Friday 24th April 2026 Newsletter
- Apr 24
- 5 min read
Friday 24th April 2026
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Kia Ora Parents & Whānau,
I hope you all enjoyed a restful and enjoyable Easter holiday with your families. It has been wonderful to see everyone return this week with such energy and enthusiasm.
We are very pleased to welcome three new students to Balfour School this term. It’s always a joy to see our students showing kindness and helping new classmates settle in. We are confident they will feel right at home here and quickly become part of our school community.
Over the break, our school website received a fantastic upgrade. We encourage you to take a moment to explore it at https://www.balfour.school.nz/. You’ll find newsletters, key dates, policies, and a range of helpful information to keep you connected with what’s happening at school. We’re proud of the refreshed look and hope it makes accessing information even easier for our families.
This term we are looking forward to our annual cross country competition, a highlight for many of our students. More details will be shared soon.
Next week, on Friday 1st May, we will be holding Camo Day. Students are welcome to come dressed in their duck‑shooting gear or camo clothing to join in the fun. It’s always a day full of smiles and creativity, and we look forward to seeing the outfits that arrive at school.
Wishing you all a lovely long ANZAC weekend.
Mihi mahana,
Andrea Holt
We would like to warmly welcome Jacob Muilwyk, Hazel Sutherland and Maggie Duff to Balfour School. Jacob has recently moved to the Balfour Area and has joined Mr Krishna and the class of Korimako. Hazel and Maggie turned 5 during the holidays and have joined Miss Humphrey and Tui Class. A warm welcome also to Jacob and Hazel's families to our Community.
CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS - TERM 2
Monday 27th April - School closed ANZAC holiday
Wednesday 6th May. - Board of Trustees meeting, 7pm
Friday 22nd May - Cross Country (TBC)
Monday 1st June - No School - King's Birthday
Wednesday 3rd June. - Northern Cross Country
Wednesday 10th June - Firewise
Thursday June 25th - Visit to Riversdale Arts Exhibition
Friday 3rd July - End of term 2
TERM DATES 2026
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
BUSES
Our three bus drivers are Robin McGregor, Megan Ballantine and Graeme McGaughey. As a courtesy we ask parents to text the bus driver if your child is off the bus in the morning. Also please do not make alternative arrangements for your child to travel on another bus unless you have checked with the driver that they have room. Please also notify the school office. Please note that the office is only open until 1.30pm so any last minute notices must be sent to the mobile phone otherwise they will be missed.
Please remember that if your child is going home with someone else, the school must hear this directly from you. For safeguarding reasons, we cannot accept messages passed on by another parent. Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe.
Robin 0272217112.
Megan. 0274086164
Graeme 0274044577.
FRIDAY ASSEMBLY
From Friday 1st May, Celebration Assembly will be held on Friday mornings at 9.00am. This timing fits much better with the flow of the school day and will also allow us to send out the weekly newsletter in a more timely and consistent way. As normal, all parents are welcome to join us. If your child is getting a certificate, we will notify you on Thursday afternoon.
BOARD MEETING ATTENDANCE
Our school board meetings are held in public, and members of the community are welcome to attend and observe. These meetings are not public forums, so visitors do not have speaking rights and are unable to participate in discussion. At times, the board may move into a public‑excluded session to consider sensitive matters, and visitors will be asked to step out during that part of the meeting. If you have questions about how board meetings work or would like to attend, please contact the school office.
MAINTAINING CLEAR COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
A reminder that all matters relating to your child’s work, behaviour, or welfare should be directed to their class teacher. Support staff are not able to respond to messages or queries outside of school, and all communication should go through the appropriate teaching staff. Thank you for helping us maintain clear and consistent communication channels.
KORIMAKO Week 1 marked a great start to Term 2. We began the week with a whole school assembly and focused on our school value of Positive Thinking throughout the week. In Reading and Writing, our learning was centred around ANZAC Week, where students engaged in meaningful discussions, completed artwork, and wrote letters to deepen their understanding. In Mathematics, we started our Geometry unit, exploring different types of triangles and quadrilaterals. A few of our students also confidently represented our class during the assembly by delivering ANZAC speeches. Well done to everyone for a positive and focused start to the term.
Ngā mihi,
Anish Krishna Korimako Class Teacher
PIWAKAWAKA This week all of Piwakawaka have settled back into work quickly and are learning well. We have been exploring subtraction strategies in Math, writing diaries and in a variety of text forms in English, and A.N.Z.A.C. history in Social Studies. Science was exciting as we made salt water solutions for forming crystals. In iDeal we looked at the r-controlled 'ar' sound in words for Year 3, and at alternative spellings of the long o sound for Year 4. Each day we have been out playing running games to build up our cross country stamina.
Nga mihi
Judy Finlayson. Piwakawaka Class Teacher
TUI Kia ora whānau,
This week we have had a good transition back to the start of school. It has been amazing to see everyone again and transition back into learning. This week we have been focusing on sentence stems using 'but' and because', asking questions around 'who, what, where, when, and how', and making sure a sentence has a whole idea. With maths we have been focusing on subtraction, and we have been doing some poppy art for ANZAC day as well as starting running and exercise practice for Cross Country.
Ngā mihi, Natasha Humphrey Room Tui Kaiako
COME DRESSED IN YOUR BEST CAMO COLOURS. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO WEAR CAMO YOU CAN CAMOUFLAGE YOURSELF IN YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR.
WE WILL HAVE SOME COMPETITIONS ON THE DAY SO MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY FOR THE DUCK CALLING COMPETITION, GOOD LUCK!
THERE WILL ALSO BE A BEST DRESSED OVERALL OUT OF THE WHOLE SCHOOL.
MAKE SURE YOU DRESS UP, GOOD LUCK!
COMMUNITY NOTICES
BALFOUR VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE
We are seeking someone who would like to take on a voluntary role within our Brigade. This role is classed as Operational Support and involves Data entry into our computer system. Training will be provided. If you are interested please phone Stephen on 021332841 or James on 0272789601
