Pōhutukawa Team News Term 3 Week 4 2026

 What a busy couple of weeks we’ve had in Pōhutukawa!

We kicked things off with a very exciting snowfall in Christchurch! There was plenty of excitement as the flakes started falling, with lots of children heading outside to catch snowflakes, enjoy the moment and hope that just maybe enough would settle for a snowball or two! It certainly made for a memorable school day and sparked lots of conversations throughout the hub.

                                                           Investigations, curiosity and hands-on learning.

In Chloe’s CCC class, students have been exploring their senses. One investigation involved smelling a range of mystery scents, trying to identify what they were and grouping scents that had something in common. It was interesting to see how strongly our sense of smell can connect to memories! Some smells were quickly described as smelling like “Grandma’s bathroom” “Nanna’s clothes” or “My shampoo”, which led to some great conversations about why certain smells can feel so familiar.

We then put our noses and taste buds to the test with a jelly bean challenge! Students had to try to identify the flavour using smell first, before tasting it to see if their prediction was correct. This proved much trickier than we expected and gave us plenty to think about when it comes to how our senses work together. 

Our Science learning has been just as hands-on. Students have been getting their dissection tools out and taking a closer look at the structures of living things. We started by dissecting mushrooms, identifying features such as the cap, gills and stem and exploring how mushrooms reproduce. We then moved on to flowers, carefully pulling them apart to identify the different parts involved in plant reproduction. The big question now is… what will we dissect next? 

                                                                       Maths Challenge Competition 

Seven of our Year 5/6 students headed to St Martins School to take part in the Te Mana Raupō Maths Challenge. Our teams were amazing and were fantastic ambassadors for Beckenham! The challenge certainly put their mathematical thinking to the test, with questions taken from previous Year 7 Cantamaths challenges. Our Year 5/6 students successfully worked their way through all of the questions and received an Honourable Mention certificate in recognition of their achievement as the first Year 5/6 team. A fantastic effort, particularly when tackling problems designed for older students!

Cultural Presentation

We also had a very special moment at our Celebration Assembly, with Mihi-Rose sharing an amazing presentation about her Māori culture. She spoke to everyone about her culture and then was joined by her dad, Ranui, who played the guitar while Mihi-Rose sang Taku Raumiri waiata for everyone. It was a beautiful way for her to share something important to her and her whānau with our school community. Ka rawe, Mihi-Rose! 

Cricket Workshop 

We’ve also wrapped up our cricket workshops this week after three weeks of learning and fun. Students have been developing their throwing, catching, batting and bowling skills, including learning how to bowl correctly. It has been great to see their skills and confidence develop across the three sessions.

A fantastic couple of weeks filled with plenty of opportunities to wonder, investigate, explore and learn by doing!

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 3 Week 2 2026

Wow, what a fabulous start to the term we have had! We hope you all had a lovely break and have transitioned back into school routines. 

Matariki

Mānawatia a Matariki! As a school, we celebrated Matariki together last Wednesday. It was a fantastic evening of connection, celebration, and fun, with activities running across the school for everyone to enjoy. A huge well done to all our Pōhutukawa students who performed - you did an amazing job!

Canterbury Cricket Sessions

For the next three weeks, classes will be participating in cricket sessions run by Canterbury Cricket. These sessions will focus on a range of skill-based games designed to encourage trying something new and having fun!

South Zone’s Basketball Tournament

On Wednesday, a group of Pōhutukawa students proudly represented our school at the South Zones Basketball Tournament at Hillview. Despite the early morning start, the students brought great energy and played exceptionally well! Well done to everyone who participated.

40 Hour Challenge

We are blown away by the efforts Pōhutukawa and Kauri put into this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge. Collectively, we raised $7,564 to go towards communities in the Solomon Islands. A massive shoutout to Leo D who raised $535!! On Friday during Celebration Assembly, Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto was presented an award recognising our fantastic efforts. 

Here are some reminders as we head into a new term:

• Mud & Shoes: Shoes need to be removed before entering learning spaces to reduce mud coming in from the fields. We really appreciate everyone showing "We Care" for our environment. Students are welcome to bring slippers to wear indoors if they prefer not to walk around in socks/bare feet!

• Winter Sports: Winter Sports continue this term, with the final session taking place in Week 6. Please ensure students arrive at school in their winter sports uniform with all appropriate gear (mouthguards, shin pads, etc.).

• Trading rules for Ooshies (Woolworth’s current promotion)  in Pōhutukawa: Trading is banned during school hours. Trading can happen before and after school. Ooshies must be kept away in bags or placed on top of pencils as intended—not carried around during class. Trades must be strictly 1-for-1, and both students must fully agree. No Backsies! We will trial these trading rules, however if it does not work out we will remove Ooshies from school altogether. 

This term is already off to a fantastic start, and we look forward to the next eight weeks of learning, fun and growth!

Ngā mihi nui,

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Chloe, Rae, Nick, Kate, Laura and Megan

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 2 Week 11 2026

Kia ora Whānau,

It has been a busy and productive couple of weeks to wrap up the term for the Pōhutukawa team! From testing our academic limits to sharpening our skills on the sports field, our students have been giving it their all right up to the final bell.

Here is a quick update on what’s been happening across our team:

Kiwi Competitions Update

This week, many of our students stepped up to the challenge for the annual Kiwi Competitions.

Completed This Week: Maths, English, and science. A huge congratulations to everyone who participated. We saw some fantastic focus and critical thinking on display.

Coming Up Later: If your child is signed up for the spelling competition, please note this will be held later in the year.

Sphero Bolts

In our CCC lessons, we have been putting our digital technologies skills to the test by programming Sphero Bolts. The students have been working hard to code their mini robotic spheres, learning how to control their speed, direction, and angles to navigate them successfully along a custom-designed race track. It has been brilliant to see their problem-solving and teamwork in action.

Canterbury Softball Visits

Last week, we wrapped up our final session with Canterbury Softball. Over the two visits, the coach worked with our students to develop their throwing, catching, and batting skills.

It has been fantastic to watch the students' confidence grow on the field, and they thoroughly enjoyed learning these new skills. A massive thank you to Canterbury Softball for their time and energy!

Homegroup Moves

Just a quick heads-up that most of our home groups have now moved into new learning spaces for the second half of the year. The students have settled into smoothly and are really excited about the change.

Thank you for your ongoing support throughout this term. We hope you all have a wonderful, safe, and relaxing school holiday break with your families. We look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for Term 3!

Warm regards,

The Pōhutukawa Team

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 2 Week 9 2026

 

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 2, Week 10, 2026

Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,

What a busy few weeks we have had! We look forward to having the chance to connect with you at our Learning Conferences and also see many of you at our Matariki Evening coming up as well.  These connections, and the whanaungatanga that comes with them, are so valuable. They are wonderful chance for the students to reflect on their successes, as well as look ahead to the next two terms. We hope you enjoy some photos of life in the Pōhutukawa Hub over the past busy few weeks. Please take the time to read on for some important information.

Shoes/ Ngā hū

It has been really great to see the students 'stepping up' to show We Care for our school environment by removing their shoes during this wet and muddy season. It really does make a huge difference to our learning space. Our next 'step' in this regard is to continue to work on keeping the shoes in a tidy way. Again, revisiting these expectations at home, as well really helps us to get there together and show kindness to each other for keeping our learning spaces accessible for all, as well as showing We Care for our cleaning staff. A reminder that students can bring slippers to school to wear indoors as well if not having shoes on is a problem. 

Winter Sports/ Hākinakina

Our Winter Sports programme is also now full steam ahead, with all of our students getting some amazing netball, football, flag football and hockey experience! Our teams are enjoying themselves in the South Zone competition and representing Beckenham admirably. A huge mihi, thanks to the parents who are helping out on Thursday afternoons. We simply couldn't do it without your help and support.

Softball Taster Session 1 

"Give it a Go"

BLAKE NZ- Virtual Reality Sessions: Sustainability

Primary Sport Canterbury Zones Cross Country: Nga Puni Wai

Go Chloe!

A nationwide creative writing competition for young Kiwi readers

Every Reader Has A Story … What’s Yours?

Books can stay with us long after we've turned the final page. Sometimes they help us through a difficult time. Sometimes they make us feel understood. Sometimes they open a door into a new world, a new idea, or a new way of seeing ourselves.

How has a book helped change you? 

To help celebrate the inaugural NZ Children’s Books Week: Read Around Aotearoa, the children's book-gifting charity, Kiwi Christmas Books, is inviting

you, the keen young readers of Aotearoa, to tell us a true story about how a book made a difference in your life. Entry

form

You could win $250 in books for yourself and $500 in books for your school, and have your story published! 

Staying Safe Online: Scams

People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!

It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.

Read their scam tips here. 

Stay safe, stay warm,

Kia Kaha

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Chloe, Nick, Kate, and Rae