Latest News
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Chisnallwood Year 6 Taster Day

3 September 2019
Today our Year 6 students visited Chisnallwood so they could experience life as a Year 7 student in an intermediate. Children took part in Science, Hard Materials, Digital Technology and Textiles lessons, viewed a concert and had a shared lunch. This experience makes it real for our Year 6 students that their time at Banks Avenue is coming to an end.

Thank You Pub Charity Ltd

3 September 2019
We would like to thank Pub Charity for funding $8000 towards Chromebooks and iPads for our children. The Pub Charity have supported Banks Ave now for a number of years and we really appreciate their continued support in helping all children have access to learning tools.

Junior Module Father's Day Event

31 August 2019
Our annual Father's Day event today showed the Junior School filled with dads, grandads, brothers and uncles! Children shared their learning and listened to stories. Then everyone had a shared lunch of pizza! Take a look at the togetherness displayed today.
Journalists and photographers: Riley and Brooke (Year 5 students)

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My School Rules - We Won!

29 August 2019
​We won! Thank you everyone for your support. What a community!
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Teachers vs Students Football Match

23 August 2019
Excitement filled the school today at morning tea as the much anticipated, football match between teachers and senior students begun. You can see that the teachers were well out numbered....so who do you think won? Watch the video right to the end to find out!

Awa Visits Windsor House

19 August 2019
Children in Awa walked to Windsor House, to spend time with the residents there. Children chatted away, sung and performed a dance.  Check out the photos of this special growing relationship with the local people in our community. ​

Health Consultation Survey

14 August 2019
All schools in NZ are required to consult with their school community every two years about their health education programmes.  The purpose of this consultation is to outline the programmes that we are delivering, how we are delivering them and what we see the education needs are, within health, for our students. 
Please click below to complete the survey.

Health Consultation Survey
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My School Rules

14 August 2019
Are we still in first place? Check out the My School Rules Leaderboard here. Don't forget to cash in your receipts!
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East Zone Winter Tournament

7 August 2019
Banks Ave sent 4 teams along to the East Zone Winter Tournament at Rawhiti Domain and Haeata Campus today. Our senior students competing in games of Netball, Hockey, Rugby and Soccer. All the teams showed some great skills and teamwork and did extremely well. Our Rugby team achieved 3rd place. Well done!
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Red Zone Action Team - Playground Visit

29 July 2019
Our Red Zone Action Team toured local natural playgrounds last week as part of their design process. They visited Tamariki School, Spencer Park, Rawhiti School, Richmond Community Gardens and Adrenalin Forest. The focus was on working out how to use natural features within Adventure Ave to their best advantage. A scaled model is the next step in the process as funding is finalised. The team has been contacted by a family from Woodchester Farm near Hanmer who have a strong connection to Dallington and Woodchester Ave and we have gratefully accepted their donation of $5,000.

Team Miro HEART Celebration

4 July 2019
Team Miro held its HEART celebration today. This is a special day where the team celebrates all the values that the students have used throughout term. Today the children came dressed in pyjamas, had milo, cheese toasties and watched a movie. What a fun day! 

Extension Maths Class

3 July 2019
Tom Davies from SBHS is coming in twice a week to work with nineteen of our Year 4-6 students in an extension maths programme. The children are working collaboratively to complete a number of challenges with the learning being as much about the process as the end product. Tom says "I am loving it".

Matariki Evening

3  July 2019
What a fantastic turnout of parents and family members we had last night at our Matariki Evening. It was lovely to see so many children sharing their learning and everyone having a bite to eat together, as we celebrate the Māori New Year. 

Skipping Competition

1 July 2019
A school skipping competition has  been happening over the last few weeks with a focus on 'skipping with others with a long rope'. One competition was to see how many jumps a group of students could do and the other was for the class who had the most people jumping at the same time and/or for the longest time.
Due to popular demand, this skipping competition will continue into next term, so watch this space.

Shirley Area District Music Festival 

27 June 2019
Tonight our Banks Ave choir performed in the Shirley Area Music Festival held at Shirley Intermediate School. They sung alongside Shirley Primary, Shirley Intermediate and Waitakiri Schools. Click play to hear them singing.

Team Miro Visit The Antarctic Centre

17 June 2019
As part of our Term 2 science inquiry on 'Light and Dark', Team Miro children travelled to the International Antarctic Centre to participate in the educational programmes there. The children learnt about light, seasons, wildlife and other natural phenomena that occurs in Antartica.

Rawhiti Weekly Sport Begins

7 June 2019
For 54 children in Team Miro Rawhiti Sports begun today. Rawhiti Sport gives our children the opportunity to play regular competitive sport, develop skills and build relationships with other children in the East Zone Schools. Sports children are participating in are Football, Hockey, Netball, Rippa Rugby, Bowls, Kaiorahi, Table Tennis and Circus Skills. Today went really well and a lot of fun was had. This opportunity will continue for 9 more weeks.

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Dr Jane Goodall Visits Banks Ave

30 May 2019
Dr Jane Goodall came to visit Banks Avenue today to hear about environmental learning within our community. We celebrated with a Mihi Whakatau for our invited guests, singing beautiful waiata and showing the HEART that makes Banks Ave such a special place to be. Dr Goodall in turn greeted us with her unique chimpanzee call to “let us know Jane is here”.
Student groups from South New Brighton, Waitakiri, Beckenham and St James schools joined Banks Avenue students to share how the actions of children can make a difference in the world. Our Red Zone Action Project Team shared their Adventure Ave journey and their gratitude for the opportunity to make positive change. Dr Goodall described the presentations as “absolutely wonderful” and encouraged everyone to “take your passion and follow your dreams”.
She spent the morning interacting with the children and adults in our library and shared wise words about the importance of knowing and believing that we can make the world a better place. She reinforced that through connecting as schools both within New Zealand and across the world, that we become part of a global movement together. We finished with a ‘Seeds of Love’ workshop where we made heart shaped flower discs planted in terracotta pots.
Our final farewell came with the traditional ending for all of Dr Goodall’s meetings throughout Tanzania, as we all raised our fists in unison and proclaimed “Together we can, together we will!”
We are a proud ‘Roots’n’Shoots’ school and our learning with Sian Carvell from the Jane Goodall Institute continues as we learn to look beyond Dallington and out towards the world. This was a day to remember!

​Photographers and Journalists: Piper and Brooke

National Young Leaders Day

30 May 2019
Today our  student leaders attended National Young Leaders Day at the Horncastle Arena. Here they listened to some amazing stories about the life journeys of the speakers, the obstacles they have faced and the tough decisions they have had to make.  The speakers were  Sala Tiatia, Dr Lehan Stemmet, Ronnie Taulafo, Christian Gallen and Kings. the theme of the day was, He aha te kai a te rangatira? ​He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. What is the food of a leader? It is conversations.

​A very inspiring day.
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Our Redzone Action Team Have Hit the News!

27 May 2019
Our Redzone Action Team have featured on  the front page of The Press and on the STUFF website this morning. The article tells our story of how our children are planning an adventure park called Adventure Ave  in the red zone to help lift the community and make it a happy place to remember. 
​Click on the button to read the full article.
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From the Red Zone

26 May 2019
For the last 4 years Banks Avenue has been working with Sian Carvell on a range of environmental programmes. One of those programmes is the Red Zone Revolutionary Project where the students have designed a children's nature park called Adventure Avenue. On Sunday our Red Zone Team held a community consultation meeting to seek public feedback from local residents. The project now goes to the Christchurch City Council for approval and we were delighted that Councillor Dion Swiggs attended and invited our students to present their ideas to the Community Board. This project will be shared this Thursday with Dr Jane Goodall, as part of our role as a Dr Jane Goodall 'Roots'n'Shoots' school. We couldn't be more excited for this event and are so very proud of our Banks Avenue learners.

PTA School Disco

24 May 2019
Tonight a huge number of our children attended the school disco held in the Shirley Intermediate Hall. DJ Sal - our very Mrs Pannell led the music and dancing. A big thank you to our wonderful PTA for organising this event. Check out the photos of the fun our children had and their groovy dance moves!
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 2019 Showquest Wearable Arts Contest - We Win!

21 May 2019
Over the last couple of weeks  a group of Dudley students have been working on an entry for the 2019 New Zealand Showquest. As their inquiry this term was on space, a space theme was chosen. A lot of thought went into the creation of this outfit. If you look carefully you will see one arm is a rocket ship and the other arm is a meteorite. The skirt is the Milky Way with all of the planets attached around the circumference of the skirt. The sun sits on top of Kaia's head. The top represents Matariki and lights up with small lamps representing the stars in the distance. Tonight the team who created this participated in the Showquest Contest and won! What a great creative effort by all involved!

Zones Cross Country

21 May 2019
24 of our top runners competed today in the Zones Cross Country held at Queenspark School. Determination and grit was oozing from these students and were proud of their efforts. 

Team Miro Visit Tūranga and Museum 

21 May 2019
Over the last few weeks the children in Team Miro have visited the Canterbury Museum where they learnt the history of pounamu and the myths and legends associated with this precious stone. On this EOTC trip they also went behind the scenes at Tūranga the Canterbury Library, dancing with a robot and learning about children's literature in detail. Did you know that the library processes 14 000 books at day? 

Junior Module Mothers Day Event

17 May 2019
Many thanks for the mums, aunties or grandmothers who were able to come and join us on Friday. It was great fun to see you at school with us. Look out for our hexagon mural in the library that shows our Aroha for our mums.

​Journalists and Photographers: Alyssa and Meliame

Pink Shirt Day

17 May 2019
Today we celebrated Pink Shirt Day. Pink Shirt Day is all about taking action and standing together to stop bullying. It aligns with our value of Togetherness-Together is better. It was great to see so many children and adults wearing pink!

​Journalists and Photographers: Alyssa

Living Springs Camp

7-8 May 2019
Team building, archery, target shooting, camp fires, Initiative course, bush walks and swimming!  All in two days! What an experience Team Roto and Kuaka children have had on camp over the last two days! Check out the photos below of our children in action! A big thank you to all the parent helpers who attended. The children could not have had this experience without you.

Hanmer Springs Camp

6-10 May 2019
Tramping, tree climbing, bivouacking, hot pools, orienteering were some of the experiences our Dudley and Awa children participated in on camp. Three full days of fun and adventure. Check out the photos below of our children in action. ​A big thank you to all the parent helpers who attended. The children could not have had this experience without you!

Rugby Fun Day

3 May 2019
​Today a team  of senior boys represented Banks Avenue School at the Rugby Fun Day held at Burnside Park. They play three games and won all three! Well done boys!
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SBHS Polyfest Group Perform

11 April 2019
Today we were lucky enough to see the Shirley Boys High School Polyfest Group Perform. Check out the photos of their performance.
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Cross Country

9 April 2019
Grit, determination and attitude were seen today as our junior and senior children competed in our annual school cross country event. Congratulations to all the place getters. 

​Journalists and Photographers: Gwen, Hazel, Alyssa and Ayla

  

New School Update

4 April 2019
Click on the image to view a computer generated walk through of one of our new teaching pods.

PALs Training Day

28 March 2019
Verity, Ashlyn, Krystal, Alydia, Aaliyah, Ryan, Hamish, Kai Kai and Taylor attended the PALs Workshop run by SportCanterbury today. PALs from schools all around Canterbury attended the workshop, which focused on developing leadership and communication skills. Our PAL leaders had a great time learning to organise and run games for other kids, as well as creating their own games. They also had an opportunity to create a vision for what the PALs programme will look like at Banks Ave.

Team Totara & Team Kahikatea Aquatics 

18 - 29 March 2019
For the past two weeks children from Team Totara and Team Kahikatea have had a lot of fun participating in daily swimming lessons at Taiora QE11 Recreation and Sports Centre. Children were grouped according to skill level. Children also participated in lessons in inflatable boats, practiced wearing life jackets and had to swim in their pyjamas! What a lot of fun the children had with their learning.

Review of Fridays Crisis 

20 March 2019
Friday caught all  of us in Christchurch off guard. For us the situation was compounded by having no official communication from the Ministry of Education or the Police until close to 3 pm.  We were first alerted that there was an incident in Christchurch developing by one of the office ladies receiving a text from her daughter at Avonside saying they were in lockdown; at that stage we had  370 children assembled in the library, a bit restless as assembly was almost over.

We had two key decisions we had to make quite quickly and with little official information.
  • Did we lock down in the library or did we move the children back to their rooms?
  • Did we let the parents who were at school or those who arrived within the next few minutes take their children or did we insist they stay with us?

As with every emergency situation there are things that need to be reflected on and improved. Senior staff have had the opportunity to meet and review our processes and our decisions on the day. 

We know there are areas we need to improve on: it is important  that we get parent feedback and that as a management team and as a school we work on being  ‘better than before”.
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Team Miro - Top Team Event

19 March 2019
​​Today, children from Team Miro participated in the Top Team Challenges. These challenges involve team-based activities that promote co-operation, initiative, problem solving and communication skills. Fun, engagement, laughter and leadership were all captured with our camera this afternoon. Check out the photos of a very fun afternoon! ​

Helping your child through this time

We are aware that trauma can manifest in many different ways and can affect anyone whether directly affected or not. During the next few days, it is quite normal for your child to be hyper-vigilant, appear agitated, short-fused, angry, upset or appear withdrawn. There are a number of resources online which contain advice or recommendations for how to help children following such events, e.g.,  Allright. The Ministry of Education has also produced an information sheet which can be found here.

The recommendations available which you may find helpful, include:
  • As parents, how we respond to traumatic events such as this really matters for our children's wellbeing. A calm, considered approach will help children deal with and understand their feelings.
  • Let your child know you feel safe. Express confidence in how quickly the police responded and their ability to protect us.
  • Turn off the TV and media. For older children, be aware that there is some awful stuff on social media, try to keep them away from this.
  • It is natural to want to discuss the event with your spouse, partner or friends but it is really important that your child is out of earshot when you do.
  • Talk to your child - ask them what they experienced, how it was for them and what they know.
  • If they choose not to talk, let them know that you are there and available to talk or answer any questions they have when they are ready. "Somethings are really hard to talk about, but talking can help. If you ever want to talk about what happened, let me know."
  • Allow children time to talk, ask questions and share worries with you. They might be very confused and need to ask lots of questions. You may have to answer the same question over and over if your child is aware of what happened. When you listen you don't need to solve, just listen and be empathetic.
  • Give factual information in a way that they can understand and keep it general. You don't have to get the answers exactly right, but talk about the heroes, for example the police and how they are doing a really good job of keeping everyone safe.
  • Reassure them that this was a very unusual situation and things will go back to normal soon.
  • Stick to as many of the family routines as you can. Too many changes will add further stress. Doing the same things as usual helps children to feel safe. Distraction is good.
  • Allow times for extra closeness and comfort, especially at bed time.


​Some Websites That May be Helpful

Ministry of Health: Resources to help with mental distress after Friday's incident.

Ministry of Health: Helping children deal with trauma

Ministry of Health: Phone counselling service

Parenting Place: How to talk to kids about trauma

Allright?

Kathleen Liberty's Advice on how you can respond

Reaching Out To Our Families

16 March 2019
​Dear families
In light of the unparalleled and extremely upsetting events of Friday, we would like to reach out to our families to offer our support and add our heartfelt condolences to those who have lost loved ones. Our thoughts are also with our city and our country as everyone has been impacted by this.

We would like to thank our school community for their support or our students, staff and school yesterday. We acknowledge in particular the care that BAS staff showed for our students while they were in an extended lockdown on Friday afternoon. Every class maintained a calm and caring environment and that was because of skilled and caring teachers and support staff.

We are aware that trauma can manifest in many different ways and can affect anyone, whether directly affected or not. The wellbeing of our students and staff is our absolute priority and we will be paying special attention to ensuring everyone's needs are being met at this time. Our school is being supported by the Ministry of Education with the Ministry's trauma response plan being implemented to provide schools with support and guidance as needed. 

Staff will be carefully debriefing with our students next week and putting in place any school-wide or individual support that is needed. If you have any concerns about your son/daughter, please let your child's teacher or management know in confidence and we can discuss how best to support.

Alternatively there are city-wide support services available to support our entire community at this time.

​Kia kaha

House Day

15 March 2019
Today was our first house day for 2019. Children came dressed in their house colours and participated in lunchtime games. Below is the name and colour of our houses for those of you who are new to our school. 

East Zone Swimming Sports

13 March 2019
​Ten year 5 and 6 students took part in the East Zone Swimming Sports at Jellie Park today. They competed in a range of races including freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and a team relay.  Douglas, Lucas, Ashlyn and Kate all made it through to the finals in their events. Douglas came 3rd in the final of the backstroke so has qualified for the Canterbury Swimming Sports in this event. He also came 4th in the final of the breaststroke, which means he is back up for that event at the Canterbury's. Well done to all our competitors.

Junior Module Arts Fiesta

22 February 2019
The children in the Junior Module had a very creative day as they participated in their Arts Fiesta. Check out the photos of a very creative day!

Girls Futsal Festival

19 February 2019
Today ten of our senior students (Krystal, Ashlyn, Nation, McKenzie, Elizabeth, Taylor, Chloe, Fatana, Alyssa and Lea) competed in the Girls Futsal Festival held at English Park. The girls played 7 games in which they won 6 and drew another. The teams they played against were: St Albans Catholic, West Melton, Mt Pleasant, Shirley, Merrin and Prebbleton.  There was much excitement as they met Rosie White from the NZ Football Team. A great day had by all.

It's been really fun but tiring because you need to run and make sure the other team doesn't get a goal - Taylor

It has been fun because we get to verse other teams that we haven't met before. - McKenzie

Photographers and Journalists: Valentine and Dominic

Family Zone - Parent Evening
17 February 2019
How do you keep your child safe online? How can you limit and control their screen time no matter where they are? That is what tonight's Parent Evening was all about.  Family Zone is a package that allows you this level of control. Click on the button for more information. Don't worry if you missed it. We will be running another one soon.
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Harlem Globetrotters Come to Banks Ave

5 February 2019
Banks Ave had some very special guests today. The Harlem Globetrotters were doing a quick promotional trot around New Zealand to promote their games in April. We were lucky enough to be one of the three schools they came to visit. They passed on a message against bullying in schools and being 'up-standers' instead of 'bystanders'. We were amazed by their tricks and even got to learn some of our own!

Rata Foundation - Thank You

1 February 2019
​Once again the Rata Foundation have supported Banks Avenue School. This time they have funded $5000 worth of chairs and two trolleys. Already we have used these chairs for assemblies, parent evenings and our Mihi Whakatau. A big thank you to the Rata Foundation for their generosity each year. They have made a big difference to us here at Banks Avenue School.

Welcome Back: Mihi Whakatau

30 January 2019
Welcome back everyone. We began our school year with a Mihi Whakatau first thing this morning. A Mihi Whakatau is a ceremony which welcomes new students and teachers to our school and is less formal than a pōwhiri. This is the first time we have done this and we think it went pretty well. Check out the photos below of a great start to the school year.
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Hot Off The Press

24 January 2019
Below are some  preliminary images of our new school. Click on each image to enlarge. 

Term 1, 2019 begins with a Mihi Whakatau - All You Need To Know

19 December 2018
Here is all you need to know about the Mihi Whakatau on the first day of school next year (Wednesday 30 January).
If you are Tangata whenua (a local, exisiting staff and parents) you will need to make your way to the back court and be seated facing the creek with your back to the containers.
The Manuhiri (new staff, students and whanau) will meet the Deputy Principals, Tricia Carroll and Tracey Mora by 8:45am. They will be escorted to the back of the court and will sit facing the containers with their back towards to creek. There will be some short speeches from Maaka Kahukuranui of kapa haka tutor, Kirk McKay our Board of Trustees Chair and of course Toni Burnside our principal. 
We will sing some waiata and here are some links to the songs if you would like to start practising at home. On the day there will be booklets available that include the order of events and all the words to the waiata as well.
We are really excited about this new addition to our school tikanga (protocol) and look forward to seeing as many whanau who can make it on the day.

Happy Holidays Everyone

19 December 2018
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all. The school office in now closed and will reopen for enrolments and enquiries from Monday 28 January 8:30am - 3:30pm daily. Stationery packs will be available on Monday 28 January from 12:30 - 3:30pm and Tuesday 29 January from 9:00am - 12:00pm. 

Term 1 2019 begins Wednesday 30 January with a Mihi Whakatau starting at 9:00am.

Final Assembly

19 December 2018
The weather did not dampen the spirit of our Final Assembly.  Our  Year 6 students were farewelled in an emotional ceremony, involving the Senior girls singing with poi and our Senior boys performing the school haka. We wish our Year 6 students all the best as they begin the next journey of their education.

Team Miro Splash Day 

14 December 2018
As a fun way of ending the year Team Miro walked to Shirley Intermediate School where they had a swim and a BBQ lunch. A fun day!
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Spread A Little Heart Mufti Day

14 December 2018
The Student Council organised a 'Spread a little HEART' mufti day to help children across New Zealand that are less fortunate than themselves. Today children came to school dressed in 'something their family celebrates' and raised $319 for KidsCan. 
KidsCan works to meet the physical and nutritional needs of Kiwi kids less fortunate than others. Their mission is to provide food, clothing and basic healthcare to disadvantaged children across New Zealand. Well done everyone!

Team Miro Learner Profiles

12 December 2018
​Today you will receive your child’s Learner Profile (report). In the senior school, we are trialing a new way of reporting and we would like your thoughts on this. We really believe that each learner is unique and has strengths and talents that help them learn and succeed at school. We want to acknowledge and celebrate your child's strengths as well as, the attributes that your child uses to help them learn and because of this, we developed the 'Learner Profile'. We hope you enjoy our new style. We value what you think and would love to hear your thoughts. The survey will take less than two minutes.

Year 6 Leavers' Ceremony

11 December 2018

​The Year 6 Leavers' Ceremony was held tonight in the Shirley Intermediate Hall.  Our Year 6 students were recognised for their academic, music and sporting achievements, along with, all the service and contributions they have made to Banks Ave. It was a night of celebration of their learning, as well as, a night to farewell and wish them the best for Intermediate.  Four Year 5 students were the MCs for the evening (Toby, Rylee, Logan and Nation) and two Year 5 students managed all the technical aspects (Douglas and Hamish). What a great job they did! 

Team Kahikatea Search the Shorelines

11 December 2018
Team Kahikatea went to a windy North Beach to take part in the Christchurch City Councils 'Searching the Shorelines' programme to consolidate their Living World learning this term. They learnt about the natural and unnatural things on the beach and what they can find in the sand dunes, the beach and the ocean. They were lucky to have a yummy hot sausage sizzled by Steve that was given to us by the PTA and the BBQ was provided by ITM Dyers Road. Thanks to the PTA and ITM. The children explored Thomson Park and had fun in the magic tree, the skate bowl and flying fox. We were grateful to all of the staff and volunteers who made our trip possible. 

Learning Celebration Evening

6 December 2018
What a night we had celebrating with our community our children's learning, mixed in with a lot of fun activities! There were performances from our Kapahaka group, Jump Jam group, Musical Theatre, the Choir and Band as well as both the Junior and Senior Students performances. Classes were also open for children to share their learning with their families.

​Check out the photos of all the fun our families had together.

Thank You To The One Foundation

28 November 2018
A big thank you to the One Foundation for funding a grant of $1586.98. This has enabled us to purchase a woodwork table, some woodwork tools and a shed for Team Kahikatea. Take a look at the learning this equipment has enabled the children to do! Thank you again!
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Year 3 Taster Day

21 November 2018
Our Year 3 students were invited to a Taster Day in Team Miro last week. They participated in some digital learning, an art activity, and played some games outside with the senior students. The afternoon finished with some Year 4 children speaking about how they felt coming into the senior school at the beginning of the year. A big welcome to all our Year 3 students. We are looking forward to you being part of our team.

Team Miro Venture Out to Travis Wetlands

5-9 November 2019
​Throughout this week Team Miro children are participating in a programme called Wetlands, Waders and Water Boatman. They travelled to Travis Wetlands where they studied the waterways, the habitat and all the creatures that live there. This is part of their learning on the Living World in Science.

Zone Athletics

13 November 2018

House Day

Friday 2 November
Today children came to school dressed in their House Colours. Children in Mahuika wore red, children in Papatuanuku wore green, children in Tangaroa wore blue and children in Tawhirimatea wore yellow. 
The PAL leaders ran some fun activities during the lunch hour and the children sat in their houses to eat lunch. A very fun day!

Office of the Children's Commission

31 October 2018
​We are working again with Sian Carvell from the Office Of The Children's Commission. This time we have 3 students working with Sian on a new initiative - our first national Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, which will be published in 2019. The Strategy will set the direction for how to improve the wellbeing of children and young people in New Zealand. It is a real honour for our Banks Avenue children to be involved in this and the responses of Hamish, Jae-Lee and Joel will be fed directly back to our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and Tracey Martin, our Minister for Children. This type of learning really is making a difference in the world.

Road Accident Remembrance Day

Monday 29 October
​The Road Traffic Accident Trauma Charitable Trust (‘Trust’) is hosting the annual Road Accident Remembrance Day on Saturday, 3rd November 2018 at 10-30am on the Lake Front, North Hagley Park, Christchurch. Today our children shared some very heartfelt messages to the emergency services and those involved in post-accident care and recovery. In attendance were Fire Fighters from the ANZAC Station.
Sarah Dean, Founder of the Trust said “Children often have very heartfelt messages and this is an opportunity for the students to share it with the emergency services in their own special way”.

As one of the Team Miro students, Tessa S said, “To you this man is a hero, but to me he is my dad and he’s a superhero”.
Tessa’s dad, Michael is a member of the Banks Avenue School Board of Trustees and is a Fire Fighter for Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Christchurch Schools Music Festival

25 October 2018
Thirty members from our Banks Avenue School Choir performed tonight, with many other schools, at the Christchurch Schools' Music Festival held at the Horncastle Arena.  This event has always been a tradition for us and we were very proud of the way our children's used their HEART values throughout the evening. Well done! 

Team Miro Swimming Lessons

15-26 October 2018
​Team Miro are currently completing their annual Swimsafe aquatics programme at Taiora QEII. A lot of fun is being had as you can see. This is part one of their summer preparation and will be followed by Beach Education later in the term.
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Thank You Again Pub Charity Ltd

Picture
24 October 2018
Thank you to the Pub Charity for enabling us to purchase a T.V. for Dudley. This will be used daily to help us with our learning. It will support our BYOD programme by letting us learn in a 21st century way. Our data projector had stopped working and so we have been a little stuck. Having this new piece of equipment gets us back up and running again technologically as a learning space and it’s all thanks to you. We really appreciate your kind and generous support.




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New Zealand Shake Out

18 October 2018
Banks Avenue School participated in the New Zealand Shake Out. At 9:30am on Thursday 18 October all of our children practised our national earthquake drill, Drop, Cover and Hold, no matter where they were. Some of our children did this at Taiora, while swimming!   ShakeOut is held across the world to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake. New Zealand ShakeOut was first held in 2012, and then again in 2015.

Variety Club - Eight Bikes Donated

15 October 2018
​We were delighted on Monday afternoon to have 8 of our learners receive a new bike, helmet and sweatshirt at a presentation celebration at Riccarton Primary. Well done to Nitin, Cairo, Althea, Chloe, Moua, Daniel, Caitlin and Isileli, we know you’ll love getting out there on your bikes. A huge thanks to Variety Club for making this happen for our children.

Thank You to Max eGrant

9 October 2018
A big thank you to Max eGrant for funding $874.00  for children in need. We were able to purchase two brand new school uniforms and shoes for a number of students. Thank you. Your generosity is much appreciated.

Loud Shirt Day

28 September 2018
Our school was filled with Superheroes and Villains today all with the goal of raising funds for Loud Shirt Day.  Duffy Prizes were given to the children with the most interesting costume. If there was a prize for a teacher we think it should go to Mr Bradley! Check out his photo!
We raised a total of $368.70. Loud Shirt Day raises money for The Hearing House and the Southern Cochlear Implant Programme.
The Hearing House and the Southern Cochlear Implant Programme are the two organisations in New Zealand that teach children with cochlear implants to listen and to speak. 

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Senior Athletics

27 September 2018
Senior children ran faster, jumped higher and threw further today, as they competed in the annual Senior Athletics.  It was great to see our HEART values being used as students were seen supporting and encouraging each other throughout the day. 

Thank You New Zealand Community Trust

21 September 2018
​A big thank you to the New Zealand Community Trust for funding $2,436.98 towards music equipment. We were able to purchase a number of instruments and mics for our children to use. Thank you also to our grant team for the work involved with the application process.

Health and  Wellbeing Leadership Forum

20 September 2018
Our student wellbeing team set off today to attend the Health and Wellbeing Leadership Forum held at the Wharenui Recreation Centre. The aim was for our students to met wellbeing leaders in other schools and to share their learning on sleep. 

Walkathon

19 September 2018
Today all children participated in our bi-annual Walkathon event. The challenge was to complete 20 rounds  The sun was out, the children were motivated to complete the challenge and we all had a great day. Some of the children even danced their way through the rounds. Press play to take a look! Money raised will go towards some much needed learning resources. It's looking like we might hit the $10 000 mark! Well done children!

Let's Play - Team Miro Go To Spencer Park

14 September 2018
Throughout Term 3, Team Miro have been learning about play. Press play to check out their thoughts on their learning. The photos below show Team Miro children spending at day together  creating and playing at Spencer Park.
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Duffy Role Model Assembly

12 September 2018
Brodie Kane who is a journalist on the radio station The Hits visited us for our recent Duffy role model assembly. Brodie talked to us about her life and some of the famous and not so famous people that she has interviewed and how important reading and having a goal to work towards is.  She  was very impressed with the questions that Kaia and Callum asked her and that we had our own radio station. 

Thank You Again to the Southern Trust 

12 September 2018
A big thank you to The Southern Trust for the funding of $10 000 towards a set of iPads.  We were able to purchase 21 iPads for our children to use, enabling our children to have more access to digital devices for their learning. This is the third year that the Southern Trust has helped our school provide essential resources for our children and we are very grateful and appreciative of the support given to us. A big thank you also to our Grant Team for all the work involved in the application process. Here is what the children say:

"I like the new iPads because I couldn't go on websites that would help me learn but now I can go on websites that help me learn and that means I'm learning faster". Lakai
"I love that's there's more apps and more room to store your learning and you can actually learn in more ways because there's lots of options". Chloe
Caitlin: "I like these iPads because there's new apps I can learn from and use during class and they are proper learning apps not like the play apps at home".
"I like that the new iPads have access to more information and we can get to that information much faster". Jackson

Kids for Kids Concert

11 September 2018
What an exciting night last night was!  59 of our students performed in the Kids for Kids Concert held at the Horncastle Arena. The theme this year was called 'Kiwi As' and our children sung a range of New Zealand songs with Jackie Clark, Nathan King and a massive choir. We were very proud of our children’s performance, their level of energy and for showing our HEART value of excellence. If you missed it, don’t worry below is a video with snippets of their performance. A big thank you to Belinda Walsh, not only for her hard work organising this event, but for instilling in our children a love for music.
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The Butterfly Musketeers at Banks Ave

10 September 2018
Numbers of Monarch Butterflies have been notably down in New Zealand this year. To give numbers a boost for Summer, Maria Romero from the Butterfly Musketeers is visiting schools around Christchurch and now Banks Avenue has our very own Butterfly Musketeers. Students from Team Kahikatea and Team Miro took part in a Swan Plant planting session  and now our whole school is growing Swan Plants ready for summer. Thanks to Susannah for setting this up for us.

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SBHS Kapa haka Visit

10 September 2018
Today a group of students from Shirley Boys High School Kapa haka group came and spent some time with some of our students in Team Kahikatea. They read a story and played a few games.  Our children sang the waiata, Toia Mai to them and then they sang a waiata for us. One game they taught our students was called  E tu, e piki which is a bit llike Simons Says with your finger. A big thank you to the kapa haka. Our children loved their time with you.

Jounalists and Photographers: Alizay and Sam

Netball Prize Giving

3 September 2018Two teams played in the Hagley Park Netball Competition throughout 2018. It was our first year of netball and our improvement over the season was huge. Our Year 6 Team also played in the 2018 Jellybean Tournament  on a Sunday. They placed third at the Zone Winter Tournament and then went on to compete at the Canterbury’s where they ended the season with a well fought win over Thorrington School. A big thanks to our Coaches: Rachel and Cheyenne, our Manager: Marilyn and our Organiser: Ms Thompson for their efforts. Every player gave 100% during the  games. The following children were recognised at the St Nicholas Prize Giving on Saturday night. 
Year 3 and 4 Team
  • HEART Values Player: McKenzie - Awa
  • Most Improved Player: Lucy - Tuis (Team Kahikatea)
  • Most Valuable Player: Harmony - Roto
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Year 6 Team
  • HEART Values Player: Caitlin - Dudley
  • Most Improved Player: Ava - Dudley
  • Most Valuable Player: Kahlia - Awa
​Congratulations to the above children and well done to everyone for a great season of netball. ​

Duffy Dads Reading Session

31 August 2018
There was a hubbub of reading around the Junior Module today. It was the sound of happy children being read to by dads and grand dads in our school. There were heaps of children gathered around these important men in our lives. There were smiles galore, the odd giggle or two and the happy sound of children being read to. What a treat!

Chisnallwood Year 6 Taster Day

28 August 2018
​Our Year 6 students went for a visit to Chisnallwood Intermediate School today to have a look at some of the opportunities that await them next year. They were welcomed by Justin Fields, the principal, listened to some musicians, had lunch and participated in some technology, science, PE and ICT lessons.
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Team Miro - Food for Thought

20 - 29 August 2018
Over the last couple of weeks the  children in Team Miro participated in a programme called 'Food for Thought'. They had lessons with nutritionist, Jessica Smaill then took a trip to New World in Stanmore Road to analyse the nutritional content and packaging of grocery items. 

New Zealand Poetry Pentathlon

 23 August 2018
Unleash the power of poetry! Well that certainly happened tonight. A team of 5 senior students competed in the Poetry Pentathlon held at Space Academy in Christchurch. The team members were, Joshua, Tessa, Kahlia, Ruby and Keegan. They poetry competitions they competed in were;
  • Haiku Hurdle
  • Limerick Long Jump
  • Walk with Words
  • Poetry Relay
  • Winners at the pODEium

Our team of poets won the Limerick Long Jump and the pODEium sections! Well done team. We are proud of you!

Canterbury Winter Tournament

,23 August 2018
After placing in the Zone Winter Tournament, our netball team competed in the Canterbury Winter Tournament today at Hagley Park. The girls played well with determination and integrity. Well done girls, we are proud of you!

Year 5 Safe Cycling

20 -24 August 2018
This week our Year 5 students have been trained in how to ride their bikes safely on the road. A big thank you to Marie and Ann for taking this programme. 

If you are thinking of allowing you're child to bike to school, here is what the NZ Transport Agency says: 
  • Is your child old enough to understand and apply traffic laws? From age 11 onward, children may be able to start riding in traffic unsupervised. This will depend on the level of instruction they have received, their skills, confidence and ability to apply the road rules.
  • Is your child mature enough to be on the road and share the road with other users?
​Download the Cycle Code here.
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Duffy Role Model Presentation

24 August 2018
Duncan and Valentino from Shirley Boys High School spoke at our school assembly today about their aspirations for the future and how  important literacy continues to be throughout high school.  

Thank you Duncan and Tino. We were inspired by your words.

NZEI Teachers' Strike

15 August 2018
Today teachers all around New Zealand went on strike. Our Banks Avenue teachers led the march that began in the Cathedral Square. Why are we striking?
Jan Logie gives a detailed outline of why.

Team Totara and Team Kahikatea Aquatics

6-17 August 2018
For the past two weeks children from Team Totara and Team Kahikatea have had a lot of fun participating in daily swimming lessons at Taiora QE11 Recreation and Sports Centre. Children were grouped according to skill level. Children also participated in lessons in inflatable boats, practiced wearing life jackets and had to swim in their pyjamas! What a lot of fun the children had with their learning.
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Teachers Strike Action 

7 August 2018

​School closed for instruction on Wednesday 15 August
 
Dear Parents and Caregivers
 
The Board of Trustees can’t provide teaching for students during the upcoming strike
 
The NZEI has advised the Banks Avenue School Board of Trustees that the teachers at our school will be taking strike action from 9:00am to 3:00pm on Wednesday
15 August 2018.
 
Our teachers perform an incredible job for our children and consistently go above and beyond their duties to ensure that every child has the ability to belong and achieve. While we would have preferred the MOE and NZEI to achieve a result prior to the need for industrial action, the board fully supports our teachers and believe that they deserve everything requested and more.
 
Our principal has advised the board that there are insufficient teaching and support staff to maintain the normal teaching services during the strike. The Board has carefully considered this information and due to safety issues the only option is close the school for instruction during the strike. This means that all children must remain home from school. It’s important that you make alternative arrangements for the care of your child/children on the day of the strike.
 
I know that this is inconvenient for parents and students alike, but please be assured that student safety is our main concern.
 
Thank you for your understanding. Please contact Toni Burnside if you have any queries relating to this decision.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
 
Kirk McKay
Chair, Board of Trustees

KidsCan Crazy Day

3 August 2018
What a crazy day we had at school today! Children came dressed in crazy clothes, crazy shoes and had some very crazy hairstyles all to help children in need. Our goal was to raise $400 and guess what? We did it! We raised $461.50. Wow!  In New Zealand there are 290 000 children living in poverty.  This money will go to KidsCan and will help provide children who are living in poverty, with food, shoes and raincoats.


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East Zone Winter Tournament

1 August 2018
Banks Ave sent 4 teams along to the East Zone Winter Tournament at Rawhiti Domain on Wednesday the 1st of August, competing in Netball, Hockey, Rugby and Soccer. All the teams showed some great skills and teamwork and did extremely well. Special mention to the Netball team who both made it through to the Canterbury Winter Tournament coming up on the 23rd August by finishing in the top 3 placing.
Press play to listen to today's broadcast.

City Meets Country Radio Broadcast

1 August 2018
Today at 9:30am, on HEARTbeat 106.7FM our presenters, Keegan, Caitlin and Devon did a special broadcast, especially for the children at Amuri Area School. We played some of their favourite songs, read some of their stories over the air and challenged them with a movie quiz. The children at Amuri were listening to us from their classroom. We had a lot of fun with our country audience! Just in case you missed it, the broadcast has been recorded. Just press play.  

Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award 

24 July 2018
Sir Peter Blake believed in the incredible potential of young kiwis to achieve things. He knew that inspiring leaders of any age could be found in every corner of New Zealand. In that spirit, and in partnership with Westpac, the Young Leaders Awards celebrate young people whose leadership stands out in their schools and communities. Each year, they offer 1 award to a year 5 – 8 student in every New Zealand Primary and Intermediate school. This year this award goes to Kyle D from Awa. 
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Kyle exemplifies our school HEART values. What distinguishes him and endears him to others is his attitude. His true grit shines through in the challenges he takes on, and he digs deep to achieve success. He is a passionate technologist and recently a radio presenter. He has a 'cup half full' approach and that helps him to be resilient, irrespective of the context. Congratulations Kyle, we are very proud of you!

Matariki Evening

5 July 2018
Tonight many  families come into the classrooms to celebrate Matariki and share a fish n chip dinner with their children. Matariki is a star cluster which appears in the night sky during mid-winter. According to the Maramataka (the Māori lunar calendar), the reappearance of Matariki brings the old lunar year to a close and marks the beginning of the New Year.  Hence, Matariki is associated with the Māori New Year.  
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Crusaders Visit Banks Ave

5 July 2018
​Ethan Blackadder and Pete Samu came to Banks Avenue today and you guessed it, played some rugby with some very lucky children.  They even stayed long enough to sign autographs! How exciting!

Hoola Hooping for Heart

What fun! A morning spent learning hoola hooping skills for heart.
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Jump Jam Competition

29 June 2018
The Dazzling Dancers and the Fierce Lion Jump Jam teams performed tonight at the Strictly Jump Jam competition held at Rolleston College. Both teams danced with excellence. They achieved an award for technical execution, excellence in sportsmanship and the spirit of Jump Jam.
Well done competitors!

Shirley Area Music Festival

Colour My World was the theme of the Ashley Music Area Festival tonight, as our Banks Ave choir sung alongside, Shirley Primary, Shirley Intermediate and Waitakiri Schools. Click play to hear some of the songs sung.
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Team Miro Football World Cup

27 June 2018
​The Football World Cup came to Banks Ave today, as 12 countries competed against each other, in a day of football. Take a look at the photos of a fun day. Can you spot the country that won?
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Canterbury Cross Country

27 June 2018
Four of our students represented Banks Avenue School at the Canterbury Cross Country held today, at Halswell Quarry. The team showed perseverance and grit as they competed against tough competition. Well done, Jae-Lee, Lachlan, Jessie and Samantha. We are proud of you!

Team Miro CSO and Team Picnic

20 June 2018
Team Miro students travelled to Prebbleton today to watch the 'Compose Yourself Programme' played by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. The team then had a picnic in the local park.

Rippa Tag Tournament

19 June 2018
Our Rippa Rugby team of Year 5 and 6 students competed today at the East Zone Rippa Rugby Tournament held at the Haeata Community Campus.  Our students showed a great spirit of competitive togetherness.
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East Zone Basketball Tournament

7 June 2018
Today a team of students had great fun competing in the East Zone Basketball Tournament held at  the Haeata Gym. Well done to all students involved.

National Young Leaders Day

30 May 2018
​Today our  student leaders attended National Young Leaders Day at the Horncastle Arena. Here they listened to some amazing stories about the life journeys of the speakers, the obstacles they have faced and the tough decisions they have had to make.  The speakers were Amanda Wilson, Sala Tiatia, Jono Naylor, Riley Hathaway, James Beck, Vince Harder and Te Waka McLeod.  Jono Naylor talked about H.O.P.E.
  • H=Humility-Always give credit to those who have helped you get where you are. Be humble in victory. Be humble in defeat.
  • O=Open focused. Be open focused means to think about others before yourself. Don't grab that last piece of pizza, offer it to someone else.
  • P=Play to your strengths. Everyone is good at something but you might not know what you're good at yet. Try everything.
  • E=Extend yourself. Take risks and risk failing.​

​A very inspiring day.

2018 Waitaha Digi Awards

May 2018
​Banks Avenue is participating in the 2018 Grow Waitaha Digi Awards and we were fortunate to have three of our Team Miro students invited to CORE Education as members of a 2018 Digi Awards Student Leadership Group. Hamish, Tessa and Caitlin worked through a 'Thinking Design' workshop with Nicki Tempero resulting in the finalised themes for 2018: 'Dream Big' and for the first time 'Choose Your Theme'. 
Then this week eight students were invited to a Digi Awards Student Workshop at St Albans School where they worked on storytelling, thinking and the skill sets needed to produce quality digital entries. Hamish, Tessa, Caitlin, Marcus, Riley, Josh, Mikayla and Ruthie were creative and entertaining with their thinking and will make great leaders in Dudley and Awa for their peers. 
Now it's time to get our entries completed as we seek 'Excellence' with our learning.

Regenerate Christchurch ‘Futures’ Exhibition

26 May 2018
​Today Regenerate Christchurch launched a ‘Futures’ exhibition. It is an exhibition about ideas and plans for the Red Zone abandoned land. For the last two years Banks Avenue School has worked with Sian Carvell from the Children’s Commission and Regenerate Christchurch to share our ideas on how we want the land used. First the whole school took part in an ideas workshop using postcards which resulted in the ‘themes’ for the Red Zone. Then a student representative team presented our key ideas to the Children’s Commissioner - Judge Andrew Becroft and they also took part in a filming project for the exhibition. Currently Kahikatea and Miro are taking part in ‘Rights Now!’ looking at children’s rights to be consulted on matters that are important to them in. This is one of the 42 promises in The United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child. Here are some photos of our student representative team who were guests of honour on Saturday assisting our Mayor Lianne Dalziel in opening the exhibition. If you go and have a look at the exhibition you will see Banks Avenue excellence on display.

Ara Broadcasting School Visit

25 May 2018
Eight of our HEARTbeat 106.7 presenters visited Ara Broadcasting School today to extend their learning on broadcasting. Brendan was the host and he was amazing!  He taught them how to understand who their audience is. They learnt that all radio stations target a certain audience.  They also learnt how to draw the audience in. Brendan then took the children on a tour of their  broadcasting studios and they even went to the Metro News studio! The children were able to ask questions of the students there and also complete a recording using their high tech equipment! A big thank you to Brendan for taking the time to give the children some professional development as they aim to be better than before.
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She Can Code - Tech Week 

23 May 2018

East Zone Cross Country

23 May 2018
A group of our Years 5-6 students competed in the North East Zone Cross Country held at Halswell Quarry today. They competed against 50-60 other children of the same age. Our students' behaviour was exemplary and their attitude towards their competitors was excellent. They were truly a credit to our school. Well done to all competitors and congratulations to Lachlan, Jae-lee, Samantha and Jessie who will be representing the North East Zone at the Canterbury Cross Country on 20 June.
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PTA School Disco

18 May 2018
​Tonight a huge number of our children attended the school disco held in the Shirley Intermediate Hall. A big thank you to our wonderful PTA for organising this event. Check out the photos of the fun our children had and their groovy dance moves!

Digi Awards Student Workshop

18 May 2018
Banks Avenue is participating in the 2018 Grow Waitaha Digi Awards and we were fortunate to have three of our Team Miro students invited to CORE Education, as members of a 2018 Digi Awards Student Leadership Group. Hamish, Tessa and Caitlin worked through a 'Thinking Design' workshop with Nicki Tempero resulting in the finalised themes for 2018: 'Dream Big' and for the first time 'Choose Your Theme'. 
Today,  eight of our students attended a  Digi Awards Student Workshop at St Albans School. They worked on storytelling, thinking and the skill sets needed to produce quality digital entries. Hamish, Tessa, Caitlin, Marcus, Riley, Josh, Mikayla and Ruthie were creative and entertaining with their thinking and will make great leaders in Dudley and Awa for their peers. 
Now it's time to get our entries completed as we seek 'Excellence' with our learning.

Journalist and Photographer: Mikayla

Pink Shirt Day

18 May 2018
Today we celebrated Pink Shirt Day. Pink Shirt Day is all about taking action and standing together to stop bullying. It aligns with our value of Togetherness-Together is better. It was great to see so many children and adults wearing pink!

Cross Country
9 May 2018
Grit, determination and attitude were seen today as our junior and senior children competed in our annual school cross country event. Congratulations to all the place getters below! 

Journalists and Photographers: Riley and Hugo

Year 1 Boys

1st: TJ
2nd:  Hunter
3rd: Luca W-D

Year 2 Boys

1st: Oscar
2nd: Eton
​3rd: Luca E

Year 3 Boys

1st: Ryan
2nd: Tajimi
3rd: Judah

Year 4 Boys

1st: Oden
2nd: Aiden
​3rd: Xavier

Year 5 Boys

1st: Lachlan
2nd: Lucas
​3rd: Ethan

Year 6 Boys

1st: Jackson
2nd: Brendan
​3rd: Sione

Year 1 Girls

1st: Blake
2nd: Kaylee
​3rd: Aya

Year 2 Girls

1st: Maddison
2nd: Ana
​3rd: Kenzie

Year 3 Girls

1st: Holly
2nd: Chloe
​3rd: Aria

Year 4 Girls

1st: Harmony
2nd: Kahlia
​3rd: Riley

Year 5 Girls

1st: Lea
2nd: Jae-Lee
​3rd: Ashlyn

Year 6 Girls

1st: Samantha
2nd: Hayley
3rd: Jessie
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Rugby Fun Day

4 May 2018
​Today 18 of our senior boys represented Banks Avenue School at the Rugby Fun Day held at Burnside Park. They play three games, one against Fendalton School, one against Darfield Primary and the last one against West Melton. They won all three games. We were very proud of the way all the boys showed HEART throughout the day, caring and supporting each other and playing with true team spirit.

Well done Dallys, Ethan, Callum, Sam, Archie, Brendan, Manaia, Logan, Jackson, Ryder, Zac, Lachlan Lucas, Douglas, Oden, Levi, Xavier and Hidayat.

WOW!  Jeff Kinney Interviewed on HEARTbeat 106.7FM

2 May 2018
What a lucky day for Banks Ave. Jeff Kinney, the author of Diary of A Wimpy Kid,  came to our school and talked to the children about being an author. Pippa and Keegan interviewed him live on our school radio station, HEARTbeat 106.7FM. What a fantastic and inspiring experience! 

Playhouse Theatre - Red Riding Hood

2 May 2018
​All of our children were very lucky to see an awesome production on today  called Red Riding Robin Hood by The Playhouse Theatre. It was a mix up between two different fairy tales performed by three entertaining actors. There were lots of very funny lines that entertained us all.  

Journalists and Photographers: Mikayla and Caitlin

Cultural Celebration

28 March 2018
​You had to be there this afternoon, to see what a wonderful celebration we had, of the many cultures that make up our school. However, don't worry if you missed it, all you have to do is click play!

Journalists and Photographers: Alizay and Hugo

East Zone Swimming Sports

15 March 2018
Today ten of our students competed in the East Zone Swimming Sports at Jellie Park.  The students were Lucas, Marcus,  Douglas, Hugo, Toby, Cheyenne, Krystal, Sasha, Bella and Lea. The events they competed in were the 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke & 50m Breaststroke races, as well as, mixed 4x50m Relay races.

Marcus made it into the finals of the 50m freestyle and Douglas made it into the finals of the 50m backstroke. Douglas then came 2nd in his finals which means he qualifies for the Canterbury Swimming Sports. Well done Douglas!

This group of children exemplified our HEART values today with fantastic behaviour, sportsmanship and in the way they showed support to each other.

A huge thank you to Robyn and Kim for their help organising and looking after the children, and also to Teara who came along to watch as well.

Brett Fairweather Visits Banks Ave

12 March 2018
Today were all very excited as Brett Fairweather came to our school and everyone participated in a Jump Jam session with him, even the teachers! Brett is the creator of Jump Jam. HIs mission is to provide a quality, fun and exciting kids aerobics program to schools and early childhood education centres, that will motivate our children to enjoy exercise thus promoting health and wellness with our school communities. He sure did that today. Thanks Brett.

Journalist and Photographer: Tyler

Learning How to be Safe on the Internet

8 March 2018
John Parsons is an Internet Safety and Risk Assessment Consultant to schools, the private sector and the health sector, providing specialist advice and direction on the safe use of Digital Communication Technology. Today he spoke to all our children about how to stay safe when online. 

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Team Miro Watch Lantern Festival at SBHS

8 March 2018
Today Team Miro walked to Shirley Boys High School and watched a performance called the Lantern Festival.  This was part of  the Chinese New Year celebrations.

"The shadow puppets were amazing." Charlotte
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Journalists and Photographers: Toby and Tyler
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Think to Drink - Drink To Think

7 March 2018
The importance of drinking water was reinforced by Liz McNaughton, who spoke to the children about this today. Did you know that:
  • Studies show that many children, from both hot and cold climates, are often dehydrated when learning at school. Being adequately hydrated has been shown to improve some aspects of cognitive performance, such as short-term memory.
  • Water makes up about 80% of the brain and is an essential element in neurological transmissions. Staying hydrated positively affects a child's mental performance, learning ability, and helps to cope with stress. 
  • The standard recommendation is 5 glasses (1 litre) for 5 to 8 year olds, 7 glasses (1.5 litres) for 9 to12 year olds, 8 to 10 glasses (2 litres) for 13+ years.
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Duffy Theatre Show

7 March 2018
Today the whole school walked to Shirley Intermediate School to watch a Duffy Theatre Production, which was enjoyed by all. Did you know that the Alan Duff Charitable Foundation, better known as Duffy Books in Homes, provides free books to over 100,000 New Zealand children, three times a year. What a wonderful thing to be part of!

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Christian Religious Education - Bible in Schools

27 February 2018
For many years BAS has offered Bible in Schools to some year groups. Last year it was our year two’s and threes.  Bob Jaeger is our school chaplain and he has been presenting these sessions for us for more than twenty years. Sessions usually take thirty minutes and occur in school time on a Wednesday. Bible in School (or CRE)  is not compulsory and some children choose to opt out, for a variety of reasons. These children are supervised until the session is over.
CRE is a fun programme that encourages children to make positive life choices, grow in character and relate well to others. Children reinforce values the connect to the curriculum. They include bible stories that help reinforce messages like: treat others how you want to be treated, show respect, do your best, be a good friend, help others and ask for help, make good choices and help others make good choices.

We believe these sessions are very worthwhile however as our timetable seems to get busier and busier we are looking at changing the time of these sessions to before school - that is 8:30-9:00am on a Wednesday morning.  These sessions would be open to all age groups across the school - NE to year 6 pupils.

Would you be keen for your child / children to attend these sessions? We are looking at an expression of interest at this stage. We would expect to begin  classes mid March.

If you are keen for your children to attend these sessions please complete the form below. ​

    Bible in Schools - Expression of Interest Form

    Bible in Schools will begin mid March. It will be held in the library from 8:30-9:00 on a Wednesday morning. All age groups are eligible to attend. Please add your children's details below if you would like them to take part in these sessions every week. Parents would also be welcome to stay to listen to the content.
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Junior Module Flower Show

23 February 2018
Posies of flowers, sand saucers, vegetable animals and painted rocks were all part of our annual Junior Module Flower Show. Take a look through the photos to see how much fun our Junior children had and how creative they were. 

Journalists and Photographers: Toby and Tyler
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Thank You To The Lion Foundation

20 February 2018
Have you noticed the new signage and new value flags outside our school? Well, we have the Lion Foundation to thank for our wonderful new look. At the end of last year we received a $2500.00 grant to help fund signage that incorporated our new HEART logo and values. A big thank you to the Lion Foundation for showing Aroha. As you can see we are super excited to have our values displayed!

Little Heart Day

14 February 2018
At BAS we have several students with a variety of medical conditions. Some children have heart health issues and receive support from Heart Kids Canterbury. One of the supports Heart Kids Canterbury offer is travel assistance to families who must travel to Auckland hospital for medical treatment with their heart child. Where possible we try to support organisations that support our whānau therefore today everyone dressed in red or wore a red heart on their sleeve. Our value of Aroha sure shone today as we raised shone $389.10. Thank you

First Sovereign - Thank you!

14 February 2018
We are grateful to have the robotics equipment needed to teach our children using the objectives from the new Hangarau Matihiko Technology curriculum. Our learners couldn't be more excited as you can see. The two changes to the curriculum have an emphasis on digital technologies. Computational thinking for digital technologies is about understanding the computer science principles that underlie all digital technologies, and learning core programming concepts to become creators of digital technology, not just users. Designing and developing digital outcomes involves learning how to design and produce quality, fit-for-purpose digital solutions. The arrival of our new robotics gear is perfect as we can now take off with our learning through using these across the school. Thank you to First Sovereign for making this happen by funding $2727.61.  Banks Ave learners LOVE robotics and you have got us out of the starters blocks - yippee!

Team Miro Top Team Fun!

7 February 2018
​Today, children from Team Miro participated in the Top Team Challenges. These challenges involve team-based activities that promote co-operation, initiative, problem solving and communication skills. Fun, engagement, laughter and leadership were all captured with our camera this afternoon. Check out the photos of a very fun afternoon! 
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Welcome! It's Great To Be Back!

31 January 2018
Welcome back everyone! 
There was a great buzz around the school this morning as children arrived excited and a little nervous. You could hear lots of chatter and laughter as children re-connected with their friends and settled into their classes.  We have an exciting year ahead!

Our HEART value for Term 1 is Excellence-better than before'. Every teacher will be placing a particular focus on this value. Children are given HEART tokens for showing any of our values (Hauora, Excellence, Aroha, Respect and Togetherness). Did you see our new signs and value flags? Don't they look amazing!