Koru News Term 4 Week 1

 Kia ora whanau,

Welcome to the fourth term of the year, and what a busy one it looks as if it's going to be! It was such a treat to see all of those wide and happy smiles back at the school gate this week. We give an especially warm welcome to Hunter, Millie and James who all had their first day at school on Monday. What a wonderful job they're all doing of settling in beautifully at school. Mīharo, tamariki!

All children have returned to the school routines very happily, and are enthusiastically embracing their learning, including those crucial areas of learning like showing 'We Care', embracing challenge, helping each other out when the need arises and making a difference by keeping the learning spaces tidy and well-organised.

A huge thank you goes out to the parents who have created the absolutely gorgeous fairy houses for the Koru team's raised garden area. The children are loving the play in this area, and have been having some great ideas for the things that they could make or bring in from home to decorate the garden even further. Some of their ideas include:

  • little plants (flowers, little succulents and herbs)
  • tiny terracotta pots
  • little beds for the fairies to sleep in
  • decorations for the houses
  • stones, painted or plain
  • a little lake!
  • little hollows and tunnels
If you have any of the above items at home, or perhaps resources which could be put together to create any of the above, all contributions will be gratefully received. Next week, we're going to have a go at making our own little fairies out of old-fashioned wooden pegs. If you have any fabric which would be suitable for clothes or wings, any little buttons, tiny fake flowers, or any other items which you think might be useful, we'd love it if you were to send them along to school. Thank you so much, in anticipation!

Learning Through Play:
The children have jumped back into their Learning Through Play with energy and enthusiasm. They have had some special Koru time in Treemendous, and there are also several little schools in operation, both indoors and outdoors (see below).























We love the examples of our school kete values being evidenced in the children's play in the photos above. You could ask your children to describe the values they can see in action in these photos!

Structured Literacy:
Both teachers and children are loving getting back into Structured Literacy lessons! The children are showing wonderful focus and engagement, and are feeling very proud of the progress that they're making. Please ensure that your children are practising reading their heart words fluently and confidently, as well as writing them. Practising writing the heart words at home will help your child enormously with their confidence in Literacy groups at school. They can also be putting their letter cards together to form simple 2 or 3 letter words, or for those children who have been at school for a longer time, they can be putting their heart words and letter cards together to form sentences, which they can then read to you.






Great work, tamariki! What fantastic spelling and writing.

Handwashing:
We're back into the routine of washing our hands regularly at school, along with using hand sanitiser. We thought you might like to see an example of how diligent the children are when it comes to handwashing. They are experts!







Hats:
A reminder, please, to ensure that your child brings their named hat to school every day. 

We trust that you all have an absolutely wonderful long weekend, and please remember that Tuesday is a Staff Only Day, so we'll see the children back at school, bright-eyed and with wide smiles, on Wednesday next week!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

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



Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 4 Week 1

 In this post:

  • Relationships and Sexuality Education
  • Parent help
  • Cantamath canceled
  • Sunhats and masks
  • Year 8 photos

  • Relationships and Sexuality Education

    Many thanks to everyone who has indicated they will be coming to the Relationships and Sexuality Education parent meeting this this evening (Thursday) in our hub. If you intend to attend and have not let us know yet, please fill in this form. Lessons will start next Wednesday.

    Parent Help

    Many thanks to the parents who will be helping with our passions programme this term. I am also keen to have a helper or two to join our 'Sustainable Gifts' passion. This will involve supervising a small group in a making activity each Friday afternoon. Even if you could just make some Fridays, that would make a difference.  Please fill in this form if you can help.

    During this term we have two events planned where we will require parent help, Top Team on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 16th, and a trip to Corsair Bay on Thursday, December 9th. If you can help with either of these events, please complete this form.

    Over the past six or so years we have had a Year 8 pool and pizza party in the last week of term, from 4 - 6pm. In the past, this has been hosted by a teacher or a parent at their homes. We would love this tradition to continue. We organise the pizza and provide supervision, however, none of us live at a property suitable for hosting such a gathering this year. If you think you could host such an event or if you have a good idea for an alternative, please email Nicky.

    Cantamath

    We received an email from the Cantamath organisers yesterday to say that despite exploring many possible options they are unable to go ahead this term. There were a large number of outstanding projects that we were going to send through to Cantamath. These are in Pukaki and will need to go home, some via car - looking at their size. 

    Sunhats and masks

    It was fabulous to see a huge number of our team prepared with masks for the tech bus on Tuesday. Please keep checking that these are packed for all Year 7 & 8s on Tuesday mornings.
    We have a small number of children who are yet to bring a sunhat to school. This makes things really tricky for breaktimes and PE. We realise that Year 8s may not want to purchase a red hat if theirs is missing. Any fully brimmed sunhat will suffice.

    Year 8 Photos

    Many thanks to those who have already sent me a photo of your Year 8 as a 5 year old. If you have yet to do this,  can you please email me (nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz) a photo of your child when they started school. This can either be an 'at / going to school' photo or any photo of them as a 5-year-old. If you cannot email a photo, please send in the hard copy next week and I will scan and return it the same day. I'd love these pics ASAP.

    Important Health & Safety Newsletter, Friday 15 October 2021

    Principal's Patch

    Kia ora koutou

    I hope that you have all managed to get some time to rest and relax with your family during these school holidays. We are all looking forward to welcoming our tamariki back to school on Monday, with a special welcome for a number of new students who will be starting.

    This newsletter is to keep you up to date on our ongoing Health & Safety guidelines in this ever-changing COVID-19 environment. We face the new term still at Alert Level 2, and understand that it is increasingly likely that Delta will soon appear in our community. During the two weeks of the school holidays, the COVID situation has continued to be challenging in the North Island, and, as a result, there continue to be changes mandated around the way we all need to behave and operate, so as to keep everyone in our community as safe and healthy as we possibly can. A significant announcement this week has been the new mandate for all school staff to be fully vaccinated.

    The information in italics below has come directly from a Ministry of Education bulletin this week. We are receiving daily updates and clarifications on procedures and expectations to help us understand our responsibilities going into Term 4. 

    Applying the mandatory vaccination and testing requirements

    On Monday 11 October 2021 the Government advised that all staff and workers who may have contact with children and students in schools and kura throughout the country (regardless of COVID-19 Alert Level) will be required to have a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by 15 November and be fully vaccinated by 1 January 2022.
     
    From 1 January 2022, education services must only allow those that are fully vaccinated to provide onsite services during opening hours.

    This means vaccinations are mandatory for all those working onsite including teachers, relief teachers, casual staff, administration staff, caretakers, cleaners, OSCAR providers and hostel staff – whether direct employees or employees of a contractor. It also applies to unpaid workers, such as volunteers (including parent volunteers) and any members of the community who are on site at the school kura, as they are likely to come into contact with students. 
     
    The vaccination requirement does not apply to parents or whānau undertaking student pick-ups and drop-offs, but these should be conducted in an outdoor environment where face coverings must be worn, and physical distancing measures retained.

    We will be working through the process of gathering vaccination information from our staff next week. 

    As you can see from the information above, we will also need to begin gathering vaccination information from any adults who come onto the school site as workers or as volunteers, whānau included. Our understanding is that this will be compulsory from the beginning of next year. Please do not be offended if you are volunteering and we request this information from you this year; we do not want to have a big job at the start of the school year if we can make a start on it now. Being unvaccinated will not preclude you from volunteering this year, however, it will from the start of next year.

    Wearing of masks:



    Adults and Masks: There has also been a change in the guidelines to schools on the wearing of masks. Staff at school still do not have to wear masks, but may choose to do so at any time. When any other adults come onto the school site, face coverings MUST now be worn and physical distancing measures maintained, unless this gets in the way of the delivery of the curriculum.
    This means that caregivers and whānau will always need to wear a mask when you come onto the school site, and that staff will also wear masks if we are meeting with you.

    Students and Masks: Students are not required to wear masks at school. If any student wishes to wear a mask, they are absolutely able to do that.
    There has been a change to the requirements around bus transport, particularly for our Year 7/8 students going to technology each Tuesday on the bus.
    Students who are aged 12 and over are now required to wear a mask on both school and public bus services, under all alert levels. Students under 12 are encouraged to wear a mask on school transport.

    As we have increasing numbers of students in our Year 7/8 area are 12 and 13 years old, we have decided to take an inclusive and pragmatic approach and request that ALL Year 7/8 students bring and wear a mask on the technology bus each Tuesday, and on any other bus trips that the Year 7/8 students may make. 

    Sunhats

    As we start Term 4, please ensure that your child has a named red or black school sunhat at school every day.



    Drink Bottles (no water fountains at Alert Level 2)

    While we continue to be at Alert Leve 2, our drinking fountains are not available to be used. This means that all children need to bring a named water bottle to school every day. Please check that this comes home each day for cleaning and refilling.

    Staying connected to your child's home group teacher

    We appreciate that it is much more challenging at the moment to stay connected to your child's learning and school life when all of the above restrictions are in place. Please email your child's teacher if you want to make a time to pop in after school (wearing a mask) to have a quick catch-up, or to see inside your child's learning space (especially if you are new to the school).

    Reports and Learning Conferences

    This year has been a different one in terms of our reporting schedule, as we tranistion across to HERO. We expect to have progress and achievement reports to you at the end of Week 5, with Learning Conferences in Week 6 (23rd and 25th November). More information about these will come out next week.

    See you all next week!

    Ngā mihi mahana
    Sandy Hastings
    Tumuaki/Principal

    Kauri Whānau: Year 8 Yearbook

     Kia ora,

    No doubt you are finding it hard to believe that your Year 8 youngster has only 8 and a half weeks of primary / intermediate education left! As part of our farewell, we put together a yearbook with photos and memories for the Year 8s to treasure. To do this we need your help.

    1. Can you please email me (nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz) a photo of your child when they started school. This can either be an 'at / going to school' photo or any photo of them as a 5-year-old. If you cannot email a photo, please send in the hard copy next week and I will scan and return it the same day. I'd love these pics ASAP.

    2. Talk with your child about the memory they might write about (a Beckenham memory from the past 8 years) at school next week. They also need to choose a friend and a teacher who they would like to write a memory about them.

    Ngā mihi

    Nicky Dunlop

    Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 10

     Kia ora whānau, 

    What a whirlwind of a term! We are so proud of how our tamariki managed themselves this term, coping with changes in various levels and heading back into online learning. It has been a lovely couple of weeks back in the hub to end the term. Next term is a shorter term with lots of events, such as Athletics. We will send out information around these as they come up. 

    Term 4

    Next term is a summer term so the students will need to bring their hats back to school for play. Please remind them of this. 

    Next term the home groups will be moving spaces. 

    The new spaces will be as follows:

    Nick - The Nook

    Quynh - The Theatre

    Meagan - The Breakout space

    Laura - The Pathway

    Rowe - The Atrium 

    Term 4 will start on Monday the 18th of October. 

    Here are a selection of photos from Term 3. 




























    We hope you have a relaxing holiday, and keep safe and happy. 

    The Kōwhai Team - Laura, Nick, Rowe, Quynh and Meagan