Friday 5th June 2026 Newsletter
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Friday 5th June 2026
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Kia Ora Parents & Whānau,
I had the pleasure of marshalling at the Northern Cross Country on Wednesday, and it was wonderful to see our students giving their best out on the course. Those who took part were an absolute credit to Balfour — their attitude and effort for one another really stood out.
Back at school, all of our classes are busy preparing for the Riversdale Art Exhibition. This year’s theme, ‘Entwined Interconnection’, is certainly a challenging one, but it has sparked some deep thinking and creative ideas across the school. Alongside this, students are also working on artwork for a Matariki event in Lumsden at the end of the term, which promises to be a special celebration.
Our visit to Riversdale Art Exhibition is on Thursday, 25 June, and we’re looking for parent helpers to help supervise… mostly to prevent small fingers from “accidentally” testing the texture of the artwork. More details to follow.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Mihi mahana,
Andrea Holt
We would like to extend a warm welcome to
Alfonisina who moved here over the weekend
with her family and has joined Mr Krishna and the class of Korimako. We would also like to welcome Alfonsina's family to our school community.
CLASS CERTIFICATE RECIPIENTS
Lydia - for working independently and staying focused during class
activities.
Elliott - for making small but positive improvements in his learning and work habits.
Lennox - for showing great dedication with your handwriting.
Mele - for taking care during learning time and showing great focus
while working.
Elise - for great concentration and for making great strides in your
learning.
Flynn - for perfect a spelling score 5 weeks in a row.
PRINCIPALS AWARD RECIPIENTS
Albie - for excelling in Mathematics and enthusiastically taking on new challenges to extend your learning.
Ollie - for positive earnest learning and self managing in your learning.
Hayley - for working hard and showing excellent effort in class everyday.
BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday wishes this week to
Billy, Pearl and Angus. We hope you all had super fun birthday celebrations.
NORTHERN CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS
Another fabulous day at the Northern Cross Country on Wednesday.
Our athletes gave it their all and represented our school so well — well
done to every one of them for their effort and determination. A special
congratulations to Charlotte, who placed 2nd in the age‑10 race. This
outstanding result means she now qualifies for the Southland Cross
Country, which will be held next Friday, 12 June. We wish her all the
very best as she prepares for the next level of competition.
RIVERSDALE ART EXHIBITION
This trip will take place on Thursday, 25th June. The students will visit in two separate groups and we would love your help in supervising as they wander round the artwork. A letter has gone home today so if you can help, please let us know on the permission slip. Thanks for your support.
HEALTHY ACTIVE LEARNING QUESTIONAIRE
Our Year 4–6 students will be completing an online questionnaire at school about their sports participation and physical activity. This is simply to help us build a clearer picture of how active our students are and how we can continue to support them. There is nothing you need to do at home — this is just for your information. Please see the letter emailed to you today for further details.
CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS - TERM 2
Wednesday 10th June - Firewise
Thursday June 25th - Visit to Riversdale Arts Exhibition
Wednesday 1st July - Matariki disco (time tbc)
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
KORIMAKO This week, students continued their learning on fractions in Mathematics and further developed their understanding through class activities and problem-solving tasks. In Writing, students spent time preparing their speeches for the upcoming school-based speech competition at the beginning of next term, where the top two students will qualify for the finals. Students have also been working hard on their artwork for the upcoming Riversdale Art Exhibition and are showing great creativity and effort. A huge congratulations to all the students who represented our school at the Northern Cross Country competition. We are very proud of your determination and sportsmanship.
We also welcomed a new student, Alfonsina, to our class this week and hope she enjoys her time at Balfour School.
Ngā mihi,
Anish Krishna
Korimako Class Teacher
PIWAKAWAKA Kia ora,
This week in Piwakawaka we are working on our art for Riversdale, along with our regular learning. Year 3 have started exploring multiplication, and are learning about the sounds -ed makes when added to words. Year 4 have been practising their multiplication skills and learning about the alternative spellings of the 'or' sound. We have continued to work on our Fairy Tales, with quite a few students finished already.
Nga mihi
Judy Finlayson.
Piwakawaka Class Teacher
TUI Kia ora whānau,
This week in Tui we have continued our exploration of living things through other means such as using the xylophones to practice pitch and how it starts low and gets higher as it grows. We have also noticed how the flower seeds we planted have begun to sprout which has been exciting to see. With writing we have been looking at what a fragment is and how we can convert a fragment into a sentence. Number formation, measuring, and comparing fractions have been our focus for Maths this week and practice has really paid off for what they have been able to achieve! We have also started preparing for our assembly that we will be presenting at next week.
Ngā mihi, Natasha Humphrey
Room Tui Kaiako
HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPIENTS
Todays Hot Chocolate recipients,
Ollie, Hayley and Albie all enjoying their
hot chocolates and a chat with Mrs Holt.
TEACHING POSITION AVAILABLE - TERM 3 START
Balfour School is excited to announce a fixed‑term, part‑time teaching position due to roll growth in our New Entrant class. This role begins 20 July (Term 3) and concludes 10 December 2026.
We are a vibrant, close‑knit rural school that values strong relationships, personalised learning, and a holistic approach to education. Our staff, students, and community work together to create a warm, supportive environment where children thrive.
We are seeking an experienced New Zealand registered teacher who is innovative, enthusiastic, caring, and passionate about working with our youngest learners. Strong literacy and numeracy capability is essential, along with a genuine love of teaching and learning.
If you’re excited about joining an amazing team and working with wonderful children, we’d love to hear from you.
Please send your CV, cover letter detailing your areas of strengths and application form to: principal@balfour.school.nz
BALFOUR SCHOOL FUNDRAISER
Balfour Home and School have been given a great last minute opportunity to have this very good comedian hypnotist along to Balfour Hall on the 13th of June!
Please share this with your school community and help us get the word out there for ticket sales. We will also have cash bar, raffles, auction and a courtesy coach available on the night.
Thanks so much for your support!
Zaynor McLean
Balfour home and school
Balfour Lions Hay competition Colouring competition
Return to the school office before Thursday 25th June or hand in at the Hay compettion on Friday 26th.
COMMUNITY NEWS
