Welcome to the Kōwhai team's week 7 blog.
Kōwhai Team Year 3-4
Friday 24 November 2023
Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 7
Welcome to the Kōwhai team's week 7 blog.
Friday 10 November 2023
Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 5
Kia ora e te whānau,
Welcome to the Kōwhai team's week 5 blog!
Transition Plan for 2024
As we near the end of the year, students will no doubt be starting to think about classroom placement for 2024, particularly the Year 4’s who will be moving hubs. To support this transition for our Year 4 students, they will have a couple of opportunities to spend time with the Year 5 students and to meet some of the Year 5/6 teachers. This will involve two Kōwhai teachers taking the Year 4’s to Pōhutukawa for Discovery, while the Year 6’s will come to the Kōwhai hub to spend some tuakana/teina time with Year 3’s. The objective of this is to enable our Year 4 learners to re-establish connections with their Year 5 peers, familiarise themselves with the new hub, and ensure students have a positive transition.
Inquiry: Ngā manu (birds)
Over the past two weeks, the Kōwhai children have begun learning about birds as part of our inquiry topic. Students have enjoyed learning more about some of New Zealand’s native birds and exploring some of their defining features. There was great conversation around the question, "What makes a bird a bird?", and lots of debate around whether penguins were birds! In the coming weeks, students will have the opportunity to observe birdlife within the Beckenham Te Kura environment and inquire into why these birds are suited to this particular habitat.
Students have enjoyed looking at the candidates for bird of the century this week and some classes submitted their votes. If you are interested in learning more about this and having your say, follow this link.
Art
Linking into our inquiry topic: Ngā manu, our art focus for the term is sketching, with a particular focus on the natural world. Students will have opportunities to explore sketching techniques and apply this to different contexts. They will be sketching things in nature, such as plants, birds and insects. We are looking forward to seeing their artistic growth.
Uniform
Over the past few weeks, we have noticed that some students have been wearing non-uniform clothes and footwear to school. While we understand that this is sometimes for a good reason, it is important that, where possible, students are following the dress code for Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. For more information about school uniforms, please visit this link. Thank you for supporting your child to wear the correct uniform.
Being SunSmart
It has been great to see so many children remembering to wear their hats at school, especially with all these sunny days we have been experiencing. Please continue to make sure that your child has a hat at school every day and that it is clearly named. There is always the option of keeping hats at school, either in tote trays or in an allocated hat tub. We also encourage everyone to have sunscreen on. This can be applied before coming to school and we also have sunscreen at school if anyone needs to top up or they forget to put sunscreen on. Thank you so much for your support with this.
Discovery
Here are some pictures of what students have been up to during Discovery:
Have a lovely weekend,
Ngā mihi nui
Friday 27 October 2023
Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 3
Kia ora whānau,
Here is an update on what we have been doing in the Kōwhai hub over the past two weeks.
Christchurch South Library Visits
Athletics Day
Being SunSmart
Friday 13 October 2023
Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 1
Welcome back to school for our final term. It is wonderful to see the tamariki well rested and with lots of energy for the weeks ahead. We hope you enjoy our update.
Athletics
We are enjoying our athletics practice sessions at the moment. The whole school athletics event is on Thursday 26th October, and our team will complete their activities from 11am - 12:40pm. Our focus is on the development of the movement skills of run, jump and throw, engagement and fun. A house relay will take place at 2.45. We warmly invite you to join us for this day. Check out the photos below!
Sunhats
These are essential for this term, so please make sure your child has a named hat they can leave at school in their tote tray or in their bag. We encourage sunscreen to be applied at home before school, and we have extra at school that can be applied as children need. Please also make sure your child has a named water bottle at school every day.
Library Trips
We are looking forward to visiting the Christchurch South Library over the next fortnight. Please send children with jackets, jumper, sunhat and solid walking shoes on the day of their trip. Thanks to those who offered to parent help. If you are a parent helper (your child's teacher will have confirmed this with you by email), please be in your child's homeroom class at 1:30pm on the day of their trip. Many thanks.
Anna R: Monday 16th October 1:30-3pm
Anna M: Tuesday 17th October 1:30-3pm
Rowe: Wednesday 18th October 1:30-3pm
Charlotte: Tuesday 24th October 1:30-3pm
Nick: Wednesday 25th October 1:30-3pm
Learning This Term
We have some fantastic learning in store this term.
Wellbeing continues to be a key part of our programme, which includes both a whole school PB4L focus and daily notice discussion, as well as explicit teaching and learning activities in class each week. Anna Reid has put together an amazing selection of learning activities for us, which covers being a good sport, conflict resolution, how to apologise, keeping things in perspective and gratitude.
Our PB4L focus this week is being an Upstander. You might like to read this social story at home and discuss it with your child.
Art
Once we have completed Athletics, we will use our afternoon times for art and inquiry. We look forward to learning how to sketch and may make some fun nature creations (thank you Rowe and Anna for planning these for us!).
Science: Ngā Manu (Birds)
We are also looking forward to a science inquiry into ngā manu, or birds. We will be learning key science ideas, including:
* Different birds have different shapes, sizes, colours, beaks and feet.
* All birds have two legs, wings, claws and a beak instead of teeth.
* The structure and features of a bird help it to get what it needs to survive. We can tell what sort of food a bird eats by looking at its beak and feet.
* Birds have adapted in line with their environments and/or to
cope around people.
You can help your child by starting to notice the birds in your garden and our local community, and observing their behaviours and features.
Friday 15 September 2023
Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 9
Kia ora whānau,
We are now nearing the end of Term 3 and we are so happy to be enjoying the lovely Spring weather!
Talent Quest
Writing
Technology
- Environmental factors can change how an object moves (e.g. wind, moving down a ramp or rough surface etc.), as can changing the materials or shape of an object.
Forces include pushes, pulls and twists.
Air can be used to create a push (e.g., a leaf blower) or pull (e.g., a vacuum) force.
Friction is another force that can slow things down. Wheels help overcome friction.
- Scientists complete more than one test of a design or experiment to make sure their findings are accurate and can be trusted. Scientists record their results.
PB4L
Fleeces/Jumpers
Hats
Library Visits Next Term
- Monday 16th October 1:25-2:50pm = Anna R
Tuesday 17th October 1:25-2:50pm = Anna M
Wednesday 18th October 1:25-2:50pm = Rowe
Tuesday 24th October 1:25-2:50pm = Charlotte
Wednesday 25th October 1:25-2:50pm = Nick