Learning Programmes

At Westmere School our teaching and learning programmes are guided by these principles:

Parents are the child's first teachers and can provide the school with valuable insights into the child's social and learning needs.

We regularly assess students using a range of formal and informal strategies to enable us to identify where children are at and what the next learning step is for them. This information is used to plan for the ongoing development of learning programmes. Programmes are differentiated to meet the range of learning needs in every class and children are grouped in many different ways to promote a wide range of learning opportunities.

Library

Children have access to the library during their booked time slot during the week where they are allowed to take out 1 book. When they return the book they are able to take out another one. If a book is lost please contact Jo van Dam our school librarian and she will send home an invoice so that we can replace the book if it has not been found after a period of time. The library is also open some lunchtimes. This is manned by staff on duty and on some days staff who volunteer. If there is no adult in the Library it is not open that day.

Lost Property

Anita in the school office looks after our lost property. Any named items are returned to the child in their class and any unnamed items are placed on the rack in the school office. The rack is cleared every 2 weeks, the remaining items are donated to charity. Please name all items.

This way they can be returned to your child. Any questions please ask Anita at reception.

Lunches and Lunch Orders

We offer an online lunch ordering system through Ezlunch.

• Brunch n lunch - Available daily. Provides a wide variety of homemade hot and cold food.

• Pita Pit - Friday only.

Orders must be completed by 9:00am. Order and pay online at www.ezlunch.co.nz or by text message.

Lunch Boxes/Allergies

We encourage children to pack healthy lunches that include fruit, sandwiches/rolls and water in the water bottle rather than fruit juice. Chewing gum, sweets and fizzy drinks are not allowed in school. Small packets of chips etc., are permitted in lunch boxes as long as there is a healthy balance of foods. A balanced diet is the key to children's learning and development.

Children are asked to return their lunch rubbish back into their lunch boxes to show you how much they have eaten and also to reduce the amount of our school rubbish. Some children have major allergies to certain foods so we discourage children from sharing lunches. On occasion, the class may hold a shared lunch as a special event. If your child is in a studio with a child who has a very strong reaction to nuts, a notice is sent home to invite you to be nut free. We ensure children do not share food from their lunch boxes.

Lunch Times

The children have supervised eating for 10 minutes and are required to show their lunch box to the duty teacher before they are allowed to leave the eating area. The children are able to sit for longer to eat their lunch but on the occasion they take a long time we will encourage them to have a run around and play before the end of lunch. Duty teachers monitor the children’s play and are available to support children if needed.

Medical / Sick Bay Room

Hearing and vision checks are conducted twice a year by the Ministry of Health, who will contact you with any concerns arising from these checks. 

We have a sick bay in the school office area. If your child is injured at school they are first dealt with by a studio teacher or duty teacher. If it is something that requires more support they will be taken to the sick bay (or sent with a note if they are able to go by themselves). Minor injuries are treated by staff trained in first aid.

In the case of a more serious injury, we will contact you if we think medical attention is required. If we are unable to contact you, we will call an ambulance if we deem the situation to be serious.

If your child is unwell in the morning, we ask that you do not send them to school as we are not resourced to attend to sick children. Please advise the school of their absence accordingly.

School staff will NOT administer prescription and/or over the counter medication at school unless there is written permission from the parent/caregiver. A copy of the school policy and a slip for signing is available through the school office. All medication must be handed in at the school office and will be stored in the sick bay and administered by staff.

Mobile Phones

If children absolutely need a cell phone for after-school use, these must be switched off and handed to one of their studio teachers to be kept safe during school hours (8:55am-3:00pm).

All cell phones must be named. As a general guideline, we would strongly recommend that cell phones remain at home.

Money / Valuables / Personal Belongings

Children are discouraged from bringing large sums of money or other valuables to school. We cannot guarantee their security. Scooters and bikes are stored at school at owners’ risk. We strongly recommend these are padlocked. Visitors and parent helpers to our school are asked to take responsibility for their possessions whilst on the school grounds.

Morning Tea

Break 1 is from 10.10am-10.30am. The children sit outside when it is sunny and have a snack before going off to play. Break 2 is from 11.30am-11.50am.

Multi-Level (Composite) Studios

A multi-level class is where children, usually from two consecutive year groups, are placed together in one studio. In some cases where numbers of children across the school are small, for example our bilingual unit, you may find a bigger range of ages in the same class. Even within a class of children the same age, children will be operating at different academic and maturity levels.

Newsletters

All school newsletters are sent home via our school app. The purpose of these newsletters is to keep you informed about the daily happenings and events at school. Sometimes we will feature a particular educational topic of interest. 

You will also receive regular updates from the studio teachers about their learning.

There is often important information in the newsletters about upcoming events, so please take the time to check these.

New Entrant Evening

This is an information evening for the parents of children who are starting school. It is held on Wednesday evenings of week 3 each Term. It is recommended you come to this evening even if you have other children at school.

If you are not able to attend you are welcome to join the meeting in the following term.

Ngā Uri O Ngā Iwi (Māori Bi-Lingual Unit)

Westmere School | Te Rehu works in a common venture with Ngā Uri O Ngā  Iwi, the whānau group responsible for Māori-medium education to implement the guarantees set out in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. NUONI offers bilingual and immersion learning pathways. For more information, please see the Ngā Uri o Ngā Iwi Prospectus on our website.