General School Procedures

SCHOOL INFORMATION:

Ayr State Primary School - Mr Bryan Dudley - Phone (07) 47 903 333

 Fax (07) 47 903300

Arrival / Departure from School:

Children should not arrive later than 8.45am. Parents are requested to collect their children once school has been dismissed. PLEASE PARK IN THE DESIGNATED AREAS. No child should be at school before 8.15am and on arrival should sit in the Covered Play Area until 8.30am. This is important as the Groundsman sometimes uses this time to mow the grounds. Parents parking on the opposite side of the road should meet their children on the school side and cross the road with their children for the first few times.

Supervision:

Attendance:

Children are required to attend school regularly. If ABSENT, Parents should forward a written explanation to the Child's Teacher. If absent for extended periods and the child is able to work, please see your child's Class Teacher. The school is required to monitor student absenteeism very closely and act promptly when absences are unexplained. In these cases a letter is sent to the parents requesting an explanation. Even if absences are explained, but the school considers these are becoming detrimental to the education of the child, they may take further action by referring these to other agencies (e.g. Police and Child Safety).

Transfers:

When a Parent wishes to transfer a child to another School, they should forward a note to the school OR contact the office. Requests for these need to be written and a form is available at the office. The transfer will be written out for the child on the last day at this school. All school books and materials must be returned to the school. Children should collect all their own books, materials and Report Cards.

INTERVIEWS AND CONFERENCES:

Parents wishing to have an interview with the Principal or a teacher concerning a child's progress should first arrange by letter or phone, a suitable time for the Principal or teacher to discuss the progress. We encourage parents to be interested in their children's progress and welcome discussions with parents. All matters of serious concern should be directed through the Principal.

REPORTING:

Report Cards will be issued to all children at the end of each Semester. Letters inviting parents to discuss these will be issued with the reports. I encourage parents to discuss these with the teachers at this time and at any other time that the parents feels the child may have a problem.

HOMEWORK:

Each class operates with a Homework grid in 2006.  The Homework Grid  offers a broad range of after school activities and a combination of compulsory and optional activities.  It can be for 1 or 2 week's duration.

This is based on a concept developed by St Augustine's Parish School in Adelaide. It is intended to provide children and parents with an opportunity for children to do their share of work in the home including housework, shopping, physical activity such as sport training and family outings such as walking. It also covers areas such as reading, being read to, playing a game with parents, research on the computer, music practice and any others.

 Children in Grade 1 may have a small amount of work to do. Please ensure that children do this work by viewing written work and hearing oral work. Homework is usually designed to give extra assistance to your child and if completed well will be of great assistance to your child. If your child is unable to do the homework for some reason, please forward a note to the teacher to this effect. Homework is a very important part of every student's education. It is a time when the child can consolidate the day's work and revise the knowledge gained; as well as develop positive study habits for the future. 

LEAVING THE SCHOOL GROUNDS:

Leaving the school grounds at any time during the day is not permitted, unless a parent is coming to collect their child for appointments such as medical or dental.  All parents should present themselves to the office and sign the appropriate documentation. encouraged.

These rules are made for SAFETY REASONS as well as SUPERVISORY REASONS and your co-operation is vitally essential.

VALUABLES / FORBIDDEN ARTICLES AT SCHOOL:

We discourage children bringing valuables or more money to school than necessary. All valuables and money should be given to the class teacher to 'mind' ... this should avoid money being 'lost' from ports. It is suggested to parents that girls with pierced ears should wear stud earrings .... others can often prove dangerous. Other jewellery should not be worn at any time at school.

Mobile phones, I Pods, Water pistols, matches, pocket knives, chewing gum or any other object teachers deem dangerous, will not be allowed at school. It is not school policy to allow children to bring expensive or elaborate toys to school as these may get lost, stolen or damaged. All sporting equipment, balls, bats etc. should be clearly named before it is brought to school.

LOST PROPERTY:

Lost property is collected and every endeavour is made to return goods to their owners. This is simple when articles are NAMED, but consuming and often ineffective when articles are not.

When enquires are forthcoming, parents should first of all, check the lost property area outside the tuckshop, secondly inquire at the classroom and finally at the Office.

Parents are asked to ensure that all articles of clothing and all books are clearly marked with the student's name.

LIBRARY:

Mrs Menkens is the Teacher Librarian. The school has a Library of Books from which all children are expected and will be encouraged to borrow books. Library Books are to be carried to and from school in a plastic or cloth bag which each child is to provide. No Library Book should be kept longer than 5 days. If a child looses a Library Book the parent is asked to replace it with a copy of the same book or one of equal value.

Children are also encouraged to make use of the Burdekin Library and at various times in the year classes visit this Library or the Librarians visit the School. We ask parents to encourage their children to become members of the Library.

TELEPHONE CALLS:

Parents are asked to restrict telephone calls to teachers.......

before 9:00am
during lunch hours
3:00pm - 3:15pm

Messages to teachers may be passed on by the Principal, Administrative Assistants or Teachers Aides. We ask your co-operation in this matter so as teachers are not interrupted during teaching periods, unless the matter is considered URGENT. Phone calls cannot be passed through to classrooms as the telephone and intercom system are two separate systems.

Vehicles in School Grounds

Our Policy is that NO VEHICLES should be parked in the school grounds and vehicles should only enter upon receiving permission from the Principal.

MEDICATION TO STUDENTS:

Education Department Policy with regards to teachers giving medication at school are:-

	Where a teacher is to administer long term medication, the instructions should be written by the pharmacist at a doctor’s direction. The teacher should not accept the instruction solely of a parent. The medication container needs to indicate specific times at which medication is to be administered, as well as the quantity.
	Oral Medication:	(a)	Teachers may give oral medication, provided it is given strictly in accordance with instructions by the student’s medical practitioner and is requested by the parents in WRITING
		(b)	Non prescribed oral medication eg analgesics, should not be given by teachers.

We prefer all requests of this nature to come through the office.

SCHOOL HEALTH:

1.	The children’s personal cleanliness is essential.
2.	List of Exclusion times for the following illnesses:-
		Chicken Pox	-	6 days from onset / or Doctor’s Certificate
		Mumps	-	14 days from onset / or Doctor’s Certificate
		Measles	-	7 days from onset / or Doctor’s Certificate
		Scabies	-	Until all evidence had disappeared
		Head Lice	-	Until head is cleared / treated
		School Sores / Ring Worm	-	Must be covered with bandage or ointment

PLEASE - Refrain from sending obviously unwell children to school, as we have no real facilities to care for them !

School Policies

ACCIDENTS:

Minor accidents are treated at the school. Where the accident requires Professional attention, the school first attempts to contact the parents and secondly the Ambulance is called to convey the injured child to your doctor (as indicated on the Family Record Sheet you complete on enrolling your child) OR to the Hospital. For this reason it is IMPORTANT to keep the school informed or any changes to this information. Changes to such information should be forwarded through the office NOT the class teacher. If parents can be contacted then they have the option of conveying children to the doctor, if parents cannot be contacted then the Ambulance will be contacted immediately and the parents will be informed as soon as possible.

RETENTIONS:

It is the policy of this school not to have a child repeat a year, except for the following reasons:-

The child has missed a lot of schooling the previous year and this clearly affected the child’s progress.

A child is immature for the year level at which he or she is working and progress at this level is not satisfactory.

Retentions are always done in full consultation with parents. Discussions will outline the recommendations of the school. At times it may be possible to stagger the progress of some students so as 3 years are taken to cover 2 year levels. Parents who have concerns are welcome to discuss the possible actions which may be able to be taken with the Principal, Learning Support Teacher and Class Teacher.

HEAD LICE:

The incidence of Head Lice is most noticeable in schools where large numbers of children mix freely. Where evidence of Head Lice OR Eggs are noticed, and teachers are instructed to periodically take notice of this, a letter is sent home explaining the necessary treatment. If in the school’s opinion satisfactory treatment has not been carried out, the child will have to be excluded from the school until treatment is forthcoming.

	This matter is a parent responsibility and providing every parent accepts this responsibility, Head Lice will not be a problem.
	It should be remembered that catching Head Lice is not an embarrassment, the lack of forthcoming treatment can cause embarrassment to the child.

Private Transport Policy:

Introduction:

On numerous occasions our school asks parents to provide private transport for children attending various school activities.

The following is provided for the information of all concerned:-

1. The vehicle must be registered so as Compulsory Third Party Insurance is available.

2. Our school prefers vehicles to be COMPREHENSIVELY INSURED as claims for damages, in cases of accidents, is not necessarily paid by the school or the department. Compensation for such damages are at the discretion of the Director General of Education.

3. Passengers are correctly seated and restrained. It is preferred that, if at all possible, the back seat of the vehicle is filled in the first instance. VEHICLES MUST NOT carry more than the vehicle is registered to carry.

4. The driver must hold a CURRENT DRIVER'S LICENCE for the vehicle being driven.

5. In cases where the school considers the vehicle to be unsafe or the driver to be unreliable, the vehicle should not be used.

6. Parents should give their written permission for their children to be transported by private vehicle.

Conclusion:
At all times the school attempts to ensure that children are transported safely to various venues where school activities are being held.

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If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail us at the.principal@ayrss.eq.edu.au