Newsletters | Parents' Association | BoT Meetings | Bell Times | Sick/Injured Students | Absenteeism/Lateness | Smokefree | Prescribed Medicine | Library | Technicraft | Parent Contact Details | Stationery | Homework | Assemblies | Policies | Dental Clinic | Parent Involvement | Specialist Services | Uniform
SCHOOL NEWSLETTERS:
These are sent home as the need arises, approximately once per fortnight and
on a Wednesday. We encourage parents to either receive them by email or to download them directly from this site.
From time to time, class teachers and/or teachers with specific responsibilities
(eg Music Festival, Sport, Religious Education etc) will send letters home.
These may be of a general nature or be specific to their class or curriculum
area. Parent approval is sought for such programmes as "Changes at Puberty"
or visits beyond the school if the risk factor is considered by the principal
to be greater than at school.
ST JOSEPH’S PARENTS’
ASSOCIATION:
This group meets at school on a monthly basis, usually on the second Monday
of the month. Minutes of their meetings may be found here. It is an ideal way for new parents to meet other parents and to
actively support our school community. This group forms a vital link between
home and school. They fund-raise to provide additional resources for our school.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETINGS:
The Board meets at school on the fourth Tuesday of the month. These meetings
are open and you are welcome to attend. Board members are always willing to
discuss any concerns or queries you may have relevant to the governance of the
school.
8:50 am (again at 8:55am) - 10:30 am
10:50 pm - 12:25 pm
1:20 pm (and again at 1:25pm) - 2:55 pm
SICK OR INJURED STUDENTS:
Students should not be sent to school if sick. If you are unsure and do send
your children, please do not tell them to phone if they feel worse ... they
will! Instead, phone the school office and mention this- though not in your
child’s hearing.
In case of sickness or injury, students are sent to the sick bay for assessment
and further action as required. If the sickness or injury is considered to require
hospital treatment, such as for a broken leg or arm, an ambulance will be called
and the parents notified. It is really important that your contact phone and
emergency contact are kept up-to-date in our office.
The health and welfare of your child is paramount. If a child has a head injury,
regardless of its severity, parents will be informed. If the injury or illness
is minor, this will be attended to and the child returned to class. if the child
appears distressed, parents will be called.
ABSENTEEISM AND LATENESS:
If your child is to be absent or late for school, it is important that you phone
the office between 8 - 9 am. Class rolls are checked first thing every morning,
absences are noted and a list is sent to the office. These are then checked
against absences reported by phone or siblings at school. The parents of any
child noted as absent and not on the ‘phoned in’ list will be phoned
to check the child’s whereabouts. By phoning in, you save the school worry
time and money. All students are expected to be at school on time. In case of
an unexpected delay, your child is to report to the office before going to class.
If you are unable to be contacted by phone, it is presumed your child is safe
with you.
Your support is crucial and appreciated.
SMOKE FREE SCHOOL:
The board, through the staff, promote awareness among the students
that smoking is harmful to our health. In accordance with New Zealand law,
all school buildings and grounds are completely smoke free.
PRESCRIBED MEDICINE:
If your child requires prescribed medicine please let the school know
in writing giving full details.
LIBRARY:
The school has a well equipped library, which each class is rostered
to use. It is open each day during the lunch hour 1pm to 1.30pm for recreational
reading. The school employs a library assistant for 20 hours per week and a
teacher-librarian is employed for 2.5 hours. This ensures the smooth running
of this vital asset. The school uses the National School Library in Christchurch
and the Public Library. Students may request any book through the school. Class
sets may also be requested for a specific time. Our Library is computerised.
Students are encouraged to use the Public Library in their home area and nearly
all students do so.
TECHNICRAFT:
Y7 & Y8 students receive technicraft instruction at Nelson Intermediate.
They follow a two-year programme. A bus is provided by the MoE to transport
the students to Nelson Intermediate each Friday morning.
CONTACT DETAILS:
It is most important that you inform the School Office about any change
of address, phone number or doctor etc. that occur.
STATIONERY:
Stationery and class stationery lists are available from OfficeMax. They also provide pre-made packs from about December to early January. We request a "Parent Partnership Donation" of $50 per family. This donation covers the cost of essential items that cannot be met from the Government Operations Grant. These items include: costs associated with computing which are very high (maintenance, ink, paper). Although the government insists on students becoming ICT literate, funding for such items has hardly increased.
HOMEWORK:
Our school policy is that some homework is given Monday to Thursday.
The individual teacher decides the nature and extent of this. We ask parents
though to spend at least ten minutes daily with each child, sharing a book with
them discussing some topic of interest to the child. This is precious time and
its long term value is immeasurable. Your child needs you. Do not let him/her
down. You too will benefit. If you consider the homework given is not appropriate
for your child please discuss this with his or her teacher.
SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES:
The whole school assembles alternate (approximately) Thursdays in the Hall at 2:15pm.
Click here for assembly timetable. Parents, grandparents and friends are welcome to these assemblies. Student
of the Week Certificates are presented to children from the junior and middle
school.
There is usually some communal singing. The emphasis is on each member coming
together as our school community -- a sense of belonging as in a family is
thus
fostered. Occasionally a syndicate area shares some aspect of their learning
with the rest of the school.
SCHOOL POLICIES:
We have a range of policies which outline systems and procedures within
the school. Policies are updated regularly and new policies written as appropriate.
Input from parents and the wider community are invited and valued. Copies of
our policies are available to our school community at any time.
DENTAL CLINIC:
Our students attend the Dental Clinic in Central School grounds. Treatment is
available to all students. Parental consent is presumed unless we are notified
otherwise.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT:
We welcome parent involvement in the life of our school. Research shows that
children whose parents take an interest in their education perform better
than
those whose parents do not.
Parents are invited to participate in all aspects of the school programme. Their
help is particularly welcomed in these areas:
SPECIALIST SERVICES:
Specialist Services such as Public Health Nurse, Hearing/Vision Technicians,
Special Education Personnel, Speech Therapist and School Dental Clinic are available
through the school.
The school operates a Reading Recovery Programme for 6 to 7 year olds not experiencing
successful outcomes in Reading. Rainbow Reading for older students operates
as a booster for students identified as needing this.
The Seasons Programme is provided, on a needs basis, for students suffering
a significant loss in their immediate family eg a parent, separation by death
or divorce. We have facilitators for this.
Additional teachers are also employed to ensure a lower teacher student ratio
is maintained in the Maths curriculum area for Y3 - Y8 and in Y1 – Y2
when numbers warrant this ... usually Term Four.
UNIFORM:
The majority of our uniform is availabe from Postie Plus on Trafalgar Street. At school, we have the skirts for intermediate students, caps and some second hand uniform. Please enquire at the office.