model in the Kōwhai hub. You always work hard on your learning and take pride in producing quality work. You are a kind and caring friend, looking out for others' well-being and showing great empathy. You are also an amazing helper, helping others with their learning and carrying out responsibilities around the hub. You are a star!


Lexi - Year 5

Lexi, you are an absolutely amazing citizen in our team. You are extremely kind, caring, helpful, and positive. You are a hardworking learner and a stunning role model who always demonstrates our school values. Keep up the outstanding work, Lexi!

School Notices

Reminder - Sunhat and Drink Bottles

As we enter into the warmer weather, every child must attend school with a named sunhat and water bottle. Sunhats are compulsory when outside during Terms 1 and 4. Please remember to send your child to school each day with sunscreen applied as well.


Birth Notice - Our School Chickens!

Some wonderful news! Our Chinese Silkie chickens were born last week - we welcomed 19 chicks in total! Their future coop is currently under construction on the school grounds and will be ready for them to move in at the beginning of the new school year - 'egg-citing!'

Whānau & Volunteers Thank You ~ Please RSVP

2026 Team Locations

The Sports Corner

Kia ora koutou,

This section of our newsletter is dedicated to highlighting the successes and challenges our students are experiencing in sports outside of school. It’s fantastic to already have three Kauri students sharing how they are embracing We Love Challenge - Nau Mai Te Wero beyond the classroom and pursuing their passions. If your child has had a sporting success that you’d like to share with our community, please email me with a short blurb and photo to: kate.mcgregor@beckenham.school.nz - We’d love to feature it in our next newsletter!


Ngā mihi nui,

Kate McGregor

Sports Coordinator


Violet & Harper - Boulder Bay Classic

Violet and Harper (Year 3, Kōwhai) took on the 1km kids’ dash at the Boulder Bay Classic on Sunday, 2nd November. After cheering on their Mum’s race, the twins decided to enter on the spot - and what a decision! The off-road course started on the sand at Taylor’s Mistake Beach and wound through gravel tracks and grassy areas. In true twin fashion, Violet and Harper crossed the finish line together, claiming joint 1st place for the girls!


Matthew - Tennis Success!

Congratulations to Matthew (Year 5, Pōhutukawa), who placed runner-up in the Primary Boys Singles at the Canterbury Primary and Intermediate School Tennis Championships over the weekend. He was also the top-performing Year 5 boy in the competition. Matthew has now qualified for the South Island Championships in Timaru next week - we look forward to sharing how he gets on!


Outstanding Results at the Huxster Mountain Bike Race!

The Huxster Mountain Bike Race is a fun and challenging off-road event designed to encourage young riders to give mountain biking a go. Students raced in teams or as individuals over a mix of trails, grass, and gravel - testing their stamina, skill, and teamwork.


Our Year 5–6 students did incredibly well, with Mietta and Jayme, and Lexi and Laurien placing 2nd and 3rd in the female team race. Maximus and Lucas also rode strongly, finishing 3rd in the open team category.



In the Year 7–8 category, Ben and Zach took out 1st place in the open team event, while Laura claimed 1st place in the solo female race. Abigail followed closely behind in 2nd, and Daniel placed 3rd in the solo male division. Congratulations also to Archie and Alex, who achieved an impressive 8th place in the Year 7–8 open team category, rounding out a fantastic day for our riders.


It was a fantastic day celebrating the skill, determination, and teamwork of all our riders - an achievement to be proud of!

Celebrating Our School Athletics Champions!
In-House School Athletics - Overall Champions and Commendable Runner-Ups
It was a fantastic day of skill, determination, and sportsmanship at our School Athletics Day! Students gave their best in every event, showing great teamwork, perseverance, and school spirit. We are thrilled to celebrate our in-school champions and runners-up - a huge congratulations to all who competed and made the day so memorable.

Here are this year’s results:

  • Year 5 Girls Overall Champions: Cora & Ruby

    • Year 5 Girls Overall Runner-Up: Laurien

  • Year 5 Open Overall Champions: Laurence & Simon

    • Year 5 Open Overall Runner-Up: Matthew

  • Year 6 Girls Overall Champion: Clara

    • Year 6 Girls Overall Runner-Up: Isabelle

  • Year 6 Open  Overall Champion: Maximus

    • Year 6 Open Overall Runner-Up: Jack

  • Year 7 Girls Overall Champion: Laura

    • Year 7 Girls Overall Runner-Up: Zaria

  • Year 7 Open Champion: Zach

    • Year 7 Open Overall Runner-Up: Daniel

  • Year 8 Girls Overall Champion: Lily

    • Year 8 Girls Overall Runner-Up: Hanna

  • Year 8 Open Overall Champion: Kawariki

    • Year 8 Open Overall Runner-Up: Oscar

Winning House: Waimea

South Zones Athletics Success!
Our students had an incredible day at the South Zones Athletics event, giving their best in every race and field event. We are excited to share that the top two finishers in solo events and the winning team from each relay will go on to represent the South Zone at the Canterbury Athletics Championships. Congratulations to all our students for their hard work, determination, and school spirit!

Here are our students' results from the South Zone event, and those in bold will be representing the South Zone at the Canterbury Event on Wednesday, 26th November:

  • Long Jump:

    • Year 7 Open: Zach (2nd)

    • Year 5 Girls: Florence (3rd)

    • Year 7 Girls: Laura (2nd)

  • High Jump:

    • Year 7 Open: Zach (3rd)

    • Year 5 Girls: Laurien (2nd)

    • Year 6 Girls: Isabelle (2nd)

    • Year 8 Girls: Lena (2nd) & Abigail (3rd)

  • Discus:

    • Year 5 Open: Simon (1st)

    • Year 6 Open: Hamish (2nd)

    • Year 8 Girls: Tilly (2nd)

  • Shot Put:

    • Year 6 Open: Harvey (3rd)

    • Year 8 Girls: Lily (2nd)

  • 800 m:

    • Year 6 Open: Haydn (2nd) & Maximus (3rd)

    • Year 6 Girls: Jayme (2nd)

  • 1500 m:

    • Year 7 Open: Zach (1st)

    • Year 7 Girls: Laura (1st)

  • 60 m Sprint:

    • Year 7 Open: Jensen (1st)

    • Year 8 Open: Oscar (3rd)

    • Year 5 Girls: Ruby (1st)

    • Year 6 Girls: Isabelle (2nd)

  • 80 m Sprint:

    • Year 6 Open: Emerson (1st)

    • Year 5 Girls: Cora (2nd)

  • 100 m Sprint:

    • Year 7 Girls: Laura (1st)

  • 4 x 100 Relay:

    • Year 6 Boys: Cormac, Jack & Maximus (2nd)

    • Year 7 Boys: Dylan, Jensen, Tom & Zach (2nd)

    • Year 5 Girls: Chloe, Cora, Mia & Ruby (2nd)

    • Year 6 Girls: Clara, Isabelle, Jayme & Pippa (3rd)

    • Year 8 Girls: Abigail, Hanna, Lily & Lottie (3rd)

PTA News

HELP NEEDED - Year 8 Leavers' Lunch!

Each year, the PTA puts on a lunch for all of our lovely Year 8s and their caregivers, to help give them a great send-off from Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. This is usually highly anticipated by the senior students!

We need your help (provided you are not a parent/caregiver of a Year 8 student!) to prepare the lunch (just a bit of chopping) and serve the lunch (plating up, heating savouries, and helping with clearing up).

Lunch will be served after the Leavers' Assembly, in the late morning, on Tuesday, 16th December.

If you can and would like to help anytime on Tuesday morning, please complete this form.
Your support is really appreciated!

BOT Update

Term 4 Policy Review - SchoolDocs

    1. Visit the website linked here.

    2. Enter the username (beckenham) and password (pride).

    3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.

    4. Read the policy.

    5. Click the Start your review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.

    6. Select the reviewer type.

    7. Enter your name (optional).

    8. Follow the prompts to show that you've read the topic and enter your feedback if you'd like to comment.

    9. Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit review”.

    (If you don't have internet access, the school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form).

Community Notices

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

Luminaires Summer Theatre Camp!

For Ages 10-15

Auditions November 29th & 30th

Rehearsals December 7th & 14th

Camp Dates January 12th -17th

Successful participants will stay at a local camp venue for a week, during which they will sing, dance, act, create props, design costumes, and apply makeup, among other activities. 

Culminating in public performances of ZOOM! By Craig Hawes

Follow the link here for more information and to sign up!

general@luminairescharitabletrust.org




Win the Ultimate Australian Open Experience!

Your child could win the tennis trip of a lifetime with Tennis Hot Shots and Tennis New Zealand, plus win tennis equipment for our school!

The prize includes:

  • Return flights from your nearest international airport to Melbourne for one child and one adult

  • Australian Open tickets

  • Two nights’ accommodation

  • The chance to perform the official coin toss before a big match on Rod Laver Arena and grab a photo with the star players

  • A $500 tennis equipment pack for the winner’s school

The competition is open to all children aged 8-13 across New Zealand — no tennis experience required!

Enter now at: www.tennis.kiwi/win

Entries close 8th December!

Koru News Term 4 Week 6

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Kia ora e te whānau,

We have had a busy couple of weeks in the Koru team! Our values focus for the past fortnight has been 'We Make a Difference'. Here are some ideas that the children shared about how we can show this value:

We Make a Difference is when we:
  • include others
  • share our toys
  • help our friends when they are hurt
  • show 5
  • try our best
  • are a good friend
  • use our walking feet inside
  • say please and thank you
  • show good teamwork.

We are Mathematicians in the Koru Team!

We have had a big focus on basic facts in the past two weeks. We know that learning our basic facts takes a few steps:
1. Conceptual understanding: Knowing what operations like addition and subtraction mean.
2. Strategy use: Applying strategies such as counting on.
3. Mastery: Recall through practice.

This week, we focused on learning our number combinations to 5, 6, and 7. Tamariki learned that if they know these combinations, they can easily solve bigger number problems. For example, if we know that 2 + 3 = 5, we also know that 20 + 30 = 50, and 200 + 300 = 500 and so on!

Our Wednesday activity focused on 7. We shared all the things we knew about the number 7, e.g., 7 in te reo is whitu, some children have a sibling who is 7, 7 is 3 less than 10, 7 is one more than 6, etc. We also discovered that there are eight addition facts for 7.

0 + 7 = 7         7 + 0 = 7
1 + 6 = 7         6 + 1 + 7
2 + 5 = 7         5 + 2 = 7
3 + 4 = 7         4 + 3 = 7

Children had two icebergs and seven penguins, and their job was to show the combinations of seven by grouping the penguins. It was great to hear the mathematical language as tamariki worked with their buddy.











Chickens!

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been excitedly awaiting the arrival of our baby chicks. An incubator with eggs arrived in the office, and we were really lucky to go and visit. Sue explained the incubation process and what to expect next...



Then, on Tuesday, the 11th of November, staff received an early morning birth notice from Cade. Our clever chicks had begun to hatch!


Once they had some time to adapt to the real world, they were transferred to their new home. Mama Sue taught the chicks how to eat and drink by tapping a pencil on their food and water bowl.


Then, on Wednesday, we had the chance to go and meet the chicks, up close and personal. Each child gave the chicks a gentle, one-finger pat. The looks of joy were delightful!






Learning Through Play

We love Learning Through Play in the Koru hub! It is incredible to see the types of play that children come up with. During these sessions, one teacher is the intentional teacher, talking with children, prompting thinking, encouraging pro-social skills, and supporting the learning, while two teachers take small-group literacy sessions. It is so much fun!









Wishing you a happy and safe long weekend ahead,

The Koru team,

Katie, Stacey, Elizabeth & Niquita

Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 6

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Kia ora everyone!

Welcome to the Kōwhai blog for Term 4, Week 6! The term is rapidly disappearing and while we have achieved so much already, there is still much to do.

Production

Over the next few weeks, we will be very focused on putting our production together. We have been busy rehearsing our dances and preparing props and costumes and it is now time to put it all together into one big extravaganza!

This is a reminder that you are all invited to come and see our performance on Thursday 4th December at 11:30am in the hall.

Ukulele

Everyone is continuing to enjoy their dance and ukulele lessons every Tuesday. In our ukulele sessions, the children have been helping to make up a song about the school, contributing lots of great ideas. We look forward to hearing the end result!

Chicks Hatching

As you may have already heard, we have some chick eggs incubating in our very own school office! They have been carefully guarded by Sue, Jo and Cade over the last weeks. We have all had the opportunity to visit and see the eggs and Sue has been telling us all about the kind of chickens that will hatch and what we are going to do with them. Thank you, Sue! 

And now the chicks have started hatching and it is very exciting! We have starting thinking about names for them all. What do you think? Can you think of any good ones?



Colour Run

The PTA have organised a Colour Run event to take place next Friday afternoon. So far, the PTA have raised around $9,000 which is absolutely amazing! If you would like to help raise money for this fundraising event, just click on the following link and hit the red “Set Up a Fundraising Page” tab: 

In order to drum up some more support for this event, we are also sliming teachers, one teacher per $1,000 raised. Yesterday, at the end of the school day, we slimed 8 teachers in total with Chris getting slimed twice! The children absoltuely loved witnessing this and are looking forward to seeing more teachers get slimed next Wednesday. We will have to see if any Kōwhai teachers get included next time round! 






Have a great long weekend!

From the Kōwhai team