Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Schoolwide Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 23 February 2024, Week 4

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

On Tuesday we hosted a whānau workshop on 'Parenting in the digital age'.  Rory from an organisation called Attitude, spoke to whānau about supporting tamariki as they negotiate the online world: Social Media - messaging, scrolling or watching, and gaming. The overarching message was to take time to understand the forums your child wants to use, learn how they work and what works well and what are the challenges. Have coaching conversations with your child before they use social media about what would they do if...? How would that make them/others feel? Just as we teach our children to swim and be safe in the water, what do we need to prepare them for before the online world?

He also emphasised the importance of monitoring how long they have screen time. Just like eating food, what are our tamariki consuming/watching? What is too much or just right for your whānau? Screentime can affect the amount of sleep we get so where are devices kept at night time in your house? Do they have a centralised location to get them out of their bedrooms? What are the natural stopping cues in your house? Just like credits on a programme/movie what are the indicators that it's time to switch off? No phones at meal times, no phones before school, what else could you do before going on a device etc.

Rory shared online places to get support such as Netsafe and the Parenting Place websites. He also suggested a Digital contract that whānau could have together and shared this example which can be printed or used for ideas to come up with your own whānau contract about devices.

Overall, stay actively involved. As we coach our children through so many aspects of life as we prepare them for the world ahead, we need to do so with digital literacy.

Leadership Week
The Year 7 and 8 team have spent time this week learning about the 7 habits that can support leadership. They have had activities to support good communication and coming together as a team. Thank you to all the adults who supported these learners with the programme this week. We look forward to them sharing more about what they did and what they learned with the rest of the tamariki. 

Good luck to our tamariki who are taking part in the Weetbix TRYathlon this weekend. We have had just over 60 entrants from our kura alone!

Ngā mihi nui
Jo Smith - Tumuaki (Acting Principal)

Important Dates

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

Wed 28 Feb - BoT Meeting, 5.30-7.30PM, Staffroom
Wed 28 Feb - PTA Meeting, 7.30-9.30PM
Thu 29 Feb - School Swim Sports, 12.30-3PM, Wharenui Pool
Mon 11 Mar - Zone Swimming, 9-12.30PM, Wharenui Pool
Wed 27 Mar - Canterbury Swimming
Wed 27 Mar - BoT Meeting, 5.30-7.30PM, Staffroom
Wed 27 Mar - PTA Meeting, 7.30-9.30PM
Fri 29 Mar - Good Friday (kura/school closed)
Mon 1 Apr - Easter Monday (kura/school closed)
Tue 2 Apr - Kura/School closed
Fri 12 Apr - Last day of Term 1
Mon 29 Apr - First day of Term 2
Fri 3 May - Welcome Assembly, 9.15-9.30am, Hall
Tue 14 May - School Cross Country TBC
Wed 22 May - PTA Meeting, 7.30-9.30PM
Wed 29 May - BoT Meeting, 5.30-7.30PM, Staffroom
Fri 31 May - Staff Only Day (kura/school closed)
Mon 3 Jun - King's Birthday (kura/school closed)
Wed 26 Jun - BoT Meeting, 5.30-7.30PM, Staffroom
Wed 26 Jun - PTA Meeting, 7.30-9.30PM, Staffroom
Fri 28 Jun - Matariki (kura/school closed)
Fri 5 Jul - Last day of Term 2

Term Dates: Click here to view  2024 term dates

Citizen of the Week

Daniel McKean - Year 6 (Week 3)

Daniel, thank you for always being the best you can be! You encapsulate our kete values with your diligence, your determination, your curiosity, and your subtle sense of humour. You have tremendous mana amongst your peers and it's wonderful to see how you quietly lead the way for others to follow in our team. Tino pai rawa atu kia koe, Daniel.

Citizen of the Week

Daniel Crump - Year 3 (Week 4)

Daniel, you are a role model student, demonstrating the school values each and every day. You have a thirst for learning, an exceptional work ethic and work diligently to achieve goals. You are friendly. Ka pai, Daniel! Keep up the fantastic work!

School Notices

Kia Kaha Waitaha

Our Year 7/8 students decided to send a message of appreciation to the firefighters working in the Port Hills this week. Our thoughts are with them and everyone affected by the fires. 

Walk or Wheel to School Week


In week 6, from Monday 4th March to Friday 8th March 2024, our school is participating in Walk or Wheel to School Week, brought to you by Christchurch City Council. This fun and action-packed week is to promote walking and wheeling to school. There are daily themes and prizes up for grabs for students who participate. For more information head over to the Christchurch City Council webpage. We can’t wait to get started next week!

If students walk or wheel to school 3 mornings or more during the week they will go in the draw to win spot prizes.  Cards that students need to fill out if they are participating will be sent home (pictured below). Tamariki (children) need to write both their name and hub on the back of this card. 


PTA News

Request for help!

If you are available to help set up the tent at Jelly Park Stadium on Saturday night or Sunday morning for the Weetbix Triathlon, please contact Carol at: pta@beckenham.school.nz

Order your yummy hot cross buns now! 

Ordering for our fundraiser is up and running - Our PTA are raising money to help update the Kapa Haka uniforms and replace the school's gazebo which was broken last year.

You can fill in the paper order form which should be in your child's bag (spare forms will be kept in the school office).   Paper forms can be returned to the box in the school office,. Please make sure any cash is in an envelope, or note clearly the date paid.

OR - order online here.


If you have any questions please contact pta@beckenham.school.nz or via Facebook Messenger.

BOT Update

Term 1 Policy Review

In term 1 we are reviewing topics in the Governance and Management, Parents and Whānau, and Documentation and Self-Review Policy sections. 
Who reviews our policies and procedures?

All reviews are open to board, staff, students, and the school community (parents/caregivers/whānau).
Anyone can review any policy/procedure that has a review button. The board is responsible for board-level overarching policies. 

To start reviewing, click on a topic name above, then click the Start your review button. If a link is inactive, our school doesn't have the topic.

When we review our policies with SchoolDocs, we are reviewing each policy for its content as well as how well the school implements it. To share your comments and rate its implementation, click the "Start your review" button, or see detailed instructions below.
  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 policies up for review.
  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”.
If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

Community Notices

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

Christchurch City Council Speed Changes 


Christchurch City Council have let us know they're making it safer for our ākonga (students) to get to and from kura (school) in our area. You'll notice speed signs changing to 30km/h in our area, as well as some changes to line markings in areas around our school neighbourhood.

It's important that everyone takes responsibility for safety on our roads. We can all do this by adjusting our speed to the conditions and speed limits, especially around schools and surrounding suburbs.

To learn more about this project, you can visit the Council's Safer speeds webpage, where there's also a map of which streets will have speed limit changes.




Sea Week is coming up, 2-10 March, and there are heaps of fun ways you can get involved. Activities and events range from creative craft sessions through to beach clean ups.
https://seaweek.org.nz/

Posted in Weekly Newsletters.