That was term 3.

What an action packed week to finish the term...

On Tuesday we heard from Josie about Fair Trade. She left us with some key messages; Fair Trade is helping people to help themselves and it enables families to educate their children, have access to clean water, medical needs and adequate shelter. All we need to do to help is purchase Fair Trade products and now we know how to identify these by the label.

The House Captains and their helpers did a superb job of organising the House Picnic on Wednesday.

We enjoyed an afternoon of fine entertainment at the School Talent Quest. From cute magicians to stunning singers, musicians and dancers; what talent we have at Beckenham! Congratulations to Beth (first place) and Grace and Maddie (second place). I'm glad I wasn't judging - the standard was very high and it must have been a tough decision picking the winners.

Speech finals produced more superb entertainment. Topics ranged from 'How to procrastinate like a professional' to 'Ferral Children', 'Steriotyping' and 'Pop Music'. The audience was captivated for almost an hour. Brilliant work people, we loved listening to you all. Congratulations to Danielle (1st), Beth (2nd) and Anna J (3rd).

Mid- summer Night's Dream creation is in full swing. Rhythm bounces off the walls of Room 16, coordination and creation are abound in Room 17, the story is being pieced together as an original work in  Room 18 and paint, hot glue, bubbles and wire-cutters are being put to good use in Room 19. Next term we step up to two sessions a week as we work towards staging this production on Thursday November 29th.

On Friday we said a fond farewell to Mrs Radcliffe. We will miss her calm and reassuring manner and her style and grace.

Next term we have lots to look forward to:

• Team Spelling Bee on Thursday Oct 18th
• Athletic Sports on Thursday Oct 25th
• Weekly self defence for girls in Rooms 18 and 19 on Wednesday afternoons.
• Football Literacy for Year 8s
• Top Team competition on November 9th
• Mid-summer Night's Dream on November 29th
• and much more...

Week 11 Update

Year 8 Camp: What a fabulous two days we had of action packed leadership development. We kicked off with an inspiring session run by 'Full On' and followed this with a raft of practical activities, Gemma - our guest speaker from What Now, lots of opportunities to 'Sharpen the Saw' and brief reflections on how we were applying the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. As teachers we were hugely impressed with how all of the Year 8s responded. By the end we were all shattered, but still smiling. Check the photo gallery for more pictures, we have heaps more on the server at school.

The last week of term is a busy one...

Class Speeches: All Year 7 & 8 children should have finished or nearly finished writing their speech. These will be delivered to the class early in the week, with the Team Speech Finals on Thursday at 11am in the Hall. Parents are most welcome.

Fair Trade: We are hoping our quest speaker has recovered from illness and will be with us on Tuesday afternoon.

No technology at South this week.

We are taking part in the national wide Shake Out earthquake drill on Wednesday morning.

House Picnic is on Wednesday from 11:30. Children are to come in House colours and are encouraged to arrange a shared picnic with friends in their House. House Captains and their deputies are arranging games for Year 1 - 8.

The finals of the School Talent Quest are on Wednesday afternoon in the Hall starting at 1:30. Parents are welcome.

On Friday we farewell Caroline Radcliffe, our much loved receptionist, with a special assembly starting at 9:30. A number of children are performing at this assembly, including the Drama Club and Te Whanau Mahi Tahi.

Week 10 Update

With just two weeks to go, we are hitting the end of term busy season.

Year 8 families should have received a second camp notice this week, check out the Camp Page on this blog.

Well done to those who qualified for the school talent quest this week. We were impressed by the talent on show at our Year 7 & 8 Team heats. Finals are on the afternoon of Wednesday Sept 26.

Our team team speech finals will take place on Sept 27 at 11am. There is quite a bit of speech writing to do between now and then!

Next week we have a guest speaker from Trade Aid coming to talk with our classes as part of our Fair Trade study.

Please encourage your child to get their Spellathon money in and card returned ASAP.

Wek 9 Update

What an action packed week we have had. A huge congratulations to all of the children involved in the Band and Te Whanau Mahi Tahi; you all performed superbly this week. We oozed with pride in the audience!

The combined bands conducted by Anna

Art Mural: Much progress was made with the Cultural Diversity mural this week. We will require a couple to Friday sessions to complete it. If your child is in this group, please ensure paint clothes are packed on Fridays.

Flags, greeting and faces at various stages of completion.

Extra Technology: In week 11 this term there will be no Tuesday technology. To make up for this lost session there will be two technology mornings in week 9, Tuesday and Friday.

Speeches: All classes are now underway with speech writing. Discussion at home to develop ideas and check up on progress would help to support your child. The writing happens at school.

Thursday Cashmere Testing: A reminder that children who will attend Cashmere High School in 2013 have a testing morning at Cashmere on Thursday Sept 13. They are responsible for getting themselves there and back to school by 1:30pm.

Forms to return: There are a small number of spellathon and Year 8 camp forms to return. Please ensure these come back to school on Monday.

A big thanks to all those who have returned sports uniforms, again a few are still outstanding, please get these washed and returned to school on Monday.