Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 5 May 2023

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

It was a pleasure to be able to go out to Living Springs this week and visit the Year 5/6 team on Camp. So much fun was being had and everyone looked as though they had made the most of their time at camp to build relationships and stretch their capabilities. A huge thanks to the staff who did all of the organisation and to the parents who attended as support. 

The early campers catch the sunrise at Living Springs

Covid and other illnesses

We do have a few cases of Covid-19 in the school again, among staff, students and wider whānau. We also seem to have had a number of children with tummy bugs. Please do keep children at home if they are feeling unwell and do test if Covid symptoms are present. If you need Covid tests, we still have packs at school that you can pick up.

Coronation Tree Planting - Friday 12 May, 10am

We have been invited by the Christchurch City Council to plant a commemorative Coronation Tree to mark the Coronation of King Charles III. There is a tree in Beckenham Park that was planted for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. We have received a (very small) kōwhai tree, and we plan to have a ceremonial planting of this on Friday 12th May at 10am. All are welcome!

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Term 2

Tue 9 May - 1:30-2:40pm - Whole School Cross Country
Fri 12 May - Coronation Tree Planting - all welcome
Fri 12 May - PTA Discos - see below for more information
Fri 19 May - Celebration Assembly, 10-10.30am
Tue 23 May - Zone Cross-Country - Y5-8, Hansen Park
Wed 24 May - School Photos
Thu 25 May - Board meeting 5:30pm Staffroom
Mon 5 Jun - School Closed - King's Birthday
Thu 21 Jun - Whānau Hui and PTA Matariki Hāngī
Wed 28 Jun - Board meeting 5:30pm Staffroom
Fri 30 Jun - Last day of Term 2

Citizen of the Week

Frida Beumelburg - Year 6

Frida, you are such a diligent, proactive and hard worker. You display our school values, We Love Challange and We Love Learning every day by persevering to improve your learning and complete tasks to the best of your ability. You are a kind and caring student in the Pōhutukawa hub and are willing to help when needed. You are extremely personable, Frida which makes you fun to be around. Ka pai!

School Notices

Earthquake Drill

On Monday we have an earthquake drill. The bell will be rung continuously for a few seconds to signal the start of the drill, a pause to allow time to practice drop, cover, hold, and then a continuous bell to signal the end of the drill. Everyone then heads out to the field for the normal evacuation check.

Teachers will take time before the drill to talk with tamariki about what to do in an earthquake, and to practise drop, cover, hold.

40 Hour Challenge

Grace, Stella, Scarlett and Alyssa attended the World Vision Junior Youth Conference on Thursday. The girls had a great day learning about the amazing work that World Vision does and came back feeling very inspired. The 40 Hour Challenge is coming up so stay tuned to hear from our leaders in the coming weeks about this great cause. 


Staff Profiles

Kauri Team (Year 7/8)

Thomas Woodfield (Team Leader)
Thomas has joined Beckenham this year as the Kauri Team Leader. He loves teaching because of the opportunity to connect with students and support them towards becoming the best they can be. Thomas and his wife are kept very busy with their one-year-old daughter, but in any spare time that he can find he enjoys reading, singing in and conducting choirs, and cheering on his favourite American Football team, the New England Patriots.

Nicky Dunlop
Nicky has been lucky to have taught at BTKOP for 14 years now, all in Years 7 & 8.  After leading the team for around 10 years, she is enjoying a slightly less hectic pace of life this year, working four days a week. Total years teaching is now on the other side of 30!
The wide range of experiences across the arts, in sport and outdoor education is a great foundation for forming strong relationships with our tamariki in their intermediate years. We have a blast! Nicky lives locally with her husband, Grant; 20 year old, Tim, who enjoys helping at school (the other 20 year old, Jack, has flown the coop); and the delightful Yoda (the cat). Sewing and general creativity fill her bucket.

Bridie Zarifeh
Bridie is in her 7th year of teaching. She has taught in Auckland and in New Plymouth and has just moved to Christchurch with her husband, Andrew. They have a cat called Pickle who was not very impressed with the Cook Strait crossing! She is very excited to be working at BTKOP and to be back in her home town city. Bridie loves working with children and has a passion for science, sport and te reo Māori. She loves mountain biking and loves spending time outdoors with friends and family. 

Sarah Junghenn
Sarah has been teaching for over 20 years. She joined the BTKOP whānau in 2021, teaching in the Kahikatea hub. Last year she began working in the Kauri hub, where she is currently. Sarah is passionate about fostering positive relationships with our tamariki and their whānau. She has two small children and two large dogs. When not at work Sarah enjoys spending time with friends and family and loves a good book!
Clockwise from top left: Thomas, Nicky, Bridie & Sarah

PTA News

We need your help! Volunteers for school disco needed!

The PTA are looking for any whānau who would be interested in volunteering their time to help with  school disco this coming week. Please email pta@beckenham.school.nz, or contact the PTA via the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Facebook page.

Community Notices

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




Pōhutukawa Update, Term 2, Week 2

Posted on by

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



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

What an amazing time we spent at Living Springs. We hope the tamariki have somewhat recovered from their exhaustion, and that they've been able to tell you about some of the highs, lows, challenges, and triumphs, which they experienced over the 3 days at camp. Thankfully, the weather played its part; we experienced a lot of sunshine, a bit of rain, some mist, and pretty mild temperatures throughout, which meant most of the time was spent outside in the stunning surroundings that our corner of the world has to offer.

As teachers, we want to pass on that it was a pleasure, and a privilege to be able to offer this experience of camp to your tamariki. The values we talk about so often at school: We Care, We Get There Together, We Make a Difference, We Love Challenge, and We Love Learning, were all on display at camp, and hopefully the students will now have memories that will last many of them their whole lives.

Over the next little while, we will be unpacking the whole experience of camp with the tamariki at school, and reflecting on how camp ties into our kete values. We certainly took a lot of photos, which will be put together for you and the students to enjoy in the coming days. Watch this space!

Finally, we would like to give a special shout-out to the whānau who joined us on camp. Without you giving up your own time to give your tautoko (support), your awhi (help), and your aroha (care) the camp simply could not, and would not, have happened. Mā tātou katoa te waka e hoe, we all row this waka together. Kia pai nga rā whakatā ki a tātou, enjoy a lovely weekend, everyone.

The Pōhutukawa team

Kauri Whānau Update: Term 2, Week 1

Posted on by

Welcome back to Term 2! While we had a shortened first week, it was great to get back into the swing of things after the break.

In this post:

  • Maths Clubs
  • Writing extension opportunities
  • Sports news
  • High School info

Maths Clubs

There will be two Maths Clubs this term, (an increase of 100% from Term 1!) both taking place on Thursdays from 8.20 to 8.50am. Nicky will be running an extension club in the Breakout Space, and Bridie will be running a Times Tables club in Kōmanawa for those who want to improve their multiplication facts knowledge. All students are welcome.

Writing Extension opportunities

Write On School for Young Writers

The Write On 2023 Masterclass Series for Year 7-13 is offering the following for young writers in Term 2:

  • World Building with Karen Healey, 
  • Stranger Things with Desna Wallace, 
  • Kickstart Your Fantasy Novel with Heather McQuillan 
  • Speaking 4 The Planet speechwriting with Karen Healey
  • Speaking 4 The Planet spoken word poetry with Ray Shipley. 

Do you have a young writer who would love to spend two hours every Saturday exercising their imagination and honing their craft? Write On have spaces still available. Find out more here.

Speaking for the Planet

The partnership of Sustainable Ōtautahi Christchurch and The New Zealand Association for Environmental Education is bringing the 2023 S4P competition to the schools and students of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand. This competition is for school students from Years 7-13 and young people up to the age of 24.

There are five competition categories:

  1. Prepared Speech – prepared speech, solo entries only.
  2. Spoken Word – prepared poem, solo or duo entries.
  3. Visual Art – prepared artwork, solo entries.
  4. Impromptu Drama – 1 hour to prepare, maximum number of ten students per team.
  5. Short Video – prepared video, no team number limit.

Speaking 4 the Planet is an opportunity for students to express their ideas for a better world. Participants are invited to prepare and deliver punchy, quirky, creative, and pointed submissions. Each competition category is divided into three age categories: Years 7-8, Years 9-11, and Open (Year 12 - Age 24). Registration is a requirement. There will be an environmental theme that all competitors must incorporate in their entries. Schools or individual senior students (Years 12+) will need to register by Friday 2 June by contacting Jocelyn Papprill at chchnzaee@gmail.com. Participation in the competition is free.

The Prepared Speech and Spoken Word heats will take place by video submission. Entries will be submitted by Monday 17 July, 5pm. The six finalists from each age division will be asked to perform on Finals Day. Visual Art entries must be submitted by Friday 30 June. Entries for Impromptu Drama close on Wednesday 26 July. Short Video entries must be submitted by Wednesday 19 July. The finals day will be held on Friday 11 August from 9am-5pm at Tūranga, 60 Cathedral Square, Christchurch Central City.

Participants are to produce or present items that are original. They are also invited to make their work quirky. There are great prizes sponsored by sustainable businesses up for grabs!


Sports News

Winter Sports trials have taken place for competitive sports, and the teams have been chosen. Games will start in Week 5, but practices will start on Monday of Week 3 (if they haven't already). If your child isn't sure whether they're in a team or not, get them to check with one of the Kauri teachers. Non-competitive sports groups will be announced in the coming weeks.

Cross Country will be taking place in Week 3, on Tuesday. Pleas make sure students have suitable footwear on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week for our Cross Country training sessions.

High School info

At this time of the year, High School applications can start kicking into gear for Year 8s. If you need a report for you child, please get in touch with their homeroom teacher:

  • Thomas: thomas.woodfield@beckenham.school.nz
  • Nicky: nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz
  • Sarah: sarah.junghenn@beckenham.school.nz
  • Bridie: bridie.zarifeh@beckenham.school.nz

Each year in Term 2, high schools share information for us to pass on to you. Now is a good time to look on the website of the schools you are interested in for your Year 8 child next year. Check out if they have an Open Day / Evening, check the enrollment procedures and you may like to check out scholarship information. We have received the following from Hagley College:

Thinking about Hagley for Year 9 2024? 10 key points about us:

  • We're a Designated Character School. To join us, you must agree to engage with our culture and our values of Whakamarumaru (Responsibility), Mana (Respect), Whakawhirinaki (Trust) and Tika (Integrity). We also need to be confident that Hagley has the resources to support you in your learning, that there is a programme that will meet your needs, and that there is a place for you in that programme.
  • We are a restorative school.
  • We have an inclusive and diverse learning environment.
  • We offer a connected curriculum.
  • All Year 9 students have two hours of Te Reo Māori, two hours of Health and three hours of PE each week. They also all take English, Maths, Social Sciences and Science. Students also choose from a wide range of Kete Wana courses to complete their programmes.
  • Social action and student leadership are actively promoted and celebrated.
  • Our Targeted Learning class is very small. Only 2-3 places will be available for new students in 2024 due to returning students.
  • GATE students are able to excel in their specialty fields.
  • Enrolment for Year 9 2024 opens on 15 May 2023 and closes on 23 June 2023 at midday. It is essential to apply during this time.
  • A ballot is usually required and will occur in early August 2023. Criteria for priority enrolment for those with family/whānau links to Hagley is on our website www.hagley.school.nz.

We have an Open Evening coming up on Wednesday 24 May with rolling starts at either 4.30 pm or 5.30 pm. Please see the attached flyer below.

Applications for Year 9 2024 will open online from 15 May, and close at midday on 23 June. Important information for students and whānau is available on our website here.

Our 2024 Junior College Lookbook is also available to download here.

For any other queries, or for those unable to complete an application online, parents/caregivers should contact Lisa Amer on lisa.amer@staff.hagley.school.nz or (03) 364 5134.



Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 28 April 2023

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Welcome to the start of Term 2. And just like that, daylight saving is over, the mornings have a distinctly 'crisp' feel to them, and the need for gumboots and rain/warm jackets is upon us!
If you have got out your children's gumboots and jackets and find that they don't fit any more, please consider donating them to the PTA second-hand clothing shop. If you need gumboots or jackets, check out the PTA second-hand clothing shop! 

While we are talking about the need for gumboots, we are thrilled to be able to confirm that the drainage issue under the green slide has finally been resolved. A HUGE thanks to Hamish Denny and the team from Drainworkz for sticking with us and being the reliable contractor who came through and got this job done, after so many others had let us down. Our appreciation also goes out to Richard Scott, on our Board, who has patiently and tenaciously followed this project through to ensure it was completed. The final stage now will be the addition of a rubber surface, at the bottom of the slide and this is on order, expected by the middle of the term.

Our Year 3/4 Kōwhai team have transitioned beautifully into their new way of working across two buildings. Whilst not without some initial challenges, the extra space is being appreciated by staff and students alike.

House Murals

You will notice that four new Murals are being hung on the fence. These murals were begun last year and completed in Term 1 this year.

In 2022 a selection of possible house mascots for each House were designed and the children across the school voted on which mascots they liked the most. A Year 7/8 passion group then took the winning concepts and turned them into designs for these murals. Each mural depicts one of the four house mascots. We think they look amazing!

Union negotiations around Principal Collective Agreements.

You will have probably heard through the media that Primary Principals across the country are 'working to rule' at the moment, whilst they continue to negotiate their collective agreement. As is often the case with the news in the media, this is partially true. There are now two unions that represent principals. The union that I belong to has settled their collective agreement and we are not taking any industrial action. Principals who belong to NZEI, the other union, are the ones who are taking action as they have not yet settled their agreement. 

Teacher Collective Agreement Negotiations

At the moment, NZEI (the single union for teachers) has an offer on the table that Primary Teachers around the country are considering. They will be voting on this offer in a couple of weeks.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Term 2

Mon 1 - Wed 3 May - Year 5/6 Camp - Living Springs
Tue 9 May - 1:30-2:40pm - Whole School Cross Country
Fri 12 May - PTA Discos - save the date!
Tue 23 May - Zone Cross-Country - Y5-8, Hansen Park
Thu 25 May - Board meeting 5:30pm Staffroom
Mon 5 Jun - School Closed - King's Birthday
Wed 14 Jun - Learning Conferences (school closing at 1pm)
Thu 15 Jun - Learning Conferences (school closing at 1pm)
Thu 21 Jun - Whānau Hui and PTA Hāngī
Wed 28 Jun - Board meeting 5:30pm Staffroom
Fri 30 Jun - Last day of Term 2

Citizen of the Week

Mietta Turnbull - Year 4

Mietta, you are such a fantastic role model in the Kōwhai hub. You show 'We Get There Together' always by lending a helping hand to both your peers and the teachers. Mietta, your enthusiasm knows no bounds and you are always willing to show that you care by offering your help to others. You use initiative in your learning and you are a fantastic communicator. Tino pai Mietta! 

Staff Profiles

Kahikatea Kaiako

Katie McFarlane (Team Leader)
Katie started teaching at Beckenham in 2015 after spending four years at home with her small children. She has worked in Kōwhai, Pōhutukawa, and is now the Team Leader of Kahikatea. She feels privileged to be a part of each child’s learning journey - he taonga te ako. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her husband, two children, and four fur babies.

Lisa Collier
Lisa has been teaching for 12 years and joined Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto in 2021. She is a trained speech and language therapist with a passion for literacy. Lisa is in the classroom three days a week and working in a lead literacy role for the other two. She is also doing further study in the structured literacy area. Lisa has three children, in primary and high school, and spends her spare time watching them dance!

Quynh Nguyen
Quynh started at Beckenham in 2021 and has been enjoying working with the tamariki at our kura. She was working in Masterton before coming back to Christchurch after the pandemic. When not at work, Quynh enjoys zumba dancing, swimming and doing fun activities with her friends.

Amber Donovan
Amber has been working here at BTKOP for the past 12 years. She enjoys the variety and fun of teaching the youngest children and getting to know so many fabulous people within the Beckenham community. Amber lives locally and she has a big garden which her cat and dog love to play in. Amber enjoys spending time with her family and friends and taking walks with her dog Bodhi. 

Krystal Hunt
Krystal began her teaching career in 2013 in Australia. Her family moved to NZ in 2021. She began teaching at BTKOP in the Kahikatea Hub last year. Krystal is passionate about helping every child develop a love of learning and reach their full potential.  She has two small children of her own and loves spending time with her family. She enjoys a good cup of tea, and crocheting amigurumi.
Kahikatea Kaiako (Teachers) - Katie (T/L), Lisa, Quynh, Amber, Krystal

School Notices

Dogs On Site

Please do not bring dogs onto the school site between 8:30am and 3:15pm without prior arrangement. If you have a dog outside the school site at pick-up or drop-off time, please make sure it is on a lead for both the safety of the dog, and of other children. Some children have not yet learned how to behave safely when approaching unfamiliar dogs. In addition to this please ensure your loved pets are away from the gate while waiting outside the school, to allow all children and adults to come in and out comfortably. Thank you.

Winter Wellness


As we head into winter, winter illnesses, such as colds, flu and other respiratory illnesses, along with predicted Covid waves, become more common.

As a school, we are conscious of doing all we can to support our tamariki, whānau and community to be as well as possible.

As a school, we will continue to:
  • Ventilate spaces and keep them warm
  • Regularly clean surfaces
  • Teach/remind tamariki to cough or sneeze into their elbow
  • Teach/remind tamariki to wash and dry their hands regularly, especially after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing, and using the toilet
  • Mask wearing will continue to be optional for those who would like to 
  • Contact whānau if a child is unwell while at school for them to be collected
As whānau, please continue to:
  • Keep your child at home if they are unwell
  • Encourage them to cough or sneeze into their elbow
  • Encourage regular hand washing
  • If someone in your home has covid, your child can still come to school as long as they are well, symptom free and have tested negative. Continue to monitor them for symptoms
For more information/tips have a look at these sites

Before School 

A start of Term reminder that classrooms are open to children from 8:30 am. This is to allow teachers time to prepare for the day. Prior to 8.30am there is no supervision of children. 

If you need to drop your child/ren off before 8:30 am BOSCO provides before-school care. 
Please contact them for more details 
Phone 027 645 6632
Email office@bosco.org.nz

General School Timetable

Hours for Students

08:30 AM – 08:55 AM Students arrive at school and prepare for the day
08:55 AM – 09:00 AM School starts at 8.55, the morning roll is taken.
09:00 AM – 10:30 AM Learning time
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM Play time
10:50 AM – 11:00 AM Kai (food) time whilst learning (e.g. listening to a story)
11:00 AM – 12:40 PM Learning time
12:40 PM – 01:20 PM Play time
01:20 PM – 01:40 PM Kai time (Lunch eating), the afternoon roll is taken.
01:40 PM – 03:00 PM Learning time
03:00 PM                 School ends, home time.

Office Hours

The school office is open from 8:30 AM to 3:45 PM during term time.

Food Allergy Guidelines

Across our kura, we have a number of children with different food allergies.

To support the well-being of these students we have the following guidelines in place which we ask you to follow:
  • Students with severe food allergies should only eat lunches and snacks that have been provided by their caregivers.  Bottles, other drinks, and lunch boxes provided by caregivers should be clearly labeled with the name of their child.  Home group teachers and caregivers will decide where the children’s bottles and lunch boxes will be kept during the day to ensure no cross-contamination occurs.
  • Parents are asked not to bring food into school to be shared with other children.  Whilst we understand that there are times you want to celebrate special events for your children with their friends at school, e.g. birthdays or being awarded prizes, by bringing food and treats for them to share, we have a policy of children only eating the food that their whānau have prepared and sent with them.  We have a number of students with food allergies and also need to respect the wishes of some families who want to monitor what their children are eating and prefer their children just to eat the food they have prepared. From time to time, there may be an event that teachers have organized that will involve food (cultural or learning activities) and they will have advised families in advance that this will be happening.  
At the beginning of each year, caregivers will check the expiry dates on any medication to be held at school.  
  • On the first day of school, caregivers will bring their child’s medication to the school office where it will be stored in the Hauora Room. Caregivers will sign a medicine authority form (School Docs Username: beckenham Password: pride).  The responsibility of monitoring the expiry dates of medications rests with the parent.
  • Caregivers may be asked to come and talk to staff about their child and ways we can support them at school.
  • Bottles, other drinks, and lunch boxes provided by caregivers, should be clearly labeled by the caregiver, with the name of the child.
  • We will inform you during the year if specific guidelines for your child’s hub change.  
Our full allergy policy and guidelines are available on the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto website under “Information - Policies - SchoolDocs” then search ‘allergy’. (linked here)

If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss them in the first instance with your child’s point of contact teacher.

Three-point turns on Sandwich Road

Sandwich Road is a busy place on either side of the school day. To keep everyone safe please continue along the road and around the block, rather than doing three-point turns or U turns. 

Community Notices

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


Koru team news, start of Term 2

Posted on by

 Kia ora, e te whānau,

We hope you are all happy and healthy and had a lovely holiday break! It was such a treat to see all of those wide and happy smiles back at school this week. We would like to give an especially warm welcome to William, Eddie, Reinhold, Sylvia and Henri, who have all started school this week. What a wonderful job they are all doing settling in!

All of our tamariki have happily returned to the routines of school, and are enthusiastically embracing their learning. They have been doing a wonderful job in their Literacy and Maths lessons, and are putting lots of energy and enthusiasm into their Learning Through Play.

A reminder about routines:

  • It's great if your child is able to independently carry their own bag into school, unpack it and put their lunch and drink bottle on the shelves
  • Your child's Literacy folder needs to be returned to school every day, and put into their group Literacy box first thing each morning (children who were at school in Term 1 will already know which container is their group's container; new children will be helped with this by one of the teachers)
  • On Fridays, your child will bring home both their poetry book and their library folder. Both these items need to be returned to school by the following Friday
  • We ask that caregivers avoid bringing children in to school through the staff carpark, rather, if entering off Sandwich Road, please come in up near the flagpole or in through the gate down near the corner.
Friendship List
  • If you would like your name and contact details to be added to our Koru Team Friendship List, please email Georgia your information by Wednesday, May 10th, and Georgia will update the list and share it on the Friday of that week
  • Here is Georgia's email address: georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz
  • If your name is already on the list, please don't worry about contacting Georgia again.
Exciting Koru Team outing:
We trust that you have all received our Hero message pertaining to the outing which we have coming up on Thursday, May 11th.
Just in case any of you haven't been able to access this information, here is a copy of the content of the message:

We have a very exciting outing planned for our tamariki! 

The Christchurch City Council Education Outreach team is booked in to run their Junior Park Explorers programme with our Koru students, at our local Beckenham ponds. The session will address outcomes within the New Zealand Curriculum Science domain. We will be exploring biodiversity & ecosystems in our local area, and will be looking closely at birds, bugs and trees/plant life. 

Children will need to bring the following items: 
  • Gumboots (especially if wet)
  • Rain coat
  • Named water bottle
  • Shoes, spare socks and change of clothes (in school bag)
The programme will take place on Thursday, May 11th and will run from 9:30 - 11:45 a.m.

We will need 10 parent helpers on the day. If you are interested in helping, please email your child’s homegroup teacher, as soon as possible.  

Many thanks for your support.

Thank you very much to those caregivers who have already emailed us letting us know that they would like to help. We will be making contact with all those who offer to help, with more information, closer to the time.

In the meantime, we do trust that you all have a very restful and happy weekend.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
The Koru Teachers: Elizabeth, Georgia, Stacey and Sonya