Principal's Patch
Kia ora koutou
Whilst it was still frosty, it was lovely to see the sun yesterday, to lift the experience of Book Character Day! I know that teams are likely to share photos through their team newsletters... below are three Witches in a Cherry Tree...! it was really great to see so many children and families engaging with the fun of Book Character Day, and I know that the PTA collected in lots of fundraising forms from the Readathon yesterday too. Please keep these coming in over the next two weeks. The PTA will have a prize draw for each year level, at Celebration Assembly in two weeks, so you have until 9am Friday 25th August to get that fundraising back in.
School Closed - Friday 18 August
Remember that SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSED this coming Friday, 18th August for a Staff Only Day. Our staff will be undertaking two pieces of Professional Development with support from staff from the Ministry of Education. The first part of the day will be UBRS training - Understanding Behaviour and Responding Safely. The second part of the day will be looking at the new Curriculum Refresh document 'Te Mātaiaho' and unpacking this together.
Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ curriculum is designed to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and be inclusive, clear, and easy to use.
It has been developed over the last two years in collaboration with the education sector, ākonga and their whānau, communities, and a wide range of interested organisations and communities.
The final draft of Te Mātaiaho is expected to be released in Term 3, 2023, and it will include the three refreshed learning areas which have been released so far: te ao tangata | social sciences, English, and mathematics and statistics.
The other five learning areas are being refreshed, and will be released in 2024 and 2025. Schools and kura have until 2027 to begin using the complete refreshed curriculum.
Ngā mihi nuiSandy HastingsTumuaki - Principal
Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal
Important Dates
NB: You can find our Community Calendar on our school website. You can embed this calendar into your own digital calendar and stay up-to-date with events and information.
Mon 14 - Thu 17 Aug - Cantamath Display viewing in Kōmanawa - from 3-3:30pmFri 18 Aug - School Closed - Staff Only DayWed 23 Aug - 5:30pm - BOT Meeting - StaffroomWed 23 Aug - 7:30pm - PTA meeting - StaffroomFri 25 Aug - Final day for returning Readathon MoneyFri 25 Aug - 10am Celebration Assembly Mon 28 Aug - Year 7/8 Ski TripFri 8 Sep - 10am Celebration AssemblyThu 14 Sep - am - Year 8 entrance testing at Cashmere HighFri 15 Sep - School PhotosWed 20 Sep - 5:30pm - BOT Meeting - StaffroomFri 22 Sep - 10am Celebration AssemblyFri 22 Sep - 1:45pm Beckenham's Got Talent!Fri 22 Sep - Final day of Term 3
NB: You can find our Community Calendar on our school website. You can embed this calendar into your own digital calendar and stay up-to-date with events and information.
Mon 14 - Thu 17 Aug - Cantamath Display viewing in Kōmanawa - from 3-3:30pm
Fri 18 Aug - School Closed - Staff Only Day
Wed 23 Aug - 5:30pm - BOT Meeting - Staffroom
Wed 23 Aug - 7:30pm - PTA meeting - Staffroom
Fri 25 Aug - Final day for returning Readathon Money
Fri 25 Aug - 10am Celebration Assembly
Mon 28 Aug - Year 7/8 Ski Trip
Fri 8 Sep - 10am Celebration Assembly
Thu 14 Sep - am - Year 8 entrance testing at Cashmere High
Fri 15 Sep - School Photos
Wed 20 Sep - 5:30pm - BOT Meeting - Staffroom
Fri 22 Sep - 10am Celebration Assembly
Fri 22 Sep - 1:45pm Beckenham's Got Talent!
Fri 22 Sep - Final day of Term 3
Term Dates: Click here to view 2023 & 2024 term dates
Citizen of the Week
Finn Breitmeyer - Year 7
Finn, you exemplify our school values in your daily actions at kura. You bring such enthusiasm towards your learning through inquiring questions, insightful contributions and focused mahi. You are a strong team player on the sports field and a loyal friend to many. You bring reliability to your leadership positions and earn the respect of peers and staff alike.
School Notices
Student Council Talent Show...
On Friday22nd September, the the last Friday of this term, the Student Council will be hosting "Beckenham's Got Talent!" Leading up to this, each hub will hold a mini-final, where 2 finalists will go through to the school event on the last day of term! Since Kowhai have more children than the other hubs, they will have 3 finalists. Only 5 people per performing group. Please encourage your children to practice an act with their friends. Let the talent begin!!!
A big thank you...
... to all the whānau who completed our recent science survey. We had an amazing 84 responses! Your thoughts, along with the student surveys, staff surveys, observations of student learning and analysis of teacher planning, will help inform our current review and development of science learning at our school.
Charlotte Verity
School Duathlon
Our school duathlon will be on Wednesday the 23rd of August. It will take place in the afternoon.
This is an optional event for Year 5 to 8 students. It involves both running and cycling and is considered an endurance event. If your child has an interest in these kinds of events and is looking for a challenge, they can enter the event through a Google form, which will be shared next week.
The running component is approximately 2 km and the cycling is approximately 1 km.
Each year we ask for parent help to support us with the running of the event. This usually involves marshalling on the course. There will be a Google form going out via Hero to gather the names of people who can help out.
Learning across the Teams
DigiFest - engaging with Aotearoa NZ Histories through Technology...
Our Kāhui Āko (local cluster of schools) have put together an opportunity for groups of learners and staff to engage with new parts of our curriculum using technology. This week, groups of Year 5-8 learners went to St Mark's School with teachers and worked with digital technology facilitator, Wilj Dekkers, from ImpactEd.
This coming week, on Tuesday and Wednesday,,. groups of children from Years 1-4 across our Kāhui Āko will be engaging with digital technology at Beckenham in our hall, again supported by Wilj. This is a wonderful opportunity for our teachers to engage in professional learning with other teachers, and to learn alongside our tamariki.
Cantamaths - Year 7&8
This term, as part of their Mathematics learning, our Year 7&8 students have been engaging with Cantamath individual challenges. These were all completed this week, and have been set up in Kōmanawa for viewing next week. There are some AMAZING investigations, games, mathematical artworks and explanations of complex mathematical thinking that have been produced.
All whānau are welcome to visit Kōmanawa, with their children, to enjoy the display over the coming week, after school each day from Monday to Thursday. If you have children in Year 5 & 6 this year, we particularly encourage you to visit with them as they will be participating in this programme next year.
PTA News
Congratulations on all the great reading that’s been going on over the past two weeks. Come and choose a bookmark to reward your hard work! The PTA will be at school on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings before the bell to collect sponsorship money and give out bookmarks. You can also pay sponsorship money directly into the PTA account.
Helplines:
1737 - free text and phone counselling 24/7
Youthline – 0800 376 633 or free text 234
Depression Helpline – 0800 111 757 or free text 4202
Anxiety New Zealand - 0800 269 4389
What's Up – 0800 942 8787 (5–18 year olds).
thelowdown.co.nz –or email team@thelowdown.co.nz or free text 5626
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
Chinese Art competition 2023
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This art competition is a joint venture by the Christchurch branch of the NZ China Friendship Society and Harcourts Gold Spitfire. It follows on from the highly successful initial competition last year. The theme of this year’s competition is ‘Happy Chinese New Year’. We are running the same competition this year but with more sections and more prizes (see the poster above).
AKOTECH CodeCamps October School Holidays - FREE PRIZE & EARLY DISCOUNTS
Our holiday camp allows children from the ages of 7-12 to develop 21st century skills in a fun and action packed environment. Create and train your own AI Avatars, make games, code drones & go to work for a simulated Tech Gaming Studio to build games for a big client.
Develop confidence & initiative through design, creativity, solving problems, presenting & collaboration. Create your own games, worlds and apps to make our world a better place.
We also have Literati Lab just for girls, which includes AI Art & Animation.
Enter our competition to win a FREE 4 day pass to one of our CodeCamps
St Margarets College: 25th - 28th September & 5th - 8th October
Book Now at www.akotech.nz
Competition: www.codecamp.co.nz/competition
EarlyBird Save Up to 21% Until 25th Aug
Siblings Save 6%
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Nga mihi nui,
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Seeking orchestra musicians - Luminaires Charitable Trust
We are on the search for great volunteer musicians to play in our orchestra.Luminaires Charitable Trust is a fairly new entity in which we focus on supporting young people in the performing arts. Our shows to date have been Spamalot Young@Part (July 2022) and Heathers the Musical, Teen Edition (April 2023). We are currently in rehearsal for an original children’s show, Beauty Within the Beast, which plays October 5-8th at the McCombs Performing Arts Centre at
Cashmere High School.
The story tells of a battle between the fairies of winter and spring, in which a young non-binary princess gets caught up in their war and is transformed into a beast. And so the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast is told with many twists along the way.
The score is an original score written 25 years ago for a predominantly youth orchestra. Therefore we are open to a mix of young players as well as adult musicians.
The orchestra is comprised of Flutes I&II, Oboe, Clarinets B flat I&II, Bassoon, Trumpets B flat I&II, Trombone, Tuba, Percussion (chimes, triangle, tambourine, cymbal, woodblock, maracas), drum kit, tuned percussion (xylophone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, chime bars), piano and strings.
We would sincerely appreciate you passing this onto anyone you think may be interested.
We ask that interested musicians please email luminairescharitabletrust@gmail.com outlining your preferred instruments and a brief outline of your experience by Sunday 20th August.
Nga mihi nui,
Franc Bol (Producer / Director)
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The General Election is on 14 October 2023. To vote, you need to be enrolled and your details need to be up to date.
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