Balmoral School Newsletter - 10 November 2023

Principal

Tēnā koutou i tēnei ahiahi

There is always much talk in the media about achievement and testing at schools. Even in our last student newspaper, our writers discussed in the article 'Learning Everything Else' about how people, particularly politicians, create anxiety and political point scoring by saying that schools are failing.

Other adults also look for simple explanations about how children are achieving. Some want all a year's work compressed down to one grade point or exam mark. While these adults may want the best for their child, sometimes this simplistic view can add to our student's anxiety.

These societal expectations can also push our schools into a narrow focus, even forcing the marginalisation of important subjects such as music. I have even heard children who leave schools as great musicians but still refer to themselves as dumb. 

Making a judgement on a child's learning is complex. Our teachers are currently making judgements on your child's learning at our school. We do this in subjects such as literacy by considering a variety of measures, such as tests (PAT), in-class observations and independent activities ākonga have been doing in class and then relating this variety of data points back against the NZ curriculum. We call this an OTJ or overall teacher judgment. This OTJ will be in your child's end-of-year report.

We also use these OTJs to examine how well our school programmes operate. We number crunch all these OTJs to review a year's work. This is one way or one lens we use to look at our school.

It is important to use other lenses to look at our school programmes. In the last two weeks, the high quality of our ākonga journalism has been commented on in the National media (Spinoff, The Herald, and Stuff). We have also had a local politician comment on Instagram on the high quality of our intermediate students' writing. These students have been acknowledged as the country’s "greatest student journalists." This is indeed high praise of these intermediate tamariki and their writing. It is also a credit to our teachers who, who through Trish Cullen, have provided this creative outlet for them.

Like teachers making an OTJ on an individual child, it is important that our school collects a variety of information from different lenses to enable us to evaluate our programmes, and both of these measures of OTJs and media comments are valid. 

Ka pai te rā whakatā (Have a good weekend)

Nāku noa
Malcolm

Another Metric on our School: Attendance

Another piece of information our board receives on our school is the school attendance rate.

Our staff work incredibly hard to ensure that our curriculum is exciting and engaging through such approaches as play, Inquiry and P4c for ākonga. We know that an engaging curriculum encourages engagement and children learn more.

The graph below indicates high attendance compared to other schools in the Auckland area. However, we have noticed a downward trend in attendance this year due to families taking time out of school to have a family holiday. This is classified by the Ministry of Education as an unjustified absence and, as such, negatively affects our attendance rate. 

Thanks for a Lovely Friday

I wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude for the beautiful morning tea and the delightful goody bag that many in our community contributed to this morning. The spread of lovingly homemade baking was lovely and made our morning incredibly special.

The thoughtfulness, time and effort put into organising this event did not go unnoticed. Moments like these remind us of the strong sense of community we share and the partnership we value. 

Thank you once again for making our morning so memorable. We are fortunate to be part of such a supportive community.

School Donation

I would like to acknowledge all members of our community who have paid the school donation this year. All our tamariki, parents, staff, and board greatly appreciate this.

School funding is very tight. Currently, our school receives $0 of equity funding, and we have a reduced staffing allocation compared to some other schools, due to the unequal rollout of such things as Learning Support Coordinators. 

By contributing this donation (and getting a third back in your tax), you have enabled the children in our community to have access to such things as:

• STEPs literacy programmes, play basketball in a gym, swim in a heated pool, talk with a librarian in our library, attend specialist maths teaching, sit on a beautiful table, kick a ball on a school field, bowl in a cricket net, play from a variety of musical instruments, employed extra teachers such as the SENCo, ESOL, Music, support staff teacher aides
• and the list goes on..... 

All money raised by our school goes to creating a better learning environment for them. By collaborating and supporting each other, we can help our neighbours, our neighbourhood, and our most vulnerable, our tamariki.

Thanks from all of us in this community. 

Parents can still make a donation to our school at the office and on-line.

Diwali Celebrations

I would like to extend our best wishes to our Indian community as you celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights. May it bring joy, prosperity, and happiness to your homes and hearts.

May the coming year be filled with success, prosperity, and all the joys life has to offer.

Primary School News

News from whānau Whetu

Hub 9

Within our Inquiry in Hub 9, we have been learning about Te Tiriti o Waitangi or the Treaty of Waitangi. We have researched why and how the treaty was written - did you know it was translated into te reo Māori in just one night by Henry Williams and his son? We used this information to make a timeline of Tāmaki Makaurau to show the history of Auckland. We showed our learning by making flipbooks of the early life of Māori, what it was like when Pākehā first arrived in Aotearoa and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Over 500 Māori chiefs signed the Treaty, and some signed with their moko! We brought the learning to life by presenting our learning to our friends by reading our flipbooks and using freeze frames to tell the story. In our hub there is a gallery of portraits of important people from the history of Aotearoa, including the time when the treaty was created. Using all that we had learnt we created some news segments from (the pretend) Balmoral School News to interview people like Governor William Hobson and Chief Rewa, so we could think about what their opinions on the Treaty might have been. Some learners even got to share this at assembly! My favourite thing from all this was to write a rap about the Treaty. It was so fun. 

By Hannah Ding, Thea Bruns, and Zoe Roughan.

Hub 7

From the beginning of the term, all the way until now, Hub 7 have been learning about the Treaty of Waitangi. We researched all about it by reading books and articles and looking up information on Chromebooks. Many of us could not believe that the Treaty was written in only one night! It was interesting to learn about Hone Heke, as he was one of the first Māori Chiefs to sign the Treaty. He had a different opinion from many other Māori people as he thought the Treaty would provide him with care and safety. He later changed his mind when these things did not happen. After we had gathered all of our information about the Treaty we enjoyed writing scripts that either became a puppet show or play. We had fun presenting these to the rest of our hub.

By Yani Schmidt

In Hub 7 we have been learning about the Treaty of Waitangi. Mostly we have learnt about the people involved like William Hobson, James Busby and Hone Heke. We made lots of plays and puppet shows to represent what we learnt. In my play, I was Hone Heke and Henry Willams. Henry Willams translated the Treaty in one night. Hone Heke signed it first. Then a few years later he changed his mind because he did not like the way they got treated. So that’s what we have been learning about in Hub 7.

By Lucy Mead

Year 3-6 Athletics Day

On Wednesday the 8th of November our year 3-6 students went to Three Kings Reserve to participate and compete in a number of different athletic events. The conditions were perfect for the day with the sun shining. Students were able to participate in new events and support their friends. We were able to celebrate some individual brilliance across the track and field events. Thank you to all the parents who came to help and support across the day, these events would not be possible without your support. 

Some highlights from students:

I loved the running, I liked running 200m around the track - Cooper 9A1

I liked the long jump it was fun jumping in the sand - Elsa 13A3

I liked the high jump as it was really high and the gumboot throw as the gumboot was really smelly - Tom 9A1

I enjoyed everyone cheering me on and supporting me after my races - Lucia 13A3

I liked the high jump as it started off high and it kept on getting higher, that was hard! - Quinn 12A3

Eden Albert Softball event 

Three teams from Balmoral attended the Eden-Albert softball tournament held at Keith Hay Park on Tuesday 7th November. We played six other schools around our area on a sunny (with a bit of hail) day. 

The A team played really well. One thing we could have worked on was our defense and trying to get the ball to first base before the batsmen got there. In the semi finals, we beat Wesley School by only one home run. It was very nerve racking!

We were so focused on this game because all Wesley had to do is get 2 home runs to beat us.  We were so lucky to get two players out when Ollie Pacey caught the ball on the full, and when he got the ball on the diamond before the batsman got there. Louis got the 3rd batsman out by getting 3 strikes. This helped us get into the finals against MENPS. We unfortunately lost 0-6, but our team still came second and we are all very happy with our results.  

The B team lost 4 and won 3, winning 5th place at Eden Albert. However, the B team did great! Two things we could have worked on was batting and fielding. All round we did well and in my opinion, I think Josh  from 12A3 would have got MVP in our team, meaning most valuable player. Josh batted well and made a lot of catches which helped our team. The highlight must have been beating Wesley 6-0. Our team was really happy with this. Overall, we had a great day out.

The girls team won 3 games and lost 2. We came 4th. We think we should have done better on our fielding and getting the ball to the base before the batter made a home run. In our first game, we won. The score was 4-3 against Wesley. In our fourth game we won 5-1 against gladstone. We unfortunately lost our semi-finals which made us fourth. One of our players made an amazing catch which got a player out. Our best pitcher got two people out in one game. We did some good batting because we got five home runs. We were excited that we won two games. 

Overall, our day was fantastic and we loved all of our games.  

By Louis Pacey, Alex Bailey, Chloe Morton and Ellie Marks

Intermediate School News

MAGS Catch-up Academic Testing day – Friday 17 November at 8.30am

Mount Albert Grammar School is holding a Catch-up Academic Testing day on Friday 17 November (for both boys and girls).  If your child has not sat the MAGS Testing, please can your child assemble outside the MAGS School Hall before 8.30am with pen, pencil, water bottle and a light snack.  The test will complete around 12.00noon.  Students can wear their Balmoral School uniform.

If you live in-zone and haven’t placed an enrolment as yet, please do so as soon as possible.

Rotoroa Island

Over two days last week all of Year 7 went to Rotoroa island which was pretty fun. There were some really interesting facts and birds to see. I’m pretty sure that some students even saw frogs! And we were lucky enough to have seen real live takahe. I can’t speak for all the students but from my point of view the island was huge. Sadly for Hub 4 the trip wasn’t as cool as it could have been because of the huge amount of rain. It was damp and dreary with lots of puddles in the gravel road. Another thing I'm certain of is that at least half of Year 7 left with waterlogged/damp shoes and socks. Nonetheless it was really fun and I hope to go again next year. 🙂

By Hazel McComish

Central Zone Touch Tournament

On Thursday the 2nd of November we sent 12 of our boys to compete in the Central Zones Touch Rugby Tournament. We had a fantastic day of sunshine where the boys played 8 20-minute games across the day. These were all played at a very high intensity with some amazing talent being shown. Out of the 12 teams competing the boys managed to get 7th place, winning our last game against Ponsonby Intermediate with a last minute try from Alex Todd. Throughout the day the boys managed to execute some great attacking moves as well as defend against some very talented opposition. Well done to everyone for a great day and a big thank you to all the parents who helped.

Sports Leagues

Balmoral School had two intermediate teams participate in the Atlantic City Intermediate School Waterpolo League. The Balmoral Barracudas (A team) and the Piranhas (B Team) played 16 games across Terms 2 & 3.

The A team won the C grade in the league. They were undefeated across all 16 games and they received a gold medal each and a trophy for the school cabinet which is an awesome result of 15:7 and an epic end to the season. The B team finished on a high with a great win of 8:3 in the last game with lots of kids new to waterpolo.

• A Team (Barracudas): Ryan Fletcher, Eli Morrison, Tommy Humphries, Orla Whiting, Christian Lawry, Alice Randerson, Meiher Benipal, Harley Lynas, Esme Robilliard
• B Team (Piranhas): Archie Mead, Elizabeth Fenn, Joe Rodger, Aaron Liu, Fletcher Bidois, Harrison Ho, Leo Cairncross, 

We would like to acknowledge our two coaches Oscar and Alex. They are in the A team at St Kentigern's and in the U18 squad with the Atlantis Club. They have been fantastic coaches and our teams have progressed under their coaching.

A big thank you goes to Scott Morrison for managing the Barracudas and Clare Frost for managing the Piranhas. We could not run this sport without your parent volunteer help.

A special acknowledgement goes out to Scott and Rebecca Morrison who have been integral to the overall running of Balmoral School Waterpolo over the past few years. We would not have been able to run this sport without your help and we are very grateful for all the time and effort you have put in to make waterpolo a success.

Meredith Hughes
Sports League Coordinator

Balmoral School |Te kura o te Roto a Rangi

Message from the School Library

We are librarians, not teachers, so not here to teach children to read but to enjoy reading.  We've both had children who struggled to read.  Research has shown that regularly reading aloud to your child gives them a clear advantage.  It doesn't matter what you read but let them have some choice to develop their own interests. It is important for boys to see men reading. Even after children can read independently, reading to them is a great way for them to hear stories they can't quite read themselves. Sharing stories that explore emotions can help a child develop empathy.  They can be great conversation starters, and a way to find a connection.

A useful book for parents is Wild things: how we learn to read and what can happen if we don't / Sally Rippin, 2022. 

We are here In our Library 9.15 until 3.30 if you would like to discuss anything with us, or if you would like to borrow extra books with your tamariki.

Liz and Nicola

library@balmoral.school.nz

Community News

The School Tuckshop Closes: Friday 1st December (EOD) for 2023.

The Tuckshop Reopens: Wednesday 14th February for 2024.