Beckenham School Newsletter September 8th 2016

We were very proud of all of the members of Te Whānau Mahi Tahi who performed at the Horncastle Arena last Friday evening at the Christchurch Primary Schools Cultural Festival.
The level of complexity of the waiata and te reo Māori that they perform is very high. The songs are carefully chosen to share stories and messages that are relevant to our children and their place in the world.
You can see their performance here:

Building Update

At this stage, the Unconfirmed start date for demolition is the first week of the school holidays. It isn't yet confirmed as we are still waiting on two key items - the building consent and the acceptance of the builder's price by the Ministry. We have always said that we won't be moving children off-site until the start date had been finalised, and this is still the case. At the same time, we are hopeful that this start date will be confirmed and all of the plans below are working towards it and assume that it will be so.

Moving of the Library

Some of you may have noticed that the library has been closed for the last couple of weeks as Anne has been busy boxing up the books for 'yet another' move! As we are going to be needing every classroom space, Tony and Anne have been very busy re-purposing the dental clinic and this is currently being turned into a fabulous 'Junior Library' for our Year 1-4 students.
The 'Senior Library' is sitting in banana boxes, waiting to be shifted over to Champion Street where a cosy room there is being prepared for it to be reinstated.

Moving of Year 3/4 Classes

Assuming that the start date is confirmed for the holidays, we need to move the Year 3/4 classes into new spaces so that the demolition and building programme will be able to move ahead. These moves are currently planned for the last two days of this term, ready to start properly on the first day of Term 4 in the new spaces.

Hub 8/9 

(Anna and Rebekah's building) is not being demolished. However, it is going to be quite cut off from the rest of the school during the building process, and was originally down for demolition. We have managed to negotiate with the Ministry a sensible and positive community outcome where the Ministry signs over these buildings to BOSCO, finally providing BOSCO with a permanent home that will be much better suited to their size and operation than the hall foyer!
Anna, Rebekah and the children from Hub 8/9 will move into Rooms 21/22 which they are looking forward to very much as the rooms are bigger and lighter.

Hubs 5/6/7 

Rather than being demolished, it has been decided by the Ministry that Hubs 5/6/7 can be relocated to Hornby High School and this is pencilled in to happen on Wed 28 September.
Gayle and the children of Hub 7 will be moving to Room 19 which has been the home of the library this year.
Paulette and Mike, and the children of Hub 5/6 are moving into the staffroom! This space has great potential as a learning environment, with three quite distinct spaces that can be opened up or closed off and, of course, includes a kitchen! Michelle and I are very excited about being so close and involved in the learning in Hub 5/6.

Staffroom - moving to the Hall Foyer

"But where are the staff going" I hear you ask! As we will only have half the number of staff on site, we are moving the comfy chairs to the hall foyer for morning tea and lunches and we will hold meetings as needed in a classroom space after school. The staff workroom will move into Michelle's old office and these spaces should work well for us.

Year 5-8's move to Champion Street

Every day there is some further work being done at Champion Street as we prepare to move there with our Year 5-8 students next term.
This week we welcomed James Beauchamp to our staff - James is going to be working part-time at Champion St (and sometimes at Beckenham) assisting with maintenance and grounds work and helping in other ways where he is needed.
Some other very exciting news this week was that Class* Furniture Solutions have offered to put brand new furniture into the learning spaces at Champion St for us! They would like the opportunity to be able to show prospective buyers (other principals usually) what the furniture looks like in a real school setting, and the Ministry suggested that Beckenham School @ Champion St would be a great place to do that in! Nicky, Susan and the teams are busy selecting furniture at the moment so that it will be delivered ready for when we start in Term 4.
We have invited all the parents of our Year 5-8 students to attend a meeting in the hall next Wednesday, 14 September, from 7:30pm, to learn more about the logistics and details of the move to Champion St.
We are taking the Year 5/6 students over for a short visit this Friday afternoon, and the Year 7/8 students will visit on Tuesday afternoon next week. At this stage, all going well we will have all of the Year 5-8 students at Champion St on the last day of term - ready to begin in earnest on the first day of Term 4.

So... as you can see, there is a LOT going on at the moment and its very exciting to think that, after nearly three years of talking about it and planning, the building project might actually begin!

That's it from me for the moment, keep looking out for school emails and communications as there will be regular updates as this exciting phase progresses.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy

Important Dates

Sharing our Learning

Koru Team

Our Koru children have had wonderful support from parents helping in school. The better the engagement between parents, families, and schools, the greater the positive impact on student learning.

Examples of home-school partnership includes:
Parents supporting learning in class, e.g. parent help in reading or sharing their cultural customs.
Supporting learning by reading with children at home .
Discussions between students, teachers, and parents/whānau e.g. learning conferences.
Further information on home-school partnerships from the Ministry of Education.
In Team Koru, recent home-school connections have included:
Rohini (Abhay’s Mum) sharing information about the Indian festival of Diwali with us, in line  with our current Inquiry into cultures. Students loved hearing the Diwali story, and colouring rongoli patterns like this:

Other Diwali customs include lighting candles, wearing traditional sari (for girls) and special treats. We enjoyed eating semolina cake as part of this.

Gyaltsen (Lilian’s Father) came in to share aspects of Tibetan culture. Students loved hearing about how Gyaltsen rode his pony when he was young as there were no cars.We found out where Tibet is and discussed how many plane  rides it takes to get there and who the Dalai Lama is. Another highlight was trying  on and talking about costumes worn during times of celebrations.


During discovery time on Friday afternoon we were very lucky to have Annabel’s mother (Olivia) and Grandmother, Scarlett’s mother (Carolyn) and Frankie’s mother (Aileen) come in to help hub 10 and 11 bake gingerbread. The process of measuring, mixing, cutting, baking and tasting was enjoyed by all. This experience would not have been possible if we did not have these amazing helpers!




Room 13 is up and running. Welcome to the new children and families. We are looking forward to working together to help the children settle into school.




Writing from Koru

Flynn
I found a big cat eating Little Cat’s food.

Felix
I saw a dragon in my bed.It breathes fire and it roars.It flies fast.
I hid under my bed .It is fun because I like to hide where no-one can see me.
My Mum likes making chocolate chippie cookies.They are delicious !

Alex
I am hiding and my dad is too.
“1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Mum! Mum! Mum!
I know where you are ! “

Keira
I wish I can be a hippopotamus in China. I love hippopotamuses. They are so cute. I wish I could see a real hippopotamus. 

 Abhay
One weekend I had a competition and I won. My Dad lost.

Team Pōhutukawa's Market Day

Recently the students in Team Pōhutukawa have been working hard to develop products and stalls for our Asian-inspired market day.  The market will be open on Thursday, 15 September from 11:00 to 12:00. The students will sell lots of interesting (and delicious) items such as Asian food, baking, confectionery, drinks, games, challenges and more.

Market day tickets will be sold before school near the flagpole. The tickets will be used as currency to purchase goods at the market. Most items at the market will cost between one and three dollars.

The money raised will be used to reduce the cost of Team Pōhutukawa's camp in Term 4 and to offset the market day's expenses.

Sports News

Sports uniforms

Now that winter sports is over, all sports uniforms and borrowed equipment should be returned to school to Tracy please.

PTA News

The PTA would like to extend a HUGE thanks to all our children, who put in so much effort, and to their families and friends who have given so generously. The Spellathon has been a huge success, and we have collected an amazing $10, 395 sponsorship money so far !! If anyone still has sponsorship forms and money lurking around at home, please drop it in to the office. Room 14 won the prize for handing in their sponsorship money first, and scoffed an enormous morning tea this week. The lucky children who have won tickets to Hoyts Riccarton Cinema will be announced in School Assembly on Friday....

Community Notices

NEW MEMBERS & COACHING OPPORTUNITIES BECKENHAM TENNIS CLUB

Beckenham Tennis Club Motto is to be family friendly our goal is for families to play tennis together
We are open for NEW members to play tennis.
Registration interest on our new web site: beckenhamtennis club
Pee Wee Junior First Day Saturday 3 September 8.30am (already had some coaching), 9.30am class for beginners.
Junior/Intermediate TEAMS (children can serve a ball) free coaching for three weeks in September.
ADULT – EASY TENNIS COACHING for beginner adults coming back into tennis or learning. Tuesday morning group or Saturday afternoon (after 4pm).
Contact: Leanne Dunbar cell 0275 316 026 landline ph 9606021

Holiday Programmes

Mainland Futsal Holiday Programme
Age:        6-12 year olds.
Dates:    28th, 29th and 30th September 2016
Times:    9.00am - 3.00pm
Venue:  CHCH Boys High School, Straven Road
Cost:     $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days) 10% discount of second child when registering two or more siblings.
Mainland Football Outdoors
Age:        7-14 year olds.
Dates:   5th, 6th and 7th October 2016
Times:    9.00am - 3.00pm
Venue:  English Park
Cost:     $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days
All information on Mainland football website: www.mainlandfootball.co.nz

rockitCHCH

My name is Danial Neale and I'm a local music tutor, operating a music school called rockitCHCH, situated in the heart of Sydenham.
I provide guitar, drums, and bass lessons to aspiring musicians, with a contemporary focus and an emphasis on providing performance opportunities for my students. I am a professional, friendly teacher with a modern approach to learning and a focus on the student as an individual.
One on one lessons are available as well as lower-cost group lessons. I can teach all levels, beginners to advanced. All ages welcome.
If you would like to find out more please feel free to contact me​ via the contact details below
Danial Neale - Guitar and Drum tutor
www.rockitchch.com
027 8211 544
lessons@rockitchch.com
www.facebook.com/rockitchch​

School Holiday Golf Coaching Programmes

Have fun learning golf these school holidays, programmes running 26-30 September, venues include Hagley, Rangiora, Harewood, Hororata, and Waimairi Beach.  Contact rachel@canterburygolf.co.nz or 359 4000 ext 2 to find out the details of a programme running near you.  Cost is $10 per session.

Inspired by the Rio Olympics?

PRT HILLS ATHLETICS will help your child discover skills and determination they didn’t know they had. Above all though, it’s about friends, meeting personal goals and setting new ones.
Clubnights-weekly Interclub-Colgate Games-Cant Championships
Prepare for school athletics! Want to know more?
Come to Registration;
Sunday 18th September 2.30-4 pm
Wednesday 21th September 5.30- 7 pm
Based at; Hansen Park, Opawa.
Info; T&F Junior Club Captain Megan Allan
021 02737136 yal@xtra.co.nz
WWW.PORTHILLS.ORG.NZ

Christchurch Football Academy holiday camps: Registration is now open to footballers of all abilities.  Please register at: holiday camp registration

Southern Districts Cricket Club:
Come join our Southern family!
Registrations open now on our website or call into the pavilion on any of the following open days, we would love to meet you.
Adult and Junior players welcome in all grades.
Open Days Beckenham Park:
September 3rd 10am-12pm
September 10th 10am-12pm
September 17th 10am-12pm
Cat: 0272981031
info@southerndistrictscricket.co.nz
southerndistrictscricket.co.nz
facebook.com/Southerndistrictscricket

Willowbank Holiday Programmes: for details and bookings please visit: info@willowbank.co.nz