Friday 3rd July 2026 Newsletter

Jul 3
5 min read

Friday 19th June 2026

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Kia Ora Parents & Whānau,

What a great way to end the term. The disco was incredibly well attended, and it was lovely to see the children enjoying themselves so much. The dance competitions were a real highlight, especially the limbo, which drew plenty of cheers and laughter. With glow sticks lighting up the room, the whole evening had a bright, lively feel. A big thank‑you to the staff who organised the event and those who stayed to supervise — your time and energy make these occasions possible, and the students clearly appreciated it.

To finish the term on a relaxed note, we also held a uniform‑free day. The children enjoyed the chance to express a bit of individuality, and it added a nice sense of celebration to the final day.

Your child should have brought home their mid‑year report yesterday. These reports give a clear picture of how students are progressing across the first half of the year, highlighting both strengths and next steps. If you have any questions or would like to talk through anything in more detail, please get in touch with your child’s teacher.

A number of our students have also created artwork for the Lumsden Matariki Show taking place tonight. Their pieces reflect the themes of Matariki beautifully, and it’s wonderful to see their creativity being shared with the wider community. We hope you’re able to attend — it means a lot to the students to have their work seen and celebrated.

Have a wonderful holiday and we’ll see you on Monday 20th July.

Mihi mahana,

Andrea Holt

WELCOME

We would like to express a very warm welcome

to Nikau and Pourewa. Nikau recently turned 5 and has joined Miss Humphrey and the Tui Class and Pourewa has recently moved here and has joined Mr Krishna and the Korimako class. Welcome also to Nikau and Pourewa's

families to our School Community.

PRINCIPALS AWARD RECIPIENTS

Marcos - for always trying his best and showing a positive approach to learning.

Archer - for a positive attitude to learning

Nikau - making connections with others and participating in classroom activities.

CLASS CERTIFICATE RECIPIENTS

Jacob - for displaying a can do attitude and giving his best in everything.

Isuli - for consistently demonstrating a positive attitude and excellent effort in class.

Addie - for superb progress in her learning in maths.

Ayaansh - for great writing skills. (Absent for the photo)

Xavier - for coming back to school near the end of term with a great can-do attitude and excitement to succeed.

Hugo - for aiming high and achieving the goals you set out to do.

BIRTHDAYS

Happy Birthday wishes this week to Zaynor, Liam and Hazel we hope you had fun birthday celebrations.

100% ATTENDANCE THIS TERM

Congratulations to Elliot, Angus, Ollie, Isuli, Luca, Cooper and Toretto on receiving 100% certificates for attendance this term.

MATARIKI SHOW

Tonight, 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

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

Monday 20th July. - first day term 3

Friday 21st August. - Teacher Only Day

Friday 25th September. - last day term 3

Monday 12th October. - Teacher Only Day

Tuesday 13th 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 11 marked the final week of Term 2 and it has been a wonderful way to finish a busy and successful term. One of the highlights of the week was our school disco on Wednesday night, which the students thoroughly enjoyed. It was fantastic to see everyone having fun, dancing, and spending time together in a positive and enjoyable atmosphere. Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening such a success. School reports have also been sent home this week, and we encourage families to take the time to celebrate their child's achievements and discuss areas for growth. During the holidays, we encourage students to stay engaged in some constructive learning activities, such as reading regularly, practising their maths facts, and spending time on their online learning programmes. We wish all our families a safe, restful, and enjoyable holiday break and look forward to welcoming everyone back for Term 3.

Ngā mihi,

Anish Krishna

Korimako Class Teacher

PIWAKAWAKA Kia ora,

This week we had a disco party and I danced fast.

In Piwakawaka this week, we have been learning a new poem and it's so hard. I can't even pronounce the words in the poem properly. This week, we have been using calculators for math. The equations are so hard; some are easy, also some of them are difficult, but I made it.

Gavreel Jurolan.

This week in Piwakawaka we are having a disco to celebrate Matariki and I really want it to be exciting. We have also been making Matariki paintings in the back room. We've been practising on calculators. It is super hard and frustrating. We have been learning a new poem as well.

Billy Clarke.

This week in Piwakawaka we have been learning how to use a calculator. We have also been learning a new poem called "The Arrow and the Song." We started a Matariki painting. Each class in our school has done one section. On Wednesday night we had a cool disco.

We also have started paper mache planets by soaking little bits of newspaper. We are making them into balls then we are going to paint them like planets.

Hazel Duff

Nga mihi

Judy Finlayson.

Piwakawaka Class Teacher

TUI Kia ora whānau,

We have had a great term being able to explore a lot of different things such as life cycles, journeys, xylophone music, recognising and copying beats, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The students have done well being able to make connections from their prior learning and knowledge to new information which solidifies the new concepts. This week has been a recap week, reflecting on the things that we have done and practicing those key concepts. I hope everyone is excited for the holidays and we look forward to hearing what the students get up to in the new term.

Ngā mihi, Natasha Humphrey

Room Tui Kaiako

BALFOUR SCHOOL KNITTING GROUP

Some of our enterprising girls in Korimako have been busy creating their own knitwear, and they’re now selling their handmade mittens, bracelets, bags, rat’s tails and more to help fund their upcoming camps. Their stall will be running in the first week back, and they’d love your support.