Beckenham School Newsletter, Friday 25 August 2017

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Apologies for the lack of newsletter last Friday. With no internet from Friday morning through to the end of Tuesday, communications at school certainly became very challenging. Thank you all for bearing with us through this and for keeping in touch via the school cell phone. We are VERY pleased to have our normal internet services fully returned.

Building update:

I was going to advise last Friday that the demolition of Rooms 12 and 13 would begin this week - however, those of you who have driven or walked by will have noticed that they are now fully demolished and removed!

New Entrant teacher update:

Next week we formally welcome Kristika Burridge to our New Entrant team. Kristika has been doing lots of relieving in the school this year, and from Monday, will be covering for Elizabeth Drummond (Gail Hulme) whilst she and her husband go on a long awaited holiday to Italy. When Elizabeth returns next term, Kristika will continue on as the fourth teacher in the New Entrant team, as the new entrant numbers increase.

Learning Conferences

Our New Entrants (in Hub 10 and 11) have had their learning conferences this week and the rest of the school have theirs next week, on Tuesday and Thursday.


If your child normally goes to BOSCO, they will start at the earlier time of 2pm on those days.

The Champion St buses will leave Champion st at 1:40pm to be back at school at 2pm. You will need to let your child know if you want them to walk home, OR to go up to the East Hub and sign in there for the supervised hour. All children who are waiting at school will need to go to the East Hub - if children are waiting on the playground for parents, we will take them to the East Hub.

If you have not yet booked your learning conference, please do this as soon as possible by going to
www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and entering the code ay2w2

Wellbeing

I was fortunate to be able to attend the Canterbury Primary Principals' Conference in Hanmer on Monday and Tuesday this week. One of the excellent speakers was Dr Lucy Hone, speaking about Positive Psychology and strategies to promote Wellbeing.

A key concept was the idea of being able to identify our Character Strengths - what are the strengths that each of us, including our children, bring to each day and each situation? One of the areas that the children will be focussing on in their learning conference discussions with you is their strengths - the areas of their learning that they are experiencing success and achievement in. There will be important character strengths that underpin these successes such as persistence, attention to detail, curiosity, humour and teamwork.

Recognising and celebrating our character strengths are an important part of developing resilience and wellbeing. You can help your child to see their strengths by helping them to identify and name them, and the learning conference process is one great place to do this.

I look forward to seeing many of you during the learning conferences at school next week.

Regards
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

2018 Term Dates

 Citizen of the Week

Olivia Wilson - Year 6

Olivia, you are a superstar in our team. You are a motivated learner and always try your best at everything that you do. You consistently demonstrate a positive and caring attitude and are a great friend to others. You have excellent self-management skills and are a positive role model to others. You are extremely reliable and are always willing to lend a helping hand. We love having you in our team. Well done!

Angus Bowden - Year 6

Angus, we are so lucky to have you at Beckenham School! You are an outstanding role model who consistently demonstrates our values of 'we get there together', 'we care' and 'we make a difference'. Your thoughtful consideration of others' viewpoints and feelings shows your exemplary nature, which is highly appreciated by those around you. Your sense of humour shines through in all that you do and we love the laughter you bring to our hub. Keep being awesome, Angus! Tino pai!

Sharni Fa'avesi

Sharni, you are a shining star in Team Koru. You demonstrate 'We Love Learning' each and every day by staying focused and challenging yourself. You are a kind and caring friend and always do your best to help others by role modelling excellent self-management skills. Keep up the great work, Sharni. We love having you as part of our team. Ka pai!

Sharing our Learning

Pōhutukawa Team

Team challenges

This term, the Pōhutukawa hub have been participating in 15 minute mini challenges.  Our aim is to give our children the opportunity to explore different passions through art, teamwork, and passion time. This also gives our children more of an opportunity to explore the key competencies of We Love Challenge & We Get There Together through agentic learning. Here are some photos of the children in action.

Pōhutukawa persuasive writing

This term the Pohutukawa team have been working on persuasive writing.  The topic for this has been ‘fidget spinners - pro or con?’  Students have been confidently stating their opinions and providing many reasons to support them.  Here is an example  from one of our talented writers.

I think fidget spinners should be banned 
Did you know that there is a world shortage of ballpoint pens because of fidget spinners?

One of the reasons I think fidget spinners are bad is because they distract you from doing work which means you could fall behind in learning, and they were actually made for people with ADHD, but it may seem they were targeted at school children as they are so popular.

They should not be allowed in schools because children would be in despair if they lost them, and worse still people could steal them from other people’s bags and that would be terribly upsetting. They are also “over priced” but the average fidget spinner is three to fifteen dollars. (did you know that the most expensive fidget spinner is three million dollars?)

Another reason fidget spinners are bad is that they are highly addictive. You may think that’s a good thing because it keeps kids away from screens, but did you know that spinning a fidget spinner for too long can damage your skin!

So there are many reasons why fidget spinners are bad, I bet you don’t want one now because of all the horrible things you have heard about them.
By Ruby McNiven

Safe Travelling to School-We Care & We Get There Together

We have noticed a large number of our children are crossing roads in unsafe places and we are concerned this could lead to a tragic accident. Please discuss the following with your child(ren) so they arrive to and from school safely.
NZ Transport Agency has some helpful road safety tips for our children:
As a way to get around, walking is an easy, healthy and safe way to travel. There are a number of tips you can follow to keep it that way.
How to stay safe when walking
Use pedestrian crossings or cross at traffic signals.
Stop and check at every driveway.
Walk on the footpath, close to the houses and away from the road.
Hold hands if walking with a young child near roads or in carparks.

When there’s no pedestrian crossing

Be patient and cross the road only when it’s safe to do so (it takes time for a vehicle to stop)
then use the kerb drill:

• Stop one step back from the kerb.
• Look and listen for traffic coming from all directions.
• If there is traffic coming, wait until it has passed and then look and listen for traffic again.
• If there is no traffic coming, walk quickly straight across the road.
• While crossing, look and listen for traffic, wherever it may come from.

When picking up or dropping off your children

• Ensure children get in and out on the footpath side of the car.
• Park safely, away from yellow lines, intersections and driveways.
• Drive slowly outside schools and be prepared for surprises.
• Never double park outside a school.
• Walk to the school gate with your children in the mornings.
• After school, walk to the school gate to meet your children and walk them to the car.
• Take extra care on wet days.

Head-lice/Nits/Kutu

We have had a number of cases of head-lice at school recently. Anyone can get head lice – it doesn’t matter how clean or dirty a person’s hair is. Head lice spread by crawling from one person’s hair to another’s – usually between people who are in close contact, such as family or school classmates.
We do need to make sure that all known cases of head-lice are treated with urgency as they can infest others and this puts all of our children and teachers at risk. Untreated they can cause severe irritation and even infection.
We will notify you if your child presents at school with head lice, and ask you to take them home and treat them if you haven't already.
We are able to make a referral to the Public Health Nurse if you are experiencing difficulty getting rid of persistent head-lice.
We have confirmed with the local GPs that visits for children up to 13 are free, and the GP can prescribe parasidose shampoo or a new treatment called dimethicone 4%. Both of these are subsidised by Pharmac and free with a prescription.
You can find out more about nit treatment here: CDHB Head Lice Information
Click here for a demonstration video. This is an American video, and it gives very detailed, step by step instructions that match the CDHB handout on how to comb out nits.
Remember:

• Anyone can get head lice.
• Check your children’s hair every week for head lice.
• If you find head lice or eggs – you need to treat them.
• Repeat the treatment: 7–10 days later for chemical treatments and weekly for wet combing.
• For more information, talk to your pharmacist, doctor or nurse.

This fortnight, students and staff have looked at two aspects of Wellbeing:

NZSTA - Becoming a school trustee from NZSTA on Vimeo.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Isolda Rees-Stevenson who has been accepted into Burnside High School's Specialist Music Programme to study vocals in 2018.  This is the first time in six years that a voice student has been selected so it definitely is an achievement worth noting.

Congratulations to Jordan Hardwick who has been successful in winning a leadership scholarship to Cashmere High School for 2018.

Congratulations also to Kaia Joergensen who was recently selected in the Canterbury Primary A hockey team. The team will compete at the Collier Trophy in Tauranga in the second week of the October school holidays.

Congratulations to Gemma Campbell who has just competed in Auckland at the Allstars Olympia Cheerleading competition. Gemma's team took gold and won a bid to compete in Hawaii in 2019. These girls only formed as a team this year and to have them bring gold home and a bid to compete in Hawaii is such an achievement.

Congratulations to all of the children who participated in the CantaMath competition this week, in the team challenges, the class project and with individual entries. A very large number of our students won Escellence and Highly Commended awards for their entries and the class project entry from Nicky Dunlop's maths class won the Supreme Award for the Class Project!
The project was a huge mural, depicting a crossword about learning across the Curriculum. The mural will be installed on the outside of the West Hub underfloor heating plant, next to the junior sandpit next week.

Sports News

Year 5-8 Winter Tournament

On Monday 31st July the year 5-8 students braved the mud at Hagley Park to compete in the South  Zone’s Winter Tournament. Our winter sport teams played games against St Martins, Hillview, Opawa, Waltham, Steiner and Thorrington in football, netball and hockey. Games were fast and furious 5 minute halves and gave our children the opportunity to play many different teams, none of whom we would usually verse during winter sport.  Congratulations to our Year 7/8 hockey team, coached and managed by Jenni Adams, who qualified for the Canterbury’s Winter Tournament on the 24th of August. A huge thank you to all the parents who offered their time, enthusiasm and expertise to manage teams and referee games.

Cheeseman Ski Race day:

It wasn't a perfect blue bird day so visibility was a bit hit and miss at times but  the kids all had a fantastic time and all raced really well.  Well done to everyone who participated and special congratulations to Winnie Goldsbury who was third in the girls' year 5/6 group.

PTA News

Evening of Style

Thanks to everyone who attended - the models, Becks Mason, Sarah Middleditch, those who had a stall & the businesses that offered prizes to the 'Evening of Style'
We received fantastic feedback on a very enjoyable night for all & raised over $4300 profit
This money is targeted for the 'Outdoor Spaces'
It will be used to purchase the NEW Basketball Hoop system & three NEW Netball systems for your children to enjoy (If grant applications are unsuccessful)
So look out for them, arriving soon!!

ASB Summer Starter

We have created a Beckenham School Team for the ASB Summer Starter on Sunday 26 November. Beckenham School will receive 50c per KM for every person from the school community that joins our school team and participates in the ASB Summer Starter. So get your friends, family, neighbours and work mates signed up through the Beckenham School Team. 10km, 4km and Kids 1.5km Dash, Duck & Dive options. Adults $20, 10-15 years $10, under 9s $5, 1.5km option $15. The perfect way to fundraise for our new outfit spaces! How many children will we spot wearing their house tops on the day?
http://bit.ly/2vgIuvK

Staff Profile - Jenny Diggle

Kia ora koutou!
Teaching had appealed to me as a potential career from a young age. My mum is an early childhood teacher back in England, but she always tried to steer me away from pursuing a career in education. Today, both my sister and I are teachers and my dad has retrained as a careers advisor, so we have all ended up in the educational field, despite her advice! Before teaching, my work followed my love of horses. I worked in the USA, Canada, Australia and NZ as a riding instructor and trail guide. My most memorable job was guiding multi day horse treks through the Victorian Alps.

I met my partner, Sam, while spending a summer mountain biking in Fernie B.C. After a failed Canadian visa attempt, I decided to take a chance in relocating to what was at that time a recently earthquake shaken Christchurch, much to my parents’ dismay! On completion of my teacher training, I worked at Amuri Area School and Gilberthorpe School before starting at Beckenham at the start of 2016. A highlight of my teaching career has been travelling to Nepal where I volunteered in the Solukhumbu region as a teacher trainer. This was a challenging, but incredibly rewarding experience, creating engaging learning experiences with very limited resources.

I feel most at home in the mountains and nearly all my recreational pursuits stem from my love of spending time in the hills. Trail running with my dog, Denver, mountain biking, snow boarding, horse riding and tramping are some of the ways that I enjoy connecting with nature.
I feel extremely privileged to be a part of the Beckenham School community. I relish working alongside an incredible bunch of passionate teachers who are so dedicated in providing engaging learning opportunities; Sometimes I feel like I enjoy our learning programme more than the children do!

Staff Profile - Jeanette Amies

Hi, my name is Jeanette and I have been a teacher aide at Beckenham School for 10 years. I live in Prebbleton with my husband, Scott and son Alexander. We have a large section where there is plenty of scope to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes- gardening. I also love reading, having a cuppa with friends and family and going for walks especially if it's through native bush.  I feel very lucky to be part of Beckenham School. I love supporting the children in their learning and whenever they come up to me in the playground to have a chat or just to say hello, it always makes my day!

Community Notices

Smarttouch 2017

We welcome your entries into the term 4 Smarttouch rugby competition. See the flyer for dates, times and costs.
Steps to register:
Get a team organised and appoint a team manager and coach.
Enter online using the URL address www.sporty.co.nz/smarttouch Entries open 21st Aug
On the Smarttouch home page fill out the touch team manager sign up form and submit it.
You will then receive an email giving you the link to enter your player details.
Entries close 29th Sept

Remember the competition is social MIXED and you need to have a minimum of 3 girls on the field at a time. Grades: Year0-2, Year 3-4, Year 5-6, and Year 7-8.
We are all looking forward to a great season,
From the Smarttouch Team.

The Buddy Zone Holiday Programme

Social skills group for ages 6-14 years.  Held at the Village Community Centre, Ilam.  Term 3 holidays Wed & Fri 8:30am - 4pm.  Call today to book your place, 0212436677.

Imagination Yoga  - Children's Yoga - Weekly Classes!

Parents, your Child​ will​ ​delight in their super-​magical-fun ​yoga ​adventure​s​​, whilst you ​plant positive seeds for ​their future ​mind-body vitality​.​ Double positive!
​Tuesdays 3:30-4:15pm for 4-6yrs: Huntsbury Community Centre, Huntsbury Ave
​Thursdays 3:30-4:30pm for 7-12 yrs: Lyttelton Union Chapel, Winchester St.
​Saturdays 10.00-10:45am​ for 4-6yrs: Lyttelton Union Chapel, Winchester St.
​Saturdays 11.00-12pm ​for 7-12 yr​s​: Lyttelton Union Chapel, Winchester St​.​
​Drop-in welcome!
More info: siouxiesolar.com/imaginationyoga
Contact Lou 0226 250 321 or hello@siouxiesolar.com ​