Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 2

Kia ora e te whānau

Welcome back to Term 4 and to what is shaping up to be a very busy term indeed! Here is an update on what has been happening so far and what is still to come.

Athletics Day 

What a fantastic day! It was great to see everyone giving the different events a go, challenging themselves, and showing our kete value 'We Love Challenge' throughout the day. From running and jumping to throwing, we were proud of the way the tamariki showed determination, encouraged others, and celebrated each other's achievements. Ka pai, everyone, for a great day of athletics!

Science

There has been lots of fun and excitement throughout the hub as we have been exploring the House of Science kits! Our team have had the opportunity to get hands-on with a range of experiments, make predictions, test ideas, and observe what happens with a variety of experiments, from wobbly jelly to sweet and salty cucumber. We have been looking closely at our results, discussing what we noticed, and reflecting on what we discovered along the way. It has been fantastic to see the curiosity, teamwork, and enthusiasm shown by everyone as we explore the world of science together. 

Swimming

We are looking forward to our upcoming swimming sessions between 9–20 November! Swimming is a great opportunity for everyone to develop their water confidence, practice important water safety skills, and build swimming abilities.

A big thank you to all the parents and whānau who are coming along to help us during our swimming sessions. We really appreciate you giving up your time to support our learners and help make these trips possible. We couldn't do it without you!

What to bring:

• Swimming togs

• A towel

• Goggles (if needed)

• A bag for wet swimming gear

Please make sure all belongings are clearly named. 

To help prepare for the lessons ahead, you can click on this link for a social story which outlines what is happening and includes photos of Parakiore Pool.

Staying Safe Online: Online Grooming 

As young people become more independent online, they can connect and communicate with people they

don’t know. Often this is a positive experience, but sometimes your tamariki could be being groomed or

talking to someone who isn’t who they say they are. Netsafe’s advice explains how unwanted contact

works, including grooming and what whānau can do to educate kids.

Check out the link here.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
From the Kōwhai team.

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 10

Kia ora e te whānau

Wow, what a wonderfully busy and productive term we have had in the Kōwhai hub and our final weeks have been no exception! The children have given their all to their learning this term and are ready for a well deserved break!

Term 3 Highlights

This week we asked the children what some of their Term 3 highlights have been. This is what they said:

Felting

Wednesdays this term have been our felting days and Nicky has lead the way for the entire team to develop our felting skills. We have seen some great improvements from where we all first started to where we are now.

"I liked felting - especially sprinkling water over the wool."

" I really enjoyed felting. It's something I've not done before."

" I loved felting. It was cool to make different stuff."

Dance

Theresa from Legacy Dance Studios has been a legend with her positive energy and clear instruction on producing four whole class dance routines. The choreography that the children have learnt has been super cool and we have absolutely loved seeing the children giving it their all!

"Dance was fun and not something I’d normally do."

"I liked dance because we will get to do it on stage."

Recorder

Another fantastic opportunity for our children has been weekly recorder sessions with Rachel. We have also noticed some excellent progress - from very off key moments at the beginning to being able to read and play the musical notes of B and C!

"I enjoyed recorder. I've never tried playing recorder before."

"I liked recorder because I love music."

Other Highlights

"I liked playing cricket with Dan. I got some wickets when I was bowling."

"The Tree Planting trip was so fun. We even got to have a sausage sizzle."

"I enjoyed the Zentangle art and bubble writing."

"I liked writing information reports. I got to choose one of my favourite animals."

"The morning questions on the board have been fun."

"I enjoyed learning about measurement in maths."

We are incredibly proud of all of the children in the Kōwhai hub. They have been absolute super stars with all of their learning and have managed the busy term so well! Term 4 looks like it will be just as action packed and productive. Please remember to keep your eyes out for Swimming updates and remember to send children to school with a sun hat. We look forward to welcoming you all back in two weeks time.

Enjoy the holidays!

The Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 8

Kia ora e te whānau,

Welcome to Week 8! Time is flying in the Kōwhai hub, and our days remain packed with energy, learning, and discovery. As Term 3 draws to a close, our students continue to be fully engaged and working hard right up to the finish line. 

Life Education

Harold the giraffe continues to inform and entertain our tamariki in the Life Education bus. The Kōwhai team have all attended our first session, with the second session focusing on interpersonal relationships coming up in Week 9. This programme complements the friendship lessons that we are currently teaching in class. With the aid of some wonderful friendship books from our library, we have facilitated some great discussion and reflection on what it is to be a good friend.

Hip Hop Dance Lessons

We continue to enjoy learning and practising our hip hop dances in our home group classes. We are improving each time and are having fun along the way. We had planned to perform our dance at the end of Term 3. This has now been moved to the beginning of Term 4; more information about this will be communicated soon.

Kapa Haka Performance

A reminder that in Week 10, the Kōwhai team will be performing at assembly. Our tamariki have been working hard to put in the final touches on our performance and have worked hard to learn waiata. You are welcome to attend the Celebration Assembly in the hall at 10:00 am. We look forward to seeing you there to support our tamariki.

Maths In Action

Maths is fun when we can apply it in the real world. At the moment, all children in Kōwhai are learning and practising our measurement skills. We are enjoying measuring the length, weight, and capacity of classroom items as well as learning to tell the time, with lots of hands-on activities involved. 

Privacy 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. 

Learning Languages: New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL)

We have been working hard in Term 3 to learn the basics of New Zealand Sign Language, which has been a good challenge and lots of fun! We are very lucky to have two members of the deaf community visiting us in the Kōwhai hub next week to talk to us about NZSL, deaf culture and the importance of being inclusive and respectful of different ways of communicating. 

Beckenham’s Got Talent

The final of Beckenham’s Got Talent is fast approaching! 

The Kōwhai team have held the semi-final auditions and have narrowed performances down to five acts. Next week, they will put on a whole hub performance where we will choose the top three acts to go through to the whole school show in Week 10. We certainly have some talented tamariki in our midst! 

Heritage Day: A Message From The Student Council

On September 18th, next Friday, the Student Council has organised a Heritage Day to celebrate our diverse cultures. 

Children are invited to come to school dressed in something to represent their family's heritage. This could be a costume, something special about the country, or simply wearing the colours from the country's flag. Please bring a gold coin for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. 

Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organisation that helps children and young people build confidence, resilience and positive relationships through mentoring. The programme matches young people with caring adult or older-youth mentors who spend regular time together, talking, sharing activities and simply being there. These supportive relationships can make a real difference to a young person’s sense of belonging, self-confidence and ability to navigate life’s challenges.

Have a great weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

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