School Newsletter, Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto – Fri 26 May

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

We are looking forward to a warm weekend after some cold and grey weather earlier this week. 

Supporting all of our community to stay well and healthy continues to be a challenge. We still have COVID and influenza in our school community, and this week, we have had two cases of chickenpox confirmed.



The Ministry of Education have also asked us to check that our immunization records are up to date, with the threat of measles also on the horizon at a national level. If you have had children vaccinated in the past couple of years and haven't updated us, please send updated records to office@beckenham.school.nz

Staff Only Days confirmed for Term 3 and Term 4

The Ministry of Education has allocated two days this year for schools to close in order for teachers to engage with professional learning around the Curriculum Refresh that is currently happening. This is extremely important time for our teachers to be given to engage with the curriculum changes and ensure we understand the new expectations.
At our Board of Trustees meeting last night, the Board confirmed that the two dates that will be taken for these Staff Only days will be:
  • Friday 18 August
  • Thursday 16 November (Friday 17 November is Canterbury Anniversary Weekend, making this a four-day weekend)

Learning Conferences 14 & 15 June

These are coming up in Week 8 of the term, on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th June. 

Reports will go live on HERO at the end of Week 6, and these conferences will be an important opportunity to learn more about your child's learning progress and achievement.

The school will close at the earlier time of 2pm on both days. Children who are usually booked into BOSCO on those days will be able to attend from 2pm. We will provide supervision for children between 2-3pm IF NEEDED... 

Each family needs to fill out BOTH forms below, please:
First, please book a Learning Conference for each of your children by clicking on this link.
Then, please fill out this form, to let us know what you want to happen for your child at 2pm. We need this form filled out by EVERY family, please.

Possibility of Industrial Action (strike) by teachers next Wednesday, 31 May

Teachers are waiting to hear from their union, NZEI, for an update on the current negotiations on their collective agreement. They are expecting to have notice on Sunday as to whether they have an improved offer on the table, OR whether they will be moving to take strike action on Wednesday next week. We will put a notice out to you all, through HERO on Sunday to let you know the outcome of this process. If the decision to strike is made, the Board will have no alternative but to close the school as we will not have sufficient teachers on site to safely open.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki

Important Dates

Fri 2 Jun - Celebration Assembly 10am, All welcome
Mon 5 Jun - School Closed - Kings Birthday Weekend Public Holiday
Thu 8 Jun - Cashmere High Open Day 12noon - 4pm
Wed 14 Jun - Learning Conferences - School Closes at 2pm
Thu 15 Jun - Learning Conferences - School Closes at 2pm
Fri 16 Jun - Celebration Assembly 10am, All welcome
Wed 21 Jun - Whānau Matariki Hui, followed by PTA Hāngi
Wed 28 Jun - PTA Mtg, 7:30pm Staffroom

Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Isabelle Parrett - Year 8

Isabelle, you are such an organised and switched on learner who loves to make a difference by helping others. As an assertive and confident leader, you use your initiative to get things done. You love a challenge, grabbing new opportunities with both hands and also support others to give new things a go. Tino pai, Isabelle!

School Notices

Free Workshops from Mana Ake

Mana Ake supports children who are experiencing circumstances that impact on their wellbeing or mental health. The Mana Ake team works alongside schools, whānau and general practice when they have noticed a concern about a child’s wellbeing or mental health. 
Children can be referred to Mana Ake via their GP or their school. Whānau are able to access phone drop in service to provide guidance about next steps for their child. 
Mana Ake also offer free workshops to parents and whānau to support positive parenting and information around current issues, e.g. digital safety, anxiety, friendships.

Please take some time to fill in this survey if you have suggestions for workshops that Mana Ake could offer that would support you in your parenting journey.

Elmer has arrived!



On Monday we were excited to unwrap a new special friend. It was Elmer! Many Elmers have been sent to schools around Christchurch from the Laura Ferguson Brain Injury Trust. This trust makes a difference to younger people with disabilities in Christchurch. 

In a couple of weeks our senior art leaders with be visiting hubs to talk about Elmer and gather ideas for how we could paint them. The art leaders will decide on a design from the ideas they gather, select colours and start getting creative. Children from across the school will help to paint Elmer. 

Later in the year our Elmer will be part of an art trail around the city. We can’t wait to get started.

Help needed - Grant Funding Applications

The Board are keen to explore opportunities for applying for Grant Funding to supplement our budget which is always extremely tight. Grants can provide funding for items and opportunities that are outside of our budget capacity.
If you have a little bit of time, and would be interested in supporting Rachel (our accounts officer) with making some grant applications, please email accounts@beckenham.school.nz. No previous experience is necessary.

Sports News

Cross Country

On Tuesday 9th May we held our Whole School Cross Country, which due to the weather ended up being our Senior School Cross Country. As the first race started the skies opened up and it poured. This did not put our student's off, they showed 'we love challenge' with their grit and determination to keep going. There was a huge vibe of 'we get there together' with student's supporting one another, cheering each other on and running together. 


There were many vibrant, smiling faces and all in all it was a great event! Well done to everyone who participated and to our first place champions' below:

Year 5-Ben Stoney
Year 5-Laura Stoney
Year 6-Lily Miller
Year 6-Kawariki Taylor
Year7-Jack Sayer
Year 7-Harriet Parawa
Year 8-Cahlen Stace
Year 8-Zoe Colville
Year 8-Ella Colman

 Gayle and Sarah took 48 Students to the South Zone Cross Country event on Tuesday 23rd-results to follow.

Community Notices

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

Dear whānau, 

We are supporting Stats NZ to encourage everyone to complete the 2023 Census.  

So, this is a reminder that you need to return your census forms if you have not done so already.  

Census data is used to make important decisions that affect us all. The census is the official count of people living in Aotearoa New Zealand, and everyone who was in the country on Census Day, 7 March 2023, is required by law to complete a census form.  

Your participation will help ensure that our community receives funding for services for the number of people that live in our community. That includes education, health, and social services. 

To complete the census, you can do it online at www.census.govt.nz using one of the access codes provided in the letters sent to your household. Or you can fill out paper census forms if you have them. To request a new access code or paper forms, freephone 0800 236 787 (0800 CENSUS) or order online at www.census.govt.nz

The 2023 Census closes on 30 June, so you should do them online now or as soon as practicable. Ensure your paper forms are posted so they arrive with Stats NZ by 30 June. 

Census collectors are no longer visiting households providing help to complete census forms (except in the cyclone-impacted areas of the Far North, Te Tairāwhiti, and Hawke’s Bay). If you need assistance or more information: 

You can attend a census support event and get face-to-face help to complete forms (for more information go to www.census.govt.nz/census-support). 

We encourage you to help whānau, friends, and neighbours complete their forms.  

There is information in New Zealand Sign Language, Braille, Easy Read, Large Print, and Audio formats, as well as in 29 different languages  at www.census.govt.nz. 

The 0800 CENSUS (0800 236 787) helpline will be open until 30 June. 

Thank you for your support in making sure our community is accurately represented in the census.  

 

AUDITIONS!! 

Luminaires presents Beauty Within the Beast



For anyone aged 8 and over who loves to sing, act or dance.
No experience needed.
Click on this link below to find out more. Or find Luminaires on social media.
Posted in Weekly Newsletters.