We are very excited to be bringing you our original Christmas show tomorrow evening. Please make sure that your child is at the school hall by 6:45pm. They need to be in costume and ready to go. We ask audience members to bring a gold coin donation. The PTA will have ice-creams for sale at the show: Fru Jus for $2.50 and Kapiti vanilla bean ice cream tubs for $1. The show will finish by 8pm. No child can leave the hall without a parent or caregiver. The children will not be at Champion Street tomorrow, Tuesday, as they are coming directly to Beckenham after technology for a final rehearsal.
Wednesday December 7th: Top Team and Canterbury Athletics
We are crossing our fingers for a fine afternoon on Wednesday for our top team event. All children will need a change of clothes (we recommend a thermal top, e.g. polypro) and a small towel, in a plastic bag. Many thanks to Jo, Elise, Huriana and Rebecca who will be helping out with this fun filled activity; please be here by 12:30. We still need two more parent helpers. Please email one of us if you can help out. We will be at Champion St all day on Wednesday. Canterbury athletics. We wish Henry, Vita, Lauren, William, Amelia, Shakira, Joe and Dominic all the best for the Canterbury athletics competition in Ashburton.
Thursday December 8th: Final celebration assembly and helpers afternoon tea
The assembly starts at 2pm. This will be preceded by a helpers thank you afternoon tea which starts at 1:30 in the hall.
Friday December 9th: Victoria Park walk
Children are to be at Beckenham by 8:50am. We will not be going to Champion Street this day. Children will need a daypack with a large (or 2) water bottle, a substantial lunch, sunblock, sunhat and a warm top. They are to wear mufti suitable for hiking in. Many thanks to Mike, Suu and Katherine who will be joining us. We need just two more parent volunteers. Please email one of us if you can help.
Week 10
Monday December 12th: Year 8 pool and pizza party
A normal day at Champion Street. Year 8 children are invited to a pool and pizza party at Tracy's place, 101 Studholme St, just off Somerfield St. Please drop children off at 4pm, with togs, and collect them by 6pm.
Tuesday December 13th: Corsair Bay trip
Children are to be at Beckenham by 8:50. We will not be at Champion St this day. Thanks to Tanya, Kate, Desiree and Jill who will be accompanying us to Corsair Bay. We will be leaving Beckenham at 10:30am and returning by 3pm. We still need two more parent helpers for this trip. Please email one of us if you can help. Children will need a daypack with a water bottle, a substantial lunch, sunblock, sunhat, togs and a towel and a warm top.
Wednesday December 14th: A normal day at Champion Street.
Thursday December 15th: Year 8 leavers' graduation assembly and lunch
Year 8s may arrive at Beckenham by 10:45, dressed in their best clothes. Everyone else catches the bus at 8:30 as usual. Year 8s finish the year after the leavers' lunch, which will wind up by 1:15pm. Year 7s will be back at Champion St for the afternoon. If you have yet to respond to the leavers' lunch invitation, please click here and fill out the form. If you have yet to send Nicky a photo of your Year 8 when they started school, please email that to Nicky ASAP, or send in a photo for scanning.
Friday December 16th: Last day (morning) for Year 1-7
Normal morning at Champion St. School will finish at the end of the morning, with children arriving back at Beckenham by 12:30.
We are looking forward to getting to school on Monday to see the slab on the West Hub which should have just been poured. HRS have advised that they will be in at 4am to ensure that the pour happens with little impact on school and without people and vehicles around. By 8am, they are hoping to have the pour complete, and to just be working on finishing the surface.
You may recall that last week I shared that our children had written cards and letters to be sent to the children at Kaikoura Primary School. I had a call this week from Nigel Easson, the principal, expressing his thanks to our community for this support. He said that the letters and cards had been spread around the tables at school and, when the children and their parents and grandparents had arrived at school this Wednesday, there had been lots of reading, tears, laughing and appreciation as the letters were read and reread. For those of you who didn't catch the segment on TVNZ One News on Wednesday evening, we have managed to capture it below for you to view.
Mandarin learning continues
Our Kahikatea team have been enjoying working with Felicia from the Confucius Institute, having an introduction to Mandarin. The teachers were asked to nominate 5 children for excellence awards which were given out at a special ceremony in mid November.
We are grateful to Felicia who has offered to continue working with two small extension groups of Year 1/2 students on Friday afternoons to the end of the term.
Ngā mihi Sandy Hastings Principal - Tumuaki
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Tue 6 Dec 7-8:30pm A Very Kauri Christmas in the Beckenham School hall. Wed 7 Dec 7am - 5pm Canterbury Athletics at Ashburton Domain
Thu 8 Dec 1:30-2:00pm "Thank you" afternoon tea for school helpers 2-3pm Final Celebration Assembly of 2016 at Beckenham School 5:30-6:45pm Kahikatea Team Wearable Arts Performance in the School hall
Tues 13 Dec Kauri Team Corsair Bay trip
Thu 15 Dec 11am-12pm Year 8 Graduation Assembly followed by Leavers' Lunch
Fri 16 Dec Junior School Athletics 11am - 12:30pm Term 4 ends. School finishes at 12:30pm
Adam you are a diligent and self-motivated learner. You embrace all learning opportunities with enthusiasm and creativity. You reflect carefully on your learning and regularly seek and respond to feedback. You have a great sense of humour and we have all enjoyed your ready wit and unique view on events and ideas. You are very responsible and have undertaken leadership roles to the best of your ability. You are also a very sensitive and supportive friend. We can always rely on you to focus on your learning and be a great role model for other children. Thank you for making Beckenham School a better place!
Sharing our Learning
Pohutukawa Camp at Living Springs
Last week the Pohutukawa Whanau spent three days and two nights at Living Springs. Over the three days we experienced three very different seasons but this did not slow us down one bit. The children (and adults!) had a fantastic time on the first day; orienteering around the site, going on the monorail, bouncing on the tramps, racing around the track on the balance bikes, and taking a refreshing dip in the pool. To add to all the excitement, two of our children, Declan and Ruby, were also celebrating their birthdays on this day!
On the second day we enjoyed walking up to Don’s Shed to complete Initiatives, a series of team building exercises that challenged the children both mentally and physically. We also walked down to the outdoor camping area and played Animal Survival, a very complex game that has elements of both tag and a treasure hunt. One of the highlights of this game was watching the adults join in, especially Katie as the huntress! During the night we had an epic dance party where our jump jammers took the stage and motivated all the children to get their groove on.
On the third day we packed up all our gear and headed down to the farm. There we were split into two groups. In the first group we went on a tractor ride around the farm and learned how to communicate with horses and ride them. In the second group we learned about cows and how to milk them. After a sausage sizzle lunch and feeding the animals we all hopped back on the bus and headed back to Beckenham to reunite with our loved ones.
It was a fantastic trip where all the children did our school proud by demonstrating our school values ‘We get there together’. A huge thank you to all the parents who supported us on camp and an even bigger thank you to Nick Bruce who organised and led the camp. We are now counting down the days to our next camp in 2018!
Pohutukawa Speech Competition
Earthquakes and weather didn’t stop Team Pohutukawa from holding their annual speech competition. Congratulations to our winners. First Place: Ben Evans Second Place: Hannah Winchester Third Place: Meg Macdonald and Lucy Gray (3rd equal)
School Notices
Term Four Accounts and EFTPOS in the office
The final accounts for the year will be sent out early next week. We will be sending these out by email this time, rather than by post. We are also bringing in EFTPOS at the office to try and make paying for items as school easier for you.
We expect this to be up and running by Tuesday. It will be for payments using Debit Cards and EFTPOS cards only. We will not be able to take Credit Card payments or give Cash out.
If you have any queries about your account, please contact our interim accounts officer - Tracy Dunn by emailing accounts@beckenham.school.nz or by phoning the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Fridays.
Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival
Video of Music Festival now available A video of any/all of the three nights of the 2016 Music Festival is now available. The video has been compiled by Armedia NZ Ltd, the good people who provided the live feed of video to the screens in the venue each night of the festival. For details and orders, just go to http://www.armedianz.co.nz/csmf
The Bingo profit is in & we have raised $3435.85!!! Thanks to all the people who attended & the businesses that donated prizes, we couldn’t have done it without your support. The PTA has pledged $3500 to the school towards restoring the sound board that is currently not working. Here’s looking forward to being able to hear better in the Hall!
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
Beckenham Community Christmas Celebration
Beckenham School Grounds Tuesday 13th December 2016 5.00-7.00pm FREE FAMILY EVENT Free BBQ and/or bring a picnic Come and join the Choir 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.
HELP SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE COASTLINES
MOBILE PHONE APPEAL IN OUR SCHOOL It would be great if you could rummage around in your drawers and toy boxes and bring into School any unwanted mobile phones you may have. Phones collected help our School gain valuable rewards and the environment benefits too by keeping our landfills free of mobile phones and their array of hazardous toxic substances. Please drop any unwanted mobile phones you may have in the collection box in the reception area at School.
Aquagym
459 Cashel St, Ph: 3810299. Learn to swim & Coaching. Aquagym & Sumner Pool. Book now for January holidays and Term1
Mainland Football Outdoor Holiday Programmes
DECEMBER:- Age: 7-14 year olds. Dates: 20th, 21st and 22nd December 2016 Times: 9.00am - 3.00pm Venue: English Park Cost: $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days) 10% discount of second child when registering two or more siblings. JANUARY:- Age: 7-14 year olds. Dates: 25th, 26th and 27th January 2017 Times: 9.00am - 3.00pm Venue: English Park Cost: $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days)
Mainland Futsal Indoor Holiday Programmes
JANUARY: Age: 6-12 year olds. Dates: 23rd, 24th and 25th January 2017 Times: 9.00am - 3.00pm Venue: Pioneer Stadium Cost: $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days)
Canterbury Ballet
Canterbury Ballet is holding its end of year production ‘Sleeping Beauty’ on 8 and 9 December 7pm at the Isaac Theatre Royal. The performance includes the school’s full-time professional programme students, with two students (including the male lead) already having secured professional contracts overseas for next year. Friday performance includes ex-Beckenham School students Ayiana and Chumani Lo-Fo-Wong in the lead female role of Aurora and Bluebird pas de deux/solo respectively. For tickets please contact Jaimita de Jongh on 021 0592328 or jaimita.dejongh@gmail.com.
Science Alive Summer Holiday Programmes
For information and bookings please go to: Tinkerlab
Re: Kowhai Team Orana Park Trip Monday 5 December, 2016
Just a reminder that we are heading to Orana Park on Monday 5th of December, from 9.30am-2.45pm to tie in with our inquiry focus this term. Our students will be learning about how animals adapt to their habitats as they tour the park with a guide.
In order for your child to be able to go on this trip, they must bring the following as this is part of our safety action plan:
School sunhat
School uniform
Sunscreen applied
Water bottle (Named)
A litter-free morning tea and lunch
A warm layer of clothing
Raincoat
Please note there will be no postponement day if the weather is unsuitable. An email message will be sent out at 8am on the day, if the trip is being cancelled.
Thank you for getting your child's amazing costume in to their teacher - what a fantastic assortment of wearable arts we have! The following is our plan for the costumes, so everyone is ready to go on the evening of the performance.
On Wednesday 7th Dec, the day before our Wearable Arts Performance, we will be sending costumes home so most of the children will come to school in their costume on Thursday evening. You are welcome to assist your child into their costume at school if it is a bit tricky for them to get here wearing it.
We will open hubs on Thursday evening at 4:45pm and children will need to be signed in by their parent/caregiver, with their costume by 5:00pm. After the performance, they will also need to be signed out.
Kapa Haka Children If your child is in the Kahikatea Kapa Haka group, they will be getting their Kapa Haka uniform on in Hub 5&6 (the old staffroom). They will also leave their wearable arts costume, named, in that hub to get changed into after their Kapa Haka performance. The only exception to this is if your child is in Hub 3. Their costume will need to be delivered to Jenny so she can take it to the stage wings, as they will need to get changed there straight after their performance. All children will need to sign in with their teacher prior to going over to Hub 5&6.
Hip Hop Crew If your child is in the 'Hip Hop Crew', they are invited to wear dark pants/tights, shorts or denim shorts. If they have a hat or sunglasses, they can wear them for their performance at the end. If you have a plain black or white singlet, t-shirt or long sleeved top at home, can you please send it to school in a named plastic bag, with their shorts and hat and/or sunglasses as soon as possible. We have some spare t-shirts at school if you don't have one. Please let Amy Buick know if you need one. Help! If you are able to assist with costume changing during our performance on the evening, we would be very grateful. Can you please let your child's teacher know if you can.
