Balmoral School Newsletter 6 April 2023
Principal's Welcome
Kia ora e te whānau
We have made it to the end of Term 1 successfully after a rocky start in the first few weeks. While the weather has been a little more settled, we still have a few clouds on the horizon with the failure of the government to settle the Primary Teachers Collective Agreement. The teaching staff are rightly feeling aggrieved, living on wages now that are about 10% per cent lower than in May 2021. Some of our staff are really beginning to financially struggle with the cost of living.
It was lovely to have so many parents in for conferences last week. We have had over 700 discussions with whanau and our akonga. Late in Term 2, you will receive a report on your child's learning then in Term 3 we will hold another learning conference. If you wish to talk to your child's teacher at other times about their learning, please email them for an appointment.
Planning and organisation is well underway for the Camps next term. As you can imagine the logistics required to move, house and feed, over 100 people is an enormous additional workload and I appreciate the staff going the extra mile to make these types of events happen. Thanks also to the parents who have made themselves available to help at these camps too.
We wish all our families a lovely Easter break and holiday. We open for Term 3 on Wednesday 26 April.
Nāku noa
Malcolm
Vote Today for Bella in the 'Resene Wall Worthy Competition'
Some of the students in the Eco-Warriors entered the 'Resene Wall Worthy competition' to be able to create a mural here at school with an environmental message.
Bella Dussan-Ardern's drawing made it into the finals!!! Fifteen submissions from throughout NZ were chosen. Ten of them will win $750.00 worth of paint to create the mural. The winners will be decided by public vote. Please support Bella and the Eco-Warriors and vote for her. Voting closes on Thursday 6/4/2023.
PLEASE VOTE NOW!!!
https://www.knzb.org.nz/programmes/paint-new-zealand-beautiful/resene-wall-worthy-competition/
An open letter from the Teachers at Balmoral
As teachers we would like to explain to parents why we have taken the recent industrial action. We do not take industrial action lightly, and we are well aware of the difficulties our strikes may cause for ākonga and their families.
The rate of inflation since our last settlement in July 2021 has been 13.2%, and the pay increase we were recently offered was 3.5% a year for 2 years, resulting in a pay cut of about 10% in real terms. This offer was rejected, and at this present time there has been no further offer.
But it is not just about the pay increases. We also believe every student should receive the attention, time and support they need for their education. Currently all of our resources are very stretched and many children miss out. As an example, the funding for the students with the highest needs (ORS funding) has dropped from 1194 students across the whole country in 2018 to just 1005 students in 2022 due to change of criteria for funding.
Teachers are not able to access specialised support for their students, which is concerning, for example Speech Language Therapy, Educational Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Health Services, Counsellors and in class Teaching Assistants. There has been a steady erosion of this support and their services over the years despite the fact that the need for these services has steadily increased.
Balmoral School has also been doing its utmost to keep class numbers low, however the Ministry of Education student to teacher funding ratio remains stubbornly high at 1:29 (Years 4 to 8). Teachers are campaigning for smaller class sizes as part of the negotiations.
As an aside, it's concerning to see the number of teacher trainees at Auckland University is half what it was a few years ago, potentially leading to further teacher shortages in the future. We all need to make teaching an attractive profession.
We really appreciate your support.
Ngā mihi maioha (Kiako Balmoral School)
Achievement at Balmoral School: Congratulations to Kawepūrongo Authors!
The dominant voice in the media currently is to test children in reading, writing and maths frequently to see where they are at. An alternative method is formative assessment.
Formative assessment is an ongoing process that helps parents and teachers monitor a child's learning progress throughout the school year. It involves gathering information about a child's understanding of a subject through observation, discussion, and assessment tools such as quizzes, tests, completing a task, reading aloud to a class member and Rich Tasks.
Formative assessment helps parents and teachers identify areas where a child may need additional support or challenge. It allows teachers to adjust their teaching strategies and provide targeted lessons and feedback to help the child improve their understanding of the subject matter. Teachers at Balmoral are immersed in formative assessment practices by the minute.
We also use a variety of data sources and viewpoints to measure the achievement of our ākonga. Today you will have read Kawepūrongo in your inbox. This afternoon we received this email from Jehan Casinder, an award-winning NZ Journalist, author and English major.
Kia ora Hannah, Prisha, Pippa and Aditi
Thanks so much for sending me a copy of your newspaper. It's very professionally crafted, with a great mix of stories.
You should be very proud of this!
Surely commendation from Jehan is another measure of the success of our reading and writing programme.
New Piano Teacher
Kia ora e te whānau
This term we have sadly had to say goodbye to Guy Harrison, one of our piano teachers. He has decided to experience living in a new country and has chosen Berlin as his destination. What a wonderful place for artists! We wish him all the very best for the future and are looking forward to hearing about his adventures.
Taking his place is an amazing young pianist, Joe Kaptein. He is a graduate of the Auckland University Jazz Programme, has played with such NZ artists as Nathan Haines, Muroki, and Princess Chelsea, and has already become a band leader in his own right.
As a teacher, he has been teaching privately to all age groups from children to adults.
He is looking forward to bringing his skills and experience to our tamariki at Balmoral School.
I think he is the perfect fit to replace Guy and to take our young pianists to a new level.
If you would like to enquire about lessons with Joe please contact joseph.h.kaptein@gmail.com or call on 027 9570081.
Food Collection Last Day Thursday
Tomorrow is the last day for the PTA Food Collection for the Auckland City Mission.
Please leave your dried food and cans by the Auditorium.
Primary School News - Whānau Koru
Kia ora e te whānau!
It is always a source of wonder to Koru tamariki just how much there is to explore and discover in their new place of learning. We have two beautiful learning hubs to move between, meeting new friends and strengthening existing relationships. You will have heard us talk about an important strand of Te Whāriki- Belonging. Don’t underestimate the time it takes for this to develop or the importance of it in motivating children to engage and learn. Children start school at different stages of physical, cognitive and emotional development and our job as teachers in Koru is to welcome, honour and support each powerful, creative and competent learner.
Over the course of the term children have discovered that Balmoral is not just a home for us but for a multitude of lifeforms. Through inquiry learning we can of course learn facts about animals and plants but this only gets us so far. More importantly we can support the children to broaden their thinking, ask questions and go deeper by making connections between the crucial role each creature plays in our connected ecosystems, which include us. The sheer excitement, delight and wonder of discovery opens up endless possibilities for both teacher guided and self directed learning. Worms, ants, sunflowers, bees, tomatoes, caterpillars, butterflies, birds- you name it, our five year olds can direct you to them!
We’re really looking forward to Term 2-have a wonderful break.
Ngā mihi koutou
Whānau Koru
My New Gallery
Eden Albert Cricket
Congratulations to all of the children who took part in the EA cricket competition last week.
Some fabulous bowling across the day and two last minute vitories at the end of the tournament.
Ka pai!
Intermediate School News
The last two weeks have been full of Rich Challange presentations. We've seen a huge variety of subjects covered, including: bird feeders being designed and built; snorkelling to Goat Island; learning how to take amazing photos of sunsets; cat home builds; learning how to plan for a two night stay in a truck; finding out how to paint a watercolour of a landscape; organising swap-baking-for-a-can charity food drives; learning how to mountain bike; lots of three-course meals and many, many more! What has impressed us again is the amount of self-management, time management, organisation, perseverance and curiosity about how things work that the children have shown. All these are skills that are essential for being able to navigate the world. We look forward to seeing what the children come up with next term.
Thank you also to all of you for eating the meals, helping with the design and build skills, and transporting children all over Auckland and beyond!
The Intermediate Team
Community News
Jazz School, school holiday Big Band workshop
This will be an exciting three day school holiday workshop where year 6, 7 and 8 students will learn to play in a Jazz Big Band and then perform a concert for family and friends on the final afternoon. The Big Band is for Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone and Clarinet players plus Electric Guitar, Piano, Bass and Drums. The music we play will range from jazz standards to modern pop classics with an emphasis on having fun while producing music at a high standard. This workshop will be run by Drew Hutchinson. Students must be playing at grade 2 level or higher, or have had two years of lessons. The workshop is on April 12,14 and 14 from 9am - 3pm at King’s School, 258 Remuera Road, Remuera.
To register for the workshop please visit jazzschool.co.nz or email jnrjazzschool@gmail.com for more information.
Feedback from previous workshops:
“I cannot tell how much we enjoyed your workshop on so many levels; watching our child's confidence grow, making new friends, the location and of course the music was fantastic”.