Week 8 Update

With just two weeks to go, we have a number of important reminders...

Midsummer Night's Dream: It is all finally coming together and we are very excited about performing on Thursday evening, Dec 6th. This performance involves ALL YEAR 7 & 8 STUDENTS. They need to be at school that night by 6:15 if make-up is required and everyone else by 6:45. All students should know what to wear, props children to dress in black, if your child is unsure they need to speak with their Arts Academy teacher. We are having a dress rehearsal on Monday Dec 3 in the afternoon.

Canterbury Athletic Champs: All the best to our team of talented athletes who travel to Ashburton on Wednesday Dec 5th. If you are in the team, you must meet Mrs Inwood at 6:50am outside Hillview Christian School to catch the bus.

Pool Day: We are off to Jellie Park on Friday Dec 7th, straight after the final PRIDE assembly which starts at 9am. The charge for this trip is $ .... for bus fare and pool entry, plus $...... for hydro-slide. A notice about this trip was sent home on Friday.

Technicraft: Our final tech session for the term is on Tuesday Dec 4th.

Languages: These continue until the last week of term.

Home Learning: The last home learning assignment for the year is due on Friday Dec 7th. No more maths home learning will be given this year.

Attitude Afternoon: We have been pleased with how our Year 7 & 8s have been holding their behaviour together and applying themselves to their work. As a reward for this we are holding our Attitude Afternoon on Thursday Dec 6th. The children will have a choice of watching a movie, playing games outside or playing on tech devices. By Monday Mr Rodger will have chosen a movie, if required a note will come home for you to sign giving permission for your child to watch the movie.

Celebration of Learning: On the last Monday of term, Dec 10, you are invited to drop into your child's class, with your child some time between 3 and 6pm. The purpose of this visit is for your child to share their learning with you, have a quick chat with their teacher and collect their school report. We hope you take up this opportunity. If you can't make it along, reports will be sent home later in the week.

Last week of the year:
Monday Dec 10:

• Matinee performance of Midsummer Night's Dream: 1:30 - 3:00
• Celebration of Learning: 3pm - 6pm

Tuesday Dec 11:

• Canterbury football fun afternoon for all Year 7 & 8s

Thursday Dec 13:

• Year 8 Graduation Assembly starting at 11am, followed by a lunch in the hall. You should have received an invitation about this. Please return reply slips to office ASAP. Year 8s finish school for the year after the lunch.

Friday Dec 14:

• Students meet with their 2013 teacher - 10:50
• School finishes for the year at 12:30.

Saturday Dec 15:

• Phew!

Week 7 Update

We are hurtling through the term at a great rate of knots! Lots is happening in team 7 & 8...

Midsummer Night's Dream: Excitement is building as we draw closer to our performance evening on Thursday December 6th. Most students are providing their own costumes, please ask your child if they have got themselves organised with this. In week 7 we are combining all of the academies; drama, dance, music, singing and visual art, to bring the show together. Many thanks to those who have sent along green fabric for our trees, we now have enough.

Attitude Afternoon: Last week we had a talk with the children about three things that they need to focus on as we head towards the end of the year. Making good choices about what we say to each other and not passing on rumours (coming to a teacher with concerning information rather than passing it on); staying out of classrooms at break times and maintaining a positive attitude to learning, being a responsible class member. We have introduced a points system, when all classes reach their points target we will have an 'Attitude Afternoon' to reward their good behaviour. The afternoon will include choices of; a movie, sport and outside games and playing on electronic devices. There will be a permission slip to sign in regards to the movie, this will come home the day before. The students have responded and we are pleased with how well things are ticking along in Year 7 & 8 at this time of the year. Roll on Attitude Afternoon!

Pool Day: A notice will be coming home next week about our end of  term pool day at Jellie Park. This will be on Friday Dec 7th, the day after our performance evening. The day starts with the final PRIDE assembly at 9am, then we will head off to Jelly Park at 10am, returning by 3pm. The children will have the option of hydro-sliding (extra cost). Hopefully summer temperatures have returned by then!

Year 8 Final Assembly & Prize Giving: An invitation will come home to Year 8 families about this celebration within the next week. Please send the reply back quickly as we need numbers for the lunch that follows the assembly. Thurs Dec 13, starting at 11am. Year 8 children finish for the year following the lunch.

Self Defence: Over the past two terms all of our girls have spent 5 afternoons developing self defence skills. Their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. A huge thanks to Lynda Maindonald who brings the Self Defence Project to our school free of charge. We will continue to offer this biannually to our girls. Some of the girls' feedback...

• This course should continue through Beckenham because it prepared girls for future happenings. I feel like I can do anything now.
• This course makes girls my age feel stronger, safer and more confident. I want to thank everyone who made this course, it made me a powerful girl.
• It was fun, I learnt heaps and now I feel more confident and aware.

Electronics Day: 12 Year 7 students had a very inspiring and exciting day on Monday as they worked with electronics ambassadors to create electronic Christmas trees that played music and flashed lights. This model of learning, provided by Future in Tech, is superb; students work in small groups with an expert in the field. They put together circuit-boards, soldered it all together and programmed their devices. There was lots of opportunity for discussions about working in the electronics industry.

Week 5 Update

Drenched yet buzzing! Top team was full of teamwork, laughter, determination and water. An awesome event, everyone was fully focused and giving their best for their team. Ka pai Year 7 & 8! A big thanks to Sport Canterbury and the senior students from Cashmere (mostly ex-Beckenham) who came along to run the events. Will post more pics in photo gallery.

 

Athletics: A big congratulations at all who competed at the Zone Athletics on Thursday. Our team excelled with over 30 qualifying for the Canterbury Athletics in December. We think this is our best achievement ever.

 

 

Midsummer Night's Dream, one evening performance only: Now that we have such a large team travelling to Ashburton for athletics on Wednesday Dec 5th, we have decided not to perform our production that evening. We will now have one evening performance on the 6th (as originally planned) and a matinee the following week for Years 1- 6 students and parents.

 

Electronics Day: 12 Year 7 students will be selected to take part in an electronics day organised by Future in Tech on Monday 19 November. Working with ambassadors from the industry, the students will put together and programme a device on a Christmas theme. Students involved will bring home a notice on Tuesday.

 

Mural Completed: It was exciting to see our cultural diversity mural go up on the library wall this week. We have heard many comments about 'how awesome' it is. Well done to all of the artists involved, and a big thanks to Ms Hastings's husband, Bruce, for putting it all together.

 

 

Week 4 Update

One of the Family: We were treated to a superb presentation on Monday by the RSPCA and Norm Hewitt. 'One of the Family' was both hilarious and poignant; looking at how we can have a dream and achieve our goals. There was also a strong message about how the cycle of domestic and animal violence needs to be broken. An extra treat was when Norm shared his dancing experiste with Mr Rodger and Mrs Inwood and later in the session they danced for us; check out the You Tube clip.

Science Interchange: This term we are spending Wednesday mornings between interval and lunch immersing ourselves in science. The bunsen burners are in action, crystals are being created and robots are being constructed and programmed.

Top Team: This coming Friday (Nov 9th) is Top Team. This is being held at Beckenham Park. All Year 7 & 8s will take part. Please ensure children come to school in uniform, but have a change of clothes suitable for physical activity.

Te Whanau Mahi Tahi will be out of school on Thursday afternoon (Nov 8th) performing at Burwood School.

School Disco is on this coming Friday (Nov 9th), seniors from 7:30 - 8:30pm, entry $2.

Week 3 Update

Athletics Day: We had a fabulous day for athletics yesterday, with many impressive performances. Great effort from everyone. This year we videoed the finals of each sprint and after school checked our results. There were a number of minor adjustments to placings, so this technology will be regularly employed in future sports days!



12 year old girls final takes off.

The start of the students vs teachers relay...

...and the student teachers are victorious!

We were impressed with the consistency of good high jump technique.

Yes that is pretty high; but even more impressive heights were jumped, with Lyle clearing 148cm!

 

 

Midsummer Night's Dream: Please make sure you have marked December 5th and 6th on your calendar. We are doing two performances of our production this year. All children need to be there on both evenings.
 

2013 Elwing Discoveries 'Year 8 Leadership Voyage': Last week I explained about this exciting opportunity (click 'Elwing' tab above). You have until Friday Nov 2nd to express your interest.
 

Inter-school sports challenge on Erin Simpson Show: Unfortunately this event has been postponed, hopefully we can be involved next year.

 

Classes for 2013: We are currently looking at our class placements for next year, please contact Ms Hastings if you see any specific needs for your child that we should take into account.

 

Top Team: On Friday Nov 9th in the afternoon Top Team is coming to Beckenham School. Last year half of our team took part in this full filled event at Opawa School. This year all our Year 7 & 8s will be involved here at Beckenham Park. Water is a key feature of several of the challenges, so a change of clothes needs to be brought to school that day. Parents are welcome to come and watch; a great opportunity to see your child in a group situation, where intiative, a proactive attitude and some persistence are necessary.

 

School Blog: You will see an extra blog link in the sidebar. The media team have taken over the regular updating of our school blog, worth checking regulary as it will be updated each Friday.

 

 

 

 



Week 2 Update

It's been great to welcome everyone to our final term. Athletics, science interchange and a team spelling bee have been highlights this week.

Spelling Bee: Thanks to the initiative of two of our Year 8 students, Jignasha and Maigan, we have had a series of class spelling bees following the 'Akeela and the Bee' AVAILLL unit. This culminated in the Team Bee held on Thursday. Each class was represented by 5 keen spellers. Congratulations to Grace from Room 19 who was first, Megan of Room 18 who came second and Kate also from Room 18 who was third. This will become an annual team event, a big thanks to Jignasha and Maigan for all their organisation.

Exciting Opportunity for Year 7: We have received information from Elwing Discoveries about their 'Year 8 Leadership Voyage' from Feb 3 - 6 2013, setting out from Bluff. Such an experience comes at a cost of $500 all inclusive from Bluff. We are keen to send a student (or possibly 2) on this voyage and are prepared to subsidise the trip by 50%. Please click on the 'Elwig' tab above to find out more.

Inter-School Challenge: The Erin Simpson Show is running an event to pit the fastest and most athletic Year 7 & 8 students against each other. Each team consists of 2 girls and 2 boys. We are keen to enter at least one team in this competition. Team members will be selected following Sports Day.

The following students have earned leadership awards. These will be presented at PRIDE assembly on Friday Nov 2nd at 10am. You are most welcome to attend.
Bronze: Sam Bacon, Liam de la Mare, Jessica Lange, Naquita Cross, Jack Harrison, Martina Hillman, Phoebe Kerr, Annalise Lightbourne, Alyssa Palmer, Xena Pope, Jack McMecking, Niamh Menzies, Sophie van Soest, Teille Gaines, Oscar Hooper, Henry Maude, Grace Moulin-Gower, Andrew Proud, Starleigh Simons

Silver: Leni Frampton, Saria Terry, Heidi Cooper, Claudia Hillyer, Julia Siddall, Brendon Dickens, James HanlonGold: Alexandra Limmer

Upcoming events:
Thurs Oct 25   Athletic Sports
Mon Oct 29   “One of the Family”presentation by SPCA
Fri Nov 9         Top Team Competition, based at school for all Year 7 & 8
Mon Nov 19    Electronics day (Future in Tech), GATE programme for Year 7
Wed Dec 5       Midsummer Night's Dream, involves all Year 7 & 8 students.Performance 1
Thurs Dec 6     Midsummer Night's Dream, involves all Year 7 & 8 students. Performance 2
Mon Dec 10     Open afternoon, a celebration of learning.
Thurs Dec 13   Prize-giving and Farewell for Year 8. Year 8s finish at lunchtime.
Fri Dec 14        Last day of the year.

* We are planning a fun day out at the end of term, event and date yet to be confirmed.

Sad News

Charlie, the much loved feathered student of Room 18 sadly passed away in the holidays. He became ill on Monday and despite efforts from the vet, died on Tuesday. We'll have fond memories of Charlie perched on Miss Harris's shoulder, helping students with their work and just hanging out with his mates in the classroom. What did you love about Charlie? Leave a comment on this blog...