Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 8

Kia ora e te Whānau, 

Welcome to the Week 8 Kōwhai blog - it is hard to believe that we are approaching the end of Term 3. This week, we have welcomed spring and the warmer weather with open arms!

Gymnastics

On Thursday, the Kōwhai team was lucky to attend a gymnastics session at the Christchurch School of Gymnastics. It was wonderful to see students embracing our school value 'We Love Challenge - Nau Mai Te Wero’ and stepping outside of their comfort zones to try something new. We were very impressed with the way tamariki (children) represented our school and upheld our kete values during the trip. We are looking forward to our second session next Thursday!

If you are interested in learning more about the Christchurch School of Gymnastics or enrolling your child for sessions, follow this link: 

https://www.chchgymnastics.com/

PB4L

Over the last couple of weeks, Kōwhai has been learning about how to strengthen our frustration tolerance as well as how to be proactive and assertive when asking for help. 

As part of the learning experience about frustration, students were tasked with the challenge of building a card tower. It was great to see how students persevered through the activity, calmly communicated their feelings, and then problem-solved as they tried new strategies. 

Asking for help

In this sequence of learning, students have been learning to reframe their thinking to view asking questions as a strength. Homegroups discussed that by asking questions, students demonstrate a curiosity to deepen their understanding, and as a result of gaining new knowledge, students are then able to build new connections and apply this to their learning 

Here is a link to the ‘asking for help’ slideshow that we have been working through, which includes some activities that you could try at home .

Performance/Inquiry

This term, we have been exploring the concept of ‘Change’ by delving into the wonderful world of dance and music. As a team, we have inquired into a range of musical genres from different eras and cultures, with a focus on how this was influenced by the current events of the time. The genres have included Rock n Roll, Disco, Futuristic, Ragtime, and Ancient Egyptian. Students have now opted into one of these genres, and with support from one of the teachers, will be working on developing a short performance. Our goal is to put these together and showcase them in a Kōwhai production. It has been fantastic to see ākonga (students) embracing this learning opportunity and letting their creativity shine through. As we progress into next term, we will keep you updated on how our performances are coming along!

Maths

Over the past two terms, students have been learning about the 5 Math Talk moves. They have been developing strategies to support them in communicating their ideas and sharing their processes in math. It has been fantastic to see how the tamariki (children) have embraced this learning opportunity. The teachers have been very impressed with the way students have been openly sharing their ideas, listening actively to others, and then responding thoughtfully. As a team, we have all been learning that there is immense value in listening, asking questions, and understanding other people's perspectives and ways of thinking. He Taonga Te Ako! - We Love Learning!

Here are some photos of Anna M's Math class. Students did a beautiful job creating patterns in nature.

Discovery

Below aere some photos of Discovery from the last 2 weeks:

Private 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. 

We hope that you have a wonderful, restful weekend.

Ngā mihi nui,

The Kōwhai Team.

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 6

Kia ora e te whanau, 

We hope you have all had a fantastic week. We have had a busy week beginning to look at fractured fairy tales in writing as well as starting a new and exciting maths unit too. 

Gymnastics

On Thursday, in both weeks 8 and 9, the Kōwhai team will be making our way to Christchurch School of Gymnastics at QEII to learn some gymnastics skills. We will be working hard on improving our balance, coordination, and flexibility through various activities and we look forward to seeing everyones skills and confidence grow. The children will be doing gymnastics in school uniform but we recommend that your child wears school pants or shorts to school on these days which would be suitable for gymnastics.

Nut Allergies

Just a friendly reminder that we do have ākonga in the team that are allergic to nuts, so just be mindful as to what you are putting in your child's lunch. Please have a look at the contents of any muesli bars, trail mix, or any other lunch box items that may contain nuts. Thank you for your support and understanding. 

Keeping Ourselves Safe

We have started our Keeping Ourselves Safe unit this week, in collaboration with Constable Meg from the New Zealand Police. We will be covering different aspects, such as who we are, how we feel, being physically me, touch - what's okay and what's not okay, saying "no", secrets and tricks, asking people we trust for help, and safety rules. There will be some homework tasks that will be coming home with students in relation to these topics, so thank you in advance for your support with this. 

PB4L Focus

Our PB4L focus for this week was learning about how to strengthen our frustration tolerance. We looked at different scenarios and how to best manage them. We also discussed different strategies for dealing with our frustration, such as walking away and looking at how to disagree politely. 

Have a lovely and restful weekend!

Ngā mihi nui,

The Kōwhai Team

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 4

Kia ora koutou, 

We hope you have all had a good week. We have been busy bees in our hub! This week, our tamariki enjoyed watching the staff vs students netball game and there was a lot of excitement and cheering. We were also looking forward to a tug of war between the houses today but unfortunately, it was called off last minute due to bad weather. Hopefully, we can rearrange it for another time! 

Beckenham's Got Talent

The student council is excited to be running another talent show this year. There has been a lot of enthusiasm for this and lots of brainstorming amongst the students. At this stage, our students have been given the opportunity to sign up for this during our morning notices. Whānau can also email their child’s homegroup teacher to sign them up if they wish.

When the students are planning their act, it is important to note that the maximum group size is eight people. The maximum performance time is four minutes and we encourage students to be able to perform their act for at least 1 minute. Students will have the opportunity to organise and practice during Discovery time.

The auditions will held in week 8 within our hub. We will then narrow it down to 4 semi-finalists who will perform for the whole Kōwhai hub and 2 acts will be chosen to go through to the finals which will be held in the hall on Friday 19th of September. Good luck!

4 Square Tournament

A schoolwide 4 Square tournament is being held during Friday lunchtimes in weeks 7 and 8. Students have been signing up for the event and are practising diligently in preparation for this.

Maths Week Next Week!

To celebrate Maths week next week, we will have a daily joke and maths problem for you to solve on a whiteboard outside the Kōwhai hub. Please do check them out and see if you can solve the conundrums together. We Love Challenge!

Mathematics & Statistics: Understanding your child's learning

The Ministry of Education Parent Portal is a collection of guidance and resources for parents, families and carers. Here, you will find information about the learning your child is doing at school within their year level, and how you can support them in their learning. Feel free to have a look and explore what you can do at home to support maths learning, while keeping it fun!

PB4L (Positive Behaviour For Learning)

So far this term, we have been: 

• Celebrating how our brains work (learning about the diverse strengths and differing ways that our brains think)

• Learning how to use the S.O.A.R (Stop, Observe, Assess, Respond) strategy to problem solve in the playground

• Learning how to use a set of negotiation steps to express our problems and work with our peers to find a solution and check in with how this solution is working.

Cyber Safety

Staying Safe Online: Snapchat and Privacy

Snapchat is a popular messaging app that lets users exchange pictures and videos (snaps) that are meant to disappear after they’re viewed. Many young people love Snapchat but it’s important that they understand how to protect their privacy on the app.

Check out Netsafe’s Privacy on Snapchat page for some helpful information on Snapchat’s features. You can also find out more information about privacy, security and safety on Snapchat’s help centre.

Have a great weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 2

 Kia ora e te whānau, 

Welcome back to a busy term 3! It has been so wonderful seeing our lovely tamariki (children) back at school with an eagerness to learn and bright smiling faces! 

We would like to welcome Jordan into our Kōwhai team, who will be teaching Rowe's class on Monday to Thursday's, for the remainder of Term 3. We are so excited to have him as a part of the team, and we know you will all make him feel welcome. Jordan will start on Monday of next week (Week 3). 

Ferrymead:

On Week 9 of last term, our Kōwhai hub went on an amazing outing to the Ferrymead Heritage park. Our tamariki had the chance to experience how different everyday things have changed over time, dressing up in outfits from the past, experiencing what a classroom was like, walking through an "olden days" shop, and having a tour around the different areas of the Ferrymead Heritage Park. This was such a fantastic experience! Have a look at some of the photos below:

Illnesses:

A post was made on Hero about illnesses around the school, and we just wanted to reiterate, if your child is sick, please keep them home until they are well. If your child has vomited, please keep them home for 48 hours from the last time they vomited. Gastro bugs can be very infectious and can spread quickly through a school if children are sent back too early. Thanks for your support with this and helping to minimise the spread of bugs as much as possible.

Library Times:

Just a reminder of our Library times:

Monday - Hazel and Jordan's Literacy Groups

Tuesday - Anna M's and Georgia's Literacy Groups

Wednesday - Anna R's Literacy Group

Head Lice:

Just a heads up that we have had a case of head lice in the hub, so please be vigilant of any scratchy heads! If your child has long hair, we recommend that they have their hair tied up to prevent the spread of head lice. Thank you!

Nut Free:

Just a reminder that our hub is completely nut free. Thank you for your support by not putting nut and nut-based products in your child's lunch. (Nut-based products include items like Nutella, Peanut Butter, Muesli bars containing nuts etc.)

Cyber Safety:

Parent/Caregiver Evening: Behind the Screens – Internet Safety Tips for Home

Raising kids in the digital age isn’t easy and you’re not alone. Should your child have Discord? What are V-Bucks? Is it safe to let them keep their phone overnight? Join us for a practical, entertaining evening hosted by Attitude that will help you feel more confident about parenting in the online world.

You’ll leave with smart tips, tools you can use straight away, and a better understanding of how to guide your child through the digital space without panic or overreaction. Come find out if you're a Firewall Parent, an Open Source Parent, or a Bluetooth Parent—and why it matters.

When: 7–8pm, Wednesday 30th July 2025.

Where: Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Hall.

Who: This event is for parents/caregivers only.

Cost: Free to attend. A small koha (donation) is appreciated to help support the cost of this event.

Please complete this form to let us know if you are attending.

We hope you have a safe and lovely weekend!

Ngā mihi nui,

The Kōwhai Team