School Information
Parawai School - April 26, 2023
Absences
If your child is away from school, we need to be contacted by phone, note or email before school starts in the morning. The School contact numbers are 07 868 8117 or mobile 027 7214 333, or email administration@parawai.school.nz. Please advise the reason why your child is absent.
The School is required to keep a record of attendance and we follow up on unexplained absences through the Thames Truancy Service. Students coming to school after the 8.55am must report to the office. This lets the office staff know that a student is present for the attendance officer.
Accreditations
1. Enviro School: Parāwai School is a Bronze Enviro school currently working towards becoming a Silver Enviro school. Projects undertaken by Enviroschools have both environmental and educational outcomes that benefit the school and the wider community. By learning together in practical ways sustainability becomes an integral part of what we do throughout our schools and communities. Caring for our place and the whole planet becomes a living curriculum where we can be catalysts for change. Find out more about what it means to be an Enviroschool here
2. SunSmart School: Pārāwai School has again been accredited as a SunSmart school for a further three years from 22nd August 2019 to August 2022. To become SunSmart we have implemented a comprehensive sun protection policy that meets the Cancer Society of New Zealand's criteria. The aim is to reduce the harmful exposure of students and staff, and those others within the school environment, to ultraviolet radiation and therefore to reduce thei risk of skin cancer.
3. Trees For Survival: Pārāwai School participates in the Trees for Survival's environmental education school programme. Our students learn how to grow native trees from a single seedling, prepare land for planting, and take part on planting day alongside landowners, partners, teachers and their peers to plant the trees they nurtured with their very own hands! The Trees for Survival environmental education school programme teaches students how they can be actively involved in the regeneration of their environment. To support the natural ecology in New Zealand, we only plant NZ native plants across our Trees for Survival school programme.
After School Care
There is an After School Care service based at the school from 3.00pm-5.30pm. For further information you can contact Arani on 027 6921 370.
Assembly
We have a whole school assembly each week on a Tuesday at 2.20pm. The assembly is led by our student leaders and we celebrate all our students’ successes and achievements. We also discuss items of interest to the school and have our weekly values card draw.
Bicycles
A number of our students bike to and from School. Children under 10yrs old should not be encouraged to bike. Students coming to and from school are to use the crossing on Pārāwai Rd. This eases the traffic congestion and makes the area safer for all.
Board of Trustees
This is the elected group of parents responsible for the governance of the School. The Board of Trustees sets the direction of the school within guidelines set by the Ministry of Education and is comprised of five parent representatives, one staff elected representative and the principal, who is also responsible for managing the school.
Meetings are generally held at 5.30pm on Wednesday in week 4 and week 9 of each term and are advertised through the School newsletter. These are public meetings and you are welcome to attend.
Board elections take place every three years.
Bus
A limited school bus service is available. Please see Ministry of Education guidelines here or contact the school office for further information.
Cellphones at school
Children that bring their cellphone to school need to hand them into the school office at 8.55am to be kept secure until 3pm. This is to ensure that children ask a teacher before contacting parents and to reduce the risk of any inappropriate use.
Change of details
It is essential that the school is notified immediately of any change of address, parents’ place of work and/or telephone numbers. This also applies to emergency or additional contact numbers. Please email administration@parawai.school.nz
Calendar of school events
Clidk here to see what's coming up during the shcool year.
Charter
Our School Charter details our aims for the school, and our proposed methods for achieving them. Its ultimate aim is to provide the best learning outcomes for each student.
The Board of Trustees develops the charter as its major policy statement and the guiding document for the school. It contains detailed information about:
our values and vision
our commitment to the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi)
our strategic plan: aims, objectives, and priorities
our long-term, and annual, targets and goals.
The Board is responsible, with the Principal, for developing the charter. The Principal, as manager of the school, is responsible for implementing it.
The Board consults with the Māori community when preparing or amending the charter, in accordance with the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi and legal requirements under the Education Act 1989.
Devices
Each classroom has portable devices; students also have access to our Technology Centre during lessons or at lunch times. Each student has a folder where work can be saved and accessed from any computer-either in the suite or in the class.
Donation
Our school like many other decile 1-7 schools opted into the government's donation scheme. This scheme intends to reduce the costs for parents and whānau as well as guaranteeing this funding to the school. Because of this funding we will not require payments for many things that we have in the past. We will not be asking for donations related to normal learning activities that are curriculum-based. Our school camps will still have some cost, but these will be significantly lower than in previous years. For those families who have asked and want to make donations to the school, you can stil do this however, we will not be requesting these.
Enrolment
Pārāwai School welcomes enquiries for Year levels 1-8. All enrolments are completed electronically through the form below. This automatically notifies our enrolment officer who will make contact with you. Additional checks on ID and medical information will be required in person before your child begins with us. Please complete our enrolment form here https://enrolments.linc-ed.com/apply/NZ/1886
Kick Start - Pārāwai School’s Kick Start Programme is for children soon to be turning 5. Kick Start can be attended in the term prior to a child starting school. The programme is designed to help parents/caregivers make a seamless and enjoyable start to school. It helps develop children’s readiness for shool in literacy, numeracy, motor skills and self help skills. It also is to help form relationships between families, teachers and children. Please enquire at the office for the date that your child can start their Kick Start Programme. Kick Start Enrolment Form.
Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) is an important are of learning, and at Pārāwai School we are always looking for opportunities to ensure that our students get the very best from their EOTC experiences. In order to give our children great EOTC experiences, we ask for parent volunteers to accompany our school groups on day trips or overnight camps. As per our school policy all parents who volunteer to help with school events, trips, camps or transportation of students are required to have a clear police check. The checks take at least 25 working days to process so the applications must be sent in with plenty of time to spare. If you are planning to volunteer as parent help, please complete pages 2 and 3 of the police vetting application form attached here and return it to the school office with two original forms of photographic ID. If you are volunteering for transport, you will need to complete a Transport Volunteer Agreement attached here and provide a copy of your Drivers Licence. Alternatively, an application form can also be picked up from the office. Police vets are handled confidentially, including applying for and receiving the vet and storing the results. Only those requiring the information can access it, and it is destroyed when no longer needed.
ERO
Every three years Parawai School undergoes an external review by the Education Review Office. Our most recent ERO report can be found here: ERO 2019
Emergency Procedures
Pārāwai School has appropriate plans and procedures in place to ensure the safety of children in the event of the need an emergency and / or to evacuate the school buildings. The school premises and safety equipment are routinely inspected to comply with standard safety regulations, and fire and earthquake drills are conducted regularly. For detailed information outlining our emergency procedures, please refer to the School Docs website:
http://parawai.schooldocs.co.nz/ Username: parawai / Password: tui
Should you hear of a lockdown or evacuation at the school or in the event of a civil emergency, please do not attempt to attend or phone the school as School Management will not be in a position to respond. Your presence or contact may make it more difficult to manage the situation. In the case of an emergency, parents will be notified as soon as is practicably possible.
Keep up-to-date with the exciting things happening at Pārāwai School by following us on our Facebook page Proudly Parawai.
Financial Statements
Financial statements for year ending 31st December 2023
Forms
Please click on the form name to access a pdf version to print and email to the school office on office@parawai.school.nz
Authority to give personal medication
Transport User Volunteer Agreement
Health Matters
Children who are not well in the night or before school should not be sent to school. We do not have staff or facilities to care for sick children. When children become ill or are injured during the school day, parents are contacted and are asked to take the child home or to their doctor. If your child has been vomiting or had diarrhoea, they need to be away from school for 48 hours from the time of their last symptom.
In the case of serious accidents, such as broken limbs, we try to contact parents urgently. We use the Ambulance Service to assist with first aid if needed. Our staff are trained in essential first aid.
If your child suffers from any medical condition please advise the school office so we can work out a procedure to deal with any situation that may arise.
If your child needs to take medication during the day, this will be administered at the office. Parents MUST sign an authorisation form at the office before medication can be given. Inhalers also need to be kept at the office and will be administered as per instruction from parents. While all care will be taken in administering medication and first aid, the final responsibility is the parents.
Authority to give personal medication form
Hearing & Vision Tester
A Hearing & Vision tester employed by the Waikato District Health Board regularly visits school to test the hearing and vision of children. If you would like to find out more about this, or ask for your child to be added to the list when they next visit, please contact the school office or speak to your child/ren's teacher.
Homework
At the beginning of each year you will be sent home a letter from the classroom teacher outlining the homework programme for the year. This varies from year to year. It is important that we all know what is required. If you have any queries at any time, then please contact the school.
Houses
We have four houses: Pohutukawa – Red, Kauri – Green, Karaka – Orange and Tawa - Purple. All students are allocated a house.
Head Lice
Headlice or nits are an unwelcome but common event. Please check your child's hair and scalp regularly. Here is a link to the Ministry of Health guidelines for identifying and treating nits: http://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-and-illnesses/head-lice
International Students
Our school welcomes international students as part of our school community. For more information please see our webpage International Students
Immunisations
Each year nurses from the Community Child Health And Disability Service visit the School to offer Boostrix (Diptheria, Pertussis and Tetanus) immunisations to all Year 7 students and HPV immunisations to Year 8 girls. Parents and caregivers will receive permission slips for each of these immunisations.
Jubilee
Officially opened on 24th June 1967, Pārāwai School celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017. A golden jubilee was held to mark this milestone. Photos and memorabilia from 1967 through to 2017 can be viewed on the Jubilee facebook page: Pārāwai School 50th Jubilee.
Kapa Haka
An amazing Kapa Haka Group is run for our middle and senior students. This group performs both within the school and for outside school events.
Late arrivals to school
Children who arrive late to school (after the 8.55am) need to report to the office on arrival at school giving a reason for their lateness. Parents may need to assist younger children into the school grounds as the school is fenced and they may not be able to reach the latch on the gate. When there are patterns of children arriving late, this will be followed up with parents/caregivers by the Deputy Principal or Principal.
Library
The School has a well-resourced library, visited by classes every week and open most lunch times. We do ask that books are returned on time ‑ it certainly makes it easier for the school not having to track down books which are late or lost. Each student has a computerised card kept at school, which records their issues and makes it easier to keep a track of the books; there can be as many as 700 books out at a time!
You can now access our library online by clicking on this link.
Lost Property
There is a collection point for lost property in the shed adjacent to the vegetable garden area. We cannot stress enough that uniform and belongings must be named. Unclaimed and un-named clothing will be used as needed by the school at the end of each term. Lost property will be returned to its owner if it is named.
Music Lessons
Music lessons are available at Pārāwai School every Friday taught by a NZ Modern School of Music teacher - electric and acoustic guitar, drums, ukulele, vocals, piano / keyboard, recorder. Enquiries at the school office.
Newsletter
A newsletter is produced every Thursday which details items of news and forthcoming events. Newsletters are sent out via our school management system, HERO; are uploaded to our school facebook pages; and can be found under Newsletter & Forms. If you would like a notice included in the newsletter please email administration@parawai.school.nz.
Netsafe
Parāwai School is proud to announce that we have joined the Netsafe Schools Programme and are now officially a Netsafe School. Netsafe Schools is a free programme designed to help New Zealand schools and kura establish, develop and promote online safety, citizenship and wellbeing in their school community. Being a Netsafe School means that we have practices in place that show our commitment to planning for online safety, and that our practices are supported by New Zealand’s online safety organisation, Netsafe.
Payments
Payments for school camps can be made by Eftpos or cash at the school office or by direct credit to the Pārāwai School bank account 03-0458-0160428-00. Please use your child's name as reference.
Policies and Procedures
Our school policies and procedures are available online at SchoolDocs. This is a comprehensive core set of policies that have been well-researched and follow the Ministry of Education National Administration Guidelines. The policies are monitored by SchoolDocs and are updated, modified or created in response to changes in legislation, significant events, MOE guidelines and reviews / requests from the school. Each term our Board of Trustees, staff and parents/caregivers have the opportunity to review different policies as they come up for review. To view the policies and the latest review topics, go to:
http://parawai.schooldocs.co.nz/ log in - parawai / password - tui
If you do not have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of any of the policies and the review form.
Pārāwai Kids First (PTA - Parent Teacher Association)
Pārāwai Kids First aims to foster goodwill by bringing children, parents/caregivers, staff and the community together through various activities and events, while also providing support to the school. They support the school financially by fundraising and with tasks that support running the school. For more information or to contact the PTA please click here.
School Hours and Break TImes
These are:
8.55 Bell goes to start the school day
10.25 Food break, students eat in class, followed by play time.
11.05 Learning begins
12.25 Food break, students eat in class, followed by play time.
1.25 Learning begins
3.00 School finishes
The school has reflection time at the end of the school day to go over what has been learnt and to plan ‘where to next’ with students’ learning.
Sports
Sporting activities at Pārāwai School include Athletics, Cross Country, Hockey, Netball, Touch Rugby, Swimming, Triathlon. Many of these sporting events involve teams being entering one day competitions with other local schools in our area.
Swimming
Swimming is a regular part of the physical education programme. Students are asked to bring their togs during the warmer months for swimming, with a note needed from parents/caregivers for non-swimming. The pool has a cover, which raises the temperature considerably. Teachers will not take swimming if it is too cold, so send along togs every day and let teachers make the decision.
Student Led Conferences
Student led conferences are scheduled in Term One and Term Three. Parents are welcome to seek additional meetings with teachers at any time.
Scholastic Bookclub NZ Ltd
During the year children take home an order form for books supplied by Scholastic N.Z. Ltd. If you wish to order, send the money and order form in a named envelope to the school office by the due date. Cheques are made to Scholastic NZ Ltd.
Sickness or Injury at School
Minor injuries are treated at school but parents or caregivers will be contacted if possible if medical attention is required. In case of emergency we will contact 111.
School photos
Each year class and individual photos are taken in early term 3 by Photolife Studios and are availble for purchase by parents / caregivers.
Smokefree school
The Smokefree Environments Amendment Act 2003, directs that all buildings and grounds of Pārāwai School are smokefree 24 hours a day, seven days a week (with no exemptions). The Act applies to anyone on the school grounds including staff, children, visiting parents and caregivers, contractors and people hiring or using the school facilities outside of school hours.
Technology
Our year 7 & 8 students attend manual training at the High School every week during the year usually for a morning session. There is a fee charged by the High School for this.
Transport
Transportation of students to Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) activities and events
It is a requirement that all private motor vehicles used for the transportation of pupils have a current WOF, registration and shoulder seat belts for each pupil
Children under age 7 or under 148 cm must travel using an approved booster seat.
Buses are chartered when necessary.
Parents who assist with supervision on class trips are asked to not bring preschoolers. The adult : child ratio is applied to achieve safe management of the children in groups and so children can be focused on the activities to achieve the aims of the trip.
Travel to and from school
Road Patrol: We have a Road Patrol team who are trained by the Police Education Officer and are on duty from 8.30am – 8.55am and 3.00pm – 3.15pm each day. All children who need to cross the road MUST USE the pedestrian crossing where there is one.
Road Safety: Please discuss with your children about being particularly careful when crossing roads when coming to and from school. If your child scoots/walks by themselves, please teach them to look both ways before crossing any road and use the pedestrian crossing where available. Drivers please slow down and look out for children before and after school. We encourage children to do the right thing for their safety, please continue this when walking with your child.
The speed limit outside of school each morning and afternoon is 40km/hr.
Bicycles: The police recommend children younger than 9 years old do not ride their bicycles to school unless accompanied by an adult. Bicycles are stored in the bicycle stands inside the school boundary fence at the front of the school during the school day. We advise bicycle locks be used. Children and adults must walk their bicycles in the school grounds and outside of school on the footpath, especially when there are pedestrians. Helmets are compulsory.
Safe Cycling Training is a part of the school programme for Year 6 children.
Uniform
Our uniform is compulsory for all students and consists of:
Pārāwai School polo shirt
Pārāwai School Fleece and/or Jacket
Pārāwai School sun hat for Term 1 and 4
School uniform items to be worn with any plain black (no logo) shorts/trousers/skirts or skorts. Black thermals can be worn underneath the polo shirts in the colder months.
Plain black beanies or Pārāwai School beanies can be worn in Terms 2 & 3.
Please ensure you name ALL items of clothing.
NZ Uniforms are our supplier and uniforms can be ordered through: NZ Uniforms or Freephone 0800 698 643.
Please see our full school uniform policy here.
Visitors
ALL visitors are required to report to the school office when visiting. Visitors must sign in and out using the electronic “VisTab” and wear the printed visitors label when on site. Please remember to sign out when you leave.
Values Cards
Values Cards are a part of our school wide programme to encourage positive behaviour at school. Each teacher is able to give a student a small card with their name and a note about their good behaviour on it. Each syndicate has a box, which the cards can be put in, and at the weekly assembly two cards are selected and the winning students receive a small prize. All cards are collected during the year, and a monster draw takes place at the end of year ceremony.
Vetting
If you are volunteering as parent help for a school camp and/or to assist with transportation, please complete pages 2 and 3 of the police vetting application form attached here and return it to the school office with two original forms of photographic ID. Police vets are handled confidentially, including applying for and receiving the vet and storing the results. Only those requiring the information can access it, and it is destroyed when no longer needed.
Yummy Stickers
Collect Yummy stickers from Yummy apples and other fruit or Yummy labels from bags of apples to help earn sports equipment for our School. Download the appropriate sheet below, collect stickers or labels from family, friends and neighbours then return to School with student's name and room number.
Sticker sheet Download (283k)
Label sheet Download (233k)
