Balmoral School Newsletter: 18 November 2022
Principal's Welcome
Tēnā koutou e te whānau
Over the last two weeks, we have had much happening at school, and it has been a pleasure to see the old-school world of 2019 return. Highlights have been the return of Primary Athletics. Last week, we had a Year 7 group spend the day on Rotoroa as part of their learning, and we also had other sports tournaments and events happening.
Early this month Sarah Dunn one of our music teachers, had an article published in the academic curriculum publication Teachers and Curriculum. It is wonderful to have our staff writing and being written about in various national publications this year. It is a credit to their professionalism and the depth of skill at our school.
Next week we are holding Hub open times for whanau to visit rooms and see the learning their tamariki have been involved in this year. I hope you all can make it.
Naku noa
Malcolm Milner
Hubs Open to Display Learning
Next week on Wednesday, 23rd November, the Hubs will be open for parents to visit to view the learning their child has been involved in this year. So come along and let your child show you their classroom.
Year 1 and Year 2: 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Year 3 - Year 8 3:30 pm - 5:15 pm
COVID
We are seeing a rise in tamariki and staff contracting COVID. Therefore, it is essential to follow these protocols to reduce the transmission speed and prevent those most vulnerable to the virus.
- Stay home if unwell
- All parents are encouraged to wear masks in higher-risk settings such as indoor assemblies
- We will use of outdoor facilities wherever possible for large gatherings
- Ensure our indoor spaces are well-ventilated
- Get booster vaccine dose, if eligible
Please let us know if your child tests positive for COVID, as this helps us in monitoring rooms.
St. Albans Gate Opens
The St Albans Gate is now open in the morning and in the afternoon. There is a bike and scooter stand available by the gate for all ākonga to leave them there.
Gate opens @ 8:30 am and Closes @ 9:05 am
Gate Opens @ 2:55 pm and Closes @ 3:10 pm
Updated Website
This year we have been working on a new website. This website has been designed and built by Kenzie Lynas, a teacher at our school. We have rewritten content and believe this year-long development will modernise this critical communication channel.
We hope to launch this website at the end of this month.
Staffing Changes
Kenzie Lynas has informed the Board that she intends to move to Dunedin at the end of 2022. We wish her all the best for her move to the deep south.
We are currently working through our processes to ensure that we are fully staffed by the start of 2023.
Primary News
In whānau Hiringa, this term we have been making memories with our Education Outside the Classroom days. For many akonga, these experiences such as rock climbing, archery, raft building, kayaking and orienteering were completely new! It was amazing seeing children learn how to problem solve and experience success outside the classroom.
Thank you so much to all our amazing parent helpers, we couldn't have done it without you!
PRIMARY ATHLETICS DAY!
It was Tuesday 8th November, the day for our Balmoral Primary Athletics.
Everyone was excited, nervous and ready to give it their all. We chattered nervously as we travelled to Three Kings Reserve on the bus. The day began with the 800m race and wow, that is a long way. Some very puffed kids proudly crossed the finish line.
As the girls filled the field showing off their skills at high jump, long jump, discus and shotput, the boys took to the track sprinting down the lanes for the 100m, 200m and 400m races.
By the time we swapped field and track events we were sweltering in the heat and each event took great determination leaving everyone exhausted. But NO one was giving up! By the end we were spent and ready to go home. Everyone felt AMAZING!
A huge thank you to all of the parents and teachers who made this year’s athletics day the best ever!!
Written by Amara Bruns
Eldon Road Crossing
The Eldon Road pedestrian crossing is being patrolled again, in the afternoons, thanks to our Year 6 Road Wardens.
Please encourage your tamariki to use the crossing. Even if you believe it is quicker to avoid the crossing, please remember that you are part of setting an example to all of our children and keeping our community safe.
Intermediate News
Hub 3 Visit Rotoroa Island
On Tuesday 8 November, Hub 3 went to Rotoroa island as part of our Inquiry looking into shelter, habitat and survival. We had a really early start - half past 7 we had to be at school by and we didnt get back to school until after 6pm. It was a really good day (apart from the rain!!). The ferry ride was awesome, we got to go to the bow side and look to see if we could find any fish. On the Island we had a talk from a ranger, then the Rotoroa island leaders took us on a tour around the Island. We saw local birds like weka and local plants too. We even got to be proper scientists and do scientific tables on the beach like recording amount of crabs we saw, types of rocks too. All in all it was a good day!!!
Intermediate Sports Results
Badminton - Congratulations to Melody Scarlett who placed 3rd in the Central Zone Year 7 Girls competition.
Athletics Day - three new school records were set:
Peyton Nobilo 800m Year 7 girls - 2.58 minutes
Tessa Fletcher 800m Year 8 girls - 2.54 minutes
Kimmy Fifita Year 8 girls shotput - 8.73 m
Ella Hill matched the 2013 High Jump record for Year 7 girls - 1.23m
Congratulations to all of them.
Touch Rugby -
Boys:
We had a fantastic day out last Thursday, the boys had trained hard during the weeks before and were ready for the tournament. The boys were competitive in every game scoring tries and defending well against some very skilled opposition. Not sure where we placed in the end as there was some confusion at the end of the tournament with some teams leaving early. We played a friendly game at the end against Wesley (7th place) and tied 2 all. The boys made some great friends during the tournament and were really well behaved.
Looking forward to next year!
Girls:
We arrived at Cox's Bay on a cloudy morning, the grass was still dewy and the team knew that the ball and ground were going to be slippery. All the girls in the team played well, even those with injuries and muscle niggles from athletics the week before. We had a few tough pool games, but the ladies played to their strengths and as they warmed up and talked on and off the field more their game improved.
I am proud of how they played and how they worked after only a few weeks of training together.
A MASSIVE thank you to the parent help on the day it was a bit of a crazy one.
Balmoral and Avondale Bands Learn Together
This morning three bands from Avondale Intermediate, including the band which won the Bandquest competition where Tīwaiwaka came second, came to perform at our Intermediate assembly. Our bands Kaiawa and Tīwaiwaka also performed, and Tūī, our Primary band, came to watch. After the performance all the Intermediate musicians joined the Avondale group in workshops led by Alex and Sarah, along with the two Avondale teachers. It was a fantastic morning. Thank you to Alex for all his work in getting the exchange happening, we look forward to many more of them.
Kaiawa performing to the Intermediate assembly and our visitors from Avondale
Community News
Kiwi Christmas Book Donation
Kim is kindly running the 'Kiwi Christmas Book Donation'. There is a box for books in the office. for you to kindly pop your book in.
Walking School Bus
Walking School Buses reduce the number of cars on the road, making our environment safer and cleaner, and they provide children with fun and social exercise.
Our school encourages children to walk to school each day. To do this, we have organised Walking School Buses. This requires a parent to walk to school each day on a specific route with groups of children. If you would like your child to catch the bus then once a week, you may have to be the bus driver.
Children walk on a walking school bus under the supervision of adult volunteers, creating a safe and social journey to school. Other benefits include reduced congestion around the school gates and a more connected community. Children are collected from stops along a planned route to school. Balmoral School currently has seven bus routes, shown below. They start at 8:20 am or 8:30 am and require a parent to volunteer as a driver at least once a week. Buses can also operate in the afternoons on the trip home from school.
If you are interested in joining a bus, don't hesitate to get in touch with Amy Brown amykcampbell@gmail.com