Balmoral School Newsletter - 4 August 2023
Principal's Welcome
Tēnā koutou i tēnei ahiahi
Much has been written and talked about the poor mental health of adults and children since we have come out of the COVID lockdown. However, researchers have found that adolescents' mental health has declined substantially since the 1970s.
Peter Gray, a professor of psychology at Boston College, has been interested in this phenomenon. He has been studying how children's playtime has changed since the 1970s, and it's pretty eye-opening!
According to Peter Gray, children might not get as much free playtime as they used to. At the same time since the 1970's, teenagers' mental health has been showing some worrying declines. (TED Talk)
Correlation isn't the same as causation. However, something interesting that Peter Gray found in his research. When they ran experiments with animals, it turned out that when they were deprived of play, they felt more anxious and had trouble with their social skills.
This doesn't mean playtime is the sole cause of mental health issues, but it highlights how crucial play can be for us, just like it is for animals. We all know play is fun, but it's also essential to our growth and well-being.
At our school, we have a multi-pronged approach to mental health. We value play, and we approach our curriculum with play in mind. We also have the Mitey programme in our school specifically to address mental health and school counsellors.
Play is very important for children, 'it lights up the brain and creates meaning'. Sometimes as adults we do take that opportunity away. Play is not a need to have its a must to have. This new film, featuring children across Wales, celebrates play and highlights its importance
for every child.
So, as we approach our weekend, let's keep encouraging playtime for ourselves and others, and remember that it's not only about having fun – it's about nurturing our mental health and social development too!
Ka pai te rā whakatā (Have a good weekend)
Nāku noa
Malcolm
Out of Zone Enrolments
The Balmoral School School Board may approve a limited number of out-of-zone enrolments for 2024.
Balmoral Intermediate School
- Applications for out-of-zone enrolments for 2024 must be received by 3.00 pm, Wednesday, 30 August, 2023. Should a ballot be required for out-of-zone enrolments, this will occur on Wednesday, 6 September 2023.
Balmoral Primary School
- Applications for out-of-zone enrolments for 2024 must be received by 3.00 pm, Wednesday, 11 October, 2023. Should a ballot be required for out-of-zone enrolments, this will occur on Wednesday, 18 October 2023.
Out-of-zone applications use the same online application procedure as in-zone students.
However, out-of-zone applications do not require the completion of the in-zone Statutory Declaration Form or provision of proof of residence.
More information about enrolment can be found here on our website under enrolment.
Intermediate Enrolment
Primary Enrolment
Ākonga and Whanau Learning Conversations Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 August
School Closes at 12:30pm on Thursday 17th August
Our discussions will focus on the learning your child has been involved in so far this year. Please ensure you bring your child with you to these conferences as they have a lot to show you.
In order to see all parents we have arranged sessions during the school day as well as into the early evening.
On Wednesday 16 August, school will close, as normal, at 3.00pm. Conferences will start at 3.15pm and continue through until the final interview at 5.45pm. Please bring your child with you.
On Thursday 17 August, school will close at 12.30pm. Please arrange to collect your child from school at this time. Conferences with teachers will begin at 1.00pm and the final interview for the day will be scheduled for 6.45pm.
Conferences go LIVE TODAY Friday 4 August . You can book online following these instructions:
- Go to https://parentinterviews.co.nz/
- Click on Book my interviews
- Enter event code into box and click on start my booking
Code is 2M6JNRMN
- Choose your teacher - Bookings are open to all available teachers including the Intermediate Technology teachers (Lauren, Sarah and Craig), Learning Support (Jacqui SENCO, Kylie ESOL, Don Literacy Support) and our Music staff (Alex Year 5-8 music and Sarah Year 1-4 music).
If after the conference you still wish to talk to the teacher further without your child present I would encourage you to email them for another time to meet.
The Village Trust our after school care provider will be open during these conferences to supervise pupils. There is a cost involved. Book using the link below:
https://enrolmy.com/balmoral-school/book-now/16-Balmoral-1230pm-Finish-on-Thursday-17th-August-2023
Näku i roto i ngä mihi, nä
Malcolm Milner
Principal (Te Tumuaki)
Balmoral School |Te kura o te Roto a Rangi
Staff Changes
This week we said goodbye to Stephen Slater Brown, a Year 8 class teacher. We wish Stephen all the best for the future. We have advertised this position and hoped to have filled this by the start of Term 4. Relieving for us this Term in Hub 2 is Brenda Christian and John Henderson.
We have also appointed a new Sports League Coordinator. We welcome Meredith Hughes to this role. Meredith is currently one of our netball coaches.
The Sports League coordinator is a part-time position and will take over the organisation of our League Teams. This will include netball, flippa ball, water polo and basketball. All of the teams who represent our school in these leagues will come under her responsibility.
This change will leave the responsibility of Centra Zone Teams and Eden Albert Teams under the responsibility of teachers at our school.
Attendance
The Ministry of Education has updated the protocols for measuring school attendance and requires schools to keep better records. They are also now downloading information about attendance weekly. Poor attendance at school has a corresponding effect on achievement at school. Tamariki who attend school regularly achieve higher.
For children who fall below 90% attendance, they are losing four weeks of schooling a year or nearly half a term. Those tamariki who get to 80% are losing eight weeks of schooling or nearly a term.
At Balmoral School, many of our tamariki with low attendance have taken leave for holidays. The Ministry of Education prefers families to take children away on holiday during school breaks.
We will be updating our letters sent home regarding attendance to better reflect the new MoE compliance.
School Emergency Procedures
Sometimes, communities and schools may have to deal with an emergency. This can include fires, floods or a lockdown. We are currently reviewing and updating our preparedness for an emergency to ensure that we have some updated plans if a crisis or emergency happens. These plans address some of the key concerns but will not address everything.
Of direct relevance to parents and whānau is our communication plan. In the event of an emergency
- Please refrain from coming to school.
- Kindly check our school's website as we will be updating it first with any announcements regarding the situation.
- Later we may send an email once we have a clearer picture of how things are progressing.
- If necessary, we may also send a text message for any further updates.
Learning Support
Many ākonga receive additional support from our Learning Support Team led by Jacqui Bailey. Much of this support is provided through our school operations grant, parent donations and other income the school can raise. These programmes include STEPS for Literacy, Teacher Aide Support, Creativity, Counselling, New Learners of English, Reading Recovery, and Small Group Literacy, to name a few.
Recently we have run a maths support group for ten weeks. This has included ten children from Year 7 and another ten from Year 8. These tamariki had to attend two weekly classes from 2:30 pm until 3:30 pm. We have received some great outcomes from children who regularly attended extra-targeted tuition. Thanks to Don Neil, our Literacy and now Mathematics Support Teacher, and Carolyn McMenamin our Teacher Aide. We received this lovely email from a parent this week about this programme.
- "My child came home on Tuesday saying the wonderful maths tutoring group is going to continue for another six weeks? She said she let out a squeal of excitement, well I can tell you I did the same, this is a great support to her for this subject."
The Board have agreed to fund another group of tamariki to be offered this mathematics support this term. This time it will be a Year 7 group and a Year 5 / 6 group. Entry to these classes are by invitation only for children that we have identified would benefit from a specific range of skills.
Plastic Free August
This month it is plastic-free August at Balmoral School. We are encouraging students to bring plastic-free lunch boxes. There is a school-wide competition with a pizza lunch for the class with the most plastic-free lunch boxes. This is single-use plastic, so things like Gladwrap, chip packets, suckie packets and packaged muesli bars etc. We don't count plastics that are multi-use, e.g. small Tupperware containers or yoghurt pouches that are washed and refilled.
We encourage students and their families to find alternatives such as using lunch boxes with compartments so biscuits, sandwiches and fruit don't need to be wrapped or beeswax wraps that can be washed and reused.
However, we don't want to cause any unnecessary stress for your child or family so please do what is appropriate for you. We always find that small changes last longer!
Thank you
From the Whānau Whetu Team
Primary School News
Whānau Whetu
In Hub 7 we have been making a model of what we thought Te Roto a Rangi looked like in the 1700s. Within a few weeks it started to come to life, not literally. We had to think about what lived in the lake and on the land around it. Then we got out chromebooks and researched different aspects of what life was like for Māori people back then. Some interesting facts we learned were that the poi dances were used to help improve the warriors movement in their wrists and that there are 10 different types of kumara. We will continue to add things to our model as we discover new information.
Zoe Kayes and Audrey Cotter-Hammond
Hub 9
Our Inquiry at the end of Term 2 had centred around the lake in our school, Te Roto a Rangi. We had spent a time contemplating the story behind the lake, putting this into drama freeze frames, writing and drawing what we thought the lake looked like and retelling the story in a variety of different ways through puppets, zines and graphic stories. We spent time exploring the biology of the lake, building on our knowledge that it would have been a great source of food for Waiohua who used the lake to gather kai. The learners researched what they might find in wetland areas, created observational drawings and recreated a version of the lake in the classroom to show what plants, insects, birds and fish may have been around the lake in the cabbage tree swamp. Recently we have returned to school and created soundscapes to be able to hear the sounds of the lake. We are going to use this knowledge, and some old photos, to recreate the landscape then, and compare this to the school and its environment now.
Intermediate School News
Learning in Hub 4
Embarking on an exciting adventure to create a thriving community on a remote island, the students of 4A2 faced a surprising challenge: our resource-rich island was a blank slate, untouched by anyone before us. What now? How to start? We divided into survivalist groups - Carpenters, Chefs, Doctors, Horticulturalists, and more - each becoming experts in their respective fields. Hours of teamwork and learning helped us choose the perfect spot for our village, considering essentials like access to water, prime farmland, and protection from the elements.
During our journey, we also learned that a connection exists between mental well-being and the essence of a thriving community. After extensive discussion and exploration of different cultures and communities, values like respect, kindness, hope, and empathy emerged as our 'guiding stars.'
Our journey is still unfolding. We're brainstorming names for our island and exploring symbolism of colours and shapes for flag designs. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter in our island saga!
View some of our learning posters below.
Hub 2's Green Inquiry
Hub 2 has created its own town called Bowlington, which is ironic because Bowlington does not have a bowling alley. This town has recently discovered two children who are green!
The ākonga created characters and families who lived in this town, writing biographies for them and using drama to explore how their characters would react to the discovery of these green children.
As well as Writing and Drama, we also found opportunities to discuss big ideas like whether the Green children were being assimilated or integrated and why discrimination occurs.
Some photos from our learning are below.
Tough Guy, Tough Girl Mud Run
The Tough Guy, Tough Girl Mud Run is always a popular Intermediate Event and it happened again this year on Wednesday, 2 August at the Kumeu Showgrounds.
We left at about 8 am, dressed up and excited for the day to begin. When we arrived, we found a shed that was capable of holding many participants. We found our place and set up camp. Vanessa went and got our race numbers then we had fun putting them on with safety pins. Our race started at 10 am. The announcer told us to get to our starting line, and then, we were off - over hills, through water and through tunnels all seeped in mud.
It was a fun time! Jasper was the first person to cross the finish line! After the race had finished we had prizegiving - some of us were lucky enough to get spot prizes!!
All in All, it was a great day despite the weather that included rain, hail and sunshine all in the space of a couple of hours!
Int Boys Netball Tournament
On the 25th of July, the boy's netball tournament took place. 21 teams, including our two Balmoral teams, participated in the tournament. It was a highly competitive tournament. The teams left at about 8:45 and arrived around 9 am. When we arrived, the Year 7 and 8 teams started to warm up, and at 9:15, there was a managers meeting for all schools. Bhavana chose eight helpers who would help her during the day with umpiring and some Control Room helpers.
In the first game, we played Te Papapa and lost 6-4. We got better during the day. Some of the other schools we played against were Mt Roskill, Remuera, St Pauls, Wesley and more. Overall we had a good time, made new friends and learnt many new skills and tactics for the future. We would love to do it again sometime in the future.
By: Kevin, Jackson and Te-Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa Setoga
Bike Skills
Our Year 8 ākonga have begun their Bike Skills training this week. Here are some photos today under a clear blue sky.
Mt Roskill Grammar School Tours
Kia ora,
If you missed the opportunity to attend our Open Day we will be offering tours of MRGS over the next two weeks. Dates and times are:
Thursday 10 August 3.30pm
Friday 11 August 9.30am
Tours will last approximately 1 hour. If you would like to book a place on one of the tours, please email admin@mrgs.school.nz
Applications for 2024 enrolment at Mt Roskill Grammar are open now. Please be aware that Out of Zone applications close at the end of this month at 4.00pm on Wednesday 30 August. For your child to be included in the ballot for an out of zone place, your application must be received by 4.00pm on Wednesday 30 August. Applications received after the closing date & time will go on a waiting list.
Applications can be submitted online at https://kamarportal.mrgs.school.nz/index.php/enrolment or paper forms are available from the MRGS office.
We look forward to receiving your application.
Ngā mihi nui
Mt Roskill Grammar School
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