Kauri Blog - Term 3, Week 10

 Kauri Blog - Term 3, Week 10

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the Kauri hub, with tamariki engaged in a wide range of end-of-term learning and exciting EOTC opportunities. From classroom projects and assessments to experiences beyond the school gates, students have been making the most of every moment, showing focus, teamwork, and enthusiasm as the term draws to a close.

Upcoming Dates for Term 4:

• Week 1: 

• Throughout the week: Class Speech Competitions

• Tuesday: Peer Mediator Training

• Wednesday: Year 5-8 Relationships & Sexuality Education: Parent Information Evening

• Friday: Celebration Assembly

• Week 2: 

• Throughout the week: Walk or Wheel to School week

• Wednesday: Year 7-8 Speech Finals

• Thursday: Year 8 Photos

Kauri & Pohutukawa Choir
The Kauri and Pohutukawa Choir had their Area Rehearsal for their upcoming performance on Friday 7 November. Tickets are now available through the following link, which also includes any additional information you may need: https://musicfestival.school.nz/

A huge ngā mihi to Megan for all of her mahi in preparing the choir and helping them sound beautiful. If you have any questions about choir, please reach out to Megan directly at megan.harris@beckenham.school.nz.

Kauri Ski Day
We had a fantastic day up the mountain for our Ski Day, and for many students it was a clear highlight of the term. The weather was kind, the snow was great, and the enthusiasm from our tamariki was infectious. It was awesome to see so many stepping beyond their comfort zones — from learning how to ski for the first time to challenging themselves on the bigger slopes. The determination, resilience, and teamwork on display were outstanding. Ski Day is one of those experiences our students will remember for a long time, and it was wonderful to see them embracing the challenge with such energy and pride.

A huge thank you from Team Kauri to Nicky, whose organisation and planning made the whole day possible, and to the many parents who came along to support. From helping with gear to cheering on the slopes, your contribution made a massive difference. 

Pō Whakangahau - Te Whānau Mahi Tahi Performance
He pō whakahirahira tēnei, kī tonu i te hari me te whakamanawa o ngā tamariki! This was a special evening, full of joy and the courage of our tamariki! Our Kapa Haka group, Te Whānau Mahi Tahi, recently performed at Pō Whakangahau at Cashmere High School. The performance showcased the amount of mahi and aroha that had gone into their preparations, as the tamariki represented Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto with pride and mana. Tamariki – your kaiako could not be prouder of you, and we hope you are so proud of yourselves too.

NFL Tournament
We had three Kauri students, Misha, Nick, and Clarel, as part of the NFL Flag Tournament team that represented Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto at the Canterbury U12 Tournament on Monday of Week 10. It was a fantastic day with great weather, exciting competition, and awesome exposure to a new game; and a big thank you to Chris from Pohutukawa who stepped up to take the team. Our students gave it their all on the field and came away with plenty of new skills, experiences, and memories.

Koru Games
Week 10 saw the long-awaited Koru Games take place. We had a record number of 93 students from the Kauri Team participating across seven different sports. This was an incredible feat, supported by three staff and nineteen parent helpers across the three days. For many of our tamariki, this was their first exposure to a competitive environment and, in some cases, an entirely new sport. The sportsmanship, behaviour, and hard work displayed throughout the event made us incredibly proud of our Kauri learners. 

We want to give a special shout out to our Ultimate Frisbee team who finished as the Bronze Medallists! What an incredible result. A very well done to Ben W, Max, Oscar R, Samson, Dylan, Robbie, Alfie & KJ. Karawhiua!

To all of our parent helpers, we are extremely grateful for you giving up your time — whether it was for one day or all three. Our students could not have these experiences without you, and we are so lucky to have had nineteen incredible volunteers who helped make this event a massive success and a truly memorable experience for our team.

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini - My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective.

                                

Beckenham’s Got Talent
And to finally end what has been a busy two weeks and term, we celebrated with Beckenham’s Got Talent! Kauri was represented by Ben Stoney – The Piano Whiz, Hanna O’Sullivan – The Irish Dancing Queen, and A.L.A.R.M. – The Next Generation of Musical Brilliance. These three acts were a brilliant display of talent from the Kauri Team and truly blew us all away! It was wonderful to enjoy all the acts from across the school and cheer them on as they demonstrated our value of We Love Challenge.

Thanks for an incredible team and we are looking forward to getting back into it for our final 2025 term after the break. Have a safe and enjoyable school holiday with your tamariki!

Nga mihi nui,
Hugo, Kate, Sarah, Chloe, Nicky & Megan

 Term 3 Week 8

Beckenham has got Talent!

Our Beckenham’s Got Talent contestants were a huge success, impressing us with their creativity, confidence, and skill. From the high standard set in auditions through to the final show, every performance shone and made the event a memorable celebration of talent. A big thank you to all of our students for sharing their talent with us.

For our final Kauri line up we have Hanna, Ben S and A.L.A.R.M. We look forward to seeing you there if you able to attend in Week 10, Friday 1.30pm.

Ski Trip

Thank you for your understanding and flexibility around the postponement and new skiing date. We know there were a lot of disappointed students and (teachers). We are exciting to be going this Wednesday the 10th instead. A big thank you to Mt Hutt for being so accommodating. 

Hikoi

In Week 7, our City Hikoi took us to several significant sites, including Margaret Mahy Playground, Quake City, and the Christchurch Art Gallery. It is always special to be able to offer these opportunities to our Kauri students, and we are grateful to our support team and whānau whose help made the trip possible. Experiences like this also provide a wonderful chance to see students thrive outside the classroom and share their learning in new ways.

Passions- Drawing

Passions. this term is well underway. This term we have a second Felting workshop a series of S.T.E.M projects, debating and drawing. In drawing we have been looking at shading techniques and a number of different artist that inspire us. 

Cantamath 2025

Last Wednesday we had two teams competing at the annual Cantamath competition, solving 20 challenging maths problems over an intense 30 minute period. Our Year 7 team scored 75 points, coming in the top 15 of a 85-90 team field. The Year 8s came in 10th= with a score of 90 points. A fabulous result for both teams. We also had a large number of entries in the projects competition, with at least half of our entries being awarded Highly Commended or Excellence awards. 

Fibonacci

This term we explored Fibonacci numbers and their fascinating link to square roots, helping us see the bigger picture of how mathematics connects to the world around us. Students observed how Fibonacci numbers appear in nature, patterns, and art, bringing maths to life in exciting ways. Rowan Matthews also showed this in her Cantamath project on Fibonacci numbers.

Te Awa guests- some wanted some not!

Te Awa had an opportunity to take a closer look at New Zealand Predator Free 2050. As part of our science inquiry into extinct, endangered and threatened. We had some real life predators and prey from our friends at The Department of Conservation. This gave us a unique opportunity to do some close work observations and scientific drawings. 

Upcoming dates for the diary;

Week Nine- 8-12 September

Monday- Cashmere alternative testing day.

Wednesday- Ski Trip

Thursday Evening Te Whānau Mahi Tahi performance at Cashmere

Friday - Staff Only Day

Week 10- 15-19 September

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday- Koru Games

Friday- Last day of Term 3.

Kauri News - Week 6, Term 3

 

What a Busy Few Weeks in the Kauri Hub! It’s hard to believe that we are only halfway through the term, because the past two weeks in the Kauri Hub have been absolutely packed with events and it doesn’t look like things will be slowing down any time soon! We kicked things off with a night of fun and energy at our school disco. It was fantastic to see so many of our ākonga out on the dance floor, enjoying themselves and showing off some impressive moves. The smiles and laughter throughout the evening were a real highlight.
Not long after, we were straight into one of our major fundraising events of the year – cheese rolls! The effort that went into making, packaging and distributing them was incredible. A big thank you goes out to everyone who supported this initiative, whether by lending a hand or by ordering (and eating!) the delicious rolls. Fundraising efforts like these make such a difference for our hub and the experiences we can offer our tamariki.
The weather then turned it on for our duathlon, giving us perfect conditions for students to put their skills into action. It was inspiring to see so much determination, resilience and school spirit on display as our competitors took on the course. Everyone gave their best effort, and it was wonderful to cheer each other on from the sidelines.
Adding to the excitement, we celebrated Maths Week in week5! Each day our ākonga were challenged with a problem to solve. Those who cracked the challenge had their names entered into a draw, with prizes awarded on Friday. The problem-solving energy around the hub was fantastic to see, and it was a great reminder that maths can be fun, collaborative, and full of surprises.
We have also wrapped up our winter sports season for the year. It has been fantastic to see students representing the school with pride and enthusiasm across different codes. The commitment, teamwork and sportsmanship shown throughout the season are things our hub can be really proud of. Alongside this, our four square competition took place at school in week 5, proving that you don’t need a big field or a fancy set-up to have plenty of excitement and healthy competition. A huge congratulations to the students who represented Beckenham at Cathamath! Our Year 7 mathematicians achieved an outstanding result, finishing in the top 15, while our Year 8 team placed in the top 10. On top of this, many of our students were recognised with awards for their submissions. We are incredibly proud of the effort and mathematical thinking shown by everyone involved. And we still have even more to look forward to in the coming weeks! Our city trip is just around the corner. We will be heading into Christchurch city for a day of learning, exploration and discovery. Visiting Quake City, The Art Gallery and some sites of significance. We are also gearing up for our Mt Hutt Snow Trip on September 3rd – an experience that is always a highlight of the year for both ākonga and staff.  All in all, the last fortnight has been a whirlwind of activity, and the calendar shows no sign of easing up. We’re proud of the way our tamariki have thrown themselves into every opportunity, and we’re looking forward to continuing this momentum right through to the end of term. Mā tātou katoa te waka e hoe - We get there together.