Get Your Comedy Evening Tickets Now!

On Saturday May 19th, our very own funny man, Mr Jarred Skelton and friends, will be on stage in the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto hall. Jarred and his friends have entertained us in previous years and we can guarantee plenty of giggles and side splitting laughter. This stuff is great for your well-being, so grab some friends, buys your tickets and book that babysitter...

Click here to book your Comedy Evening Tickets.

Proceeds go towards the Year 7 & 8 Dunedin Camp. We've been there and done that and it was awesome! Now we just need to finish the fundraising to pay all the bills. We have worked hard to make this camp affordable for our families. Please support this fun night out.

Kauri Student Response Needed

Many thanks to those who have already asked their children to fill in the forms for passion choices and Dunedin camp feedback. There are also some who have yet to fill in their winter sport choices. Please check with your children and get them to fill in the following, if they haven't already done so:

• Passion Choices
• Dunedin Camp Feedback
• Winter Sport Choices

We'd appreciate these done ASAP. Those who don't will be asked to do this as soon as they get to school on Monday. If we got this info by tomorrow, Friday, it would really help with our planning. 

Many thanks.

Student Camp Feedback: Correct Link

Jolly heck! Sorry about the wrong link to the camp feedback form. Here is the correct one...

Student camp feedback form.

Kauri Whānau: Important Holiday Messages

We are hoping that everyone has caught up on sleep post camp and that the holidays are going well.

Please get your children to ...

We have two forms that we would appreciate your child completing over the next couple of days.

• Passion choices for term 2 
• Camp feedback while it is still fresh in their minds.

We are planning to put together a Dunedin camp photo book. This will be a great way to preserve the memories of our fabulous week down south. In the children's survey form there is a box to tick if you would be interested in purchasing a photo book. As well as photos, it will also include writing from the children. Cost will be around $25. At this stage we are just after an indication of numbers. An official order form will come later.

Reading and Maths Groups

This term we will be using a different approach to reading and accordingly have adjusted our reading groups. After gathering student voice about maths, we have also made some changes to maths groups for this coming term. Please remind your child to check the groups display as soon as they arrive at school on Monday.

High School Information

This is the term that we get lots of information about high schools and open days / evenings. We have set up a display in the maker space to share information that we receive.

Currently there are brochures and letters to take from Shirley Boys' High School. Shirley Boys' have a community open night on Thursday May 24th from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. There are also parent information evenings run by John Laurenson, the school principal, on 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th of May, from 6:00 - 7:30pm.

Missing anything?

In the maker space we have laid out all of the unclaimed items from camp. We also have a number of baking containers. Please check the photos below to see if any of your child's property needs collecting on Monday. We are happy to make a future camp supply of any unwanted tea towels.

ICAS Assessments

Kia ora Parents and Caregivers

Last year we offered children the opportunity to take part in the Kiwi Competitions. Following the feedback we received, we have decided to return to offering the ICAS assessments.

ICAS is an independent, skills-based assessment program which recognises and rewards student achievement. ICAS is unique, being the most comprehensive generally available suite of academic assessments for primary and secondary school students.

Entries are administered by the school. For further information, please consult the ICAS website - https://www.eaa.unsw.edu.au/icas/about. Each participant will receive a certificate and a detailed report of there performance.

The assessments will be administered on the following dates:

Subject/Paper	Official Sitting Date
Science	29 May 2018
English	31 July 2018
Mathematics	14 August 2018

Each assessment costs $9.50 to enter. Payment for these competition fees will need to be paid in full by Friday 11 May 2018. You can pay with eftpos at the school office or online school's bank account (ASB 12-3148-0131641-000) with the reference ‘ICAS’ and child’s name as the code. Please note that payment for the Science assessment is due on Monday 30 April - my apologies for any inconvenience this causes.

You can find the link to the entry form here by clicking here

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email - hannah.elliott@beckenham.school.nz.

Ngā mihi nui,

Hannah

Dunedin: Day Four

Are we there yet? Another fabulous day down here in the south, though getting home to our families and beds tomorrow will be just as fabulous!

The morning was spent with the children and staff from Carisbrook School. The sports teams headed to an indoor stadium to compete in touch, volleyball and basketball. The children gave of their best, displayed good sportsmanship and it was great to see the children develop skill and confidence during the games. The trophy went to Carisbrook this time.

Meanwhile at Carisbrook School, the children were working and playing together.  The time started with an official welcome to which our gorgeous children replied with real confidence and enthusiasm.  Carisbrook had organised teachers to take groups for Silks (aerial acrobatics), dance lessons, chess, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths challenges). They had a blast! A huge thanks to Carisbrook for their warm welcome and fabulous activities.

After a hearty lunch provided by Carisbrook, we were off to Cadbury World. Many children found their happy place! The chocolate freebees flowed generously and sugar levels soared. Just under half the group then put that sugar to good use by walking to Tunnel Beach, while everyone else had a great time at the Early Settlers Museum. Tunnel beach was wild, windy and wonderful, such a majestic section of the southern coast.

As I write this post, excitement is building as final rehearsals for the camp concert are underway. We are in for an entertaining evening to finish off camp.

We are looking forward to seeing you all when we return tomorrow. Our ETA is 5pm, however we will let you know a more accurate time when we are on the road, after lunch.

Exploring the beautiful railway station.

A hearty Carisbrook welcome.

Lots of new dance moves.

STEM challenges...

Another birthday...

Dunedin: Day 3

Today we headed out with layers of warm clothing, a cosy jacket and woolly hat. First destination was Baldwin Street. The rain stopped for us to complete the epic climb. Everyone made it to the top, some of us much faster than others. The three jaffas that we rolled downhill, weren't as successful, all becoming casualties of the journey.

Then we headed into the museum and university. We were so impressed with the surveying dept and the learning they put together for us. A number of children were inspired by this potential future career pathway. The Planetarium was an awesome way for the children to learn about our solar system. A number of the adults, caught a few zzs as the stars twinkled down on us. Next it was off to the butterfly rainforest, another magical experience. As was the discovery centre, where we could have spent the whole afternoon.

After a day of learning, we climbed aboard the bus, and headed up to Moana Pool. We had the hydro-slide to ourselves, as well as use of the leisure pool and diving pool. There were many first time experiences and lots of wide smiles, as we embraced challenge!

After a dinner of yummy nachos and a birthday celebration for Maddi, we headed out again on the Hair-raiser Tour and glow worms walk. What a day! All tucked up in bed now, recharging the batteries for another full on day tomorrow.

We all made it to the top of Baldwin St!

Some were faster than others!

There were casualties, but not the human kind.

A surveying lab experience.

That drone was very impressive and mighty expensive!

Learning about our solar system in the Planetarium.

The exhibits in the discovery centre were highly engaging.

Learning about Dunedin's spooky history.

The serious contenders!

Made it!

Dunedin: Day Two

What a day we have had! The weather, while cold, gave us snippets of sunshine, hail showers and enough fine breaks to make being on the go outside OK. It was perfect albatross weather and we saw lots of them flying. The Monarch cruise was a fabulous way to see the wildlife and provided some thrills along the way. Four chicks were nesting in view of the albatross observatory and we even saw one being fed by its parent! This was a real treat. Then we were off to Larnach Castle to hear its interesting and slightly spooky past, and admire the work of art that this building is. It was cottage pie for dinner, divine (thanks to the cooks), before we jumped back on the buses for night time exploration. The lodge group went off on the hair-raiser tour (and a few hairs were raised!), while the cabins group explored a bush track, lined with glow worms. Just the right amount of scary and magical! It was great to have Megan Harris join us for dinner and be our glow worm guide. We finished the day with a some more of our shared novels before heading off to bed. The troops have settled to sleep very quickly tonight, as you might imagine after such a fun-filled day.