Here we are in Week 6, this term has been zooming along! A special thanks to those of you who assisted us during the swimming sessions in Weeks 3 and 5. The kids were all amazing due to the fantastic organisation and your support. We will have swimming again for Kahikatea and Kowhai in 2026.
Upcoming events:
Celebrations Assembly - these will be every Friday at 10am until the end of the school year
Kapa Haka - Sarah and Ella's groups will resume weekly lessons with Whaea Kath. These are held in the school hall on Friday
Whānau Thank You - Friday 29th November 8.15am - 9am (invitations for this have already been sent out to whanau)
Kahikatea End of Year Performance - Thursday 12 December 2-3pm (in the school hall)
Transition Visits
During weeks 7, 8, and 9, our Year 2 tamariki will visit the Kowhai hub to familiarise themselves with the spaces and the different resources/play activities they can engage in when they become Year 3s in 2025. These are important visits, and your child/ren may have questions about next year, and we will do our best to answer them! Some children will need more visits than others, and each teacher has a plan for them. Class placements and teachers are still being finalised.
Staying Safe Online
As young people become more independent online, they can connect and communicate with people they don’t know.
Often this is a positive experience, but sometimes your tamariki could be being groomed or talking to someone who isn’t who they say they are. Netsafe’s advice explains how unwanted contact works, including grooming and what whānau can do to educate kids.
Kia ora e te whānau, What a wonderful fortnight we have had in Kahikatea. We have had several events and have more coming up. Here is the latest news from the Kahikatea team.
Have you got your tickets for the PTA Bingo and Silent Auction evening? This is happening on Saturday 9th November 2024.
Harold the Giraffe
The Life Education Trust brings us Harold the Giraffe. In Kahikatea we are focusing on problem solving and our emotions. It is identifying a small problem that I can fix myself, and a big problem, one that I need help with from an adult. For example, finding my hat. How can I solve this problem, where do I look, where did I put it?
The children were all engaged and participated with enthusiasm during the lessons. Thank you, Helly and Harold!
Swimming Week 5
We are looking forward to our final week of swimming next week: Mon 11th, Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th, and Thursday 14th November.
Thursday 14th November is the last day of swimming. Tamariki are asked to bring their PJs (or trackies and a t-shirt) for water safety.
Kahikatea -Art
We have been doing lots of art over the past fortnight. Different classes have been doing different arts and styles. A study of David Hockney style of water that reflects our swimming, oil pastel and watercolour, poster paint on a scene and skeleton building with cotton buds and lots of colouring.
Paralympian Visit, 14th November
"Rachael Watson is an Australian Paralympic Swimmer who has won two Paralympic gold and two Paralympic bronze medals across three games - Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. She became the first Olympian or Paralympian to win a medal in the 50m Freestyle three consecutive times and won the 500th medal for Australia. Rachael has also competed at 4 World Championships winning silver and bronze medals. She is currently training for the 2025 World Championships and aspiring to make the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic team."
Kahikatea are lucky to have Jackson Waters's cousin Rachael visit us. Rachael is a muti-medal holder, Paralympics Swimmer, for Australia. She will discuss how she made it! Thank you to Kylie Waters for setting this up.
Production
Upcoming production! Save the date, week 9, 1.30-3pm (to be confirmed). We are "secret squirrels" on details. However, more information will follow. In the meantime if you hear tamariki singing the song below.
Kindness
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) - Our focus has been on kindness with an emphasis on our words and how we speak to each other. Manners do make a difference and our tamariki are good at showing them. We appreciate the everyday kindness like opening doors, making seating room, lining up, keeping things tidy, cleaning up and lovely words. Thank you.
On Thursday the 7th of November Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto enjoyed the sounds of the violin, viola and cello. What a fantastic performance! Thank you to our musicians who shared their passions. if anyone would like more information please check the handout available at the office.
House Games
On Thursday afternoon we got to enjoy the sunshine and fun and games with our houses. These are great opportunities for our tamariki to build connections within the school.
Have a safe and happy fortnight. Feel free to contact any on the team for questions, queries or clarifications.
