Parents must contact the school before 9:00am each day to advise us if a child is to be absent. The contact can be by phone, between 8:30 and 9:00am, when the office is attended, by letter to the teacher or office.
Personal contact with the teacher or the office. Contact needs to be made by the parent. Messages from a child are not appropriate.

Unconfirmed Absence:

If at 9:00am when the roll is marked a child is absent and no contact has been made by a parent or caregiver to confirm the absence, the school will then ring the home to check that the child is safe.

One call to the child’s home or a parent’s workplace will be made to check on a child’s safety. These calls will be made between 9:15 and 9:30 am. Parents are asked to ensure that their phone is free and attended between these times.

If we cannot confirm that the child’s absence is legitimate we will contact the Police and report the child as being missing.

Attendance:

Purpose:

Keeping a record of a child’s attendance is of importance as:

Children who are over six years of age must attend school unless absent for specified reasons.
Schools need to keep track of the children they are responsible for.
When truancy is suspected the Board of Trustees truancy officer is required to take appropriate action.

Guidelines:

The Board of Trustees truancy officer is the school Principal. Each class will have an attendance register that is marked, at the beginning of the school day and straight after lunch. The methodology for keeping the register is noted in the school Administration folder.

Absence falls into the following broad categories:

Permissible absence; Illness, Medical/Dental treatments, Loss of a family member or close friend.
Non-permissible absence; Shopping with parents, playing with friends, all other reasons not listed above.

Non-permissible absence constitutes truancy which the school is required to react to. Truancy is an absence that has not been explained adequately or does not fall within the scope of permissible absence.

Parents are required to advise the school as to the reason for their child’s absence.
The school may be advised by letter, phone or personal contact. If phoning, contact the office between 8:30 and 9:00 am.

If at 9:00am a child is absent and no contact has been received from the parent the school will endeavor to confirm the absence through a phone call to the home.

Calls to confirm an unreported absence will be made between 9:15 and 9:30 am.
Where the absence cannot be confirmed the police will be notified.

Teachers will advise the principal of cases of;

Prolonged unexplained absence
A recurring pattern of absence.
Children who disappear without notice during the school day.

In the case of (A) and (B) the Principal will contact the parents of the children concerned seeking explanation of the absence. In the event of (C) the Principal will immediately begin to establish what has happened to the child and take whatever steps are appropriate to ensure the child’s safety.

If no satisfactory explanation is available or the pattern of absence continues, the matter must be referred to the Board of Trustees and the North Taranaki Truancy Service will be contacted to follow-up the case.

Bus Route:

The school has a bus that parents can use to get their children to school. Check with the office for up to date information regarding the bus route. If you are not on the bus route you may be eligible for a Transport Subsidy. Please contact the office for an application form.

Cell Phones at School:

Occasionally parents may have a need to send a cell phone to school with their child. If this need arises and so as to ensure safety the following procedures will be followed;

Send us a note to let us know your child has a legitimate use of a phone. On arrival at school the phone is to be handed into the office for safe keeping.

Classroom Promotion:

Purpose:

To have in place a set of procedures for parents and staff to refer to when considering the class to class promotion of children.

To recognise that a variety of factors need to be considered in the process of promotion.

Guidelines:

Each child will be considered for promotion on the evidence of their own needs and abilities.
Factors to be taken in to consideration are;

The child's age
Current academic progress and achievement
Social Maturity
Friendships

The first formal classification for each child will be at the Year 3 stage. Decisions about promotion will occur at the end of the school year preceding the child's promotion to Year 3.

Children will not be considered for promotion to Year 3 until they have had between two and three years in the infant area of the school. The actual time spent in the infant area is therefore set by the child's birth date. For example a child born in September will be in the infant area for two years three months.

It is realized that on occasions exceptional circumstances of one kind or another may come to bear. When this occurs, promotion may need to be considered outside of the guidelines set out above.

Promotion from class to class from Year 3 onwards will occur annually and will be automatic unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If there is a need to examine a child's annual promotion the process will be done in consultation and discussion with the parents.

If parents have any issues to discuss regarding the promotion of their child to the next class they should make contact with the school. Early contact will allow time for the issues to be considered.

Conclusion: Promotion should be a process that enhances opportunities by reacting to individual children's needs and abilities.

Dental Care:

We do not have a clinic operating at Lepperton now. Children go to the Puketapu clinic or if parents wish, an alternative clinic of their choice.

Illnesses/Accidents:

At all times we expect our children to be aware of the common sense rules that apply for their safety at school, on their way to and from school, and at home. In the case of sickness, the child concerned will be made as comfortable as possible in the sickroom and the parent notified. Our aim is to send sick children home to their parents as soon as possible. Home is the best place for children who do not feel well.

Lepperton Hall:

The Lepperton Hall is to be considered as part of the school environment and will be used by our teachers for their programmes. The school would like to thank the Hall Committee for permitting us to use the hall.

Lost Property:

We encourage parents to name all articles of their child’s clothing. We have a lost property rack in the bus shelter that you are welcome to check for clothing items that your child may have lost. Unclaimed clothing is donated to a charity.

Medicine (Administering):

If your child has any special medical condition you think they school should know about, please make sure we do. Generally speaking if a child is on medication they shouldn't be at school but there are times we will administer medication at school.

If you require medicine administered for your child at school you must complete the Administering Medicine form and return it to the school. All medicine must be handed in to the school office, it must not be kept in a child’s bag.

Mobile Library NPDC:

The New Plymouth District Council Mobile Library visits the Lepperton Community fortnightly between 10am and 12pm.

Children who have their own library cards will be given access to the Library.

Newsletters:

Every Friday the school communicates with the whole community by way of School Newsletter. The newsletter has items of interest for school parents, notices for the community and examples of children's work.

By and large the most school news is to be found in the newsletter, but from time to time we send out extra notices to inform you of special items. Newsletters and the notices (paper or online) are the only means of communicating with all the families at any one time. This means that to us, and we hope to you, they are important and informative.

Parent Helpers:

Parents help in a variety of ways at the school. We have; library helpers, transport helpers, resource makers and in-class helpers.

Early each term classroom teachers contact the parents of the children they teach and ask if anyone is interested in helping with classroom activities. This help might take the form of; helping a group of children, helping an individual child, preparing resources, missing paint and so on ...

Reporting to Parents:

We formally report two times per year to parents although parents are encouraged to call and discuss progress at anytime if a need becomes apparent. Remember, we like to hear about successes as well as the difficulties. Each report aims to give parents a clear picture of the child's current progress and achievement. Interviews are in Term 1 and Term 2.

A Written report is issued for each child at the end of Term 2 and end of the year.

School Fees:

The school BOT uses the school fees to support projects in the classroom and grounds. The BOT is very appreciative of the assistance given in the form of school fees. Fees are set at $70-00 for the first child and $40.00 for each additional child. The school fees are sent out in the first term and prompt payment would be appreciated. Families who start at the school during the year are asked to pay a proportional fee.

School Hours:

Morning 9.00am till 12.30pm

Interval 10.30 till 10.50

Afternoon 1.25pm till 3.00pm

Office Hours:

8.30am till 3.00pm

Please ensure that your children arrive at school with enough time to get their equipment into the classrooms and to undertake any tasks they need to complete before the bell rings at 9:00.

Fax (06) 75 20733

School Rules:

At Lepperton we expect the children display high standards of behaviour at all times. Behaviour and intrapersonal interaction will be tested against the school's ethic "Caring and Sharing".

What this means is being constantly modelled for the children in all our classrooms. Inappropriate behaviour that is beyond a minor indiscretion will be reported to parents by phone. We have a small set of very important rules that all children must obey.

Children will not leave the school grounds for any reason without permission from a teacher.
If you require your child to go to the shop you must give them a note that is to be handed to a teacher
Parents of children who disobey this rule will receive a letter to let them know what has happened.
In the adventure playground children must not; run around, push, touch or interfere with others when they are using a piece of the equipment.
Children are not permitted to go into the bush area at the end of the field.

Swimming Pool:

Swimming is an important part of the Fitness/Health and Physical Education programme and during the summer months children are asked to bring their togs every day. On those days when the weather is doubtful could they please bring their togs as conditions often improve during the day. If there is any reason why children should not take part please inform us either by phone or a note stating the reason.

The school operates a key system for out-of-school usage. Anyone who requires a key please contact the school office for details of the scheme.

Sun Safe:

Lepperton is a sun smart school. During the summer months of daylight savings our Suncare policy is in force. To keep our children safe in the sun we;

Require children to wear a hat whilst playing outside during morning interval and lunchtime or if undertaking any outside activity after 10.30am in the school day. Any child who has not got a hat on will be required to play in a shaded area. It is recommended that hats either have full brim or flaps shading the neck and ears.

We ask parents to provide children with a named tube of sunscreen for them to apply as added protection during breaks or outdoor activity. We recommend purchasing the roll on sunscreen.