School Times 8.00am - Office opens 8.30am - Children may enter the grounds 9.00 - 11.00am - Morning Classes (An in-class snack break is allowed and supervised by the teacher) 11.00 - 11.40am - First interval followed by classes 1.10 - 1.50pm - Second interval 1.50 - 3.00pm - Afternoon classes End of school day Both intervals are the same length and will involve sitting to eat for the first 10 minutes. It is a good idea to provide food separated into two sections. For example, a filled roll cut and packaged in halves. Bought lunches will be delivered at 1.10. School grounds are unsupervised after school.
School Attendance If your child is absent please notify the school by phone on the Absence Phone-line 376 8719 or text on the school cellphone 027 755 7791, preferably before 9.00am. If you know your child is going to be absent for two or three days, please state that also. Unreported absences are followed up from school, usually by phone and sometimes by the Truancy Officer. The phone in/follow up system ensures the whereabouts and safety of children is known. Children are not permitted to leave the school grounds during lunch breaks without a note from home.
Buses Some children travel to and from school by bus. Children who are under 10 years of age, and live more than 3.2 kms away from school, and children who are 10 or over and live more than 4.8 kms away from school, are eligible to use the school bus. If your child is not travelling home on the bus please notify the school on the Absence Phone Number 376 8719 or put absent on the bus roll outside the school office. Bus tickets are available from the school office for non-eligible bus students. Please enquire at the school office for further information. Bus routes are determined by the Ministry and not all areas are serviced. Children travelling on the bus are required to behave themselves appropriately.
Technology Centre All our Year 7 and 8 children have one day Technology training every ten days. The children attend Tararua College for Technology. The fee for Technology is set at $60 but the Board of Trustees pay $30 of this. Pupils are required to pay their share - $30 by the end of Term One. Accounts are sent out early in Term One.
School Dress Generally, we require children to dress in a neat, tidy and appropriate manner for school activities. Nose studs, rings are not to be worn. Most classes have daily fitness and again appropriate clothing is expected to be worn for those activities. Please ensure all clothing is named.
Money and Cellphones at School Cellphones/mp3/ipods etc are NOT permitted at school. Please hand into the school office on arrival for safe keeping and can be collected at the end of the day. When children bring money to school for school activities, fundraising, photocopying, stationery etc, it is important that the money is in a sealed envelope, and has written on the outside the following information: Name, Room Number, Amount and what the money is for. It is especially important for junior children to observe this. All money should be handed into the office before school. Other money should not be brought to school by children. Trips: Children should not take spending money on trips outside the Classroom.
Lost Property The lost property is in the red bin in the foyer. Parents and children are encouraged to check for lost property on a regular basis. All clothing should be clearly named to minimise loss, especially during the summer when children are apt to take clothing off while playing. We make every effort to return all clothing to the owners and display the lost property in the last week of term. Unnamed clothing which remains unclaimed is disposed of early in the following term.
Banking ANZ/BNZ and Westpac banking facilities are available at school. The banking boxes are situated in the office entrance to the school.
Vehicles Outside the School Grounds Entry of vehicles to the school grounds is restricted to authorised vehicles only. Vehicles are not permitted to enter the grounds for purpose of delivering or collecting children before or after school, as this practice creates a definite hazard to the children entering or leaving the school grounds at these times. It is preferred that parents park on Albert Street. Use the 'Drop Off Zone' if you are staying in the car.
Cycling to School Any child cycling to school must wear a correct fitting helmet. School policy states no child under nine years is permitted to ride a bike to school. A cycle rack is provided and all bikes should be walked across the school grounds and secured in this rack.
School Sport Sport plays its part in the balanced development of the child. Children are encouraged to play Saturday sport, but the school has no direct input, or responsibility for this. Friday night sport is available and children are advised about the sport and are encouraged to join a team.
Parents at School Parents are very welcome at the school. Please come along to the many activities that we have throughout the year. Providing transport, working with children in small groups, listening to children and helping with sports programmes are just some of the activities we love to have parent help with. We do appreciate the help and support that parents and friends of the school give us.
School Fees The Board have a set Activity Fee which is currently $15 per term or $60 a year, reduced to $50 if paid by the end of Term One. This can be paid in instalments by direct debit. Please contact the office for details. For each term the fees are paid the family name goes into a draw for $500 worth of groceries drawn on the last day of the school year.
School Assemblies These are held on Friday afternoon at 2.30pm. Parents are welcome to attend. Apart from providing information they are also a time for pupils to share work and for the school to acknowledge the achievements of our pupils. We endeavour to feature a different classroom each week and this will be advertised in the newsletter on Monday.
School Lunches Lunches are available through the school. As we are a Health Promoting School, food choices made available through the school lunch list will be based on Heart Foundation recommendations and will support and reinforce what students learn about nutrition in the classroom. School lunches are purchased from the Tararua College cafeteria. A Lunch List is available from the office and additional copies can be obtained to take home. The children then place their order inside an envelope with their name and room number written on the outside, which is then put in the box outside the school office, where it is recorded. The lunches can then be collected from the foyer leading to the senior side at the beginning of 2nd break. Change will be handed out at the same time.
Telephone and Interviews Interviews and telephone messages should be made through the office. It is not practicable to call teachers to the telephone during class nor is it right that parents should delay the work of the class by seeking interviews during hours of instruction. Purely routine matters or messages for children can be handled by the office. This request is not meant to keep teachers and parents apart. It is aimed at allowing the teachers to get on with the job in the limited time which we have available. Use of the telephone by the children is restricted to emergency situations. Forgetting items or after school arrangements do not constitute an emergency.
Interschool Activities Throughout the year children are given the opportunity to be part of a wide range of different activities. These include a variety of sports codes and cultural activities. There are opportunities to take part in touch, indoor hockey and basketball/miniball, all played Friday nights throughout each term. Children can also join other community team sports, eg Rugby and soccer. Pahiatua School Netball teams play on a Thursday afternoon in the Bush competition and the Senior A team play in the Manawatu competition. Parents are kept informed of trips, visits and activities through the newsletter.
Stationery The school provides a stationery service to families. Stationery packs are avaliable for purchase at the beginning of the school year. These are very competitively priced and we try to keep costs to a minimum. Additional items can be purchased from the school office during the year as required.