School Hours

Morning Session: 9:00 – 12:30
Breaks: 10:30 – 10:50 and 12:30 – 1:15
Morning Tea Kai: 10:50 – 11:00
Lunch Kai:1:15 – 1:30
Afternoon Session:1:30 – 3:00

Children are encouraged to arrive at school from 8.30 each day. Arriving by 8:50 at the latest helps your child to be ready to start class at 9:00.

Absences

When your child is absent from school please let his or her teacher know, phone the office, text 027 308 9016 or use the free Skool Loop app prior to :00.  The school will contact parents if a child is not present and we have not been notified.

Clothing

We do not have a uniform.  Clothing needs to be comfortable and suitable for the day’s activities. Whilst we encourage individuality, please keep jewellery to a minimum and name all belongings. The lost property boxes are in the Learning Wave adjacent to the Office. Tainui School sun hats are to be worn in Terms 1 & 4 by all children.

Assembly

Since early 2020 when the pandemic began we have been unable to have everyone together in our Hall for school assemblies. Compounding this situation is the fact that the Hall is temporarily unavailable due to a Ministry of Education weather tightness recladding project. Our solution has been to record assemblies and to send them out via email once a fortnight.

Public Health Nurse

Our Public Health Nurse visits the school regularly.  All children receive free regular hearing and vision tests.

Dental Care

All children are entitled to free dental checks and treatment at the Otago University Dental School. If you have any queries about dental health please contact Donna at the Dental School (03 479 7189).

Panui / Newsletters

Newsletters are emailed to you on Thursdays. This is one of our main forms of communication and we ask you to read the newsletter so that you are well informed.  Your ideas and responses are often sought, and your feedback is appreciated.

School Donations

In 2019, the Government announced that some schools could agree to receive $150 per child to offset the need to request donations and contributions from parents. Our Board has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education that states we have been granted $150 per student. Therefore, we do NOT request any voluntary amounts from you.

Lunches

Lunches can  be ordered through the LunchOnLine website prior to 9:00 each school day except Mondays. Sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks are not permitted as they are considered treats.

• Tuesday ~ Iroha Sushi
• Wednesday ~ Subway
• Thursday ~ Pita Pit
• Friday ~ Hell Pizza

Stationery

All necessary stationery items can be purchased from our office. Stationery packs are available at the beginning of each year.

Learning at Home

Learning at Home is a time to practice skills, increase independence, build learning habits, and further the link between home and school.  Specific details about learning at home will be shared with you by your child’s teacher. It’s important to remember that learning includes playing outside, helping with chores, reading both with and to a child, finding the mathematics in our everyday lives, writing to friends and family, getting involved in a club or sport, being creative and imaginative, and also simply relaxing.

Hukatai ~ Our Library

Children borrow books on a weekly basis.  We ask whānau to ensure that books are enjoyed, cared for and returned.

Whānau & Community Involvement

There are many opportunities to become involved in the life of our school.  During the year requests are made for supporting a variety of activities, including sports, swimming and camping for our Year 6 tamariki.  This assistance is very much  valued by both teachers and pupils. From time to time we also ask if you’re able to share your expertise or experience in order to broaden and deepen the learning our children are involved in. Other ways you can become involved are;

• serving on our Board
• belonging to the Parent Teacher Association
• joining our Whānau Roopu
• participating in Pasifika Talonoa and Fono
• assisting with kapa haka
• supervising our road patrollers
• letting us know if our school grounds are not being looked after during out of school hours
• assisting with team sports.

Progress and Welfare

Parents are encouraged to get in touch with us whenever there are any concerns about a child’s progress, attitude or behaviour.  Good communication between home and school is essential. We do prefer to discuss such matters in person rather than over the telephone or through email.

Please ring or email to arrange a time to see your child’s teacher, team leader, Learning Support Coordinator or Principal.

Summaries of progress and achievement are forwarded to you during the year. However, you’re encouraged to keep communication between home and school open at all times. Positive feedback and compliments are appreciated by us, too. Our formal ‘reporting’ schedule is described below.

Meet the Teacher (Term 1) Meet the Teacher is an opportunity early in term one for parents/whānau to visit their child’s learning space and meet your child’s teacher and the other teachers in the learning team in an informal way. Teachers will talk about their programmes and answer general questions. On this night there is also a school family picnic. It is a great chance to meet other parents in our school community. Notification of this event is via our panui / newsletter.

Student Profile Meetings (Term 1) Is there anything your child’s teacher needs to know? Parents and whānau may wish to take the opportunity to share any information they think their child’s teacher needs to know about their child or their learning in 10-minute student profile meetings. Notification of this event is via our panui / newsletter and these meeting times are booked via the Skool Loop app.

Student-Led Learning Conferences (Term 2) Three-way conferences include you (parents and whānau), your child and your child’s teacher. They are scheduled for 15 minutes.  At the conference your child will share their achievements and their goals for learning. Student-led conferences encourage students to play an active role in planning their learning alongside you and their teachers. We want every family to be involved in this important learning event. Notification of this event is via our panui / newsletter, and the conference times are booked via the Skool Loop app.

Mid-year progress statement (Term 2) A mid-year progress statement will be available for all children (except those who’ve had a New Entrant report in term 2). This summarises progress in the core curriculum areas of reading, writing and mathematics, and shows how your child is living up to the Tainui School vision of being ‘a caring community where everyone learns and flourishes’ and our values. Each statement is affirmed by the student-led conference your child leads, and the learning examples available through Seesaw, Google Classroom, school assemblies and visits to your child’s classroom. The progress statement is emailed to you and it is also available to download from the edge parent portal. A paper copy can be requested.

Parent-Teacher Interviews (Early Term 3) Do you need to follow up on the information shared in the mid-year Progress Statement? Ten minute parent-teacher meetings will be scheduled for those parents and whānau who wish to catch up with the teacher to discuss their child’s learning and interactions at school. Notification of this event is via our panui / newsletter and these meetings are booked via the Skool Loop app.

End-of-year written report  (Term 4) At the end of the year, all children who have been at school for longer than a term will receive a written report.  This summative report celebrates the effort and progress children have made across all areas of the New Zealand Curriculum and also recognises their effort and progress in relation to the our school’s vision and values. These reports are emailed to you and are also available to download by logging in to the parent portal of edge.  A paper copy can be requested.

New Entrant Reports For our newest 5 year-olds, all parents receive a written report after a couple of months at school. Their teacher shares with you how they have settled at school and what they’ve shown they can do.

Accidents / Sickness

Minor bumps and scratches receive first aid treatment in our medical room.  In more serious cases you will be contacted as soon as possible so that you can take your child to either your GP, medical practice or urgent and accident centre.

Please keep us informed of any change of emergency or other phone numbers.  Unfortunately our resources only cater for first aid. We have neither the facilities nor personnel to care for children who are unwell and we ask you to collect them from school to take them home.

Parking

Please exercise extreme care when picking up children as our school entrance is situated on a narrow, busy section of road.

Keep clear of the school gate, avoid parking on all dotted yellow lines and do not use the gateway for turning.  Parking is available over in the Hope’s Bowls Stadium Car Park.  Please also refer to our Tainui Safe Meet Spots map.

Cycling and Scootering

Children are permitted to ride cycles and scooters to school if parents and caregivers deem they are safe to. Helmets must be worn and tamariki need to get off their bikes and scooters before entering and leaving our grounds. Any child seen acting carelessly, unsafely and who endanger others, may have the privilege of cycling or scootering to school withdrawn. Please note: NZ Police do not recommend children cycle on our roads without adult supervision until they are 10 years old,

School Board

The Board is elected every three years.  It has the responsibility of governing the school on behalf of the wider community. The Board meets twice each term and minutes of each meeting are displayed in the school foyer and are available on request at the school office.

Parent Teacher Association

The PTA provides a liaison between home and and school through social activities, parent education and fund raising.

Whānau Roopu

This group meets to support the school’s Te Reo Maori programme and to foster tikanga and cultural activities.

Pasifika Fono & Talanoa

We enjoy getting together and talking about how things are going for children, parents and fanau. It’s also an opportunity to think about what we can do differently to ensure children do well at school.

Scholastic Book Club

Throughout the year, order forms for Scholastic Book Clubs will be sent home.

Grounds

Families are welcome to use our extensive grounds after school and at weekends.  Your encouragement of children to respect and care for this community facility is appreciated.

Road Patrol

Year 6 students, under the guidance of adults, assist children using the Cavell Street crossing.  All parents are encouraged to use the crossing when approaching from this direction.  Road patrol is run between 8:30 and 8:55 and then from 3:00 until 3:10.

Students with Additional Needs

We are an inclusive school and we celebrate diversity. We have access to Ministry of Education Learning Support services. If the school or a parent feels there is a need for assistance in any area of a child’s development or learning, then help can be sought. Often, we need to go through the Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour service first. Fortunately, we employ a Learning Support Coordinator – Flo Ruwhiu, who helps to assist everyone involved in any referral processes