Beckenham School Newsletter, Friday 5 May, 2017

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Welcome back to Term 2! I hope that you all managed to get some time to relax with your family over the past two weeks. A special welcome to all of the new students and their families who have started school this week.

Building Update

Our building work continues at great pace and we have been advised that they are making good progress and are well within their completion deadline for the full project. During the school holidays a stormwater retention system was installed. This involved digging a pit in the junior grass area where a network of interlocking plastic 'crates' were placed, then covered back over with topsoil. This is designed to take the stormwater from the roof of the West building, and prevent future flooding. We now have to wait for the grass to regrow before we will be able to utilise that space. We haven't had a chance to go into the West Building for a few weeks, but we are told that it is only 3-4 weeks from completion. The East Building is on track for completion by the middle of the July holidays.

HRS have begun work on the hall and foyer. The hall is getting some exterior recladding work done and the foyer is getting a new frontage, deck and roof. In the past couple of days a small amount of asbestos was found under the hall foyer so on Monday you may notice asbestos removal work happening in this area. The asbestos removal company have provided this information to confirm that this work presents no health and safety concern for our children, parents or staff:

  1. ACM (asbestos contaminated material) located in small section of soil, stones and gravel. This has been immediately isolated / contained awaiting removal of contaminated material to be undertaken on Monday 8 th May.
  2. Air monitoring has been conducted within the isolated area. Work in progress air quality monitoring will be performed as a control measure during the removal and disposal on Monday.

The small area of concern possess no associated health risks and has no potential for accidental airborne fibre release throughout removal works on Monday.
Suspect material is thoroughly wetted and damp and has been isolated under current regulations with 200 um plastic.
Hazardous containing material labels have been affixed to the small stock pile / area of concern.
A COC license holder from AQARL will oversee the removal of this material for immediate disposal on Monday.

New Bike storage area

If your children bring bikes or scooters to school, you will be aware that we have created a new bike stand on the Sandwich Road side of the old verandah block. This area will be our permanent new home for the bikes and will be locked during the school day. We plan to install security cameras when the new cabling has been installed. We are very grateful to one of our parents, Hamish Denny (Drainworkz), for carrying out the the groundwork for this area and donating all of the labour costs. We have temporary fencing in place at the moment, and plan to put permanent, pool-style fencing along this boundary when the fencing for the other part of that area is done. The PTA are currently fundraising for this and other landscaping work which will need doing as the building project progresses.

Learning Conferences

If you have not yet booked your learning conference for next week, this weekend is your last chance to do this. Please go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and use the code b5qec

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT SCHOOL WILL CLOSE AT 2PM ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAY FOR LEARNING CONFERENCES.

 If you are not able to collect your child at the earlier time of 2pm, and would like them to be supervised at school until 3pm, please email or call Jacky in the office. Children will be supervised in the staffroom which is currently in Room 13 (behind the caretaker's garage).
If your child is booked for BOSCO on Tuesday or Thursday, they will be able to go to BOSCO at 2pm.

Tuesday Afternoon Band rehearsal at Hillview Christian School:
The bus from Champion St will return all of the Year 5-8 children to school at 2pm on both Tuesday and Thursday.
If your child has band practice on Tuesday at Hillview Christian School, you will need to arrange for them to get to Hillview for the band practice.

Ngā mihi
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events - check out the school calendar for more details

Tue 9th May
2:00-6:00pm Learning Conferences SCHOOL CLOSES AT 2PM

Thu 11th May
2:00-7:30pm Learning Conferences SCHOOL CLOSES AT 2PM

Fri 12th May
1:30-3:00pm.  Yrs 5-8 Cross Country at Beckenham Park
Bring $1 for House theme face-painting!

Wed 17th May
9am -1pm.  Zone Cross Country at Halswell Quarry.

Wed 7 Jun
7:00-8:30pm Parent Seminar - Tips for Supporting Children with Anxiety
Free seminar - Beckenham School Staffroom

Thu 8 Jun
5:30-7:30mWhānau Hui

Term Dates

Click here to view 2017 term dates.

Citizens of the Week

Anekin Monks - Year 8

Anekin, you are a compassionate, supportive member of the Kauri whānau. You display a desire to take on challenges with determination, while encouraging others to do the same. Your warm smile and caring nature makes our hub a much happier place to be. You approach your learning with an open mind and strive to grow. Anekin, continue looking for opportunities to share your ideas and to lead by example. Tino pai Anekin!


Stella Gillman - Year 3

Stella is the best friend and classmate anyone could wish for . You demonstrate our school value, 'We Care' by encouraging those around you to achieve their best and you are  incredibly supportive of others both in and out of the hub. You are an amazing example of what it means to be a successful self-manager.  You approach every learning opportunity with a fantastic attitude. You always strive to produce top quality work by putting your heart and soul into all you do and as a result are a strong role model for others. We just love having you at Beckenham School, Stella!

Sharing our Learning

Hub 20

Kia ora Koutou
We in Hub 20 are very lucky to be a part of two schools.  So not only do we get to be a part of the fabulous Beckenham School, but we are also a part of Ferndale School in Merivale.



Each term we get together with all of Ferndale School to participate in a school wide activity. Through this we get to build our friendships and relationships with our Ferndale peers in a safe and familiar environment.  Last term we held a school picnic at our site in Merivale.  Not only did we share lunch with our Ferndale friends, but there were extra activities that we could join in.  There were games like Giant Jenga, we had sensory activities like bubbles, and the main attraction was all kinds of different bikes.  We loved having the bikes at our Ferndale School.  There were so many different ones to choose from - from trikes, to hand pedaling, and even bikes where our students who use wheelchairs could sit in and enjoy the experience.  Here are some of our students enjoying the bikes.

School Notices

Reminder - Please do not drop children at school before 8:30am

We are not able to provide any supervision of children before 8:30am. Teachers are not all at school at this time and those who do choose to come before 8:30am do so to get preparation done. Classrooms will not be opened before 8:30am. Thank you again for your support in this.

Stationery and Uniform Items

Please note that we are no longer going to be putting stationery or uniform items (hats/mouthguards) onto your accounts. These items need to be paid for at the time of purchase. We now have eftpos in the office for your convenience.
If the cost of uniform or stationery is causing your family hardship, please contact our new finance officer - Vicki Renwick - by emailing accounts@beckenham.school.nz  A local member of our community has donated some money to set up a hardship fund, to support families with the purchase of uniform and stationery items.

FREE Parent Workshop: Tips for supporting Children with Anxiety, Wed 7th June 7:00-8:30pm

  • Does your child suffer from anxiety?
  • Do you want to know more about anxiety?
  • Dow you want to find out more about how anxiety looks in children?
  • Do you want to find new ways to help your child?
Canterbury District Health School Based Team are excited to present a workshop offering strategies for parents who want to help their child who is struggling with anxiety.
Time: Wednesday 7th June, 7:00 - 8:30pm
Venue: Beckenham School in the staffroom (Room 13 behind the garage).
Please contact the office or Michelle Maule (Deputy Principal) to book a space; office@beckenham.school.nz or deputy.principal@beckenham.school.nz


J-Rock fundraising

Year 7 & 8 will be selling jelly and ice-cream next week, week 2, to raise money for J-Rock. For Year 1 - 4, purchase tickets, $2, by the flagpole on Wednesday morning. For Year 5-8, bring your $2 on Thursday. Many thanks for your support. This yummy treat will be served up at lunchtime.

Safety Notice from NZ Police

We were contacted today by our community constable who asked us to remind families to talk to children about safety when walking to and from school, and around the community. Children are always encouraged to walk in pairs or groups and report any suspicious behaviour from strangers to parents who should report this to the police.

Sports News

Cross Country

Our Year 5 - 8 school cross country event is taking place next week on Friday the 12th of May. The race will be held at Beckenham Park to enable more whānau to join us and cheer the children on as they run. We would also love to hear from anyone who would be available and willing to marshal on the day. Please email Jenny jenny.diggle@beckenham.school.nz is you are interested. Thank you.

House Face Painting for Cross Country!

For a gold coin, the PTA will be providing house colour face-painting at lunchtime next Friday for the whole school so that everyone can get involved in supporting our Y5-8 cross-country runners!
Bring your $1 to the flagpole before school to get in on the fun!

PTA News

Your PTA have been working really hard trying to come up with ideas for new and exciting events and community fundraisers. As always we would love to hear any of your ideas to help us build upon our current calendar of fundraising events for the year.

The physical environment at school is forever changing with our exciting rebuild and we want to help make it easier for you to see just how hard everyone including yourselves is working and helping towards our fundraising efforts. Early next week you'll see another exciting change at the entrances to the school. Keep an eye out for our amazing looking fundraising thermometers designed to show you how our fund for outdoor spaces at school are coming along. These have generously been sponsored by Lockwood Homes, Bumblebees & Macs Swim School and Blue Summit Construction. We can't wait to see that white thermometer continue to red throughout the year!

Next week we get to support our senior school students as they compete in their Cross Country. If your child would like to have their face painted to support the runners from their house, the PTA  will be doing face painting - war paint style... just bring along $1 to the flagpole next Friday (12th) morning and the facepainting will happen at lunchtime so they can cheer their housemates across the finish line.

For more exciting news and updates for all events  follow the Beckenham PTA Facebook page and keep checking the notice board at the entrance on Sandwich Road…. with a fresh coat of paint we’re hoping this will be more noticeable from next week also.

BOSCO NEWS


AGM 

To parents/caregivers of BOSCO.

The BOSCO 2017 AGM is being held on Monday 8th May 2017 at 5.30pm in the BOSCO Room.

A small supper will be provided as well as dinner and childcare in the other room for anyone requiring care during this time.

Did you know that BOSCO is a not-for-profit organisation and we are run by parents/caregivers of both current and past families?  These parents/caregivers meet once a month (childcare and supper is always provided if required) to have their say in how BOSCO is run and to hear how the programmes have been running over the past month and to focus on the future of all our programmes.

We are looking for new members as few of our current members are moving on.  If you think you would be interested in joining the committee and having your say on how BOSCO is run please contact Yvette for further information.

For catering purposes and to ensure sufficient staffing is available for childcare please RSVP to Yvette if you are able to attend our AGM to hear our financial and programme reports from 2016.

Regards

Yvette Cleall
Manager, BOSCO Incorporated

Community Notices

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

Cashmere High School Open Day

On Tuesday 23rd May 2017 from 4pm until 6.30pm Cashmere High School will be “open” for all
prospective students and parents.
The Principal, Mark Wilson, will address visitors in the school’s Performing Arts Centre (PAC) at 4pm and again at 5pm. Guided school tours will then be available at 4.30pm and 5.30pm.
The school’s prospectus, enrolment and scholarship forms are available from the school or from the
website: www.cashmere.school.nz
Closing date for Year 9 enrolments for 2018 is Friday 28th July 2017. It is vital that all out-of- zone
applications are received prior to this date, as there will be very limited places available and as a
result any late enrolments will be placed at the bottom of the waiting list.

For further information please phone the school office on 332 9129.

Act2 Drama Group

Audition Call: Ages 5 and up and for all abilities.
The Kidsfest production of the Jungle Book.
Audition date: Sun 14th May, St Albans Community Centre, 1047 Colombo St.  Performance dates: 16-22 July 2017.  Contact Fay on 0210431108 to book an audition.

The Dyspraxia Support Group 

...holds fun groups for children aged between 5 to 13 years of age on Saturday afternoons during term time.  The groups participate in a programme put together and delivered by a team of enthusiastic supervisors.
If you have a child or know a child with Developmental Dyspraxia/DCD who would be interested in attending, please contact Sue on 358 3249 or email dyspraxia.centre@xtra.co.nz.

Posted in Weekly Newsletters.