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Tena koutou, Talofa Lava, Mālō e lelei, Mālō ni, Kia Orana, Kumusta, Salam, Namaste, Halo, Namaskāra, Āyubōwan, Helo, Xin chào and Greetings to you all.
I am delighted to present myself as your Principal and Tumuaki of Ashburton Borough School, including the Lagmhor site.
I
started here at the beginning of 2025 and have taken my time to get to know parents, students and staff and to reacquaint myself with the community. I began my teaching career here at Ashburton Borough in the late 80’s so much of the environment feels familiar and comfortable to me.
A lot has changed in that time and I am excited to be part of a very diverse and inclusive community. Students at Ashburton Borough are accepted for who they are and yet are encouraged to be the best they can be by living our school values: Be Brave, Be Strong, Be Borough.
I am impressed by the dedication and commitment of staff to provide learning experiences that excite and challenge students but also how they strive to build respectful positive relationships with them and their whānau.
We are a family/whānau based school, where we care and look after each other. My big dream is to make Ashburton Borough School, including our Lagmhor site, the best place to be.

I look forward to sharing our special place with you. Please feel free to contact me or ask any questions at principal@ashborough.school.nz .
Dianne Prendergast
23 Oct 2026
29 Oct 2026 - 30 Oct 2026
Kia ora,
Upcoming events, dates. and reminders:
Athletics Day – Wednesday 21 October
We are busy preparing for our school Athletics Day, which will take place on Wednesday 21 October at the Ashburton Domain. Students are revisiting the different athletics events and practising their skills in running, jumping and throwing. We are working on the techniques needed for events such as high jump, long jump and the various throwing activities. Athletics Day is a great opportunity for students to challenge themselves, have a go at different events, support their classmates and demonstrate our ABS values of Be Brave, Be Strong and Be Borough. A reminder that Athletics Day will be a full day at the Domain. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather, brings plenty of water and has a sunhat.
School Photos – Friday 23 October
Our school photos are coming up on Friday 23 October. It would be great to have everyone looking their best in their school uniform, with tidy hair, ready for a photo we can all be proud of!
School Disco - Friday 23 Oct - whole school same time. 5:30-7:00 - Halloween theme.
Te Taiao — Caring for Our Place
Our inquiry this term is all about our environment. Our learning will include plants and seeds and designing ways to support our living environment.
Sun Safety
Please make sure your child brings their sunhat and water bottle every day. Suitable footwear will also help them stay comfortable during athletics and outdoor learning.
Book Week- In Week 4, we are having Book Week. On the Friday 6th Nov, it will be dress up book character day.
Kind regards,
David Usher
Upcoming dates:
Wednesday 21 October - Athletics Day
Friday 23 October - School Photos
Monday 26 October - Labour Day - No school
Thursday 29th and Friday 30th October Year 5 Camp
Good morning,
The end of the school year will be upon us very quickly. If your child received a trophy at the 2025 end of year prize giving can you please return it to the school office, as soon we will begin preparing for this year's prizegiving.
Thank you
Brigid
Hi Everyone,
We have had a great start to the term full of athletics practise, writing poems with a focus on personification, financial literacy grocery buying challenge, a chapter book study for reading and lots of discussion, research and decision-making around what to plant in our school veggie garden. Today we spent time working on Passion Projects, and many of the students are almost ready to present them to the class. There is a lot happening over the next few weeks so please look at the dates below. Thank you to everyone who helped look after the school hens during the holidays. They are now laying and we will soon be looking at ways to use and market the eggs.
Athletics Day – We will be bussing to the Ashburton Domain at 8:45am. This means that our students that don’t normally catch the bus to school will need to be here by 8:40am at the latest. We will be leaving the domain at approximately 2:55pm. This will mean that our afternoon bus run will be 20-25 minutes behind it’s usual schedule. If you plan on coming to Athletics Day and wish to take your child home with you, please let us know as soon as possible. There will be a full schedule of the day's events coming out very soon.
School photos - These are next Friday (23rd Oct). Please ensure child wears clean, correct summer uniform, including black shoes, for these.
Book Week – We will be having a book character dress-up day on Friday the 6th November. We will be spending the day in town, still doing our art classes and taking part in the whole school parade.
Share a Story – As part of Book Week we would like to invite our community to come to school and read your favourite story that you and your child have enjoyed together. The times available will be 9:10am, 11:05pm and 1:20pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This means that we can accommodate up to 12 family members. Could we please try to limit it to one person per family to enable as many families to be a part of this as possible.
As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions or need to discuss anything.
All the best,
Wendy
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday 20th October - Life Education with Harold the Giraffe
Wednesday 21st October - ABS Athletics Day at the Domain
Friday 23rd October - School photos at our town site
Friday 23rd October – Halloween Disco. See the Skool Loop post for details.
Monday 26th October - Labour Day Holiday
Thursday 29th & Friday 30th October - year 4 Marae visit & year 5 Marae sleepover
2nd November - 6th November - Book Week
· Friday 6th November – Book Character dress-up day
Thursday 12th November 1:30pm – Lagmhor Assembly hosted by Toetoe
Friday 13th November - Canterbury Anniversary Holiday
Thursday 10th December 1:30pm – Lagmhor final assembly hosted by Harakeke
Monday 14th December – End of Year Prize Giving at the Events Centre
Tuesday 15th November – Last day of school for 2026
Hi Everyone
Welcome back to term 4. It was great to see the children back at school with so many memories to share from their holidays. We are right back into the swing of things with learning groups, spelling testing, garden planning and athletics training. Their is a lot happening this term, particularly over the next few weeks so please read the following notices carefully so that you don't miss anything.
Athletics Day – We will be bussing to the Ashburton Domain, leaving Lagmhor at 8:45am. This means that our students that don’t normally catch the bus to school will need to be here by 8:40am at the latest. We will be leaving the domain to come home at approximately 2:55pm. This will mean that our afternoon bus run will be 20-25 minutes behind it’s usual schedule. If you plan on coming to Athletics Day and wish to take your child home with you, please let us know as soon as possible. There will be a full schedule of the days events coming out very soon.
School Photos - Class and individual photos will be taken next Friday (23rd October). Please ensure your child comes to school in correct school uniform and black shoes.
Book Week – We will be having a book character dress-up day on Friday the 6th November. We will be spending the day in town, still doing our art classes and taking part in the whole school parade.
Share a Story – As part of Book Week we would like to invite our community to come to school and read your favourite story that you and your child have enjoyed together. The times available will be 9:10am, 11:05pm and 1:20pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This means that we can accommodate up to 12 family members. Could we please try to limit it to one person per family to enable as many families to be a part of this as possible. Please send me an email or message if you would like to book a time.
Upcoming dates
Tuesday 20th October - Life Education with Harold the Giraffe at our town site
Wednesday 21st October - ABS Athletics Day at the Domain
Friday 23rd October - School photos at our town site
Friday 23rd October – Halloween Disco. See the Skool Loop post for details.
Monday 26th October - Labour Day - No School
2nd November - 6th November - Book Week
· Friday 6th November – Book Character dress-up day
Thursday 12th November 1:30pm – Lagmhor Assembly hosted by Toetoe
Friday 13th November - Canterbury Anniversary Day - No School
Friday 27th November - House Event Day @ our town site.
Thursday 10th December 1:30pm – Lagmhor final assembly hosted by Harakeke
Monday 14th December – End of Year Prize Giving at the Events Centre
Tuesday 15th December – Last day of school for 2026
Please don't hesitate to get in contact if you have any questions.
Many thanks
Jason
Kauri Newsletter
Nau mai ki Term 4!
We have a busy and hopefully very sunny term ahead of us, with lots to do, plenty to revisit, and even more learning to fit in before the end of the year!
This term is all about finishing Year 8 strongly, celebrating what we have achieved, and making sure we are ready for the next step in our learning. There is still plenty to learn, so we will be making the most of every opportunity! We will also be visiting the college a few times this term, so please make sure your child is enrolled for next year.
A big welcome to Tamana, Teshan and Tehan, who are joining our Kauri class this term. We are delighted to have them with us and know they will be fantastic additions to our class. We look forward to getting to know them better over the coming weeks.
Our Learning Theme: Te Taiao – Nature and Our Environment
Our big learning theme this term is Te Taiao, which focuses on nature, our environment, and our role in caring for the world around us. We will be exploring ways to protect and care for our environment, and we hope to get stuck into creating a garden or tidying up and improving the outdoor area around our classroom. We are looking forward to getting our hands dirty and making our space a more inviting place for everyone to enjoy!
Life Education!
We have just finished our two sessions with Harold the Giraffe and Rudi. Our focus was on decision-making. At this age, our tamariki are facing more situations where they need to make choices for themselves. We will be exploring the decisions they might encounter as 12- and 13-year-olds and how they can make sensible, informed choices. And, of course, we are always happy to see Harold!
Reminders and Important Dates
Sunhats are a MUST for Term 4! Please make sure your child brings one to school each day.
Last day of term: Tuesday 15 December
Week 2: Athletics Day @ the Domain – Wednesday 21 October; School Photos – Friday 23 October
Week 3: Labour Day – Monday 26 October
Week 4: Book Week – Dress-up Day on Friday; College Visit 6 November– 9:30 am–11:00 am
Week 5: Canterbury Show Weekend
Week 6: College Visit 18th November -9:30 am–11:00 am
Week 7: College Induction Day – Tuesday 24 November
Ngā mihi nui,
Hinehau Butcher and Jess McCormick
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