Kauri Whānau Update: Term 4, Week 3

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 In this post:

  • House Games
  • Memories
  • Year 7 Leadership
  • Athletics Day
  • Whale Rider
  • Uniform
  • Sexuality Education
  • Music Festival
  • Fairy Doors

House Games

This Monday afternoon we have House Games. Students are encouraged to wear their house shirts for this. We're looking forward to seeing what the House Captains and Deputies have organised!

Year 8 Photos and Memories

We are missing at least 15 five-year-old photos which need to be sent through to Nicky this weekend. There are also a few memories that need to be written. Please remind tamariki to check whether they have a friend memory to write and if they've written it. If these are not done over the weekend it is likely that they will unfortunately be missed out of the Yearbook.

Year 7 Leadership

We talked through the google form application for Leadership positions in 2024. This is due at the end of next week (Friday Nov. 3rd), but if ākonga are interested in any of the positions, they will should chat with whānau as part of their application process.

Athletics Day

We had a fantastic day on Thursday with tamariki engaging with the challenge and fun that comes with Athletics Day. Our awesome seniors, alongside whānau, efficiently helped with the setup and packdown and we appreciate the extra time and effort put in to support this day. 

The final event for our Year 5 to 8 students is Long Jump, which is optional and will take place at Hillview Christian School after lunch this Tuesday afternoon. If you are able to help run this event, please get in touch with Jenny.

We are underway for our Term 4 Passions. Here are some photos from the fairy doors passion where they are using tiles to mosaic doors. 

Whale Rider

We are coming to the end of a novel study of Witi Ihimaera's The Whale Rider for three of our Literacy classes have been working through, and to wrap it up we will be watching the 2002 movie which is based on the book. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Thomas in the first instance. You can see more about the movie via the Common Sense Media page.

Uniform Reminder

Over the weekend and through the next week, please check you child's uniform as uniform that is defaced is no longer correct uniform. This particularly seems to be an issue with hats. We will be keeping an eye out and will email whānau if needed.

Sexuality Education

In lieu of the parent information evening planned for after school on Tuesday which did not go ahead, please see the attached slideshow. If you have any questions about the teaching and learning that will take place over the next few weeks as part of this curriculum, please get in touch with your child's homegroup teacher in the first instance.

Music Festival

On Friday evening next week our Year 5 to 8 choir will be performing in the Town Hall as part of the Christchurch School's Music Festival. We wish them all the best for this, and are sure they will do an excellent job given all the hard work they've put in during practices. Extra  best wishes to Isabelle P and Freyja S who will be performing every evening of the festival as part of the Concert Band and Senior Representative Choir, respectively.

Fairy Doors

We were thrilled that the men from the St Martins Menzshed cut, sanded, painted, and hinged the basis for our fairy doors, which is one of our current Friday afternoon passions groups. Many thanks to the people who supplied baking for our thank you gift. While it all looked delicious, we can assure you that it did end up in the right hands! You can see some of the work that has begun on the fairy doors in the photos below.








Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 3

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Kia ora whānau,

Here is an update on what we have been doing in the Kōwhai hub over the past two weeks.

Christchurch South Library Visits

Over the past two weeks, all the homegroups in Kōwhai have been on a trip to South Christchurch Library to learn about the history of the library and what the new build will look like after the earthquake irreparably damaged the current building. We were shown a slideshow on how the library evolved over the years and we ended up seeing an architect's drawing of the new library which is yet to be built. It was a really interesting experience and the children were fascinated!

        

The children then went on a scavenger hunt round the library to learn about the different areas in the library and what they are for. They also had to look for information and answer various questions. It was a fun activity while being educational at the same time.

We would just like to thank all the parent helpers who came along on the trip. We could not have done this without you. We would also like to thank Kerilea, our teacher aide, who came to support us on all of our visits.








Athletics Day

This week we held our whole school Athletics Day and it was great to see everyone out on the park participating in their various events and disciplines. In the Kōwhai team, all the homegroups had 5 rotations: high jump, long jump, discus, shot put and sprints. It was amazing to see everyone give it a go and doing their very best. Congratulations to you all!











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 do 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.

Have a great weekend!


Kura News Website

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 Ngā mihi e te whānau,

In the Pōhutukawa team this year we are thrilled to have some budding journalists, Billy, Chester, Jensen, and Tom.

These keen reporters have created a news site, that they keep regularly updated with news articles about latest comings and goings at kura. We're really pleased to be able to share their mahi with you here.  https://sites.google.com/beckenham.nz/kuranews/home  

Well done, team, you are really living our Kete values with your contributions to school life. Tau ke, awesome!


Pōhutukawa Update, Term 4, Week 3

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

It's been a wonderful start to the term as we settle back into our routines. Term 4 is a very busy term, and we have some exciting events coming up that require your attention, and parent help. Please read the information below. Thank you as always for your support, and for speaking with your tamariki about these events to prepare for, and look ahead to what will be a busy, active, and fun-filled end to the year!

Athletics Day Tomorrow

We have enjoyed the warm weather of the first 2 weeks and have been busy preparing for our school Athletics Day tomorrow. The students have been learning and practising 4 events: high jump, sprints, shotput, and discus. All the students have had 2 sessions of each discipline to ready them for the big day tomorrow.

It looks like it will be a very hot day, so thank you for remembering to prepare your child to be out in the sun for most of the day. We look forward to seeing many of you here to cheer them on. The schedule for tomorrow is as follows:

TIMEYEAR 5YEAR 6
9:20Mid-Distance Race (optional)Mid-Distance Race (optional)
10:00High JumpShotput
11:00SprintsHigh Jump
11:50DiscusSprints
1:20ShotputDiscus
2:00Sprint Finals and House RelaySprint Finals and House Relay

Cycle Safe (Year 6 Only)

During weeks 6 and 7 of this term our Year 6 students will be involved in the Cycle Safe Programme provided by the Christchurch City Council. Cycle Safe is a cycle skills education programme for schools. Students learn the benefits of cycling and how to ride with confidence and be road-wise. All Year 6 students will participate in this course and the instructors cater to all cycling abilities.

You can find out more information about the programme here https://ccc.govt.nz/transport/getting-around/getting-to-school/resources-for-schools/cyclesafe/

If your child is in Year 6, they will be coming home with a permission slip today to be returned to school by Monday 30th October.

If you have any questions about the programme, please get in touch with your homegroup teacher.

Kōtuitui Football Programme

Starting next week and running on Monday and Tuesday afternoons for the next 3 weeks we are excited to be offering the students a football programme coordinated by New Zealand Football. Kōtuitui is an integrated unit of work that supports ākonga (students) to use the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ as a context for connecting to others in our bicultural and multicultural society. The programme will provide ākonga with the skills and knowledge to connect to cultures other than their own, both in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the globe. There is no preparation needed for this, and the students will just have to wear their normal school uniform and running shoes. If students would like to bring along their football boots and shin pads, they are welcome to do so, however, the programme will be delivered as an introduction to the 'beautiful game' with no experience or special gear required.

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. 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.

In order for this trip to go ahead, we will need the support of whānau. If you are able to come along and help us on the day, (or would even fancy taking part with your tamariki in the race itself!) 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!

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto – School Newsletter Friday 20 October 2023

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

We have been watching with horror, the events that have been unfolding in Israel and Gaza over the past two weeks and recognise that this conflict is likely to continue to take a significant toll on lives in that region for some time to come. Our thoughts go out to all of you who have whānau, friends and colleagues in this area. 

Considerations for home-group placement for 2024

As we start to put together home groups for 2024, we know that you may hold particular information or insight that you want to share that will support the placement of your child for next year.
While our teachers hold a lot of knowledge and understanding around the needs of our children, we are keen to also know if there is anything particular you think we should be aware of as we make these decisions.
As you will appreciate, putting home groups together is a hugely complex puzzle where the needs of all children need to be carefully considered. This means that we are not asking for 'requests' for teachers or for friendship groups as we would never be able to meet all of those. What we are seeking, is to be made aware of anything important you think we need to consider that we might not be aware of. We will add your thoughts to ours, and do the best we can to make sure that everyone's needs have been considered in our process.
If you have anything you want us to know, please email me (not the teachers) so that I have all the information in one place. I will need this information by the end of Week 4 - Friday 3rd November.
email: principal@beckenham.school.nz

Challenging Online Behaviour out of school...

Outside of school hours, a number of children in our community are continuing to experience online bullying behaviour on social media platforms including TikTok and Fortnite, and this is causing extreme distress to both the children and their families.
Families have many steps that they can take if their child is being bullied or threatened online.
Depending on the nature of the incident, will depend on where you might go for support:

Self-Reporting Content
Report harmful accounts to the platform directly. By reporting in-app, platforms are able to see previous engagement with the accounts and other contextual information. Reporting through these channels is often the fastest way to get content reviewed and acted on.
For Tiktok: You can report a video or account to TikTok for abuse by following the instructions here. 

Report to the Police any incidents of immediate concern, especially around threats of physical harm.

Netsafe deals with online harm advice, and have several helpful resources:
We encourage you to continue to engage with your child around their online behaviour, and to ensure that you are able to monitor and support their interactions in this challenging space.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Mon 23 Oct - School Closed, Labour Day
Wed 25 Oct - PTA Meeting, 7.30pm
Thu 26 Oct - School Athletics Day
Fri 3 Nov - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Fri 3 Nov - CHCH Schools Music Festival Beckenham Performance Night
Wed 8 Nov - BOT Meeting, 5.30pm, Staffroom
Fri 10 Nov - Zones Athletics, Hansen Park
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, 10am, in the Hall
Fri 24 Nov - PTA School Picnic, 5.00-7.30pm, Beckenham Park
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
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
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

Alicia Colquhoun - Year 6

Alicia, we have seen such positive growth in you as a learner this year! You put a lot of thought and effort into all of your work and you are showing more confidence in sharing your ideas with others. You are a kind, caring person and inclusive of all. We look forward to seeing you blossom in all that you do. Ka pai tō mahi, Alicia!

School Notices

Important Health & Safety Reminder

Please ensure all school gates are shut behind you until 3pm. Please do not use items to hold the gates open, and if you notice a gate has been propped open by something, please help us by closing this.

The gates surrounding our school have been added to ensure the safety of our tamariki. 

Well done to...

Jenna Sitompul
O'Sullivan Cup for Excellence in Art

Jenna, you have a great talent for drawing. Your style is full of fun and vibrancy with strong lines and great use of colour. You have been involved in many art projects over the past two years, including the design of our House murals and supporting the painting of Elmer. At the start of this year, you co-created our art club which a lot of students enjoyed participating in. You also designed a fabulous Cantamath motif in your trademark style. Thank you for all of your artistic contributions and for inspiring others. Congratulations Jenna.

Jemma Sunderland / Timon Spill
Janne Rowson ICT Award

Jemma, your leadership is on show when it comes to using technology to support the school. You willingly give your time and effort into making sure that events run smoothly through the use of ICT. You find solutions and troubleshoot any problems - especially when they unexpectedly come up in the middle of something! When we had our tree planting ceremony for the coronation of King Charles III, you worked hard to ensure that the outdoor speakers were set and that the music would work perfectly. You approach every task with the desire to get things right from the outset. Thank you for your ICT contributions. Congratulations, Jemma. 

Timon, you naturally excel when it comes to technology. You can always be counted on to reliably and efficiently set up ICT equipment for all manner of events, whether whole school or for a small group. In particular, your consistent dedication and invaluable contributions have made you an integral part of the ICT crew for production. Timon, you approach every task with a calm and focused attitude and you willingly problem solve. Your trustworthiness, proactivity and expertise make you a natural go to person whenever there is a need for support with ICT. Thank you for your ICT contributions. Congratulations, Timon.

Elijah Hakeagaiki, for his results, and contribution to his team at his recent rugby league tournament.
Elijah had a great break at his league tournament. They had an awesome time, played 5 games, and won all of them. He was very proud to do his haka before every game and also to support the other teams that were there. 



Scholastic Lucky Book Club - Issue 7 Out Now!


Issue 7 is out now, please follow the link below to look at the catalogue online, and to order. Orders close Friday 1 December.

Staff Profiles

Welcome to another of our new Teaching Assistants, Karen Glithero, who started with us this term.
Karen will be working primarily supporting students in the Kahikatea Team. 

PTA News

This coming week we have our monthly meeting, on the 25th of October at 7.30pm in the staff room - it’s always great to see new faces!

Almost one month until our Community Picnic, we’re looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday the 24th November.

AND! Look out for our 2023 Christmas Goodies fundraiser, we’ll have Christmas cakes and honey this year, which should make fabulous presents. More info coming soon! 

BOT Update

Board Parent Mid-Term Election 2023 - 3 Vacancies

Instruction on how you vote electronically has been distributed by email to eligible whānau. For those without valid email addresses - you have been mailed voting papers for a paper vote. If you have any problems with this process, please contact our Liaison Officer for the Board Election; at reihana.dougherty@beckenham.school.nz

Voting closes at 4:00 PM Wednesday, November 15th.

Thank you to all of our candidates who have expressed interest in supporting the governance and success of our kura. Please take a look at the candidate statements below:

Community Notices

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

Sunday 5 November - Commemorative Events for Parihaka



Warm greetings from our Parihaka Network Trust. The New Zealand History Curriculum offers wonderful opportunities for sharing the Parihaka story. Our Trust is here to help. Our mission is to 'promote Parihaka philosophy, ideals and beliefs of peace and reconciliation through non-violence.' 

This coming Sunday 5 November, we are providing three opportunities for people to connect with the story of Parihaka. You may wish to share this with your teaching staff or school community and share the Facebook link below.

5 November 2023
  • 10.30am - Parihaka Commemorative church service @ St Mary the Virgin, Church Square, Addington, followed by silent walk to old Addington Prison for karakia and laying of flowers.

  • 2.30pm - Silent Hikoi starting at Lyttleton Rose Garden: a pilgrimage walk from the old gaol around the coastal track to Rāpaki and the Parihaka Memorial*

  • 5pm - Memorial service at Rāpaki Church and karakia at the Parihaka Memorial, followed by light refreshments 
*wet weather alternatives will be posted on Facebook www.facebook.com/ParihakaOtautahi/ and Instagram www.instagram.com/parihakaotautahi/ 

Swimming Canterbury West Coast

After a successful events in March and June, Swimming Canterbury West Coast is excited to announce our third dedicated "Have-a-Go Carnival" event for 2023.

The event is open to any swimmer (of any age) who is not currently registered as a club or competitive swimmer with Swimming New Zealand and is capable of swimming 25m without assistance.

Participation is free, and registration is on the day. Swimmers are welcome to swim in 25m, 50m, kick, and relay races!

For more information, head to our website:
Facebook Event: t.ly/tdhZA