Balmoral School Newsletter - 12 September 2025
Upcoming Events
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Board Takes Office
All day |
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Term 3 ends
All day |
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School Tour - Domestic Only (Not International)
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Recurring event |
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Term 4 Begins
All day |
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Whakatau
9:15 AM - 10:00 AM |
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Primary School Ballot Closing Date
3:00 PM - 3:15 PM |
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School Tour - Domestic Only (Not International)
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM |
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Intermediate Athletics
All day |
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BoT Meeting
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM |
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Primary Ballot Drawn
3:00 PM - 3:00 PM |
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CZ Girls Volleyball
All day |
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ESOL Zoo Trip
All day |
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Eden Albert Choir Performance
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM |
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Primary Assembly - whānau Mahira
9:15 AM - 9:45 AM |
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Te Tumuaki / Principal
Kia ora e te whānau
From Our Classrooms to the Charts: A Celebration of Music
Music education provides a powerful and creative outlet for many of our tamariki. It’s always a joy to see this passion continue long after they leave our school, which is why it was great to hear an up-and-coming New Zealand band, Borderline, featured on bFM recently.
Two of the Borderline band members, Matthew and Jackson, first started playing together in a band right here at our school. They entertained us at many school events. Their recent success, including a number one single in New Zealand, is a testament to hard work, the excellent teaching they have had, and a love of music.
This legacy of musical talent runs deep within our school community. On Thursday, 4th September, our staff took a moment to honour another of our own, hosting a morning tea celebration for the legendary Graham Brazier, of Hello Sailor fame. As a tribute to Graham, we play one of his classic songs at 3:10 PM as the tamariki leave school.
The music also goes on with our current students. Alongside other tamariki, staff and parents, I had the opportunity to attend Bandquest on the North Shore a couple of weeks ago, and it was fantastic to see our tamariki rock stars shining on stage. Coming up next term, we also have the Eden Albert Choir Festival organised by our local principals' group.
To further strengthen our music programme, we are pleased that Martin will be joining our teaching team in 2026 to help guide our next generation of musicians.
Ngā mihi
Malcolm
Let's Celebrate Creativity: Annual Arts Festival
Mark Your Calendars: Arts Festival Exhibition Evening
To celebrate our tamariki and the staff's hard work, we invite you to join us for our Arts Festival Exhibition Evening on Tuesday, 16 September, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm.
The school will remain open later that night so that parents and whānau can come and experience the amazing art exhibition alongside our talented students. It will be a fantastic opportunity to see the world through their eyes.
We look forward to sharing this celebration of creativity, interpretation and storytelling with you all.
AIMS Games
Another fantastic year for AIMS! Our athletes showed incredible pride and passion at this year's AIMS Games, both on the field and in the water.
We had four teams (netball, football, futsal, and basketball) and four individuals competing in badminton, swimming, and sailing. While some events were tough, our students enjoyed the competition and gave it their all.
We want to give a special shout-out to a few standout results:
- Futsal girls who placed 5th.
- Marina and Rory, who both set PBs in their swimming races.
- Xena came 2nd in Badminton for Division 2.
Well done to all our competitors for their hard work. A big thank you to the parents who came down to coach and manage the teams throughout the week!
AIMS
Teacher Strike Action
Teachers are currently voting on whether to take strike action. This is in response to the Ministry of Education's latest collective agreement offer. While we all hope a strike can be avoided, a potential date has been set for Thursday, 23rd October.
Our staff are incredibly committed professionals who consistently go the extra mile for our tamariki. The decision to consider strike action by them is always a difficult one, and I know it is taken as a last resort.
One sticking point in the offer is a proposal to double the number of "callback days" from 10 to 20 per year. These are days when teachers can be required to come into school during the term holidays for training or planning. Our teachers already spend a significant amount of their "break" time here at school preparing classrooms, writing reports, and planning lessons; they do so with a degree of flexibility outside the 8-4 pm of having to be at school. For many, having that professional autonomy and time to balance work and family life is one of the key attractions of the job.
The financial offer for our experienced teachers is $1,300 (a 1.4% increase) for the first year, and $1,200 (a 1.3% increase) for the second year. These salary increases are perceived by our teachers as a pay cut and are considered too low in a time of a cost-of-living crisis, especially for our most experienced teachers. I believe it also does little to address the ongoing teacher shortage.
I wanted to provide you with this background information to help you understand the situation. I will give you any updates as soon as they become available.
Te Whakamaumaharatanga 100 Tau o Tō Tātou Kura Our School's 100 Year Centenary
2026 marks a significant milestone for our kura (school) as we celebrate our 100th anniversary. This centenary is a time for us to honour our past, celebrate our present, and look forward to the future.
As part of this special celebration, the Board wants to create a lasting legacy for the next hundred years. We are currently finalising the details of what this legacy will entail.
There will also be an Open Day on Friday, 23rd October 2026, with several events planned.
NZ Modern School of Music
The NZ Modern School of Music Piano Practical Exams were held on August 20, 21, and 22, 2025. Melissa's Balmoral School students got some fantastic results.
Initial Grade Exam: Chloe Hodgson has achieved Distinction, Ayaansh Duffadar has achieved Merit
Preliminary Grade Exam: Theo Fisher has achieved Honours
Preparatory Grade Exam: Ellie Spalding has achieved Merit
Modern Preparatory Grade Exam: Susie Pham has achieved Honours, Zoey Pearson has achieved Merit
Grade One for Modern Music: Kate Rosser has achieved a Pass
Property Update
The upcoming school holidays will be a busy period on our school grounds as we undertake several important property projects. We are taking this opportunity to complete these essential works with minimal disruption to our tamariki and school programmes.
Hub 14 Flood Repairs: We are pleased to have finally received Ministry of Education approval to repair the damage in Hub 14, which was caused by a heating system flood in July 2024. We know this has been a frustrating wait for us all and we look forward to our Year 5/6 students and teachers being back together in their proper space.
Intermediate Playground Repairs: The spinner is being relocated to ensure safety compliance after a new access ramp for the sports shed reduced the required fall zone. We will also be repairing and replacing the shade sails over the playground, which were damaged during the recent storm in Auckland.
Field Reinstatement: The main field is scheduled for reinstatement to repair the damage caused by construction vehicles during the construction of our new sports shed and pool surround.
Pool Maintenance: The school pool has been drained to allow for the resealing of minor leaks that were discovered during the recent refurbishment of the pool surrounds. This will ensure the pool is in top condition for the summer terms.
Our contractors aim to complete all work by the start of Term 4.
Save the Date - Balmoral's Best Books
We are holding our inaugural Balmoral's Best Books event on Thursday, 6th November, from 6-7 pm in the Hall. More details about what this exciting event entails will be available over the coming weeks.
Join us for the Balmoral School Scholastic Book Fair next week!
Our library reading lounge has transformed into a fun bookshop. There's a wonderful selection of quality books, with something for all ages.
Open Tuesday 16th Before school 8:15 - 9:00am
Lunchtime
After school 3:00 - 3:30pm
During the Arts Fest show 5:00 - 7:00pm
Wednesday 17th Before school 8:15 - 9:00am
Lunchtime
After school 3:00 - 3:30pm
Thursday 18th Before school 8:15 - 9:00am
Lunchtime
After school 3:00 - 3:30pm
Eftpos preferred, cash available.
Shop for new books from the comfort of your own school! All purchases go towards helping fund new Scholastic books into our library. Librarians Liz or Nicola will be on hand during opening hours to talk all things books.
Primary School News
Ngā pitopito kōrero - Whānau Whetu
Hub 9 Highlights: A Look at Our Learning
Hub 9 has had a wonderfully busy few weeks, exploring a variety of topics with curiosity and creativity. We've been delving into the world of minibeasts, becoming spider web detectives on the school grounds and creating art projects based on our observations. Our learning has been integrated across subjects, as we used spiders to inspire our chronological reports in writing and practiced directions and patterns in maths with 2D shapes and robot instructions. We even mimicked spider movements in our Whetu Movement sessions!
Here’s what some of our learners have to say…
Mira - I loved looking closely at the spider webs around school, we got to see them in detail and we had lots of time to look at them. We started drawing pictures of what we saw, mostly looking at spiders and discovering more about them.
Mingxi - We are making a plan to build a spider web. In the plan, I’m thinking about using wire to make the web and putting it on some paper. I’m feeling excited about making the web.
Hub 12 Highlights: A Look at Our Learning
Hub 12 has been learning about rewilding and what it might look like if we rewilded our school. We explored different places around the school and our teachers talked with Malcolm and Ross about the best spot for us to plant. As a hub, we discussed whether it would be better to try Gorilla Gardening instead of rewilding one place. Ross suggested two possible spots, and together we chose the one we thought was best.
Here is what our learners thought:
Leo - We are going to plant so that we can make Balmoral School feel more like a real environment, with more nature around us for our learning. We are planting Hebe. It is small and it has purple flowers that come out every season. We are also planting Manuka. It’s a bigger bush with purple, pink and red flowers. It attracts lots of bees, which will help our plants grow.
Yuguo - The Hebe has little flowers that make one big flower. It also smells like a special type of flower. It is special because it is native to New Zealand which means it is from New Zealand but it can also be found in other countries.
Intermediate School News
Mount Albert Grammar School Testing for 2026
Academic Testing
All Year 9 2026 students will be involved in MAGS academic testing at MAGS as follows:
DATE | ACADEMIC TESTING (Please bring pen/pencil water bottle and a light snack) | SPORTS ACADEMY TRIALS (Please bring correct sports attire, lunch, water etc) | |
GIRLS | Friday – 31 October | 8.30am-12.00pm (including a break) | 12.30pm-2.30pm |
BOYS | Monday – 3 November | 8.30am-12.00pm (including a break) | 12.30pm-2.30pm |
Students should assemble outside the Main Hall before 8.30am
Sports Academy Trials: 12.30pm-2.30pm approx
Separate Girls/Boys Sports Academy trials, for those students who wish to be considered, will be held as per the table above. Following the academic testing, students interested in academy trials will report to the Grandstand and have a brief lunch break before participating in their chosen Sports Academy. Please bring lunch and a drink, sunhat/sunblock and appropriate sports attire.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: Hockey
Most Academy trials will take place on Friday 31 October for girls and Monday 3 November for boys. The exception to this is Hockey, as due to safety, the courts will only be used for one sport at a time so the trials for both girls and boys Hockey trials:
- Hockey trials will be on Monday 3 November at 12.30pm (for both girls and boys)
Please ensure they report to the Grandstand at that time in appropriate sports attire.
Dance and Drama Academies
Following academic testing, students who wish to apply for either the Dance or Drama Academy, will be able to meet briefly with Jacqui Cesan, Director of Co-curricular Arts.
Note - this does not prevent them from attending the sports academy trials.
Year 7 Pinnacles
This week two groups of Year 7 children headed up to the Pinnacles hut in the Kauaeranga Valley for a night. The children took responsibility for organising many aspects of the tramp. Well done to everyone who took part, and challenged themselves to do something outside their comfort zones. Thank you to Dan, Kylie, Neville, Evan, Ashley and especially Lauren for providing this opportunity for the students.
Art Festival Exhibition
As we look forward to the exhibition on Tuesday evening, here are two pieces of reflection from two of our Year 8 students about what the Arts Festival means for them. We look forward to seeing you all there.
"Arts Week reminded me just how powerful and fun creativity can be. It gave us a space to be ourselves, take risks, and support each other through it. Whether you're solving riddles on stage or filming a music video, Art gives you the chance to turn ideas into something real. It's not just important for school—it's important for life. Art helps people express who they are, connect with others, and sometimes even make unexpected memories with friends. Art matters—and this experience proved just how amazing it can be when we let ourselves create freely." - Ramiel
"Art can be used to tell the stories of people who long to be heard, strengthen and form new friendships, and just to have fun. The arts are definitely a strong and valuable pillar of the community. Everywhere in the world people love to create and experience it. There's no denying it, art can change lives." - Steffi
PTA
Community News
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