Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 5

Kia ora whānau

It has been a super busy start to the term...which is flying quickly past! Enjoy reading about our latest learning and activities. 

Quynh's News 

Quynh has leave, as of late next week, to go and visit her family in Vietnam. We wish Quynh a wonderful time with her family and thank her for all her hard work this year. We will miss her! Kathryn Moore will be covering for Quynh's class until the end of the year.

Cricket 

We have been fortunate to have a series of cricket sessions with Southern Districts Cricket Club. These sessions have been provided free for us, and there was a real focus on ensuring all children got a turn at batting and fielding. Many children were surprised by how far they could hit a ball! The club run after-school and weekend cricket teams for all ages. 

House of Science Learning

 

We have access to an amazing set of science kits from The House of Science, an educational organisation established to help teachers, students and schools teach and learn about key science ideas. This fortnight, we are learning about Plants, Pests and Produce. Our activities include learning about some key beneficial insects and pests in New Zealand, the six parts of a fruit/vegetable plant and their functions, transpiration, pollination and pest control such as pheromone traps. Many aspects of the living world, the nature of science and the material world are covered through the lessons.

Raised Garden Beds

The PTA has kindly given us funding to have two raised garden beds, like the ones by the hall, built in the garden behind our hub. Thank you, PTA! Tony will be constructing these over the coming weeks. We will then need to fill them with usable garden waste (tree clippings etc.) and soil. If you happen to be undertaking landscaping or maintenance at your house at present and have any usable garden waste or soil to donate, please email charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz.  

Swimming 

The children loved our water safety sessions at Pioneer. They learnt a range of key skills at their point of need. This included: 

• Floatation and water familiarisation
• Swimming strokes
• Kicking techniques
• Key water safety skills, including how to put on a life jacket, what to do if a boat capsizes, how to keep warm in cold water, how to stay in a group and how to signal for help

Assembly 

Congratulations to our Week 3 Celebration Assembly award recipients. A big thank you to Isaiah for creating and sharing his cultural presentation about Malaysia.