PAREAWA BANKS AVENUE
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Latest News
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Happy Holidays Everyone

18 December 2018
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all. The school office in now closed and will reopen for enrolments and enquiries from Wednesday 29 January 8:30am - 3:30pm daily. Stationery packs will be available on Thursday 30th and Friday 31st January from 8:30am to 3:30pm. Meet the teacher interviews will occur on  Thursday 30th and Friday 31st January. Please make sure you have made a booking. Click on the button below for more information on these.  

Term 1 2020 begins on Monday 3rd February with a Mihi Whakatau starting at 9:00am.
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Meet the Teacher Information
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Final Assembly

18 December 2019
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.

Leavers' Ceremony

12 December 2019
Last night our Year 6 Leavers' Ceremony was held at Shirley Intermediate Hall. Awards were given for academic, music and sport achievement as well as for, citizenship, grit and our heart values. The evening was filled with celebration and a bit of sadness knowing that this wonderful bunch of Year 6 students were leaving Banks Ave. We wish them the best for their intermediate journey!

Red Zone Action Team Present to the Mayor

12 December 2019
This morning our Red Zone Action Team presented their Adventure Ave project to Mayor Lianne Dalziel and the full council in the Council Chambers this morning. We are so proud of all these children and their drive to make a difference in their local community. You can listen to their presentation here. It is first on the agenda.

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Thank You to The Lion Foundation

11 December 2019
​A big thank you to the Lion Foundation for funding a sports shed for us. This allows us to have the sports equipment stored securely and in a place
where it is easily accessible. You will see our new sports shed on the sports field. We really appreciate the support given from the Lion Foundation

Team Miro Visits Windsor House

6 December 2019
Team Miro children visited Windsor House for a Christmas celebration. They sang Christmas carols, shared readings of inspiration and gave gifts of cookies and cards. The children and staff also danced with the residents and shared juices in the sun. We love our relationship with these lovely people and look forward to continuing this in 2020.

Bunnings Graduation Project

 6 December 2019
Staff from Bunnings have included us in their graduation project for the first time. Some of our Year 6 students along with staff, built a buddy bench and then all Year 6 children were gifted a stationary pack, a water bottle and a small plant to grow. Thank you Bunnings for including us. ​

Canterbury Athletics

4 December 2019
Three of our students, Lachy, Will and Xavier represented Banks Avenue School at the Canterbury Athletics held at Nga Puna Wai. They competed well agains strong competition. Will came third place in both the high jump and the 60m Sprints. Well done to all three boys.

Learning Celebration Evening

28 November 2019
What a night we had celebrating with our community our children's learning, mixed in with a lot of fun activities! We had our very first hangi. Check  photos below of the hangi preparation. Tonight there were performances from our Kapahaka group, Pasifika Group, Jump Jam group and our Choir.  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.

Hangi Prep

28 November 2019
Check out  the photos of our Hangi prep this morning.

Year 3 Taster Day

27 November 2019
Our Year 3 students were invited to a Taster Day in Team Miro today. They participated in some digital learning, art activities, 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 in 2020 or 2021.
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Junior Module Poetry Extravaganza

22 November 2019
Our annual Poetry Extravaganza competition took  place this afternoon.  Reciting a poem from memory in front of an audience of classmates is not easy so before the competition the children have a few weeks of practise at school and sometimes at home too.  The finalists from each class and year level in the Junior Module then recite their chosen poem in front of an audience of classmates, the module and whānau. These photos are of the finals. You can see Ms Carroll checking out the scores to work out who came first, second and third. This year there were a couple of second and third equals because the scores were so close.
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MASH Tough Kids 2019

20 November 2019
Today all of Team Miro children ventured out to South New Brighton Domain to participate in the MASH Tough Kids 2019. The purpose of this event is 
  • For the children to take part in a team building event as one team of people.
  • To give our children the opportunity to take part in a creative form of exercise in a community event with our other Kahui Ako schools and the wider Christchurch Community.
  • To have fun with our children and provide them with an opportunity to step outside their comfort zone, to be challenged and to achieve success.
  • To build on our focus within Team Miro of developing Sport and PE to benefit all our learners.

This was an extremely fun day! Check out the photos of our children getting wet and muddy with the challenges they had to face!

Grow Waitaha Digi Awards

13 November 2019
We were really excited to find out that 4 groups of our children made the finals for the Canterbury Digiwards. 34 schools and 400 entries submitted so this was a huge achievement.  Tonight at the awards and with an auditorium of people it was announced that our Year 0-2 children achieved 1st place for their category for their Margaret Mary Commercial. Our Year 3-4 group of children achieved runner-up for their Tūranga Library Commercial and our Year 5-6 group achieved runner up for their Coding entree. What an exciting and proud night we all had. Well done to all the children involved. 

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Junior Athletics

13 November 2019
The youngest members of our school competed in the Junior Athletics today. There were hurdles, sack races,  toss the bean bag, throw the gumboot, relays and sprints.
​Check out the photos to see our young olympians in the making!

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East Zone Athletics

12 November 2019
Twenty eight Year 5 and 6 students represented Banks Avenue at the East Zones Athletics competition on Tuesday. The effort and attitude from the children in all the events was outstanding and everyone showed great support for their team-mates. A special congratulations to 3 children who have qualified for the Canterbury Primary Schools Athletics competition - Lachlan (sprints), Xavier (sprints) and Will (sprints and high jump). Thank you to all the parents and whanau who came along to support the team and cheer us on.

Harko Brown Talks to our Red Zone Team

8 November 2019
Today celebrated author and educator, Harko Brown visited Team Miro to talk to our Red Zone team and share his knowledge and expertise in ngā taonga tākaro, traditional Maori games. Ngā aro-tākaro reinforce social norms and connect people to their environments. They become a means for children to engage with nature and history simultaneously through challenge and learning. 
During our workshop we looked at our Adventure Ave plans and considered how we could include authentic cultural elements and games. We played games ourselves and took part in some fun challenges. This was a special opportunity for us and gave us plenty of 'food for thought' as we move forward with our project.

Kids in Town

7 November 2019
Today our choir, band, musical theatre group and jump jam team represented Banks Avenue at the Kids in Town event held at the Tūranga Library. This is an annual community event our children perform in and one we look forward to every year. Well done to all the children who sung, danced, played and instrument or performed a theatre play. We are proud of you!

Kids for Kids Performance

4 November 2019
Fifty five Year 3-6 children performed last night in the Kids for Kids mass choir at the Horncastle Arena.  The theme was Big Aroha and the children sung  kiwi songs alongside Nathan King and Jackie Clarke. If you went along I am sure you will agree it is a fun and entertaining evening listening to the children sing and watching them perform the actions to the songs. Two of our children were even sharks

Nature Agents Begin Monitoring Dudley Creek 

4 November 2019
On Monday students from Dudley, Kuaka and Roto began the EOS Ecology ‘Nature Agents’ programme down at Dudley Creek. The programme is a Science initiative linking 5 primary schools across Christchurch. Each school takes on a site and monitors the water quality for it over the long term. Banks Avenue has been given the Dudley Creek site on Petrie St/Stapletons Rd to monitor. Nature Agents is designed to increase students’ ability to understand scientific processes and the way scientists work in the real world, within their local environment. Students gain skills in environmental monitoring and data analysis. We have also been gifted a specialist water quality science kit for our children to use in their role as Water Scientists. We will be collecting data on 3 different sets of information: water clarity and content, the substrates of the creek bed, creek life and ecology systems. You can see us taking measurements and classifying our data collection below. Now we get to enter our data into GIS software which is the collection device for all of the schools. 

Awa visits Windsor House

4 November 2019
Today Room 27 (Awa) walked to Windsor House to spend time with the residents there. They sang songs and asked them questions about their life. Classes in Team Miro regularly visit Windsor House and we love the relationship we have with them. 

Adventure Ave Gets Underway at Council

31 October 2019
Our Red Zone Action Team have been working on their Adventure Ave Proposal and today it was submitted to Council. Brendan Anstice from LINZ put forward our proposal. Click on the video to hear what he and Mayor Leanne Dalziell  have to say. Click on the button below for the full version.
Full Version

Thank You to New Zealand Community Trust

1 November 2019
Yesterday after school a group of wonderful people helped us put up our newest purchase - a concrete table tennis table!
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What a lovey surprise this was for the children arriving at school this morning and as you can see by the photos it is already being well used. Everyone is welcome to come and play even when school is closed. 

This would not have been possible without the wonderful support of the New Zealand  Community Trust who generously funded this table tennis table for us. This is the second year in a row they have given Banks Avenue School funding and we really do appreciate it their generosity. Thank you!


Senior Athletics 

29 October 2019
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. ​Results below.

Long Jump

Year 6 Boys
1st: Ethan T
2nd: Lachlan K
3rd: Lucas B
Year 6 Girls
1st: Ashlyn G
2nd: Alydia M
3rd: Lea N
Year 5 Boys
1st: Will S
2nd: Lakai N
3rd: Fletcher C-L
Year 5 Girls
1st: Lily S
2nd: Alyssa U
3rd: Kiera B
Year 4 Boys
1st: Rylan O
2nd: Ryder M-W
3rd: Siiali T
Year 4 Girls
1st Holly S
2nd: Aria H
3rd: Kaiya P

High Jump

Year 6 Boys
1st: Ethan T
2nd: Logan P
3rd: Lachlan K
Year 6 Girls
1st: Alydia M
2nd: Eva J
3rd: Eva M
Year 5 Boys
1st: Will S
2nd: Lakai N
3rd: Xavier S
Year 5 Girls
1st: Alyssa U

2nd: Verity H
3rd: Lily S
Year 4 Boys
1st: Cooper S
2nd: Cooper H
3rd: Rylan O
Year 4 Girls
1st: Holly S
2nd: Aria H
3rd: Chloe P

Shot Put

Year 6 Boys
1st: Douglas B
2nd: Dominic M
3rd: Toby C
Year 6 Girls
1st: Krystal E
2nd: Ariana M
3rd: Alydia M

Year 5 Boys
1st: Levi D
2nd: Oden P
3rd: Will S
Year 5 Girls
1st: Lily S
2nd: Alyssa U
3rd: Elizabeth B
Year 4 Boys
1st: Liam S
2nd: Cooper H
3rd: James G
Year 4 Girls
1st: Holly S
2nd: Skyla C
3rd: Summer B

Discus

Year 6 Boys
1st: Blake C
2nd: Dominic M
3rd: Callum W
Year 6 Girls
1st: Krystal E
2nd: Bella L
3rd: Maddie B
Year 5 Boys
1st: Levi D
2nd: Valentine S
3rd: Oden P
Year 5 Girls
1st: Charlotte B
2nd: Alyssa U
3rd: Shaista A
Year 4 Boys
1st: Siiali T
2nd: Bjorn A
3rd: Te Atua W-N
Year 4 Girls
1st: Olivia K
2nd: Kayla E
​3rd: Summer B

Sprints 

Year 6 Boys (80m)
1st: Lachlan K
2nd: Logan P
3rd: Ethan T
Year 6 Girls (80m)
1st: Nation R
2nd: Ashlyn G
3rd: Eva M
Year 5 Boys (80m)
1st: Will S
2nd: Xavier S
3rd: Nitin P
Year 5 Girls (80m)
1st: Kiera B
2nd: Alyssa U
3rd: Verity H
Year 4 Boys (50m)
1st: Rylan O
2nd: Siiali T
3rd: Taani N
Year 4 Girls (50m)
1st: Holly S
2nd: Aria H
3rd: Isla-Rose C

Distance

 Year 6Boys(1000m)
1st: Ethan T
2nd: Lucas B
3rd: Ryan H
Year 6 Girls (1000m)
1st: Nation R
2nd: Ashlyn G
3rd: Rylee G
Year 5 Boys(1000m)
1st: Oden
2nd: Xavier
3rd: Solomon
Year 5 Girls (1000m)
1st: Kiera B
2nd: Lily S
3rd: Verity H
Year 4 Boys (800m)
1st: TP
2nd: Rylan O
3rd: Joel P
Year 4 Girls (800m)
1st: Holly S
2nd: Chloe P
3rd: Nyah A

Book Parade

25 October 2019
​Today Banks Avenue School was filled with all different sorts of book characters. A book parade was held at 2:30pm and Duffy Book prizes given to the best dressed characters. What book characters can you spot in the photos?

Photographers: Leila and Hazel
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Team Miro Swimming

14-25 October 2019
For the past two weeks, Team Miro have attended daily swimming lessons at Taiora QE11. They also learnt about water and boat safety. Check out the photos. We even took a little under water footage! 
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Loud Shirt Day

27 September 2019
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. We raised a total of $404  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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Southern Trust - Thank You

25 September 2019
A big thank you to Southern Trust for funding $5000 worth of IT equipment to support our ESOL students and our school library. We purchased 2 MacBook Airs and 3 PC Think Centre Computers. These have replaced very old equipment and the ESOL children are enjoying having the most updated tools for their learning. Souther Trust has supported our school for a number of years now. We really appreciate the help they have given us.
Chantal Palmer (ESOL Teacher) The students were so excited to see the new laptops arrive. For them this means that they will have greater access to resources and learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Students are keen to share their learning with parents and family from overseas and these devices will allow them to make those connections and therefore strengthen the school community environment for our ESOL students.
Kai Kai The laptops are wireless and more portable. We love the touch pads. This means we can take our learning outside. 
Karl They are cool because they can do amazing things and they work so fast. 
Aaniyah I can use Google Slides and Docs to help me write better than before because it has sound and I can hear lots of new words.

Duffy Role Model Assembly

25 September 2019
Stella Kake-Schmid came to talk to the students today about her role as a conservationist in the Bay of Islands. She shared her cultural knowledge history and experience in protecting the flora and fauna of New Zealand.

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Red Zone Action Team Present Adventure Ave 

20 September 2019
Today our Red Zone Action Team of 14 children presented their Adventure Ave plans to representatives from the Christchurch City Council, Regenerate Christchurch, Land Information NZ and a couple of board members. The children were seeking support for their application for transitional land use of red zone land to create Adventure Ave. Adventure Ave is a nature based playground designed by our very own children who have worked closely with Sian Carvell, Karl Sutherland, Evan Smith and Emma Woods. The team presented their 3D model and all spoke to the plans, 
answered questions and took their visitors on a tour of the site. Check out the photos of their presentation. We now await the outcome of their application to LINZ. These children also attended the Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots visit earlier in the year. This visit will air as part of the TVNZ Sunday programme this coming weekend. So tune in at 7:30pm - you may see us!

OurJump Jam Team Performs at The Palms

20 September 2019
Today our Jump Jam team performed atThe Palms. The team have been practising their items all year for the opportunity to perform. They will also be performing at next weeks full school assembly.

​Journalists & Photographers: Brooke and Riley

Arts Festival Week

16-20 September 2019
A week of celebrating The Arts was had by our students at Banks Ave as well as across our Otākaro Cluster of schools. Children participated in various art work shops, learnt some circus skills, created with flax, presented their wearable arts and performed at the Arts Festival on Thursday night. Take a look at all the learning our children did with the Arts this week.

Hello School Whānau


Team Kahikatea Practise Gymnastics

18 September 2019
Team Kahikatea children spent time today, rolling, swinging, climbing, balancing, jumping as they learnt Artistic Gymnastics. Check out the photos of the fun they had.

Wellbeing Forum

18 September 2019
Five of our seniors attended the Wellbeing Forum held at Hornby High School today. The children shared the wellbeing practices they had implemented into our school like the peace table and participated in forums throughout the day.

Cultural Festival

13 September 2019
Today our Kapa haha group competed at the  Tūhono Cultural Festival at Cowles Stadium. Our items were: Waiata tira - He Honore which was performed with New Zealand Sign Language. Waiata a ringa - Papatuanku which is a song about the Rūwhenua we experienced in Otautahi and Papatuanuku's pain she and the people of Otautahi felt. Our school haka was also performed which tells about when the school was built and it also speaks of how we celebrate cultural diversity.

Year 5 Safe Cycling Programme

11 September 2019
Today our Year 5 students have been trained in how to ride their bikes safely. 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?​​​

PTA School Disco

6 September 2019
​Tonight a huge number of our children attended the school disco held in the Shirley Intermediate Hall. DJ Sal - our very own 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!

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.
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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
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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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Full Article Here

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!

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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.
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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!
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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.
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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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Give Feedback Here

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.

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​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. 
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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

About Family Zone
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. 

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