Principal's report

As Term 3 comes to a close, I want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible energy and success our students have shown across so many different fields over the past few weeks.

O’Mathlon & Australian Maths Competition A massive shout-out to Janne Miller and our brilliant mathematicians, who calculated their way to fantastic results in both the Year 7 and Year 8 categories at the O’Mathlon. Watching our students fully immersed in such a fast-paced, competitive environment was a highlight of the term. That momentum carried over into the Australian Maths Competition, where several of our students achieved Distinction—a brilliant reflection of their problem-solving grit.

School Bands Jo Brusse, Jake Scott, and Tom Addie worked their magic with our school bands, putting in countless hours to refine their sound and guide our young musicians toward impressive performances. Delayed Signal was placed 1st overall and took away the award for the Best Original Song. Sophie Poppleton was awarded Best Guiatarist and Umut Ince was awarded Best Special Instrument.

Hip Hop & Aerobics Friday the 18th was an extraordinarily busy and proud day for Balmacewen. Our Hip Hop Crew competed at Nationals, taking home 4th place. Having watched them perform, I honestly believe they deserved an even higher placing—their routine was outstanding! Huge thanks to Charlotte Cooper and the Otago Girls choreographers for donating their time and talent to give our students this opportunity. That same morning, our Aerobics team took to the stage and represented our school with fantastic energy, earning strong results for their hard work.

Cross Country Success Oma rapati, oma rapati, oma, oma, oma! Our school Cross Country was a roaring success. We deeply appreciate the huge effort put in by everyone behind the scenes, especially Janine Southby and Elise McIlroy. The high standard on the day saw a strong contingent qualify for the Otago Regional Cross Country, where Balmacewen proved to be a dominant force—winning three out of the four intermediate grades and securing top-five finishes across the board. Thank you to Mr. Olsen for your dedicated coaching of our runners.

Kapa Haka It has been said many times over the last few weeks that our Kapa Haka performance at Polyfest was nothing short of outstanding, and it truly was. The passion and precision of our ropū left a lasting impression on everyone in the audience.

Ngā mihi nui ki ngā ākonga, ngā whānau, me Whaea Sue, Matua Aaron, Matua Che, me Whaea Mary mō tō koutou ū ki te kaupapa. He nui tō mātou whakamihi ki a koutou mō tō koutou mahi.

School Council Rachel Smart and our school council have succeeded in revitalising our flagpole and our country's flag will be hoisted soon. There are plans in the pipeline to utilise our flagpole to celebrate school house success and language weeks.

Looking Ahead to Term 4 Next term promises to be just as action-packed. We look forward to celebrating the creativity and dedication of Charlotte Cooper and her talented cast as they bring our school production to life (complete with some exciting guest appearances!). Our athletes will also have their moment to shine at our school Athletics Day. Finally, as we head into the home stretch of the year, we will be celebrating our Year 8 students and supporting them as they prepare for the next step in their educational journey.

Community Consultation Thank you to you the community for completing our consultation earlier this year. The following is a summation of what you told us was working well and what you would like to see improved:Highlights from the feedback include:

• Academic & Specialist Access: High satisfaction with access to Mathematics Extension, Technology classes, and the Itinerant Music Programme.

• School Culture: Strong support for our PERK values, which foster inclusion and help us address anti-social behavior effectively.

• Uniform: Uniforms continue to be seen as a strength, and we are currently reviewing the potential introduction of trousers.

• Curriculum Confidence: Overwhelming support for our current Health programme, along with high confidence levels in Literacy (74%) and Numeracy (80%).

• EOTC & Events: Overwhelming support to retain both school camps, alongside 78% support for continuing our current parent-teacher conference format.

Based on your feedback, we have identified key focus areas to guide our ongoing development:

• Teaching & Curriculum: Investing in dedicated Professional Development for staff to support the new Literacy and Numeracy curricula, alongside reviewing syndicate mathematics delivery to elevate our math teaching further.

• Communication & Parent Engagement: Streamlining overall school communication, updating our website, and finding more ways to engage parents regarding academic progress.

• Arts, Music & Sport: Investing further in Arts and Music, while expanding sporting opportunities for female students and offering more social sport options alongside our broad existing offerings.

• Student Wellbeing & Culture: Maintaining our discipline expectations alongside robust pastoral support, while deepening our connection with local Iwi.

• Transitions: Enhancing our processes to support smooth high school transitions for our students.

Thank you all for your ongoing support throughout Term 3. Have a restful break, and we look forward to seeing everyone back refreshed for Term 4.

Ngā mihi nui,

Corey