Category Archives: Koru

2026 Koru Team News Term 4 Week 4 (6/11/2026)

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Kia ora, e te whānau, 

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the Koru hub. A warm welcome to Conor, Arabella and Rehmat, who have all settled into school life positively and confidently. It was Walk or Wheels week this week. We loved seeing the children collaborating to get to school together in a variety of ways. We had some amazing 'Wacky Wednesday' costumes and some fabulous Funky Footwear Friday creations. 

Coming Up: 

Saturday 7th November (11am-1pm) - Year 8 Sausage Sizzle and Bake Sale

Friday 13th November - Show Day (school closed) 

Friday 27th November - Fun Run 

Student Council Notice: 

The Student Council is continuing their mahi to raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, as part of our Shaun the Sheep art project.

This term the council is running a sponsored fun run on Friday, November 27th, between 12:00 midday and 12:40 p.m. (Please note the change of date - we have moved this event forward a week.)

The concept is to sign up, then gather a few sponsors for the number of laps of the school field your child will run in 30 minutes. Walking is OK too! Parents are more than welcome to run with their child/children on the day, if they are free and willing.
 
We are planning to gather some spot prizes for lucky participants. This is an optional event.
 

Photo Gallery:













Have a wonderful weekend! 

The Koru Team 

Koru Team News Term 4 Week 2 (23/10/2026)

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Kia ora e te whānau,

A very warm welcome back to Term 4 in the Koru team, and we especially welcome our families whose children had their first day at school either towards the end of last term or at the start of this term. Our newest children, in Stacey and Laura's Home Group, are: Frankie, Isabella, Kimaya, Lockie, Lottie, Ruby, Skyanna, Theo and Zoe. Well done, tamariki, for making a fantastic transition into the Koru team!

Congratulations also, to all of our older tamariki who have settled straight back into 'the swing of things' at school. We love your attitude towards your learning and your play. You really do show both 'We Love Learning' and 'We Care', as you share, support each other, work as a team towards a goal, and generally show care and consideration towards each other, as well as our environment.

Learning in the hub:

Kapa haka and waiata with Whaea Cath - the tamariki are loving their sessions with Whaea Cath! Three of their favourite waiata are: Motoka, iti rawa e, Pungawerewere and Ki Runga te Rākau. You could ask your child if they would like to teach you one or two of these waiata. The children are also thoroughly enjoying practising with the poi and some are proving to be very adept with this quite tricky performance equipment. 
With this in mind, keep your eyes peeled for an exciting announcement coming up towards the end of this term!



Athletics:

Congratulations to each and every Koru team member for the wonderful effort at our Athletics Day today. We are incredibly proud of the children, as we know you will be too. Their skills and attitudes epitomised all aspects of our school values, as they displayed determination, confidence, resilience, and fantastic support for each other throughout each of the activities they participated in.

Tino pai rawa atu koutou katoa - incredibly well done, everyone!













Literacy Links (for families with children who have recently started school):

Hats, sunblock and drink bottles: 

Thank you very much indeed for your support in ensuring that your child has their hat at school every day throughout this term. The children are being extremely diligent in both the wearing of their hats and caring for their hats.
Throughout Term 4, teachers are applying sunblock to the children, prior to their big play at 12:40 p.m. If your child needs to have their own particular brand of sunblock, for any reason, we are very happy to make sure that this is the sunblock your child uses. Thank you also for ensuring that your child has sunblock on before school each day.
The children are needing a lot of water as our days warm up. At school, we ask that drink bottles are filled with water rather than juice, please.

Cyber Safety:

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.



Photo Gallery:
'We Get There Together' on display in the hub...







We trust you all have a lovely, long weekend ahead - the weather forecast is looking beautiful. If you're going away, keep safe, and we look forward to seeing all those beautiful smiles again on Tuesday. 

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Stacey, Nicola, Kendall, Laura and Elizabeth

Koru Team News Term 3 Week 10 (25/09/2026)

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 Kia ora, e te whānau,

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 
Last week we had been celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori with a daily wero o te rā – our challenge of the day! One of our challenges was to learn the sign language to Six60’s waiata ‘Pepeha’. The tamariki had so much fun learning the signs and putting them together with the waiata!


Maths: In Maths, Nicola and Kendall's home groups made sandwiches, cut them into halves and quarters to share with their learning buddies. The children showed great problem solving skills in making sure their sandwiches were cut carefully, so both buddies had the same amount and the halves and quarters were fair!




Term 4 Koru Team:

Next term, we are starting up our fourth homegroup, which will be taught by Laura and Stacey. We welcome Laura to Koru!

Stacey will be with this homegroup on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, while Laura will be with them on Wednesday and Thursday. Laura will also be working in Nicola and Kendall’s homegroups on Tuesdays to provide their non-contact time.

'Kia ora, my name is Laura Morrison. After working in various other year levels at our kura, I'm excited to be joining the Koru team next term. I'm a mum to two boys - 3 years old Max and 1 year old Ollie. We love getting outside, exploring our playgrounds and the beach as a family. I can't wait to get to know all the tamariki and their whānau.'

Laura

We also warmly welcome Jo to Koru! Jo will be working every Wednesday with Elizabeth’s home group and will also provide Elizabeth’s non-contact time.

'Hi, I'm Jo Gilbert and I'm excited to join Koru for Term 4. I'm a mum to 2, six foot teenager boys and a boisterous 10 month old puppy. My favourite things to do are getting into the outdoors, hiking, swimming and mountain biking. I also love a good book and eating sushi!'

Jo

Term 4 reminders:

Sunhats: All children need to wear a red or black sunhat (not a cap) when playing outside during Term 4. If your child forgets their sunhat, they will need to play in the shade of the Hall foyer, as we do not have spare hats available. We will provide a tub/bucket or a designated space in each homegroup for children to keep their hats during the day. Please make sure your child’s hat is clearly named with their first and last name. Red and black school sun hats can be purchased from The Warehouse, Kmart or Mainland Uniforms.
 
A few items of note:
  • Literacy folders - are coming home today for the holidays, they should have a reading book and your sound pack of letters and heart words in them. Here are some ways to support your literacy learning over the holidays:  Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 4+, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7.1 & How to Help at Home

  • Kiss and Drop - as our Koru Team grows, our hub can get pretty busy in the mornings, and this can feel a little overwhelming for some tamariki. To help everyone have a calm start to the day, we’d really appreciate it if you could “kiss and drop” your child at the door, rather than coming into the hub with them. This gives tamariki a chance to come in, find their friends, unpack and settle into their morning independently. Thanks so much for your support with this — it really helps us keep the mornings calm, happy and settled for everyone! Please note that if your child is new to school and may well need extra support with the drop off, that is absolutely fine.

  • Toys at school - we are trialling, with the tamariki, that if/when toys come into school, the toys then spend the day in the teachers' office, where they are able to sit up high enough to be able to see out through the window and each keep an eye on their child. We hope that this means that no toys end up out in the playground where they might inadvertently be lost or damaged, and also that they don't become a distraction during learning times. It would be really helpful if you could talk about this with your child, please. We do prefer that toys remain at home.
We hope you all have a wonderful break and we look forward to a fun Term 4 in Koru!
Stacey, Elizabeth, Nicola and Kendall



Koru Team News Term 3 Week 8 (11/09/2026)

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Kia ora, e te whānau,

We warmly welcome our new tamariki into the Koru team, and to Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto! Luca, Zoe and Ruby have all started school in the last fortnight and have settled beautifully into the team. We appreciate the wonderful help of our 'golden oldies' who are truly amazing at providing wrap around support, thereby demonstrating our school value, 'We Care'.

Life Education:

This week and next, the Life Education van, along with educator, Kirsty, and her support crew, in the form of Harold the Giraffe, are based at school with us. The Koru team have two lessons with Kirsty and Harold, the first of which was on Monday, and the second, today. Our broad focus is on Living Things, with questions relating to:

  • Where does our food come from?
  • Why do we need to eat a variety of food?
  • What do all living things need to stay alive? 
These lessons dovetail beautifully with our current Science topic, in which we investigate the questions:
  • What do living things need to survive (food, water, shelter, sunlight)?
  • How do plants and animals grow and change?
  • How can people care for plants, animals, and natural places?
Harold's 4 favourite letters!

Harold, being a little bit mischievous

Harold, singing his song about friendship

Some living things work together as a group


Working together as a group

Enjoying time with one of our Friday big buddies

Ordering numbers to 20



Sketching different types of plants around our school grounds


Making giraffe shapes with our hands

Student Council Heritage Day:

On Sept 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 children could simply wear the colours from the country's flag. Please bring a gold coin for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organisation.

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.

A few items of note:
  • Kiss and Drop 💛 - as our Koru Team grows, our hub can get pretty busy in the mornings, and this can feel a little overwhelming for some tamariki. To help everyone have a calm start to the day, we’d really appreciate it if you could “kiss and drop” your child at the door, rather than coming into the hub with them. This gives tamariki a chance to come in, find their friends, unpack and settle into their morning independently. Thanks so much for your support with this — it really helps us keep the mornings calm, happy and settled for everyone! Please note that if your child is new to school and may well need extra support with the drop off, that is absolutely fine :)
  • Toys at school - we are trialling, with the tamariki, that if/when toys come into school, the toys then spend the day in the teachers' office, where they are able to sit up high enough to be able to see out through the window and each keep an eye on their child. We hope that this means that no toys end up out in the playground where they might inadvertently be lost or damaged, and also that they don't become a distraction during learning times. It would be really helpful if you could talk about this with your child, please. We do prefer that toys remain at home :)
  • Late pick ups - if you find that you're going to be late to collect your child after school, please phone our school office to let them know, and your message will be sent through to us in the hub. Any child who hasn't been collected from outside Tāhaki, by 3:10 p.m. will be taken over to the office by their Home Group teacher, so that teachers are able to be ready for any after school meetings which might be taking place - meetings generally start at 3:15 p.m.
We hope that you all have a lovely weekend (perhaps including the chance to visit our PTA Clothing and Book Sale, which is taking place on Saturday and Sunday in our school hall).
We look forward to seeing those beautiful, wide smiles back at school on Monday!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Stacey, Nicola, Kendall and Elizabeth

2026 Koru Team News Term 3 Week 6 (28/08/2026)

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Kia Ora e te Whānau, 

A very warm welcome to all the new children and their whānau who have recently joined the koru team. We love seeing how our 'golden oldies' are welcoming the newbies into the hub and into their play! 

We had such a fun time at the disco last Friday. It was lovely to see children dressed up and having a boogie on the dance floor. Giving the limbo a go was a very popular addition to the disco! Thanks to our wonderful PTA for all the organising that went into the fun event!














Science Topic
For the second part of this term we are learning about different living organisms and what they need to grow. We had a robust conversation last week about how we defined a living thing.  We found out that not all living things have eyes and mouths. Last week we planted a bean seed each and are now waiting for it to pop through the soil. We will be tracking its growth over the next few weeks. We also planted a bean seed to keep out of sunlight (in a cupboard) and one that we are not going to water. Do you think they will grow? As part of this topic we will be having a couple of lessons with the Life Education Educator and we'll get to meet Harold the Giraffe, how exciting!

Beckenham's Got Talent
Does your child love to sing, dance, play music or like to entertain in any way? If so, then Beckenham's Got Talent is for them! This is a school wide show where children will audition in their hubs and, if selected, perform in front of the school on the last day of term. If your child is interested in giving this a go then get practising at home and let your child's homegroup teacher know they are keen.

Up coming dates:
  • 4th September school will be closed due to a Staff Only Day
  • Life Education Van (Harold the Giraffe) will be at school in weeks 8 and 9
  • End of Term 3 - Friday 25th September

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Stacey, Kendall, Elizabeth and Nicola.