Week 8 in Pōhutukawa

Two weeks left before the school holidays! Doesn't time fly?!

Cross country training

At the moment the students are training daily in preparation for the school cross country, which is on Monday 6 May (Term 2 Week 2). We are encouraging individual goal setting, with regards to the amount of jogging and the distance being run in the time given. Wearing appropriate footwear certainly helps and we have impressed upon the students that long distance running is as much  mental persistence and perseverance as physical. A positive and can do attitude goes a long way to improving performance.

Winter Sport

Winter sport is coming up next term. On a Friday afternoon, a number of Year 5-8 students travel to Hagley Park by bus to compete against other schools. The range of sports offered to the students is dependent on the number of coaches we have for the teams. Whānau helping out with winter sports means we can offer more options to the students. Please click on the link below and fill out the form if you are able to help as a coach or manager.

Winter Sport Form

Passions

In Week 10 we are offering five sessions of Passions. Passions are an area of interest the teachers have chosen to share with the hub. We have chosen six passions to offer the students: cooking, sewing, ball sports, tiki art, book creator and korfball.  A Google Form has been sent out to each child, and they will get to rate the options, in order to make the groups.

Gayle is taking the sewing passion, and would really appreciate help from willing adults on any of the days. She would also appreciate donations of material or thread.

Days and times of passion lessons:

Monday 8 April              2 - 2:50pm

Tuesday 9 April              12 - 12:40pm

Wednesday 10 April       2 - 2:50pm

Thursday 11 April           12 - 12:40pm

Friday 12 April                9:40 - 10:30am

Please contact Gayle if you are able to help out at any of those times.

Learning Through Play

Some fun learning took place this afternoon!

Pōhutukawa reminder for Wednesday 20 March

School photos today

This is a reminder that school photos will be taken today. Time for swish hair dos, sparkling faces and pressed uniforms!!

Fresh fruit or vegetable snack break starts on Monday in Pōhutukawa

Fresh fruit or vegetable snack break starts on Monday in Pōhutukawa

This is a reminder that we are introducing a fresh fruit or vegetable snack at 9:35am tomorrow. The children will be able to grab a piece of fruit or vegetable on the way to maths. This is optional, and a trial at this stage.

Term 1 Week 6 in the Pōhutukawa team

Zone Swimming Sports

Good luck to all of the swimmers representing our school on Thursday at Jellie Park in the zone swimming sports. These students have achieved amazingly well to reach this level and we hope they have a great time.

Stella Gillman, Connor Ingram, Emma Reedy, Zoe Clarke, Lola Harris, Olive Morel, Charlotte Ryder, Ilia Henderson, Tahere Taylor, Eli McGuigan, Quinn Clarke, Cooper Reddecliffe, William Pooch and Fergus McMillan.

Hydrating and eating

While we have always encouraged the students to drink plenty of water throughout the day, and to eat regularly, we have decided to make drinking water regularly throughout the day a focus for all students. During each transition time (when we swap from one learning activity to the next - music to maths, reading to writing), we are going to ask the students to have a drink of water. We have talked about the benefits of drinking lots of water, from hydrating our brain and muscles, to flushing out any toxins, so the students understand the importance of drinking water. Hopefully you will notice your child's water bottle returning home empty, or having been refilled during the day!

Along with encouraging drinking more water, starting from Monday we will be offering a chance for a fresh fruit or vegetable snack at 9:35am. 9:35 is the transition time from our Cool Curriculum Classes (library, music, PE, drama and coding) to maths. On the way to maths the children will be asked to have a drink of water, and then they have the option of grabbing a piece of fresh fruit or vegetable. When they get to maths there may be a maths picture book to listen to, a puzzle to be worked out on the teaching station screen or a maths video clip to watch, while they are munching. Ideally the fruit should be able to be eaten within five minutes. We think that having a healthy snack at this time will revitalise the students, and will promote further focus. This healthy snack will be optional, and restricted to only fresh fruit or vegetables.

Examples of fresh fruit and vegetables - carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, a mandarin, grapes, a kiwifruit, a banana, an apple, pear, celery sticks or any fruit cut up and in a container, such as melon, pineapple, orange etc.

Learning Through Play

On Friday afternoons, we have been providing activities and opportunities for the students to learn through play. This type of learning is a significant part of the Year 0-4 teams' programmes, and we are dabbling in it on Friday afternoons. During this time the students have lots of choice, and choose where, with whom and what they play or play with. Usually there is lots of creativity, collaboration, problem solving and imaginative play involved, which is fabulous to see. Some of the opportunities for the students involve woodwork and water play outside. We would love to expand our equipment and tools, with these two activities particularly. If you have any spare tools, pipes to run water through, buckets, watering cans, bubble wands, a water table, or anything which could be used for creating or making - material off cuts, wool, wood, nails, screws, we would be forever grateful. If you are able to help out with any supplies, please pop them into the hub to any of the teachers.

Innovation

On Monday and Wednesday afternoons we have been looking at innovation, what this means, the difference between innovation and invention, and how innovation has changed many everyday objects. We have also been looking at making innovations to an object, and eventually, this will all lead to the students coming up with their own innovative ideas. During this time there has been lots of collaboration, lots of research, looking at innovations and innovative people.

Term 1 Weeks 3 and 4 in Pōhutukawa

Swimming Sports

Congratulations to all of our students who entered the school swimming sports which was held at Wharenui Pool. For our Year 5 children it was the first time they have been eligible to enter a senior school event, and we were impressed with the number of students who took up the challenge.

Good luck to the swimmers who have qualified for the zones swimming sports being held on Thursday 14 March at Jellie Park.

Pitch Perfect

On Friday all of those Pōhutukawa children who were interested in joining the Pōhutukawa Pitch Perfect choir were given a letter, with a slip at the bottom which needs to be signed and returned to Katie. Please speak with your child and ensure that they are aware that joining the choir requires commitment. Choir members will need to attend regular practices during school time, as well as be available for performances in and outside of school time. The Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival requires confirmation of the number of children who will be participating from Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. The music festival is on during the week of 5th - 8th November. We will perform on one night during this week - date to be confirmed.

Duathlon

Our school duathon is on the afternoon of Tuesday the 5th of March (this Tuesday). This is an optional event and an awesome opportunity for the children to show our school kete value ‘We love challenge’. House points are awarded to all competitors in recognition of their participation. 

The course will be the same as in previous years. The children run a lap of the park, followed by a lap of the block, (Eastern Terrace, Fisher Avenue, Norwood Street). They then collect their bike from the Norwood Street side of the park and follow a serpentine course in Beckenham Park. Year 5 and 6s do one lap of the bike course, while Year 7 and 8s do two laps. After completing the bike course, the children leave their bike at the Norwood park entrance and run the block in the opposite direction, finishing back in the park. At no point do the children need to cross a road. 

Before the race, we do a course walk with all competitors and we have lots of marshals on course to support the children in knowing where to go. If you are able to support us by being a marshal on the day, please email me at jenny.diggle@beckenham.school.nz. 

Cool Curriculum Classes (CCC programme)

Last week we began our CCC programme. Each teacher is covering a different curriculum area, teaching a half hour lesson to every class once a week. Each class will have seven lessons for each curriculum area over the term. This term the coverage is:

Katie - drama 

Rae - coding

Steve - music

Gayle - physical education (touch rugby)

Tracy - library