Sunday 16 December 2018

A few reminders for the Pōhutukawa team

Hut Day (Monday)

Hopefully you have been alerted to the fact that tomorrow is hut day! The children have chosen groups and have made lists about the materials they require to construct their hut as a group. Each child wrote on a slip of paper the particular items they are to bring tomorrow. If you haven't spotted this, it may be in the depths of your child's bag! Any items brought to school are to be taken home at the end of the day.
The children asked if they could share food whilst in their huts. We have decided that if a child wishes to share their morning tea with their group, that would be fine. They can bring food to share, food that fits with the healthy eating which we promote at school. No lollies, chocolate, chips, popcorn or any drink please.  We would prefer that they eat their own lunch. This is completely optional and by no means a requirement of the day.
Although the students believe they won't be doing any  learning tomorrow, we expect (and will discuss with them) that the NZ key competencies (thinking, relating to others, using language, symbols, and texts, managing self and participating and contributing) will be used throughout the day.

Waltham Pool (Tuesday)

We are really looking forward our a trip to Waltham Pool on Tuesday. Your child will need to bring their backpack with:

A sufficient packed lunch
Water bottle
Togs
Towel
Goggles (optional)
A warm jacket/school sweatshirt
School sunhat

Children will not be able to ride on the hydroslide or purchase food at the pool,.
We will be departing school to walk to Waltham Pool at 11:00am, and we will return by 3:00pm.
Thanks again to the large group of adult helpers supporting us on this trip.

Last day (Thursday)

On Thursday morning the children will be meeting as a team in next year's hub. There they will learn who their teacher is going to be next year, and who is in their class. 
Between 11-12 there will be water fun on the park. The children will be encouraged to bring their togs and a towel, as we will have the slip and slides available. They will also be allowed to bring water guns as there will be water gun fun on the park. There will be an inside option for those children not keen on getting wet.
School closes at 12:30.

We would like to wish all families a safe and happy holiday. We have loved teaching this team of children, and have enjoyed getting to know many families. A special mention goes out to our 10 Year 4 students, who have coped admirably in the Pōhutukawa team, and have in fact blended in so well, that we often had to be reminded that they weren't Year 5 students! Although we are going to miss our big Year 6 students, we know that most of them are going to be just through the door to next door, so we'll still get to see them. And we look forward to seeing our lovely Year 4 and 5 students again next year! 

Enjoy your break everyone!




Monday 10 December 2018

The last two weeks in Pōhutukawa, 2018

Sexuality

The majority of our students eagerly await the afternoon Health lessons in sexuality, having overcome nervousness. It's great to see their understanding of their bodies and puberty issues growing. We hope that you are having some interesting discussions at home! We will finish this topic at the end of the week.

Football fun

On Tuesday Tyler Logan from Cashmere Technical AFC will be running small football games for our team. We have a solid relationship with the club, and are grateful for their support during the year.

Building completion celebration day

As you will have read in the latest newsletter, we are having a 'Building Completion Celebration Day' this coming Thursday, 13th December.

The celebrations will begin at the first bell, at 8:55am on Thursday. Children will hang up their bags, then come over to the hall where we will be welcomed in by Te Whānau Mahi Tahi, and will then have a short time of reviewing the building journey and the naming of our new buildings through stories and pictures. This will take about 20 minutes and we invite our families to stay and enjoy this celebration with us. 

At 1:20 pm, the PTA will be providing a sausage sizzle (or vegetarian, gluten free falafel) for each of the children, (and they will still need to bring other lunch items to eat as usual). Then we will all go out to the park for celebration games in houses. Following that, we will provide a lemonade iceblock for every child as a very special treat. If you do not wish your child to be given this food, please let your child's teacher know.

Final celebration assembly and thank you morning tea

On Friday 14 December at 9:30 - 10:30 am it will be our final celebration assembly. 

Following the assembly, there will be a thank you morning tea, where we say a huge THANK YOU to all those parents, caregivers, grandparents, volunteers and everyone else who has helped out in some way at our school, has become a welcome tradition at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto.

If you have volunteered, provided a helping hand, read books, donated books, been on a school trip, helped out with cooking in a hub or any other one of the myriad of ways that support our school community during 2019, then this invitation is for YOU.

Come and have a drink and bite to eat at the school hall from 10:30am onwards, this Friday 14th December. 

Monday 17 December (Week 10) - Hut day!

On the last Monday of term, we have chosen to allow the students to be have a day where they show our school values and the key competencies of the NZ Curriculum (key competencies are the capabilities people have, and need to develop, to live and learn today and in the future - thinking,
relating to others, using language, symbols, and texts, managing self, and participating and contributing). Hut day! In groups, the students will plan their hut (location, resources needed, decorations and letter box) on Friday, and then bring along all they need on Monday. Together they will construct their hut, completing added challenges along the way. They need to also create a letterbox, as they will be making 'happy holidays' cards for others. The huts will be deconstructed at the end of the day, with all materials being returned home, or recycled. We suggested that some of the best materials would be sheets, pegs and string. All materials being brought from home must have the permission of the owner/s, and must be returned! We envisage the day to be a lot of fun.

The hut making materials will be required only for Monday.

Waltham Pool

On Tuesday 18 December our team will be visiting Waltham Pool. Thank you to the adults who have volunteered to help us on that day. Katie will be in touch shortly with regards to expectations. The children will need with them a big packed lunch, a water bottle, a bag with their togs and towel, goggles if they wish and sunscreen. They will be wearing their school uniform and their school hat. We will be walking to Waltham Pool, leaving school at 11am, and returning before 3pm.



Wednesday 5 December 2018

Passions on Thursday

This week, the Pōhutukawa Team's passion learning session will be held on Thursday instead of Friday. If your child needs to bring anything special for their passion learning project (e.g. Lego or other toys), please remind them to bring it to school on Thursday.

Sunday 25 November 2018

T4 W7 in the Pōhutukawa Team

Sexuality Road

On Tuesday we will be starting our Sexuality Road topic as part of the Health curriculum. 
We will be teaching the unit in pairs. Tracy and Katie will be taking the Year 6 students, while Gayle and Nick will be taking the Y5 students.
The Y4 students will be joining in with Kōwhai for the afternoons we have Health.
As discussed at the parent meeting at the beginning of the term, we will be covering the following topics:
 
 
Year 5
Year 6
Changing bodies and feelings
Puberty - exploring changes
Identifying external body parts
Being unique
Puberty - exploring changes
Identifying external body parts
Reproductive systems
Hygiene
Relationships
Friendships
Respect and tolerance
Personal opinions
Gender stereotypes - impact on relationships, roles and behaviours
Defining relationships
Communication & decision making
Decision making - demands, practise, thinking ahead about possible consequences
Media - remaining unique and individual
Passive, assertive, aggressive communication
Reproduction
Conception
Eggs and sperm
Explain conception and stages of pregnancy
Where can I go
Support networks
Support networks

We will be encouraging the students to talk about their learning at home with whānau.

Staff Only Day on Monday 26 November

Tomorrow school will be closed due to a staff only day.

Camp helpers' reflections

Many thanks again to our fabulous camp helpers. Your assistance on camp was invaluable. If you have completed the reflection sent home with your poppet, it would be great to have that returned to Tracy at school. Thank you to the four parents who have already returned theirs. It is really helpful to have different perspectives on how the camp went.

Waltham Pool trip

We now have enough support for our trip to Waltham pool in the last week of school. Thank you so much to the volunteers!

Lost property from camp

We would love to reunite this property with owners!! Numerous socks, a single, blue, fitted sheet and a sleeping bag cover.








Wednesday 21 November 2018

Beach Education trips cancelled

Unfortunately, due to not having enough adult supervision for both days of our surf safety trips, we have had to cancel.

Thank you so much to the adults who offered to help.

It will be school as normal, after the staff only day on Monday 26 November, on both Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 November.

Tuesday 20 November 2018

Urgent request for adult helpers

Urgent request for adult helpers

We urgently require adult helpers for our Beach Education surf safety trips next week, on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 November.

At this stage we only have one volunteer, so need 19 more, 10 adults per day! If we don't have the required number of adults to support us on these trips will have to cancel, costing us over $800.

Please contact Tracy if you are able to help to make this learning possible for our students. Helpers will be required to stand in the water to ensure the safety of the children.
tracy.inwood@beckenham.school.nz

2016_BeachEd_Logo

Monday 19 November 2018

Parent Help for Waltham Pool Trip

Tena koutou,

We will be going on a trip to Waltham Pool on Tuesday 18th December. We will be leaving school at 11:00 and returning at 3:00.

This is to celebrate a very successful year in the Pohutukawa team.

We require eight parent helpers to walk with us there and back and to help supervise children. Please email your child's home room teacher if you are able to help.

Kind regards,

The Pohutukawa teaching team

tracy.inwood@beckenham.school.nz
gayle.mcnaughton@beckenham.school.nz
nick.bruce@beckenham.school.nz
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz


Sunday 18 November 2018

T4 W6 in Pōhutukawa Whānau

Adult helpers required on Beach Education trip - Tuesday 27 Nov. and Wednesday 28 Nov.

As mentioned previously (via paper newsletter and a blog post) we have planned to undertake a Beach Education surf safety course on the above dates (week 7). This will involve all of our Year 4, 5 and 6 students (only the Y4 students from Pōhutukawa are involved).

To ensure the safety of our students we require adults to help with supervision. We require 10 adults for each day. As yet, we do not have enough volunteers to make this opportunity viable. Please consider your availability to help us out on one or both of these days and email Tracy if you are able to help.
tracy.inwood@beckenham.school.nz

We will be travelling to South Brighton over two days, splitting our children into two groups. The Year 6 students and those students competing in the Canterbury Triathlon will be going on Tuesday. The Year 5 and 4 students will be going on Wednesday.

Dates:  Tuesday 27th November & Wednesday 28th November
Time:  Leaving school at 9:00 am, returning to school at 3:00 pm both days.
Location:   South Brighton Surf Club

Training for some Year 5 students for 2019 road patrol with Constable Ross

On Tuesday Constable Ross will be training a group of Year 5 students who have volunteered to become part of the road patrol team for next year. Constable Ross takes a whiteboard session for an hour and then takes the students out to the school crossing so that can put what they have learned into practise.
We appreciate the students who take on this very important job of keeping our community safe in the mornings and afternoons of school days.


Last day on camp

As it did every day, the sun shone on us as we packed and cleaned on Thursday. After a delicious morning tea we headed off on a bush walk down to the farm park. Upon our arrival we were split into two groups. One group went horse riding and had a ride on a wagon pulled by a tractor, while the other group learnt about milking a cow and fed the farm animals. Once both groups had completed all activities we had a scrumptious BBQ lunch, followed by watching sheep shearing. After thanking our fabulous adult helpers we hopped on the bus for the ride back to school. There were a lot of tired children who headed home for a long weekend!
We do have a container of lost property if you would like to search for missing items. We also have a container of medication to be returned to owners.
We hope your children returned to you happy, tired and full of many stories. We had an amazing time!
Here are some photos from the final day on camp:






















Monday 12 November 2018

Living Springs Camp tomorrow

Camp tomorrow! We can't wait! Here are a few reminders:
  • All children are to arrive at school tomorrow at the normal time, in mufti, with their back pack and one gear bag.
  • Everyone is required to bring morning tea and lunch for Tuesday.
  • Every child must have a water bottle and a brimmed hat.
  • Please check that all gear on the list has been packed and named.
  • Any medication that your child will require (such as inhalers, antihistamine cream, hydrocortisone cream etc) is to be in a zip locked bag, along with a medical form, and handed to Katie upon arrival at school.
We have a group of parents organised to come out to camp to support our whānau. Some are full-time and others will be part-time. We will be well supported and thank the rest of you for not visiting during the three days. Part of the purpose of camp is for your children to develop independence.

If you should need to contact us in an emergency, please use Tracy's cellphone which is  
027 363 0220 or the camp number which is 03 02998788 and after hours 0800 462732.

We will see you Thursday afternoon. Keep an eye out for updates on the school Facebook page to check out our adventures!

Friday 9 November 2018

T4 W4 in Pōhutukawa

Living Springs Camp 11-13 November (next week!)

Excitement is mounting as camp is next week. Here are a few reminders:
  • The children are to be at school on Tuesday morning at the normal time, in mufti, with their big bag and their back pack. We will stack their luggage in the pathway of our hub. 
  • Living Springs have notified us of the importance of bringing a single bottom sheet, due to having new mattress protectors
  • In their back pack the children will need their morning tea and lunch in a lunch box, a water bottle, their wide brimmed sun hat, sunscreen, a waterproof jacket and any medication (such as inhaler or travel sickness medication)
  • Other medication is to be in a ziplock bag with the medicine authority form filled in (sent home already) and handed to Katie.
  • The following items should not be brought to camp: money, electronic devices, torches, cell phones, cameras, toys. 
  • Please label all clothing and items being brought to camp.
  • When we return on Thursday, the children will need to be picked up from our hub so we can sign them off. They will be very tired and may need help with their luggage. We estimate we will be back at school from 2:30-3pm. If your child will be going to Bosco upon their return, could you please inform us.
Long jump at Hillview Christian School

Unfortunately due to the rain and weather forecast, this even has been cancelled.

Canterbury Triathlon

If your child would like to enter the Canterbury Triathlon. Please, use this form to enter your child for the Canterbury Triathlon. 

This event is being held at Pegasus on the 28th of November. A good level of fitness is required as this is a tough endurance event. This is a perfect event for those children who really love a challenge. The children who have enter previously have loved this event and the sense of satisfaction that comes with completing the course. 

The race is as follows:
Year 5/6: 75 m swim, 4.5 km bike, 2.5 km run
Year 7/8: 100 m swim, 10.8 km bike, 2.5 km run

The swim takes place in the lake and there will be times when the children will not be able to touch the bottom. There are no lanes. While the children race in heats, there are still quite a few competitors starting at once, which the children should be prepared for. 

Transportation and supervision for this event must be organised by individual families. We are also required, as a school to provide one adult helper to assist with set up or pack down, and have marshaling duties. This adult must be free from responsibility for any competitor. Please let me know if you are able to fulfil this role. 

Zone athletics sports on Monday 12 November

Congratulations to those students who have qualified to represent our school at the zones. This will be held at Hansens Park. Children who are competing on Monday are to meet in the Kauri hub at 8:20am. They are to be wearing sports shorts and a Beckenham sports top. With them they should have their school bag with a big lunch, water bottle and their school hat. If they do not have a school hat they will not be allowed to compete.

School hats

In terms one and four, a red wide brimmed/bucket hat is a compulsory part of our school uniform. It is important that we promote being sunsmart at school. Every student must wear their hat at break times and during any learning times outside, including PE and sports. It would be very helpful if you checked that your child/ren has a named hat at school.

Stationery

At this time of the year we often find that a number of children have run out of essential stationery items. Not having the correct equipment at school becomes a barrier for learning, and is frustrating for all concerned. To be ready for learning every child should have a pencil, pen, eraser, glue stick, ruler and pencil sharpener. We would very much appreciate your support for ensuring your child is prepared for the school day.

Beach Education opportunity

We are pleased to be able to offer your child/ren the opportunity to attend a full day Beach Ed programme, at the South Brighton Surf Club. Beach Ed is a full day surf safety course delivered at the beach by surf lifeguards, and is age-appropriate learning for our year 4-6 students. Beach Ed also covers module 8 of Swimming NZ Kiwi Swim Safe Program. 

Activities on the day may vary depending on conditions but will cover the following:
  • A tour of the South Brighton Surf Club.
  • Teaching of surf safety rules.
  • Identification of and how to escape a rip current.
  • Beach games - relating to a skill to stay safe on the beach including a sand sculpture of a rip current.
  • How to set up a beach patrol, reinforcing safety messages.
  • Water activities. This may include mock rescues, using bodyboards, channel/hole identification, and survival using a flotation device.
  • Lifeguard in a rip.
  • Sun smart tips.

We will be travelling to South Brighton over two days, splitting our children into two groups. The Year 6 students and those students competing in the Canterbury Triathlon will be going on Tuesday. The Year 5 and 4 students will be going on Wednesday.

Dates: Tuesday 27th November & Wednesday 28th November
Time: Leaving school at 9:00 am, returning to school at 3:00 pm both days.
Location:   South Brighton Surf Club (cnr Bridge Street & Marine Parade, South New     
                        Brighton. 
Cost: It will cost the school $13.50 per child to carry out/run this activity/trip. A  
                       request for your contribution to support this additional activity will be added to  
                       your child's next account.

The PTA have kindly donated $1000.00 towards transport costs for this trip, for which we are very grateful.

In order to make this fantastic, educational day a success, parents and teachers must participate in both water and beach activities. We require a minimum of one adult for every five students in the water. It is essential that parents and teachers bring their togs and be prepared to get wet. We are unable to take Preschoolers on this trip.
To this end, we are asking for 10 parent helpers per day, 20 in total. 
This will be fantastic opportunity for your child. Without you we cannot run this event.

Please contact us ASAP if you are keen to come and help out on one or both of the Beach Ed days.

We are sending home a paper copy of this information today.


Monday 5 November 2018

Long jump at Hillview Christian School on Friday 9 November

Long Jump for Athletics

On Friday 9 November those children who have elected to participate in the long jump event for athletics will be walking to Hillview Christian School (on Wilsons Rd).

They will be leaving school at 12:40pm, taking with them their bag/lunch. Once they get to Hillview they will be able to eat their lunch in between jumping and waiting for others to have their turn.

Once all children have had sufficient jumps, they will be walking back to school. We imagine they will be back in time for assembly at 2:20pm.

To ensure the safety of our students we require 2 - 3 adults to accompany our long jumpers on the walk to Hillview Christian School. If you have a free afternoon on Friday, and would like to help us out, as well as cheer on our enthusiastic long jumpers, please email Tracy by Wednesday.
Many thanks
tracy.inwood@beckenham.school.nz

Image result for long jump clip art

Sunday 28 October 2018

Important Forms for Living Springs Camp 13 - 15 November

Hopefully your child brought home the three different notices relating to camp that we gave out on Friday. One notice is an information and gear list for you to keep. The second notice is a Health Profile and Medical Consent form. This is to be filled in and returned to school on Monday. This information is essential for us to plan and prepare in advance, to ensure that we are aware of medical backgrounds and history, just in case! The third form is a Medical Authority form. This is to be filled out if your child is bringing any type of medication to camp. The filled form, along with the medication, should be put into a zip lock bag or ice cream container and handed to Katie on the day we leave for camp (Tuesday 13 November).

We have attached the all of the notices and forms here, in the event that your little poppet misplaced them and they didn't quite make it home!

If you have any queries regarding camp, please contact one of us.




Wednesday 24 October 2018

2018 T4 W2 in Pōhutukawa

Pōhutukawa Pitch Perfect choir performance this Friday

Good luck to the Pōhutukawa Pitch Perfect choir who are performing at Horncastle Arena on Friday 26th October.

The choir will be attending a massed rehearsal on Friday morning. They will bus from school to  Horncastle Arena in the morning, and will return to school by lunchtime. Whilst there they will be shown where to meet when they are dropped off that night (they enter through door 1) and where they are being seated in the arena when not performing.

We ask that parents please do not visit their child/ren during the performance. The performers are to be picked up at the end of the show from where they are sitting, so they are able to be signed out.

The children are required to be at the arena by 6:15pm, in clean and tidy school uniform .

Tickets are available through Ticketek. Adult tickets cost $22.00 and school age children are $10.00.

We welcome back our trainee teacher, Lisa Griffith



Pōhutukawa Whānau has been very fortunate to have had Lisa Griffith as a part of our team, for three weeks at the end of last term, and four weeks of this term. Lisa is in her last year of training to be a teacher, and when she finishes this placement will graduate, ready to begin her career as a teacher. She is mainly based in Beach, with Tracy and has been a valuable contributor to our team.

School Athletics Day

Our school athletics day is next Thursday, 1 November. The students will be participating in field events - shot put, discus and high jump, along with sprinting races.
They have an option of signing up for long jump, which will be held at Hillview Christian School, on an alternative day (Friday 2 November), and opting into mid distance (1000m) running, which is being held first thing on athletics day (9:15am).
The children should wear sports shorts and house shirts or their school shirt on athletics day. They have the option of wearing running shoes or bare feet when competing.
We will supply sunblock during the day, and it would be great if the children came to school with sunblock already applied to their face and torso.
A wide brimmed sunhat is essential for the day, along with a named water bottle. The children will be unable to compete if they do not have a hat. They will be carrying their water bottle with them from event to event.

Sexuality Road Programme: Parent meeting

In week 6 we will be starting our health unit: The Sexuality Road. This topic addresses, changes that happen at puberty (physical and emotional), communication and decision making, reproduction and where to go to for support. We will teach the Year 5 programme and the Year 6 programme separately. If you would like to find out more about what the programme involves, we will be holding a parent information evening for Year 5 - 8 families in the staffroom on Thursday November 2nd, starting at 7pm.

Living Springs Camp 13 - 15 November

We are very much on the countdown for camp. The teachers are finalising details, and intend to send home an information newsletter, gear list and medical form by the end of the week. If you have any concerns or questions about camp, please contact any one of the teachers in the hub.





Friday 19 October 2018

Christchurch Schools' Music Festival


To parents of the Pōhutukawa choir,

The Pōhutukawa Pitch Perfect Choir is all set for the Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival, which is coming up soon! We have worked really hard to learn all of the many songs that will be performed on the night.

Our performance night is Friday 26th October. Tickets are available through Ticketek. Adult tickets cost $22.00 and school age children are $10.00.

We will be attending a massed rehearsal on the morning of Friday 26th October. We will bus from school to The Horncastle Arena in the morning, and will return to school by lunchtime.

That's all for now!

Thanks,
Katie McFarlane


Wednesday 17 October 2018

2018 T4 W1 in Pōhutukawa

Welcome to the final term of 2018.

Living Springs Camp 13-15 November (Week 5)
Thank you to all of the adults who volunteered to assist us on camp. We have a fabulous number of adults who are giving up their time to participate in our camp programme.
Shortly we will be sending home medical forms and gear lists.
If you have any questions about camp please free to contact any teacher in our hub for more information.

Cycle safety
The year 6 students are participating in a Christchurch City Council run cycle safety programme this week. With summer coming up it is great to see our children learning to be more confident in their biking skills on the road.

The Great New Zealand Shake Out
Our school has signed up for the Great NZ Shakeout School Challenge. Each person that completes the 8 challenges with their families will be in to get some cool prizes.
Some of the challenges include...

  • Show someone how to drop cover and hold – inside and outside.
  • Check your tsunami zone and plan where to go.
  • Store water for three days or more.
  • Identify which key household objects need to be secured or made safer through Fix. Fasten. Don’t Forget.
  • Find out which natural hazards could affect your family.
  • Work out what to pack in a getaway bag for your family.
  • Make a plan that includes who will pick up the kids if the adults can’t get to school.
  • Make a list of who can help in an emergency
The students have been given a booklet to take home. If your child would like to participate by completing all of the challenges, they just needs to bring the booklet back, with each challenged signed to say it was completed, to collect their small prize.

Welcome assembly
This term's welcome assembly is on Friday at 2:30. We welcome everyone back to the new term, and Pōhutukawa in particular welcomes two new students and their whānau to our school.

Athletics
Athletics training has started this week, and it is very encouraging seeing the students improve in many of the athletics disciplines. Our school athletics day is in week 3, Thursday 1 November.

Wednesday 3 October 2018

Last call for adult helpers for Living Springs camp

Term 4 Camp at Living Springs

If you are able to be an adult helper at the camp, please complete the online form
(https://goo.gl/forms/xI7pk5nKsKo9KyMb2) by this Sunday 7 October. We require the help of
approximately 16 adults for the camp to go ahead. If you are able to help, your role will involve direct
supervision of groups of children; inside/outside activities, evening bunk room duty, setting tables,
serving meals, operating the dishwasher, helping with the cleaning of all areas used at the end of the
stay. You will need to be able to stay the entire camp. As the cost of adult helpers is covered in the
camp fee, we will only take the necessary number of parent helpers in order to minimise costs. If we
have more volunteers than we need, we will select first based on the skills needed and then names
will be drawn from a ballot.

We intend to notify all adults who have filled in the survey on Monday 8 October.
  
A consent form and medical questionnaire will be sent home in Term 4 to students and parent helpers.
The camp costs us $155 per child to run and this includes food, accommodation, the cost of the
programmes run by the Living Springs staff and transport.

We are looking forward to a great camp.

Friday 21 September 2018

Pōhutukawa Market Day on today!

Good morning! Today is the day, Pōhutukawa Market Day!

We will be selling tickets outside each hub from 8:30 am this morning. Tickets are 50c each, and all items will be selling for between 50c and $5.00 per item. These tickets are used to buy items for sale during market day. We suggest the children write their name on the back of their tickets, in case the tickets become dropped or lost. Bringing the exact change to school would be very helpful, as we will not have a lot of change for large notes.

Market day will run from about 11:45 am to 12:40 pm. We will invite the New Entrants over first, and then the rest of the school.

This learning has been a small business inquiry and fundraising venture. The profits made will be going towards the Pōhutukawa camp in Term 4 to Living Springs.

Thank you to all of our school community for your support.


Thursday 13 September 2018

Market Day and Living Springs Camp in Term 4

Market Day

On Friday, 21 September, the students in Team Pōhutukawa will be running a market in the school hall to conclude our small businesses unit. The market will be open to all students and families from 11:45 AM to 12:40 PM. At the market, the Pōhutukawa students will be selling lots of interesting (and delicious) items such as baking, confectionery, drinks, games, challenges and more. Students should still bring their lunch as normal on this day. Market day vouchers will be sold near the hall entrance before school on Friday morning. Each voucher is worth 50 cents and will be used as currency to purchase goods at the market. Most items at the market will cost between 50 cents and five dollars.

The money raised will be used to reduce the cost of Team Pōhutukawa’s camp in Term 4 and to offset the market day’s expenses. Thank you for your support of your child/ren with this venture. They have been working hard with the process of making the product/activity, and are very much looking forward to the big day. If you have any questions about the market day please feel free to contact one of us.

Term 4 Camp at Living Springs

Planning is well underway for Team Pōhutukawa's Term 4 camp at Living Springs (13 - 15 November, week 5). Living Springs is a self-contained complex where the children stay in comfortable and clean bunk rooms with attached ablution blocks. Parent helpers stay in the Harbour View Conference Centre or, if on bunk room supervision duty, in an adult bunk room (sharing) adjoining the children's bunkrooms.

If you are able to be a parent helper at the camp, please complete the online form (https://goo.gl/forms/xI7pk5nKsKo9KyMb2) by Friday, 21 September. We require the help of approximately 16 parents if the camp is to go ahead. If you are able to help, your role will involve direct supervision of groups of children; inside/outside activities, evening bunk room duty, setting tables, serving meals, operating the dishwasher, helping with the cleaning of all areas used at the end of the stay. You will need to be able to stay the entire camp. As the cost of parent helpers is covered in the camp fee, we will only take the necessary number of parent helpers in order to minimise costs. If we have more volunteers than we need, we will select first based on the skills needed and then names will be drawn from a ballot.
  
A consent form and medical questionnaire will be sent home in Term 4 to students and parent helpers.

The camp costs us $155 per child to run and this includes food, accommodation, the cost of the programmes run by the Living Springs staff and transport. Your next statement (due out at the end of Term 3) will have a request for contribution for $155. You are welcome to make payments either in full or by instalment at any time. Please don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher or Vicki Renwick (Financial Officer) in the office, if payment will be difficult for you. Any funds raised prior to camp, including our Term 3 Market Day, will be shared evenly across the team and will appear as a credit on the Term 4 statement.

We are looking forward to a great camp.


Sunday 2 September 2018

Week 6/7 in Pōhutukawa

Winter Sports

Winter sports finished last week, and we would like to say an enormous thank you to the parents who have helped us out by coaching teams. Thank you to Brett, Anna, Belinda and Kerryn for giving up your time to help us with our tamariki. Without your help we wouldn't have been able to enter the maximum number of teams in the Hagley Park competition. If your child played in a winter sports team, could you please send the washed uniform back to school, to be returned to the green bin in the Kauri hub.


Named clothing and lunch boxes

We constantly have a stream of left behind sweat shirts, polar fleeces and lunch containers. The teachers are getting very good at matching lost items with bewildered children! To help the children identify their belongings it would be very helpful if they were clearly labelled with their names.
Image result for lunch boxes

Readathon

This week has been book week and we have had a number of special events going on. The book fair has been running in the Green Room before and after school every day this week, and we have seen a number of children excitedly bringing in new books to share. The teachers have gone to a different class after morning tea and read a picture book. The children and teachers have enjoyed a change of scenery! Hopefully the children have been hitting their target of reading for 30 minutes a night. Research tells us that regular reading improves comprehension, increases vocabulary and is good for the imagination! It's also fun! Thank you for your support of your children with their reading at home. Readathon cards and money are due back to school on Friday 7 September. Book week  culminated in a dress up day! How exciting. Some children were unrecognizable in their book character costumes. There must have been some early risers on Friday! What a fabulous effort was made by so many children!






Cultural Festival

Te Whānau Mahi Tahi is off on Monday afternoon to Horncastle Arena for a rehearsal. Their performance at the Christchurch Primary Schools Cultural Festival is on Monday night and we know that they will wow the audience with their passion and beautiful singing. Kia kaha!

Writing

The teachers are in the process of printing off the fabulous poetry anthologies which the majority of the students finished last week. The students are very proud of what they have achieved and are surprised at how many different poetry types there are. We are making each student their own book by printing off their slideshow in colour, inserting a protective cover and binding it with a spine. This will mean the children will be able to take their anthology home to keep. To help us cover this cost we are asking for a donation of $3, which will be listed on your school account. If you are particularly impressed with your child's anthology (and we're sure you will be!), you may want to consider using an online publisher like Snapfish to publish the anthology in a professional way. What a great Christmas present for relatives!

We are beginning speech writing on Monday. The students have three choices of speech to write. They can entertain (tell a story), inform (teach us about something) or persuade (get us to agree with their point of view). It would be great if there was some discussion about topics at the dinner table to ignite your child.

Pitch Perfect Choir

The Pohutukawa Pitch Perfect choir will be attending the Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival massed rehearsal on the morning of Monday 10 September. We will be back at school by lunchtime. The choir has worked very hard to learn a repertoire of songs, and we are very much looking forward to performing at The Horncastle Arena on the evening of  Friday 26 October. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketek.



Monday 20 August 2018

Term 3 Week 4/5 in Pōhutukawa

Science

For science this term we are conducting simple experiments, looking at physical and chemical changes, changing a substance into another substance and the physical properties of a material. Katie is discovering the mysteries of Ooblek, Gayle is looking at popcorn, Nick has a focus of fizzing and foaming and Tracy is turning milk into ice cream. The children have had one session of science so far, and are looking forward to rotating around all of the teachers so that they get to experience a number of experiments.



Passions
Our passions this term have given the children opportunities to learn lots of practical skills, along with the key competencies of thinking, using language, symbols, and texts, managing self, relating to others, and participating and contributing. We are very grateful to the wonderful adults who have been popping along on a Friday to help us out. Cooking and sewing is definitely much easier with smaller groups being supervised by an adult. It's fabulous to see so much collaboration going on between the students, as working together harmoniously is such an important skill to develop.


















Gymnastics
Our gymnastics unit comes to an end this week. The children have enjoyed the sessions, setting themselves personal goals and using the gym equipment. We have seen a large increase in confidence for many of the students, and again it has heartwarming watching the groups support each other both physically and emotionally.











Readathon
Readathon cards have been sent home and hopefully your child is all ready to go! The goal is for every child to read for at least 15 minutes a day, for 14 days consecutively. The sponsorship money goes towards our outdoor spaces. We thank the PTA very much for having this focus and for organising events which will eventually provide fantastic outdoor areas in which our tamariki will be able to play and learn.

Market Day
This term a major focus has been small business planning, leading up to our Market Day in week 10. The idea is that the students form a business group which develops a plan to sell a product or run an activity at a market day in the last week of the term. The money raised will be used to reduce the cost of Team Pōhutukawa's camp in term 4 and to offset the market day's expenses.
The students are right into their planning, and hopefully you have heard some talk at home about what your child is doing. Many are baking, others are making products and some have organised an activity with prizes. In their planning, along with coming up with a product or activity, the children  name their company, plan a shopping list, create a logo, packaging, advertising poster, stall title sign, and work out the price and profit.
To enable the students to make the products we supply all stationery and art supplies from school. We provide the groups with a budget and they give us a shopping list. We buy their supplies (from Countdown) and then the money is recouped from their profit. We have been approached by several families wanting to supply the ingredients/materials themselves for their children, so that they succeed with a maximum profit. The idea is that we supply the money to 'float' the groups, so that they learn about the business world, and so that parents are not out of pocket, as this money is a fundraiser for camp. If you would like to contribute to your child's group by supplying ingredients or materials from home (please don't feel like you have to) could you please send an email to your child's home group teacher, so that we know you have given permission for home ingredients/materials to be used.



tracy.inwood@beckenham.school.nz
gayle.mcnaughton@beckenham.school.nz
nick.bruce@beckenham.school.nz
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

Winter Sports
This is the last week of winter sports. We have had a great run of weather this term and it has been fabulous for the teams to head off to Hagley Park on a Friday afternoon. One more Friday of remembering a water bottle, boots, shin and mouth guards. Next week we will be collecting in the sports tops, so if they could be washed and returned to the teacher that handed them out, that would be awesome thanks.

Enrolment Intentions for current Year 6 students for 2019 School Year
If you have not filled in this form (and you are a parent of a year 6 student) we would be very grateful if you did, as this helps us to plan effectively for next year.
Enrolment Intentions for current Year 6 students for 2019 School Year