Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Friday 10 September, 2021

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

We were so thrilled to see all the children back at school yesterday and today. In fact, yesterday we only had 17 children absent out of 508 - a better attendance rate than usual for this time of the year! We had seven new children start school yesterday and today - a very special welcome to them, and their whānau.

Thank you to all of our whānau who have supported the dropping off and collecting of children at the gate each day. This will continue whilst we are at Level 2. The children were well prepared yesterday and even our newest students managed this very successfully. As of today, all of the Chromebooks that we loaned out have been returned - thank you very much for that.

Whilst we can't have whānau on site at the moment, it doesn't mean that you can't talk with your child's teachers. If you would like to talk to a teacher, please email the teacher or email the office (office@beckenham.school.nz) and they will be happy to call you back.

With only three weeks left of this term, teachers will be doing quite a bit of assessment over the next three weeks, in preparation for report writing from the start of Term 4. We expect to have reports out to you (via HERO for the first time) at the end of Week 5, and we will be offering Learning Conferences during Week 6 (23rd and 25th November).

Best wishes for the first weekend at Level 2 - whatever that allows you and your family to do!
Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Week 8:
Thu 16 Sep - Board of Trustees' meeting (5.30 - 7.30pm)

Week 9:
Wed 22 Sep - PTA meeting (7.30 - 9.30pm)

Week 10:
Fri 01 Oct - Last day of Term 3
Fri 01 Oct - Celebration Assembly (if we are at Level 1 - 12-12.30pm)

Term 4

Week 1:
Mon 18 Oct - First day of Term 4
Fri 22 Oct - Welcome to School Assembly (9.15 - 9.30am followed by Morning Tea for whānau)

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 & 2022 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Poppy Holton - Year 3

Poppy, you are an enthusiastic learner. You always show initiative and are willing to give it a go with everything you have been asked to do. You are also kind and caring to other members of Kōwhai hub as you make sure no one ever feels left out. We are so delighted to have you in Kōwhai this year, ka rawe!

School Notices

Lunch Ordering


Community Dental Van



Ministry of Education - Gifted Learner Awards

WHAT ARE THEY ALL ABOUT? 
The Gifted Learner Awards can be used to challenge learners to try something new, or extend them in areas they're already involved in and passionate about.
Applicants can include tamariki in early learning through to high school students. 
Applications can be for an individual or a group of learners, and can provide funding of up to $2,500 per individual or $5,000 per group (to be used within a 12-month period). 
APPLY TODAY: (Applications close at 4pm on 30 September 2021)

It's Māori Language Week next week!

Huatau | Ideas
Click this link to see some things you can do for your Māori Language Moment. It could be as easy as greeting everyone you see with 'kia ora', starting your Zoom call with "mōrena", or playing te reo Māori songs in your workplace all day. How you do it is up to you, but you can get started with some ideas linked here! (https://www.reomaori.co.nz/ideas)

Community Notices

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

Beckenham Tennis Club

Action Sports Summer Season


If anyone has any questions about Indoor Netball or Indoor Football, they can contact ACTION on:

Ph 03-366 6601
Email: football@actionindoorsports.com

Saint Albans Cricket Club 

I am Hope - Events coming up 

The Gumboot army is anyone who would like to raise money for Gumboot Friday – I am Hope charity.

Gumboot Friday – I am Hope is a charity started by Mike King, to raise money for counselling sessions for the tamariki of Aotearoa, aged 4-24 years old.

More information on this charity can be found at https://www.iamhope.org.nz/ 

Sunday 24th October - Little River Family Fun day! “Top town” gumboot competition, food, stalls, raffles and more! Find the event on Facebook at Little River Gumboot day. Two of the activities are design a gumboot and decorate a gumboot. It will be a great outing for everyone! If it doesn’t go ahead due to COVID, all prizes will be raffled and auctioned off on our FB page.

5th November 2021 – Gumboot Friday Take 2! We would love for you to get involved by encouraging your tamariki to wear gumboots and make a donation.

Vegan Expo Christchurch

Haere-Roa (UCSA, 90 Ilam Rd)
10am – 4pm
Sunday, November 7th

Enjoy great vegan food, watch top veggie chefs display their cooking secrets, learn about plant-based living and enjoy celebrating cruelty-free, pro-planet lives with Christchurch’s vegetarian and vegan community. Whether you are vegetarian or not, you will love the variety of foods and entertainment on offer, which includes a special kid’s zone, bouncy castle and activities.

Eftpos and plenty of free parking will be available.

Kids free (12 and under), adults $5 if bought online now (veganexpo.co.nz/christchurch) or $6 on the door.  


Please note: The Expo will only go ahead if we are in Covid-19 alert level 1. If the event has to be cancelled, refunds will be issued to anyone who has purchased tickets. 

Free leaflets and resources (click here).

Week 7 Term 3 Kahikatea – Welcome Back!

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Kia ora e te whānau,

It has been wonderful to be back at school for the past two days! Our hub has been a hive of activity since the children arrived on Thursday morning. Here are some photos of our wonderful children in action.






























We hope that you have a lovely weekend, and we look forward to another week of fun and learning next week as we venture into Week 8!

Katie, Amber, Lisa, Charlotte, Sarah

katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz
amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz
lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz
charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz



Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Friday 03 September, 2021

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

A shorter than usual newsletter this week, mostly to let you know that we, like most of you, are missing being at school and have all of our fingers and toes crossed that we will be moving to Alert Level 2 soon. 

A very warm welcome to four new families who have had children start during lockdown! A very unusual start for these children, but we hope that they have felt welcomed and we very much look forward to meeting them at school when we move to Alert Level 2
.
We have three bubbles of children learning at school at the moment, with the rest of our tamariki continuing with learning at home. The staff have been really impressed with the engagement of so many children, and enjoy catching up with learning, whether it has been via a group zoom (Years 3-8) or from phone conversations, emails and individual zooms with some whānau.

Communications

Electronic communication has been a critical part of staying connected as a school community through lockdown. From time to time, we send out surveys or quesstions to you that require a response to enable us to plan and prepare at school. 
We are now sending ALL of our communication out via our HERO platform. You can log onto HERO through your internet browser on your home computer, or via the app on your phone or handheld device.


Downloading the HERO app will allow you to have push notifications sent to your phone whenever an important communication is sent out. Search for "HERO by Linc-ed" on the google Playstore or Apple Store.
Once you have downloaded the app, you can log in using your email address as a 'new user' (note that the email address needs to be the one you have given us to use at school.

Stay safe, and stay in touch. You can still call the school via the office cellphone during school hours, or email office@beckenham.school.nz or email any of the staff via their school email (firstname.surname@beckenham.school.nz)

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there...

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Whilst we are working through Alert Levels, confirming dates of upcoming events is not possible. 

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 & 2022 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Isla Graham - Year 6

Isla, you have such a passion for learning and we love how you approach new challenges with an open, inquiring mind. Always let this shine, Isla! He taonga te ako, the treasure is learning. Thank you for being a kind, compassionate person who is always thinking of others, and ready to lend a helping hand. Tino pai, Isla!

School Notices

Ministry of Education - Gifted Learner Awards



WHAT ARE THEY ALL ABOUT? 
The Gifted Learner Awards can be used to challenge learners to try something new, or extend them in areas they're already involved in and passionate about.
Applicants can include tamariki in early learning through to high school students. 
Applications can be for an individual or a group of learners, and can provide funding of up to $2,500 per individual or $5,000 per group (to be used within a 12-month period). 
APPLY TODAY: (Applications close at 4pm on 30 September 2021)

Lunchonline in Level 3

Public Health: Everyone aged 12 years and over can now be vaccinated

Everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand aged 12 years and over can now book their free COVID-19 vaccination.
  • The Ministry of Health advises that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are necessary to protect each other, our whānau and our community against the Delta variant of the virus.

  • Reservations can be made through bookmyvaccine.nz – when booking appointments remember to stay local and book as close to home as possible.

  • If you have questions or need help booking, call the COVID Vaccination Healthline 0800 28 29 26. 

  • It may be able to book directly at your local general practice, community pharmacy or hauora provider. For more information visit Healthpoint or Karawhiua.

PTA News

Readathon Fundraiser 2021

Well with the Covid lockdown sprung on us this year, our annual Readathon and the money our amazing school of readers usually raise is looking a little different.

Our usual practice of collecting money and offering bookmarks to the children as they return their cards to the PTA hasn't been able to take place.  As we are yet to know when we will return to school and what that may look like, we would love to see all your wonderful donations made online.  Once we are back to school we will look at getting bookmarks distributed out.

Bank accounts details are:

12-3148-0244558-00
Ref - Readathon

A very big thank you from the PTA to those of you who have already sent your money in. 
We hope you are all having a safe lockdown and are all finding moments to lose yourself in a good book.

Extra Learning Spot

'The Rascally Cake' (by Jeanne Willis) 


Dr Murray Gadd Phd, reads 'The Rascally Cake' (by Jeanne Willis). A fun writing lesson primarily for Year 2-6 students, though some Year 7-8 students might enjoy it as well.  This lesson promotes procedural writing, and starts with a book.

'Diary Of A Worm' (by Doreen Cronin)


Dr Murray Gadd PhD, reads "Diary Of A Worm". Another fun writing lesson primarily for Year 2-6 students, though again some Year 7-8 students might enjoy it as well. Every lesson starts with a book.

How the Kiwi Lost its Wings

A shadow puppet performance, based on the story by Alwyn Owen, which tells of how the kiwi came to be the most beloved bird in Aotearoa.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Animated Film

In the internationally acclaimed The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a tiny caterpillar eats and eats…and eats his way through the week.  Taken from The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories collection. Based on Eric Carle's picture book.  Click here to watch.



Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Friday 27 August, 2021

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

As you will have no doubt heard, we are planned to shift to Alert Level 3from 11:59pm on Tuesday. This means that, from Wednesday, we will be operating at school on a very small scale for those children whose parents must go out of the home to work.

Whilst we are still waiting for more detailed information from the Ministry of Education about the way that we will be required to operate at Level 3, we need you to start thinking about your home and work situation and to let us know if will need your child to come to school during Level 3.

As Jacinda said during the announcement today "Children should only go to school if their parents are required to go to work and there is no other option available."

The flow chart below makes the decision process very clear...


We need EVERY family to fill out the following survey so we can plan our staffing accordingly:

Survey: Alert Level 3: Advising us of your intentions.

We will only have the minimum number of staff at school that we need. 

Learning at Home Website

Hopefully, you have all been able to access and read through the resources on our 'Learning at Home' site (https://learningathome.beckenham.school.nz/) which is linked to our school website.

This website has been designed so that you and your children can select activities from it that are going to be appropriate for your situation. If you don't have access to lots of wifi or devices, there are plenty of 'non-digital' learning options available, particularly for the younger students. Remember that every opportunity to write, to read, or to have a conversation is an opportunity for learning with your child. 

We have loved seeing updates from whānau showing the many fun and exciting things you have been learning and doing while in lockdown!
We have made some layout changes to the Learning at Home Website based on some feedback we have had. To find the learning activities for your child's team, you can now scroll down the page and find a large link for each team.

Non-digital learning at home

Given we are going to be at least another week in lockdown, you might want to take some time over the weekend to look at the Learning at Home website and think about what activities you are going to support your younger children with next week. Supermarkets have usually got felt pens, coloured pencils, exercise books, jotter pads and cellotape in stock, so it may be worthwhile popping some of these items into your shopping over the weekend! 


Borrowing a school Chromebook for learning at home

A small number of families let us know that they would like to borrow a school Chromebook for their child to use when learning at home. These were issued last week.
If you are finding that your child would benefit from borrowing a school device, we will be able to loan some more early next week. Please complete this form to let us know you would like to borrow a school Chromebook: Borrowing School Chromebooks Survey


Reminder - School Grounds are closed at Level 4

Please remember that the school grounds, including the playground and basketball courts, are closed at Alert Level 4.


HERO App

We know that many of you have successfully downloaded the free HERO app from either the Apple Store or Google Play store. Earlier this week, the app disappeared from the Google Play store but it has been reinstated and is able to be downloaded again. 

These are challenging times for us all and our thoughts are with you all as you navigate life in bubbles once again. Please do reach out to our staff by calling the school phone 03 337 1404, by emailing the office office@beckenham.school.nz or by emailing a member of our teaching staff if you would like someone to call you. Please be aware that when our teachers call you, they will be using their personal phones, so their number is likely to come up as a 'private number'.

Do send the teachers photos of your children and their learning at home - the teachers love getting to see what the children are doing too.

Ngā mihi mahana
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki / Principal



Important Dates

Citizen of the Week

Kawariki Taylor - Year 4

Kawariki! We love your enthusiasm and positivity in everything you do. Students in Kōwhai look up to you as someone who is a kind and humble leader. Your self-management and dedication means that your schoolwork is always completed to a high standard. Ka mau te wehi! Thank you for being your fantastic self. 

Congratulations

... to Zoe M Clarke on winning a leadership Scholarship to Cashmere High School for 2022. 

School Notices

Mana Ake

Mana Ake – Stronger for Tomorrow provides mental health and wellbeing support for children in primary school years 1-8 across Canterbury. Click here to see way's you can support your tamariki.
A number of whānau have already made great use of the Mana Ake “drop-ins” that are available on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 – 9:30am (on a normal school day, not in Level 3 or 4). These drop-in sessions are here to provide parents with an opportunity to have a private, informal conversation around the well being of their child with one of our Mana Ake workers (kaimahi). If you feel like you would like to attend a drop-in session, please book in a time via the link here: Mana Ake booking  The code to use is 88t39. Alternatively, you can contact Jacky in the office and she will make a booking for you.

Scholastic Book Club Orders Update

This is an update to let you know that if you have not yet received your Issue 5 orders, they will be in the Scholastic warehouse. Until Alert Levels drop to Level 2, we are unable to despatch orders to schools. 


"Right now, we are all adjusting to the restrictions to keep our communities safe and well. The extension of lockdown is presenting us all with challenges. It is impacting our ability to work, connect and have our children in school. 
 
If you haven’t yet received your order, it will be part of many orders that are currently in the Scholastic warehouse.
 
Under Level 4, only essential businesses are allowed to operate and unfortunately, this means that the Scholastic warehouse is closed. Consequently, we are unable to fulfil your orders until Auckland reaches Level 2 or lower.
 
Home deliveries that are already in the system, will be despatched at Level 3 as will any new orders marked for home delivery.
 
Lockdown is hard on everyone including our children. During lockdown, reading is more important than ever. Reading for at least 10 minutes every day not only benefits children academically but also allows children the time to quieten their minds and to unwind, soothing stress and anxiety.
 
Please be assured that we are aware of the disappointment of not receiving your books and we will send you an update when the situation improves.

If we can be of assistance, please contact Customer Services on 0800 266 525.
 
In the meantime, stay safe everyone.
The Scholastic Team"

Sports News

Primary Sports Canterbury (PSC)'s 'BUBBLATHLON'

PSC have come up with an alternative to the PSC Duathlon scheduled for Monday (30th Aug), a first ever ‘Bubblathlon’, and would love for you to share this with your whānau. You may have already seen our post today on the PSC facebook page, link here, and you are welcome to share it.

Essentially this is about completing a duathlon (run-bike-run) within your bubble. Any course, any time of the day and at any speed, we are encouraging all participants to share their experiences using a picture collage or even video on our facebook post that will go up on Monday. 


Extra Learning Spot 

Story time - Links to online stories for Tamariki:





Community Notices

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

Summer With Your Neighbours


Subsidies for neighbourhood events held between 29 October 2021 and 31 March 2022

'Summer with your neighbours' is about bringing people together. It's an opportunity to organise a small get-together or local gathering to get to know your neighbours.

The Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board is making small subsidies available towards neighbourhood gatherings in its Board area.

Apply online at: ccc.govt.nz/GetTogether
Or request a hard-copy application form by phoning CCC Call Centre (03) 941 8999.

Applications for subsidies close on 10th September 2021

Please Note:
1. Subsidy reimbursements are paid after the gathering, on presentation and approval of receipts.
2. Subsidies are not available for alcohol, fireworks, or paid entertainment.
3. If your gathering is to be held in a public space such as a local park or reserve, you will need to contact Council Bookings on (03) 941 8888 to check availability and make a booking for your chosen venue.

Golden Rules - Alert Level 4 Information videos 



For our Pacific families, if you are not aware the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ has been working to ensure useful information is available to Pacific peoples in nine different languages.


Write like an author, draw like an artist.


Opportunity for young people (? couldn't decide on this - opted to include - remove if neeeded)