Kauri Whānau - getting prepared for level 4

 Kia ora everyone,

I am back at school gathering resources for learning at home - however long that may be?? There are 5 BYOD devices still at school. Two are out of charge and are not named and the others belong to Tahere, Jonty and Rory. School will be open until 10pm tonight. Let me know what you need from kids' buckets - books to read, pencil cases - anything else. If I am not in the hub, I will leave things in the office where Sandy will be until 10pm.  Please email with what you need - nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz

Ngā mihi

Nicky

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 4

 In this post:

• Cantamath
• Beckamath
• Congratulations
• Ski Trip
• Sports news
• Year 8 girls' self defence
• Photo Gallery

Cantamath

It was so exciting to see all of the fabulous Cantamath projects arrive at school on Friday. We are hoping to see some last-minute arrivals on Monday. Well done to the 90 children who completed their projects on time. On Friday after school, the teachers marked each project and identified those that will be going through to the Cantamath competition at the Christchurch Arena on Wednesday, August 25th. 

We would love to give whānau the opportunity to view these projects. A display has been set up in East Pukaki, the old new entrant hub that is across the courtyard from our hub. This will be open before school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and after school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. All work that is not going through to Cantamath will need to be taken home on Friday. 

Cantamath problem-solving teams will be announced early next week. These teams will compete at the Christchurch Arena on August 25th, at 4pm for Year 7 and 5pm for Year 8. 

Beckamath

On Wednesday afternoon last week, we held our annual Beckamath competition. Children competed in homegroup teams to solve tricky maths problems. The hall was filled with excitement, focused energy and the heat of competition. Below is the top part of the results table. See photos at the end of this post.

Congratulations

A special congratulations to Zoë Clarke, who has been awarded a leadership scholarship for Cashmere High School in 2022. 

Ski Trip

Many thanks to everyone who has completed our ski trip form. We nearly have all of these completed. As part of the preparation for our day on the mountain, we will be going over a ski safety contract with the children and viewing a slideshow to give them an idea of what to expect. We will also be having lessons looking at the snow safety code, dressing for a mountain environment and familiarisation with equipment for first-time skiers. 

A reminder that our ski day is on September 2nd. The buses will be leaving from Sandwich Rd at 6am and will return at 6pm.

Gear

For those of you who indicated on the ski form that you would like help to get clothing for your child, we will start matching children up with gear and sending this home next week. If you offered to loan clothing - I will contact you if we need it. If you are looking for a good place to hire clothing and goggles, Snowmania rents gear at very reasonable prices: 4 Dalgety Street, Riccarton Phone: 03 961 6747. Remember that we arrange the skis, boots and helmets through Mt Hutt; you don't need to sort this equipment. 

Being dressed for the mountain conditions makes such a difference to the enjoyment of the day. Below is a reminder of what your child will need. 

• Several thin layers are much better for keeping warm and comfortable than a bulky layer. Cotton is not great for the mountains; thermal clothing is what’s needed.
• Polypro or woollen thermal top
• Thermal ‘long-johns’ or tights
• Fleece or woollen top / jersey
• Waterproof pants
• A warm weatherproof jacket
• Woollen or thermal socks, not too thick. Socks need to come up to mid-calf at least.
• Weatherproof gloves or mittens
• Either sun glasses or ski goggles
• A scarf is optional, but must be tucked into their jacket, to avoid dangling ends.
• Hats are not needed as all children will be given a helmet
• Sunscreen, for the face
• A substantial lunch, including a drink. The mountain cafe is very expensive. Children may bring some money for a hot drink or snack, but please also pack a lunch. They are responsible for looking after any money they bring.
• Long hair needs to be tied up. Children who get asthma should have their inhalers with them.

Sports news

Our fingers are crossed for a fine day on Tuesday so that we can go ahead with our Year 5-8 duathlon. For those who have entered, bikes need to be placed in the stands which will be by the Norwood entrance to the park before 8:30am. Remember to lock the bike to the stands as this area will not be supervised in the morning.

Our final winter sport session is this Thursday.

Self-Defence

This coming week we welcome back Lynda Maindonald from the Girls’ Self Defence Project. This project has been set up to equip girls with the skills and strategies to keep safe. Our Year 8 girls will have 8 hours of tuition with Lynda over 3 sessions. We are organising this in two groups with the first group starting on Wednesday. 

Photo Gallery

Speaker boxes under construction at hard materials technology.

Wednesday's Beckamath Competition

A selection of photos from the many fabulous Cantamath projects.

Duathlon Postponed

 Given the soggy condition of Beckenham Park, we are postponing our Year 5- 8 duathlon to next Tuesday, August 17th.

Duathlon Information for Year 5 - 8 Competitors

 This message is for those with children who have entered the school duathlon. Please share this post with your duathlete. 

• Our duathlon is this coming Tuesday afternoon, starting at 1:30. 
• Duathletes can wear their house top and will need a warm jacket for before and after their event. For those who need them, please to remember their inhalers.
• Children are to bring their bikes to the bike-stands which will be by the Norwood entrance to the park on Tuesday morning before school. Year 7 & 8 will need to be extra early, as they will need to do this before getting to the hub at 8:30 for tech. 
• Children need to lock their bikes and take their helmets with them to their hub.
• Duathletes eat lunch at 12:40 and then unlock their bikes.
• The daily notices will tell them when to meet at the cricket pavilion.
• Parents are welcome to support their children. Please stay on the park near the finishing area, to avoid getting in the road of the competitors.

We need the support of some adult helpers to run this event. Please fill in this form if you can help out.

The course description is below. It would be a great idea to practice this before Tuesday. Please email Nicky if you have any questions about the course.

Run 1 (1km)

• Start on park, out from the adventure playground
• Follow the marked course on the grass towards school and on around the park
• Run along the fenceline of the park and down the hill towards Eastern Tce.
• Once on Eastern Tce run towards Fisher Ave, along Fisher Ave to Norwood St and down Norwood to the park entrance.
• Run into the park to the bike racks which will be on the right near the park entrance.

Bike: (1.8km)

• On bike follow the garden loop track to the main path
• Stick to the right-hand side of the path
• Ride along the gravel path in front of school and around to the path that leads down to the ponds, before the adventure playground. 
• Turn left onto the path that goes above the ponds
• Ride to the hairpin bend that takes you back up to the park.
• Follow the gravel path towards the adventure playground and on around in front of school.
• At this point there will be bikes going both ways - stick to the right.
• Keep following the gravel path up to where it branches off toward Norwood Rd
• Loop back onto the garden path for a second full lap. (repeat what you have just done)
• At the end of your second lap, hand your bike to the marshalls who will lay it on the grass

Run 2 (1km)

• Run out to Norwood St and turn right heading to Fisher Ave
• Run down Fisher to Eastern Tce
• Run down Eastern Tce to the park entrance.
• Run up the hill and follow the cones to the finishing chute which will be in front of school.

Kauri Whānau Week Update: Term 3 Week 2

 In this post:

• Cantamath
• Duathlon
• Ski trip
• Leadership awards
• Sports news

Cantamath:

By now your child should be underway with their Cantamath Project. We have had a number of conversations recently with children who needed some help to decide on their project. Encourage your child to see us urgently if they are yet to get underway with an idea. A reminder that this project is done at home and that it is due next Friday, August 13th.

Duathlon:

This event is taking place next Tuesday afternoon. The sign-up form is on the Kauri Google Classroom.

Ski trip:

Many thanks to the 46 people who have filled in the ski trip form. We need everyone to complete this form, so if you are one of the 74 yet to do it, please click here. 

Leadership Awards:

At our assembly this Friday, starting at 12 noon, we will be presenting a large number of leadership awards. It is particularly exciting to be able to present gold awards, to those students who have earned 400 leadership points. At the start of term 2, we presented gold awards to: Ava, Grace, Zara M, Zoe C, Jonty and Molly. This Friday we will be presenting gold to Rosie, Tabea, Marcellus and Jayda.

Sports News:

Congratulations to Jenni's hockey team and Cory's netball team who have qualified for Canterbury Winter Tournament. This is held on the 26th of August. Hockey is playing at Nunweek Park and netball at Hagley Netball Courts.

On Monday this week, our volleyball and basketball players competed in the Canterbury Indoor Tournament. We were so proud of the sportsmanship and positivity displayed by all three of our teams who competed. We were also very proud of their achievements. Our volleyball team and our boys' basketball team were placed 4th. Our girls' basketball had a clean sweep finishing in first place! A big thanks to Cory, Jamie and Anna who coached and supported our basketball teams.