Absences

It is important to inform the school office should your child be absent from school.

If it is an unplanned absence (such as short term sickness), please inform the school office prior to 9am.

There are three ways you can let us know that your child will be absent.

Phone: 595 0730

Email: admin@stfrancischch.school.nz

Hero app – Use the Report an absence tab on the menu.

If it is a planned absence (including prolonged medical), please email the principal principal@stfrancischch.school.nz and your child’s homebase teacher.

Accidents

Although every reasonable precaution is exercised, accidents do happen. Minor ones receive first-aid treatment from the teacher on duty. In all cases of head injury, suspected bone injury, bad cuts, etc. the parent is notified immediately for the necessary medical attention to be sought. All accidents at the school are investigated, recorded and if serious enough, reported to the Board of Trustees. Children are not sent home unless their parents have been informed, and must be accompanied before leaving the school.

If your child does arrive home during lunch time or school time, and you have not had any communication from us, please contact the school immediately.

In order to keep our Emergency File up to date, please notify the school of any change of alternative contact, (for when a parent is not at home) and change of doctor.

Before and After School Care

There is a before and after school programme run by the Neighbourhood Trust onsite that you can book your children into.

For more information please phone: (03) 355 6522

Assemblies

Assemblies are held on Fridays at 2.15pm. They will advertised on the school calendar also available on this website. Sometimes we need to make changes to the time and dates of assemblies – so it does pay to check the calendar.

Attendance

Children are expected to regularly attend school. Caregivers are obliged by law to ensure their children maintain regular attendance. Each morning and afternoon teachers complete their class register electronically. If a student is absent from school for any reason, the teacher must enter a code. These absences fall under two main categories ‘explained’ and ‘unexplained’.

It is the responsibility of parents to contact the school to explain why their child is absent. Use Hero or phone 595 0730 before 9.00am to explain the child’s whereabouts or send a note via the class teacher. If an explanation is not received the office staff will attempt to contact parents to seek an explanation. These follow-ups do have a significant impact on our admin time so we really appreciate all parents ensuring that they have contacted the school if their child is going to be away. Please note that according to the Ministry of Education criteria, any absences due to travelling on family holidays during term time are treated as unjustified absences.

These absences need to be put in writing or email to principal@stfrancischch.school.nz

Attendance Dues 

These are not a donation and are paid to the Parish not to the school. They are used for capital costs, such as new classrooms and insurance, to which the Government does not contribute. When you enrol your child at a Catholic school and sign the Preference Certificate, you “agree to pay the Attendance Dues, in full, on or before the due date, or to contact the parish Priest to enter into an agreement for payment.” All Attendance Dues collected by the Parish are paid on to the Diocese.

Special Character Contributions help fund the provision of Catholic Special Character within the school. This contribution is tax deductible. A receipt for this can be obtained from the parish office.

2023
Attendance Dues: $362 incl gst per child per year ($90.50 per term)
Special Character: $50 per child per year ($12.50 per term)

Total per year $412.00 per child (4 Terms)
Total per Term $103.00 per child

Attendance Dues & Special Character are paid to the Parish office NOT to the School.

Payment is expected each Term, or you may choose to pay for the whole year at once. To help with budgeting, we give the option of paying weekly, fortnightly or monthly. We rely on parents to pay – if they do not pay, the parish has to pay the Diocese on their behalf.

The Parish sends out invoices each Term. It is preferred that you pay by automatic payment. (The Bank account number is on invoice/ statement).

Behaviour Management

At St Francis of Assisi Catholic School our behaviour management procedures are based around Restorative Justice principles. We manage inappropriate behaviour, based on Gospel values and discipline processes that are just, reasonable, respectful and consistent.

You can read about our restorative approach on this link.

Bell Times

We strongly encourage children to arrive at school about 8.30am to prepare for the days learning. This gives them time to get organised for the day, catch up with their classmates and be ready for our 8.50am start.

Children left waiting for parents after 3.15pm must be within the school gates. We do not allow students to wait out on Innes Rd or Kensington Ave for parents after 3.15pm. This is for your child’s safety so please support us by not asking your children to wait for you at either of these places.

• 8.50 am Learning Block 1
• 10:25 am Morning tea (Play)
• 10:45 am Morning Tea (Eat)
• 11:00 am Learning Block 2
• 12:30 pm- Lunch (Play)
• 1:00 pm Lunch (Eat)
• 1:15 pm Learning Block 3
• 3:00 pm School ends

Hub Blogs

Each Hub has a blog which is updated on a weekly basis. Blogs provide updates to parents and share and celebrate some of the class learning. Class blogs can be accessed via the blog link on the school website or via the St Francis of Assisi school app on mobile devices. Feel free to add a comment to the class blogs if you wish. Comments are always moderated by a teacher before they will be published on the blog so it may take a couple of days before your comment appears.

Sport Blog- All information about Sport in our school is posted on the Sport Blog. There is a link to the sport blog on every newsletter.

Sport http://sportsstfrancischch.blogspot.com/

Choir

St Francis of Assisi School’s Choir is made up of Year 4-8 students. They practise weekly throughout the year to perfect their singing for performances at the Christchurch School’s Music Festival, Jubilate, Open Days, Community events and school Assemblies. Using a mixture of contemporary music and more traditional pieces the students greatly enjoy performing to various audiences. The school Choir is a great opportunity to stretch and extend those children who display an interest in music.

Communication

We have a culture of open communication at St Francis of Assisi Catholic School. We aim to inform parents of all upcoming events and school projects through our website, class blogs, email and newsletters. Newsletters are posted on the website on Fridays. If you do not have access to this you can come to the office and we can print this for you.

Class teachers will also post any notices on the Hub Blogs. You can follow the blog by entering your email address in the “Follow by email” section. Teachers will email as well if there is an important message that needs to go out.

Complaints and Concerns

Parents and teachers have the same goal – the best possible education for the children.

Parents are most welcome to discuss any concern they have about their child’s progress with the class teacher firstly, then the team leader by appointment. If a parent or caregiver feels that they have not been listened to or that their concern has not been addressed then they are most welcome to make a time to meet with the principal or one of the Senior Leadership team (SLT). The SLT is made up of the Principal, Deputy Principal and Assistant Principal. You can make contact with them by making an appointment at the office.

All complaints must be referred to the class teacher concerned, then on to the appropriate team leader. If not resolved, then contact the principal SLT or a member of the who will take any necessary action. Parents and teachers have the same goal – the best possible education for the children.

For further details on concerns or complaints please visit our schooldocs site to read the following policies.

Complaints

Guidelines for Informal Complaints

Formal Complaints

Contact Details

Phone: (03) 5950730

Email: admin@stfrancischch.school.nz

All staff emails are firstname.lastname@stfrancischch.school.nz These can be accessed on the staff page of our website.

Cycling To and From School

Parents are urged to ensure that children are not only proficient cyclists but that they also have an adequate understanding of basic road rules before allowing them to ride to school. Children below Year 4 are not encouraged to cycle to school for this reason. It is compulsory for all children to wear an approved type helmet when cycling to and from school. It is recommended that all bicycles left at school be locked as we cannot be responsible for stolen cycles.