Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 8

Kia ora Whānau, we have had another busy and fun fortnight in Kōwhai! 

Welcome to Tracey

A warm welcome to Tracey who has joined our team. Tracey will be providing CRT for our Teachers as well as using her expertise in Structured Literacy to support our team.

Kia ora koutou,

My name is Tracey Maloney and I'm very excited to be joining the Kowhai team.  I'll be filling in for Charlotte as she heads off on her new adventures in her new school. I know she will be missed but I'm grateful to be taking on her role and working with everyone in the Kowhai hub. Some of my favourite things to do are to go exploring and walking around our beautiful Christchurch spaces, like the Botanical Gardens and the Banks Peninsula. I love to cook and my favourite recipe is Spaghetti Bolognese. My husband is named Kevin and we have a fat black and white cat named DC. These days DC loves to eat biscuits and laze in the sun. I've been working as a Reliever Teacher at several different schools in the Christchurch area and am looking forward to being a part of the Beckenham team once again.

Ngā mihi

Tracey Maloney

Matariki     

We are looking forward to seeing you at our Matariki evening on Tuesday June 25th. All Kōwhai workshops will be in Tahaki. 

The students who are in the Kapa Haka performance group will be performing at 6:40 pm. They will need to be here by 6:15 pm (sharp) and meet in Pūkaki (Nick and Krystal's homegroup space).

NZ Opera in Schools Tour - The Elixir of Love

Last Thursday, the NZ Opera "Opera in Schools" tour visited us to perform Donizetti's The Elixir of Love. 

This 45-minute adaptation of Donizetti’s famous opera follows Adina, the daughter of the local fish and chip shop owner. Nemorino, who works there, is madly in love with her but is too shy to express his feelings. When a famous film star, Belcore, arrives and flirts with Adina, Nemorino must find the courage to fight for his love, possibly with the help of a magical Elixir of Love.

Cybersafety

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. 

Friendship Is...

Have a great weekend!

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 6

Kia ora e te whānau! Welcome to the Kōwhai team's Week 6 blog! 

Learning Conferences 

A reminder that learning conferences are taking place next week. Conferences will start at 1.45pm on both days. To support the availability of staff for these conferences, we ask for children to please be collected from school on both days at 1.30pm. Supervision will be available until 3pm for a small group of children. More information about this will come out to you via Hero next week. These conferences will be an important opportunity to connect with your child's teacher and learn more about your child's learning progress and achievement. Your child attends the learning conference with you.

Please book a learning conference for each of your children by clicking on this link and enter the code usvg6 and follow the instructions. 

We recommend not booking time slots back-to-back, in case meetings run over the allocated time.

If you need any assistance to book a conference, please contact Jacky in the office on 03 337 1404 or office@beckenham.school.nz

Pepeha

For Inquiry this term, we are exploring our Tūrangawaewae (standing place) through pepeha. 

A pepeha is a way to introduce yourself and it is an important aspect of Māori culture. It tells a story of the places and people we are connected to. In a pepeha, you explain where you come from and often make connections with a mountain, river, canoe and family. It also includes things that make us who we are such as our history, culture, and whakapapa. Creating a pepeha as part of a class activity, is also a fantastic way to allow Kōwhai students to understand this aspect of Māori culture, while introducing themselves to their classmates.

The template students will be using for their pepeha will vary depending on whether they are Māori or non-Māori. Please contact your child's homeroom teacher if you have any questions about this. 

Ball Games

Our students have recently started learning exciting new ball games, including Over and Under, Tunnel Ball, Captain Ball, and Leader Ball. These activities are not only fun but also help build teamwork and coordination skills. Towards the end of the term, they will have the opportunity to showcase their skills in a friendly tournament with all the Kōwhai classes. We can't wait to see their sportsmanship in action!

Recorder

This term, the Kōwhai team have started recorder lessons on a Tuesday afternoon. So far 4 out of 5 classes have had 2 lessons. The students have been making fantastic progress! They've been learning to read music and have successfully mastered playing the notes A and B. It's wonderful to see their enthusiasm and dedication as they develop their musical skills. 

Farewell to Charlotte 

Next week, we will be farewelling the wonderful Charlotte Verity who is moving on to another kura (school). During her time at Beckenham Te Kura, Charlotte has made a positive difference to not only the children she has taught but to all the staff who have been fortunate to work alongside her. We will be sad to see her go and wish Charlotte all the very best with this new adventure.

Online Safety: Gaming 

Eighty percent of tamariki in New Zealand aged 8-17 have played games online. Games can have many benefits: entertainment, social opportunities, coordination development, problem-solving and multitasking skills. But, most of all, gaming is popular because it’s fun. 

Games, however, can be tough for parents and whānau to navigate. How much gaming is too much? How do I make sure my tamariki aren’t seeing inappropriate content or chatting in-game with strangers?

Today we’re sharing Netsafe’s Online Gaming Whānau Toolkit so you have all the resources you need to keep your kids safe. 

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/rPN_ev1RSDQ

Have a great weekend!