Kia ora e te whānau,
What a wonderful fortnight we have had in Kahikatea. We have had several events and have more coming up. Here is the latest news from the Kahikatea team.

Have you got your tickets for the PTA Bingo and Silent Auction evening? This is happening on Saturday 9th November 2024.

 Harold the Giraffe

The Life Education Trust brings us Harold the Giraffe. In Kahikatea we are focusing on problem solving and our emotions. It is identifying a small problem that I can fix myself, and a big problem, one that I need help with from an adult. For example, finding my hat. How can I solve this problem, where do I look, where did I put it?

The children were all engaged and participated with enthusiasm during the lessons. Thank you, Helly and Harold!

Swimming Week 5

We are looking forward to our final week of swimming next week: Mon 11th, Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th, and Thursday 14th November.

Thursday 14th November is the last day of swimming. Tamariki are asked to bring their PJs (or trackies and a t-shirt) for water safety. 

Kahikatea -Art

We have been doing lots of art over the past fortnight. Different classes have been doing different arts and styles. A study of David Hockney style of water that reflects our swimming, oil pastel and watercolour, poster paint on a scene and skeleton building with cotton buds and lots of colouring. 

Paralympian Visit, 14th November

"Rachael Watson is an Australian Paralympic Swimmer who has won two Paralympic gold and two Paralympic bronze medals across three games - Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. She became the first Olympian or Paralympian to win a medal in the 50m Freestyle three consecutive times and won the 500th medal for Australia. Rachael has also competed at 4 World Championships winning silver and bronze medals. She is currently training for the 2025 World Championships and aspiring to make the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic team."

Kahikatea are lucky to have Jackson Waters's cousin Rachael visit us. Rachael is a muti-medal holder, Paralympics Swimmer, for Australia. She will discuss how she made it! Thank you to Kylie Waters for setting this up. 

Upcoming production!  Save the date, week 9, 1.30-3pm (to be confirmed). We are "secret squirrels" on details. However, more information will follow. In the meantime if you hear tamariki singing the song below.

Kindness

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) - Our focus has been on kindness with an emphasis on our words and how we speak to each other. Manners do make a difference and our tamariki are good at showing them. We appreciate the everyday kindness like opening doors, making seating room, lining up, keeping things tidy, cleaning up and lovely words. Thank you. 

This is the link to one of our favourite songs- The Kindness Song

School of Music String Concert

On Thursday the 7th of November Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto enjoyed the sounds of the violin, viola and cello. What a fantastic performance! Thank you to our musicians who shared their passions. if anyone would like more information please check the handout available at the office.

House Games

On Thursday afternoon we got to enjoy the sunshine and fun and games with our houses. These are great opportunities for our tamariki to build connections within the school.

Have a safe and happy fortnight. Feel free to contact any on the team for questions, queries or clarifications. 

Ngā mihi nui,

Team Kahikatea

Kia ora e te whānau,

We hope you all had a lovely holiday. Term 4 is an exciting term with lots of activities planned, and with the sunshine and wonderful warm weather, the children have been happy and settled back in school so quickly. We thank you for all the support to ensure such smooth transitions.

Labour Day Weekend

A quick reminder that school will be closed on Monday as it will be Labour Day holiday, and will resume on Tuesday 29th. We hope you'll have a relaxing and fun long weekend with your whānau.

Swimming (Water Safety Programme)

Swimming will start next week (week 3) on Tuesday 29th October and go until Friday 1st November, then week 5 from Monday 4th November to Thursday 7th November. Please note that there will be NO literacy books sent home in these two weeks due to the time taken for these water safety lessons. 

It would be a good idea to pack extra snacks and food in your child's lunchbox during these 2 weeks if possible to ensure our tamariki have full bellies after swimming. Please ensure that your child comes to school on swimming days with a NAMED swimming bag, clean towel and togs. You can also have a look at our Swimming Social Story with your child to know what to expect.

Thank you to our whānau who offered to help during the trips, you can either meet us at Pioneer or come with us on the bus. The departure time of each group is as follows:

Group 1 - Sarah's Homegroup + some of Amber's students: 9.30am

Group 2 - Ella's Homegroup + some of Amber's students: 10am

Group 3 - Quynh's Homegroup + some of Amber's students: 10.30am

The bus will be waiting on Eastern Terrace.

Please note: No Literacy Group Lessons will take place on the days we are swimming. 

Swimming- Parent Helper Information

Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all, 

Thank you for being a parent/whānau helper for our swimming session/s. 

Please read carefully through the this information as this provides details about what to do as a parent/whanau helper during our time at Pioneer Pool. 

Helping Children

• We want everyone to feel safe and comfortable at all times, so if you assist children in the changing rooms, please give verbal guidance. You do not need to dress or undress the children. 
• Encourage the children to be as independent as possible and prompt them with what they need to do. 
• Encourage children to use quiet voices in the changing room and keep their belongings in one place. 
• Two or more parent/whānau helpers should be present, while others can wait at the changing room entrance to check that children have all their belongings. 
• Parents can assist children to put their belongings into one of the cubbies provided. 
• Parents/whānau are not required to be in the pool with children. 
• Please let the teacher in charge know if you have any questions or concerns.
• If a child needs to use the toilet, please show them where it is (these are in the teaching pool area, you will not need to use the public toilets), send the child in, and wait outside. 

Many thanks for your help with swimming this year!

 Please email your child’s teacher if you have any questions. 

Home Group Spaces

We moved homegroup spaces at the end of term 3, so here's a fresh walk-through of where we're based at the moment:

Ella - Atrium

Amber - Breakout Space

Sarah - Nook

Quynh - Theatre

Athletics

The tamariki from the Kahikatea team did so well at athletics on Thursday, what an awesome bunch! We saw a lot of demonstration of our values 'We Love Challenge' and 'We Get There Together' during our practice sessions AND the actual event, ka mau te wehi - how amazing! Below are some photos.

Sunhats and Sunscreen

A friendly reminder that term 4 is a hats term, children are required to wear a hat when going outside. If they don't have a hat, they will need to stay in the shade by Tahaki building or the hall during playtime. Your child can bring their own sunscreen to school if they wish, please ensure that this stays in their bag during the day and your child takes responsibility for looking after it.

Maths- A Focus on Fractions 

Sarah's Homegroup has been learning about fractions, what they mean and what the symbols look like. The children then made a fractions robot in each group, they were super engaged and keen to make their robot look unique. What a cool activity!

Muesli Bar Wrappers

Ruby's whānau in Quynh's homegroup who have been sharing that, each year, they participate as instructors of the E3 expedition and make sustainability goals. This year they have gone back to this one around muesli bars which was last done back in Dec 2022. Below is the story told by the family.

"This was from our social media posts

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClsRXZdp-g1/?img_index=1 

So we did the numbers & came up with this…

* each person on E3 consumes 3x muesli bars per day. Avg per day = 16 people X3= 48

* 48 X 11 days = 528 bar wrappers. WOW THATS A LOT!!!!

* That’s just for 1 E3

But what does 528 wrappers look like? Hence the video of 100’s of wrappers falling out of that bucket. 

That’s 528 wrappers for each E3 that are not going into a landfill. 

And the remaining pics are the alternative. Over 1000 muesli bars so lovingly made by a few caring people who care about the planet… care about creation & care enough to demonstrate to you & all of us that meaningful change is achievable. All part of the great 10 Years of E3."

The family are setting a goal of collecting 2000 muesli bar wrappers to demonstrate how many wrappers have been saved from going into landfill by making their own for the expedition. In Kahikatea, Ruby and friends have started collecting these wrappers from other children's lunchboxes. If possible, we would also love to collect these from you, just hand them to Quynh or your child's homegroup teacher. 

Learning Through Play

Personal Space - Boundaries

In Kahikatea, we have been talking about and discussing boundaries, and what we can say when someone is being too close to our personal space. The video below is a fabulous resource, as the catchy melody and simple language make it so much fun for our tamariki to remember the key phrases. Please have a look with your child and sing along, we guarantee it'll get stuck in your head rather quickly.

Kia ora e te whānau,

Wow, we can hardly believe that it is the end of term 3! It has been lovely to enjoy the warmer days of spring and we are looking forward to an even warmer term 4. Remember to hunt out those sun hats ready for the beginning of next term.

In thinking about our move from winter to spring, Quynh/ Lisa's homegroup collaborated to create a poem called 'Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring'

They then created some illustrations to go with it:

Maths

Learning Through Play

One of our most popular Learning Through Play experiences, is using the hot glue gun! Here are some of our creative learners, constructing.

We have also had some lovely play in our Kahikatea cafe! The learners have really taken on their roles in acting out taking customer orders, and preparing their meals. There has been some lovely language and literacy experiences.

What a wonderful te wiki o te reo Māori we had! During Learning Through Play, one of the activities we explored was making poi. We had to work on our value or 'We Love Challenge' and really appreciated our big buddies help too.

Some of our learners also enjoyed the waiata 'Porowhita Māori Shapes' and explored a number of different shapes in Māori and English.

You will find your learners calendar art order forms in their bag. They have put so much work into their creations. These make great Christmas presents!

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday break with whānau, and enjoy some lovely weather. We look forward to seeing you again on Monday 14th October!

Ngā mihi nui,

The Kahikatea Team

Amber Donovan | amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz

Ella Rainbow | ella.rainbow@beckenham.school.nz

Quynh Nguyen | quynh.nguyen@beckenham.school.nz

Sarah Angelo | sarah.angelo@beckenham.school.nz

Lisa Collier | lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz

Kia ora Whanau/Caregivers, 

What a busy term it has been! We are fast approaching the school break and noticing that many of our tamariki feel tired and some have been unwell. Thank you for keeping your child at home when they are not well, this helps to stop the transmission of bugs and illnesses. 

PB4L focus word of the week - Determination 

Updating Contact Details 

Woodwork

Megan's dad came to show the tamariki some carpentry skills. The children learnt how to use a hammer and nails. Some items that were created, included a bird box and a seat. 

Other learning from the hub:

Cyber Safety 

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.

Staying Safe Online: Scams

Swimming - Term 4 Week 3 & 5 

Arohanui, 
Team Kahikatea- Sarah, Ella, Lisa, Quynh & Amber 

Nau mai haere mai

A reminder: 

There is a Staff Only Day on Monday 26th of August. 

The school will be closed that day.

______________

Maths Whanau Evening- Calendar Date

Calendar Art

check out our hub walls for our amazing calendar art on the walls

Class discussions- our tamariki have been playing an unkind game of Paper, Rock, Scissors where the winner slaps the loser's face. This is an unacceptable game and we have discussed the importance of looking after each other and keeping ourselves safe. Please feel free to bring this up with any class teachers if you are aware of this or any other unacceptable games and we can support our tamariki in making better choices. 

Uplifting our tamariki with a growth mindset

Learning Through Play with Cook Island Week- waka making and 'ei katu (flower crown or head garland) making. Fun hole digging, card playing, rock painting and a very special visitor called Mitzi.

Cyber Safety Information

The HDCA for Parents and WhānauThe Harmful Digital Communications Act (or HDCA for short) was passed by the Government in 2015 to help people dealing with serious or repeated harmful digital communications. It covers anything digital like text, emails or social media content.

The most useful thing for parents to understand about the HDCA is the way the 10 communication principles define what is good or bad behaviour online.

If you’re ever concerned about your young person (or you just want to brush up on your knowledge!) visit Netsafe’s Guide to the HDCA. 

Ka kite koutou from Team Kahikatea: 
Amber, Sarah, Ella, Quynh & Lisa