A-Z information - 2012

ATTENDANCE/ABSENCES

Attendance at school is compulsory between 9.00am and 3.00pm each day the school is open. Parents should inform the school before 9.00am of a child's absence or intended lateness. Please telephone the school answerphone and provide the reason for the child's absence. All absences are checked and your message saves a lot of time. If we do not hear from you we will contact you to ensure your child is safe.

If a child is to be absent for non-medical reasons, the school must be notified beforehand. For absences of one week or longer, notification must be in writing and the date of return to school must be specified.

Please do not send your child to school if they are unwell. If you are worried about your child’s health please seek the advice of a GP before bringing your child to school. Please allow your child time to recover from illness before returning to school.

• No child with diarrhoea or vomiting should attend school. Children must be symptom free for 24 hours and in the case of diarrhoea have had at least one normal bowel motion before returning to school.

ACCIDENTS / FIRST AID

First aid is given when your child is sick or has an accident. If the sickness or accident is such that the child should be sent home, we will contact the whanau / parents / caregivers for guidance on this. If the accident is serious, the child will be taken to the Emergency Department of Wellington Hospital. We will contact the whanau / parents / caregivers immediately.

It is therefore important that we have accurate records of the address and phone numbers of all whanau / parents / caregivers at school. Please notify the school of any changes during the year.

AFTER SCHOOL CARE

A privately operated company, Technicolor Kids, runs an after school care programme, from one of the classrooms. It is open each day, 3.00pm to 5.30pm. Enrolment information is held at the school office. Contact numbers for the supervisor, Justine Fletcher are: 972 4099 or 027 381 3409.

ASSEMBLIES

Assemblies are held most Fridays at 9.15am, usually in the school hall. Parents and caregivers are welcome to attend.

BANKING

Payment Options can be made either via Automatic Payment (forms are available at the office) or Internet payments can be made direct to our bank account with ASB Manners Street. The number is 12 3141 0350817 00.
Please include your child’s name in the reference details.

ASB School Banking for all children is available at the school (Registration and Application Forms are at the office).

BEHAVIOUR AT SCHOOL

The approach to student behaviour, policy and practice, are based on the following:

Acknowledging and highlighting positive behaviour;
Everyone’s right to an harmonious environment;
Fair and consistent approaches when modifying or dealing with inappropriate behaviour;
Understanding, that those children who never offend should not suffer because of those who do offend;
No-one has the right to take up an unfair amount of teacher time.

Through consultation with children, whanau/parents/caregivers and staff, we have also agreed that certain forms of behaviour are totally inappropriate at our school.

These include:

physical violence with intent
verbal abuse
sexual harassment
vandalism
racism
teasing
bullying

We endeavour to implement appropriate and consistent consequences for misbehaviour. We favour discussion and counselling, making the consequence match the behaviour where appropriate, such as isolation / time out until the child is ready to interact positively with others again and working with whanau / parents / caregivers. Stand-downs from school are an undesirable and final consequence only and, thank goodness, rarely needs to be used at Matairangi Clyde Quay School. We concentrate on the positive!

CLOTHING

The amount of lost property we accumulate in the year is staggering. If unclaimed, the clothing gets sold or donated to charity. If however articles of clothing are named, they would be returned to their rightful owner. We would really appreciate your help in this campaign.

All lost property is stored in the green boxes at the back of the staffroom.

CONCERNS

When you have concerns or worries about any aspect of your child’s development or time at Matairangi Clyde Quay School, please discuss them with the staff member who you consider most appropriate for the occasion. We will assure you of confidentiality and that you will be listened to most seriously.

If your concerns still continue, feel free to discuss them with the principal who will liaise between you and staff if necessary.

DENTAL CLINIC

A mobile dental clinic visits the school once a year. Please complete the dental enrolment form and return it to school to ensure that your child is enrolled. The dental therapists see all children who are enrolled on their register. If whanau / parents / caregivers have any worries about their child’s teeth, please call the clinic on 027 241 8861.

ENROLLING CHILDREN

Clyde Quay School is zoned. A map is available here and information about the Home Zone is available here. We appreciate being advised well in advance if you are intending to enrol your child. Children may begin school when they are five years old. Before your child begins school, you and your child may like to make some pre-school visits to get the feel of the classroom. Contact the new entrant teacher to make arrangements for this.

For new entrants, the school requires a birth certificate and an immunisation certificate to be sighted when enrolment forms are completed. For children coming from other schools, we would like to see the last school report.

HEARING AND VISION

All New Entrants will have their hearing and vision tested within 6 months of starting at school and rechecked at Year 7.

NEW ENTRANTS – GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL

Please help get your child ready for school by teaching them the following:

Name and address
The safest way to and from school and to go straight home after school
Doing up their own shoe laces
Taking off and putting on coat/jacket by themselves
Using a handkerchief and always having one
Washing their hands and flushing the toilet
Putting away play things after using them
Being respectful, considerate and kind to others
Looking after their own belongings; jersey, lunch box etc. It is helpful if clothing is labelled .

Please help your child to enjoy school by:

Helping them to practise writing their name (not in capitals).
Admiring their work when they bring it home.
Listening to them and praising them when they bring a book home to read to or with you.
Making sure they go to bed early and get plenty of sleep.
Making sure they have a good breakfast and bring play lunch and lunch to school.
Not sending toys to school – teachers cannot accept responsibility for them.

Your child will need:

A school bag that is big enough to hold lunch, a drink, a reading book folder, jersey and swimming togs. Your child’s teacher will explain to you how you can help your child with the reading books they bring home. Please make sure they look after books at home and remember to return them each day. This is really important in their development as readers.

LANGUAGES

Te Reo

The school has a commitment to the teaching of Maori language. Staff undertakes professional development at different times in order to facilitate the te reo Maori programme.

French

Our Year 7 & 8 students attend French lessons once a week throughout the school year.

LIBRARY

We have done extensive work in upgrading our school library so that it contains not only an extensive selection of literature and research material, but also computers and software which allow children to extend their research and communication skills in an up-to-date way. Our library is fully automated.

All children have one library period per week and they can usually use the library during lunch times. Children are urged to borrow and return a variety of books on a regular basis.

We are very proud of our library and are continually upgrading its environment so that it is exciting,colourful and stimulating for children.

LUNCHES

Children need healthy lunches every day. This can include sandwiches, fresh and dried fruit, raw vegetables and crackers. Please avoid sugar and canned soft drinks. We do not permit chocolate, lollies or chewing gum at school.

Occasionally special lunches will be available, such as sausage sizzles. These will be advertised in the Wednesday newsletter.

PARKING

We have very limited parking space here at school. The teachers, kindergarten staff, caretaker, secretary and teacher aides take up every available space! We would ask you please to park your cars outside on the street when visiting school or dropping off/picking up children. We also ask you to avoid double parking as we worry about the safety of children. Thanks for your co-operation in this.

Year 6, 7 and 8 children also perform very valuable road patrol duties. They assist children across the very busy Elizabeth Street crossing before and after school.

PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR SCHOOL DONATIONS

Please include your child’s name in the reference details.

Road Patrol

Year 6, 7 and 8 children can volunteer for road patrol. They assist children across the very busy Elizabeth Street crossing before and after school.

REPORTING TO WHANAU/ PARENTS / CAREGIVERS

There are three organised times when whanau/ parents / caregivers receive information about their child’s progress.

Term 1 - 2

This is a time when whanau/ parents / caregivers may come to the school to meet the teacher of their child for the year. It is in two parts. Firstly, an informal meeting which generally takes the form of a family BBQ. Secondly, a whanau/parent/teacher interview is held to ascertain how your child is settling into school and to set goals with the teacher for your child’s learning year.

Term 3

Whanau/ parents / caregivers are again invited to the school to discuss the progress of their child with the teachers. It is a 3-way interview where your child leads the discussion.

Term 4

A written report is sent home with the children at the end of the year.

Teachers are also available at other times during the year if whanau/ parents / caregivers wish to talk about the progress of their child, or any other matter. Because teachers are such busy people, it is best to make an appointment first. Our classrooms are always open for whanau/ parents / caregivers to visit and observe their child working. Matairangi Clyde Quay School supports an ‘open door’ policy.

SPECIAL NEEDS

Every child at our school has a special need and some children have more than others. This may be because they are very able and need extending in their learning or conversely have a specific learning difficulty and need accelerating. Others have behaviour, health or language challenges. At times, it requires considerable effort from staff however it is also what makes life so rich and rewarding for us at Matairangi Clyde Quay School.

An innovation at the school is the variety of opportunities we explore to meet the needs of our children. These include: 1:1 reading recovery, small group tuition, programmes for children with special abilities, kapa haka, and language tutors (finance permitting).

Teachers meet regularly to discuss the special needs of children and to put in place appropriate strategies. It is here that we also devise interventions for behaviour modification.

STATIONERY

To ensure that students have the correct exercise books, all students need to purchase a class stationery pack from the school. Books have been sourced from our regular stationery supplier at very competitive prices.

If your child transfers to Matairangi Clyde Quay School, the stationery they bring with them from their previous school is perfectly acceptable to begin with. Their class teacher will advise if further books are required.

SUPPORT AGENCIES

The health nurse is a regular visitor to our school. From time to time there may be matters relating to a child’s school life, or health, which we feel needs to be discussed with the whanau/parents/caregivers in some detail. The health nurse may visit the home to discuss matters and to give help and support to the family.

The school also liaises with other support personnel in order to cater to the needs of all our students. Examples of available support:

Hearing & vision technicians
Resource Teachers of Behaviour & Learning
Counsellors
Group Special Education workers

SWIMMING

Clyde Quay School has a regular swimming programme for all Y1 – Y8 children during February and March. This takes place at the Kilbirnie Aquatic Centre. All children are expected to take part in swimming lessons. They are an important part of the school curriculum and the school subsidises part of the cost.

TECHNICRAFT LESSONS

All Year 7 and 8 students attend technology lessons once a week to learn:

Food technology
Electronics
Information Communication
Skills using a variety of textiles

Technology lessons are held at Mt Cook School and children travel there by bus. Children must wear suitable footwear to protect their feet because of the tools used during lessons.

There are associated costs to cover the use of materials and families are advised of these at the beginning of the year.

TRIPS AND OUTINGS

These are a regular and essential part of our programme. Children not only enjoy them but learn a great deal, both academically and socially.

Whenever trips are planned, the class teacher will send a notice home to inform whanau/parents/caregivers. The notice sets out the arrangements and cost. Whanau/parents/caregivers are also most welcome to participate in all trips and outings.

VOLUNTARY DONATIONS

The government funds schools for teacher salaries and general operations. However, we find that we have to raise money to supplement the purchase of resources to further enhance our classroom programmes.

We appreciate the support whanau/parents provide through voluntary donations. It means children have access to a wider range of resources and facilities as a result of the school community’s efforts. We raise this money through:

family voluntary donations and
fundraising activities.

In past years,funds raised have helped with the upgrade of the school library, enhancing the school environment, financing teacher aides in classrooms, supporting the cost of computers, the internet, digital cameras, and much more.

Currently, the amount requested for family donations is:

$200 for one child
$100 for each additional child

These may be paid as a lump sum or in instalments. Payments can be made directly to the school’s bank account or by cash or cheque to the school office.

WHANAU / PARENT / CAREGIVER HELP

The school is always in need of whanau/ parent / caregiver help for trips and making equipment. Whanau/ parents / caregivers are encouraged to indicate, near the beginning of the year, how they can assist the school. Such assistance may include sewing of cushions/curtains, technology advisors, coaching sports teams, reading to small groups of children, dance and singing support, helping with fundraising. This help may be on a regular basis or on one-off special occasions. Any help is very much appreciated.

Clyde Quay School