Term Dates
Borough Bulletin
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Policies & Procedures

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
4 May 2026
6 May 2026
Good morning,
Interviews: Student/Parent/Teacher interviews are taking place this afternoon/evening and Wednesday afternoon/evening. You will have received an email on Friday if you have not yet booked a time. Please check this and let me know when you are available. Students should be present at these interviews please. I look forward to discussing your child’s learning with you.
Cross Country: Well done to everyone who participated in the Cross Country last week. It was so great to see everyone giving it their best go and showing perseverance.
Lucky Book Club: Orders are due by 29 May.
Learning: For the first part of the term our Inquiry ‘Curiosity’ learning has been based around ANZAC Day. Hopefully you would have seen Rimu’s article in the school newsletter last week about this. Our writing focus has been Writing to Inform - writing instructions about making a cup tea and catching a rainbow. This week we will be writing recipe instructions for ANZAC biscuits! We have been making sure that we have been using sequencing language such as first, then, next etc and also making sure our instructions are in order. For reading we have had a focus on the text features of non-fiction texts/books.
Rimu Reporters / News Days:
We have a specific topic or focus each week. For this week (Week 1) the children can share about something of their choice. For the following weeks we will have a focus of:
Week 3 - Something that is green
Week 4 - Favourite movie or programme
Week 5 - A time I felt brave
Week 6 - If I had a million dollars
Week 7 - What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Week 8 - Your favourite ice cream flavour
Week 9 - What’s your favourite thing to do in the summer
Week 10 - What’s your favourite thing to do in the winter?
Week 11 - Mystery Eggs/Clues
If you have any questions or concerns, please make contact via email rebekah.clement@ashborough.school.nz
Ngā mihi,
Rebekah
Upcoming dates:
4th & 6th May- Parent Interviews
1st June- Kings Birthday- no school
2nd June- Teacher Only Day
Kia ora whanau,
I hope you all had a nice weekend.
Interviews: I am looking forward to meeting you all for school interviews this week. Just a reminder that your child should be present with you. Interviews are 10-15 minutes long.
Well done to Kowhai for participating and doing their best at Cross Country. I am proud of everyone’s efforts and how hard they tried!
Lucky Book Club: Orders are due by 29th May.
What have we been up to in Kōwhai?
Writing to Inform: As part of our informative writing learning, students have been practising how to write clear step-by-step instructions for everyday tasks. This week, we will be using the instructions they wrote last week to make hot chocolates in class.
Please send your child to school with a mug or cup on Tuesday (tomorrow) this week.
Maths: In Maths, we are currently learning written strategies for addition and subtraction. Students are practising solving problems with numbers up to 1000 using column methods, both with and without regrouping.
We are also learning about the concepts of less than, greater than, and equal to. Next week, we will begin our new focus on measurement.
Reading: This term in Reading, students are learning about different text forms, how texts are organised (structure), the author’s writing style, and the features used to help readers understand meaning.
News topics for this term are as follows.
Week 3 - Let’s celebrate our Mums! Please bring a photo of your Mum, or draw a picture of her. Tell us about her and why she is special.
Week 4 - What is your favourite animal? Draw a picture and tell us why it is your favourite. Add two interesting facts about it that your classmates might not know.
Week 5 - Share your favourite recipe. Why is it your favourite? What ingredients does it use? Is it difficult or easy to make?
Week 6 - Can you speak more than one language? Share something you can say in another language! OR Learn how to say ‘hello’ in a different language. Let us know which language you have learnt, and share that new greeting with us all!
Week 7 - What makes you feel proud? Think of a moment when you felt really proud of yourself and share that experience with the class.
Week 8 - What makes you awesome? Share three things about yourself that make you unique!
Week 9 - Could you share with us your favourite song? Can you tell us the artist and title of the song? Why is it your favourite? How does it make you feel?
Week 10 - It’s the end of the term! What has been your favourite thing about term 2?
Week 11 - No news
Have a great week!
Ngā mihi,
Amy
Upcoming dates:
4th & 6th May- Parent Interviews
1st June- Kings Birthday- no school
2nd June- Teacher Only Day
Good morning! Hope you've had a great weekend.
Interviews: I'm looking forward to meeting you all for school interviews this week. Just a reminder that your child should be present with you. Interviews are only 10-15 minutes, so anything past that, we will need to book a further time.
Noah is starting next week- Welcome!
Well Done to all Māpou for Cross Country. They all tried so hard and did their best at running. I'm so proud of them.
Lucky Book Club: Don't forget about the Lucky Book Club orders- due by the 29th May. Every little bit helps the school!
Have a great week,
Anna
anna.harper@ashborough.school.nz
Upcoming dates:
4th & 6th May- Parent Interviews
1st June- Kings Birthday- no school
2nd June- Teacher Only Day- no school
Public Meeting:
Come and listen to Minister for Justice, Hon Paul Goldsmith and MP James Meager talk on Law & Order
Friday 8th May, 1-2pm
At the Library auditorium, 221 Baring Square East, Ashburton
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