FAQs
General
Onekawa School Strategic Plan 2024-2025.docx (1)
School Hours
School begins at 8.55 a.m. and finishes at 3.00 p.m. Children are expected to arrive at school no earlier than 8.30 a.m. and no later than 8.50 a.m. Your child attends full time from the first day.
There is no provision for early closing on wet days.
Lunchtime is from 12.30 pm – 1.30 p.m.
After school, children are expected to leave the school grounds by 3.10 p.m.
Uniforms
Onekawa School does not currently have a formal uniform. However all children are expected to wear a school hat. These can be purchased from the office for $10. Children representing the school for sports or other activities are provided with a uniform.
Enrolments
Parents are encouraged to visit the school office to meet with the Principal, Deputy Principal or Assistant Principal, as appropriate.
The school office staff will be able to answer many of your questions. Senior staff like to meet prospective new pupils and their parents when they arrive to enrol.
Five year olds are encouraged to have a familiarisation visit on Thursday mornings in the weeks before starting school. Please see the office for further details. An information pack for parents of new entrants is available from the office.
New entrants may start school on their 5th birthday.
Health
You are asked to complete a health record for your child when he/she enrols as a five year old. We also require to see the child’s birth certificate and immunisation certificate.Y0/Y1 children are seen by the Vision/Hearing tester during the first year at school. We also ask that you advise us of any allergy or medical problems that your child may have, or if they need to have medication held at school.
School Procedures
Onekawa School is committed to a free flow of information between parents, caregivers and teachers.
Please endeavour to make an appointment to discuss matters concerning your child so that your teacher is able to allocate time with you out of class.
Complaints Procedure
Our school has clear guidelines for dealing with complaints. Parents are asked to refer to our policy and procedure of how to go about making a complaint. A copy of this information is available from the office or click on the following link. ConcernsComplaintsFlowchart
Telephoning School
The Receptionist may be contacted between 8.15 a.m. and 3.45 p.m. The school telephone number is 06-843 8297.
Absences
When children are absent from school, we ask that you contact the school by 9.00 a.m. The best way to do this is by using the school app ‘HERO’. The school telephone number is 06-843 8297. There is an absence line to leave a message. You may also text in absences at 021 0251 9173.
We will contact you if your child is absent without explanation. We do this to ensure that all pupils are accounted for (for safety reasons).
Child Leaving School During School Time
If your child has to leave school for medical, urgent or other reasons, please write his/her teacher a note. Children are not able to leave the school during school hours without an adult with them and we do not send children home on their own. We only release children to known adults. You must go to the Office to get a note to pass to the teacher before collecting the child.
Emergency Contact
An emergency number, where you can be reached in case of accident or illness, is essential and must be kept up to date. It is most important that we are able to reach you if medical treatment is required for your child.
Parents Helpers
This school encourages active participation by parents in school activities. Teachers are always indebted to parents for any assistance they may offer. Your assistance may be sought to help teachers with individual and small groups of children in the classroom, library book repairs, sports team coaching, working bees, supervision on field trips and camps.
If you have any interests or skills that could help our pupils, we would like to hear from you. Please let the office or teacher know.
Children’s Property
Please name all items of clothing, shoes, lunch boxes and plastic drink bottles.
If your child wears gumboots to school, please make sure he/she brings a pair of sandals or slippers to change into. If a clothes peg is also provided, gumboots can be pegged together so one gumboot is not mislaid.
Lost property is situated at the back of Room 2&3 cloakroom in a large plastic container. Come and look if your child loses any items.
Coming to School
Plan with your child the safest way to school. Avoid busy intersections if possible and use the crossings.
Leaving School
After school all children should return straight home. If your child comes home with another child without prior arrangement, please phone that child’s parents or the school. This will help to eliminate some of the problems we have with children getting lost after school. Children who have not been picked up by their parents by 3.10 p.m. must wait in the school foyer.
Road Patrol
The road crossings outside the school on Kennedy Road are patrolled by responsible Year 6 pupils who are supervised by an adult under the authority and training of the Police Transport Division. The crossings are patrolled from 8.25 a.m. to 8.50 a.m. and from 3.00 p.m. to 3.15 p.m. Children are expected to use the crossings and not cross the road elsewhere.
Bicycles
We suggest the guidelines from the Police Traffic Department that only children from Year 4 up may ride their bikes to school. Bikes must be walked in and out of the school grounds. A lock must be used to secure bikes in our covered bike stands.
Car Parking and Student Safety
Traffic flow outside our school is difficult at the best of times and particular care is required in wet weather.
Some suggestions for making traffic flow easier include:
- Arrive a little later to pick children up (by 3.10 p.m. the street is half empty).Find pick up/drop off points a little distance away, i.e.
- Consider children’s safety at all times – on foot or on bicycles
- No parking across foot paths.
- Consider local residents’ access
- No parking across driveways.
- Consider other drivers
- The entrance on Kennedy Road is not for parents. It is access for service/trade vehicles, and staff parking.
Your assistance in these matters will be very much appreciated by all.
Your Child’s Welfare.
Behaviour Management
It is important that children have a safe secure learning environment at our school. As part of our programme to ensure this we have a Behaviour Management Plan. See Appendix 1.
Family Matters
The school should be advised of any circumstances that directly affect your child, such as the sadness of a family bereavement or separation from a parent for work or other family reasons. Your child will need special consideration in these stressful times.
Please advise your child’s teacher if you are to be absent (i.e., hospital, holiday, work commitments, etc.) and your child is to be cared for by someone else. This often explains uncharacteristic behaviour from a child.
Pastoral Care
The health, safety and welfare of our students is very important to the staff. Whenever we believe a child is not making satisfactory progress we need to investigate the circumstances. As professionals we maintain a strict code of conduct and treat all information regarding children as confidential. Where we have concerns, we will contact parents.
The school has access to the following agencies for assistance:
- Hearing and Vision Tester
- Public Health Nurse
- Resource Teacher of Learning & Behaviour and Resource Teacher of Literacy Services
- Napier Family Centre
- Birthright
- Speech/Language Therapist
- Police Education
- Special Education Service
- Children’s Health Camp
Please contact your child’s teacher or Principal if you wish to use any of these services.
Dental Clinic
If your child has never received dental treatment, please complete the consent form available from the Office. The phone number is 06- 873 4863.
Reporting to Parents Programme
Term 2
At the end of term 2, Three Way Conferences are held with the Teacher, Parent or Caregiver and the child. These give children the opportunity to review their goals and learning and reset new goals for term 3 with you and the teacher.
Term 4
A Celebration Conference is held. The child can invite you and other members of the family to share in the successes of the year. At the end of the conference the child takes home the Learning Folder to keep. It includes a Summary Sheet and Indicator Sheet. These are useful pages for teachers if your child moves school.
If you have any concerns at any time during the year please contact your child’s teacher to arrange a meeting outside class time.
Newsletters
Newsletters are published every Friday afternoon and can be accessed via the school app ‘HERO’ or on our school website.
No School Donation Fee for 2023
Stationery
Necessary stationery can be purchased through the school. The stationery is available from the school office from 8.15a.m. to 9.00a.m.
At the beginning of the year a letter will go home informing you of the price of a Stationery pack you can purchase.
Lunches
Lunches are provided for free as part of the Healthy Lunches programme. Parents need to provide morning tea for their children.
Money at School
Pupils are not encouraged to have money at school, except for lunches and stationery requirements.
Library
Library books may be taken home by pupils. Please see that they are cared for and returned promptly. All children need a book bag to take library books home in.
Homework
As general school policy, homework will be given to children regularly each week. The amount of homework will vary according to the age of the child and to suit their ability. It should be remembered that each child’s work rate and concentration span will mean they may take more or less time to complete the work.
Contact your child’s teacher for further information about the homework in his/her classroom. You are asked to take an interest in your child’s homework and see that work is well presented. If you consider the homework to be excessive, or homework is not completed for other reasons, you should sign a note saying:”(child’s name) is excused homework tonight”.
School Sports
Netball, hockey, cricket, t-ball and soccer and miniball teams are managed by parents and teachers from our school. Rugby is organised by clubs.
Community
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees (BOT) has the responsibility of governing the school. Their responsibilities include financial management, development and maintenance of school buildings resources and grounds, development of policy and ensuring the curriculum is taught. The Principal is the school’s leader in professional matters and in its day to day management.
The Board of Trustees consists of elected parents and a staff representative, together with the Principal and co-opted members.
The monthly BOT meetings are open to the public and we welcome parents attending. Meetings are advertised in the newsletter. The Charter, Policies and Minutes of Board Meetings are available in the office foyer.
Parent Teacher Association (Team Pipi)
Team Pipi organises staff and parent meetings, family functions, and fundraising activities. In consultation with the staff and the Board of Trustees, Team Pipi designates the funds it raises for particular needs of the school. From time to time Team Pipi may organise personnel for special projects being undertaken by the school. The Team Pipi committee consists of parents elected annually and staff volunteers.
Parents are welcome to join Team Pipi at any time during the year.