Congratulations Atutai and Ruwao for having the highest attendance rates over the last two weeks!

Regular attendance is such an important part of school life, helping tamariki stay connected to their learning and their classmates. We know that the winter months can make this more challenging, with sickness affecting many families, and we appreciate the care you take in keeping children home when they are unwell. To encourage positive habits, we run a weekly class attendance award, which celebrates the class with the highest attendance – it’s always a highlight for the students and adds a bit of fun motivation to the week.

Attendance categories used for reporting include:

• Regular attendance - Is identified as attendance over 90% which is equivalent to missing fewer than 5 days across a term.

• Irregular absence - Is identified as 80% and up to 90% attendance, which is equivalent to being absent between 5 and 9 days across a term days across a term.

• Moderate absence - Is identified as more than 70% and up to 80% attendance, which is equivalent to being absent between 10 and 14 days across a term days across a term.

• Chronic absence - Is identified as 70% attendance or less, which is equivalent to being absent more than 15 days across a term days across a term.

We are expected to communicate to parents and whānau if a student is presenting with irregular, moderate or chronic absence, particularly if this relates to unjustified absences.

An unjustified absence could relate to:

• An unknown reason or truancy, where parents or whānau have not notified the school.

• An explained, but unjustified reason that doesn't fit within our school policy.

• A holiday during term time.

If a student presents with moderate or chronic absence, we are required to follow our school procedures which could mean seeking external agency intervention.