A to Z of School Life

Absence from School

It is a legal requirement that children in NZ attend school. If your child is away from school you are asked to notify the school by calling the absentee line on 07 8714669 and follow the instructions or by emailing

office@stpatta.co.nz by 8:45am. 

If you need to take your child away from school during the school day or are returning them to school during the school day, your child needs to be signed in or out through the school office. If you are taking your child out of school for a family holiday or other reason, you must seek written permission from the principal. You can email our principal on principal@stpatta.co.nz

Assemblies

School begins each week with a Prayer Assembly in the church at 9am. We have whole-school assemblies in the Junior Hub three times each term, dates are available on our school calendar.

Before and After School Care

Kidszone Before and After School Care has a bus which picks up St Patrick’s students each day. The provider is Simone Monkley and she can be reached on 027 4853038 or kidszone.simone@hotmail.com

Behaviour

At St Patrick’s we have very high expectations of behaviour. Our Behaviour Policy is available to view on our website. It is not a “one size fits all” process and it is based on recognising that each student has individual needs and will need an individual approach.

Violence or any kind or bullying will not be tolerated.

All of the staff see education as a partnership between parents, teachers and learners, so your support and feedback is greatly appreciated.

Buses

If you live more than 3.2km away from school, you are entitled to have your children come to school on the school bus system. Further details about this can be requested from the office.

At end of each day each bus-student are checked onto their correct bus by a duty teacher. It is very important that, if your child usually catches the bus but will not be catching it on a particular day,  you let the office know.

If you are picking up your child from a bus stop, please wait on the same side of the road as the bus.

Calendar

The school has a community google calendar - you can find it on the front page of our website.

Carpark

The school has three carparks but none of these is able to be used at the end of the day when they all become walkways for our students leaving the school. The carpark beside the church is for staff and parishioners attending events such as funerals. The carpark outside the office may be used by parents who need to see our office staff. The Rewi St carpark is for staff only.

Concerns and Complaints

If you wish to raise a concern or have a complaint, these should be addressed in the first instance to your child’s own classroom teacher and then the AP or DP assigned to your child’s team. If there is still no resolution complaints may be taken to the Principal and, as a final step, to the Board of Trustees. Our Complaints Policy is available on our website.

Dental Clinic

The children are treated at the Mobile Dental Clinic which visits the school annually. Outside of their scheduled visit, the Dental nurses can be contacted by phoning 0800 TALKTEETH

Digital Tools

All classes have access to computers, which includes access to the internet. We are a Google school which means that all students have a google-user account on our domain (@stpatta.co.nz). These accounts are regularly monitored by our Teacher in Charge of ICT.

Students in the Middle and Senior school are allowed to bring their own device (BYOD) which must be a Chromebook. 

All students and their parents are required to sign a Cyber Safety User Agreement every year.

Enrolments

As a Catholic integrated school, the school’s Integration Agreement stipulates a dual enrolment system : Preference (where students or their families have an established connection with the Catholic Church) and Non Preference (where there is no such connection). 

To gain Preference Entry to our school you must meet one of the following criteria, set down by the NZ Catholic Bishops:

5.1 Your child is a baptised Catholic

5.2 Your child has a sibling who is a baptised Catholic

5.3 Your child has a parent who is baptised Catholic

5.4 Your child has a significant family member who is a member of our local parish

5.5 Your child is preparing for baptism into the Catholic Faith

It is the Parish Priest who grants Preference entry. Appointments to meet with our Parish Priest can be made through the school office.

Non-Preference Entry

Our Integration Agreement with the Government allows us to have 10% of our roll as Non-Preference enrolments. This means we are allowed to have 29 students on our roll who do not have links to the Catholic Faith. Non-preference families are still expected to uphold and support our school's special Catholic character.

The first step to enrolment is to phone the school office on 07 8714669 and make an appointment to see the Principal and the Parish Priest (if requesting Preference Entry).

EOTC - Education Outside the Classroom

All students will have opportunities to attend trips, camps and shows as part of their learning. As part of your enrolment form you have already given permission for your child to attend low-risk, local events but all other events will have a permission slip sent home which needs to be returned before your child is able to attend the event.

Facebook

Our school Facebook page is a great way to keep up with what is happening at school and to see photos your child at work and play. Seach Facebook for St Patrick’s Te Awamutu to find us.

Fundraising Committee 

Our Fundraising Committee has the dual purpose of fundraising for our school and supporting and organising school events. To contact the Fundraising Committee please email fundraising@stpatta.co.nz

Hair

As a simple health precaution we ask that all shoulder length hair is tied back. As per the Uniform Policy (available on our website), hair ties should be in school colours and hair should be of natural colour.

Health Nurse

Our school is in regular contact with our local health nurse and if you need to see her she can be contacted through our office.

Homework

Juniors

• Reading each night

Y3/4

• Reading each night

• Ideas for Basic Facts / Spelling practice

Y5/6

• Reading each night

• Maths extension online (e.g. Study Ladder, Matific)

• Themed homework that lasts for the term - can be shared on a Friday afternoon

Y7/8

• Themed homework options across all curriculum areas with varying length - handed in a specific date

• Deadlines and managing self is a focus

Immunisation

As part of the enrolment process, the school requires your child’s immunisation record. It is not compulsory to have your child immunised in NZ, however, if there is an outbreak of e.g. measles, your child will be asked to stay home from school. This is a Ministry of Health directive.

Any immunisation programme run at school (e.g. MMR) will not happen without your knowledge and consent.

Library

Classes visit our school library once a week and may bring their library books home.

Lost Property

It is essential that all items of clothing are clearly named. If clothing is found in the grounds, it is placed in the lost property bins in each team’s area. There are no expectations on our teachers to look for unnamed clothing.

Lunches

Children are encouraged to bring healthy lunches to school but we firmly believe that school lunches are the parent’s domain. 

Fizzy drinks, energy drinks and high-sugar “juice” drinks are not allowed at school,

Lollies and chewing gum are also not allowed at school.

Medication

GUIDELINES:

1. Any medication brought to school must come with written permission and instructions from the parent or caregiver.

2. All medication (except Asthma Inhalers) must be kept and administered by either the classroom teacher or the office administrator. Medication must not be kept in children’s bags.

3. Long-term medication will be kept in the sick bay, in a cupboard that is not accessed by children, or in the fridge. The cupboard must not be locked, but must be accessible in case of emergency.

4. Asthma inhalers should be kept and managed by the child concerned, under the supervision of the classroom teacher or other adult.

5. Epi-pens will be kept in the staffroom on top of the fridge, with the student’s emergency management plan and photo on the wall above the fridge. There may be instances when students are allowed to carry their own Epi-pens rather than store them in the sickbay, at the principal's discretion

6. Awareness of expiry dates and replacement of all medication is the responsibility of the parent/caregiver.

7. Paracetamol may be administered with verbal permission. Dosage should be clarified with the parent/caregiver, along with timing of the last dose given.

8. Any medication given to a child will be logged on eTap by the adult who administers the medication.

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are not allowed in classrooms. If you require your child to have a mobile phone at school, your child must hand their phone in to the school office on arrival. Students are responsible for collecting these at the end of the day.

Newsletter

Our school Newsletter comes home digitally every second week on a Thursday. It is also posted on the school’s website. If you require a paper copy, please contact the office.

Pick-Up

It is expected that students will be picked up immediately at the end of school at 2.50pm. On occasions we understand that you may be stuck in traffic or otherwise delayed. Students  who have not been collected by 3.10pm will be asked to wait in the office. Students are not permitted to wait unsupervised on the playgrounds for health and safety reasons.

For student safety we ask that when dropping off and picking up your children you park on the road, not in our carparks which become main walkways for our students before and after school.

Publishing of Students’ Images Online

There are specific guidelines that the school adopts for this with a clause in your enrolment pack. Please read this clause carefully and contact the principal if you have any questions.

School Fees

The Catholic Diocese of Hamilton charges Attendance Dues and our school asks for contributions in other areas. Details of these change each year and can be found on our school website.

School Hours

School begins at 8.50am and finishes at 2.50pm. The School Office is open from 8am until 4pm. Morning tea is from 10.30am until 10.55am and lunch is at 12.40pm until 1.30pm.

Sickbay

Students come to the sickbay when they are feeling unwell or after an accident. Our office staff and all of our teachers hold First Aid certificates. All illnesses and accidents are recorded on our sickbay register. Parents will be contacted when a child needs to be taken home, after a serious accident and for all head injuries.

Student Accounts

Each student has an account where some school costs incurred by your child (e.g. sports fees, camps etc.) are debited. You will receive an account for money owing by email each term. 

Swimming

Our school places a great amount of importance on giving our students the skills they need to be water confident. Swimming takes place in Term 1. Our Junior Students swim in our school pool while our more confident swimmers use the town pools. We do consider our swimming programme to be compulsory so if your child is unable to swim they must bring a note to school.

Reports

Reports on student progress and achievement are made formally once per term, although parents are always welcome to make an appointment to see their child’s teacher. The formal opportunities are:

Term 2: Parent-Teacher Interviews & Written Report

Term 4: Written Report sent home

Road Patrol

The Pedestrian Crossings on both Alexandra St and Rewi St are patrolled by student volunteers each day between 8.15am and 8.45am and then again at 2.50pm until 3pm.

Sports

Most Saturday sports have now been taken over by the local clubs and will be advertised in our school newsletter as the season approaches.

The school enters teams into the local netball, touch and miniball competitions, if we can find parent coaches and managers.

School sports events are Swimming Sports in Term 1, Cross Country in Term 3 and Athletics in Term 4. Children who compete well in these competitions go on to represent us in the various interschool competitions. Our Intermediate students also enter various sporting competitions such as the Winter Sports Tournament in Term 2.

Stationery

Our school works with Office Max to supply stationery packs at the beginning of each year at a competitive price. These packs can be purchased online and links are shared at the beginning and end of each year.

New Entrant students are given a stationery list before starting.

Teams

Hub Team: Years 0, 1 and 2, Team Leader: Paula Carr

Peak Team Team: Years 6, 7 and 8

Quad Team: Years 3 4, and 5 Team Leader: Patsy Wisnewski

Technology (Year 7 and 8)

The school contract Te Awamutu Intermediate to deliver Technology lessons in their specialist classrooms located at their school. Our students travel to and from TAI by bus. The programme runs for two terms on one morning each week. Incidental costs for the take-home component of the course are advised by Te Awamutu Intermediate and are the responsibility of the parents.