Principal's Patch
Kia ora koutou
You may recall that last week I shared that our children had written cards and letters to be sent to the children at Kaikoura Primary School. I had a call this week from Nigel Easson, the principal, expressing his thanks to our community for this support. He said that the letters and cards had been spread around the tables at school and, when the children and their parents and grandparents had arrived at school this Wednesday, there had been lots of reading, tears, laughing and appreciation as the letters were read and reread. For those of you who didn't catch the segment on TVNZ One News on Wednesday evening, we have managed to capture it below for you to view.Mandarin learning continues
Our Kahikatea team have been enjoying working with Felicia from the Confucius Institute, having an introduction to Mandarin.The teachers were asked to nominate 5 children for excellence awards which were given out at a special ceremony in mid November.
We are grateful to Felicia who has offered to continue working with two small extension groups of Year 1/2 students on Friday afternoons to the end of the term.
Ngā mihi
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Tue 6 Dec7-8:30pm A Very Kauri Christmas in the Beckenham School hall.
Wed 7 Dec
7am - 5pm Canterbury Athletics at Ashburton Domain
Thu 8 Dec
1:30-2:00pm "Thank you" afternoon tea for school helpers
2-3pm Final Celebration Assembly of 2016 at Beckenham School
5:30-6:45pm Kahikatea Team Wearable Arts Performance in the School hall
Tues 13 Dec
Kauri Team Corsair Bay trip
Thu 15 Dec
11am-12pm Year 8 Graduation Assembly followed by Leavers' Lunch
Fri 16 Dec
Junior School Athletics 11am - 12:30pm
Term 4 ends. School finishes at 12:30pm
Term Dates
Click here to view the 2016 and 2017 term dates.Citizen of the Week
Adam Barton - Year 6
Adam you are a diligent and self-motivated learner. You embrace all learning opportunities with enthusiasm and creativity. You reflect carefully on your learning and regularly seek and respond to feedback. You have a great sense of humour and we have all enjoyed your ready wit and unique view on events and ideas. You are very responsible and have undertaken leadership roles to the best of your ability. You are also a very sensitive and supportive friend. We can always rely on you to focus on your learning and be a great role model for other children. Thank you for making Beckenham School a better place!Sharing our Learning
Pohutukawa Camp at Living Springs
Last week the Pohutukawa Whanau spent three days and two nights at Living Springs. Over the three days we experienced three very different seasons but this did not slow us down one bit. The children (and adults!) had a fantastic time on the first day; orienteering around the site, going on the monorail, bouncing on the tramps, racing around the track on the balance bikes, and taking a refreshing dip in the pool. To add to all the excitement, two of our children, Declan and Ruby, were also celebrating their birthdays on this day!
On the second day we enjoyed walking up to Don’s Shed to complete Initiatives, a series of team building exercises that challenged the children both mentally and physically. We also walked down to the outdoor camping area and played Animal Survival, a very complex game that has elements of both tag and a treasure hunt. One of the highlights of this game was watching the adults join in, especially Katie as the huntress! During the night we had an epic dance party where our jump jammers took the stage and motivated all the children to get their groove on.
On the third day we packed up all our gear and headed down to the farm. There we were split into two groups. In the first group we went on a tractor ride around the farm and learned how to communicate with horses and ride them. In the second group we learned about cows and how to milk them. After a sausage sizzle lunch and feeding the animals we all hopped back on the bus and headed back to Beckenham to reunite with our loved ones.
It was a fantastic trip where all the children did our school proud by demonstrating our school values ‘We get there together’. A huge thank you to all the parents who supported us on camp and an even bigger thank you to Nick Bruce who organised and led the camp. We are now counting down the days to our next camp in 2018!
Pohutukawa Speech Competition
Earthquakes and weather didn’t stop Team Pohutukawa from holding their annual speech competition. Congratulations to our winners.First Place: Ben Evans
Second Place: Hannah Winchester
Third Place: Meg Macdonald and Lucy Gray (3rd equal)
School Notices
Term Four Accounts and EFTPOS in the office
The final accounts for the year will be sent out early next week. We will be sending these out by email this time, rather than by post. We are also bringing in EFTPOS at the office to try and make paying for items as school easier for you.
We expect this to be up and running by Tuesday. It will be for payments using Debit Cards and EFTPOS cards only. We will not be able to take Credit Card payments or give Cash out.
If you have any queries about your account, please contact our interim accounts officer - Tracy Dunn by emailing accounts@beckenham.school.nz or by phoning the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Fridays.
Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival
Video of Music Festival now availableA video of any/all of the three nights of the 2016 Music Festival is now available. The video has been compiled by Armedia NZ Ltd, the good people who provided the live feed of video to the screens in the venue each night of the festival.
For details and orders, just go to http://www.armedianz.co.nz/csmf
PTA News
PTA Co-Chairperson
We are looking for someone to assist with leading a supportive group of PTA members for 2017. If you are interested please contact us at pta@beckenham.school.nzWe are also wanting new members to join our friendly team. If you are interested and have any questions please contact the PTA.
Bingo Night Update
The Bingo profit is in & we have raised $3435.85!!!Thanks to all the people who attended & the businesses that donated prizes, we couldn’t have done it without your support.
The PTA has pledged $3500 to the school towards restoring the sound board that is currently not working.
Here’s looking forward to being able to hear better in the Hall!
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
Tuesday 13th December 2016 5.00-7.00pm
FREE FAMILY EVENT
Free BBQ and/or bring a picnic
Come and join the Choir
Community carol singing
Come in Christmas dress-ups.
Organised by Beckenham locals for the Beckenham community. BBQ provided by Beckenham Neighbourhood Association and cooked and served by local Cub Scouts. Music provided by local choirs and other keen folk.
Beckenham Community Christmas Celebration
Beckenham School GroundsTuesday 13th December 2016 5.00-7.00pm
FREE FAMILY EVENT
Free BBQ and/or bring a picnic
Come and join the Choir
Community carol singing
Come in Christmas dress-ups.
Organised by Beckenham locals for the Beckenham community. BBQ provided by Beckenham Neighbourhood Association and cooked and served by local Cub Scouts. Music provided by local choirs and other keen folk.
HELP SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE COASTLINES
MOBILE PHONE APPEAL IN OUR SCHOOLIt would be great if you could rummage around in your drawers and toy boxes and bring into School any unwanted mobile phones you may have. Phones collected help our School gain valuable rewards and the environment benefits too by keeping our landfills free of mobile phones and their array of hazardous toxic substances.
Please drop any unwanted mobile phones you may have in the collection box in the reception area at School.
Aquagym
459 Cashel St, Ph: 3810299. Learn to swim & Coaching. Aquagym & Sumner Pool. Book now for January holidays and Term1Mainland Football Outdoor Holiday Programmes
DECEMBER:-Age: 7-14 year olds.
Dates: 20th, 21st and 22nd December 2016
Times: 9.00am - 3.00pm
Venue: English Park
Cost: $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days) 10% discount of second child when registering two or more siblings.
JANUARY:-
Age: 7-14 year olds.
Dates: 25th, 26th and 27th January 2017
Times: 9.00am - 3.00pm
Venue: English Park
Cost: $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days)
Mainland Futsal Indoor Holiday Programmes
JANUARY:Age: 6-12 year olds.
Dates: 23rd, 24th and 25th January 2017
Times: 9.00am - 3.00pm
Venue: Pioneer Stadium
Cost: $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days)