27th March 2026 Newsletter

2 days ago
5 min read

Friday 27th March 2026

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE It has been another busy and exciting week of learning and sport at school. Thank you for the

support you continue to give your children—it really shows in the way they approach their

learning and activities.

Our Parent–Teacher interviews took place on Tuesday, and it was wonderful to connect with so

many of you. We appreciate the time you took to come in and discuss your child’s progress.

Nine of our students attended Northern Swimming this week. They had a fantastic time, gained

great experience, and represented our school proudly. On Thursday, fifteen of our girls

travelled to Invercargill for Fern Fever, where they spent the day trying out a range of

different sports. They had an active, fun-filled day and came back buzzing.

Next week is our final week before the Easter holidays. On Monday we have our last

swimming session with Jo, so please remember to pack togs. The last day of term, Thursday

2nd April, will be a non-uniform day. Children are encouraged to come dressed in their

favourite bright colours and with crazy hair to celebrate the end of term.

We will also be running an optional Easter egg decorating competition. Children can boil an egg

at home, decorate it in any creative way they like, and bring it to school by 12pm on

Wednesday 1st April. There will be one winner per class.

Wishing everyone a great end to the term as we head toward the Easter break.

Ngå mihi,

Andrea Holt

Principal

CERTIFICATE RECPIPIENTS

Xavier - bringing a great sense of humour and energy into the classroom which makes others smile.

Thinuli - working hard to do independent hand writing.

Ava - great manners and respectfulness.

Gavreel - great helpfulness and consideration for others.

Emma - for showing respect through actions and words and being a kind and supportive friend.

Max - pushing through challenges and showing courage in learning.

PRINCIPAL’S AWARD RECIPIENTS

Jaylen McLean - for demonstrating kindness, integrity, and a

willingness to do good things without seeking recognition or

reward.

Luca Dillon - for being polite, respectful and demonstrating

excellent manners at all times.

Grayson Black - for showing respect for himself by figuring out all his math problems without taking the easy way out.

CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS - TERM 2 Monday 20th April. - Start of Term 2

Wednesday 22nd April. - Firewise

Friday 24th April - Non-Uniform day

Monday 27th April - School closed

Wednesday 6th May. - Board of Trustees meeting, 7pm

Friday 22nd May - Cross Country (TBC)

Monday 1st June - No School - Kings Birthday

Wednesday 3rd June. - Northern Cross Country

Wednesday 10th June - Firewise

Friday 3rd July - End of term 2

TERM DATES 2026 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

REMINDER: PLEASE COME TO THE OFFICE FIRST If you need to collect your child early during the school day, or if you are dropping off items such as swimming togs, please come to the school office first. A member of staff will then go to the classroom to collect your child or deliver the items to them. Thank you for your cooperation — it helps us keep everyone safe and learning without disruption.

EASTER EGG COMPETITION

We’re having a bit of Easter fun at school and would love everyone to join in.

All you need to do is hard‑boil an egg at home and turn it into something creative — a

character, an animal, something silly, something clever, whatever you like. The more

imaginative, the better. Please bring your egg creations to school by 12pm on Wednesday 1 April. We’ll be judging them that afternoon, and there’ll be a prize for

the winner in each class. It’s all just for fun and a chance for the kids to get creative.

We can’t wait to see what they come up with.

NON-UNIFORM DAY

On the last day of term, Thursday 2 April, we’re having a non‑uniform day to celebrate the end of a great term. The children have looked so smart and have taken such pride in their new uniforms, so we thought it would be fun to finish the term with something a bit different. Bright colours, comfy clothes and even a bit of crazy hair are all very welcome. It’s simply a chance for everyone to relax and enjoy the final day before the break.

SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS

Athletics

Well done to our amazing athletes who attended Southland Athletics in Invercargill last weekend.

A special mention to:

Donnalily who took 1st place in both the 60m and 100m sprint;

Ana 1st place in discus; and

Evie who took 2nd place in 100m sprint.

We are very proud of you all!

SWIMMING

Nine of our students took to the water on Wednesday at

Northern Swimming Champs in Te Anau. Well done to everyone who took part. Special congratulations to: Luca who came first in 8 years breaststroke; and Archer who came 3rd in 8 years freestyle. You did Balfour proud!

Korimako Week 8 has been another productive and active week for our class. In English, we have continued developing our persuasive

writing skills. In Social Sciences, students explored the topic of banking and gained an understanding of how money is managed.

In Science, we investigated materials, focusing on mass, volume, and density through engaging activities. Our girls also participated in the Fern Fever event in Invercargill on Thursday, showing great enthusiasm and teamwork. Additionally, a few of

our swimmers proudly represented the school at the Northern Swimming competition held in Te Anau. Wishing everyone a great and restful weekend. Ngā mihi, Anish Krishna Korimako Class Teacher

Piwakawaka Piwakawaka this week has been busy learning all sorts of things.During last weekend, some students went to Southland Athletics in Invercargill and it was great to hear how they went on Monday. We had others away at Northern Swimming in Te Anau on Wednesday, and on Thursday some girls attended Fern Fever in Invercargill, (netball). A week of sports really! However, we have continued to beaver away in class learning our reading, writing and math. We areusing our rounding, place value and addition in learning aboutmoney. We have all completed well-edited recounts and engaged in anumber of other writing tasks. Mrs. Duff led the class in somewonderful shading with bark and leaf rubbings to create a montageof trees. Nga mihi Judy Finlayson

Tui Kia ora whānau,

Thank you to all of those that came to the parent teacher interviews

this week. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to speak to

everyone and share all of the cool things that the children have been

up to in the Tui classroom. This week in handwriting we have been

focusing on the letters 'm' and 'n'. In writing we have been focusing on using capitals, full stops, and how to expand a sentence using who, what, where, when, and adverbs. In maths we have been

expanding our knowledge of place value in ones, tens, and hundreds and how we can break these down when adding and subtracting. Ngā mihi, Natasha Humphrey

Room Tui Kaiako

INSTAGRAM We are excited to let you know that our school will soon be launching an official Instagram account, in conjunction with our new school website. These platforms will help us share the wonderful things happening across our classrooms, celebrate student achievements, and give our wider community a closer look at school life. The platform will be public and there will be no mention of names.

We would love for all students to be included in the content we post. However, we completely understand that some families may prefer not to have their child featured. If you do *not* wish for your child to appear on our school Instagram account, please let the office know by Wednesday 1st April. If we don’t hear from you, we will assume permission is granted. Thank you for your support as we continue to grow our school community.