Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 6

Kia ora e te whānau,

It’s hard to believe we are already in Week 6 of Term 3! Life in the Kōwhai hub continues to be busy, with plenty happening each week. There is never a dull moment, but all of the exciting opportunities are certainly keeping us on our toes!

Life Education

We are excited to welcome Harold and the Life Education bus to Beckenham in Weeks 8 and 9! Each homegroup will have two sessions, with the overall theme focusing on relationships with others.

The first session will explore peer pressure and strategies for managing it, while the second session will focus on understanding and coping with change. We are looking forward to some valuable learning and discussions with Harold!

Kapa Haka Performance

In Week 10, Kōwhai will be performing at assembly and we are currently putting in lots of practise to perfect our songs. If you would like to come and see the children perform, Celebration Assembly will be in the hall at 10am. We look forward to seeing you there to support our tamariki.

Dance

Since the beginning of the term, we have been enjoying weekly dance lessons, with each homegroup learning a different dance to a different song. We are hoping to showcase our dances in Week 10, although we are still finalising exactly what this will look like and when the performance will take place. As soon as we have more details confirmed, we will let you know. The children have been loving their dance sessions and are very excited to show off their moves!

Large Ball Skills

Following on from our focus on small ball skills last term, we have now started developing our large ball skills. The children are working on their passing, catching and dribbling, building their control and confidence with a large ball. They are also learning the basic techniques and rules of invasion games, including how to work as a team, maintain possession and move into space to score. We have had one session so far, and the children are loving it!

Beckenham's Got Talent

It’s that time of year again when we get to brush up on our skills and showcase our talents! The children are currently busy practising their acts in preparation for auditions in Week 8, which will take place during Discovery time. Three acts will then be selected to perform in the finals on the last day of term. We are all very excited to see the wonderful talents our children have to share!

Discovery

Our Discovery Time sessions have continued to be a favourite part of the week, giving the children the opportunity to explore, create, problem-solve and learn through a range of hands-on activities. The children have enjoyed getting stuck into activities such as playdough, chess, pom-pom making, drawing, building and creating. These sessions encourage children to follow their interests, develop their creativity and perseverance, and work collaboratively with others. It has been wonderful to see the children using their imaginations, trying new things and proudly sharing what they have created!

Have a great weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 4

Kia ora e te whānau,

Welcome to our latest update on what’s happening in the Kōwhai hub.

Exploring Felting

This term, we have been getting creative and learning all about felting! We have explored a range of different felting techniques and developed our skills by experimenting with wool felt, colours, shapes and textures.

We have enjoyed learning how to turn loose wool fibres into felt and discovering how different techniques can create different effects. We then put our new skills into practice by using felting to create a variety of different items.

We have been focusing on making felt discs, which will be used to help decorate our Shaun the Sheep sculpture. It has been fantastic to see everyone experimenting, learning new techniques, and watching it all come together. 

Learning NZ Sign Language

This term, we have been learning the basics of sign language and developing our understanding of how we can communicate using our hands, facial expressions and body movements.

We have been learning signs for different words and phrases and practising putting them together to communicate with one another. It has been a fun and engaging way to learn a new form of communication while developing our awareness of how people communicate in different ways.

It has been great to see everyone challenging themselves to remember new signs and using them in the classroom. We are showing that We Get There Together with everyone getting involved, supporting one another, and building confidence in using sign language! 

Disco Time

Next Friday on the 21st of August we will be having our Kōwhai disco from 3:15pm - 4:00pm. Make sure to bring your dancing shoes and your best dance moves!

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

 

Welcome to Term 3!

The children have made a great start to what is shaping up to be a very busy and fun term in the Kōwhai hub! Our timetable has changed this term to cater for the exciting opportunities on offer to our learners. Each homegroup is now taking part in weekly lessons or sessions in Dance, Cricket and Recorder.

Dance

Every Tuesday, the children take part in a half-hour dance session, lead by Theresa. Each homegroup is learning choreography to a different song, with all four classes preparing their own dance.The dance sessions start with a warm up, including some stretches, and then the children work together on their dance number. These sessions will culminate in an end-of-term performance. Watch this space for more details!

Cricket

For the next three Wednesdays, we all now join Dan from Canterbury Cricket for a half-hour cricket session on the field. Dan will be teaching key cricket skills such as batting, bowling and fielding. The children loved the first session and showed great active listening and participation skills. 

Recorder

Rachel comes in every Wednesday to teach us recorder. The children have all been provided with a recorder to use which is labelled and will be theirs to use for the term. So far, the children have learnt how to hold their recorders, how to make a sound on their recorder and use their thumb and index finger to play a short song. 

Scooter-athlon

As mentioned in our previous blog, the Scooter-athlon will be held next Friday 7th August from 11:30am. We will be doing a walk through of the course next week, prior to the event, and go over expectations to ensure this event goes smoothly! We look forward to seeing you all there, supporting your tamariki.

Cybersafety

Staying Safe Online: Scams

People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!

It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.

Read their scam tips here. 

Have a great weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 11

We have made it to the end of Term 2, and what a term it has been! 

Learning Conferences

We would like to extend a big thank you to all the whānau who came along to our Learning Conferences last week. It was wonderful to sit down with so many families and celebrate the amazing achievements of our Kōwhai tamariki. We love working alongside you.

Term 2 In A Nutshell

Despite the changeable weather, our hub has been abuzz with a range of busy and fun learning activities. In writing, we have been working on completing our narratives, with tamariki producing some fantastic writing that may have been shared with you at Learning Conferences. We are now working on descriptive writing, expanding our sentences to make them more interesting for the reader. 

In reading, we continue to focus on the structured literacy programme as well as reading a variety of rich texts. In maths, we have finished a unit of work focusing on statistics and are currently learning about fractions and decimal numbers.    

Learning out of the classroom has included P.E. lessons focusing on small ball skills. Learning to catch, throw and field tennis balls with a partner and in small groups has been a great challenge! These skills involved a lot of teamwork as well as developing hand-eye coordination. We have now completed our pepeha learning and are currently working hard on completing our paper weaving project, which we will be displaying on the hub's walls very soon.

Cross Country Challenge

On Tuesday 30th June, a team of 24 eager athletes from the Kōwhai team took on the Cross Country Challenge at Hillview Christian School. Everyone gave it their all, making it a thoroughly enjoyable and successful day out for the whole team!

Legacy Studio Hip Hop performance

The Legacy Studio hip-hop crew have been working hard practising their routines during their lunch breaks to prepare for the much-anticipated performance last weekend. Every crew member showed incredible focus and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Mā tātou katoa te waka e hoe - We Love Challenge! Here is a photo of some of the hip-hop crew below.

Cyber Safety: Hector's World

Hector's World is an entertaining animated series used to support the education of online safety for primary school-aged tamariki. Over the course of Term 2, we have completed seven cyber safety lessons. The most recent lessons focused on: 

• Why it is important to be kind and respectful online and how to get help if it’s needed.

• The concept of ‘Digital Citizenship’ - learning the skills, values and behaviours that lead us to engage in online experiences positively, confidently and kindly.

We hope that this learning has encouraged conversations at home with your child/ren about safety online.

Scooter-athlon

Next term, our Kōwhai team will take part in the exciting Scooter-athlon again, on Friday 7th August from 11:30pm – 12:30pm. Parents are invited to come along and cheer on the tamariki.

The Scooter-athlon will follow a run → scooter → run format, giving students the chance to experience a fun, active, multi-stage race. Students are encouraged to wear their House T-Shirts, bring their own scooter and helmet, wear closed-toe shoes, and follow safety rules. Year 7/8 students will act as marshals to help run the event safely. Please note that if it is raining, the Scooter-athlon will be postponed. Any changes will be shared with parents via Hero.

Please let your classroom teacher know if your child does not have a scooter or if you have a spare one you are happy to lend. Your child will need to provide their own helmet. We can’t wait to see the tamariki scoot, run, and have fun – nau mai te wero! We love challenge!

We thank you for your continued support of our tamariki and wish you a happy and safe school holiday. We look forward to seeing you back in Term 3.

From the Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 9

Kia ora e te whānau,

We are quickly approaching the end of the term, and it is a very busy time in the hub. Student reports will be available today, and Learning Conferences will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday. If you have not yet booked a conference for your child, there is still time to do so. If you need any assistance with booking, please contact your child's homegroup teacher, who will be happy to help.

Welcome, Kathryn!

We are delighted to welcome Kathryn Sutherland to our team. Kathryn joined us this week and has taken over Georgia's homegroup. She has spent the past week getting to know the children in her class, as well as the wider hub. We are thrilled to have her on board and look forward to her contributions to our team.

Descriptive Writing

In writing, we have been focusing on descriptive language, using our senses to describe what we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. We have been learning how to make our writing more engaging by including a range of adjectives and are beginning to explore similes, using them to create vivid images for our readers.

Midwinter Breakfast

Next Wednesday, the PTA will be hosting a Midwinter Breakfast. If you and your children would like to join in, breakfast will be served from 8:00 am. There will be plenty of warm, delicious porridge for everyone to enjoy!

Funky Hair Day

On the last day of term, the Student Council will be holding a Funky Hair Day to raise funds for Starship Hospital. Children are invited to come to school with a fun and creative hairstyle and bring a gold coin donation to support this worthwhile cause. Please note that students are still required to wear their school uniform.

Staying Safe Online: Scams

People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year - and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!

It's important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.

Read their scam tips here.

Word Cup Fever

As many of you may already know, the FIFA World Cup kicked off last Friday. The children and teachers in the Kōwhai hub have been enthusiastically following the tournament, tracking match results on our World Cup board and discussing the games together. We have also enjoyed watching some of the matches before school in the mornings. It has been a fantastic way to share in the excitement of this global event and has sparked lots of lively conversations throughout the hub.

Have a great weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 7

Kia ora e te whānau,

Here is an update on what has been happening in the Kōwhai hub over the last 2 weeks.

Cyber Safety Learning This Week

This week in Cyber Safety, we explored the difference between personal information and private information. Students learned what information is safe to share and what information should be kept private, such as passwords, home addresses, and phone numbers. We also discussed who we can trust with our private information and why it is important to think carefully before sharing details online or in person.

Your child may come home with some sheets to do at home. These sheets correspond with discussions and activities we have done in class. We have looked at making safe choices and have learned how to protect ourselves and others when using digital technologies. These skills are an important part of being safe, responsible, and confident digital citizens. Thank you for supporting this at home.

Descriptive Writing 

Over the past few weeks, students have been developing their narrative writing skills by learning how to plan, structure, and write engaging stories. It has been wonderful to see their creativity shine as they have crafted characters, settings, problems, and solutions.

As we finish our narrative writing unit, we are excited to begin exploring descriptive writing with a focus on the art of writing. Students will learn how authors use carefully chosen words, vivid descriptions, and figurative language to create pictures in the reader's mind. They will experiment with using their senses, interesting vocabulary, and descriptive techniques to bring their ideas to life.

We are looking forward to seeing our students' imaginations at work and watching their amazing ideas come alive through their writing. 

PE Update

Recently in PE, we have been focusing on developing our small ball skills. Through a variety of fun drills, activities, and games, students have been exploring and improving their hand-eye coordination, as well as their throwing and catching abilities.

Students have been challenged to practice accuracy, control, and teamwork while participating in activities designed to build confidence and skill. These experiences help develop fundamental movement skills that can be applied across many different sports and physical activities.

It has been fantastic to see students showing perseverance, encouraging one another, and celebrating their progress as they continue to refine their skills. We look forward to seeing their confidence and coordination continue to grow throughout the rest of this unit!

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 5

Kia ora e te whānau,

We can't believe we are nearly halfway through Term 2! There has been lots happening over the last few weeks, and our tamariki have been doing some pretty cool things in the hub. This blog post will cover a few notices, our writing focus, our te ao Māori focus, and what we have been learning about in cyber safety. 

Notices

School Closed: Please remember Friday 29th May (Week 6) is a Staff Only Day, and the following Monday 1st June (Week 7) is King's Birthday. School will be closed on these days. 

Nut Reminder: A reminder we are a Nut Free Hub. This includes anything containing any sort of nut (e.g. nut muesli bars, nuts in slices, peanut butter, nutella, scroggin mixes etc.) We thank you for your understanding and help with this. 

Welcome to Kathryn

As you may be aware, Georgia will be leaving soon to go on maternity leave. Her last day of teaching will be on Friday 12th June (Week 8). We are very excited for this new chapter ahead for Georgia. 

We are also excited to share that Kathryn Sutherland will be taking over Georgia's homegroup, and will begin with the class on Monday 15th June. Kathryn is an experienced teacher, having taught both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and has recently been working at Oaklands School. 

Kathryn will be coming in on Wednesday 27th May (Week 6) to spend the day with Georgia's homegroup as well as with everyone in the hub. We are looking forward to having Kathryn join the Kōwhai team!

Narrative Writing

This term, we have been working on writing narratives. Our tamariki are developing their skills in planning, organising, and editing their own narratives, while also using descriptive language to make their writing more detailed and engaging for their readers. It has been awesome to see our tamariki showing our school kete values 'We Love Challenge' and 'We Love Learning' in the hard work and effort they have put into their writing.

Te Ao Māori

Recently, we have been focusing on kōwhaiwhai patterns. We have learnt what different patterns there are, the colours of these patterns, where we might find these patterns, and we have also been having a go at drawing the kōwhaiwhai patterns. Below is some information about our kōwhaiwhai patterns:

• Kōwhaiwhai patterns contain Māori history and can be used to tell stories. 
• The patterns differ between tribes as they are derived from the environment where the tribe exists.
• The kōwhaiwhai patterns are most often found on the tāhū (ridgepoles) and the heke (rafters), in a wharenui (meeting house).
• The colours used are red, black and white, and each colour has a different mearning. Red represents warmth, blood, and life. Black represents the earth. White represents purity and promise for the future. 
• Each symbol within a pattern has a different meaning, and each one is very special to Māori culture. 

Here are the patterns we are learning about about:

Cyber Safety

This week, we have started looking at cyber safety and how we can stay safe online. Our hub has been following a programme called Hector's World, where we follow a set of lessons that dive into the different risks and components about the offline and online digtial world, and how we can teach our tamariki to be safe both online and offline. As well as working on learning activites in class, we will also be sending home printed worksheets to discuss and/or work on at home with whānau. We thank you for your support with this! Any questions, please feel free to reach out to your child's/children's homegroup teacher.

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.

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Ngā mihi nui,

The Kōwhai Team

anna.reid@beckenham.school.nz

georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz

jordan.pollock@beckenham.school.nz

gayle.mcnaughton@beckenham.school.nz