Kia ora e te whānau! Welcome to the Kōwhai team's week 8 blog.
World Culture Inquiry
During term 3, Kōwhai students have been learning about countries from around the world. Each homegroup has looked at flags and greetings. It has been great to hear students using some of these greetings during our morning roll call! In recent weeks, students chose a country that they were particularly interested in and conducted research to learn more. They gathered this information, recorded it, and then presented it in a poster or slideshow. We are very impressed with how much effort was put into this project and it was wonderful to witness the passion and excitement for learning about different cultures!
Here are some examples of the finished posters:
A reminder about our upcoming Willowbank trip which is taking place on the 20/09/2025 (Week 9, Friday). This week we have shared the social story with students. If you are interested to know more about this trip or think it would be helpful to discuss this at home with your child, here is the social story.
Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to help with this trip. If you are a parent helper, your child's homegroup teacher will be in touch in the coming week.
Over the past few weeks, we have noticed that some students have been wearing non-uniform clothes and footwear to school. While we understand that this is sometimes for a good reason, it is important that, where possible, students are following the dress code for Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. If your child is wearing non-uniform clothes to school, please send an email or note to the homegroup teacher. For more information about school uniforms, please visit this link. Thank you for supporting your child to wear the correct uniform.
Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori
Next week Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto will be celebrating Te Wiki o te reo Māori (Māori Language Week).
Māori Language Week, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, is a time for all New Zealanders to celebrate and encourage the use of te reo Māori in the classroom, home, workplace, community and beyond.
With over 900,000 Māori living in New Zealand and thousands more living in nearby islands and countries, te reo Māori is highly important and valued. Māori Language Week is celebrated through speaking, song, dance, cultural displays and community events. The overarching theme for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks is sustainability.
When was Māori Language Week created?
Māori Language Week commemorates the presentation of the Māori Language Petition to parliament on 14th September 1972. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori has taken place every year since 1975. It is an opportunity to celebrate, promote and help revitalise the language across Aotearoa.
What is Te Reo Māori?
Te reo Māori is the second most widely spoken language in New Zealand. It was recognised as an official language in 1987.
Like any language, te reo Māori has a lot of interesting characteristics that make it stand out. Unlike the English Alphabet, which has 26 letters, the Māori alphabet has 15 letters or distinct sounds.
- Five vowels: a, e, i, o, u
- Eight consonants: h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w
- Two digraphs (two letters that combine to represent one sound): wh, ng
Short vowel sounds are pronounced as follows: | Long vowel sounds are pronounced as follows: |
a as in about | ā as in fast |
e as in enter | ē as in led |
i as in eat | ī as in peek |
o as in awful | ō as in worn |
u as in to | ū as in moon |
Māori Language Week gives all Kiwis an opportunity to learn some basic Māori words and phrases. It gives students who speak Māori the opportunity to further celebrate and share their knowledge in the classroom. There are also community events that take place across New Zealand to celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.
For more information about how you and your whānau (family) can support Te Wiki o te reo Māori, please visit this website.
Staying Safe Online: Scams
People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!
It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.
Read their scam tips here.