Principal's Update
Ngā mihi e te whānau,
We have experienced a wonderfully settled beginning to the 2026 school year. This year we are starting the school year with a new organisation of our learning spaces, and our students and staff have adapted extremely well to this new way of working together.
A heartfelt thank you to our staff who did so much work in the lead-up to students arriving, and to our whānau for ensuring your children were so well prepared to return to school.
Waitangi Day 2026
As we acknowledge Waitangi Day, we take time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand and to reflect on what it means for us as a school community. At Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto, our commitment to Te Tiriti is reflected in how we value partnership, protection and participation in our everyday practice - through culturally responsive teaching, the growing use of te reo Māori, strong connections with whānau, and learning environments where all ākonga feel seen, respected and able to succeed.
Welcome to Our New Staff Members for 2026!
We are excited to introduce the newest members of our team for the upcoming year:
Sarah Spence - Kahikatea Team
Kate Meder - Pōhutukawa Team
Sarah and Kate have shared a brief bio in this newsletter, so you can get to know them a little better.
Welcome Assembly
We are looking forward to welcoming our new ākonga (students) and their whānau (families) to our school next Friday. It is always inspiring to see the many cultures and countries represented in our flag ceremony.
Staff Only Days
In the lead-up to the start of the school year, staff spent three days engaged in professional learning and preparation. One of these days was facilitated by Autism New Zealand, where staff completed the Tilting the Seesaw course.
The remaining days were spent together focusing on Setting Up for Success, with key themes of ensuring consistent approaches across the school, building strong relationships, and maintaining high expectations to support every student’s success.
Learning Conferences
Thank you for taking the time to meet with your child’s homeroom teacher, either last Friday or Monday of this week. We see these conferences as a fundamental step in developing strong learning partnerships that will support your child to thrive throughout the year. If, for any reason, you were unable to attend, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher so that an opportunity to connect can be arranged.
Attendance
As you may know, one of the government’s key education targets is for 80% of students to attend school for more than 90% of the term. This is a goal we are committed to achieving as we start the school year, and we are committed to supporting all of our students in maintaining regular attendance.
In 2023, the Education Review Office (ERO) published Attendance: Getting Back to School - A Guide for Parents and Whānau. Overall, ERO reported that ‘We found lots of evidence that regular attendance has a big impact: the more often children attend school, the better they do at school, the happier they are, and the better they are set up for life.’
This guide also offers practical tips for whānau to help support their child’s regular attendance, many of which you may find useful to implement at home:
- Talk to your child about how school is important for their future, and how it is important to go every day. Be positive about school!
- Make sure your child knows that you care if they are going to school.
- Only take your child out of school when there is a really good reason, like if they are sick.
- Have a consistent morning routine, not too rushed.
- Help your child to be prepared for school, like making sure they have done their homework the night before.
Morning Drop-Offs
To help your child start the school day positively, we encourage parents to leave once they have dropped their child off at the classroom, ideally before the bell rings at 8:55 a.m. This supports a smooth transition from being in your care to settling with their homeroom teacher, ensuring they are ready for learning.
A reminder of our 2026 term dates can be viewed here:
Have a restful weekend.
Ngā mihi
Cade
School Notices
Sunscreen, Hats and Drink Bottles
Please remember to send your child to school each day with sunscreen applied, and with a named school hat and drink bottle. Hats are compulsory in Term 1 and Term 4.
EZlunch - Reminder Lunch Orders
From Term 1, 2026 our school will be using Ezlunch, part of the Kindo platform, for all online lunch orders.
Ezlunch offers a simple, mobile-friendly way for families to order fresh, tasty lunches from the same local providers you already know and love. The ordering process is quick, payments are secure, and delivery to school is reliable and easy.
Parents/caregivers can order using the Kindo app (iPhone and Android) and choose from a range of convenient payment options, including card, bank transfer, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and more. The system also includes helpful allergen alerts and automated reminders, so no one misses out on lunch day.
Ezlunch is free for schools, reduces admin time, and makes it easier for families to stay organised.
We’re excited to offer this service to our school community.
Parking - 3min area on Sandwich Road
A reminder please, that the drop off and pick up area on Sandwich Road (by the bike stands) is a 3min drop-off zone from 8:30-9:30am and 2:30-3:30pm on school days. This means drivers are not able to sit in their cars from 2:30pm waiting for children, or to park cars in this area and go into school. If you arrive early and wait for children, or if you need to get out of your car and come into school, please find an alternative place to park on the street nearby. Having this area just for drop-offs means that the traffic on Sandwich Road moves smoothly before and after school, and this is much safer for our children. Furthermore, please do not park in or block the staff carpark entrance or exit - this is for staff and service vehicles only. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding!
Offsite Learning Agreements
Kia ora whānau,
If your child will be attending any Board approved offsite learning, please would you email pa@beckenham.school.nz to request an 'Offsite Learning Agreement' form be emailed to you to complete, sign, and return to school. This year we require an agreement be completed each term.
Examples of Board Approved Offsite Learning:
- Mind Plus
- Farm / Forest School
- Offsite tutoring
- Regular Speech Language Therapy, Counselling, Play Therapy etc.
- Riding for the Disabled
Staff Profiles
Kate Meder - Pohutukawa (Year 5/6)
Kia ora koutou,
Ko wai au?
Ko Aoraki tōku maunga,
Ko Waitaki tōku awa,
Ko Takitimu tōku waka,
Ko Kāti Māmoe tōku iwi,
I tipu ake au i Darfield
Kei Ōtautahi tōku kainga inaianei.
Ko Meder tōku ingoa whānau,
Ko Kate tōku ingoa.
Kia ora, I am super excited to be joining Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto this year! I grew up in a small town called Darfield, and I now live in New Brighton. I have spent the past 8 years teaching at Christchurch South Karamata Intermediate, which I loved and learnt so much from. I am looking forward to teaching in a full primary and getting to know the school community. When I'm not in the classroom, I enjoy being outdoors, reading, travelling, and spending time with whānau and friends. Please feel free to come and say hello if you see me around school!
Sarah Spence - Kahikatea (Year 1/2)
Kia ora, tēnā koutou,
My name is Sarah Spence, and I will be teaching in the Kahikatea hub this year.
I'm so excited to join the team and get to know the tamariki and their whānau better.
My previous job role was as an ECE head teacher, and my passion is based in social and emotional resilience and supporting tamariki to achieve the absolute best from their school years.
This can look different for every child and I cannot wait to work alongside you all to make this happen.
In my spare time I love Clubbercise, hill walking with my boys, reading and caring for my guinea pigs.
Chicken Chat
In fluffy news! The chicks are now settled into their incredible henhouse behind BOSCO, in amongst the vegetable and fruit gardens.
We now have 8 Chinese Silkie chickens living at our Kura, 4x white, 1x black, 2x lavender and 1x ginger (buff). They have Elvis Presley hair styles, feathery ugg boots and fluffy coats all over.
The chickens ascend their chicken ramp every evening to perch and roost inside together until the dawn breaks and they file back down the ramp. Once on the ground, they go about their busy days, scratching and pecking curiously, sunbathing and snuggling in groups, eating and drinking, and enjoying their ever-changing happy new home.
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Sports News
Kia ora koutou,
This section of our newsletter will be dedicated to highlighting the successes and challenges our students are experiencing in sports outside of school. We love seeing our ākonga (students) showing our school values, especially We Love Challenge Nau Mau Te Wero in the community. If your child has had a sporting success that you’d like to share with our community, please email me with a short blurb and photo to: kate.mcgregor@beckenham.school.nz - We’d love to feature it in our next newsletter!
Ngā mihi nui,
Kate McGregor
Sports Coordinator
PTA News
To stay up to date with the PTA, please check out our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA Facebook page, linked here. Or come along to one of our meetings - all welcome.
The next meeting is on Wednesday, 11th of February, 7:30 - 9:00 pm, in the Staff Room.
MoveX Fundraiser Coming Soon!
Please also keep a lookout for a fun MoveX fundraiser coming soon on Friday, the 13th of March.
BOT Update
Term 1 Policy Review - SchoolDocs
- Visit the website https://beckenham.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
- Enter the username (beckenham) and password (pride).
- Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
- Read the policy.
- Click the Start your review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
- Select the reviewer type.
- Enter your name (optional).
- Follow the prompts to show that you've read the topic and enter your feedback if you'd like to comment.
- Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit review”.
If you don't have internet access, our school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
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Love Letter to the World Poetry Competition 2026
Details:
- free entry and no limit on the number entries;
- max 30 lines/poem;
- entries as a PDF attachment to an email to: Lindsay@resilienz.co.nz, and must have “Poetry Competition” as the subject line.
- Emails must be received on or before Valentine’s Day 2026 – Sat 14th Feb.
- Junior and open categories – junior must still be 13 or under on 14th February.
For more information please view:
