Kahikatea News Term 3 Week 7

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 Kahikatea Team News - Term 3 Week 7

Kia ora koutou,

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the Kahikatea team! Read on to find out more about what we have been up to.

Kete Focus: We Love Challenge!

The student council organised a fun STEM activity during 'We Love Challenge' week. We were given a selection of materials and had to design a bridge that could hold a tin can. We made changes as we went when we realised that something didn't quite work, and persevered when it was tricky. We did so well!










Learning Through Play

It is always a joy to watch our children interact, discover, negotiate, and problem-solve during Learning Through Play. Here are some recent photos of us in action!


















Te Whare Tapa Wha

During our home group time, we are learning all about how we can support our wellbeing (hauora) using the Te Whare Tapa Wha model. We have a fabulous new poster that illustrates how important it is to take care of all of the different aspects of our lives to support our wellbeing. 






That's all for now!
Team Kahikatea

Koru Team news, Term 3 Week 7

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 Kia ora koutou,

We hope that this finds you at the end of a lovely weekend with your families, and we look forward to seeing your wee ones with their beautiful, wide smiles, tomorrow morning!

Our focus in this post is on Maths, and in particular on the Maths strand area of Probability. In the first week of the previous fortnight, we focused on developing the language of probability, introducing such terms as 'always', 'perhaps', 'certain', 'possible', 'impossible', 'will', 'might', 'won't', 'will', 'maybe', 'never', 'yes', 'no'. The context for this learning took the form of familiar stories such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Man, Cinderella and Maui Catches the Sun, and the children were asked such questions as 'Do you think Little Red Riding Hood will see a tree on the way to Grandma's house?' and 'Do you think Red Riding Hood will see a hedgehog in the forest?' 

Whatever the children's decisions, they were always asked to justify their thinking.

During the second week, we learnt more about probability by playing card games, such as Memory, using sets of animal cards (including various numbers of animals, at the most, ten cats, ten dogs, six mice and one pig). As we played the games, we thought about how likely it is for 'an event' to happen, for example, 'What are the chances of picking up two cats as opposed to picking up two dogs?' The children were asked to think about such questions as:

  • What card do you think you will turn over next? (given the cards that have already been turned over)
  • Why do you think that?
  • Which cards do you think will be last?
  • Which are the hardest pairs to find?
  • Which are the easiest pairs to find?

In this game, Feeding Greedy Cat, which cat will get the most fish, the blue cat or the red cat?

Was there a lucky colour in your game?

In this game, was it better to be in the team collecting the same cards or the team collecting the different cards?

Which card do you think you'll turn up next? And why do you think that?

Is it certain, possible or impossible for Cinderella to see a hot air balloon on her way to the palace?

Will the gingerbread man always, possibly or never see a tractor on his way to the river?

What are the chances that the first card you turn over is a dog? Why do you think that?

Which card will you choose to turn over next?

Which are the hardest pairs to find? Which are the easiest pairs to find?

Are you collecting pairs that are the same or pairs that are different? Is it better to collect pairs that are the same or pairs that are different?

Which coloured cat is going to get the most fish?

Is there a 'lucky' colour? Was the same colour 'lucky' every time you played the game?

Our Probability focus gave the children an in-depth look at uncertainty and chance, in a variety of situations. They were given the opportunity to acknowledge and anticipate possible outcomes, always justifying their thinking each step of the way. What a lot of fun we had in Maths throughout this last fortnight!

...and one final message - many thanks to you for the continuing support you are giving your children with their learning, by helping them to practise their heart words, their sound cards and their reading at home with you. The difference this makes is invaluable and we certainly appreciate it enormously.

All best for the week ahead!
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Elizabeth, Georgia, Nicola, Stacey and Jeanette

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 7/8

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 In this post:

  • Speech delivery week
  • Keeping Safe Sessions with Year 8 Boys
  • Ski day wrap up
  • Duathlon wrap up

Speech Delivery Week

Over the past few weeks, the children have been creating their story-telling speeches. In one form or another, they will be sharing their speech this coming week. For most of the children this will take the form of presenting it to their literacy group. Over the weekend, please encourage practise with reading / presenting their speech. On Friday morning, between 9 and 10:30, we will be holding our speech finals in the hall. Parents are most welcome to attend.  

Keeping Safe Sessions with Year 8 Boys

Every year when the Year 8 girls and gender-diverse students are doing self-defense, the boys ask what about us. We see their point. This year, Brad Culver, Megan’s husband has offered his time to take the Year 8 boys for a parallel program on keeping ourselves safe. Keeping ourselves safe falls under the Health curriculum. 

Brad has a background of working with the US and NZ police, a masters in behaviour modification and is a teacher. He has previously volunteered his time in Kauri to teach American Football and Basketball. Brad has designed a program that will cover the following topics.

  • Assertive communication and body language
  • Standing up to peer pressure
  • How body language and tone of voice can affect the outcome of a situation
  • What can cause some situations to escalate and how to avoid this
  • Being an upstander
  • How to deescalate a situation and keep yourself safe

These sessions will be held on Friday afternoons as this works in with Brad’s availability. The first session was very well received by the boys and Brad was really impressed with their engagement.

A huge thank you to Brad for volunteering his time. 


Ski Day Wrap-up

As I mentioned in an earlier brief post, the children had a fabulous day on the slopes of Mt Hutt and we were so impressed with their 'can do' attitudes, support of each other and progress. We were also grateful for the support of the parent group who encouraged, guided and kept the children safe. Thanks to those who have already returned gear that was borrowed from school. If you still have some at home, please return this ASAP.  We have shared a large folder of photos with the children, after discussions on not sharing photos of others on social media or modifying images. Your child will be able to access and share these with you at home.



Duathlon Wrap-up:

On Tuesday, we had a small and enthusiastic group taking part in our school duathlon. They gave of their best and it was awesome to see lots of big smiles on their faces. Those who have qualified for the Canterbury Duathlon will have already received a Hero message about this event. Special congratulations to Torun, James, Alfie and Rose who won their respective events. A group of 30 seniors helped with the running of the event. They did a great job of encouraging competitors and keeping everyone safe on the course. 









Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 9 September, 2022

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Next week is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori language week). This year is extra special as the 14th of September marks the 50th anniversary of the Māori Language Petition. This event led to many of the kaupapa we have today, including Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

E kore e mutu tēnei mea te ako — learning is always constant.

Road Works Update

I'm sure that many of you have already seen the most recent works notice... Yes - it is going to be a long haul again, and, the residents of the whole area, along with the school, will benefit in the long run.
They are installing a new water trunk main. The next stage of work will require the closure of Norwood St from Sandwich Road to Fisher Ave, from Monday next week, until mid-November.

This will mean that you will need to take into account that Norwood St will be closed and make alternative plans if you are driving to school. 

PLEASE avoid doing u-turns and three-point-turns in Sandwich Road at drop-off and pick-up times... it really makes for very dangerous situations at these high traffic times.



Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Mon 19 Sep - Staff Only Day (School Closed)
Thu 22 Sep - BOT Meeting (5.30-7.30pm - te Rūma Kaimahi - Staffroom)
Fri 23 Sep - PTA Disco 
Wed 28 Sep - PTA Meeting (7.30-9.30pm in the Green Room)
Thu 29 Sep - Parent Evening with CHS Principal (6-7.15 in te Rūma Kaimahi)
Fri 30 Sep - Last day of Term 3
Mon 17 Oct - First day of Term 4
Tue 25 Oct - Netsafe Workshop for all whānau - St Martins School, 7pm

Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Mathias Dougherty - Year 6

Mathias, thank you for being such a reliable and conscientious member of our team. You are quick to offer a hand to help others and are the epitome of how we can contribute to help our school community be a better place for everybody. You are a shining example of someone who can always be trusted to be in the right place, at the right time, and be doing the right thing.  Tino pai rawa atu kia koe.

School Notices

Kete Values

We have been celebrating our values for the past few weeks and are getting ready to celebrate 'We make a Difference'. Where students will work together to make a difference in the school environment and strive to create a cleaner and hopefully greener environment. 

If your child is away from school...

Please ALWAYS let the office know, rather than just the teacher. Teachers do not always have time to check their emails or text messages in the morning before they take the roll. You can do this by emailing office@beckenham.school.nz or by texting the school cellphone 021 027 94107
Please ALWAYS give a reason why your child is away. If you tell us they are away but don't give any reason, we are required to mark their absence as 'explained, but unjustified'.

Thank you all for your continued support. Getting clear and timely information from you when your child is away saves our office staff a lot of time.

Mental Health Education & Resource Centre Free Webinars

BOSCO is OPEN for the Staff Only Day

Our BOSCO theme for the Staff Only Day on Monday the 19th of September is Earth Day.
We will be making birdfeeders, leaf mobiles and cute grass head people

BOT Update

Voting for the Parent Election has now closed. The votes will be counted by next Tuesday the 13th, and the new Board will take office on Wednesday the 14th.

Thank you to everyone who contributed by way of candidates, and those who took the opportunity to vote. Results will be shared in the next Newsletter.

PTA News


Get the kids dancing shoes out, 23rd of September is disco time!!!
To keep Covid safe we are running 4 discos and keeping the hubs separate this year.

Year 3&4: 4:00- 4:45pm

Year 5&6: 5:10-6:10pm

Year 7&8: 6:30-7:30pm

New Entrants and Year 1&2 timing is still to be finalised but will be in the afternoon during school time, so the children can be supported by their teachers.

Bring a Gold coin for a donation at the door. Chips and popcorn will be for sale on the night.
Send the kids with their drink bottles so they can keep hydrated!

Community Notices

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

Kelly Sports October Holiday Programmes

Bookings for our upcoming Kelly Sports Holiday Programmes at Hillview Christian School and Hillmorton High School are now available online. 

The focus of our Programmes is to ensure kids are active throughout, with a great mixture of games and activities to suit everyone. WINZ Subsidies are available for families that qualify and we have options of Half Day sessions, School Day sessions and Full Day sessions available.

To register and for more information please visit www.kellysports.co.nz or contact Adelma on chch@kellysports.co.nz for more information.

  

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 7

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Kia ora koutou /  Mālō e lelei


Happy Tongan Language Week!


Kōwhai Talent Quest

Some of our tamariki have been rehearsing for the Kōwhai Talent Quest which will be held sometime at the end of term. It will be a wonderful opportunity for them to perform and the most striking performances will have the chance to perform at one of our Junior Celebration Assemblies.


Ukulele/Recorder

We will be finishing our ukulele and recorder lessons next week. Kōwhai children have done exceptionally well to learn a new instrument with our wonderful music teachers, Roger and Josie.



Discovery

Last Thursday, we had an amazing open-air concert at Discovery. Check out the photos below:





We have also been putting out a compliment box for everyone to write kind messages to other people in our hub. Anna read some of them out during our team hui and we have seen a lot of lovely reactions. 


Maths

We have been learning about probability and chance over the last two weeks. Here is a cool game called The Sludger that you can play with your child and practise thinking about the likelihood of something happening.


Junior Celebration Assembly

Congratulations to those who received their Kete certificate and/or Citizen of the Week award at our assembly last week.




Cyber Safety

This week, we have started our Cyber Safety unit for Inquiry. The children have enjoyed learning about keeping our online identity and private information safe.


Have a lovely weekend!


The Kōwhai team.