Friday 23rd October 2026 Newsletter
Friday 23rd October 2026
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Kia Ora Parents & Whānau,
This week, the students have really got into the swing of things with our school production. A big thank you to the parents who have offered to help with props. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Swimming has also got off to a fantastic start with our new swimming instructor, Brittney. Please remember that students need to bring their togs every Wednesday for lessons with Brittney, as well as for any additional swimming sessions with their classroom teachers.
Congratulations to Charlotte, who represented Balfour School at the Schools Tennis Competition in Te Anau this week. Charlotte played exceptionally well, showing great sportsmanship and enjoying many competitive rallies throughout the day.
Yesterday, our Korimako class travelled to NSC to attend the Science Roadshow. Students enjoyed two engaging presentations on living things and kitchen science experiments before exploring a range of hands-on science stations. It was a fantastic day of learning, discovery and fun.
We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday, 27 October following the public holiday on Monday. We hope you all enjoy the long weekend and get the chance to spend some quality time with family and friends.
Mihi mahana,
Andrea Holt
VALUES AWARD
The Balfour School Values Award is presented to Max Williams.
Max, you are such a superstar! 🌟
Max is a friendly and welcoming student who gets along well with everyone. He consistently shows kindness, respect, and a positive attitude towards others. His hardworking nature and commitment to always doing his best make him a valued member of our school community.
Max embraces every opportunity that comes his way, enthusiastically participating in both sporting and academic activities. His remarkable speech this year showcased his confidence, dedication, and talent, while his extensive knowledge of the Titanic is truly second to none.
Max's great sense of humour, willingness to contribute, and exemplary character make him a wonderful role model for others.
Max displays all the Balfour School Values:
-Be Respectful / kia whakaute
-Be Positive / kia pai
-Be Honest / kai pono
-Be in Control / keite whakahaere
Thank you, Max, for everything you bring to Balfour School.
PRINCIPALS AWARD
Bella - for showing growing self-control and making an effort to follow instructions.
Harvey - for having such a strong work ethic combined with a determination to always try your best! You have respect for yourself as a learner - always trying to do better and be better!
Bjorn - for being a great role model for other students by being attentive, hard working, kind and positive.
CLASS CERTIFICATES
Jerrol - for showing improvement in self-control and approaching learning with a positive attitude.
Cyra - for consistently tidy work.
Ava - for consistently tidy work.
Pippa - for showing improvement in self-control and approaching learning with a positive attitude.
Harrison - for a great start to Term 4! I am really impressed with how you are stepping up as a leader in Tui with calmness and kindness! Awesome mahi!
Kadin - You are such a friendly caring classmate and I can always rely on you to make good choices with your learning and play. You rock!
Ollie - for completing the Gifted and Talented Science Programme.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Students who have celebrated birthdays this week are Marcos and Pouwera. Happy birthday to both of you and we hope you both had super fun birthday celebrations.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!
CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS - TERM 4
Monday 26th October - School closed - Labour Day
2nd - 5th November - Year 5/6 camp - Dunedin
Tuesday 24th November - Production 1pm and 5.30pm
Tuesday 1st December - Production reserve date
2nd - 4th December - Y3/4 camp - Omaui
Monday 14th December - Leavers ceremony
Monday 14th December - School closes 12.15pm
TERM DATES 2026
Monday 14th December - last day of Term 4
Tuesday 2nd February 2027 - Beginning of term 1
BOARD MEETING DATES FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR
TERM 4. - 28th October - 7.00pm. 2nd December - 7.00pm
SWIMMING REMINDER
A reminder that all students need to bring their swimming togs every Wednesday for lessons with Brittney, as well as on any additional days advised by their classroom teacher. Swimming is an important part of our curriculum, and we want all students to be able to participate. If a student forgets their togs, they will be assigned a job around the school while the swimming lesson is taking place. Thank you for your support in ensuring students come prepared for their swimming sessions.
SUN SMART REMINDER
As the weather warms up, a reminder that all students are expected to wear a hat whenever they are outside during break times and outdoor activities. To help protect students from the sun, we also encourage sunscreen to be applied before school and brought along for reapplication if needed. Please note that only wide-brimmed hats provide adequate sun protection and are permitted as part of our school sun safety expectations. Wide-brimmed school hats are available for purchase from the school office at $12 each. Students without a suitable hat will be required to stay in shaded areas during break times. Thank you for your support in helping keep our students safe in the sun. Please also ensure your child has a drink bottle of water everyday. Students are not permitted to have any other type of drink in their bottles.
BUS CHANGE REMINDER
To help ensure your child's bus arrangements are communicated safely and in a timely manner, please do not email bus changes to the school. Emails are not always checked during the afternoon and there is a risk that important messages may be missed. If your child has a change to their usual bus plans, please send a text message or phone the school office instead. This ensures we receive the information promptly and can pass it on to the appropriate staff member before the end of the day. Thank you for your cooperation in helping us keep all students safe and accounted for at dismissal time.
BUS CHANGE / EMERGENCY CONTACT FORM
This form was emailed and sent on Hero to all parents at the beginning of this week. We require this to be filled out at the beginning of each term and returned to school even if there is no change from last term. Can you please get these back in next week.
ASSEMBLY
Assembly is held on Friday mornings at 9.00am. Everyone is welcome.
You will receive a text message if your child is receiving a certificate, except if it is for a birthday ceritificate where we will presume you know they will automatically be receiving a certificate.
When we message to tell you your child is receiving a certificate can you please keep it as a surprise for them. Thank you in advance.
BALFOUR PRODUCTION
Calling all creative parents and whānau — we need your help. Our school production is coming up, and we’re looking for support with costumes and props. If you can sew, build, paint, or design, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us, if you’re able to lend a hand.
THE BOOK FAIR
We would like to say a huge thank you to all those who were able to purchase books from our Scholastic book fair. At present we have sold just over $2,000 with more payments still to come in. When the total amount is calculated we get to choose a percentage of these sales in free books for our school library.
KORIMAKO - It has been another busy and productive week in Korimako, with students continuing their learning and getting involved in exciting activities around the school.
Mathematics – Percentages: We continued our learning about percentages, practising how to understand and work with percentages in different situations. Students are building their confidence in recognising how percentages are used in everyday life.
English – Persuasive Writing: Our persuasive writing topic was “Take Part in a Talent Show!” Students worked on convincing a friend or someone else to participate in a talent show. They explored how to give reasons, share opinions, and use persuasive language to encourage others.
Science Roadshow: On Thursday, Korimako travelled to NSC to attend the Science Roadshow. Students had the opportunity to explore science through a range of displays, demonstrations, and interactive activities. It was a great opportunity to discover more about the world around us.
School Production: We have started preparing for the school production! A big thank you to Kath Dillon for giving her time to help our students get involved and begin preparing. We appreciate her support and look forward to seeing the students build their confidence and contribute to the production.
Swimming: Swimming lessons started this week. Korimako will be swimming every Monday and Wednesday, so please ensure students bring their togs and any other swimming gear they need on these days.
Looking Ahead: Next week, students will be completing their SMART assessments to help us monitor their learning progress. We are also looking forward to our Dunedin camp in Week 4, with preparations continuing as we get closer to this exciting experience.
Well done, Korimako, for another week of learning and participation. There is plenty to look forward to as we continue through Term 4!
Ngā mihi,
Anish Krishna
Korimako Class Teacher
PIWAKAWAKA Kia ora,
In Piwakawaka this week, we've done a lot of stuff. Outside the classroom, we have been doing swimming, production practise, painting our props and learning about storms. In iDeal, Year 3 have been doing Bryce the Night Owl and Year 4 have been learning about the three sounds of "ch."
By Ayaansh.
This week in Piwakawaka, we have been learning lots of thing like hard iDeal, production practising sing, swimming, fractions, climate and painting our props. For iDeal spelling, we had to pick an option. Option 1 is the easier spelling. Option 2 is the harder spelling.
By Donnalily.
Nga Mihi,
Judy Finlayson and Piwakawaka students.
TUI
Kia ora Whanau
How awesome has the weather been this week. Hopefully everyone manages some time out this weekend
In Tui this week we have continued exploring addition and subtraction for maths. We will carry on with this next week too. Our reading, writing and iDeal programme continues as usual.
Production - we are well on our way with practice; learning songs, making props and practicing our script.
Swimming: Children had a great time swimming this week with Brittany. She was very impressed with how able the children were in the water and how well behaved they were. We had a fun swim in the pool today, which cooled us down for the afternoon.
Please check in your child's homework book on Monday for a wee class notice. Please note that spelling words will be glued in the homework book too.
Have a great loooooong weekend
Jill Robb & Sarah McLean
Room Tui
HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPIENTS
This week's Principal's Award recipients enjoying their Hot Chocolate with Mrs Holt are Harvey, Bjorn and Bella.
SCIENCE ROADSHOW PHOTOS
CHILDREN"S AFTER SCHOOL GOLF
Our “School Pupils” Golf Club will begin again today 23rd October. For the benefit of any
new players, I have outlined some of the details about this activity below.
This Club is open to all pupils from year 3 and above, and will meet at the Riversdale Golf
Course each Friday during the summer terms.
Sessions times will be 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm. There is no cost for these Friday sessions and all clubs and balls are provided but children are welcome to bring their own.
If your child is interested in being part of this activity, or if you have any questions about this
club, please do not hesitate to phone Debbie Schriek on 0210462596.
JUNIOR TENNIS
The season is fast approaching and we are asking for you to make contact if your child is keen to play either B or C grade tennis. Coaching will also available. Beginners most welcome.
Contact: Helen McFelin 021 0279 5269
BALFOUR YOUNG FARMERS
Balfour Young Farmers are excited to be holding the 2027 Southland/Otago Young Farmers Regional Contest on Saturday, 13 February.
At this event, Southland/Otago FMG Young Farmers will go head-to-head for the opportunity to take the one spot representing Southland/Otago at the New Zealand FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest, which is being held in Christchurch in July 2027.
The Agrikids and Junior Young Farmers contests will also be taking place as part of the event in February, with schools from across Southland and Otago invited to participate. We are excited to bring this amazing event to our community and hope to see everyone getting involved!
We are getting in touch as it would be fantastic to see some of our local schools entering teams in either the Agrikids or Junior Young Farmers contest.
Registrations for these two events open to the public on Monday, 12 October at 10 am (the first day of Term 4). So set a reminder, because spots sell out fast!
Here is a link to find out more information: Agrikids and Junior Young Farmers Info, or please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.
We are looking forward to seeing lots of our local schools getting involved and having teams take part!
WORLD-CLASS ICE FIGURE SKATING IS COMING TO GORE!
Get ready, Gore! The 2026 New Zealand Ice Figure Skating Championships are coming to the Gore Multisports Complex, and this is your chance to experience the excitement, skill and spectacle of competitive figure skating right here in our own town!
29 October – 1 November 2026 Gore Multisports Complex Entry: Just $5 for adults – Under 16s FREE!
See some of New Zealand’s very best skaters in action!
Including one of the country’s most successful international skaters, Dwayne Li, who ranks among the top six Junior Men in the world!
Watch in amazement as he performs incredible triple and quadruple jumps – something truly spectacular to see in person!
Whether you’re a skating fan, a family looking for something exciting to do, or you’ve never watched figure skating before, this is an amazing opportunity to witness some seriously impressive talent up close.
Bring the family, support our incredible athletes, and experience the magic of ice figure skating!
PLEASE NOTE: The public skating session on Saturday 31 October is CANCELLED due to the Championships. The Sunday public session will still run as usual from 2pm–4pm.
Come along, show your support, and don’t miss this fantastic event for Gore!
SOUTHLAND RUGBY LEAGUE is helping establish junior teams based in Gore and Eastern Southland, with local training and travel into Invercargill on Friday nights to take part in our summer competition.
We’re seeking players for the following grades:
●. Under 8s
●. Under 10s
●. Under 12s
●. Under 14 Girls
●. Under 14 Boys
Players of all experience levels are welcome, including children who haven’t played rugby league before. We already have some interested families and keen coaches, and we’re now working to build enough numbers across each grade to establish teams.
Parents and caregivers interested in coaching are also encouraged to get involved. Southland Rugby League will provide coaching development, practical session ideas and support to help them feel confident leading their teams. Previous rugby league coaching experience isn’t necessary.
Player and coaching expression-of-interest form: https://forms.gle/UbPSguzP1RWwPYEi6
Please complete the form as soon as possible, even if you couldn’t attend the recent muster. It helps us
identify player numbers, age groups and available coaches so we can coordinate the next steps.
Our aim is to support local coaches to begin running sessions from next week, once numbers and coaching arrangements are confirmed. Training details and information about travelling to the competition will be shared directly with interested families.
Thanks for helping us build this opportunity for children across Gore and Eastern Southland. Please get in
touch if you have any questions.
For more information or to speak with someone directly about joining a team or getting involved in
coaching, please contact Justine at Pioneer Rugby Club or Steve Kelly at Albion Rugby Club. You’re also
welcome to contact me, and I can put you in touch.
Dominic Bradley
Southland Rugby League Development Officer
Email: dominic@nzrl.co.nz
Phone: 021 491 625
Website: Southland District Rugby League - Home
