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 accomodate 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.
