Absences

If your child is away from school at any time, please give the school a ring before 9am explaining why they will be away. This helps to ensure the safety of your child.

Ashton Scholastic Book Club

Ashton Scholastic run a book club through the school. They have many entertaining and often educational books available to order. All orders must be done online. The school get a percentage of all sales to invest in new books for our library.

Bicycles

The Law states that it is compulsory for every child riding a bike to wear a Standards Approved Safety Cycle Helmet. Parents/Caregivers are also reminded that it is their responsibility to ensure that their child’s bike is up to safety requirements. Children must be 9 years old before they are allowed to ride to school on their bike on their own, not accompanied by a parent. They must also inform the principal and wear the fluoro safety vest provided by the school.

Buses

Currently almost a hundred of our children come to school using the Winchester Rural School buses. The buses are run by the principal on behalf of the Board of Trustees. The Board run a very efficient and reliable service, usually covering transport costs for trips and school outings too. We also own a school minibus that is available for hire.

We operate 2 bus runs:

(1) Orari area

(2) Country run, out to Rangitata and Clandeboye;

These bus runs continue to be a funded resource for the children in our transport entitlement zone. Details of times and stops can be sourced at the school office upon enrolment. Bus routes are reviewed regularly.

We request that in the interests of your child/ren’s safety you notify the school of any daily changes to your own transport requirements before 2pm. We expect children travelling on these buses will have an adult waiting with/for them at the stops for pick up and drop offs.

Behaviour Strategies

We are very proud of our behaviour strategies in place at Winchester Rural School. We are a PB4L(Positive Behaviour for learning) school. We believe that coming to Winchester Rural School is a wonderful opportunity for all learners.

We believe in children taking responsibility for their own choices and monitoring the consequences of these choices.

We have consistent systems in place that deal effectively with children who are still developing self-control. This involves school wide expectations that are explicitly taught consistent consequences and an acknowledgement rewards scheme for positive behaviour.

Educational Visits

From time to time a class may feel a trip away from the school would help their learning more about a particular project they may have been studying, from first-hand experiences.

Parents will always be informed of these prior to the day and may sometimes be asked to assist with the supervision of these trips. Staff members carry a cell phone during these times. Parents can phone the office if messages need to be passed on.

Costs will be kept to minimum and will be built into the annual activity fee of $40 per child if at all possible.

Events

As part of the school’s programme, children will participate in a number of activities during the school year: swimming, cross-country running, athletics, rippa rugby tournament, Jump Jam, top team event, FLAVA festival and other cultural activities. We do some of these activities with our Temuka Schools’ Sports group (TSG): St Joseph’s. Temuka Primary and Arowhenua. You will be informed of these before each activity, with most listed on the parent calendar for each term.

Home Learning

Home Learning is an opportunity for children to practise essential skills required for future learning. It should not be a stressful exercise for anyone involved, either the child, parents or extended family. Reading, basic facts and spelling learning, when worked on at home, do have an effect. When teachers and parents have high expectations towards this learning, children’s progress is enhanced.

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies)Digital Technology

To enable your child to use the Internet capabilities within our school we require you to fill out an Internet use form. This is a Cyber Safety Use Agreement to be filled in and return with your child's enrolment form to the school office.

Illness at School

Children who become ill or injured during school time will be cared for by their teacher in class or the office manager in our sick bay. If your child needs further attention, you will be contacted by telephone. (Please keep the office informed of current phone numbers) We are able to administer first aid and attend minor injuries if necessary. All teachers and our office manager have a current First Aid Certificate.

Library

The school’s library information centre enables the staff to provide your child with a fantastic, computerised resource. The library is open two lunchtimes a week for children to use the resources and participate in a variety of activities. devices are in the library for research and educational games. Children are allowed to take out two books at any one time for a period of two weeks. This includes the 4 year olds who come for scheduled school visits.

Although children are more than welcome to take library books home, we do request that parents are diligent in ensuring that these books are looked after appropriately and returned by the due date. Senior Y5 & 6 students can take on a Librarian responsibility and can achieve bronze, silver and gold certificates, and finally a badge.

Lost Property

To minimise lost property, we require all clothing be named! The lost property box is available for parents to look through inside the school hall.

Lunches

We encourage healthy lunches at school with minimum plastic wrappers. No sweets or fizzy drinks are allowed in school lunches. A food warmer is available on a Monday in the middle two terms. The children eat morning tea in class during our read and feed times. At lunch the Junior and senior children sit in separate spaces and eat with a duty teacher supervising ensuring children have eaten sufficient.

Medicines

If, at any time, your child is on any form of medication, please keep the school fully informed. Medication will be administered by the office administrator or the classroom teacher with appropriate permission and directions. All medication will be kept in the sick bay in the school office.

Newsletters

To keep you informed on current events happening within the school and the Community, a newsletter is published once a fortnight on a Thursday. Also available is our parent calendar each term identifying key planned events. We also keep in touch through our school and PTA, Facebook pages and class news comes home via the Seesaw eportfolio.

Parent Help and Involvement

We are committed to a partnership between school and home. We welcome and encourage parents’ help in classes. This support will take different forms, such as class excursions, working bees, classroom parent help, activity days, fundraising.

At Winchester Rural School we have a proud reputation for being a school that can rely on its community. Parent help is strongly encouraged – to support your child and the school.

P.T.A.

Winchester Rural School is very fortunate to have the ongoing contributions that the Parents and Teachers Association makes to the overall running and success of the school.

The P.T.A is a very active group that fund-raises for the benefit of the children of the school. P.T.A. meetings are held approximately twice a term. Times will be published in the newsletters. The PTA also organises occasional social functions throughout the year.

School Donation

In 2023 the board continued with the option of receiving the government subsidy of approximately $150 per child rather than asking for this donation.

Stationery

Class lists of stationery required are mounted online. You can order your child’s stationery on line at www.myschool.co.nz. We ask that new books are bought as due to differences throughout the classes with stationery requirements, books from the previous year are not normally used again. If you do not want to purchase through office max you can print off the list and source your books elsewhere. We encourage children to use all the pages of an exercise book before purchasing a new one throughout the year. Occasionally your child may be given stationery from the school office. An account will be sent home for this. The only exception is if your child is a New Entrant and starts at our school after term one, stationery packs are provided by the teacher and parents are invoiced for these.

Sun Smart Policy

We have a ‘Sun-Smart Accreditation’, so a school sun hat, (wide brimmed) is compulsory to wear outdoors during Terms 1 and 4. No hat, No play in the sun!

We provide sunscreen for each classroom and teachers show children how to apply it correctly. It is recommended that all children apply sun screen to all exposed skin during the school day for any outdoor activities.

Swimming

Since our school pool has been heated this has made a big difference to our children’s swimming confidence and ability. We are currently having repairs done to the pool floor and so the normal pool keys are not available for the community during our swimming season.

We normally use our school pool for swimming lessons throughout the first and fourth terms of each year, weather permitting.

Children are required to have their togs every day, for the first term and the later part of the fourth term as advised in the school newsletter. In Term 4 all children have swimming coaching with CBay coaches.

The senior children travel to Temuka Domain Pool for some extended lessons. Junior children do this at Geraldine pool.

Terms of Trade

The school does not carry debt from unpaid accounts. There are optional ways to pay, including Internet banking and direct credits. The Terms of Trade points are displayed in the school office. We ask that upon enrolment the Terms of Trade conditions are signed.

Throw-Away Waste Materials

The school can make good use of many items commonly regarded as ‘junk’. Please bring in any of the following items:

Scraps of wool, material, string, coloured paper, cotton, lace, ribbon, cotton wool, felt, silver paper, newspaper, fur, furnishing fabrics
Pieces of sheets, cotton and / or woollen material
Packets of old seeds
Magazines suitable for children
Calendar pictures, advertising catalogues
Off-cuts of timber, plywood, dowelling
Plastic containers
Match boxes, cotton reels, buttons

Winchester Rural School

POHUTUKAWA

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