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

Pōhutukawa Team News, Term 2, Week 7, 2026

 It has been another busy and exciting few weeks in the Pōhutukawa Team!

Choir

Our Year 5–8 Choir is now underway on Tuesday afternoons. We have had our biggest sign-up ever, with an incredible 95 students choosing to take part. It has been wonderful to see so many students stepping outside their comfort zones and coming together through music. This is a fantastic example of We Get There Together, with students supporting one another as they learn new songs and prepare for upcoming performances.

Zones Cross Country

A huge congratulations to those students who represented our school at the Zones Cross Country event. Competing at this level takes courage, determination, and resilience. Thank you for giving it your best effort and representing our school so well. You certainly demonstrated our value of We Love Challenge.

Trees for Survival Planting Day

Last year, many of our students helped plant tiny native seedlings into larger growing bags as part of our Trees for Survival programme. Over the past year, these plants have thrived in our shadehouse and were finally ready for their next step.

This week, a group of 29 students from Years 5–8 travelled to Kaiapoi to take part in the annual planting day. Joined by sponsors from Accor Hotels and the local landowners, students spent the day planting an incredible 753 native trees that had been grown right here at Beckenham.

It was a beautiful day, and our students worked incredibly hard while having lots of fun. The experience was a wonderful example of our values We Make a Difference and We Get There Together, as students contributed positively to the environment and worked alongside others to restore a local area.

A special thank you to everyone involved in making the day such a success.

Mathematics Learning

In Mathematics, students have been exploring Geometry. Some of our maths groups took part in a fun fluency game where students created pictures using 2D shapes and then had to describe their design to a partner using precise mathematical vocabulary. Their partner then attempted to recreate the image as accurately as possible. The activity encouraged students to use their knowledge of shapes, position, and mathematical language while developing their communication skills. It was a fantastic example of We Love Learning in action and is a game that could easily be played at home.

40 Hour Challenge

We are excited to be taking part in the World Vision 40 Hour Challenge later this month. Students have begun signing up and planning their challenges, all while learning about how they can make a difference for communities in the Solomon Islands. We are proud to see so many students embracing the opportunity to support others and live out our value of We Care. If your child is interested in signing up please follow this link. 

Arts Canterbury Youth Art Exhibition

Calling all young artists! Arts Canterbury is inviting students aged 10–18 to submit one original artwork for the 2026 Youth Art Exhibition, taking place from 14–16 August at The Cashmere Club. There is no theme, and all art styles and mediums are welcome. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to showcase their creativity, with prizes awarded in two age categories (10–14 years and 15–18 years). Submissions close on 31 July, although entries may close earlier if capacity is reached. Students interested in entering are encouraged to submit their artwork as soon as possible via this submission form. 

Hot food at school.

Recently we have seen a rise in requests to cook noodles or heat other food in lunches for children. Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate this. If your child would like hot food at school they need to organise a thermos for this.

We appreciate that hot food would be lovely during the colder days at school, however we can be heating food up in the staff room for children. Thanks for your understanding.

That's it for this fortnight see you next time!

Warm regards

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chloe, Chris, Nick, Kate, Rae, Megan and Sesilia (UC Student)

 

Phōhutukawa Team News Term 2 Week 5 2026

Kia ora e te whānau,

Almost halfway through the term already — unbelievable how fast it’s going! That’s always a great sign that we have happy, engaged kids enjoying their learning.

Angklung Interactive Session (Indonesian instrument)

Last Friday, we were incredibly privileged to host a demonstration and interactive session of the angklung instrument presented by the Indonesian Embassy. The angklung is a traditional musical instrument from West Java, Indonesia. It was a wonderful opportunity for cultural exchange and learning. Have a chat at home about this experience. Huge thanks to Lucky for sharing this experience with us! 

Basketball Skills Session: Girls Got Game!

Our girls were very fortunate to have a basketball skills session from the Pioneer Basketball Club. They played some dribbling and passing games. A good time was had by all.

Upcoming Kapa Haka performance

Here we are practising hard for our upcoming Kapa Haka performance. We will proudly perform our waiata at the Celebration Assembly on Friday 5 June, we would love for you to come and support your tamariki if you are available. 

Inquiry Topic

This term, our inquiry topic continues to centre around the school-wide focus of sustainability. Students are working in small collaborative groups to identify a local or global issue and develop innovative, sustainable solutions. It is awesome to see our “We Get There Together,” “We Make a Difference,” and “We Love Challenge” values being brought to life so beautifully. 

"We Love Challenge" The Pōhutukawa Kids trying new things! 

Franklin receiving his "We Love Challenge" award for completing this years Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Cross Country for the first time! 

Well done Franklin! We are super Proud of you! 

Reminders

School Closed: Please remember Friday 29th May (Week 6) is a Staff Only Day, and the following Monday 1st June (Week 7) is King's Birthday. School will be closed on these days. 

Staying Safe Online: Bullying

One in five young people in New Zealand have been the target of online bullying – it can happen to anyone, and it can be hard for parents and whānau to deal with. Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto takes online bullying seriously and would encourage you to chat to your tamariki’s teacher if you have any concerns about online bullying.

Visit Netsafe’s Online Bullying Advice for Parents to read more.

40 Hour Famine

19–21 June | Be Part of Something Bigger

This year, World Vision are again inviting young people across Aotearoa to make a real impact through the 40 Hour Challenge — raising life-changing funds for children and communities in the Solomon Islands.

Why?
Because right now, many children and families in the Solomon Islands are facing significant challenges due to poverty and the impacts of climate change. Communities rely heavily on farming and fishing, making them especially vulnerable to changing weather patterns and natural disasters. Funds raised through the 40 Hour Challenge help provide practical support and create stronger, more sustainable futures.

Our Year 5–8 students had the opportunity to sign up this week. We would love your support in helping them sign up, choose a challenge, and begin their fundraising journey. Click the link here to join our school's fundraising page. 

Whether students choose to go completely offline for 40 hours or create a challenge of their own, every effort helps make a difference.

Child not taking part in the challenge but would still like to contribute? You can access our school fundraising page here.

That's it for this fortnight see you next time!

Warm regards

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Rae, Chris, Nick, Kate, Chloe and Megan