Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Building  site health and safety update

Managing health and safety on our Beckenham building site has continued to take much of my attention this week. We are aware that access from Norwood St into both the school and the park continues to be challenging for pedestrians, especially those with prams, pushchairs, toddlers, dogs and cycles. We are working very closely, on a daily basis with the site team, to be as responsive and proactive as we can and getting this right, for the duration of the building programme, is a top priority. It isn't right yet, and it may take a couple of weeks or more to get it absolutely working the way we want it to, so we ask for your patience during this time. We are very aware of the need to keep pedestrians and vehicles separated for safety reasons. We also know that people don't want to have to walk through wet grass and mud for the next 18 months to be able to access the park.
Again - please can you be patient with us on the wet, muddy aspect and ensure that the safety part is adhered to whilst we work on trying to get council permission to put a path alongside the road track, for pedestrians!

Learning in and out of the classrooms

We have had lots of children involved in learning outside the classroom this week, with all of our Year 5 and 6 children visiting Rapaki Marae for the first time. Our Year 7/8 students will visit next week. They had an amazing time and we plan to make this a regular part of our school programme.


Our Year 7 and 8 students had a 'Big Day Out' in the city yesterday, visiting an exhibition called ‘Art in the Palm of Your Hand’ at the Canterbury Museum, Quake City and taking part in an activity at the Botanical Gardens.

Our Year 1 and 2 team learning groups have each taken a trip to the Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens over the past two weeks and it has been wonderful to hear about their experiences.

Thank you to all of the whānau who assist staff on these trips - without you we wouldn't be able to take the children out of school for these amazing learning opportunities.

Year 4 parents - meeting at Champion St next Wednesday evening

Year 4 parents should have received an email this week, inviting you to visit our site at 102 Champion St next Wednesday, 9th November from 7-8pm for a familiarisation meeting.
If you have any particular questions you would like addressed at that meeting, please email them to me at principal@beckenham.school.nz or give me a call before then.

Ferndale Satellite Class parking 

Tony is putting cones out each morning and afternoon at the bottom of Sandwich Road to ensure that there is a parking spot for the Ferndale taxi van, and for Ferndale parents who need to drop their children off. These vehicles do have mobility parking permits and need to be able to drop the children at the closest point to their classroom. Thank you all in advance for understanding that these are particular needs and for ensuring that this parking spot is available and that the users of this spot are made to feel welcome.

Enjoy your weekend

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Sharing our Learning

Pohutukawa Team

We have had a fantastic start to the NEW term at our NEW location, Champion Street!




One of the awesome pieces of learning we have been able to do in our new learning environment was the annual Pohutukawa probability fair. The children spent the first two weeks planning and creating a probability game where they had to stack the odds in their favour. The result was a thriving probability fair full of fun, laughter and best of all MATHS!

PTA News

A BIG thank you to all the people who have offered to help with the Tip Top Fundraiser next week.
All shifts are now FULL. If you want to be ‘back up’ for a shift, please click on the Tip Top Link
We hope to get your passes to you at the beginning of next week.
Make sure you come & see us at the A & P Show.....& buy an ice cream!!

Sports News

Canterbury triathlon

The Canterbury triathlon is being held at Pegasus Bay on Thursday 1 December for students 9 years and older. The age group you race in is as of 1 Jan this year, so students must be already 9 years old on January 1 2016 to be eligible. This is an individual event, which means each participant must do all three disciplines - bike, run and swim. As this is a Canterbury event, participants need to be very competent and confident in all three disciplines.
Swim is 75 metres for 9 and 10 years, 100metres for 11 and 12+ years.
This swim is in the lake and it will be deep enough to be over students’ heads in parts. Guards from a local surf lifesaving club will be on duty. The temperature may also be quite cold.
Cycle is 5.4 km for 9 & 10 yrs, 10.8 km for 11 & 12+ yrs. These distances may change slightly.
Run is 2.5 kilometres
Students will need to be able to get themselves and their bike to Pegasus Bay by 9:30 on the morning. If transport there (and back) is going to be difficult, please contact Tracy who will try to help out by contacting other competitors.
If students are interested in entering this event, they are to let their teacher know, and they will record their name on a document, or contact Tracy.

Y 5-8 Athletics

We breathed a sigh of relief as Monday dawned, displaying blue skies and clear weather! A perfect day for the Y 5 - 8 team to participate in their athletics at Beckenham Park. The children competed in age groups, as of 1 October 2016, in sprints, high jump, shot put and discus. Long jump and the long distance races were run at Champion St on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was fabulous to see such a high participation level, superb sportsmanship and so much support for peers. Thank you to the amazing parent help from Pania Radnoty, Desiree Smythe, Sonja Sintmaartensdyk, Rod Gray and John Aramowicz. The day ran very smoothly thanks to all of the teachers and their organisation. It’s a big day! Congratulations to all the students who participated in all the events, earning house points and special congratulations to the following students for placing first in their age group for these events:

First Place Getters:


To  find the champion of each age group, points are allocated for the first four placings in each event and then accumulated. A huge congratulations to these students who have placed first in their age group overall:

School Notices

Community Notices

DO YOUR KIDS WANT A SHAKE DOWN BEFORE THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS TRIATHLON?
The weekend before our primary schools triathlon at Pegasus there is the House of Travel Triathlon Festival.
For more details www.triathlonfestival.co.nz
The swim and bike are the same as for the primary schools triathlon so it is an ideal warm up / trial run. The run is the same but in the opposite direction.
There is also options for younger kids from 5 years up over a shorter course.
If you can insert the following note into school newsletters it would be appreciated by John Newsom who runs the event and helps us with our event

DO YOUR KIDS WANT TO TRY A TRIATHLON?
If your kids want a challenge the House of Travel Triathlon is coming up on November 27th
There are events for all ages starting at 5 years and up.
For more details and entry visit www.triathlonfestival.co.nz

John Newsom
 Tel +64-3-6692216
 coachjohnnewsom.com
IMTalk podcast www.imtalk.me
HOT Triathlon Festival