Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 10 November, 2023

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Short Week ahead

Please remember that this coming week is a three-day school week, with a Staff Only Day this Thursday 16 Novermber and Canterbury Anniversary Day this Friday 17 November.

Board Parent Mid-Term Election 2023 - 3 Vacancies

Instruction on how you vote electronically has been distributed by email to eligible whānau. If you have any problems with this process, please contact our Liaison Officer for the Board Election at reihana.dougherty@beckenham.school.nz

Please take the time to read the candidate statements, and cast your vote. Your participation in this process is hugely appreciated, and essential in the appointment of our representatives to our Board, that represent our school community.

Please note that voting closes this coming Wednesday 15 Nov - 4pm

Staffing Update

We are able to share with you now the staffing plan for 2024 (noting that this is always subject to change if individual staff circumstances change between now and the start of the new school year).

We congratulate Bridie Harris on winning a new position at Elmwood Normal School. We have really loved having Bridie on our Year 7/8 Team this year, and we wish her all the very best going forward.

Thomas Woodfield has decided to relinquish his leadership role next year, so we are very pleased to announce that Sarah Junghenn will return to the Year 7/8 team next year as the team leader.

Elizabeth Drummond is 'retiring' from her full-time, permanent teaching role at the end of this year, after over 25 years. We are very fortunate that Elizabeth has agreed to come back during next year in a fixed-term role, to start a New Entrant class as those numbers increase.

Teams for 2024:

Koru NE Team

Stacey McLachlan - Team Leader (no home group)

Georgia McKenna - Home-group Teacher

Elizabeth Drummond - Home-group Teacher (Term 2?)

Kahikatea Year 1/2 Team

Katie McFarlane - Team Leader & Home-group Teacher

Amber Donovan - Home-group Teacher

Ella Rainbow - Home-group Teacher

Quynh Nguyen - Home-group Teacher

Lisa Collier - Literacy Support across the school (no home-group)

Kōwhai Year 3/4 Team

Anna Reid - Team Leader and release teacher (no home-group)

Rowena Barker - Home-group Teacher

Nick Bruce - Home-group Teacher

Krystal Hunt - Home-group Teacher

Anna McNeill - Home-group Teacher

Charlotte Verity - Home-group Teacher

Pōhutukawa Year 5/6 Team

Steve Cooke - Team Leader & Home-group Teacher

Megan Culver - Home-group Teacher

Rae Marsh - Home-group Teacher

Gayle McNaughton - Home-group Teacher

Laura Williamson - release teacher

Kauri Year 7/8 Team

Sarah Junghenn - Team Leader & Home-group Teacher

Jenny Diggle - Home-group Teacher

Nicky Dunlop - Home-group Teacher

Thomas Woodfield - Home-group Teacher

Georgie Jones - release teacher

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

(you can also find the Community Calendar on our website here)

Wed 15 Nov - 4pm Voting Closes - Board Elections
Thu 16 Nov - School Closed, Staff Only Day
Fri 17 Nov - School Closed, Canterbury Anniversary Day
Mon 20 Nov - Mon 27 Nov - Year 6 Beckenham Cycle Safe
Wed 22 Nov - PTA Meeting, 7.30pm
Fri 24 Nov - Celebration Assembly, 9:10-9:50am, in the Hall
Fri 24 Nov - PTA School Community Picnic, 5.00-7.30pm, Beckenham Park
Fri 1 Dec - Student Council - Celebrating Diversity and Culture Day (non-uniform)
Fri 1 Dec - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Thu 7 Dec - BOT Meeting, 5.30pm, Staffroom
Fri 8 Dec - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Fri 8 Dec - 12:15-3pm, Kahikatea Team trip to Isaac Theatre Royal, Southern Ballet
Mon 11 Dec - 7-8pm Kauri Production, in the Hall
Tue 12 Dec - 7-8pm Kauri Production, in the Hall
Fri 15 Dec - Final Celebration Assembly, 9:45am, in the Hall
Mon 18 Dec - Year 8 Graduation, 11am-12pm
Mon 18 Dec - Year 8 Leavers' Lunch 12:30-1:30pm
Tue 19 Dec - Last Day of Term 4, School finishes at 12.30pm

Term Dates: Click here to view 2023 & 2024 term dates

Citizen of the Week

Soren Durrant - Year 4

Soren, you are an outstanding role model in the Kōwhai hub. You quietly get on with your work and show great focus on any task at hand until it is complete. You are extremely respectful to your peers and teachers alike and you are a loyal and caring friend, always looking out for others' wellbeing. Thank you and ka pai tō mahi, Soren!

PTA News

Let the PTA help you out with your holiday shopping! We've curated a collection of yummy treats that everyone on your list will love and helps raise funds for our school!

Order forms have been sent home in children's bags or you can order online using this link: Christmas Goodies Fundraiser. Spare paper forms in school office.

We have the following delicious range:

Honey from Beebro: 100% NZ Honey - $15.00 each

Authentic, small-batch honey direct from the farm. Beebro will donate $1 for every jar of honey sold to Mike King's Nutters Club, a nationwide radio show and mental health support group. Three varieties to choose from.

Naked Baker Fudge Gift Boxes - $6.50 each

Delicious, creamy fudge available in four flavours and packed in lovely gift boxes.

Naked Baker Christmas Tarts - $6.00 pack

A six pack of crispy pastry available in two tasty varieties Traditional or Berry.

Orders close at 6pm 22 November 2022.

We will be collecting forms from the flagpole before school Mon-Wed 20-22 November.

Collection of your yummy treats will be on 8 December at the school hall.

The PTA thank you for all your support this year

We are also selling delicious panforte again, now in four yummy flavours. Order panforte here and collect at school on 8th December.

Weetbix TRYathlon

Don't forget we have a School Group set up for those of you who are looking to take part in the Weetbix TRYathlon that is coming around again. Click on the link below to join the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Group when you enter the TRYathlon. You can also join our School Group, without the link, by using the School Group search functionality when entering online.

https://raceroster.com/registration/79104/entry?team=564702

Community Picnic

And don’t forget the Community Picnic, on Friday 24th November from 5pm. We’ll have a Sausage Sizzle, Bouncy Castle and ice blocks. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

BOT Update

Policy Review

Your feedback on the content (the policy) and implementation (how we follow the policy) promotes discussion with staff and the Board, which helps to evaluate our processes and make changes as needed.

Thank you to all of you who have provided feedback so far on our Term 4 Policies up for review. To do this, follow the instructions below.

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, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

We had 65 responses on our Term 3 policies, which have been shared with the Board of Trustees, and SchoolDocs for review.

School Notices

School Uniform

Please click this link to see information on our school uniform.

Please note that Crocs and jandals are not part of our school uniform.

The tamariki are doing a great job remembering sunhats this term. Ka pai!

Science in Junior Discovery

Some of the akōnga from Koru and Kahikatea have jumped at the opportunity to learn and do science over recent weeks, during their Learning Through Play or Discovery sessions.

As part of her science course, Charlotte (Kōwhai team) has been visiting the hubs and sharing science activities, like rocket building, parachutes and loopy fliers. Our focus has been on thinking and being like scientists by observing, sharing ideas, making predictions, testing out our ideas, creating a fair test and even recording our findings. These are key skills in the Nature of Science component of the current science curriculum. Other teachers have been super supportive and responsive to this, and enjoying learning new ways to bring science into Learning Through Play.

Real Estate Signage Needed!

We're after donations of old real estate boards (corflute) to use for Kapa Haka waiata and outside projects. If you are in the real estate industry and can help, please contact Charlotte at charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz. Thanks!

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

Want to add to a Zentangle Collaborative Art project ?

Saturday 25th Nov - Sydenham Rm South Library 10 - 3.30pm

Sunday 26th Nov - Penney Rm, Risingholme Learning 9am- 5pm (carpark ar 99 Hawford Rd)

This Community Art project, using Zentangle patterns to complete a large canvas. All materials and inspiration provided, Come along and add your creativity.