SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
Friday 16 February 2018
Dear Parents / Caregivers
WEEKLY CERTIFICATE WINNERS
Congratulations to the following pupils who were awarded class certificates this week.
CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS
Thursday 1st March - Waimea Athletics
Friday 2nd March - Waimea Athletics postponement day
Monday 5th March - ERO visiting
Friday 9th March - Mrs Cummings last day
Friday 9th March - Northern Swimming Sports
Thursday 15th March - Northern Athletics
Tues 20th/Weds 21st March - Life Education Bus visit
Friday 30th March - Good Friday Easter holiday
Monday 2nd April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 3rd April - Southland Anniversary Day
Friday 13th April - last day of term 1
Wednesday 25th April - Anzac Day
Monday 30th April - First day of term 2
MEET THE TEACHER - WEDNESDAY 21st February
Room 3 - 2.30 Room 1 - 2.50 Room 2 - 3.15
Room 5 - 3.30 Room 4 - 3.50 15 minutes per class: Routines (class and School will be discussed), how to help your child with their homework, the school positive behaviour system and the class reward systems.
ASSEMBLY
The Assembly group for next week will be room:
Reminder assembly commences at 10.00 am.
Parents are most welcome to join the staff for morning
tea following assembly.
ATHLETICS TRAINING
We will be starting athletics training every afternoon to get ready for Athletics Day to be held in Balfour on the 1st of March. Any assistance from parents would be most welcome whether on a casual or regular basis. Please make sure your children are wearing suitable footwear for this.
HOME & SCHOOL NEWS - TRAIL RIDE FUNDRAISER
The Home and School Trail Ride and Hill Climb is to be held on Saturday 17 March at Dave and Emma Bakers property 545 Tomogalak Road. Signposted from Balfour and Lumsden.
2 x 50 km trails with Enduro loops and hill climbs. Plus a 15 km Junior loop.
Registrations from 8 – 10am. Hill climb starting at 4.30pm. Awesome prizes up for grabs from the Yamaha Agricentre.
Entry costs: (includes Lunch) –
Hill climb - $10,
Senior $50
Junior (15 & under) $25
Peewee Track $10
Check out Facebook Balfour School Trail Ride & Hillclimb for updates. Or for more information phone Lyndon Duff 0274368640
ATHLETICS DAY – CATERING
Once again the Home & School will be catering for the canteen at the Waimea Athletics. Can you please make yourself available for a half hour slot (at least) to come and help so the same people are not in there all day and do not get a chance to see their children compete. Please contact Jody Drysdale and let her know if you are available to help. Jody will be making up a roster for the day. ‘Many hands make light work.’
PRINCIPALS REPORT
This has been the first full week back at school and there is lots going on with swimming, athletics and classes working on their ‘Building Positive Classrooms’ health units. You may think not much ‘work’ is done in the first few weeks back but this is the most important time of the school year. The first inquiry unit is a vital part of education as it sets up expectations, routines and develops relationships. Teachers are not just working towards nurturing teacher-student relationships but also providing pro-social teaching to enable trust, understanding and caring in their class dynamics. Research shows that formal learning is greatly enhanced once these things are in place. Positive class culture and collaborative learning doesn’t just happen and is carefully engineered through this important teaching and learning at the beginning of the year.
Out in the playground this learning is transferred as students learn to play and have fun together as equals. As the school value is Respect the focus is on tolerance, acceptance of differences and dealing with conflict in ways that allow mana to be maintained for all concerned. Before a learner can exercise agency in any particular learning context they must have a belief that their behaviour and their approach to learning is actually going to make a difference for them - in other words, a personal sense of agency.
Reading, writing and maths programmes are well underway and Teachers are busy doing beginning of year assessments so that Teaching is assured to meet the needs of your children and learner agency is fostered. You can help with this by asking your children what they are learning and why, also what they would like to learn next and how. I have found with Charlie that if I say “What did you learn at school today?’ I get nothing. However if I am more specific and identify a subject such as maths I get some details and even an explanation. He has also learned not to leave his school bag lying on the floor of C Floor corridor with his brand new scientific calculator in it!
You will have received a survey on the Health and Physical Education programme on Google forms. This survey is done biannually in all schools and gives us an idea about what our school community sees as important in this area of the curriculum. As there are sensitive subtopics like mental health it is really important that I get your views to inform planning. Thank you for taking some time to complete this for me.
E koekoe te tui
E ketekete te kaka
Ekuku te kereru
The tui chatters, the parrot gabbles, the wood pigeon coos
It takes all kinds of people
Kind regards
Louise Stevenson
FRIDAY GOLF
Our “School Pupils” Golf Club will begin again on Friday 9 February. For the benefit of any new players, I have outlined some of the details about this activity below.
This “Club” is open to all pupils from year 3 and above, and will meet at the Riversdale Golf
Course each Friday during the summer terms.
Sessions times will be 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm.
There is no cost for these Friday sessions, but pupils who wish to use the facilities at other times
may join the Golf Club as a “Primary School Pupil Member” at a cost of $25:00 for the summer.
If you have any questions regarding this activity, please contact Stuart Riordan phone 2025886.
BALFOUR PLAYCENTRE
Playcentre is now open for the 2018 year. Playcentre sessions are held on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 – 12. Located on the school grounds our wonderful facility has heaps to offer all under 5’s!! Come along for a coffee and catch up. We’d love to meet you.
Playcentre has a cot with two mattresses – (one still wrapped in its plastic) in good condition to give away (a donation would kindly be accepted). Please contact Hannah on 0276360000
BALFOUR PLUNKET OPENING
Balfour Plunket has moved! We warmly invite you to the opening of our new and wonderful space in the Balfour Playcentre. To be held on Monday 28th February at 10am. All members, supporters and children welcome. Morning tea provided.
ART FOR CHILDREN
WITH
CHRISTINE OCONNOR
After School art class learning skills and techniques in a variety of mediums with emphasis on exploring individual creativity
2018 Term 1
Wednesday3.15-4.45pm, 8yrs+$100.005wks, 28thFebruary-28thMarch
Thursday3.15pm-4.45pm8yrs+$100.005wks, 1stMarch-29thMarch
All materials supplied – Bookings essential as places are limited
Txt Christine on 027 201 0375
Regards
Board of Trustees
Thank you to all those who attended the Working Bee. We managed to cross most things off the list.Although there are a couple more jobs to do, if you weren’t able to make it on the day and still