Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Schoolwide Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 18th July 2025

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Principal's Update

Kia ora koutou

Welcome to Term 3


We've had a fantastic start to the term, and it's been great to see students outside enjoying the winter sunshine. The school feels calm and settled - a reflection of the efforts and contributions of everyone in our community.


Over the course of the holidays, the hall was refurbished, the Kōmanawa block was completed, trees were trimmed, and two new shade umbrellas were installed in the junior playground. Thank you to the Board and PTA for their support in helping make these improvements happen.


Working Bee - This Sunday


A big thank you in advance to those members of our community and staff who will be taking part in the working bee this Sunday. Giving the school grounds a refresh will make a visible and positive difference for everyone.


If you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late! Please use the link below to sign up and get involved.


https://shorturl.at/gl6OF

Welcome Assembly
This morning, we warmly welcomed our new students, staff, and their whānau/families to Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. It is a real privilege to have you join our learning community.

We look forward to working in partnership with you throughout the year to support and realise the aspirations you hold for your children.

Mid Winter Breakfast

On Wednesday morning next week, our Annual Mid-Winter Breakfast will take place. This is another wonderful event coordinated by our PTA, offering the opportunity for our community to come together, share kai/food, and make a non-perishable food donation to the City Mission. It’s also a fun chance for students, whānau/families, and staff to wear their favourite pyjamas to school. It would great to see as many of you as possible at this event - look out for more info from PTA coming soon. 

Cycling Success

Last weekend, Zach, Dylan, Archie, and Daniel from our school competed in the South Island Road Cycling Championships. They took part in both the time trials and the road race.

In his age group, Zach finished first - an outstanding achievement! As a team, they placed 7th overall in points, making them the top team in the South Island in the Year 7/8 division.

These students have been fantastic ambassadors for our school - well done!


Have a great weekend and hopefully we see you at our Working Bee. 

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa / Many thanks to you all,

Cade
Principal / Tumuaki
Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Sun 20 Jul - Working Bee (9:00-12:30pm School Grounds)
Wed 23 Jul - PTA Mid Winter Breakfast (8:00-8:30am in the Hall)
Wed 23 Jul - PTA Meeting (7:30-9:30pm)
Fri 25 Jul - Celebration Assembly (10:00-10:30am in the Hall)
Sun 27 Jul - Backup Working Bee (If rained off on 20th, 9:00-12:30pm School Grounds)
Wed 30 July - Cyber Safety Evening - Behind the Screens (7:00-8:00pm)
Thu 31 Jul - Board of Trustees Meeting (5:30-7:30pm, Staff Room)
Fri 8 Aug - Celebration Assembly (10:00-10:30am in the Hall)
Fri 22 Aug - Cycle Safe Yr 5&6
Mon 25 Aug - Fri 29 Aug - Cycle Safe Yr 5&6
Wed 27 Aug - Board of Trustees Meeting (5:30-7:30pm, Staff Room)
Wed 27 Aug - PTA Meeting (7:30-9:30pm)
Fri 5 Sept - Celebration Assembly (10:00-10:30am in the Hall)
Fri 12 Sept - Staff Only Day

Citizen of the Week

April - Year 4

April, you are a shining star who exemplifies our school values every day. You always approach new learning with a growth mindset and strive to do your best. In our hub, you make a positive difference by being a reliable helper, a trusted role model, and a caring friend to your peers. Kia kaha tō mahi, April!

Britta - Year 6

Britta, you are an extremely kind, friendly, and enthusiastic member of our team! Your bubbly and positive attitude shines through everything you do, and you are consistently hardworking and reliable. You are a wonderful role model to others. Well done, Britta!

School Notices

Parent/Caregiver Evening: Behind the Screens - Internet Safety Tips for Home

Raising kids in the digital age isn’t easy and you’re not alone. Should your child have Discord? What are V-Bucks? Is it safe to let them keep their phone overnight? Join us for a practical, entertaining evening hosted by Attitude that will help you feel more confident about parenting in the online world.

You’ll leave with smart tips, tools you can use straight away, and a better understanding of how to guide your child through the digital space without panic or overreaction. Come find out if you're a Firewall Parent, an Open Source Parent, or a Bluetooth Parent—and why it matters.

When: 7–8pm, Wednesday 30th July.
Where: Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Hall.
Who: This event is for parents/caregivers only.
Cost: Free to attend. A small koha (donation) is appreciated to help support the cost of this event.

Please complete this form to let us know if you are attending.

Parking in the 3min area on Sandwich Road

A reminder please, that the drop off and pick up area on Sandwich Road (by the bike stands) is a 3min drop-off zone from 8:30-9:30am and 2:30-3:30pm on school days. This means drivers are not able to sit in their cars from 2:30pm waiting for children, or to park cars in this area and go into school. If you arrive early and wait for children, or if you need to get out of your car and come into school, please find an alternative place to park. Having this area just for drop-offs means that the traffic on Sandwich Road moves smoothly before and after school, and this is much safer for our children.

Food Allergy Guidelines

Across our school, we have a number of children with different food allergies.

To support the wellbeing of these students we have the following guidelines in place which we ask you to follow:
  • All students should only eat lunches and snacks that have been provided by their caregivers.  
  • Bottles, other drinks, and lunch boxes provided by caregivers should be clearly labelled with the name of their child.  Home group teachers and caregivers will decide where the children’s bottles and lunch boxes will be kept during the day to ensure no cross-contamination occurs.
  • Parents are asked not to bring food into school to be shared with other children. Whilst we understand that there are times you want to celebrate special events for your children with their friends at school, e.g. birthdays or being awarded prizes, by bringing food and treats for them to share, we have a policy of children only eating the food that their whānau have prepared and sent with them. We have a number of students with food allergies and also need to respect the wishes of some families who want to monitor what their children are eating and prefer their children just to eat food they have prepared. From time to time, there may be an event that teachers have organised that will involve food (cultural or learning activities) and they will have advised families in advance that this will be happening.  
  • At the beginning of each year, caregivers will need to check the expiry dates on any medication to be held at school.  
  • On the first day of school, caregivers will need to bring their child’s medication to the school office. Caregivers will need to sign a medicine authority form (School Docs). The responsibility of monitoring the expiry dates of medications rests with the parent.
  • Caregivers may be asked to come and talk to staff about their child’s specific health needs and ways we can support them at school.
We will inform you during the year if specific guidelines for your child’s hub change. 

Our full allergy policy and guidelines are available on the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto website under Information - Policies - SchoolDocs, then search ‘allergy’.

If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss them in the first instance with your child’s home group teacher.

School Working Bee - Reminder Last Chance to Register

We’re organising a working bee to help tidy up and improve our school grounds — weeding, sweeping, pruning, clearing leaves, and general outdoor maintenance. Many hands make light work, and even an hour or two would make a big difference!

When: Sunday 20th July (with Sunday 27th July as a backup if it’s rained off), 9:00 am -12:30 pm
Where: School grounds
What to bring: Gloves, tools (if you have them), and your enthusiasm!

If you can help, please let us know by filling out this quick form:

Staff Only Day

Please note, we have planned a staff only day on Friday 12 September, with a focus on our teaching staff engaging with the refreshed Mathematics Curriculum. Thank you for your advance understanding.

Kupu Māori o te Wīki:

This term we are continuing looking at a new kupu (word) and a kīwaha (saying) of the week. Something new we are going to do is look at the waiata each week. Give them a go! Remember, Nau mai te wero, We Love Challenge!

Kīwaha: Paia! - This means Awesome!

Waiata: Māori Alphabet.

Kupu: Makariri - this means cold.

If you are unsure of the pronunciation of a word, have a look at Te Aka (the Māori dictionary) where you can hear how the word is spoken correctly.

BOSCO

BOSCO is looking for new members to join our committee. If you are interested or have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Harriet Takamore via email or pop on in when you have the chance to chat.

You would be joining a lovely bunch of volunteers who are passionate about the service BOSCO provides and being a part of its future.

BOSCO currently has availability each day for before and after school care for regular or casual bookings.

If you have thought about using BOSCO for your tamariki but aren’t 100% sure what we're about or how we work, please feel free to pop in for a chat with Harriet or send through an email with any questions you may have.

A trial session is welcome if you would like your tamariki to give it a go first.

Harriet Takamore | Programme Leader | BOSCO Incorporated

office@bosco.org.nz | 027 645 6632

BOT Update

2025 Triennial Elections

The nomination process for our School Board elections has started and nominations are now open. We have 4 spaces for parent representatives on the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Board. We have appointed Schooled Election Pilot as the Returning Officer for the election, they will be handling the election process and you will see communications directly from them.

The School Board is a key part of Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto because they do a lot of important things behind the scenes that, while they may not be visible, are really important to keeping Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto running. Our School Board oversees the development our strategic plan, consults with our community about things that matter, makes sure our finances are being spent wisely and ensures that we are giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi within Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. Our board is made up of six parent representatives, the Tumuaki/Principal and a staff rep elected by the staff.

Everyone who is eligible to vote in the election will receive a nomination pack (either via email or post). The info pack will contain everything you need to nominate yourself or another member of the community. (If you are going to nominate someone else, just make sure they know about it and will accept the nomination!). It will also include information about who isn't able to be a School Board member.

They will use your contact details for the provision of election services for Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto only and your details will be deleted 60 days after the election date as required by legislation. 

If you have any questions about the election process or need extra forms, or want a copy of the nomination form in Te Reo Māori or another language, just contact the Returning Officer from Election Pilot directly on 0800 VOTENZ (0800 868 369) or election@electionpilot.nz.

Don't leave things to the last minute, because elections close at 12 noon on Wednesday, 6th August. You can email in your nomination, complete it online at www.boardelections.nz or fill it in and drop it off to the school office. You can also send in a candidate statement and smiling photo with your nomination as well.

A copy of the electoral roll is kept at the school office and is available to be checked during usual school office hours. 

Voting will end at 4pm on our election date Wednesday, 10th September.

We will continue to keep you updated through the various stages of the election process.

Term 3 Policy Review - SchoolDocs 

  1. Visit the website https://beckenham.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
  2. Enter the username (beckenham) and password (pride).
  3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
  4. Read the policy.
  5. Click the Start your review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
  6. Select the reviewer type.
  7. Enter your name (optional).
  8. Follow the prompts to show that you've read the topic and enter your feedback if you'd like to comment.
  9. Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit review”.
This term, the scheduled review focuses on student wellbeing and safety policies within the Health, Safety, and Welfare Policy section. If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

Staffing Update

Nau mai haere mai ki te Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto kaimahi. 

Alisa 

Welcome to Alisa, joining our admin team as Office Support.
Alisa was born and raised in Christchurch and lives locally with her husband and two primary school aged children. She loves to bake, cook, watch her children's sports and get outdoors walking with friends in her spare time. She is looking forward to getting to know our kura community. Feel free to introduce yourself next time you are in the office.

Jenny

Welcome back to Jenny - joining our Kahikatea Year 1/2 team. Jenny has previously worked at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto for a number of years.

Sports News

South Island Road Racing Championship

Congratulations to the members of our team for the South Island road cycling championships who won silver in their team trial event. They showed great sportmanship, working together as a team, crossing the finish line all together. Furthermore they also placed 7th out of 31 schools in the overall scores tally!

PTA News

Thank you to everyone who ordered Cookie Time cookies, every little bit helps! Hopefully they have all been picked up now and there are some happy children! 
We’re currently supporting the Working Bee with some new bark and sand. 

Midwinter Breakfast Next Week! 

All students are invited to school for breakfast next Wednesday 23rd July. Breakfast will be served from 8am to 8.30am. Bring a bowl and a spoon and a can for the City Mission. 

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop has moved back into the PTA hub and is looking great with new paint, carpet and shelving. Come and check it out! 

Opening times:
Monday 2.45 to 3pm & Friday 8.45 to 9.15am

Community Notices

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

Storybox Drama - Afterschool Drama Classes

Storybox Drama offers after school drama classes to children 5-12yrs old.
Our classes are perfect for children new to drama. We provide a playful approach, with a focus on story, imagination and creative process.
Our learning is focused around a story, and we unpack the themes and ideas explored in the book over the term.
In Term 3 we will be exploring the story of Peter and the Wolf by Ayesha Rubio. Perfect for children who love animals and are curious about the natural world.

Find out more & enrol here: https://tinyurl.com/3b5yzay2

Term 3 classes:

Wed 23 July to Wed 10 September (8 weeks)

Wednesdays 3:30pm to 4:30pm (1 hour), $180

Somerfield Community Centre, 47 Studholme St, Christchurch









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