Principal's Patch
Kia ora koutou
Thank you all for continuing to support our efforts to keep all of our community healthy by keeping sick children at home. Thank you also for keeping us informed about children who are staying home due to being household contacts of confirmed cases. I write this to you today from my home - being myself a household contact of a confirmed COVID case! I expect to be back at school again by Wednesday of next week.Please remember to advise us if your child contracts COVID. We are required to give daily numbers (no names) to the Ministry of Education.
We are seeing attendance across the school has been slowly dropping through the term and for the last two weeks, we have had less than 400 out of 473 children at school each day. At one level, this has been expected as we have had COVID cases confirmed and people are having to go into isolation.
However, we do not believe that COVID is being transmitted at school!
We do have a number of students who are staying away from school due to 'being cautious'. While we also understand this, we have seen very little, if ANY, evidence of anyone catching COVID at school. In almost every case reported below, both for staff and students, the transmission has happened at home or in a social setting (which is to be expected as these settings are usually without masks and distancing). For that reason, we would encourage those families who are keeping children home out of caution, to send them to school so that their learning can continue uninterrupted. The measures that we are taking at school certainly seem to be making an important difference, and are making school a safe place for your child.
We are not seeing a huge rise in cases, and this week, we have had two days with no new cases reported. Our total number of cases at school since the first case on 3rd March is 23. This is an average of only 1.4 cases per day over the last 16 days.
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| Covid Cases per day - average 1.4 cases per day |
Let's keep learning and staying safe together!
Ngā mihi mahana
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Wed 23rd Mar - PTA Meeting 7.30pm - 9.30pm (Green Room)Wed 30th Mar - BOT Meeting 5.30pm - 7.30pm (Staff Room)
Thu 14th Apr - Last day of Term 1
Fri 15th Apr - Good Friday (School Closed)
Term 2
Note that Monday 2nd May is a Staff Only Day (School Closed)
Tue 3rd May - First day of Term 2
Tue 3rd May - First day of Term 2
Term Dates
Click here to view 2022 term dates.Citizen of the Week
Maisie Lovelock - Year 8
Maisie, you are a shining star in our Kauri whānau. Your positive, kind and inclusive nature makes you a joy to be around. A proactive attitude and love of learning are key to your success. Thank you for the wonderful ways that you contribute and participate within our kura.School Notices
Updates to road closures/route changes
Thank you all for the way that you have supported our students to be safe this week with adjusting your travel around the school for the road works.
Next week, Sandwich Road will be ONE WAY only, with entry from Norwood St and Exit via Eastern Tce.
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| Next week Sandwich Road past the school will be ONE WAY ONLY |
We would encourage you to continue to walk and wheel as much as possible, and to park on Eastern Tce or Norwood St for pick-ups. There will be no entry into Sandwich Road from Eastern Terrace next week except for residents, staff and accessibility vehicles.
Walk & Wheel Prize Draw
Walk and wheel prizes have been drawn! Thank you to all of our tamariki who entered their names into the draw. It was so amazing to see how many tamariki were eligible to put their name in the draw. To be eligible you needed to have "walked or wheeled" to school at least 3 times over the past two weeks.
Prizes have been drawn and will be delivered to hubs next week.
Lost Property
We have a lost property rack out on the Library deck each day. Please have your children check here during morning tea and lunch. A reminder that it helps to have things named as we can get items back to your childs teacher much easier!
As well as this, we have quite the collection of other items held in the office. If your child is missing a watch, pounamu, or even glasses please come into the office and describe your item. We may have it! (Note some have been lost this year and some are from last year).
As well as this, we have quite the collection of other items held in the office. If your child is missing a watch, pounamu, or even glasses please come into the office and describe your item. We may have it! (Note some have been lost this year and some are from last year).
Scooter Mix Up today
We have had a look-alike scooter mix-up today after school. Please see the below pictures to see if you recognise this scooter as it may be yours!
The scooter that is missing (likely taken home by mistake) is very similar to this with key differences being it has a mountain-style sticker instead of a cross sticker, and the handle grips are not broken. If your child has picked up the wrong scooter accidentally, please can you return it to the office on Monday, where you will likely find yours waiting for you!
Policy Review
From time to time we will ask you to review one of our policies that come up on our review cycle. The policy for parental review this term is the Visitors Policy.
You will find it on School Docs site using this link.
You may need to log in using the Username: beckenham and the Password: pride
Click on "Current Review"
Scroll down to find the policy called "Visitors"
Once you have read the policy, click on the red icon in the top right hand corner, to leave your review!
Contact Details
Parents are responsible for letting the school know about any changes to their contact details, including details of parents who don't live with the child but who wish to receive school information and notices. If you have any changes, or want to check your details, please do this by coming into the Office, or emailing office@beckenham.school.nz. We appreciate you keeping us in the loop!
Staff Only Days for 2022 confirmed
Due to COVID, we have shifted the Staff Only Day that was proposed for Term 1 to Term 3.We have confirmed the following dates as Staff Only Days for 2022:- Monday 2 May (Term 2 will now start on Tuesday 3 May)
- Friday 12 August
- Monday 19 September
- Monday 2 May (Term 2 will now start on Tuesday 3 May)
- Friday 12 August
- Monday 19 September
Absences
Please remember to contact the school office if your child will be absent from school. This includes if they are learning from home, unless you have already provided us with a timeline for their absence.
When contacting us please remember to include; your name, your child’s name, the reason for their absence and how long you expect your child will be away from school.
When contacting us please remember to include; your name, your child’s name, the reason for their absence and how long you expect your child will be away from school.
If you do not provide a reason for your child’s absence, we are required to mark this as an unjustified absence on their attendance report.
Phone: (03) 337-1404 (Press 1 to leave an absence message)
or Text Message: 021 027 94107
or Email: office@beckenham.school.nz
Scholastic Book Club
Thinking about our environment and the amount of paper waste that occurs we are no longer issuing Scholastic Book Club brochures to students. You can however view the Scholastic Book Club brochure online and place your order as usual. You can access the brochure via the link below.
Lost Library Books
Dear parents and caregivers, if we have lent you one of these wonderful books could you kindly return them back to our library or email the Office (office@beckenham.school.nz) saying you would like to keep them a little longer. Thank you!
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| Hey Warrior |
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| Hey Awesome |
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| What to do when your temper flares |
PTA News
Keep in touch with the PTA
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.
Meeting dates can be found in the weekly school newsletter, or on the school calendar - linked here.
These meetings are usually held on a Wednesday night 7.30-9.30pm.
You can email the PTA at pta@beckenham.school.nz