Just some brief updates from the pastoral team about some day to day systems and processes.

Lates vs Truancy

Just a reminder that if a student is half a period late to your class, even if they sign in late, do not change their attendance. It must remain a T. Only change attendance if they are under half the period late, and have a sign in slip from student services. 

Please keep these slips and update student attendance as soon as you can.

Y8 Enrolments

Enrolments for Y8 2024 are now underway. Please refer any questions or inquiries you receive to Mel Fenton mfenton@avonside.school.nz or Tanya tclegg@avonside.school.nz 

This is particularly important around in zone/ out of zone questions. Please don't try to answer those yourselves as with our transitional zone running as well, it's particularly complex. 

Enrolments close on July 28th. Then we will run the ballot, and begin the transition to AGHS in early September. 

Serious behaviour incidents

If there is a serious behaviour incident, please enter it in KAMAR but also email the Kaitiaki.  This is simply because the Kaitiaki get all KAMAR notifications for all the students in their pou. That means a huge number of KAMAR messages a day. Email is a much faster way to get information to the Kaitiaki so they can follow up. 

Serious Discipline Process

A staff member has asked for an explanation of the serious discipline process. 

When an incident happens, Kaitiaki collect statements from the key people involved and witnesses, if appropriate. While this process is underway, the student may be out of the class where the incident happened but will attend other classes. In exceptional circumstances, if the student is considered a serious health and safety concern, the school may ask them to stay home while the incident is investigated. 

Once the investigation has happened, a decision is reached at the SLT level about the consequences for the incident. In most cases, whanau meetings are arranged. Please note, these are sometimes quite delayed. We get much more effective meetings with significant change if whanau are included. However, sometimes contact is challenging, and parent's schedules can be very full. We endeavor to have these meetings as soon as the parties are available. 

At the meeting, the incident is discussed. However, in the case of most of the students who reach this level, there are often other concerns around academics, attendance or other behaviours. The meeting will discuss all these areas as well. Typically a plan for support is put in place with follow up actions for both the school and the student.

Students will also face a discipline consequence. This may be within school, a meeting with a teacher or a stand down or suspension. A stand down can happen for gross misconduct such as fighting, but could also be for continued defiance - in this case, the incident that caused the meeting will be one of several issues addressed at the  meeting. 

The Principal is the only person on staff who can decide on a stand down and has very specific regulations and processes she must follow to do so. 

If a stand down occurs, key staff are notified by an email from Mel Fenton, and the attendance is changed to a U. On return from stand down, most students are on daily report to the Kaitiaki for 2 weeks. 

If you have any questions about this process, please have a chat to Tanya or Elaina. If it is about a specific student, you are also welcome to see us, or the student's kaitiaki. 

Pou hui

You may not be aware but every week the Pou teams made up of SLT, Kaitiaki, Hauora team members and Enrichment centre team members meet to discuss students in their pou. 

At this meeting they discuss discipline processes and supports for learning, attendance and mental health. 

Students you refer to the Kaitiaki are discussed at this meeting to ensure that a team approach to students is taken, and that supports run alongside the discipline consequences.