We have structures and processes in place to help keep your daughter safe. It is important we know where students are and students are able to focus on their learning.

Absence from school 

When students are absent from school, please email absences@avonside.school.nz or call 3897199 to leave an absence message. You must state a reason why the student is absent from school so we can use the correct code for the absence. This could be illness or injury, bereavement or similar. You must call or email for every day of absence.

Leaving school during the day

Students are not allowed to leave the school grounds during the day. If they have an appointment, please send a note or an appointment card with them to school. Then, when the student needs to leave the grounds, they sign out at the student services office. On return, they must sign in at Student Services as well.

Parents also cannot simply collect their daughter from school. You must come in to the school reception and sign your daughter out. Please do not arrange to meet them somewhere outside the school as they are not allowed to leave without being signed out. If students are unwell, they must go to the sickbay and our medical staff will contact their family if needed. We encourage students to stay at school where possible.

If your daughter is found outside the grounds without permission, she will be issued a detention and you will receive a text message. Please help us reinforce this important safety message.

Lateness

Our school day starts at 8.30am with your daughter’s first class. It is important she is here for this learning. If a student is late, they must sign in at the Student Services office. Please let her ako teacher know the reason for her lateness as persistant lateness will lead to detentions being issued.

Whānau contacting students during the school day

We ask that parents refrain from texting or calling their daughter’s during class time. Students are not allowed to use their phones in class and calls/texts are a distraction from their learning. You are welcome to contact them during break time. If you need to get an urgent message to your daughter during the day, please call the school office so we can help.

Traffic

Pick up/drop off area

This is located off Travis Road and is intended for whanau to use when picking students up or dropping them off. However, it is often very busy so it is worth considering whether you can meet your daughter on a side street near the school instead. If using the drop off/pick up bay, you must pull to the side to use the parking spaces when collecting your daughter. This ensures students aren’t running into the moving traffic to get to your car.

When leaving the pick up/drop off area, please let buses out first. The drivers often have other runs they need to get to and we appreciate your help in clearing the area.

Bower Avenue is often quite clear in the afternoons and would be a good place to arrange to meet your daughter.

Please do not use the staff parking or the parking space for Ferndale Satellite Unit to pick up or drop off your daughter.

Parking

When coming for an appointment during the day, we recommend using the parking in the drop off/pick up area which has 30 minute parking during the day.

There is also visitor parking at the entry to the main car park further along Travis Road.

When parking, we ask that we are supportive of our neighbours and ensure we aren’t blocking any driveways. When parking, please park at least 1 metre from a driveway. We appreciate you reinforcing this message with your daughters.

Students crossing the road

It is important that students are careful when crossing the road and there have been several islands installed to help with this. Please encourage your daughter to use these islands.

Active Transport

We are thrilled at the large numbers of girls walking or biking to school to our new site. There are a large number of bike stands still available and the cycle lanes towards the school are being further improved. We encourage our students to use active transport to get to and from school.