Useful information about Weedons School

Attendance 

Attendance is compulsory for all children aged 6-16 years. If your child will not be attending school on a particular day for one reason or another, it is important to notify the school prior to 8.55 am via the HERO school app or leave a message stating the reason for the absence. If we do not hear from you, we in turn will ring you to check (if your child does not arrive at school) thus hopefully avoiding an emergency situation. If you know ahead of time that your child will be absent or late, you can let us know via the HERO school app or leave a message.

Being on time for school is important. It has a positive impact on both learning and social relationships. Lateness is noted by the class teacher and should not become a regular occurrence. We expect all children to be at school by 8.50am. If your child is late to school, can you please report in at the office and sign them in, BEFORE they head to class.

Accident and Illness 

If your child becomes ill at school, we will contact you by phone. Please make sure your phone number and emergency numbers are up to date. 

Birth Certificate / Immunisation Certificate 

The Ministry of Education now requires every new child, on enrolment, to present to the school an Immunisation Certificate from your Doctor. This may be a form signed by your Doctor or a copy of the Immunisation page in your child’s Plunket Book.

A copy of your child’s birth certificate is also required. These are kept in with the Enrolment form in a confidential file in the School Office.

Books/Stationery 

A link is sent home at the end of the year for the following year to purchase stationery at sale prices, we shop around regularly for the best price. You order and pay for your child/ren stationery, it can then be delivered to school or home for the beginning of the year. The New Entrants teacher purchases their books at the beginning of the year. They will be issued with their stationery on arrival at school and added to your child's account. 

Book Clubs 

Catalogues for Scholastic Book clubs are received once a term. Children can make a selection then the order online. The school receives bonus points based on the number of books we sell and this enables us to purchase other book resources for the school.

Carpark 

We are very unique in that the vast majority of our pupils are brought to school by car. Our school is in a 80km zone with a compulsory 40km limit directly in front of the school during nominated times within school hours. We would appreciate it if you could abide by the following rules.

• The car park adjacent to the school is available for parents dropping off and picking up their children. Please take extreme care during the busy periods as children can be unpredictable. 

• Please do not park on the other side of the road. This reduces visibility and necessitates crossing a busy road with your child.

• The zone in front of the school is referred to as our ‘drop off’ and pick-up zone. Children are not to leave the school grounds unless:

A) Accompanied by an adult – children will wait in the lunch area for you to come and collect them.
B) Walking or cycling home. Children who are walking home will be escorted out of the school by a teacher.
C) On our school bus (special bus zone only)

• If the after school routine for your child is changing (either permanently or just for one day) please let the office know, especially if they are on the bus or walking somewhere.

We have successfully got the speed limit reduced outside the school but it is still up to us as a community to ensure that we are taking all practicable steps to ensure the safety of our children. Children walking, biking or using the school bus to get home are provided with a fluorescent vest. Please collect these from the Office.

Kapa Haka 

All students from year 3 up participate in weekly Kapa Haka sessions. Our senior school performs in our local cultural festival, school welcomes and end of year assembly.

EOTC 

Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) and class trips are a regular part of our school programme. Class teachers and/or groups of teachers decide the nature and frequency of excursions. Parent help can be requested for transportation or supervision of small groups. All students must be seat-belted and have booster seats as required if traveling in cars. Cars should have a current registration and warrant of fitness. All parent volunteers are required to complete an information form prior to each trip as part of our safety and risk management practices. Buses will also be used to transport students to events.

Camp 

• Year 4 have an overnight camp here at school.

• Year 5 and 6 spend 2 nights at Hanmer Forest park camp (odd years) taking part in Adventure Hanmer activities.

• Year 7 and 8 - spend 2 nights at Wainui Camp (odd year) and participate in 4 days of activities around Canterbury (even years).

Cycles

Children should be competent riders who are very familiar with the road rules before they ride unaccompanied to school. Please ensure bicycles are maintained to a high standard. The cycle stand is by the shed. We recommend a lock for the cycle as the stands are not easily seen from the classrooms. All children must have cycle helmets and a safety vest (provided by the school). Children under 10 years of age are discouraged from riding to school.

Dental Therapists 

The Dental Therapists come to school once a year to check your child’s teeth. If work is needed to be done, you may be required to take your child to a clinic or alternatively a mobile clinic may come to the school. 

Emergency Drills 

Emergency evacuation and earthquake drills are held each term to ensure that all staff and students are familiar with the procedure. On several occasions the Fire Brigade is also involved.

Footwear 

All children are required to remove their footwear on entry to classrooms. During the winter months you may like to provide slippers for your child / children to wear indoors. It is compulsory for the students to wear shoes all year round, due to bee stings and stubbed toes. In summer, sandals may be worn. Jandals/thongs and “slip ons” are not acceptable.

Music lessons 

We have itinerant teachers of guitar, singing, keyboard, recorder and flute who provide individual or small group lessons during school time. The cost of this is met by individual parents. Please see the Office.

Homework 

Our school believes that regular homework encourages good work habits, reinforces students’ learning and helps parents keep in touch with their child’s/children’s school work. Teachers will inform you of homework requirements.

I.C.T 

ICT is one of many learning tools available to teachers and students and is integrated into our class programmes where appropriate. We have ultra-fast broadband and an effective wireless network. Digital equipment is available for students to access in classrooms. As we lease the equipment we ask for an ICT voluntary donation. We divide the cost over the year. We could not provide the ratio of devices to children (1 each for each Year 4+ student) without this donation. Internet policies and guidelines are in place and can be viewed on SchoolDocs.

Learning Support 

Additional support for students’ learning is provided both by our school and external agencies. Teachers monitor learning needs regularly and design programmes to support students’ experiencing difficulty in their learning and those who are achieving at a high level. We make use of government and non-government agencies to provide specialist skills.

These include the Learning Support Coordinator, Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour, the Resource Teacher of Literacy, Special Education Services and the College of Education Advisory Service.

Students are offered opportunities to participate in external events, challenges and competitions - Cantamaths, rotary quiz, speech competitions, e Pro 8 technology challenge, Science badges, ICAS academic competitions, Kiwi academic competitions, zone sporting events, Canterbury schools sporting events.

Library 

We have a growing selection of books which are available for borrowing. A computerised system makes for easy issuing, returning and checking for overdue books. The Junior School (year 1 – 3) can have 1 or 2 books out and by Year 7/8 they are allowed 5 books out at a time. Each child will have a weekly library change day and children are unable to get new books out unless the others are returned.

To avoid damage to our books children must have a separate library bag. These are available at the office at a cost of $3.50.

Lost Property 

This is stored in the first aid room. Parents and children are welcome to search for articles. You can help us by naming all articles clearly.

Lunch- Mondays 

Students are able to buy their lunches on a Monday via our Kindo – Lunches available are Subway and Sushi.

Lunch – Fridays 

Students are able to buy their lunches on a Friday. The Friends of Weedons sell barbeque sausages and cookies. This is an on-going fundraiser. Chocolate Chip cookies are available for $1.50 each and sausages $2.00. Orders are made on line via KINDO before 8.30pm Thursday night, the cookies are distributed by playtime, and the sausages are collected at lunch time. You order via KINDO before 8.30pm,Thursday night and the collation and distribution is carried out by a group of Friends. A group of volunteer parents cook and distribute the sausages. It takes an hour of your time on a Friday – if you would like to help, please see contact friendsofweedons@gmail.com. 

Lunch Times 

Lunch break is from 12.40pm until 1.35pm. Students play for the first part of the lunch break and at 1.15, the bell rings for lunch eating time. On fine days, all students sit on the seats in front of Te Wharenui to eat their lunch. A teacher supervises and releases each pupil once they have completed their lunch. On wet days, the children remain inside their classroom. The classrooms have activities that are kept especially for such days. Senior students supervise the wet day lunches.

Medication 

If your child uses medicine, ointments, tablets or inhalers for complaints such as bee stings, asthma please give us full written details and supply the medication in a clearly named container. It is important that we are kept up to date with any changes. We are not able to give students medication such as antibiotics or painkillers unless we are given written authority by the parent/caregiver. A “Consent to Administer Medication” form is available from the Office. Please note that we do not supply any form of pain relief.

Newsletters 

A school newsletter is sent home weekly on a Wednesday. This keeps you informed about events happening at the school, fundraising, sporting events and any other information we may need to tell you. Parents are able to contribute to this newsletters i.e. whether selling something, sporting clubs etc. Email your contribution to office@weedons.school.nz by 9.00am Wednesday morning. 

Notices 

Postponement or cancellation of events will be e-mailed to you and posted on the FOW Facebook Page, if in doubt phone the school. There are times when additional notices need to be sent home. Individual classrooms send home newsletters from time to time but  teachers are more likely to communicate messages via the online tool Seesaw. Seesaw is also used to share class learning with you. Your child’s teacher will give you instructions to become part of the class seesaw. Any important school paper notices are colour coded. Yellow paper indicates it needs to be read, signed and returned to the school. Red means it is extremely important and should be read as soon as possible.

Office 

The Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 3.30pm. The Office Staff are available to answer any questions you may have. 

Parent Interviews

Interviews are scheduled for early Term 1 (parents and teachers only) and end Term 2 (student led). 

Student Reports 

Written reports are sent home mid and end of the year. 

Teachers are available for discussions about your child’s learning at other times. Please contact them directly. 

Photographs 

Class and individual photographs are taken annually and are available to purchase online.

Photocopying/Laminating 

We have a very good photocopier and are able to photocopy documents for you. We are also able to laminate. Please see the office.

Recycling 

Our worm farms and compost bins are fed by lunch scraps. We re-use whatever we can in school and encourage the children to adopt these habits at home. Wrapper free lunch boxes support us to cut down on the amount of rubbish we are sending to landfill.

School Closure In An Emergency 

We have a school emergency txt service - To receive text messages from school, text Weedons to 570.

A. Outside school hours, the advice of closure will be broadcast over the local radio station, usually MoreFM, a message will also be put on the school phone, a text message sent and on the Friends of Weedons Facebook page.

B. In the event of a natural disaster or emergency during the school day, where possible, a message will be put on the school phone and on the Facebook page. Additionally, where possible, a text message will be sent to those who have signed up.

NOTE: ALL children will be kept at school until a parent or caregiver collects them. No child will be permitted to leave the premises without parental approval.

School Grounds 

Your child/children are welcome to play in the school grounds out of school hours or during the weekend. The Principal or School Board would like to be contacted if you are aware of anyone not showing due care and consideration to any school amenities. Please ensure that the school gates are kept closed. The Weedons School Board of Trustees accepts NO responsibility for unauthorized use of the school grounds or equipment outside school hours. Recently security cameras were installed to provide extra protection for our school.

Sports 

We are quite a sporty and active school. Each class participates in fitness activities, skill based sessions and games. We have our own school sports including swimming, athletics and cross country. From our school sports we select students to participate in Lincoln Zone sporting activities. These include triathlon, swimming, gymnastics, cross country, hockey/soccer, rugby/netball and athletics. The Junior school is involved in swimming, triathlon, cross country and athletics here at school.

Junior School children also participate in a Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP) in terms 2 and 3. This aims to build up confidence, self-esteem, concentration and physical skills in all areas equipping them for the skills they need to take part in the middle and upper school sport and PE programmes. To run this programme, we need parent help and would love to have new parents on board. Contact your classroom teacher for more information.

Selwyn Sports Trust provides opportunities for students of all ages to take part in skills sessions in a variety of sports during the year. Students are bused to these events.

Spring Fling 

The traditional “Pet day” has been combined with other art and craft activities to create an activity day for students and families, held early spring on alternate years.

Sun Safety 

School sun hats are compulsory during Term 1 and Term 4. If a child does not have a sun hat they are requested to stay under the shade cloths during morning tea and lunch times. Students are required to bring their own sunscreen to be applied before outside activities.

Swimming Pool 

The Board of Trustees and community have undertaken to try and keep the school pool open. A number of measures have been completed to upgrade the pool to an acceptable level. In 2020, we added a heat pump to the pool to increase the swim season. Keys for the pool are available to purchase to school parents and the community over the summer months.

Year 7 & 8 Technology 

Students of Year 7/8 travel by bus to the Hornby High Technology Centre once a week for the morning. Both boys and girls experience food and textiles, art and design, plastic, metal and wood technology.

Telephone Lists 

If you wish to keep your telephone number confidential, please let the office know.

Uniforms 

Weedons School has a compulsory school uniform which is available from Mainland Uniforms. We are very proud of our uniform. Introduced in 1993, our school was one of the first schools in the Lincoln area to make it compulsory on school outings and special events. The logo displays a Toitoi plant (prominent in the Weedons area years ago) the Southern Alps which are a part of the backdrop to our school, the Canterbury Plains and the Waimakariri River.

The uniform consists of:

Compulsory 

Weedons School jade short sleeve polo shirt (Years 1-6) Weedons School navy short sleeve polo shirt ( year 7 & 8) - Introduced in 2012, this distinguishes year 7 & 8 as our school leaders and is worn with pride.

Weedons School sweatshirt, Weedons School polar fleece or Weedons School merino jersey Weedons School cricket hat - must be worn Terms 1 & 4

Optional

Jade/navy skivvy for winter

The bottom half of the uniform must be plain navy blue but your choice of clothing. Please name all clothing items clearly and permanently.

The uniform can be ordered online from www.mainlanduniforms.co.nz or head into their building in Wairakei Road in Christchurch. Samples are held in the office to ensure you get the correct sizing. School hats and house t-shrits can be purchased from the school office.

Merino tops (pre-ordered minimum number required and prepayment.)

The Friends of Weedons have purchased sports uniforms, Kapa Haka costumes and tracksuit tops which are loaned to children who represent the school at zone events.

Travel Allowance/School Bus 

If you live more than 3.2km from your nearest school and are Year 1 - 8, you are able to apply for travel assistance or may be on our school bus route. Please see the office for the appropriate form to complete or to find out if you are entitled to use the School Bus.