Welcome to the Year 8 Whanau

Kia ora and welcome to the Year 8 Whanau.

What a glorious summer we are having. All staff are refreshed and excited to be back. Hopefully your child has settled seamlessly back into school and is looking forward to being a year 8 student.

We have an open door policy and encourage you to be actively involved in your child’s learning.  Each term we aim to provide a variety of experiences outside of school, using community experts, to help provide unique learning experiences.  These activities are only possible with your assistance. This Term all classes are planning to go to the Portobello Aquarium and Otago Museum. We would love to see you join us.  If at any stage there is a concern with your child's schooling then please contact us immediately.  When home and school work in partnership then the outcomes for the students are enhanced.

Next Wednesday, after the “Meet the Teacher Evening,” we are holding a Year 8 Berwick Camp briefing. This will provide a wonderful opportunity for you to be informed of and ask questions about our camping philosophy and the activities we will be experiencing.

Our integrated theme for this term is called ‘Adaptation” and the key question we will refer to is ‘How and why do we adapt to our changing environment? The main emphasis here is that your children are now the leaders of the school. The expectation is that your child will be a kind and caring Balmacewen citizen creating an environment that treats everyone with respect and dignity.

Developing this school culture of Manaakitanga and Whanaunatanga will continue all year and we are looking forward to welcoming the new students / teachers to Balmac with our school Mihi Whakatau.

King Regards

Year 8 Staff