School Info » General Information
Let the school know if your child is going to be absent. If you do not know in advance please phone the school office before 9.00am. Phone 442 9120
If a child has an accident or becomes ill at school, we try to contact parents as soon as possible. If staff are unable to contact you, it may be necessary to inform the emergency person nominated by you on the entrolment form and ask for their assistance. Children are not sent home unless their parents are informed and must be accompanied before leaving the school. Please inform the school if contact details change.
This is a privately run service in the community room under the school hall. Contact Jane Scheib ph 442 7192 or 0274 383645 for further details.
There is an assembly in the School Hall every Friday at 2.25pm for the whole school and parents. The term newsletter will indicate when your child's class is performing.
The school carpark is next to the playing field below the school hall, and is for staff and parents on school business only. A car parking pass is required to be displayed if you are at the school for a period of time. These are available from the office. Please keep in mind when using the car park that children are likely to be around. Please do not double park or park on yellow lines or bus stops outside the school as this causes a major safety problem. The slip road directly outside the school is a pickup, drop off area only before and after school. Please observe the signs. Parents taking children across the slip road or Robins Road after school must use the pedestrian crossing. The no exit road between the Fire Station and the school is a no parking area. The Council will clamp cars parked here. For some large school events (i.e. Outdoor Education Week) we will open the lower field to help ease the parking pressure.
Please inform the office of any change of details since enrolment - address, bus, medical, work and home phone numbers etc. Your current information is important for your child's safety and the school's safe environment.
Friday Newsletter
A newsletter is sent home every Friday with the eldest child in the family. This newsletter informs parents of school activities, meetings and other functions. This can be emailed to you or downloaded from our website (under Newsletters).
Term Newsletter
At the beginning of each term a newsletter is sent home outlining activities, topics and general information.
Commentary
At the end of each term a commentary is sent home recording many things that have happened during the term. This is a great way to catch up on school activities.
Notice Board
Lost, found, for sale etc advertisements can be placed on a notice board outside Room 12.
Calendar
Each term a calendar is produced outlining planned school events. This can be viewed on our website under "Dates to Remember"
CONTACT WITH TEACHERS - REPORTING TO PARENTS
Meet The Teacher Evening is held early in Term One. Three-way conferences are held in Terms One and Three with a written summary provided. This is an opportunity for teachers and parents to discuss childrens progress. Student books are sent home twice a term on a rotational basis, and a written report is provided at the end of the year. All parents are welcome to talk with their child's teacher or the Principal at any time during the year. However we ask that you phone to make an appointment. Do not hesitate to make contact if you have any queries or concerns.
It is compulsory by law for all children to wear and approved cycle helmet when cycling to and from school. Law states that children must be 10 years and older to be able to ride their bike on the road without being accompanied by an adult.
We have a Dental Clinic at our school. Children and pre-schoolers who are enrolled with the School Dental Service will have their teeth checked. Parents are informed through the School newsletter when the Dental Clinic is open. If you need to contact the Dental Therapist please phone 442 9121. Should the clinic be closed you will automatically be put through to the School Dental Service District Office where you will be directed to your nearest Dental Therapist.
This must be done before the first day of school. Please bring your child's immunisation and birth certificates with you and if your child is not a New Zealand resident, please refer to the enrolment form for additional information that is required - this is a legal requirement. Enrolment packs are available from the school office or you can download an enrolment form here (pdf format). Non-NZ residents need to bring their passports (childs and parents), with student visa and work permit documentation, plus their birth certificate and immunisation details. As part of this process, we encourage families to make an appointment with the Principal to find out more about our school.
We have a number of children who are not born in New Zealand and many of these do not speak English as their first language. We do have extra support for these children in our Learning Centre to help them catch up on their English language skills.
Queenstown Primary School supports the Heart Foundation school food programme and actively works towards these heartbeat awards. This is done through nutrition education, healthy food promotions and an appropriate healthy food and nutrition guideline.
For further information visit www.heartfoundation.org.nz or www.5aday.co.nz
New entrant and Year 1-2 children will have reading homework every night. At the end of each week junior workbooks will arrive home to allow you to monitor progress. In Year 3-7 classes, homework will vary according to class programmes. We see reading as a life skill and should be practised every day.
The Learning Centre offers extra tuition for children in literacy, mathematics and English as a second language. Help for children with special needs is provided by Teacher Aides where funding is available.
We have a lost property box outside the foyer of the school office. Unclaimed items are transferred weekly to the basement storage. If you wish to check the basement store the key is available from the office. On the last day of each term lost property is displayed and any unclaimed items are given to the Salvation Army.
Children who are to leave the grounds at lunch time must bring a note from home and must be signed out first at the office. Lunch is available at school on Mondays and Fridays - Subway packs. Correct money is to be placed in an envelope with the student's name and room number on it and handed to the class teacher.
The other option is a BBQ sausage in bread on Wednesdays for $2.50. This is a fundraiser for our annual Year 6 Stewart Island camp. Send the money (correct change please) in an envelope with your child's name, room number and quantity required to the class teacher.
Subway Packs are as follows:
Pack 1 - HAM sub (ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber & mayo). 1 cookie - M&M.
Pack 2 - TURKEY sub (turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber & mayo). 1 cookie - M&M
Pack 3 - BEEF sub (beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber & mayo). 1 cookie - M&M
Pack 4 - VEGGIE sub (cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber & mayo). 1 cookie - M&M
Pack 5 - HAM & CHEESE only. 1 cookie - M&M
Pack 6 - BEEF & CHEESE only. 1 cookie - M&M
Monday packs have a Strawberry yoghurt, Friday packs have sliced apples
Packs are $5. Please provide the correct amount as no change will be given. No cheques please.
Students should bring water for drinking. We encourage healthy lunch options.
There are times when parents may request staff to administer medication to their child while they are at school. If this is requested then parents will be asked to complete an authorisation form and all medications given to any student will be recorded in the school's medication register.
If you wish to leave a message for your child/ren, please phone the school office before 2.30pm Monday - Thursday, 2.00pm on Fridays.
We have a full-time Music Teacher who in addition to running class programmes, runs other small music groups.
This is part of the school programme and takes place throughout the year. All children receive a three week block of swimming lessons; either February-March or November-December. In Term Three we have a week-long Outdoor Education programme where the entire school staff and children are involved with various outdoor activities. These may include biking, jet boat rides, hiking, camping and climbing, with the aim of encouraging children to try new experiences in the outdoors. In Term Two our Year 6 students spend a week on Stewart Island. During the winter Year 4-7 children have a ski programme, Year 3 have ice skating and a one day Nordic ski programme and Year 0-2 children participate in a six week ice skating programme. Our Year 7 students participate in a three day camp at Moke Lake.
In the unlikely situation of you being unhappy with our school, it is important that you know our procedures
Action
- To provide clear guidelines on procedures for expressing concerns or making complaints connected with the school curriculum or management.
- To satisfy parents that the teaching and management standards of the school will be maintained to the highest levels and ensure that appropriate processes are in place in the event that any concerns/complaints arise.
Guidelines
- In most cases, the first course of action for a parent/caregiver should be to discuss a matter of concern directly with the staff member involved. It is not uncommon for misunderstandings to arise between school and home that can be easily resolved by direct discussion. If this is not successful the parent/caregiver should speak with the appropriate Team Leader.
- If the following occur, the parent/caregiver should inform the Deputy or Assistant Principal of their concerns
- A direct approach to the staff member is not effective
- The parent/caregiver is dissatisfied with the explanation of the staff member
- The reaction is concered to be inappropriate, or the action continues
- The parent feels unable to discuss the matter directly with the staff member
- In such events, the Principal has a responsibility to investigate these concerns and to discuss with staff involved any changes in approach that may be necessary. The Principal may consult with the Deputy or Assistant Principal, to ensure that the curriculum and child management are of the highest quality throughout the school.
- If the Principal feels that the matter is beyond his/her responsibility, then he/she should refer it to the Board of Trustees.
- If the parent/caregiver is not satisfied with steps taken by the Principal, or if the compaint, other than concerning matters of curriculum, involves the Principal and the complainant has already been to see the Principal with no satisfactory conclusion to the complaint, then the parent/caregiver should write to the Cahirperson of the Board of Trustees. The Chairperson will then communicate with the parent regarding the complaint. An appropriate investigation will take place. The Privacy Act wil apply to the investigation.
- The parent/caregiver will be informed in writing of the measures and processes undertaken regarding the issue.
PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA)
The school has a PTA. If you wish to become involved with this group please contact the office. Your participation would be most welcome. Its a great way of meeting new people. See further information under PTA on our website
In addition to our classroom PE programme, we have a specialist PE teacher that delivers a skills-based, 45 minute per week lesson to each class.
All classes have a period of Religious Instruction 9.00-9.30am on Wednesday mornings. This is not compulsory and if you prefer your child not to attend please inform the school. School is formally closed for instruction between 9.00 and 9.30am on Wednesdays.
The school encourages children to make full use of the library. You are welcome to visit the library with your child before school or at lunchtime, or after school to select books for reading at home. The library has a good selection of books for all our children. Children will visit the school library weekly to enjoy books and stories, to establish library routines and to select books for classroom use. They may borrow two books at a time for sharing and enjoying at home. We ask for your co-operation in seeing that the books are read and returned to school on their classe's library day every week. We ask that parents pay for lost books.
School is open Monday to Friday. Children are expected to be at school by 8.50am.
| School starts | 8.55am | 10.40am |
| Interval | 10.40am | 11.00am |
| Lunch | 12.30pm | 1.25pm |
| School finishes | 3.00pm |
New entrant children will spend the full day at school from the time they start.
We ask that students arrive aftr 8.30am and leave school by 3.30pm
Our all encompassing rule is "common sense". The children are familiar with the more specific guidelines and we have found it quite unnecessary to display these around the school. We place more emphasis on the importance of "doing the right thing for the good of us all". Problems with behaviour will be first dealt with by the classroom teacher and then by senior teachers and/or the Principal. The children are encouraged to develop a consideration and respect for the feelings, interest and rights of others.
If your child is going to be travelling to and from school on a bus, the school office will need to be advised. He/she will be placed on the appropriate roll and this is checked each day by the bus monitor before leaving school. Your child will be buddied with another child, but first they need to be capable of getting on the right bus and off at the right stop. As a new entrant, children often do not travel on the bus straight away, the office and classroom teacher needed to be told when you wish your child to be a bus passenger. Advise the office of any change of address so the necessary adjustments can be made. Phone the office if your child is not catching the bus home. Please, if you collect your child from school, call in to the office and mark them off the bus roll.
One of the exciting elements of living in an alpine environment is the potential for school being closed because of bad weather. On most occasions this will occur overnight and a decision will be made in the morning. If school is closed or you think this is possible listen to the local radio stations. If possible, we will also place a notice on our website.
It is also possible that we can receive snow during the school day. If this happens, school will stay open and the buses will not run early. It is better to stay at home and only travel on the roads if it is safe to do so. It is only advisable to travel on the roads if you have chains fitted and are experienced in driving in these conditions. If this is the situation please do not attempt to ring in as our lines will be over-loaded. Listen to the local radio stations and view our website (but remember to refresh the screen regularly to see updates). You could also email us at admin@queenstown.school.nz
