Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 9

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Kia ora whānau,

We are now nearing the end of Term 3 and we are so happy to be enjoying the lovely Spring weather!

Talent Quest

Over the past few weeks, Kathryn has been auditioning the Kōwhai talent quest hopefuls and it was great to see so many Kōwhai children take part! Kathryn was very impressed with everyone's different talents. This week, we held our own Kōwhai Talent Quest and 3 finalists were chosen to take part in the whole school Talent Quest next Friday afternoon. Congratulations to comedian, Leo Hynes; gymnasts, Chloe Sayer, Lucy Lee and Vienna Aldridge and singer, Meera Verma, also known as Cupcake. Everyone who took part was outstanding so well done to all of you!



Writing

We are currently focusing on writing information reports. The children are learning about the structure of an information report and how to present the information they gather in a clear and organised manner, making it easy for the reader to understand. This will be our focus until the end of term. Please do take the opportunity to ask your child what topic they have been writing about.




Technology

We are approaching the end of our technology inquiry and have been incredibly engaged in designing and creating balloon racers. Students have been testing out their models and making modifications to see if they can get them to travel even further. It has been really interesting to see which features on our balloon racers help or hinder their progress, and how this relates to the key science ideas we covered in our ramps and marbles learning earlier this year. 

Big ideas: 
  • Environmental factors can change how an object moves (e.g. wind, moving down a ramp or rough surface etc.), as can changing the materials or shape of an object.

  • Forces include pushes, pulls and twists.

  • Air can be used to create a push (e.g., a leaf blower) or pull (e.g., a vacuum) force.

  • Friction is another force that can slow things down. Wheels help overcome friction. 

  • Scientists complete more than one test of a design or experiment to make sure their findings are accurate and can be trusted. Scientists record their results.



PB4L

Our PB4L focus this week is LEARNING and we are particularly focusing on being in the right place at the right time, actively listening and taking pride in our work, making sure we do our best every single time. Our word of the week is CO-OPERATION and the children have been watching various videos on teamwork. We have been talking about how cooperation means working together to get things done. 


Some of the Kōwhai children demonstrating co-operation:



Fleeces/Jumpers

We are experiencing difficulty in returning fleeces and jumpers to their rightful owners as the names are not always legible and sometimes the name of the previous owner is still written on the label. We would love your support with naming all of them clearly. If they are second hand fleeces or jumpers, please score the previous names out and clearly write your child's name in. We also have students who are missing their fleeces and jumpers. Please can you also check that your child hasn't inadvertently taken the wrong fleece or jumper home. We really appreciate your help with this.

Hats

We are now starting to prepare for Term 4 and we are back to wearing hats outside at all times. Please could you ensure that your child has a named hat ready for the first day of Term 4 as they will not be able to participate in outdoor activities without it. Thank you so much for your support with this.

Library Visits Next Term

We are currently organising visits to the South Library next term to learn about our local community, explore the Canterbury Stories exhibit and to hear the story of the South Library, from the days of the Māori up until the upcoming rebuild and the effect this has had on Beckenham as a community. It will be a very interesting and informative experience. 

We would love some parent help for this so we wanted to give you a heads up regarding the dates involved. Each homegroup will be going on a different day. Please see below for the different dates involved:
  • Monday 16th October 1:25-2:50pm = Anna R

  • Tuesday 17th October 1:25-2:50pm = Anna M

  • Wednesday 18th October 1:25-2:50pm = Rowe

  • Tuesday 24th October 1:25-2:50pm = Charlotte

  • Wednesday 25th October 1:25-2:50pm = Nick


If you are interested in coming, please let your child's homegroup teacher know. We only have a certain amount of spaces so we will get back to you at the beginning of next term to confirm if you will be needed or not. Thank you! N.B. This trip is not suitable for pre-schoolers.

Athletics Day

On Thursday 26th October next term (Week 3) we will be running a whole school Athletics Day to which you are welcome to come and support your child/children. There will be more information to follow next term.


Structured Literacy Books

Finally, we are needing all the structured literacy books that have been sent home to be handed back by the end of this term. Please make sure that all of them are returned as soon as you can. 

Thank You

We would like to take the opportunity to thank your children for all their hard work this term. It has been a busy time but there has been a lot of fantastic learning along the way. Thank you to you as parents and caregivers for all you do to support us and your children. We get there together!

Koru Team News: Term 3, Week 9

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 Kia ora, e te whānau,

It's been a very busy couple of weeks for us all in the Koru team, as we come close to the end of Term 3. We have had new children start throughout the last couple of weeks, and they have settled in beautifully! Over the last few weeks, we have had some exciting opportunities for our Koru children, including a cricket awareness session, Keeping Ourselves Safe sessions with Constable Meg, and Te Wiki o te reo Māori (Māori Language Week). We have our Beckenham's Got Talent Show coming up on Friday Week 10, and have some of our children performing. The tamariki did an awesome job showcasing their talents at our mini Koru Talent Showcase. 

Mini Koru Talent Showcase highlights:

Three bananas performing...

The bananas escape from the ravenous dinosaur!

Why is 6 scared of 7?

Take a bow!

The 'second hand' shop joke!

Our flexible friends!

Bridges and handstands...



Tricks with hula hoops.


Great spinning skills!


Te Wiki o te reo Māori:

Last week was Māori language week. We have included some cool activities for the tamariki based on different aspects of te reo Māori. This included learning the names of colours and colouring in a rainbow, singing waiata, making bookmarks that had kowhaiwhai patterns on them, and learning new kupu. It has been an awesome week!!


Cricket:

On Thursday 7th September, each home group had an awesome 25 minute cricket awareness session with Cat, from Southern Districts Cricket Club. This was a great opportunity for our tamariki to participate in, and they all enjoyed themselves enormously. The children learnt different skills based on throwing, catching and batting. All the children were engaged and had such a great time! We will be sending out more information soon about skills sessions that are held on Saturdays at the club. 


Keeping Ourselves Safe:

This term as part of our Health Curriculum, teams are teaching the programme called Keeping Ourselves Safe, in Years 0 - 6. In the units, our Koru children have been looking at: 

- describing where they live; identifying things that make them special and explaining when they feel safe and unsafe

- learning to use the correct names for body parts and describing whether a touch is one they like, one they don’t like, or one that is confusing

- learning to say ‘no’ to touch, behaviour and words that worry or confuse them and talking about moving away and seeking help

- identifying the difference between good surprises and bad secrets

- identifying people they trust and understanding family safety rules. 

We have been working with the children these last 2 weeks on our Keeping Ourselves Safe programme and you may have noticed the children have brought home some homework sheets to complete. A reminder that these sheets can stay at home once completed. It has been really awesome to have discussions with the children about their address, their phone numbers, different feelings we may have, and what to do if they get lost. We were also lucky to have 2 sessions with Constable Meg where we discussed what a police officer is, the different body parts, and talking about good touch, bad touch and confusing touch.  If you have any questions about any of this programme, please come and chat to one of the kaiako. 

Reminders:

  • A reminder that we are a water bottle school, and prefer it if the children drink water throughout the day, rather than flavoured milk or juice.
  • Next week is the last week of Term 3. 
  • Calendar Art: We have sent home the information sheets with the code you need to use if you wish to order your child's calendar art. This is only for Elizabeth, Stacey and Georgia's home groups. Please check the photos on the windows to see the awesome work your child has done. 

Some helpful links:
  • Click on these links and join in as your children sing one of their favourite songs, Sprinkle a Little Sunshine (here with the lyrics, and here, without, but with very cute images instead!)
  • For those new families to the Koru team, a link through to the National Anthem which we sing each morning - your children are doing an awesome job with this, participating and trying their very best each morning
  • Clicking here will take you to a variety of links for those of you who would like to read more about The Science of Reading and Structured Literacy.
All best for a lovely last week of term!
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Georgia, Sarah, Elizabeth and Stacey



Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 8 Sep 2023

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Next Week

Kapa Haka
Christchurch South Library has invited our Te Whānau Kapa Haka Rōpū to perform as part of their programme of events celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori next week. 

We have a performance slot starting at 5p.m. on Tuesday the 12th. 

We would love to see some of our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto whānau there to support our tamariki.

The performance will last between 15 and 20 minutes and will be a diverse showcase of the waiata and haka that the group has been practising. 

Strum Strike Blow

On Wednesday night Beckenham Ukelele and Recorder students took part in the amazing "Strum, Strike, Blow" performance at the Wolfbrook Arena, along with over 800 other students from Canterbury schools.

A special thanks to those whānau who helped make this a success with transport support for rehearsals, and to Roger and Josie, who have put a lot of time and effort into supporting musical opportunity and talent within our kura.

I will be away at the annual New Zealand Principals' Conference from Monday to Wednesday this coming week. 
Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

NB: You can find our Community Calendar on our school website. You can embed this calendar into your own digital calendar and stay up-to-date with events and information.

Tue 12 Sep - Te Whānau Kapa Haka Performance at Christchurch South Library, 5pm
Wed 13 Sep - Year 5-8 Choir - Music Festival Rehearsal
Wed 13 Sep- Year 8 Student and Parent Evening at Cashmere High, 6-7pm
Thu 14 Sep - am - Year 8 entrance testing at Cashmere High
Fri 15 Sep - School Photos
Wed 20 Sep - 7:30pm - PTA Meeting
Thu 21 Sep - 5:30pm - BOT Meeting - Staffroom
Fri 22 Sep - Final day for PTA Calendar Art orders
Fri 22 Sep - 10am Celebration Assembly
Fri 22 Sep - 1:45pm Beckenham's Got Talent!
Fri 22 Sep - Final day of Term 3
Mon 9 Oct - First day of Term 4

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

Citizen of the Week

Clara Shaw - Year 4

Clara, the positivity and enthusiasm that you bring to Kōwhai Hub every day is infectious! You are someone who leads by example, displaying our school Kete in all that you do. Your caring nature, sense of humour, and willingness to help out whenever you see a need makes a difference to our hub. Tēnā rawa atu koe Clara, keep shining!

School Notices

Keep New Zealand Beautiful Clean up Week; 11th - 15th September 2023

Who wants to be a Plogger?
Plogging is a combination of 'jogging' with 'picking up litter', merging the Swedish verbs 'plocka upp' (pick up) and 'jogga' (jog) gives the new Swedish verb 'plogga', from which the word plogging derives.

Everyone will get a chance to plog next week when it is Keep New Zealand Beautiful Clean Up week.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at lunchtime there will be buckets and tongs available for any and all ākonga and kaimahi (students and staff) who want to plog and get Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto 100% litter free!
See you by the flagpole!

Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori - Māori Language Moment

Te Āo Māori is celebrated and embraced every week within our kura, from waiata to karakia in the mornings, the way our tamariki embrace Mātauranga Māori each day is truly inspiring. Here are some new and exciting opportunities happening at kura, and some ideas for your whānau to explore together.

Tapu Ae!

We have a freshly painted Tapu Ae court in the Parenga/Pūkaki courtyard. Thank you so much to Gayle and Jenny for the organisation. 

This game is a hit with the kids, and relatively easy to teach and learn. 

We are just waiting on the middle path (te ara) to be painted, but the game can definitely still be played on the court as it is. 

Here is a link to a clip about how to play:


Resources

There are many different ways to upskill and embrace learning in ways that suit the way you learn, below are some great resources with different ideas for you and your whānau to explore together. Thanks to Steve for sharing these resources, and Tapu Ae details with us. We Get There Together, and this includes our learning journeys!
A simple yet great resource is Te Aka (The Māori Dictionary), where you can find the translation and meaning of a word by entering it in English or te reo Māori. Te reo Māori is a spoken language, and Te Aka offers a button to hear how a word is pronounced. This is a great way to learn the correct pronunciation of a word if you are unsure. Try it out using our hub, or kura names!


Cashmere High School Q&A Evening 

Please remember to RSVP here if you are a whānau with a Year 8 student headed for Cashmere High School in 2024, and plan to attend the Q&A session with CHS Principal, Joe Eccleton.

If you have any queries please contact Bianca Edmonds, Principal's PA - pa@cashmere.school.nz

Staff Profiles

Nau mai haere mai ki te Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto kaimahi... Anita Baker

We have welcomed another new face to our Beckenham Staff, and we are very excited to introduce Anita Baker who joins us on our Teaching Assistant team, supporting ākonga across our kura.


I’m Anita, a mum of 2 young boys. I love running, baking, coffee, and keeping fit. I’m looking forward to supporting the kids at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto.

Sports News

School Duathlon Results

All children who participated in our school duathlon deserve to be very proud of their achievements. The course is a test of endurance and requires competitors to show perseverance and a love of challenge. It was really impressive to see how competitors supported and encouraged each other throughout the race. 

Year 5 Champions: Ben Stoney and Laura Stoney 

Year 6 Champions: Lily Miller and Kawa Taylor

Year 7 Champions: Jack Sayer and Isabella Guise

Year 8 Champions: Ella Coleman and Cahlen Stace

Canterbury Duathlon

On Monday, a group of children represented our kura at the Canterbury Duathlon. This course is even more challenging than the school duathlon with a 3km run and a bike of up to 9 km. The highlight for many is riding their bike along the Ruapuna Raceway.

I think this might have been our most successful Canterbury Duathlon yet!

For context, there are around 100 competitors in each race. We are super proud of all our competitors. Here are the results from the top 30. 

Lily Miller - 1st in Year 6 girls
Ben Stoney - 4th in Year 5 open
Laura Stoney - 6th in Year 5 girls
Izzy Clarke - 15th in Year 5 girls
Ella Coleman - 16th in Year 8 girls
Zach Guise - 20th in Year 5 open
Isabella Guise - 20th in Year 6 girls
Annabelle Smith - 21st in Year 7 girls
Kawariki Taylor - 26th in Year 6 open

Huxter Mountain Bike Relay Race


This event has been a very popular event in previous years for children who love biking. It is open to Year 5 to 8 children. Transport to this event and supervision during the event needs to be organised by caregivers. There will not be a teacher from kura at this event. 

If you wish for your child to be entered in this event, please fill out the following form linked here. The entry fee of  $25 for a team or $15 for an individual needs to be paid to the office upon registering your child.

PTA News

Readathon Fundraiser

A big thank you to everyone for the fabulous reading, costumes, and support for the annual Readathon.  We raised a magnificent $5160!  We will be able to buy lots of new books for the library, as well as some new games for the hubs. 

Upcoming Events

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!

The Weetbix TRYathlon is coming around again and we have created a School Group. Click on this link 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.


Notes from the organisers:
Sign up now for the OPENING WEEK SPECIAL, be sure you use the code ‘GIVEITATRY’ to unlock this VERY SPECIAL $25 discounted price. Limited entries, ONLY 100 entries per event at this price will be available so make sure you get in quick!

If someone you know requires financial assistance to enter the TRYathlon, should it be subsidised entry fees or funding for necessary equipment, then you can apply to the Weet-Bix TRYathlon Foundation for assistance. Visit www.tryathlon.co.nz/foundation for details.

BOT Update

Please note the next Board of Trustees meeting date has changed from Wednesday the 20th September, to Thursday the 21st of September. To be held in the Staff Room at 5:30p.m.

Community Notices

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


Cashmere High School Music presents Off to Oz a farewell concert for the Music tour to Sydney.

Tickets available from eventbrite

Pōhutukawa Update, Term 3, Week 8

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Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,

Last week we finished our Keeping Ourselves Safe programme with a look at "Why should I tell?", where students learn to stop inappropriate touch or behaviour, say “no” confidently, move away, and report what has happened.

Overall, we have been really impressed with the thoughtfulness and maturity of the students during this programme. Children need abuse prevention education throughout their schooling, as their needs and experiences change. They need to have the opportunity to practise skills and to have the learning reinforced. Thank you for continuing these conversations and discussions at home. The final homework activity to do with your tamariki is below.

Coming up in the next 3 weeks we have a planting day (this Wednesday), a speech competition, Inquiry presentations, and a talent show to finish another busy term. There is some important information about all of this below, so please thank you for taking the time to read on.

Planting Day with the Christchurch City Council

We have some more planting to do! As part of our ongoing kaitiakitanga/guardianship of our Beckenham Ponds, the Pōhutukawa students will again have the opportunity to work alongside Christchurch City Council and plant some native trees and shrubs down at the ponds. This is our 4th year of planting down at ngā pūroto, and it is a tangible opportunity to show our school kete value We Care - Arohaina te tangata me te taiao, we care for people and the environment they live in which is inclusive of community.

We plan to do the planting this Wednesday 6 September from 9:00 am - 12:30 pm. We'd like to request that the tamariki bring their gumboots, or a pair of old shoes that they don't mind getting muddy. If the weather is wet, we will postpone.

Create a Culture - Resources from Home

This term as part of our inquiry into the concept of  'Innovation', we are investigating how to create a unique culture by naming and designing the following: physical features of their country, flag, food, language, clothing, holidays, government, Laws and Consequences, sport, school, and artworks. Our next step is to display their 'Create a Culture' project. Students have been given the task of choosing a non-digital form of presentation, such as (but not limited to) a poster, diorama, mobile, or brochure. This week we are inviting students to bring in whatever resources they may need from home in order to work on their presentations. Thank you for your support with this.

Pōhutukawa Speech Competition and 'Beckenham's Got Talent'

As some of you will no doubt be aware, the students have been working very hard on their speeches over the past 3 weeks. The students have been able to choose whether they would like to present their speech to the home group, or a smaller group if they would prefer. It's been wonderful to see the students diligently planning and crafting their speeches,  with many also putting in some extra mahi, work at home too.

Next week they will be presenting their speeches, and we will conduct a Speech Final to award the Megan McLachlan Year 5 - 6 Speech Cup. Nau mai te wero, embrace the challenge!

Also, there are a number of students ready to show us their hidden (or not-so-hidden) talents at the end-of-term talent show. We are holding auditions this week for the illustrious privilege of representing our team at the whole-school 'Beckenham's Got Talent' extravaganza which will be held on the last day of term.

Thank you for supporting our budding performers in their preparations for both of these competitions.

Keeping Ourselves Safe Homework Activity

In Keeping Ourselves Safe we have been talking about who children can go to for help if they feel
unsafe or worried. Reinforce the following messages with your child.


● You must tell someone if other people make you feel unsafe, worried or scared.
● If the first person doesn’t help, go on telling until someone listens and takes action.
● You can always come to me and I will listen and help you.

Work with your child to complete a drawing similar to the harakeke drawing attached. Give
specific names and contact details where you can.

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 7

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Kia ora whānau,

It has been another busy fortnight in the Kōwhai Team.


Keeping Ourselves Safe

Over the last two weeks, most homegroups have had a Keeping Ourselves Safe lesson with Constable Meg Moynihan, our local Police School Community Officer. The children were excited to see a police officer in the hub and had many questions for her.

Our current Keeping Ourselves Safe focuses are:

Focus area 2: My body is my own, Nōku tōku tinana 

In this focus area, students learn the names of body parts and that no one should touch their genitals unless it is for health reasons. They consider touch that they like, touch that hurts and touch that is confusing. 

Focus area 3: Unwanted behaviour and touch, Kore e hiahiatia te whanonga me te pā kino

In this focus area, students learn about saying “no” confidently, moving away, and reporting what has happened to an adult they trust. They also learn the difference between good secrets and bad secrets.

Balloon Racers

The children have been busy using the design process to plan and construct balloon-powered racing cars. Here are the steps of the design process that the children are following:
  1. Define the problem/need.
  2. Research your problem and come up with ideas you have for solving it. 
  3. Create a prototype. 
  4. Trial and improve the prototype.
  5. Reflect.
Here are some photos of their progress:





Reading Books

If your child is in a reading group that takes a reading book home, please support them to return their book to school on time. One easy way to help with this at home is to coach your child to always put their reading folder and book back in their bag as soon as they have finished reading their book. This way their book should always come back to school. Thanks for your support in this.


Positive Behaviour For Learning - Friendship

As part of our Positive Behaviour For Learning (PB4L) programme, the children learn different strategies for maintaining positive behaviour, improving their well-being and increasing their educational achievement.

We have a different PB4L focus each week. This week's focus has been on friendship. As part of this, the children have been learning about what a good friend looks like, sounds like and feels like.

Have a lovely weekend. 

Ngā mihi, 

The Kōwhai Team