Moving to Level 4 – Update.

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Kia ora e te whānau

As you will all be aware by now, school will be closed for the next three days.

Nearly all of our staff have been in this evening picking up resources and items that they will need to support learning from home.

Tomorrow our staff will be working together online to put up the learning sites that you and your children will be able to access from Thursday.

We are trying to get the office phone diverted to the school cell phone, however, if you need to call school, please call the cellphone on 021 0279 4107 between 8:15am and 3:45pm.

We appreciate what a challenging time this will be for many of our families, as you try to juggle competing needs of work and immediate and wider family. Many of our staff will also be in this position in their homes too.

We are working with the information we currently have which is that Level 4 goes through to the weekend. We are preparing for multiple scenarios at school and will be in touch later tomorrow with more information about accessing some learning for your children by Thursday. There will also be a survey out tomorrow to find out if any of you need devices for your children. If the lockdown continues beyond the weekend, we will do our best to make devices available to those who need them.

Whilst we know that staying connected for our young people is important, they also need your guidance and active supervision in this digital environment during this tricky time.

From our staff, to you and your whānau, stay safe.

Kauri Whānau – getting prepared for level 4

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 Kia ora everyone,

I am back at school gathering resources for learning at home - however long that may be?? There are 5 BYOD devices still at school. Two are out of charge and are not named and the others belong to Tahere, Jonty and Rory. School will be open until 10pm tonight. Let me know what you need from kids' buckets - books to read, pencil cases - anything else. If I am not in the hub, I will leave things in the office where Sandy will be until 10pm.  Please email with what you need - nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz

Ngā mihi

Nicky


Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 4

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 In this post:

  • Cantamath
  • Beckamath
  • Congratulations
  • Ski Trip
  • Sports news
  • Year 8 girls' self defence
  • Photo Gallery

Cantamath

It was so exciting to see all of the fabulous Cantamath projects arrive at school on Friday. We are hoping to see some last-minute arrivals on Monday. Well done to the 90 children who completed their projects on time. On Friday after school, the teachers marked each project and identified those that will be going through to the Cantamath competition at the Christchurch Arena on Wednesday, August 25th. 

We would love to give whānau the opportunity to view these projects. A display has been set up in East Pukaki, the old new entrant hub that is across the courtyard from our hub. This will be open before school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and after school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. All work that is not going through to Cantamath will need to be taken home on Friday. 

Cantamath problem-solving teams will be announced early next week. These teams will compete at the Christchurch Arena on August 25th, at 4pm for Year 7 and 5pm for Year 8. 

Beckamath

On Wednesday afternoon last week, we held our annual Beckamath competition. Children competed in homegroup teams to solve tricky maths problems. The hall was filled with excitement, focused energy and the heat of competition. Below is the top part of the results table. See photos at the end of this post.


Congratulations

A special congratulations to Zoë Clarke, who has been awarded a leadership scholarship for Cashmere High School in 2022. 

Ski Trip

Many thanks to everyone who has completed our ski trip form. We nearly have all of these completed. As part of the preparation for our day on the mountain, we will be going over a ski safety contract with the children and viewing a slideshow to give them an idea of what to expect. We will also be having lessons looking at the snow safety code, dressing for a mountain environment and familiarisation with equipment for first-time skiers. 

A reminder that our ski day is on September 2nd. The buses will be leaving from Sandwich Rd at 6am and will return at 6pm.

Gear

For those of you who indicated on the ski form that you would like help to get clothing for your child, we will start matching children up with gear and sending this home next week. If you offered to loan clothing - I will contact you if we need it. If you are looking for a good place to hire clothing and goggles, Snowmania rents gear at very reasonable prices: 4 Dalgety Street, Riccarton Phone: 03 961 6747. Remember that we arrange the skis, boots and helmets through Mt Hutt; you don't need to sort this equipment. 

Being dressed for the mountain conditions makes such a difference to the enjoyment of the day. Below is a reminder of what your child will need. 

  • Several thin layers are much better for keeping warm and comfortable than a bulky layer. Cotton is not great for the mountains; thermal clothing is what’s needed.
  • Polypro or woollen thermal top
  • Thermal ‘long-johns’ or tights
  • Fleece or woollen top / jersey
  • Waterproof pants
  • A warm weatherproof jacket
  • Woollen or thermal socks, not too thick. Socks need to come up to mid-calf at least.
  • Weatherproof gloves or mittens
  • Either sun glasses or ski goggles
  • A scarf is optional, but must be tucked into their jacket, to avoid dangling ends.
  • Hats are not needed as all children will be given a helmet
  • Sunscreen, for the face
  • A substantial lunch, including a drink. The mountain cafe is very expensive. Children may bring some money for a hot drink or snack, but please also pack a lunch. They are responsible for looking after any money they bring.
  • Long hair needs to be tied up. Children who get asthma should have their inhalers with them.

Sports news


Our fingers are crossed for a fine day on Tuesday so that we can go ahead with our Year 5-8 duathlon. For those who have entered, bikes need to be placed in the stands which will be by the Norwood entrance to the park before 8:30am. Remember to lock the bike to the stands as this area will not be supervised in the morning.

Our final winter sport session is this Thursday.

Self-Defence


This coming week we welcome back Lynda Maindonald from the Girls’ Self Defence Project. This project has been set up to equip girls with the skills and strategies to keep safe. Our Year 8 girls will have 8 hours of tuition with Lynda over 3 sessions. We are organising this in two groups with the first group starting on Wednesday. 

Photo Gallery


Speaker boxes under construction at hard materials technology.


Wednesday's Beckamath Competition





A selection of photos from the many fabulous Cantamath projects.
















Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Friday 13 August 2021

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Our new school communications app - HERO

Have you downloaded and logged in yet? 

From next week we will be using HERO for the majority of our school communications, apart from the newsletter (which may also be going through HERO in the future). To ensure that you are getting all of the communications, you need to download the HERO app and log in...

HERO notifications through your phone will become the primary source of our messaging to you, as whānau. When a sports event has been postponed, when an important message needs to go out to a hub about a trip, when we need to let you know about something that is happening for your child's home group or team, all of these messages will be coming through HERO and you won't want to miss them!

1. Download the Hero by LINC-ED app from the app store
Note: use the keywords Hero LINC-ED when searching for the app.

Alternatively, open your browser and enter go.linc-ed.com 

For the instructions on how to set up your HERO app - click here.

Working Bee - next Sunday 22 August 10am-12noon

We are hoping to have a big turnout next Sunday to get the planting done around the new NE block, and to put together 6 new picnic tables for our children.
Please come along and lend a hand so that we can get all of this done within the two hours.



Readathon Final week - and BOOK Character Day next Friday!

Keep up with the reading, and remember that next Friday is the famous "Book Character Day"! Come along to school dressed as your favourite character. They can be as fully committed to a costume, or as subtle as suits you and them to manage! We really encourage families to have fun with this - it's about being creative, and inventive, not about spending money on costumes. 



Have a safe weekend!
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Term 3, Week 4:

Tue 17 Aug - School Duathlon Postponement date (12:00 - 3.15pm)
Wed 18 Aug - ESOL Whānau Hui (2.15 - 2.55pm)
Thu 19 Aug - South Zone Winter Sport (12:00 - 3:00pm)
Fri 20 Aug - Book Character Day
Fri 20 Aug - Celebration Assembly (12.00 - 12.30pm)
Sun 22 Aug - Treemendous Working Bee (10am - 12pm)

Term 3, Week 5:
Thu 26 Aug - Canterbury Winter Tournament
Wed 25 Aug - PTA Meeting (7.30 - 9.30pm)
Fri 27 Aug - Staff Only Day SCHOOL CLOSED

Term 3, Week 6:
Mon 30 Aug - Canterbury Duathlon
Fri 3 Sep - Celebration Assembly (12.00 - 12.30pm)

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 term dates.

Term Dates for 2022

At our Board of Trustees meeting last night, the term dates for 2022 were confirmed and are shown below. These will be added to our school calendar and website by the end of next week.

2022 Term Dates  

Staff Only Days: Thu 27, Fri 28 January & Mon 31 January
Term 1: Tue 1 February - Thu 14 April
NB: Learning Conferences all day Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 February. Supervision will be provided for families who have requested it. Classes start Thursday 3 February. 
Waitangi Day Mon 7 Feb (School Closed)
Good Friday  - Friday 15 April - School Closed
Staff Only Day during Term 1 - date to be confirmed

Term 2: Mon 2 May to Fri 8 Jul
Queen's Birthday Mon 6 Jun School Closed
Matariki Fri 24 Jun School closed
Staff Only Day during Term 2, date to be confirmed 

Term 3: Mon 25 Jul Friday 30 Sep
Staff Only Day during Term 3, date to be confirmed

Term 4: Mon 17 Oct Thu 15 Dec 84 half days; 10 weeks
Labour Day Mon 24 Oct - School Closed
Canterbury Anniversary Fri 11 Nov - School Closed
Citizen of the Week

Citizen of the Week

Ella Taylor - Year 6

Ella, you are such a fun-loving and kind and gentle individual. You come to school with a smile on your face every day and you are always ready to learn. You put every effort into doing the best that you can which makes you an amazing role model in Pōhutukawa. Tu meke!

School Notices

Reminder

Please ensure you are signing yourself in at the office when you are on school grounds, and please ensure you are signing your child out at the office if they are leaving school early.

Terracycling

Terracycle is discontinuing the recycling programme for writing implements which means we will no longer be taking any pens at the front desk.

BIC, which was partnering with Terracycle for this programme, has withdrawn their support and are now focussing their resources on developing reusable options....maybe going back to old school refillable fountain pens!

Headlice

A quick note in about headlice... please keep checking your children's hair, as we have had more cases reported across the school. Please do not send your child to school if you find nits, until you have treated them.

Keeping Ourselves Safe

In Term 3 our Year 0 to 6 students will be engaged in lessons from the Keeping Ourselves Safe program, supported by lessons with our Police Education Officer Constable Ross Mitchell. 
Keeping Ourselves Safe consists of a comprehensive range of child protection resources to help students learn and apply a range of safety skills that they can use when interacting with others in their lives and community. 

Students recognise the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, and the ways  to seek help.

Discussing what your child has been learning at school will be a great way to reinforce the safety messages being delivered.

Choice Programme

In Term 3 our students in Year 7 and 8 will be working through the Choice programme.  This programme empowers children with information and strategies to support them to make good decisions around drugs and alcohol, what they are and discuss the reasons why people might take these.  They will also be covering coping strategies and resources that provide healthy alternatives. In week 4 and 5 of the term Constable Ross will be having three sessions with each home group.

News in ESOL 

This term, we have started a new ESOL group for Koro students, AND we have also welcomed Kerilea as a Teaching Assistant working with the group. Koru students introduced themselves and drew pictures of their families and favourite things.



Meanwhile, our Kahikatea and Kōwhai ESOL groups welcomed and Kerilea and decorated their parent invitations for our hui in week 4.


Cantamath

The Kauri children have been creating amazing projects for the Cantamath display competition. They have explored maths in a wide variety of contexts and communicated their mathematical ideas a lots of different ways. The effort, creativity and learning that has gone into these projects is very impressive. 
These projects are currently displayed in Pūkaki. We are opening Pūkaki for whānau to view the display on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon after school and Wednesday and Thursday morning before school. We invite you to pop in and take a look.

Lunch Ordering

Please see a full list of lunch options linked here on our website.

Gangsters! Cream pies!  Singing! Dancing! And Splurge guns...

Aine Smythe is currently in rehearsals with Elmwood Players for the hilarious family musical BUGSY MALONE! 

Based on the hit 1976 film originally starring a preteen Scott Baio and Jodi Foster, and featuring a catchy, swinging score by the composer of The Muppet Movie. Two gangs, comprised completely of children, square off in a 1920s rivalry of Capone-ian standards. Dandy Dan's gang has gotten the upper hand since obtaining the "splurge" gun. Now, Fat Sam and his bumbling buffoons are in real trouble! Bugsy Malone, a one-time boxer, is thrust not-so-willingly into the gangster limelight when he becomes the last chance that Fat Sam's gang has of surviving. All Bugsy really wants to do is spend time with his new love, Blousey, but that just isn't in the cards for our hero. Bugsy Malone is a classic musical comedy not to be missed.

Check out Aine on stage at Elmwood Auditorium over the October School Holidays.

Sports News

Gymnastics fun in Kahikatea!

Community Notices

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

Free computing courses 

Now available at the Ara Trades campus in Sullivan Avenue. We find our courses help parents become confident users of computers and technology so they can help their children in their education.


Koru Term 3 Week 3

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Kia ora koutou,

What a great start to Term 3 we have had in the Koru Hub. Our busy days are providing many learning opportunities for our tamariki and we are enjoying seeing the progress they are making.

It is so lovely to hear about all the practice the children are doing at home with their sound cards and heart words. It really does make a difference to their progress at school. Once they have secured the sounds, they can use the sound cards to make small words and put the words together, in conjunction with their heart words, to make simple sentences. If they need extra letters, they can make their own on paper. Children can also practise writing the words they make. They will be able to show you their 3 friends pen hold and how they pick the pen up with their holding fingers which they pinch together to pick the pen up correctly. Once they are able to decode words by sounding out the individual sounds, their next step is to blend the sounds together as they read them. This will help them to become fluent readers and make sure they are understanding what they are reading. 

We  have been offered the use of one of the planter boxes, that are in front of the hall, to plant up and look after for the rest of the year. This week we have been learning about planting seeds and how to take care of them. We wrote some instructions for planting seeds and have begun to plant some pea and bean seeds in class. We are very excited about looking after them and watching their growth progress.

During our Learning Through Play, we have been focusing on the learning that is taking place. We spent some time last week discussing exactly why we call it Learning Through Play. It was great to hear children explaining that it's "because we are learning as we play." This week we have been identifying the ways in which what we do during Learning Through Play also relate to our school values.
We Get There Together

We Love Learning

We Get There Together

We Care

We Make a Difference

We Love Learning

We Get There Together and We Love Challenge

We Care

Using the cloud dough to make heart words - We Love Challenge and We Love Learning

Our shared book this week was about a gardener who created a maze out of hedge plants. During Learning Through Play we had a go at making and drawing our own mazes.

Creating a maze out of painted stones

Drawing mazes on paper

Using a whiteboard to draw a maze

We have begun our Keeping Ourselves Safe lessons in class. We have been talking about what makes us unique, along with the important information children need to know as part of keeping themselves safe. We have noticed that most children do not yet know their address or a contact telephone number. This would be a great time to have a practice with your child at home so they know how to contact you in an emergency. They will be bringing home a copy of the sheet they filled out, with support, at school to practise with you at home. Next week, we begin our lessons with Constable Ross.

We hope you have been enjoying participating in the school readathon. There is one more week to get those 'reading' minutes up. We will celebrate the end of the readathon next Friday with a Book Character Dress Up day, so get those creative hats on!

Have a lovely relaxing weekend together.

Ngā mihi mahana,

The Koru Team: Elizabeth, Tracey, Nicola, Chelsea and Stacey