Balmoral School Newsletter - 15 September 2023

Principal

Tēnā koutou i tēnei ahiahi

This week we celebrated Te Wiki o te Reo Māori by all stopping on Thursday to have a kōrero or waiata as a whānau.

It is also important to recognise our rangatira Hana Jackson of Ngā Tamatoa and Lee Smith of Te Reo Māori Society who presented a 30,000-signature Māori Language petition to Parliament calling for te reo and tikanga Māori to be promoted in schools on the 14th September 1972. This was the start of the re-emergence in our national conscience of the importance of Te Reo Maori in our national identity. There is still much work to do in this space in our school for this taonga, but we are ready for the challenge. 

Ngā mihi Malcolm

The school has been buzzing with excitement lately due to a wide variety of learning experiences being offered!

The Art Festival Display was incredible last week, and as always, it puts the importance of creativity at the centre of our curriculum. It was great to have so many parents come and view the art throughout the week, as this is an essential way of indicating to our pupils that art is important and reinforces the idea that success comes in many forms. Hopefully, you now have these pieces of art up in your house. 

Our librarians (Nic and Liz) ran a Scholastic Book Fair and sold $3000 of books. Thanks to all our families who bought a book.

The Intermediate tamariki who organised Diversity Week learnt a lot about organisation and event planning and provided our tamariki the opportunity to celebrate who we are.

Last week, we also had over 45 intermediate students at the intermediate AIMS Games, where over 10,000 competitors aged 11 to 13 descend on Tauranga. Our tamariki were incredibly competitive against other much larger intermediates, and it is always a pleasure to see our students compete at the highest level of sport for this age group in New Zealand.

This week, we have had thirty Year 7 students complete the Pinnacles Tramps. They reached the top and had to stop! Outdoor Education is an essential part of our programme. Next week, we finally have our Year 8 ākonga at Administration Bay on Motutapu Island for their camp.

I want to thank our dedicated teachers who have guided our students every step of the way on this broad curriculum; it is a lot of extra work. Several parents emailed me and the staff to thank them for this considerable effort. The effect a little gratitude has on motivation is fantastic, so thank you for taking the time.

Thanks also to our PTA for their tremendous support, our parents who have taken time off work to attend camp and our fantastic parent coaches who have been our pupil's mentors and cheerleaders. 

Working together as a community, we've made unforgettable experiences for our ākonga!

Ka pai te rā whakatā (Have a good weekend)

Nāku noa
Malcolm

Teacher Only Days Term 4

Next term our school will be closed on the following days.  

23rd October Labour Day (Monday)

24th October Teacher Only Day (Tuesday)

13th November Teacher Only Day, NZ Refreshed Curriculum (Monday)

Music Piano Practical Exams - NZ Modern School

The NZ Modern School of Music Piano Practical Exams were held on the 22nd and 23rd August 2023. Some of the school students got some amazing results. 

Initial Grade Exam

Zoey Pearson has achieved Distinction 

Susie Pham has achieved Honours

Jan Vogels has achieved Honours

Lillian Zheng has achieved Honours

Evan Brooke has achieved Honours

Preliminary Grade Exam 

Leo Cairncross has achieved Merit

Preparatory Grade Exam

Emma Steel has achieved Honours

Term 4 Dates

Monday 9 October – Wednesday 20 December

School Closed:
Labour Day - Monday 23 October
Teacher-only day - Tuesday 24th October (School Closed)
Teacher-only day - Monday 13th November (School Closed)

Scholastic Book Fair

Thanks to all the support from parents for the Scholastic Book Fair held last week, It was great to see families in the "Book Store" talking with children about the books and their reading.  We took over $3000 and earned a healthy commission on that for books for the library.

We encourage borrowing for the holidays.  Families are welcome in our Library straight after school to help the children borrow even more than their usual allocation if they would like to.  We predominantly focus on reading for pleasure.  At times there is a research component.  Let the children see you reading your own books, as well as reading with them.

We always welcome feedback and suggestions from all of you.

Liz and Nicola

Primary School News

Over the last couple of weeks, whānau Hiringa have been thinking about how communities solve problems and that different groups might have different opinions. 

We were looking at the Ligar canal, which ran along Queen's Street in Auckland, in the 1860s. The problem was that the canal was polluted and that was causing people to become very unwell. We got into different roles such as Wealthy Landowners, Iwi, less wealthy, hospital workers, and the police and we had to think about how they might feel about the problem and the possible solution.

We then acted out a Town Meeting with our teachers playing the part of the Town Mayor.  We all had different points of view! We had ideas such as creating new jobs to solve the problem and adding taxes to help pay for the new job.  

Our next step is to look into problems in our local community and how they might be solved, keeping in mind that everyone has a different perspective!

Written with Zoey and Lila

Term 4 Balmoral School Year 4 -6 Basketball Session Info:

• Week 1 (12^th Oct) – Week 9 (7^th Dec)
• Thursday 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm
• Term Fee: $101.25

New Players Enrolment steps:

• New Players: Please click the enrol link: https://forms.gle/c3jfuHq1LrYsZgxq9. Fill up the form, choose the school programme – Balmoral School
• Each player will need to pay $101.25 to enrol in Term 4, Please transfer the money to our bank account: 02-0108-0531348-000 (Their Reference - "Child's Full Name + BS", example James Smith BS)
• Once we receive your payment, you will receive a confirmation email. 

Intermediate School News

AIMS Report

We are thrilled to share the exciting results of our school's participation in this year's AIMS (Association of Intermediate and Middle Schools) Games, one of Australasia’s largest junior sporting events. Four teams and two individual athletes represented Balmoral School at the annual competition held in Tauranga from September 2nd-8th. 

The Girls Futsal team was led by the renowned dynamic duo, Liam O’Hara and Andrew Skinner. They coached and managed the girls for months prior to the tournament, resulting in a commendable team performance which saw them finish 13th overall. Our water polo players, led by Scott Morrison and Bhavana Mehta showed their aquatic prowess, earning 14th place in the open grade division. Likewise, our netball squad demonstrated exceptional skill, spatial awareness and teamwork in one of the most competitive grades of the tournament with over 140 participating schools. They managed to secure 80th place, which was a proud moment for coach Kerry Hoult and manager Dan Allen. Our boys football team’s determination on the pitch was noteworthy, demonstrating outstanding effort, positional play and ball movement throughout. With the backing of AIMS coaching veterans Tom Fraser and Jeremy Todd, this earned them a well deserved spot in the top 12. Supporting manager Dale Mahlagwai, whose birthday was near the end of the tournament, was thrilled with the team's performance and grateful for the cake and celebrations organized by our AIMS participants. 

We had individual athletes, Navya Sood and Chloe Petrie representing our school in swimming and gymnastics respectively. They both had significant success in their disciplines with Navya breaking all her records and achieving personal bests in all her races. Chloe Petrie distinguished herself as a formidable gymnast placing 3rd overall in the artistic discipline, 3rd overall in trampolining and 6th overall in tumbling. 

We are immensely proud of all our athletes for their hard work, dedication, and exemplary representation of our school. Thank you to all our staff, parent community and ākonga who made it all happen. 

Speech Competition Finals

Two weeks ago, Soren Bell and Ruby Yang represented Balmoral at the central Auckland Intermediate speech finals. They both spoke incredibly well, and received good feedback from the judges about their topics, passion and delivery. Ruby came third with her speech on why feminism is good for everyone, and Soren came second with his speech on how crisis can cause astounding innovation. Congratulations to both of them!

Eden Park Orienteering

On Wednesday 13th September, fifteen eager students made the short journey down to Eden Park. The sun was warm, the wind was gentle - it was a great day for orienteering. And that’s exactly what we did.

All around Eden Park were twenty-two wooden stands which held small devices. Another gadget was attached to each competitor's finger, and when you slotted the finger piece into a gap into a device on a checkpoint, the computer would pick up where you had visited and eventually gave you a final time. We set off into the stadium with a map and a finger piece, and from there we were on our own. 

In the scheme of orienteering Eden Park was an incredible place to compete in. Over the course, we were able to run all around the stadium, field and enter the coaches boxes and changing rooms. These are amazing historical places, and we were very lucky to have the chance to visit them. And it was oh so rewarding when we finally finished the course, breathing hard and feeling pleased.

Overall, Eden Park orienteering was a fantastic experience. Thank you so much to the parents and teachers who supervised and cheered us on throughout.

By Hannah Jack

Pinnacles Tramps

We took a little trip to the Kauaeranga Valley this week. There were 3 groups of 9 students and 3 teachers who bravely tackled the Webb Track and walked up to the Pinnacles Hut. There were large boulders we had to climb, steps (both big and small) we needed to tackle and some muddy and wet sections of track we maneuvered our way through. LOTS of scroggin was consumed (one student even said they would get their parents to add it to the weekly shopping list), yummy porridge was a hit at breakfast, the dinner was better than all the students expected and who doesn’t love a cheese and salami sandwich for lunch?  We arrived back at the van with everyone ready to remove their shoes and get home to family and comfortable beds. 

A few quotes from students:

Liked the views! Food was good, even the porridge 🙂

There were a lot of stairs! Lots of food needed.

Hated the second hour! - Too many stairs!! 

Loved the top section actually going to the tippy top of the Pinnacles. So many stairs - was really tiring.

Amazing! Loved going to the top!!

Walking and talking to my friends. 

Hanging up at the hut and beating the teachers at cards. The clay was really annoying!!

Term 4 Balmoral School Year 7 & 8 Basketball Session Info:

• Week 1 (12^th Oct) – Week 9 (7^th Dec)
• Thursday 7:30 am – 8:30 am;
• Term Fee: $101.25;

New Players Enrolment steps:
New Players: Please click the enrol link: https://forms.gle/c3jfuHq1LrYsZgxq9. Fill up the form, choose the school programme – Balmoral School;

• Each player will need to pay $101.25to enrol in Term 4, Please transfer the money to our bank account: 02-0108-0531348-000 (Their Reference - "Child's Full Name + BS", example James Smith BS);
• Once we receive your payment, you will receive a confirmation email. 

Sports Leagues

Balmoral School Netball 2023

Netball is our largest external code with over 100 Balmoral School students playing in our 12 teams in the 2023 season. We play in the Auckland Netball league which runs the largest school netball competition in the country. They play at 2 venues, St Johns and Windmill Park. All our Balmoral teams are entered locally at Windmill Park. Some teams also chose to enter into separate day tournaments run by Auckland Netball throughout the season.

Auckland Netball runs under the FutureFerns programme which is an excellent development programme created by Netball New Zealand. It has an emphasis on fun activities conducted in a safe environment, whilst building key netball skills. Balmoral School enters teams into the Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6 and Years 7 & 8 competitions.

Year 3 & 4

Year 3 & 4 netball games are designed to be fast and fun, maximising participation and touches of the ball. With modified equipment and less players on the court, the 5v5 the game is less complicated. Games are not played to a whistle and are not scored. The focus for this age group is on ‘learning’ the basics of Netball and having fun.

Year 3 Blue

This season, the Year 3 Blue netball team had their first season of winter netball. None of the team members had played before so we were all starting from the very beginning. All of the team showed such great enthusiasm and energy to learn and it was a joy to see their skills developing across the season. The girls had the chance to experience a range of different positions over the season, and the increase in confidence and coordination started to become clear after a few games. They participated in a tournament half way through the season, and really stepped up to the mark - winning games against a couple of Year 4 teams. They also dealt with the reality of netball as a winter sport wonderfully, playing through Auckland's wind and rain! We’re already excited about next year, and the fun we’ll have along the way. Big thanks to coach Brody for the early mornings and late evenings. Go Balmoral Blue! 

Coach & Manager: Kerryanne Nelson

Year 4 Red

While we do not keep score at this level, from our count the girls were largely unbeaten throughout the competition, with only a couple of close losses.  We had a terrific season (much less wet than last year) and the girls brought plenty of energy and enthusiasm to training and the games.  We also had a number of girls new to netball this year and we were very proud of how quickly they picked it up and developed their skills. What was super cute from the first game the girls called us Balmoral Red Ferns instead of Balmoral Red and it became our team cheer. We also had a lovely bunch of supportive parents on the sideline each game. 

Coach: Sarah Johnstone-Smith

Manager: Shona Tagg

Year 5 & 6

Years 5 & 6 play a 6v6 game. It is designed to be fast and provides players with lots of touches on the ball to enhance skill development and enjoyment. With only three positions on court it means the game is less complicated for children and easier for coaches to ensure the players learn the skills relevant to all and to provide them with equal opportunities. The game is played to a whistle and scored. Whilst the teams are graded into sections, there is no competition or results table. Our 4 teams worked hard over the season and their efforts were evident with their great results in the end of season Eden-Albert inter-school tournament with all our teams placing in that competition.

Year 5 Blue

Our season started with a high energy dynamic game after having to default our very first game due to Covid. We enjoyed learning the 6v6 game at our trainings with the Year 5 purple team, and quickly found our favourite netball drills. This year we played in two tournaments where we learned that we could enjoy the game whether we won or lost. In Term 3 we had some tough games after being re-graded, but we always maintained our high level of enthusiasm. Over the league, we scored 108 goals which we are very proud of.

Coach: Nicola Jackson

Manager: Lauren Olive

Year 5 Purple

The team started the season with a mix of players, some having played before and some new to the game. The team was committed to their early morning practices and worked hard week to week learning new skills each session.These translated well onto the court and it was fantastic over the season to see the improvement in ball skills, goal accuracy, defense and positional play on the court. It was great to have end of practice games against the Year 5 Blue team as well. The team thoroughly enjoyed the season and we had fantastic sideline support from a great group of parents each week.

Coach: Meredith Hughes

Manager: Jenny Craig

Year 6 Blue

The Year 6 Balmoral Blue Netball Team has really enjoyed their last year of junior netball. Our skills and teamwork grew as the season rolled on. Weekly practices were well-attended, and we realised how much more competitive the grades are as you get older. Playing tougher opposition, the team had to really push themselves and learn to rely on each other. Part of that learning was warming up properly to deal with the inevitable injuries of playing at a higher level! What truly impressed me was the outstanding sportsmanship shown on tournament day - everyone subbed off without complaints and wholeheartedly supported Team Kikorangi from the sideline. Carmen Allen is an awesome Netball coach that we all felt very lucky to have running the Year 6 practices.

Coach: Sean Connor & Carmen Allen

Manager: Mary-Ellen Hinton

Year 6 Purple

What a great team of supportive and enthusiastic players. They all improved greatly through the season, especially our 3 players who were new to netball.

Coach & Manager: Carmen Allen

Year 7 & 8

By this stage players have developed a considerable understanding of the game and are now playing the full 7v7 netball game. The emphasis is on converting fundamental movement and basic Netball skills to foundation Netball skills. Performance, challenge and playing are key motives for this age group. The leagues at this age group become competitive. In term 2 we start the season allocated into grades playing in Round 1. Scores from this round are then used to place teams in the correct grade ready to play the Championship Round. The Championship Round starts at the beginning of Term 3. First place and runner up of each section are awarded prizes at the Auckland Netball Prizegiving. We are pleased to have 2 teams awarded prizes this season. Some of our grading in the Championship Round was tough this year with teams playing against some hard competition. We are proud of the effort and determination of all the Intermediate teams.

Auckland Netball Prizewinners

Year 7 Green

Results: Year 7, Section 1: 3rd Place

Coach: Mary Pickering

Manager: Chrissy Marshall

Year 7 Blue

Results: Year 7, Section 2: 2nd Place, runner up

Coach: Bashara Bracken

Manager: Sarah Logan

Year 7 Red

Results: Year 7, Section 4: 2nd Place, runner up

Coach: Alexandra James

Manager: Sarah Grace

Year 8 Green

Results: Year 8, Section 1: 4th Place

Coach: Mary Pickering

Manager: Kerry Hoult

Year 8 Kikorangi

Results: Year 8, Section 2: 5th Place

Coaches: Maria Vince & Meredith Hughes

Manager: Sarah Jack

Year 8 Red

Results: Year 8, Section 5: 5th Place

Coach: Molly Marshall

Manager: Mandy Tait

A big thank you goes out to all the coaches and managers this season. We would not be able to run netball without all your volunteer time and we are grateful to all of you for putting your hand up to support our students to play netball this season. Thank you to all the parents on the sideline supporting our teams as well. Your help with scoring, positive encouragement, cheers of support and end of game lollies is very much appreciated.

Umpiring
As part of our netball development we offered the opportunity to our Year 7 & 8 students to take the Auckland Netball Umpiring Course at school. From this many of our Balmoral School students were placed on the Windmill Park umpiring rosters for the 5 & 6 and 7 & 8 competitions. This umpiring is a paid opportunity for our students and I am pleased to say that our students did an excellent job. Balmoral School was also asked to provide umpires for the Eden-Albert Year 5 & 6 competition and 16 of our students went along. I was very impressed at the standard of umpiring of all our umpires at that tournament.

Finally, we are looking forward to the 2024 season. Preparation for this begins at the beginning of Term 1. I will be running an information meeting for all students and parents interested in netball, so come along next year to find out how we will be running netball for the 2024 season. 

Meredith Hughes

Balmoral Sports League Coordinator

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