T1 W3 in Pōhutukawa

First few weeks of the year

What a fabulous start we have had to the year in Pōhutukawa. Everyone is happy to be back, catching up with friends, participating in fun activities and learning new things. Some of us love this amazing summer weather we are having! Please remind your child/ren to bring a full water bottle to school every day, and encourage them to bring it home, empty!

Our programme at the moment is still focusing on establishing routines and building relationships, through workshops, art, co-operative house games and home group time.

Lunchboxes

As mentioned at the beginning of the year learning conferences, we are trialing keeping lunchboxes in the children's bags, in their cubby holes outside, unless they would prefer to bring their lunchbox inside and pop it on the allocated shelves in the Maker space area. The majority of the students are happy to keep their lunchboxes in their bags, as they are more accessible to them throughout the day. We are very happy for anyone who would like to bring their lunchbox inside, to do so.

BYOD

What a fantastic response we have had to the students bringing their own devices to school! We now have three lockable cabinets for the children to safely store their devices. We have spoken to the children about the care of their devices at school, and it would be great for this to be reinforced at home. The children should

- always return their device to a lockable cabinet when they are no longer using it.

- return their device to the same spot in the same cabinet during the school day.

- always take home their device at the end of the school day.

- charge their device at home.

- use only their school account at school.

- naming your child's device would also be very helpful.

Unfortunately we have had a device go missing last week. It is a Samsung tablet, in a black cover. If there is any information known about this device, please let us know. 

Sports news

Sports Tops

There are many sports tops that were issued last year that have not been returned yet. Please have a check to ensure that you do not have a Beckenham Sports Uniform lurking at the back or a draw or elsewhere and return to the Kauri hub ASAP. This is much appreciated. 

Swimming Sports Next Week

Our school swimming sports is being held at Wharenui Pool on the afternoon of Thursday the 21st of February. 

Answers to commonly asked questions:

Children compete in year levels.

There are 25m and 50m races for each stroke, (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly).

The medly is 25 m of freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. 

Only 50m races qualify for zone level competition.

The children may do a diving start or start in the water.

The children will not be able to touch the bottom at the deep end of the pool.Therefore, the children should be capable of swimming the distance they have entered without needing to stop. 

A lifeguard will be supervising the event. 

Information for the day:

Children need to bring their swimming costume, a towel, a good lunch and a water bottle to school with them on the day of the event. 

The children will travel to Wharenui Pool by bus, leaving school at 11.30.

The event will start at 12:15 and finish by 2:30.

There will be space available for spectators directly to the right as you enter the pool. The children will be sat opposite on the bleachers, in their house groups. Please, do not cross over to sit with the children. 

It is extremely difficult to give an accurate time for each race. The races will be in this order: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, medley, House relay. For each stroke, the 25m races will precede the 50m races. We will start with the youngest age group. 

After their last swim, the children may get changed and then rejoin their House to cheer on their peers.

Children may go home with their caregiver after the event if signed out with a teacher. 

It will cost the school $6 per child to offer this event. A request for a contribution to support this additional activity has been added to your child’s account. 

Hanmer 4 Hour Mountain Bike Race

Beckenham School would like to promote an upcoming mountain biking event in Hanmer Springs that may be of interest to you: The Hanmer 4 and 8 Hour 

This event has been a fantastic day out and enjoyed by many in the past.

The Hanmer 4 Hour, run by Hanmer Events, is a super fun event, suitable for children looking to get into competitive mountain biking. Competitors work as part of a team with the aim of completing as many laps of a set course as they can over four hours. The course this year is a mixture of forest trail and non-technical single track. 12-year-olds may compete as an individual in the under 17 category. There is a separate course for Super Junior Teams (aged 8 - 11 years) that uses tracks in the Heritage Forest. These children need their own Tail End Charlie (an adult to keep up with them) for each lap they do. While these tracks are suitable for children, competitors should be confident riders, who are capable of controlling their speed and direction on single track. 

Teams of 3 or 4 are ideal, depending on how many laps the children want to do. Each lap would typically take 20 to 30 mins depending on your speed. More information can be found on the Hanmer Events website (www.hanmerevents.co.nz).

While Beckenham School encourages participation in this event, children will remain the responsibility of their parents for the entire duration of the event. Please let me know if you plan to enter an individual or team or if you would like support in connecting with possible team members. 

Please email Jenny with details of your team, if you are looking for people to make up a team or have any questions..