Pōhutukawa News Term 3 Week 10 2025

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

Read on for news and information about some exciting upcoming events. Have a great weekend everyone, kia pai ngā rā whakata.

Pōhutukawa Team Speech Finals

A massive congratulations to our five finalists! An awesome display of research practice and hard work to make the final from over 140 students! In the final it was Julia that took first place! Well done Julia! 

Year 5/6 Speech Finals Winner Julia

Back Row: Archer, James and Toby

Front Row: Julia and Britta

Legacy Dance Studio - Hip Hop

Tash has been working hard with our Year 5-6 hip hop club over the last couple of terms. The classes do warm ups, games, freestyle and add onto their dance each week!  They are working towards performing at the Legacy Dance Studio end of year show. There is space in our hip hop club if your child is interested in joining in term 4. Please email legacydanceoffice@gmail.com

Canterbury Flag Football Tournament

Ruby and Izzy made off with some awesome prizes! 

Full Team after a long day of playing in the sun.

Bottle Rockets!

Awareness of Online Harm

Many parents didn’t grow up with the internet, so it can be hard to imagine how tamariki may use it. But these days, digital technology is a key part of our young people’s lives. They use it for learning, communicating and entertainment.

Netsafe has released research that looked into parental awareness of children’s experiences of online risks and harm. The research found a mismatch between parents’ awareness and their children’s experiences of upsetting online content.

To check out the research, and other Netsafe resources, visit this link. 

Have a lovely term break, Ngā mihi nui. Kia Kaha.

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Gayle, Nick, Megan, Rae, Georgie, Viv, Stacey and Laura

Pōhutukawa News Term 3 Week 8 2025

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.

Christchurch City Council: Ponds Planting initiative. 

Cycle Safe: Gayle and Rae's Home Groups 

2025 Keeping Ourselves Safe

From Tuesday 19th August until Friday 29th August,  the New Entrant to Year 8 teams will be teaching the personal safety programme by New Zealand Police - Keeping Ourselves Safe. We cover this programme every two years as part of our Health curriculum. 

What will children and young people learn?

They will learn:

• to work out when their safety is at risk

• how to keep safe when they meet and mix with other people

• who and how to ask for help if they, or someone they know, is being abused

• to go on asking for help until someone does something to stop the abuse

• that it is important to make and follow personal, family and school safety rules

They will know:

• that abuse is never okay

• that abuse is never their fault

What part do parents, caregivers and whānau play?

Parents and whānau are strongly encouraged to support Keeping Ourselves Safe.

You can:

• find out about abuse and what to do if you think a child you know is being abused

• talk to your child about what they have learnt in Keeping Ourselves Safe

• set safety guidelines with your family

• help young children with the Keeping Ourselves Safe activities they bring home

• give the same safety messages as the school is giving

• look at the whānau section of NZ Police Keeping Ourselves Safe for more information

• frequently asked questions - click here

Keeping Ourselves Safe will be taught by your child’s Home Group teacher, with support from

Constable Meg Moynihan, our local Police School Community Officer, as required. The lessons are age appropriate in content and delivery.

To be successful, Keeping Ourselves Safe needs your help and support. It is important that you

participate as much as possible and talk to your child about what they have been learning. This will

reinforce the messages the school is giving, and help your child to use their skills with confidence.

If you require more information about the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme or wish to discuss the

learning, please speak with your child’s Home Group teacher in the first instance.

Staying Safe Online: Bullying

One in five young people in New Zealand have been the target of online bullying – it can happen to anyone, and it can be hard for parents and whānau to deal with. Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto takes online bullying seriously and would encourage you to chat to your tamariki’s teacher if you have any concerns about online bullying.

Visit Netsafe’s Online Bullying Advice for Parents to read more.

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. 

Ngā mihi nui. Kia Kaha.

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Gayle, Nick, Megan, Rae, Georgie, Viv, Stacey and Laura