Pōhutukawa Team News Term 3 Week 8 2026

 

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

Read on for news and information about what has been happening around the hub in the last two weeks!. Have a great weekend everyone, kia pai ngā rā whakata.

Wow what a busy time we have had in the Pōhutukawa team! Over the last few weeks we have done Cycle Safe, Food for Thought Programme, Special Visit from Ross Meder (Volunteer Ambulance Officer), Kiwi Competition, Beckenham's got talent and many more! 

In class we have been learning about Body Systems. We got our hands on some clay and made some brains! What a fun wee hands on activity to focus in on the main component of our bodies here are some pictures of the creative outcome. 

Operation! 

We have begun the task of building our own version of the game Operation. We will be doing our own copper wiring, wiring it all up together and connecting it all to LED lights and a battery pack. This is how were getting on so far. 

Student Council News

On Sept 18th, next Friday, the Student Council has organised a Heritage Day to celebrate our diverse cultures. Children are invited to come to school dressed in something to represent their family's heritage. This could be a costume, something special about the country or simply wear the colours from the country's flag. Please bring a gold coin for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organisation that helps children and young people build confidence, resilience and positive relationships through mentoring.

The programme matches young people with caring adult or older-youth mentors who spend regular time together, talking, sharing activities and simply being there. These supportive relationships can make a real difference to a young person’s sense of belonging, self-confidence and ability to navigate life’s challenges.

Privacy and Social Media

Actively managing your tamariki’s privacy settings on the social networks they use can go a long way

towards keeping control of their personal information.

Any information that is easily available online, whether it’s an email address, date of birth, or pictures,

could end up causing harm if it gets into the wrong hands.

To help you navigate privacy on social media, Netsafe has put together a guide on

How to Use Privacy Settings on Social Networks. 

Have a lovely weekend, Ngā mihi nui. Kia Kaha.

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

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

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 3 Week 6 2026

 

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

It's been great to see us starting to get back to our usual numbers here at kura after a few weeks of sickness throughout the team. Thank you again, whānau, for keeping tamariki at home who are unwell during this season of coughs and colds. It was just wonderful to see the sun out last! and have everyone outside being active and playing sports. Let's hope for some more sunshine! We also have the Duathlon coming up this Wednesday.Term 3 continues to be a busy and exciting term!

Christchurch City Council Cycle Safe Programme

Our Year 6 students recently completed the popular Cycle Safe programme, and what a success it was! Despite battling some challenging Christchurch winds, our tamariki showed fantastic resilience and determination as they mastered essential riding skills.

After practicing their control and signaling on site, the students put their training to the test by cycling out on the live roads around the Beckenham neighbourhood. A massive thank you to the awesome instructors from the Christchurch City Council team for their expert guidance, patience, and high energy. Our kids learned so much and had an absolute blast! ka rawe, Year 6!

Some feedback from the students:

L said - "They were very good at explaining what we were doing and very clear. They led by example. They showed us how to turn."

E said - " I know how to indicate when I turn right and it was a lot of fun!"

M said - "I learned road rules I never knew, especially the give way one off a side road."

Volley Ball Tournament: Selwyn Sport Centre, Rolleston

What an incredible day of volleyball! Our Year 5/6 Beckenham teams served up an absolute masterclass at the recent tournament, showing outstanding grit, growth, and team spirit.

As the tournament progressed, the kids adapted brilliantly, learning new skills on the fly, sharpening their rotation, and working seamlessly as a team. Their hard work paid off in the ultimate showcase: an all-Beckenham final battling it out for both 1st and 2nd place!

A massive thank you to our amazing coaches and parents, whose guidance and energy kept the players inspired all day long. Congratulations to all of our fantastic tamariki for representing Beckenham with so much enthusiasm and heart!

The bus may have been late and it was trying to rain but that didn't dampen our spirits! 

Food for thought Programme

Our first sessions in the Food for Thought programme got under way today for four of five of our home groups. We looked at different types of vegetables, fruits, grains, proteins and milk products and what they are good for for our bodies. We had a good time working through an interactive quiz and learnt the colours of different foods and how they help different areas of health for the body. 

It was great to see students engaging in the topic and comparing liked foods with their peers. Lots of conversation around healthy foods and fast foods as well! We look forward to continuing these sessions throughout the week and having our supermarket visits on Thursday and Friday!

Inquiry Unit

Our current inquiry focus is on body systems. We have looked at flowers, mushrooms and now we are moving into the human body.

We were extremely fortunate to have Ross, Kate's dad, come and visit us with his torso skeleton and fully articulated skeleton to help in the understanding of body systems.

He focused on the following:

• The human respiratory system includes the trachea, lungs, diaphragm, ribs, and intercostal muscles. The structure of each part supports its role in breathing (e.g. the ribs form a protective cage, while the diaphragm and intercostal muscles draw air into the chest cavity).

• The human circulatory system moves blood around the body and includes the heart, blood, and blood vessels. The structure of these parts relates to their function.

• The digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems work together to supply oxygen, water, and nutrients to the human body.

Duathlon

Concentration, stickability, grit and a desire to do their best! All words that describe the supreme effort our duathletes showed on Wednesday afternoon.

Kapa Haka

Finishing on a high note! It was absolutley fabulous to see Franklin having a super time at Kapa Haka. 

Have a fabulous fortnight, until next time

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Rae, Chris, Chloe, Nick, and Kate

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