Year 7 & 8 Team @ Beckenham: Kauri Whanau Update: Term 1 Week 9

After an action packed leadership week, we are now settling back into routine in the Kauri Whanau. Hopefully your child has shared with you some of their highlights from last week. Listening to Mark Inglis speak was inspiring. The children were extremely focused and asked great questions. We have often referred back to the wisdom he shared, as it speaks so strongly to the children. The Year 8s impressed us with the way they applied the 7 habits in a wide range of practical activities, during their two day camp. We were also thrilled to hear feedback from the Year 1-4 staff at Beckenham, about how the Year 7 leaders interacted and guided the younger children so positively on Friday.

'Very impressed with the organisation and maturity of all our leaders!'
'The three boys took a group of children outside to play a range of games. The children came back full of enthusiasm and happiness. Gail, from Room 20 had been out there with them and commented on how well they had organised and managed the children.'
'The Year 7 girls were confident and well prepared. They brought positive energy and demonstrated competence and initiative in carrying out their activities. The sensitivity, warmth and understanding that they showed towards these young juniors ignited the connection and respect needed for a productive working relationship. '

Home learning:

The children currently have their final maths home learning for the term. This is due next Friday. We are underway with a leadership inquiry that involves leader research, story retelling and quote interpretation, all with links to the 7 habits, as well as personal reflection. The children will need to spend time on this inquiry at home as well as at school. It is all on google classroom, and can be accessed wherever there is an internet connection. Please ask your child to show you this work and encourage them to spend time continuing their inquiry research and recording at home.

Kiwi Competitions:

If your child is interested in competing in the University of Canterbury Kiwi Competitions, (NZ's ICAS), and they have yet to put in an entry, please click on this link.

Winter Sport: Coaches Required:

Winter Sports starts in Term 2. We are seeking parent helpers to manage/coach teams alongside our teaching staff and are particularly looking for volunteers to support with hockey, football and netball teams. If you are keen to support us in this we would love to hear from you. Please email expressions of interest to Jenny at jenny.diggle@beckenham.school.nz. We look forward to hearing from you!

J-Rock:

We are now underway with the whole team working on our collaborative dance performance for J-Rock. J-rock is the junior section of Stage Challenge, a worldwide dance competition and celebration for schools. Each school puts together an 8 minute performance based on a theme of their choice. To fit in with our learning around identity, our performance will tell the story of our school's history. On either Thursday the 18th or Friday the 19th of May, we will be spending the entire day at Horncastle Arena. The day will involve rehearsals, watching other school's performances, whole group meetings and free time activities. We stay right through to the evening performances. It is a huge and very memorable day. We have done this twice before in 2013 and 2015 and the children have loved the experience. At the moment a number are coming to grips with stepping out of their comfort zones, but in just five days we have seen enthusiasm blossom. Please make sure that the two dates above are marked in your diary; we will have confirmation of which is our performance day very soon.