Term One Week Seven in Pōhutukawa

Kia ora whānau,

What a busy term we have had so far!

A huge congratulations to all of the children who took part in our Duathlon on Friday.  The Year 5 and 6 children made up 70% of all entrants in the race - we were so proud to see so many of our learners taking part and living our Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto value "We Love Challenge."

COVID-19
We are in unprecedented times with the COVID-19 global pandemic. Our focus at school remains on learning, keeping life as normal as possible for our learners, and ensuring good hygiene practices across the hub.

For our school, our pandemic plan is ready to be implemented if needed. In the mean time we will continue to focus on good hygiene practices. Hand washing and good cough etiquette are very important tools in preventing the spread of illness including colds, flu and COVID-19. We will be supervising the children as they wash their hands prior to eating at morning tea and lunch times.

With that, there is a good video clip from Nanogirl that will help your children to better understand the virus - YouTube clip - Nanogirl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPsY-jLqaXM

You may have also seen the Prime Minister sat down with Dr Michelle Dickinson (aka Nanogirl) and the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Juliet Gerrard, to talk about coronavirus:
Watch on the PM’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=615164082657847
Read and watch on the Newshub website: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/03/watch-health-experts-join-jacinda-ardern-to-dispel-some-coronavirus-covid-19-myths.html

One other action we can all take is to be vigilant about our own health and the health of our children. Sandy is encouraging staff to stay away from school if they are showing signs of illness such as coughs and colds. We ask that you please do the same with your children. Colds and flus are common in schools and by staying away, seeking medical attention and practicing good hygiene, we can all keep any spread of illness to a minimum.

Fair Cancellation

Thanks so much for your support and understanding around the difficult yet necessary decision to cancel the school fair.  Our wonderful PTA are using the Komanawa space to display the art works created by our learners for the fair. These will be available for auction - please feel free to pop in and have a look at them after school any day this week. There are also many mystery bottles for sale, and the silent auctions and raffle are still running.