Principal's Patch
Kia ora koutou
A slightly belated newsletter for last Friday...Please remember that school will finish at 12:30pm on THURSDAY 19th December
You are invited to our "Thank you..."
There are many people within our school community who go the extra mile to help others and make our school the caring community that it is. Many thanks to all those who recently made meals and baking for a school family who needed a bit of extra support, your kindness was truly appreciated. Thank you to the whānau who accompanied our children on the Farm trips this week! Thank you to the people who help on with trips, being on the PTA, serving on the Board, baking days, book sorting, junior playground duty, and many, many more varied activities around our school, that keep the school running and support our tamariki and our staff.As a small token of our appreciation as a staff, for the work that parents, grandmas, grandads, aunties, uncles, neighbours, friends and others in our community do to support us, we will be hosting Croissant and coffee on Tuesday December 10th in the staffroom from 8:30 - 9:15am. We would love to see as many people as possible there.
Farewell for Sherrilee Herangi-Harrison - Wed 11 Dec 9:30am
We have sadly received the resignation of Sherrilee as our Kaiako Te Reo Maori. Sherrilee has been on our staff for 25 years, and has made a huge contribution to our school through her teaching of te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and Kapa Haka. Sherrilee has been offered work in secondary schools which she is excited about taking up and we wish her all the very best for that.We will be holding a farewell assembly next Wednesday morning, from 9:30am. We are inviting past students of Te Whānau Mahi Tahi to attend, along with our current whānau.
We would appreciate if parents of current students could bring along a small plate of food to contribute to the morning tea, as a way of contributing to the 'thank you'
Special visitors in town...
We were invited to send a group of eight senior writers to a writing workshop at Tūranga last week, where they learned from some professional writers and industry experts, and then had the opportunity to meet HRH The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. A very memorable day for those students!
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
ReplaceWithUpcomingEventsTue 3 Dec - Year 7/8 Zone Debate Competition Round 2, Karui Hub, 5:30-7:00pm
Tue 3 Dec - Board of Trustees Meeting, Green Room.
Wed 4 Dec - Canterbury Athletics - Ngā Puna Wai Park
Thu 5 Dec - Kapa Haka Concert (Years 3-8)
Fri 6 Dec - Celebration Assembly 10:50am - 11:30amMon 9 Dec - Kauri Production - School hall, 7pm
Tue 10 Dec - Helpers' Thank-you Coffee and Croissants 8:30am
Wed 11 Dec - Sherrilee's farewell assembly, 9:30am
Wed 11 Dec - Kauri Production - School hall, 7pm
Tue 16 Dec - House Games and School Picnic, 12noon, Beckenham Park
Wed 18 Dec - Year 8 Leavers' Graduation (whānau of Y8 students), 11am - 12:30pm
Thu 19 Dec - School finishes for the year at 12:30pm
Sun 15 Dec - Final Beckenham Booty (PTA) Car Boot Sale for the year, 9am - 11am
Term Dates
Term Dates
Click here to view 2019 term dates.Citizen of the Week
Lexi Penter - Year 7
Lexi, you have grown so much as a learner. You show initiative in all areas and you put forth great effort in reaching your learning expectations. You show the value "We Care" everyday by being such a kind and caring friend. You have developed confidence in yourself and it shows by how happy you are during class time. You love to learn new things, which is great to see. You are such an asset to the Kauri hub. Ka pai Lexi!Alyssa Gilmour - Year 4
Alyssa, you are a star in our hub. You consistently demonstrate a positive and caring attitude and are a great friend to others. You are very responsible and are always willing to help out around the hub. You have excellent self-management skills and are a positive role model to others. Tino pai, Alyssa.Henry Hood - Year 7
Henry, you are a larger than life character in our Kauri whānau, bringing enthusiasm and humour into all that you do, and you are so much more than this. Henry, you are an intelligent and perceptive young man. You intuitively step up and act to meet a need. You're inclusive and kind to those who need a friend, you are resilient and encouraging on the sports field, and you naturally step up to lead at appropriate moments. Thank you for all you do to make a positive difference to our team.School Notices
Parking on Sandwich Road
Please be considerate when parking on Sandwich Road and take care not to obstruct the driveways of the local residents. The minimum distance you are allowed to park from a vehicle entrance is one metre. Any closer than this and it makes it difficult for people in larger vehicles to get in and out of the driveway, and you could obstruct emergency services.
A number of whānau have already made great use of the Mana Ake “drop-ins” that are available on alternate Wednesday mornings from 8:30 – 9:10am. These drop-in sessions are here to provide parents with an opportunity to have a private, informal conversation around the well being of their child with one of our Mana Ake workers (kaimahi). If you feel like you would like to attend a drop-in session, please book in a time via the link here: Mana Ake booking The code to use is ku2j6. Alternatively, you can contact Jacky in the office and she will make a booking for you.
Mana Ake News
Mana Ake “Drop-Ins” are continuing…A number of whānau have already made great use of the Mana Ake “drop-ins” that are available on alternate Wednesday mornings from 8:30 – 9:10am. These drop-in sessions are here to provide parents with an opportunity to have a private, informal conversation around the well being of their child with one of our Mana Ake workers (kaimahi). If you feel like you would like to attend a drop-in session, please book in a time via the link here: Mana Ake booking The code to use is ku2j6. Alternatively, you can contact Jacky in the office and she will make a booking for you.
Congratulations to...
Grace for winning the Queen's Essay Competition (Junior division). She was presented with her certificate last week at Tūranga by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.
To Malachy for completing his Paleontology Science Badge - following a passion and focussing on getting this finished to a high level.
Lucy Gray (Y8) for winning a Highly Commended certificate at the Intermediate Writers' Award national essay competition for her essay on Sophie Handford (Strike4Climate protest leader).
Jack Kelly recently sat the London School of Music guitar exam and scored 92.5%, an outstanding result as it is rare to score above 90. Tino pai Jack!
Roxy Murfin recently competed in a Canterbury Under 13 Fencing Tournament. She earned a bronze medal for the individual competition and was the only female medalist. For the team event she led her team to Gold medals. Tu meke Roxy!
Interoception
This year our staff have been learning about an eighth 'sense' that we all have called interoception. Interoception is a lesser-known sense that helps you understand and feel what's going on inside your body. Kids who struggle with the interoceptive sense may have trouble knowing when they feel hungry, full, hot, cold or thirsty. Having trouble with this sense can also make self-regulation a challenge.
We were fortunate to have some very good professional development on understanding how we can help all of our children to 'tune in' to their bodies, the messages that their bodies might be sending them, and then how to interpret these messages.
All year, across the school, we have been doing 'interoception' lessons for 2-5 mins each morning and afternoon. These sessions involve being talked through, in a very calm, quiet and focused way, becoming aware of a specific part of your body and trying to feel and understand what is happening in it - such as when you tense and then relax a set of muscles.
Here is an article on Interoception and Sensory Processing Issues that you may find interesting.
Here is an example of an Interoception activity, and some of our New Entrants practicing it...
Canterbury Junior Neighbourhood Support
Thank you for your donations of pet food and toys. The Junior Neighbourhood Support Leaders made these into bundles as adoption packs and Kelsea and Harry the dog, from the SPCA came to an assembly to receive them. The SPCA has a very busy time over summer and is thankful for donations and if you are looking for a pet, do consider adoptions.
Cultural Games: to help us learn more about other cultures, we would like to create a kit and booklet of playground games from other countries. If you are from another country, do you have a playground game you can explain to us? Please email charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz or see Charlotte in the Kahikatea team.
Lunchonline
Last lunchonline orders are on Friday 13th December. Orders commence again on 10th Februay 2020
Cultural Celebration:
Each fortnight, we celebrate and learn about one student’s culture in our Celebration Assembly. Last week, Mina shared about the Balkan Countries. Thanks Mina and family!Cultural Games: to help us learn more about other cultures, we would like to create a kit and booklet of playground games from other countries. If you are from another country, do you have a playground game you can explain to us? Please email charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz or see Charlotte in the Kahikatea team.
Lunchonline
Last lunchonline orders are on Friday 13th December. Orders commence again on 10th Februay 2020
PTA News
Beckenham Booty
Spots are filling up fast for the last Beckenham Booty of 2019.Bookings are now open for Sunday 15th December 9-11am
Click on this link to secure your spot.
For those shoppers looking to lessen the stress at Xmas- why not grab one of these amazing Xmas Cakes from Beckenham Booty
One of our many talented vendors will be there selling these amazing cakes- be quick as they won't last!
And for those wanting to host a ‘Sustainable Christmas’ by purchasing second hand & taking advantage of some of the affordable sustainable products on offer. The PTA’s ‘We Care’ stock is very low but we do still have the following available for those family & friends who are hard to buy for at Christmas :
Assorted Beeswax Wraps- from $5- $20
String Vege Bags- $10
Jute Shopping Bags- $10
Recyclable Coffee Cups -$17
Flow Designed Beckenham Tea Towels- $10
Grid Designed Beckenham A2 Canvas- $30
Frozen Cheese Rolls- $8 per dozen or 4 dozen for $30.
Twilight Fair Sponsorship.
Funds raised will be used to update our school sports uniform collection for our children. Another major expense for the school is ensuring our digital technology is adequate for incoming curriculum changes set out by the MOE. We need to acquire equipment to enable our children to develop coding skills & utilise robotic tools.
What support are we seeking?
● Sponsorship of a major attraction on the day. (Rental fee costs approximately $300)
● Raffle Prizes
● Donation of services
● Silent Auction items
● Monetary Donations (to assist with set up costs, entertainment, food etc)
By donating upwards of $300, we will add your name to one of the major attractions where you can display your own signage. All of our sponsors’ names will be published on our PTA website, on our PTA Facebook page & at the Fair.
Can you help? email Belinda if you can help: julianandbelinda@gmail.com
BOT Update
ReplaceWithBOTinfoCommunity Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
Child car seat recycling in Christchurch
Recycling isn't limited to the paper, glass, tins and plastic you put in your recycling bin each week.In the Christchurch parents and caregivers can recycle their damaged, expired or unwanted child car seats through the SeatSmart programme, thus preventing highly recyclable metal and plastic from going to landfill.
The cost to recycle a seat in Christchurch is $25 RRP as some of the dismantling of the seats is done by social enterprises, which provide employment for people who have a disability or are disadvantaged or marginalised.
Christchurch has two collection sites where one can take a seat - Baby on the Move Christchurch North and Baby on the Move Christchurch Central. For more information please visit www.seatsmart.co.nz
Beckenham Community Christmas Celebration
Come along to the Beckenham Community Christmas Celebration located in the grounds of Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto on Thursday 12th December from 5.00-7.00pmFree BBQ sausages, Christmas sing-a-longs & a spot of Xmas shopping- just TWO WEEKS away!!!
Still spots available for those wanting to book a market stall -No charge
Book a Christmas Market Stall, click on this link NOW
Organised by Beckenham locals for the Beckenham community.
BBQ provided by Beckenham Neighbourhood Association.
PIANO & FLUTE LESSONS
Hi my name is Aimee. I am a piano and flute teacher with 14 years experience. I have a few spaces next year on Wednesday afternoons (for children) and Friday mornings (for adults). My studio is in Cashmere. Please contact me on 021 136 2865 or aimeeaiken@gmail.com