Kauri Whānau: some learning for the next few days

Kia ora everyone. We hope all is well in your household as you settle down into lockdown.

As Sandy explained in her post last night, the holidays have been brought forward to start next week. That means there are just a few days left of this term. We understand that every family will be different and as you settle into this new normal, schoolwork may be far from a priority for you. Below we have listed some learning activities that are part of the normal weekly routine for our Year 7&8s. If you would like your child to engage in learning over the next few days, the list below could guide you. I have written this list to your child.

Maths:

• Xtra Maths
• Maths Whizz

Writing:

• Continue writing your leadership essay. Jenny has created a screencast that will be added to the collection of resources for this assignment on google classroom.

Reading:

• Nicky's group: either independent reading, shared reading or Steps Web for those who are signed up for this.
• Megan, Hannah and Jenny's groups: complete your Figurative Language example slide. This is on the Kauri google classroom, complete with instructions. 

Genius Hour OR Kete Blogging

• If you have everything you need at home for your Genius Hour Project and know what your next steps are, go for it - keep learning. If it won't work to continue your current Genius Hour Project, you may like to start another that is better suited to doing at home. This could be a great opportunity to learn some new skills from your parents.
• OR finish off any unfinished blogposts and post about other ways you are living our school values, either already this term, or what you are doing at home. E.g. leadership week, cheese roll making, duathlon, swimming sports, or making a meal for your family, helping to tidy out cupboards etc.

Dave, our 24/7 Youth Worker is keen to support our Year 7 & 8 tamariki over the next four weeks. If your child would like to touch base with him, they can email: dave.bisgrove@beckenham.school.nz

Leadership talks

We had two fabulous guest speakers last week. Mark Inglis was an amazing example of being proactive no matter what life throws at you. He had the children enthralled throughout his hour long presentation. Then on Tuesday Lucy Schrader-Manuera, head girl at Cashmere High, shared lots of practical tips about self leadership. Her experiences really resonated with the children and led to some great questions. She was very appreciative of the leadership experiences and knowledge she gained during her Year 7 & 8 years at Beckenham. 

The children are now applying the knowledge they have gained from listening to our speakers and their learning in class and leadership week, to write an essay on what makes a good leader. 

Mark and his climbing mate Phil spent nearly two weeks in an ice cave, the size of the space under this table. The boys were glad to get out of the cramped space after 2 minutes. 

Keeping it fun

With our new normal involving a few less of the extra experiences we usually offer in Year 7 & 8, we are looking for opportunities to keep the highlights coming. Last Friday this was in the form of a basketball game between staff and students. It was a hard fought game with some stunning basketball on display from both sides, possibly a bit more from the students. They beat the staff well and truly!

Theatre Sports

A big congratulations to our 2020 theatre-sports competitive team. The members are: Archie DeClifford, Max Graham, Tess Pratt, Amelia Reid, Connor Colquhoun and Syesha Mee. We will start weekly practices when school resumes and are looking forward to our heats in late October. The name of the team is Mission Improvable!