Principal's Patch
Kia ora e te whānau
We are thrilled to be back at Alert Level 1 again after a week where we were sharply reminded that we are not through this pandemic yet. Thank you to all of you for supporting the Alert Level 2 practices of staying off our school site during this time. Yet again, our children showed us that, with positive messaging and support from the adults around them, they are often ready to manage more independence than we give them credit for. I encourage you all to foster that independence, particularly around morning drop-offs. We particularly notice that the younger children come into the hubs and settle more easily without a lot of caregivers and pre-schoolers present. We will continue having a teacher outside the NE, Y1/2 and Y3/4 hubs in the morning so that you can touch base with a teacher if you need to.
I have had the honour of being in Wellington yesterday and today for the New Zealand Principals Federation Executive meeting. Among other topics, we have today been talking about the exciting new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum that was recently announced and is currently in draft form.
Many young people leave school without being fully aware of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. They haven’t learned where we have come from or the way people have experienced our histories differently.
Our histories are important to us all because they have shaped our present-day lives. Understanding the past will help to shape the way we move forward into the future.
You can watch a short video about it here: Introduction to Aotearoa NZ Histories
The public can give feedback on the draft - to find out about how to do that, please follow this link.
Our staff will be giving feedback on the draft curriculum this term also.
Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Wed 24 Feb - Kahikatea trip to Ferrymead
Wed 24 Feb - PTA Meeting, Green Room, 7:30pm
Thu 25 Feb - School Swimming sports for Years 5 - 8 - Wharenui Pool 12:45pm
Thu 25 Feb - BOT Meeting, Staffroom 5:30pm
Fri 26 Feb - Celebration Assembly 12 - 12:30pm in the hall. All Welcome.
Mon 1 - Fri 5 Mar - Kauri camp at Wainui YMCA
Term Dates
Click here to view 2021 term dates.Citizen of the Week
Lily Mclachlan - Year 4
Lily, you are such a fantastic role model in the Kōwhai hub. You show 'We Get There Together' always by lending helping hand to both your peers and the teachers. Lily, your enthusiasm knows no bounds and you are always willing to show that you care by offering your help to others. You use initiative in your learning and you are a fantastic communicator. Tino pai Lily!
Haile Harmer-Campbell - Year 6
Haile, you embrace our kete value, 'We Love Challenge'! We see you growing so much as a leader in our hub, always enthusiastically encouraging and supporting your peers in their learning. You demonstrate grit, team work and good sportsmanship on the field, showing the 'We Get There Together' kete beautifully. It is wonderful to see your passion! We appreciate that you make us laugh with your witty sense of humour each day. Tino pai Haile!
School Notices
Christchurch Schools Music Festival - Applications for special groups now open
Talented singers and musicians from Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto can now apply for an audition to join a Representative Group - Junior & Senior Choir, Concert Band, Orchestra - for the 2021 Music Festival.
We want to encourage and support any students in Years 5-8 who are confident singers, and/or instrumentalists to apply for an audition. This is particularly the case in 2021 given the cancellation of the 2020 Music Festival.
Applications are made online on the Festival website here.
This is a chance to not only participate in a life-changing learning opportunity but also to represent Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto while doing it.
Being selected for a Representative Group for the Music Festival is the artistic equivalent of being selected for a Canterbury level sports team; let's make sure the opportunity is not overlooked.
If you have any questions about this, please speak with Jody Keenan (CSM Band tutor), your music teacher, or email Sandy principal@beckenham.school.nz
Our Literacy Programme
Kia ora whānau,
We are very excited to be continuing the implementation of a structured literacy programme across the school this year. Structured literacy is based on the science and research behind how we learn to read and write. You may have seen information surrounding this, through the media and Ministry of Education over the last few months. This structured approach involves a stronger focus on the teaching of phonological awareness (identifying and manipulating units of spoken language), letter/sound knowledge and learning the spelling patterns of English. Please check out the following links for further information around the science of reading, and evidence for this:
During the first 3 full weeks of school the teachers and children will be sitting down together and going through some literacy assessments. Assessing our tamariki’s phonological awareness, letter/sound knowledge and knowledge of spelling patterns gives our teachers solid data that informs our planning for the individual needs of each learner and helps monitor progress. It is also an opportunity to talk with the children about their learning and possible next steps.
During the next few weeks you can help by reading to and with your child each night, enjoying and discussing texts / books from the library (both school and city council libraries have books for children to borrow) or that you have at home. Older children may wish to read their own book and share the story line with you. Remember also, no one is ever too old to be read to.
Teams will be in touch with information about how you can support your child with literacy learning at home, in the coming weeks.
Lisa Collier, Literacy Lead Teacher.
Lunchonline
Lunchonline is a lunch delivery service that our families are able to access for their children, which is available on Wednesdays (Subway) and Fridays (Sushi Factory). Please ensure that you update your child's details on their database so lunches can be matched up with your child more easily when they are delivered.
To access this, you will need to set up an account with LunchOnline here.
Hats
We have a small number of children across the school who do not yet have sunhats at school each day. Please would you check that your child has a hat every day. Please also ensure that hats are named in an easily visible place INSIDE (not on the outside) of the hat. Named uniform items that are found are always returned to hubs, rather than being put into the lost property.
Sports News
Miniball for Year 3 - 4 starting in Week 3
We have four teams entered into this league. It was fantastic to see so many children interested in this opportunity. There will be another chance to play in Term 4 and if children missed out this term, they will have priority to play in Term 4. Thank you to all the whānau who have volunteered their time to support the children at games.
Hanmer 4 Hour Mountain Bike Relay
We would like to promote the above event to keen mountain bikers. Children compete as a team to complete as many laps of the course as they can in 4 hours. Children 11 years old and younger ride a mellow loop that goes through the Heritage Forest. Children 12 years and older ride an intermediate level track, (it’s worth noting that this course is the same one that adults compete on and so it is a little busier). Whānau are responsible for entries and for supervising children at the event. There are already a number of children entered and we will have a Beckenham Te Kura O Pūroto base area set up for all our teams to use. If you enter this event, please let Jenny know so that we can share information and coordinate plans for race day.
BOT Update
The Board of Trustees have their first meeting of the year this Thursday 25th February, from 5:30pm in the staffroom. We welcome our new trustees to the Board: Richard Scott, Suran Dickson, Nicole Forster and Anna Reid (newly elected Staff Trustee). We welcome back returning Trustees: Matthew Macdonald, Jude Clarke, Sampson Karst, Lisa Taylor and Marcel Frie.
Board of Trustee meetings are 'Meetings held in Public', as opposed to 'Public Meetings'. This means that anyone is welcome to come and sit in on the meeting. It does not, however, give visitors the right to speak at a meeting, unless this has been pre-organised and agreed to by the Chair.
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
Christchurch Pride & Qtopia Pride Ball
March is Christchurch Pride month! We’re so excited to be supporting the youth programming, and to be throwing our very own ball! It’s all ages and pay what you can - celebrate your high school formal the way you always wanted to - wear what you feel most you in, bring the date you want, and celebrate with other beautiful rainbow folk.
For more information and to book your ticket, click here!
All the events below are suitable for young people to attend. We can’t wait to see you there!
St Andrew's College Open Day
St Andrew’s College are holding their Secondary School Open Day on Wednesday 17 March 9am - 12pm. visit stac.school.nz for further information