Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 10 November, 2023

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Short Week ahead

Please remember that this coming week is a three-day school week, with a Staff Only Day this Thursday 16 Novermber and Canterbury Anniversary Day this Friday 17 November. 

Board Parent Mid-Term Election 2023 - 3 Vacancies

Instruction on how you vote electronically has been distributed by email to eligible whānau. If you have any problems with this process, please contact our Liaison Officer for the Board Election at reihana.dougherty@beckenham.school.nz

Please take the time to read the candidate statements, and cast your vote. Your participation in this process is hugely appreciated, and essential in the appointment of our representatives to our Board, that represent our school community.

Please note that voting closes this coming Wednesday 15 Nov - 4pm

Staffing Update

We are able to share with you now the staffing plan for 2024 (noting that this is always subject to change if individual staff circumstances change between now and the start of the new school year).

We congratulate Bridie Harris on winning a new position at Elmwood Normal School. We have really loved having Bridie on our Year 7/8 Team this year, and we wish her all the very best going forward.

Thomas Woodfield has decided to relinquish his leadership role next year, so we are very pleased to announce that Sarah Junghenn will return to the Year 7/8 team next year as the team leader.

Elizabeth Drummond is 'retiring' from her full-time, permanent teaching role at the end of this year, after over 25 years. We are very fortunate that Elizabeth has agreed to come back during next year in a fixed-term role, to start a New Entrant class as those numbers increase.

Teams for 2024:

Koru NE Team
Stacey McLachlan - Team Leader (no home group)
Georgia McKenna - Home-group Teacher
Elizabeth Drummond - Home-group Teacher (Term 2?)

Kahikatea Year 1/2 Team
Katie McFarlane - Team Leader & Home-group Teacher
Amber Donovan - Home-group Teacher
Ella Rainbow - Home-group Teacher
Quynh Nguyen - Home-group Teacher
Lisa Collier - Literacy Support across the school (no home-group) 

Kōwhai Year 3/4 Team
Anna Reid - Team Leader and release teacher (no home-group)
Rowena Barker - Home-group Teacher
Nick Bruce - Home-group Teacher
Krystal Hunt - Home-group Teacher
Anna McNeill - Home-group Teacher
Charlotte Verity - Home-group Teacher

Pōhutukawa Year 5/6 Team
Steve Cooke - Team Leader & Home-group Teacher
Megan Culver - Home-group Teacher
Rae Marsh - Home-group Teacher
Gayle McNaughton - Home-group Teacher
Laura Williamson - release teacher

Kauri Year 7/8 Team
Sarah Junghenn - Team Leader & Home-group Teacher
Jenny Diggle - Home-group Teacher
Nicky Dunlop - Home-group Teacher
Thomas Woodfield - Home-group Teacher
Georgie Jones - release teacher

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

(you can also find the Community Calendar on our website here)

Wed 15 Nov - 4pm Voting Closes - Board Elections
Thu 16 Nov - School Closed, Staff Only Day
Fri 17 Nov - School Closed, Canterbury Anniversary Day
Mon 20 Nov - Mon 27 Nov - Year 6 Beckenham Cycle Safe
Wed 22 Nov - PTA Meeting, 7.30pm
Fri 24 Nov - Celebration Assembly, 9:10-9:50am, in the Hall
Fri 24 Nov - PTA School Community Picnic, 5.00-7.30pm, Beckenham Park
Fri 1 Dec - Student Council - Celebrating Diversity and Culture Day (non-uniform)
Fri 1 Dec - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Thu 7 Dec - BOT Meeting, 5.30pm, Staffroom
Fri 8 Dec - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Fri 8 Dec - 12:15-3pm, Kahikatea Team trip to Isaac Theatre Royal, Southern Ballet
Mon 11 Dec - 7-8pm Kauri Production, in the Hall
Tue 12 Dec - 7-8pm Kauri Production, in the Hall
Fri 15 Dec - Final Celebration Assembly, 9:45am, in the Hall
Mon 18 Dec - Year 8 Graduation, 11am-12pm
Mon 18 Dec - Year 8 Leavers' Lunch 12:30-1:30pm
Tue 19 Dec - Last Day of Term 4, School finishes at 12.30pm

Term Dates: Click here to view 2023 & 2024 term dates

Citizen of the Week

Soren Durrant - Year 4

Soren, you are an outstanding role model in the Kōwhai hub. You quietly get on with your work and show great focus on any task at hand until it is complete. You are extremely respectful to your peers and teachers alike and you are a loyal and caring friend, always looking out for others' wellbeing. Thank you and ka pai tō mahi, Soren!

PTA News

Let the PTA help you out with your holiday shopping! We've curated a collection of yummy treats that everyone on your list will love and helps raise funds for our school! 

Order forms have been sent home in children's bags or you can order online using this link: Christmas Goodies Fundraiser.  Spare paper forms in school office. 

We have the following delicious range:

Honey from Beebro: 100% NZ Honey - $15.00 each 
Authentic, small-batch honey direct from the farm. Beebro will donate $1 for every jar of honey sold to Mike King's Nutters Club, a nationwide radio show and mental health support group. Three varieties to choose from. 

Naked Baker Fudge Gift Boxes - $6.50 each 
Delicious, creamy fudge available in four flavours and packed in lovely gift boxes. 

Naked Baker Christmas Tarts - $6.00 pack 
A six pack of crispy pastry available in two tasty varieties Traditional or Berry. 

Orders close at 6pm 22 November 2022. 

We will be collecting forms from the flagpole before school Mon-Wed 20-22 November. 

Collection of your yummy treats will be on 8 December at the school hall. 

The PTA thank you for all your support this year

We are also selling delicious panforte again, now in four yummy flavours.  Order panforte here and collect at school on 8th December.

Weetbix TRYathlon

Don't forget we have a School Group set up for those of you who are looking to take part in the Weetbix TRYathlon that is coming around again. Click on the link below to join the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Group when you enter the TRYathlon.  You can also join our School Group, without the link, by using the School Group search functionality when entering online.

Community Picnic

And don’t forget the Community Picnic, on Friday 24th November from 5pm.  We’ll have a Sausage Sizzle, Bouncy Castle and ice blocks.  Looking forward to seeing you all there!

BOT Update

Policy Review

Your feedback on the content (the policy) and implementation (how we follow the policy) promotes discussion with staff and the Board, which helps to evaluate our processes and make changes as needed.

Thank you to all of you who have provided feedback so far on our Term 4 Policies up for review. To do this, follow the instructions below. 

  1. Visit the website https://beckenham.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
  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, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

We had 65 responses on our Term 3 policies, which have been shared with the Board of Trustees, and SchoolDocs for review.

School Notices

School Uniform

Please click this link to see information on our school uniform.

Please note that Crocs and jandals are not part of our school uniform.

The tamariki are doing a great job remembering sunhats this term. Ka pai!

Science in Junior Discovery

Some of the akōnga from Koru and Kahikatea have jumped at the opportunity to learn and do science over recent weeks, during their Learning Through Play or Discovery sessions. 

As part of her science course, Charlotte (Kōwhai team) has been visiting the hubs and sharing science activities, like rocket building, parachutes and loopy fliers. Our focus has been on thinking and being like scientists by observing, sharing ideas, making predictions, testing out our ideas, creating a fair test and even recording our findings. These are key skills in the Nature of Science component of the current science curriculum. Other teachers have been super supportive and responsive to this, and enjoying learning new ways to bring science into Learning Through Play.

Real Estate Signage Needed!

We're after donations of old real estate boards (corflute) to use for Kapa Haka waiata and outside projects. If you are in the real estate industry and can help, please contact Charlotte at charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz. Thanks!

Community Notices

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

Want to add to a Zentangle Collaborative Art project ?

Saturday 25th Nov - Sydenham Rm South Library 10 - 3.30pm
Sunday 26th Nov - Penney Rm, Risingholme Learning 9am- 5pm (carpark ar 99 Hawford Rd)
This Community Art project, using Zentangle patterns to complete a large canvas. All materials and inspiration provided, Come along and add your creativity.

Kahikatea News Term 4 Week 5

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 Kia ora koutou,


It has been wonderful to see the weather starting to warm up! A reminder that all students are required to wear a sunhat for outside play/activities in Term 4. These are kept in hat tubs at school. Students are responsible for ensuring that they look after their own hats and place them back into their homegroup hat tub after break times.

We are also asking that students keep their shoes on at all times (especially outside) unless they are extremely wet/dirty. This helps keep our feet safe and minimises the chance of missing shoes and socks. 

Aotearoa NZ Histories

As part of our Aotearoa NZ Histories Curriculum, the Kahikatea learners have been learning about the first people of Aotearoa and the journey that they undertook to get here. We have been learning about tāngata whenua, Kupe's journey and the waka hourua.

It has been exciting watching this knowledge in our learners develop. 

House Games

Students across the school have been participating in House Games each Monday. It has been a wonderful opportunity for the learners to build team spirit, work with others, and have a great time.







Cashmere Technical Football

We have been fortunate to have some football skills sessions run by Cashmere Technical Football Club. These have been happening on Tuesday (Krystal's & Amber's Homegroups), and Thursday (Katie's & Lisa/Quynh Homegroups) afternoon. 



















Bounce and Skip

The Bounce and Skip monkeys have been having some amazing adventures with our tamariki! We all enjoy seeing what adventures they get up to. We are proud of the wonderful writing efforts of our learners who have taken them home.

When the monkeys come for a visit to your house, please remember to bring them back so they can go on as many adventures as possible.



Ka kite,

Team Kahikatea

Katie, Krystal, Amber, Lisa, Quynh


Kauri Whānau Update: Term 4, Week 5

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In this post:

  • Production dates
  • Zones Day
  • Navigating the Journey
  • Year 8 Leadership
  • Mountain biking photos

Production Dates

Make sure you have Monday and Tuesday of Week 10 marked in your diaries for the Kauri Production: "Oh The Places You'll Go". That's December the 11th and 12th. Tamariki are working hard at dance, drama, music, percussion, and set-making and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.

Zones Day

Thanks Jenny for organising and getting all the kids to Zones Hansens Park. It was great to hear how well our tamariki did with supporting one another and being self-organised to get to and between events. Congratulations to everyone who took part!


Navigating the Journey

This week in Relationships and Sexuality education we discussed rights and responsibilities and how this changes over time as we get older. We also began chatting through identity, especially the difference between your sex and your gender. Please chat with your kids about this and touch base with their homegroup teacher if you have any questions.

Year 8 Leadership 2024

Thank you to all the students who applied for leadership roles next year. We are excited to announce the following:

Student Council Executive
Chairperson:    Harriet
Secretary:        William
Treasurer:        Lewis

Sports Leaders
Harvey, Harper, Clementine, Jaiden

House Captains
Heathcote:    Ollie, Hayzel
Tennyson:    Finn, Isabella
Waimea:       Austin, Bonnie
Fisher:          Corry, Annabelle

House Deputies
Heathcote:    Sharni, Charlie
Tennyson:    Jack, Ashleigh
Waimea:       Alex, Alex
Fisher:          Briana, Spencer

Passions: Mountain Biking

This term, Jenny is running a Mountain Biking passions with a number of students and parents. They had a wonderful time last week at Halswell Quarry.





Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 5

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Kia ora e te whānau, 


Welcome to the Kōwhai team's week 5 blog! 


Transition Plan for 2024

As we near the end of the year, students will no doubt be starting to think about classroom placement for 2024, particularly the Year 4’s who will be moving hubs. To support this transition for our Year 4 students, they will have a couple of opportunities to spend time with the Year 5 students and to meet some of the Year 5/6 teachers. This will involve two Kōwhai teachers taking the Year 4’s to Pōhutukawa for Discovery, while the Year 6’s will come to the Kōwhai hub to spend some tuakana/teina time with Year 3’s. The objective of this is to enable our Year 4 learners to re-establish connections with their Year 5 peers, familiarise themselves with the new hub, and ensure students have a positive transition.  

Inquiry: Ngā manu (birds)

Over the past two weeks, the Kōwhai children have begun learning about birds as part of our inquiry topic. Students have enjoyed learning more about some of New Zealand’s native birds and exploring some of their defining features. There was great conversation around the question, "What makes a bird a bird?", and lots of debate around whether penguins were birds! In the coming weeks, students will have the opportunity to observe birdlife within the Beckenham Te Kura environment and inquire into why these birds are suited to this particular habitat. 

Students have enjoyed looking at the candidates for bird of the century this week and some classes submitted their votes. If you are interested in learning more about this and having your say, follow this link. 

Art

Linking into our inquiry topic: Ngā manu, our art focus for the term is sketching, with a particular focus on the natural world. Students will have opportunities to explore sketching techniques and apply this to different contexts. They will be sketching things in nature, such as plants, birds and insects. We are looking forward to seeing their artistic growth.




Uniform

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed that some students have been wearing non-uniform clothes and footwear to school. While we understand that this is sometimes for a good reason, it is important that, where possible, students are following the dress code for Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. For more information about school uniforms, please visit this link. Thank you for supporting your child to wear the correct uniform.


Being SunSmart

It has been great to see so many children remembering to wear their hats at school, especially with all these sunny days we have been experiencing. Please continue to make sure that your child has a hat at school every day and that it is clearly named. There is always the option of keeping hats at school, either in tote trays or in an allocated hat tub. We also encourage everyone to have sunscreen on. This can be applied before coming to school and we also have sunscreen at school if anyone needs to top up or they forget to put sunscreen on. Thank you so much for your support with this.


Discovery

Here are some pictures of what students have been up to during Discovery:









Have a lovely weekend, 

Ngā mihi nui


Pōhutukawa Update, Term 4, Week 6

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Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all

The first half of the term has sailed past us, and this week you will receive the end-of-year school report for your tamariki. We encourage you to take the time to sit down and read through this with them and celebrate the successes they have had. The General Comment and Learning Posts are from the homegroup teacher and are written directly to your child as a celebration of their work. The report is a wonderful opportunity to read and reflect on 2023 as well as look ahead to next year, be they staying in Pōhutukawa or moving on, and start to think about and discuss together some goals and aspirations they may have for 2024. If you have anything you'd like to discuss please send your home group teacher an email to arrange a time for a call, or to come in for a kōrero, a chat. We have a lot of fantastic things to look forward to as we approach the end of the school year. Please read on for some very important information regarding some education outside of the classroom that requires your attention.

Polynesian Navigators Inquiry and Minecraft Education 

This term for our Inquiry topic we have been learning about how Polynesian navigators used (and still use) mātauranga, knowledge passed down through generations, such as the movement of stars, tide and wind patterns, and of bird migrations to help them safely sail the vast Moana Nui a Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean.

In keeping with our concept of Innovation, we are also taking a deep dive into the amazing boat-building technology of the Polynesians, specifically the waka hourua, the great double-hulled waka that brought the first people to Aotearoa. Students have been exploring how to use Minecraft Education as a tool for designing and building a waka hourua. We look forward to sharing some of the end-results of the learning, soon

There has been so much learning happening for everyone around this fascinating topic already, and we encourage you to ask the students what they now understand about the technology and navigation of the early Polynesian people, He taonga te ako - the treasure is learning.

Kōtuitui Football Update

Over the past 3 weeks the students have been enjoying the Kōtuitui football programme coordinated by New Zealand Football. It's been wonderful to see all the students participating in the sport and developing their skills under the guidance of a coach from Mainland Football. We hope you enjoy some photos of the sessions.

Parent Help Needed - MASH Tough Kid - (Delivered by Primary Sports Canterbury)

On Wednesday 6th December from 12 pm - 3 pm, the Pōhutukawa team will be traveling to South Brighton Domain to take part in a fun-filled obstacle course along with other schools from all around the Canterbury region. MASH Tough Kid is an urban-style obstacle course for primary & intermediate-aged students. Obstacles include tire runs, hurdle jumps, water slides, hay bale climbs, and more. This will be a fantastic way to celebrate the end of a wonderful year with the tamariki, which has indeed had its challenges.

 Our focus for the trip will be on participation and will be doing everything we can to support all the tamariki to partake in the course up to wherever their point of challenge lies. Here is a short introductory video that we watched with the tamariki today to whet their appetite.

For this trip to go ahead, we will need the support of whānau. If you can come along and help us on the day, please email your home group teacher. Thank you in advance for the tautoko, support to ensure this is an awesome end-of-year celebration for all. We look forward to hearing from you!

Year 6 whānau (only) - Cycle Safe begins next week

Next week all of our Year 6 students will be taking part in the Cycle Safe Programme at school, which entails them riding their bikes around Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto, and on local roads, whilst supervised.

Your child will be participating in this course during one of the following three sessions:

Session 1 - Monday 20th November & Tuesday 21st November

Session 2 - Wednesday 22nd November & Thursday 23rd November 

Session 3 - Friday 24th November & Monday 27th November

Your child/ren will be bringing a notice home this week outlining the session/dates that they will be participating.

On these days, students should bring the following to school:

  • Their bicycle (in good working order)

  • Their helmet (in good working order)

  • A lock to secure these items to the school bike racks                                                                                                                                   

Please ensure that your child comes to school on these days wearing suitable clothing for the weather.

If it rains and it is unsuitable for the children to go out on their cycles, the remaining sessions will be classroom-based.  

For those who do not have their own, a number of bicycles and helmets are available through the programme.

Have a great week, kia pai te wiki.


The Pōhutukawa Team