TEACHING & LEARNING TIMES
8.30 am – 9:55 am: Learning Block 1
9.55 am – 10:15 am: Morning Interval
10:15 am – 12:15 pm: Learning Block 2 (includes brain break)
12:15 pm – 1:10 pm: Lunch
1.10 pm – 2:30 pm: Learning Block 3
The school is officially open from 8.00 am to 2.45 pm. Generally, only bus children would be on site outside these times. The school grounds should be cleared by 2.45 pm unless a sports practice is in progress, or prior arrangements have been made.
Office hours are between 8.00 am and 3.30 pm on Mondays to Fridays during the school terms.
Kid Zone / Quality Work Award Hui
Kidzone Hui is led by different classes each Friday from 8:40 am. It is here that achievements are recognised and learning shared. Parents/whānau are welcome to join us at our Kidzone Hui.
At the conclusion of each term, we hold a Quality Work Award Hui, where children from each class are recognised in the areas of Literacy, Mathematics and the School PRIDE focus goals and/or Whakataukī for the term. Again parents/whānau are welcome to join us for this.
Staff will let families know if their child is receiving an award.
ATTENDANCE
Students are required to attend school on all days that the school is open. It is very important that students arrive on time for school with enough time to prepare for the day. In the event of your child not coming to school for any reason please ring the school and let us know before 8.30 am. For student safety, we take a check every morning and we will ring you if your child is absent without prior notification.
Should your child be required to leave the school during the day, please sign your child in and out at the office.
PRE SCHOOL VISITS
Before New Entrant children begin school we recommend two preschool visits to provide your child with the opportunity to get to know their teacher and get a feel for what school is all about. Our New Entrant teacher will contact you for your child’s visits a month or two prior to your child starting. A meeting for new parents/whānau is held in December each year.
Bought Lunches
Bought lunches, which are provided by Subway on Fridays, at a cost of around approx. $7.00. Orders should be placed directly online through the Subway Website before 9.00 am on Friday
BUS
The Ministry of Education provides bus transport for eligible children. You will be notified on enrolment if this is the case for your child, and the bus times shared.
The bus service is free for ‘eligible’ students. ‘Ineligible’ students may purchase a ticket from the school office at $5 for 10 trips. Eligibility information is available on request from the office.
BYOD-Bring Your Own Devices
Parents/whānau may choose to allow their children to bring their own technology devices to school to use in class. The school will allow iPads, Chromebooks and other similar notebook devices (other than iPhones or smartphones) to be used as a learning tool. Parents/whānau need to sign for the use of a device using our school’s BYOD – Student User Agreement Form. We will accept this for the Gold Team (available on request).
Library
We have a well-resourced library. Children are encouraged to borrow books for personal reading and research. Your help in ensuring that the books are carefully treated at home and returned promptly when due, will help us maintain this excellent school resource. Reimbursement will be required for lost books.
Lost Property
Children’s clothing must be named. Children and parents/whānau are encouraged to check through the lost property box for any lost items. At the end of each term, clothing left in this box is donated.
School Photos
A photographer takes class groups and individual photos once per year. Family photos are also taken if requested.
Communication
Our main form of communication is the school app that can be found via app stores – Edge (Musac) and the fortnightly school newsletter (odd weeks of term time). The school newsletter is also available via the school website www.fairhall.school.nz. Classrooms also send home a class update fortnightly opposite the school newsletter (even weeks of term time). This is emailed to parents/whānau every Wednesday. This is the main form of communication between the school and home. A hard copy of the newsletter is avaliable in the foyer of the school office.
Scholastic Book Club
Online Book Club purchases are available approximately once a term. This is a source of good recreational books at reasonable prices. Joy is our coordinator for this (joy@fairhall.school.nz)