20th March 2026 Newsletter

Mar 20
5 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Friday 6 March 2026

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Kia Ora Parents & Whānau, It has been another rea ly busy week here at Balfour. Our students enjoyed two engaging sessions each with the Life Education team, exploring confidence, we lbeing, and making positive choices. A highlight for many was meeting Harold the Giraffe, who—as always—helped bring the learning to life in a fun and memorable way. I also had the pleasure of teaching the Tui class twice this week, which was a real treat for me. It’s always a joy to spend time in the classroom and see the wonderful learning and energy happening firsthand. We want to wish the very best of luck to al students heading to Southland Athletics tomorrow. They have put in a great deal of effort, and we know they wi l represent our school with pride, determination, and exce lent sportsmanship. Looking ahead to next week, swimming lessons begin on Monday morning for a l students. Please ensure your child brings their togs and a towel so they are ready to go as soon as lessons start. Parent–teacher interviews will take place on Tuesday. If you haven’t already booked a time, please make sure you do so. Each interview is scheduled for 10 minutes, and we ask everyone to be mindful of this so the afternoon runs smoothly for a l families. If you feel you need a longer conversation, our teachers are more than happy to arrange an additional appointment at a time that suits you. Have a great weekend. Mihi mahana, Andrea Holt

CERTIFICATE RECPIPIENTS

Pippa - for showing confidence in sharing ideas and participating in class. Hayley - for having a positive attitude and approaching challenges with a smile. Ollie - for paying great attention during individual instruction and improving your work. Taylor - for application and learning, especially in Math, with good results. Ellie - for making good connections to your emotions with Harold. Harrison - for going above and beyond to write 21 words starting with “L” in Handwriting.

PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECIPIENTS

Lydia Petch-Swinbank - for staying positive even when learning is challenging and spreading positivity to others. Elise Marayo - Consistent respectful behaviour, diligance in your schoolwork and all-round tidiness. Kadin McGaughey - for taking great pride and care in keeping the Tui classroom a tidy and clean environment for everyone.

CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS - TERM 1 Wednesday 25th March - Northern Swimming Sports

Thursday 2nd April - Last day Term 1

TERM DATES 2026 Thursday 2nd April - last day term 1

Monday 20th April - first day term 2

Friday 3rd July - last day term 2

Monday 20th July - first day term 3

Friday 25th September - last day term 3

Monday 12th October - first day term 4

To be confirmed - last day term 4

PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS - SAVE THE DATE Our first parent–teacher interviews for the year will be held on Tuesday 24 March. Bookings can be made on your Edge App or you may phone the office to book you one if you are having trouble booking.

SWIMMING LESSONS NEXT WEEK

Can all students bring their swimming togs on Monday as Jo, our swimming coach will coming in for lessons during the morning.

TEACHER ONLY DAYS - ADVANCE NOTICE

The Ministry of Education has instructed all schools to hold two Teacher Only Days this year to complete professional development in maths. We have scheduled ours to align with holiday periods to make things as easy as possible for families. These will be on 21 August and 12 October.

FERN FEVER

For the girls who have registered for Fern Fever on Thursday 26th March, a letter was sent out earlier in the week confirming details. The girls need to be at school by 8.30am to leave by 8.45am at the latest. Your child won't be back in time for the buses so will need to be picked up at 3/3.15pm. They will need to take a packed lunch and drink. Rebecca Weatherall & Morgan Wilson will supervise the children whilst at the venue.

NORTHERN SWIMMING Those children who will be attending Northern Swimming at Fiordland Pool, Te Anau will need to arrive at the pool at 10am for a warm-up with races starting at 10.30am - a letter was sent home earlier this week detailing the race order. One of our members of staff, Kirsty Bryan, will be at the pool to manage the students. Any questions please let us know.

HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPIENTS

Korimako Our Year 6 students have had an engaging and meaningful learning period. In Social Science, they explored New Zealand’s Laws and Judicial System and participated in classroom role plays, helping them understand how the justice system works. In English, students learnt about the structure of persuasive writing and began applying these skills in their work. They also benefited from the Life Education programme in the mobile classroom, where they learnt about maintaining a healthy body and making positive choices. We wish all the very best to our athletes who will be taking part in the Southern Athletics competition on Saturday, 21st March. Ngā mihi, Anish Krishna Korimako Class Teacher

Piwakawaka In Piwakawaka this week, we have been solidifying our knowledge about addition strategies and writing recounts. We have continued to practice our handwriting. Year 3 looked at the use of silent e to make a long vowel sound (Blake the snake). Year 4 have been learning about alternative spellings of the long e sound with ea and ee. We completed our mural using different techniques and observation to paint a variety of tree barks. However, the highlight has been visiting Harold on Tuesday and Wednesday to build our knowledge around friendships, resilience and conflict resolution. Nga mihi Judy Finlayson

Tui Kia ora Whānau, This week in Tui we have had the privilege of being able to learn and extend our knowledge of emotions and friendships with Harold the giraffe and Life Education. An important aspect of this included how it is okay to feel happy, mad, scared, silly, and everything else in between; it's just how we respond and express those feelings that are important. We have also been practising handwriting for our numbers for our dates and the letters 'k' and 'l'. In writing we have been exploring some different concepts such as what ideas we have to include to make a sentence (who, what, where, when why) and how these can be used to expand our sentences. To extend further some of us have also learned about adverbs that are used to provide more details about the verbs in our sentences.In writing we have been exploring some different concepts such as what ideas we have to include to make a sentence (who, what, where, when why) and how these can be used to expand our sentences. To extend further some of us have also learned about adverbs that are used to provide more details about the verbs in our sentences. Ngā mihi, Natasha Humphrey

Room Tui Kaiako