Balmoral School Newsletter - 5 April

Primary School Starting Time 8:30am

Parents are reminded that our Primary School ākonga are only allowed into the school grounds after 8:30am.

If children enter before this time they have to be at

1. Village Trust Before School Care
2. Or a parent must be present with them until 8:30am

If staff find a primary school child in the grounds before 8:30am they will be sent to wait up at the gate on Brixton Road.

School Counsellors at Balmoral

We are fortunate to have two counsellors joining us at Balmoral School starting next week.

Si Man and Mina are second-year students in the AUT counselling programme. They are under full supervision through AUT and will liaise with Jacqui Bailey (SENCo) while on site.

The school counsellor can help our students by providing a safe and confidential space to talk about their feelings, thoughts, and concerns. They may also offer guidance, support, and practical strategies to help ākonga overcome some challenges.

Parents, teachers, and ākonga can refer to the school counsellor. Jacqui will support the counsellors in gathering background information, arranging consent forms, and booking appointments. 

We have a dedicated space for counselling, which is accessible via the corridor next to the science lab.

Please complete the referral form to refer your child for counselling. Ākonga can also ask their teacher to make a referral for them.

ASB Polyfest 2024

By Norman Auia

On Wednesday 20th March thirty-nine students from Balmoral went on the bus to Polyfest. We were excited to see all the Pasifica, Kapa Haka and Diversity dance groups performing on stage. Lots of different cultures were represented.

Organiser Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu was on stage and invited students from each school to dance in a dance battle. The DJ put on a Samoan song. Norman was versing a Kowhai Intermediate boy called Steven. Everyone in the audience was screaming, clapping and cheering for the boys. Norman did some fun dance moves using a little bit of his Samoan style. The Balmoral kids were going crazy cheering for him. We loved seeing Norman dance and representing our school so well.

When we had finished looking at the performances we visited the food tents to buy some food. The students bought things like ‘otai, meat skewers and some treats like strawberry desserts and donuts.

There was a haircutting tent and a tattoo tent. Some students played games and entered competitions. We all came home with free merch like sunglasses and flower lei.

We had an amazing day and we would like to say thank you to the adults who planned this event and helped us on the day: Joanna, Jacqui, Don, Miranda and Ness.

Travel wise snippet

Te Whāriki alongside the NZ Curriculum are the guiding curriculum documents that provide the framework for teaching and learning in NZ schools and provide rich, developmentally appropriate direction to kaiako. 

For our new entrant children building a sense of belonging in their new learning environment is crucial and ongoing. As part of this important learning strand Te Whāriki refers to:

 te manaaki i te taiao- they know they have a place and take part in caring for this place.

Koru’s growing inquiry beautifully connects to this concept. Picking unripe fruit from our orchard is an ongoing problem which Koru children have become very worried about- they have been identifying the problems this causes, who might be causing the problems and how they might be able to help us all fix the problems.

Do you know where the orchard is? Ask a koru student!  We have been spending every Wednesday morning at ‘Field School’ discovering places of wonder and adventure in the school. Heading down with magnifying glasses, binoculars, paints, books, sketching materials, iPad for student photography (evidence) and play equipment, tamariki are exploring te taiao, noticing change, spotting birdlife, enjoying the sun and wind, learning about te Roto a Rangi and planning how to look after their special places. All of this supports and has enriched our reading, and writing. We have been able to plan authentic maths lessons, have philosophical conversations and learn new kupu in te reo Māori and aspects of te ao Māori. Watch this space!

The Mana Model is at the heart of the Mitey programme we teach. Mana Ūkaipō- children need to feel belonging and connection to the place where they live and learn and to the people in those places. By celebrating differences, sharing their knowledge and knowing it’s important gives children the connection they need to thrive. We have been using picture books such as Happy In Our Skin by Fran Manushkin and It’s Okay to be Different by Todd Parr to celebrate all of the differences we have across Koru. These books initiated conversations about similarities and differences and the children were so proud and excited to share important aspects of their individual identities.

Open Day at EGGS – Tuesday 9 April

Epsom Girls Grammar School would like to invite prospective students and their parents/caregivers to an Open Day on Tuesday 9 April 2024. There will be a presentation and guided tours at 9.15am and 1.30pm. The tours are designed to show the school at work, so you will have the opportunity to observe what happens on an ordinary school day. To minimise disruption to their learning programme, we ask that students from Balmoral Intermediate School register to attend the 1.30pm session. To register, please follow this link or go to our website www.eggs.school.nz If you have any questions please contact the school reception phone 09 6305963 or email reception@eggs.school.nz