Friday 4th September 2026 Newsletter
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Friday 4th September 2026
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Kia Ora Parents & Whānau,
This week marked the first day of spring, and it certainly feels like a welcome shift.
It has been a fantastic week of learning across the school. Our students have been working extremely hard, and their efforts certainly didn’t go unnoticed. A group of principals from South Otago visited as part of a tour through Southland and specifically chose to stop in at Balfour School. They were genuinely impressed — complimenting our students on their work ethic, smartness, and manners, and speaking highly of our building, staff, and school culture. It was lovely to see our children shine.
This week, you will have received a link from the office inviting you to complete our community consultation questionnaire. We would really appreciate your input. Your feedback helps guide our strategic direction for the next 2–3 years, ensuring we continue to grow in ways that best support our students and community.
Last Friday, Korimako class enjoyed a wonderful day at Waikaia School for the ki‑o‑rahi tournament. The whole class represented Balfour beautifully — impeccably behaved, enthusiastic, and full of smiles. They also managed to spend plenty at the food stalls and carnival games, all in support of Daffodil Day. A huge thank you to the families who were able to help with transport; your support made the day possible.
Next Friday, we look forward to our Tui class assembly at 9am, followed by our usual Celebration Assembly. We hope to see many of you there.
Wishing you all a happy weekend.
Mihi mahana,
Andrea Holt
PRINCIPALS AWARD
Maggie - for bringing a vibrant positive energy to school each day. I like how you include others when you are playing.
Emma - for showing perseverance and never giving up when things get challenging.
Sienna - for being an honest and valued member of our class community.
CLASS CERTIFICATES
Max - for showing a positive attitude and always giving your best.
Ana - for being considerate of others and showing genuine kindness.
Isabella-Dixie - for wonderfully constructed sentences, beautiful vocabulary and trying new words!
Cooper - you are trying really hard to make sure your sentences make sense. You are using your sounds to try new words.
Elise - for helpfulness and honesty and caring for others.
Cyra - for using your initiative to tidy up a mess of class books on the floor.
Addie - for going the extra mile and doing extra in learning.
BIRTHDAYS
Happy birthday wishes this week to Beauden Stewart. We hope you had a super fun birthday celebration.
CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS - TERM 3
Mon 14th - Fri 18th September - Maori Language Week
Wednesday 16th September - Parent Teacher Interviews
Monday 12th October - Teacher Only Day
TERM DATES 2026
Wednesday 16th September. - Parent/Teacher Interviews
Friday 25th September. - last day term 3
Monday 12th October. - Teacher Only Day
Tuesday 13th October. - first day term 4
Monday 14th December - last day of Term 4
BOARD MEETING DATES FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR
TERM 3 TERM 4
9th September 7.00pm 28th October - 7.00pm
2nd December - 7.00pm
POOL ATTENDANT
We are still desperately looking for a pool attendant for the Summer Season from Term 4. If you could help or you know someone else who could, please contact the office.
TUI ASSEMBLY
Tui Class will be sharing a short assembly next Friday at 9am to showcase what they’ve been working on in class, followed by our usual celebration assembly. We’d love to have you join us.
TEACHER ONLY DAY (TOD)
Just a heads up that there will be a TOD on the first day of the next term, Monday 12th October. School will reopen on Tuesday 13th October.
KORIMAKO - As we move further into the term, our students have continued to build their skills and show steady progress across their learning.
In English, our focus has been on Narrative Writing. Students have been developing their ideas into engaging stories, with attention to characters, setting, plot, and structure. Students also completed the iDeaL Spelling Assessment, which will help us identify their progress and next steps in spelling.
In Mathematics, we continued our Statistics unit by learning how to calculate the mean and range of a set of data. Students have been practising how to use these calculations to better understand and interpret information.
Dunedin Camp: A big thank you to the parents who have volunteered to join us and help with our upcoming camp. Having your support makes it possible for us to provide this valuable experience for our students, and we truly appreciate your willingness to give your time and assistance.
With Week 7 now complete, we are looking forward to building on this learning and making the most of the remaining weeks of Term 3.
Ngā mihi,
Anish Krishna
Korimako Class Teacher
PIWAKAWAKA Kia ora,
This week in Piwakawaka, we had principals visit the school to look around, and Piwakawaka were all focused on their learning and did us proud. Well done, Piwakawaka.
On Tuesday, Mrs Hailes, a new relief teacher taught in our class. She was really nice and let us play a game at the end of the day because we wrote more than five spelling words in a sentence.
Roxy, the golden retriever puppy came to visit our class, She's very cute and fluffy and she really liked Charlie! We put our rings on our planets and they look amazing! We are planning for our assembly in Week 9.
We are learning a new poem, Daffodils by William Wordsworth, and a new song, Morningtown Ride (The Seekers/Wiggles). In spelling we have been learning the 1-1-1 rule about when you double consonants. In maths we have been learning to check subtraction by adding up. In science, we learnt about classifying plants by their 'skeletal' structure - woody, soft or hard stems. In Social Studies we learnt about the longest river in the world, the Nile River and how is was used for watering crops with a shaduf, and an Archimedes screw, as well as for swimming, traveling and transportation.
At lunchtime, we now have a 5 minute warning bell which tells us to come in, and get ready for learning by having a drink and going to the bathroom before the second bell.
Written by all of Piwakawaka.
Nga mihi
Judy Finlayson.
Piwakawaka Class Teacher
TUI
Kia ora everyone
The week started off with Mrs Robb doing some writing with the children around a great wee story - Old Tuatara and making some cool art to go along with the story. We have also written about daffodils and sand this week using our senses to help generate ideas.
We also began looking at time for maths discussing language like before, after, later, soon, yesterday, today, tomorrow. We have discussed the days of the week, including today, tomorrow and yesterday, months and seasons and a little calendar work for some.
Preparations are underway for the school production and Tui have started doing some prep for this. There will be more information later in the term/early next term about this.
We have also been spending time with the children of Tui working through different scenarios of what it means to be a respectful and kind class member. We have been looking at turn taking, how to ask for a turn, sharing, how we can join in with play etc.
Just a reminder about assembly next week , Tui will be sharing some of their recent learnings. Will be entertaining!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Ngā mihi, Sarah McLean & Jill Robb
Room Tui
HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPIENTS
Congratulations to Maggie, Emma and Sienna enjoying their hot chocolate with Mrs Holt.
DAFFODIL DAY FUNDRAISER
Thank you to all those who contributed to our Daffodil Day fundraising last Friday. We raised $80.50 for this very worthy cause.
