Contacts

Please contact the school if your child is going to be absent.

You can telephone the office 379 3008 at any time and leave a message detailing the reason for your child’s absence.  Please notify the school every day they are away.  If your child is absent for any reason other than illness, please inform the school in advance of the dates they will be away.

If your child is absent through illness for more than three days, please provide a doctor’s certificate.

PDS uses an electronic attendance system to record the roll and to monitor student attendance. Based on the Ministry’s attendance guidelines children’s absence is recorded using a number of codes. For example:

P= Present

L= Late

M= Medical (This refers to students at home sick or in hospital, however unless a Dr’s note is provided the student will be marked as E)

J= Justified absence (This refers to unplanned absence such as accident or bereavement, and also planned absence such as representation in a national sporting event)

E= Explained but unjustified absence (This includes term time holidays, visiting relatives, children staying at home as their brother or sister is sick)

High levels of attendance are strongly attributed to student progress and success in learning. We monitor student’s attendance closely and will be in contact with parents if their child’s attendance falls below 90%.  Continued and consistent absence are recorded on the child’s MOE record.

Further details about the codes used can be found at the Ministry of Education’s website: www.minedu.govt.nz

Sick Bay

The Sick Bay is managed by the office staff.  If you are collecting a child please sign your child out at the office before you take them home.

Accidents:

In the event of an accident your child will be administered basic first aid. In the case of serious accidents parents will be contacted.  If it is an emergency the student will be taken to A&E, doctor or dentist.

Medication:

Please hand all named medications and signed instructions to the office.  These will be stored in the Sick Bay and administered by office staff.

Allergies and severe medical conditions:

Medications for specific allergies/illnesses will be kept in the Sick Bay with details for administration.  Details of students with significant life-threatening conditions are held in the form of a health plan at the school office.  Parents must inform the office of any changes in their child’s health plan to ensure that correct action is taken.

Various activities will happen throughout the year and an activity fee will be charged for these.  This will include items such as swimming, trips / camp, performances etc.  You will be notified of these compulsory payments.  If you do not pay this fee your child may not be able to participate in these important activities.

Assemblies are seen as a valuable opportunity to bring the whole school community together in order to celebrate, share and to activate learning.

Assemblies will be held throughout the term fortnightly on Monday afternoons at 2pm.

We encourage children to start arriving from 8.30am to prepare for the days learning.

After school children must leave the school grounds as soon as they are dismissed from their Classroom. Children left waiting for parents after 3.15pm must come and play between the office and the hall.  Parents of children who are still waiting at 3.30pm will be contacted.  Please ring through if you know you are being held up to ensure your child’s safety.

A before and after school care programme operates in the school.  It is held in the hall and is run by Parnell Trust.

To contact phone 09 5555194 or email pfc@parnell.org.nz

We encourage children to cycle to school.  Based on police guidelines children Y5-8 (10 years) can obtain a wheels licence.  As a parent of a child younger than 10 years and if you would like your child to cycle to school it is your responsibility to come to the office for a copy of a letter agreeing to take responsibility.

It is your child’s responsibility to ensure that bikes and scooters are securely locked at school.

This is the governing body of the school.  It is made up of the Principal, an elected Staff Representative and a number of Parent Elected Representatives.

Board meeting dates are published on the school calendar and are generally held on third Monday at 6:00 in the Staff Room.

Meetings are public and you are welcome to attend.

Many communications will be distributed using our electronic database.  To ensure you continue to receive the necessary communication, please contact the School Office if your address, telephone number, email or emergency contact details change.

Please help the school to promote child safety by encouraging them:

(a)          to go to and from school in groups.  We encourage an informal buddy system.

(b)          to have and know strategies to deal with approaches by strangers eg.

•           say ‘no’
•           note car numbers and colour etc
•           report incidents etc
•           ensure children know the arrangements for going home specially if changed from the usual

We all have a responsibility towards child safety in our community.

We have a culture of open communication at Parnell District School.

We aim to inform parents of all upcoming events and school projects through our website, email and newsletters.   Information is available to you and your child through the school website and email.

Key Dates

Please log onto www.parnell.school.nz to keep an updated record of key events and dates in the school year.  Make sure that you also check your emails, messages, and website for any updates to the school calendar.

Concerns

As a staff we are open to discussing any particular concerns or positive feedback you have.  If you have any concerns, your first port of call is your child’s guardian.  If you feel your concerns have not been adequately addressed the Principal or Deputy/Associate Principals are happy to meet with you and ensure a solution is achieved.  In this instance please call the office to make an appointment.

The newsletter will be emailed weekly on Tuesdays to showcase learning and keep you informed of school happenings.

An event calendar is available on the school website where the key dates are updated regularly for your information.

You can make contact with us in many ways:

Phone: 379 3008

Email: office@parnell.school.nz

or email a staff member see section on staff

Street Address:  48 St Stephens Ave, Parnell

Through our website www.parnell.school.nz

Please provide all documentation to the office.  We cannot deny access to a parent based on a verbal request.

School Dental Clinic is available through Orakei Dental Clinic located at:

For appointments please contact:  09 520 0603

If you are in the school in the event of an emergency please follow the teacher instructions and procedures below.

Signal: Continuous ringing of the school Bell, Fire Alarm or announcement for  emergency, earthquake, chemical spill, volcanic eruption or lock down.

Action: Children and visitors follow teacher direction in a quick & orderly manner.  The evacuation point is on the rear of the netball courts.

The Principal or DP will give the command to re-enter the building when it is safe.

As a parent you are encouraged to take part in our PTA

This is a group of parent volunteers who participate and support school activities and fundraising events.

This is an excellent opportunity to meet other parents and become involved in the school community.

Please contact the Kate Berry if you are keen to be part of this team.

The assembly area for all students and staff during a drill is the courtyard. If you are a visitor on the day of a fire drill or evacuation please make your way to the courtyard in an orderly manner. Drills will be conducted each term to cover fire, natural disaster and intruder evacuation procedures. An evacuation map is displayed in all classrooms and additional buildings for your reference.

Children are encouraged to wear footwear at all times, along with plain black or white socks when wearing shoes.

Parnell District School has several wonderful vegetable gardens which are created and maintained by our volunteer Brenda and the students. All vegetable produce is donated to the City Mission.

Headlice like healthy hair and can be a problem from time to time.  The spread of headlice in a classroom can be controlled and prevented by checking your child’s hair regularly (eggs take about 9 days to hatch).

If lice or eggs are found consult your chemist and notify the child’s guardian (teacher).  All parents of the classroom concerned will be asked to check their child’s hair.

We believe that a safe, hygienic, attractive and healthy environment is essential.  From time to time the school is audited for Health and Safety.

Please report any hazards to the office so appropriate interim action can be taken.

You will have completed a form on enrolment with all the necessary details. At age 5 children have Tympanometry, audiometry and vision tested. At age 11 boys have vision and colour vision tested and all children at age 14 have vision tested again through the School Health Service.

Throughout the year each class will have homework activities and experiences that compliment the learning programmes.

There are four house groups:

Aotea (green)

Tainui (Blue)

Te Arawa (Red)

Tokomaru (Yellow)

The use of e learning tools are maximized throughout the day. AT PDS we have several computers in each classroom. From year 5 upwards there is a BYOD policy.  Students have the option of bringing their own device to use in class on the school network.

Our school operates on a high speed secure network.  There are security and access filters in place that are controlled to ensure student safety.

Procedure for student use of the Internet:

Every year, all students and parents are to sign the ICT form AND have the signed permission of a parent/caregiver before using the Internet at school. This document is kept on file at the office.

Refer to details in ICT agreement.

No child is to leave the school grounds without being accompanied by parents to the teacher. When withdrawing children during the day please sign the student out at the office.

The school library has a growing collection of books – fiction (including picture books), non-fiction and reference books. Students are encouraged to maximize the use of the library. The library is open from 1:15 until 2 pm for students to access outside their classroom library time. You will be notified of over-due books and if a book is not returned or lost you will be invoiced. The library staff are Jo and Linda.

Please name all of your child’s uniform items.

If a child cannot find an article of clothing in the classroom, they will be encouraged to look in the school lost property.  Any unnamed items found will be placed in here for children to check.

Students have a supervised lunch eating time.  If students are bringing a drink to school, water is the preferred option.  Could you please make sure that the drink container is name and re-usable.

Parnell District encourages a litter free environment. This means all lunch wrappings will come home in the students lunch box as we have a ‘walk it in, walk it out’ principle.  Recyclable waste, such as yoghurt pots and fruit skins will go into the containers provided.  Compostable items can be put into the worm bins.

Mathletics are highly engaging online space for the practice of basic facts, number knowledge and strand Maths.

Payment for these resources are charged as a separate fee. Login details can be organised via your classroom teacher.

As a staff we are open to discussing any particular concerns or positive feedback you have. If you have any concerns, your first port of call is your child’s guardian. If you feel your concerns have not been adequately addressed the Principal or Deputy are happy to meet with you and ensure a solution is achieved. In this instance please call the office to make an appointment.

All payments for the school should be handed to the office in a marked envelope with the students name, classroom, and details of what it is for.

Students should not bring additional money or any valuables to school.

Payments can also be made through the school website or by direct credit to the school account.  School account details are as follows:

Bank and Branch: 123 075

Account number: 0126269:00

Reference:  Family name and what it is for

Tuition is available for beginners and learners of the keyboard, guitar, snare drum and brass/woodwind instruments at the school through Lewis Eady. To book lessons go to www.lewiseady.co.nz.

or through NZ Modern School Music  0800 696 874 or Kay Brown 0276531468

Starting school is an important milestone in the life of a child.  It is a time of change and adjustment both on the part of the child and of his/her parents.

Before your child is due to start school we will send you an email arranging 2 pre-school orientation visits which both children and parents are invited to attend.  These will help you and your child see what happens at school and makes the initial adjustment easier.

The carpark directly outside the ESOL room is for staff and special assistance vehicles only. School gates can be busy just before and after school and we encourage you to collect your child from any of the parking bays surrounding the school. If you are within walking distance to school we recommend our children to be travelwise and walk, run or ride to school. Please note that parents/caregivers dropping off and picking up children from school are not regarded as visitors and therefore should not be using either carpark.

These are important facets at Parnell School and all students are encouraged to take an active part.  We consider that all students should be given the opportunity to experience a wide range of physical activities, and the emphasis is on attitude, sportsmanship and perseverance in both team and individual sports.

All students are involved in a daily fitness programme and organised sports activities each week.

From time to time, our school teams take part in inter school sports activities with neighbouring Our Yr 5-8 students have the opportunity to enter interschool competitions such as cross country, athletics, swimming and softball.

Children are not to bring toys, jewellery or electronic games.

The school accepts no responsibility for the loss or damage of such items.

Classroom and individual photographs are taken every year.

Parents and caregivers will be reported at various times of the year depending on the year level.

There are 2 school crossings situated on Gladstone Road and St Stephens Ave.  This is operational from 8:25am – 8:55am and 2:50pm – 3:20pm.

For the safety of all our children we ask for parental assistance and consideration at eliminating congestion just before and after school hours.  Please do not enter the staff carpark to collect your child, rather arrange a meeting point for the safe collection of your child.  Continual disregard will be reported to the council.

Each year the BOT asks for voluntary donations to supplement the school’s budget. These donations help support and enhance many aspects of the school curriculum and activities. The donations may be made each term or as one annual payment.

If you would to set up a monthly direct debit, please complete our Authomatic Payment Form and send it to office@parnell.school.nz.

All donations are tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

Board of Trustees

See website

Management Team

Acting Principal: Shirley Hardcastle

Deputy: Wendy Franklin-Smith

Associate: Judy Stichbury

Administration

Rosalind Carol

Liz Houghton-Brown

Syndicate Leaders

Year 1 & 2 Lynda Browne

Year 3&4 Stephanie Lin

Year 5&6 Olivia Brown

Year 7&8 Suzanne Parkinson

Teachers

See website

Teacher Aides

See website

Learning Support

See website

Library

Jo Ballagh

Kat Walter

Uniforms are available for purchase at The Uniform Shop 555 Remuera Road, Remuera. The school operates a second hand uniform shop on Tuesdays at 3 – 3:30 pm.  The uniform is worn with pride and is branded with our school logo.

There is a sports uniform available to be purchased for students in Years 3-8 Optional in years 1 – 3.  This is can be worn as uniform or by sports teams and during fitness and physical education. It cannot be worn on non sport official trips and events outside the school.

Accessories that are acceptable to be worn to school are:

• Blue or black plain hair ties / bands
• Stud or small hooped earrings only for those with pierced ears
• Watches
• Jewellery of cultural significance

Back to School Stationery is supplied by Parnell Paper Plus in 213 Parnell Road,  Parnell Rise, Parnell.

We actively promote sun safety.  The school has shaded areas and children must wear hats when playing outside during Terms 1 and 4.  Sunhats must be worn for physical education, sport and other outdoor activities.

The school hat is navy in colour and can be purchased from the Uniform shop.

8.30am onwards:     Students arrive

8.55–10.50am:         Morning classes

11.00-11:10am:          Morning Tea eating

11.10–11.30am:         Morning Tea break

11.30–1:00pm:          Middle day classes

1.00-1:15pm:              Lunch eating

1.15-2pm:                    Lunch

1.40–3.00pm:           Afternoon classes

School Vision

Parnell Primary School is a community which nurtures, inspires and challenges students to actively understand, push boundaries and achieve success in learning for life.

For more information please see here

Our School Values are: Respect, Integrity, Curiosity, Honesty, Empathy and Responsibility.

All visitors must report to the office and sign in the visitor’s book and wear a visitor’s badge. This is important should an evacuation or similar emergency occur we will then be able to account for your safety. Please remember to sign out prior to leaving the grounds.

Our website is located at www.parnell.school.nz. School donations and activity fees can be paid via the website on EZ Lunches.

There are no current walking school bus routes.  If you would like to start a walking school bus route please contact the office.