Friday 26th June 2026 Newsletter
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Friday 19th June 2026
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Kia Ora Parents & Whānau,
It has been another very busy week at school, with just one more to go before the holidays. A big well done to Pīwakawaka Class for their assembly this morning. They showcased their recent learning with a confident and polished performance.
This week, the whole school visited the Riversdale Art Exhibition, where the children were able to see their own artwork on display alongside pieces from other schools. They also explored the main exhibition, hunting for the number of birds hidden in one of the artworks and discovering which piece carried the highest price tag. Our students represented Balfour beautifully — polite, engaged and well behaved throughout.
Next week we are looking forward to our school disco on Wednesday, running from 5.30–6.45pm. On the last day of term, we will finish with a mufti day, and children are welcome to come dressed in clothes of their choice.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend as we head into the final stretch of the term. Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Mihi mahana,
Andrea Holt
CLASS CERTIFICATE RECIPIENTS
Gav - for being attentive and respectful in basketball.
Beauden - for showing a strong willingness to learn and making excellent progress.
Luca - for embracing challenges with a positive attitude and growing in confidence.
Donnalily - for always doing her best with a smile.
Thea - for making meaningful connections in y our reading.
Danni - for using great manners and being kind to others
PRINCIPALS AWARD RECIPIENTS
Evie - for displaying a growth mindset and making encouraging
improvements in learning.
Ellie - for bringing a positive attitude and smile to school everyday
and showing perseverance in her writing.
Francis - for being hardworking, respectful, polite, posItive and
a great speller.
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday wishes this week to Harvey, we hope you have a fun birthday celebration.
MATARIKI SHOW
On Friday, 3rd July, there will be a community Matariki Light Show taking place in Lumsden from 5.30–7.30pm, and we’re delighted that Balfour School students have contributed artwork to the display.
It should be a good evening with plenty of other things going on as well.
Please refer to the poster below for all event details.
CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS - TERM 2
Wednesday 1st July. - School Disco 5.30-6.45pm ( see poster below for more Info)
Friday 3rd July - End of term 2
Wednesday 5th August - Board meeting 7.30pm, (anyone welcome to attend)
Tuesday 11th August - Korimako Class Speeches
Friday 14th August - Piwakawaka and Tui Classes Speeches
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
BOARD MEETING DATES FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR
TERM 3 TERM 4
5th August 28th October
9th September 2nd December
KORIMAKO - Week 10 has been a busy and engaging week of learning. In Mathematics, students have been diving deeper into multiplication and division by solving real-world problems and applying their number knowledge to everyday situations. In Science, we have been learning about the Sun, Moon, and Earth, and making connections to Matariki and its significance in Aotearoa New Zealand. Students also enjoyed participating in basketball drills led by Mr Stu Brown from Active Southland, where they practised a range of skills and teamwork activities. In addition, the children have been making great use of the new table tennis table purchased by the school and have thoroughly enjoyed developing their skills during break times. This week, students also made a trip to the Riversdale Art Exhibition, where they had the opportunity to view a variety of artworks and see their own creative efforts displayed. Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Ngā mihi,
Anish Krishna
Korimako Class Teacher
PIWAKAWAKA Kia ora,
This week in Piwakawaka we have been doing science around water. We have also been writing friendly letters. We were allowed to choose who we were writing to. It has been really fun. We have also been practicing for our assembly this week, getting ready for this Friday.
by Archer Maginn.
This week in Piwakawaka we have been learning to make words out of a selection of letters (e.g. i,u,k,m,n,p,p,s). We painted a big piece of wood and we poked lights through it. Stu Brown from Active Southland showed us some basketball skills. We have recently been to Riversdale Arts. My favourite painting was a sheep.
by George Stewart
The art activity George refers to is a whole school activity for the Matariki Art Evening at Lumsden School Pump Track on Friday 3 July.
Nga mihi
Judy Finlayson.
Piwakawaka Class Teacher
TUI Kia ora whānau,
This week we have had some exciting things happening. On Wednesday Stu Brown from Active Southland came in to show us some activities about balance and being flexible. These activities included jumping flat on our feet, spreading our arms out for balance, and how to fall forwards safely. On Thursday we went to the Riversdale Art Exhibition where the students were excited to see all of their artwork up on display and be able to see all of the other awesome work that people had done. We have also been practising our CVC words and 'ck' sounds for literacy and making connections to numbers, multiplication, and division for numeracy.
Ngā mihi, Natasha Humphrey
Room Tui Kaiako
OUR SCHOOL'S DISPLAY AT THE RIVERSDALE ARTS EXHIBITION
