Principal's Patch
Kia ora koutou
Please remember Waitangi Day is on Monday - and school will be CLOSED as it is a public holiday.
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It was great to see each of our Y3/4, Y5/6 and Y7/8 teams having an introductory session to Kapa Haka for 2022 on Friday. We are grateful for all the fine weather we get, as activities such as PE, haka and singing can only happen outside at the moment. Go Whaea Cath for being so adaptable!
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Welcome back to school for 2022! Usually, in this first newsletter after school has begun, I comment on how lovely it was to see all the smiley faces on the first day back. This year, it was mostly the smiley eyes I could see, with faces partially covered with masks, but the 'eyes' had it! With a starting roll of 468 students, we had 97% at school on Thursday making it a really stunning first day back!
Thank you all for your support of the range of strategies we have put in place to keep our staff and children safe this term. There was definitely a strong novelty factor in the mask-wearing for many children, and our goal now will be to maintain this as the novelty wears off.
Our staff have been and will continue to work really hard with all the children to support them in understanding that they need to focus on doing the best that they can individually, within our new way of working. Whilst the majority of our children in the senior part of the school are wearing masks, we do have a small number for whom wearing masks may not be a good option for a range of reasons. Whilst health advice is to get all school-aged children vaccinated, the choice to vaccinate is still an individual choice being made by parents and no children should be ostracised or bullied because of this choice. Some children react to hand sanitizer, and others have hay fever symptoms which can cause their peers to fear that they might be 'spreading Covid'. We are all unique and we are all doing our best.
No single strategy will eliminate the risk of Covid being transmitted. We have a range of strategies to lower the risk and each family/individuals' role is to do the best that they are able to. You can support your child by encouraging them to focus on the healthy strategies that you want them to follow, and to remind them to support their peers, whatever each person's actions might be. You can be assured that our teachers are fully aware of each child's individual situation, and our job is to ensure that ALL of our children can come to school and access education without fear of being ridiculed or made to feel excluded.
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal
School Notices
Kupu Māori (Māori Word)
Phonetic prompts are not for everyone, but here is a really great image that helps ensure we are getting our pronunciation of "Waitangi" Day, correct. Using the proper pronunciation of te reo Māori, helps us be good Te Tiriti (Treaty) partners, and ensures the integrity of the language is upheld!
Have an amazing long weekend & Waitangi Day with your whānau!
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| How to pronounce 'Waitangi' |
Food Allergy Guidelines
Across our school, we have a number of children with different food allergies.
To support the wellbeing of these students we have the following guidelines in place which we ask you to follow:
- If children are asked to bring food to school for a shared kai occasion, please follow the guidelines provided by the teachers for that event.
- We will inform you during the year if specific guidelines for your child’s hub change. Our full allergy policy and guidelines in this booklet, are also available on the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto website under “Information - Policies - SchoolDocs” then search ‘allergy’.
If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss them in the first instance with your child’s point of contact (Home Group) teacher.
Medication at School
If a child requires medication at school on a long or short term basis, parents/caregivers need to complete a medicine authority form with Jacky or Reihana in the office. Procedures are followed to ensure that it is kept securely and administered appropriately.
Any medication that is required to be kept at school on an ongoing basis, needs to have expiry dates checked regularly by parents/caregivers. If the school notices an expiry date is due parents/caregivers will be advised.
Parents/caregivers are asked to please update the school on any medical/health information about their child by contacting the school office.
Sunscreen, Hats and Drink Bottles
Please remember to send your child to school each day with sunscreen applied, and with a named school hat and their named drink bottle.
Please also NAME everything else that your child brings to school that you want to see returned home again! This includes lunch boxes, face masks, bags and ALL clothing items.
Un-named masks that are found lying around the school will be thrown out, for health and safety reasons.
Absences
Please contact the school office if your child will be absent from school. When contacting us please remember to include; your name, your child’s name, the reason for their absence and how long you expect your child will be away from school.
If you do not provide a reason for your child’s absence, we are required to mark this as an unjustified absence on their attendance report.
Phone: (03) 337-1404 (Press 1 to leave an absence message)
Text Message: 021 027 94107
Email: office@beckenham.school.nz
Lunch Orders
Lunch orders for Lunchonline will commence again from the 8th of February.
Lunch orders for Sushi meets Dumpling have commenced, on the 2nd February.
Please see more information about lunch ordering on our website,
linked here.
Updating Classroom Details with Lunch Online
At the beginning of every year your students will usually change classrooms and / or schools - please remind your parents to update their child’s details by clicking "members" and changing their classroom name and school (otherwise their lunches will end up in the wrong location).
If the child no longer attends a school with Lunchonline then they can make the child "inactive" by unticking the box next to their name. Many schools make a note about this in their first school newsletter.
Safe and legal driving around school
With the start of the school year, the traffic on Sandwich Road has again become extremely busy. Please remember that residents have a right to be able to access their driveways and that it is illegal to park within 1m of a driveway. We have had three instances of neighbours not being able to safely access their own homes on the first day of school. Please also remember that it is illegal to pull up or park on any broken yellow lines, including those on either side of the crossing. All of these practices put the safety of our children and our wider community at risk.
With the lovely weather we are currently having, we encourage you to park at bit further away and walk, or just walk to school if you live close enough.
Scholastic Updates
The latest Scholastic Book Club brochures should be in your child's bag this week. This should be the last time we will receive hard copies.
In an effort to reduce our paper waste we have asked Scholastic to advise us of future offerings via emails that we can share with whānau and you will be able to access the brochure and order online
Students/Staff and Whanau will be advised of the new offerings from Scholastic via school newsletter and/or an email from Scholastic. Families will be able to access the brochure and order online.
Low Sensory Covid-19 Vaccination Clinics
We are very pleased to announce that bookings can now be made for the Low Sensory Covid-19 Vaccination Clinics which are supported by Autism NZ.
There are two options available:
- Nurse Maude Ballroom, 24 McDougall Ave, Christchurch
Friday 11 February 2022 9.00am – 12.30pm
Monday 21nd February 2022 1.00pm – 4.30pm
Friday 11 March 2022 9.00am – 12.30pm
Wednesday 23 March 2022 9.00am – 12.30pm
- Ascot Hub, 12 Ascot Avenue, Parklands, Christchurch
Wednesday 16 February 1.00pm – 4.30pm
Monday 28 February 1.00pm – 4.30pm
Both clinics offer a quiet location and longer appointment times to make the vaccination experience as relaxed as possible.
You can book your Booster Pfizer dose through this invitation. Booster doses are available for the 18 and over age group from three months after the second vaccine dose.
Children 5-11 year olds are able to attend the Low Sensory Covid-19 Vaccination Clinics and can also book through this invite.
We would like to highlight that family members from the same household, and any carers, are also eligible to be vaccinated – you just need separate bookings for each person at the same or adjacent times.
If you have any questions, contact Debra at Autism NZ.
(Please do not use Internet Explorer)
When asked, enter access code - B7W7T5BB1E
When asked for location, enter CHRISTCHURCH
We look forward to welcoming you.
From the team organising Low Sensory @ Nurse Maude and the Ascot Hub
Band Programme Music Lessons
Does your child want to learn a musical instrument? Did you know they can learn at school?
The CSM Outreach Band Programme combines individual lessons with ensemble playing right from the first note. Being part of a band can provide students with skills that will last a lifetime. As well as the wonderful musical benefits students will gain valuable social, physical and academic skills. And most importantly, it’s fun!
Students must be 9 years or older and can choose from the following instruments: Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute, Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Guitar, Percussion, French Horn.
Band Programme Fees
The Christchurch School of Music provides the Outreach Band Programme at your school. We work hard to keep the fees as affordable as possible. The fee for a standard 15 minute lesson per student in the band programme is $157.50/term or $630/year. Band is free to all students learning in the Outreach Band Programme. If you have a Community Services Card you may be eligible for a 50% discount on the base year’s fees.
CHRISTCHURCH SCHOOL OF MUSIC
60 Ferry Road, Christchurch 8011
P (03) 366 1711
PTA News
An event update: The 2022 Weetbix Kids TRYathlon due to be held in March, has been cancelled by the organisers.
Keep in touch with the PTA
To stay up to date with the PTA, please check out our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA Facebook page,
linked here. Or come along to one of our meetings - all welcome.
Meeting dates can be found in the weekly school Newsletter, or on the school calendar -
linked here.
These meetings are usually held on a Wednesday night 7.30-9.30pm.
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
