Parents Information Booklet

A Brief History

Te Puna is a long established rural school, with strong connections to local families that originally settled here. It was at a place called Hakao that the first Te Puna School was built (the OLD Tauranga-Waihi Main Road). The school was opened by Miss MJ Johnston on the 10th February 1896 at 9.30am. Between 1896 and 1898 the school roll swelled to 45!

In 1903 the current site was donated by Roha Borell and in 1904, with flags flying and the school bell ringing the old school was placed on skids and drawn by Clydesdale horses to the present site. The school has always tried to maintain its rural flavour and strong connection to the Pirirakau people of Te Puna.

Te Puna School Mission Statement

Together We Learn

Together We Care

Ma te Kotahitanga Ka Ako

Mate Kotahitanga Ka Mannaaki

We Provide:

Professional staff committed to quality education
Happy learning environments
A caring and nurturing family atmosphere
A range of programmes and activities to support individual needs and interests
Comprehensive literacy and numeracy programmes
Regular information to parents on student achievement
SKIDS After School Care
Up to date resources and technology
Positive programmes to maximise student engagement
Maori Class instruction opportunities
Personalised learning programmes in years 5-8
Strong Cluster Sporting and Cultural opportunities
Integration of 21st Century thinking and learning tools into daily
Comprehensive Special Needs and abilities programme

We believe:

A variety of teaching methods cater for diverse learning styles, multiple intelligences and meet individual needs.
A quality learning community is fostered with teachers who role model lifelong learning and who are knowledgeable, professional and prepared.
Students, parents and teachers work as a team to encourage and develop student responsibility for learning and behaviour.
Learning is fostered in a respectful, positive low stress and stimulating environment.
Success is celebrated in a safe, risk taking environment where learning is fud and includes acknowledgement and celebration.
High expectations and coaching promote achievement.
All is a firm, fair and well-managed environment

We Value:

I Care for Myself, I Care for Others

I Care for Property, I Care for Environment

Through the “I Care Code” we will develop values such as:

Self confidence-believing in yourself
Persistence and perseverance - try hard and keep trying
Creativity/Adaptability - lateral thinking
Resilience- coping positively with modern day life.

Accidents and Illnesses

Please make sure your child's emergency contact details are up to date in the event they need to be contacted. Edit Emergency Contact Details
Minor illnesses or accidents will be treated at school.
More serious illnesses or accidents will be reported to parents/caregivers immediately and parents/caregivers requested to collect their child from school.
No child should be sent home without first locating the parent/ caregivers
Parents/caregivers will immediately be notified of any head injuries in case of later developments.
Asthmatics need to have their inhaler at school.
Serious allergy medication requirements need to be handed into the office with appropriate paperwork.

After School Care

SKIDS This programme caters for parent/caregivers who are unable to be with their children after school. Children can stay in the school grounds, cared by trained facilitator who will feed them, supervise and provide recreational and educational activities until they are picked up by their caregivers. To register go to Home | www.skids.co.nz

Animals

Approval must be sort from the class teacher and team leader before bringing a pet to the classroom.

Assemblies

Regular assemblies are held to share work, commend good work/behaviour, engage in communal activities (eg. singing, shared reading) and so on.
Assembly times will be advised in the school newsletter.

Attendance/Absences

Absences

An explanation is required from a parent/caregiver whenever their child is absent from school. Please report the absence before 9am either by:
Skool Loop App available for iphone & Android Skool Loop
Te Puna School Website Te Puna School - Attendance Info
Leave a absentee message on School phone School 552 5715 - select 1 for absentee

Late or Departing Early

If your child arrives after 9am they need to sign in on the VisTab program on the ipad in the school office.
If you need to take your child out of school during the school day for illness or appointments you are required to sign your child out at the office.

Bell Times

Bell times are:

9:00am - start of school

11:00am - beginning of interval

11:30am - end of interval

1:00pm - beginning of lunch break

1:45pm - end of lunch break

3.00pm - end of school / first bus pupils depart

Bicycles

Our school strongly recommends that children below Yr 5 level should not ride bicycles to school. Research shows that younger children cannot judge speed / distance etc.
It is law that anyone riding a bicycle must wear a safety approved helmet.
Cycle stands are provided in the school grounds for storage of bicycles during normal school hours. Children do not go near bikes during school hours; they walk their bikes in the school grounds.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees meets in the school meeting room in weeks 3 and 8 of each term each month at 6pm. Upcoming meetings are advertised in the school newsletter. Parents/caregivers are invited to attend the Board meetings.
To see a list of the current Board of Trustess visit Te Puna School - Board of Trustees

Bullying - Anti Bullying

www.bullyingfree.nz is our key resource in defining and dealing with incidents of bullying.
All reports of bullying will be taken seriously and investigated by the staff member reported to.
Bullies, and key bystanders will be dealt with via the behaviour management procedures Click here to view the Behaviour Management Guideline.

Whether bullying is physical, verbal, or social (relational), four widely-accepted factors can be used to identify it:

Bullying is deliberate - harming another person intentionally
Bullying involves a misuse of power in a relationship
Bullying is usually not a one-off - it is repeated or has the potential to be repeated over time
Bullying involves behaviour that can cause harm - it is not a normal part of growing up.

Bullying can happen anywhere, in person or online (cyberbullying), at any time, and can be verbal, physical or social (relational). It can be obvious or hidden.
Kids who bully use their power — such as physical strength, knowing something embarrassing, or popularity — to control or harm others. Bullying is when one student (or a group of students) keeps picking on another student, again and again, to make them feel bad. They say or do things to upset them, make fun of them, stop them from joining in or keep hitting or punching them

Our continuing primary focus at Te Puna School is:

a) Understanding the difference between anti-social encounters and bullying (-clarifying the definition),

b) the importance of reporting -telling an adult as soon as possible (-so that preventative action can be taken) ,

c) that ‘telling’ is NOT the same as narking

d) By-standing is never OK. (You have a responsibility to tell an adult if ever you think another student is being bullied)

To deal with anti-social encounters that we all come across occasionally, we teach the strategy of using our WITS. WITS can be used as stand alone strategies

Walk away
Ignore
Tell an adult
Say an ‘I’ statement (eg. I don’t like being called that name)

1. Parents/caregivers will be provided with a school statement on bullying.

2. A record of inappropriate behaviours and how they were dealt with will be kept, analysed and used as a basis for implementing programmes to curb bullying behaviours.

3. Behaviour Management procedures will be followed for dealing with bullying.

4. Those offenders who fail to improve their behaviour will be dealt with under the stand downs and suspensions guidelines

5. Preventative programmes such as DARE, Kia Kaha and Keeping Ourselves Safe will be used as appropriate.

Bookclub

Scholastic books enables us to run a Book Club at School and flyers are sent home twice a term enabling you to select and order books, charts etc. through the school. Please make all cheques payable to ‘Scholastic NZ Ltd’ and not the school. Ordering books is optional but the School gains points that can be spent on valuable resources. Orders generally take a week to be processed once they have been sent in.

Buses

The school bus is provided to transport students within the Te Puna School Entitlement Zone. Bus users should be aware of the user guidelines attached here.
All matters related to our school bus run can be directed to Kylie Chambers. kyliec@tepuna.school.nz
The bus arrives at school at approximately 8.45am and departs from school at 3.00pm
Children line up on the concrete under the shade cloth in the eating area and are gathered in and checked by the duty teacher.
On wet days children assemble under the deck area of the library.
Children are supervised onto the bus which parks in the bus turning bay.
We get a number of calls each day about changes to plans regarding transport. Eg “Please tell XXX not to get on the bus” or “Can XXX please get on the bus with XXX” Please make notifications by midday. The end of the day can be hectic with incoming calls and requests for admin to pass on messages. Often very close to the bell time. This, in turn, is meaning classes are being interrupted with calls and notices.
Remind younger students in the morning about what is happening at the end of the day. One good idea that has worked in the past is that if a student has a tag on their school bag- or a ribbon or some such item, that means that they go on the bus. This takes some of the guesswork out of it for the bus teacher.

Communication

Emailing staff is an efficient way to communicate. Teachers are encouraged to check emails at school several times a day. They are discouraged from checking in the evenings and at the weekends, so please be understanding that emails sent out of hours may not be responded to straight away.
Please only email non-urgent information, for example, “Jimmy is not to go on the bus today” is best communicated by phone! A staff list of emails is linked. Once at the page click on the envelop symbol with the teachers name to create an email.
Newsletters are emailed out weekly and available via Skool Loop & the News & Events page of the website.

Complaints / Concerns

Please click the link to the school procedure on Complaints & Concerns

Computers / Internet

All users must have permission forms on file. It is important that internet use is monitored, therefore no children should be on internet sites without a teacher present in the room. (link to cyber safety)

Community Use of School Facilities

School objectives recognise the position of the school as a part of the community.
Local organisations are welcome to use school facilities provided that their uses fit within school programmes and BOT policies.
Bookings are made through the school office.

Cultural Activities

Year 4-8 children have the opportunity to join the school choir, kapa haka group and train as librarians.

Discipline

Use of Force (Corporal punishment) is not permitted. Alternative, more positive, punishments will be employed.
The school has a Behaviour Management guideline which must be followed. Click here to view the Behaviour Management Guideline.
There are limitations around the use of physical restraint in schools. Act Check here: Guidelines Here Delegated Authority to restrain here.
Seclusion of students is prohibited. See Link:
Complaints related to any of the above will be lodged using the standard school complaints procedure

Donations & Fees

We opted into the government’s new optional ‘donations’ funding SCHOOL DONATIONS for families model whereby we stop requesting parent donations in favour of a one off donation from the Ministry of Education. This means that we have not requested a parent donation from you this year (- although you are most welcome to make a voluntary one at any stage!)
We are still going to be asking families to pay sports registration fees for the extra curricular sports you elect to register your child for. These fees are collected by us and passed on to the sporting associations. Camp fees are another cost that we ask families to cover.

All payments can be managed through the ‘school shop’ by clicking on the link

Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)

The school has an EOTC curriculum plan (click here) which documents the specific requirements for EOTC.
Teachers are encouraged to take their classes outside the school for educational experiences. Before leaving the school on day trips teachers must:

leave written instruction in the Office to field enquiries.
organise replacements for your duties.
seek permission from the principal
have completed Risk Analysis and Management requirements
have organised a 1:7 adult:pupil ratio (1:3 if the activity involves water)
take the school first aid kit and medications required
every child travelling in a car should have a seat belt and be in a registered, warranted vehicle.
drivers have current license

School camps and other overnight experiences are both exciting and rewarding. Teachers are encouraged to provide their classes with these experiences. Before taking classes on overnight experiences teachers must:
apply to the Board of Trustees for permission for the trip by providing a tentative programme, Risk Analysis and Management sheet and tentative budget at least 6 weeks prior to the trip.

Emergency drills

Regular emergency drills are carried out. Practise evacuations each term. Children should be well versed in emergency procedures.

Food and Nutrition

The school will send consistent messages about healthy eating.
Healthy eating programmes will be taught throughout all levels of the school
High standards of hygiene will be maintained at all times when handling food.
School fundraisers involving food will follow healthy eating guidelines
Planning menus for school trips and camps will incorporate healthy and nutritional food choices, limiting treat foods to small portions and frequency.
Food is not to be used as a regular reward for children.
A water only rule will be enforced
Children encouraged to drink water throughout the day

Health Nurse

The school health nurse is available through the Tauranga District Health Board. If you have any concerns about their child’s health you can be referred to the Health nurse through the school. Ask your teacher to fill out a referral form. The health nurse can be contacted on 0800 935 554

Home Learning

Home learning is valued and encouraged. It encourages purposeful communication and fosters positive home-school partnership. The format and content varies from syndicate to syndicate. We also recognise that extra curricular activities

Internet Access Procedures

All staff and children are expected to sign an ‘Internet Safety Agreement’ before using this facility. Link - link not active on original site.

Interviews

Parents will be invited to attend meetings with teachers throughout the year. A link to an interview booking portal will be provided in the newsletters prior to the date.

Lost Property

Children (and parents) are advised to name all possessions. Unclaimed property is stored in the Lost Property racks located at the library. Regular inspections of lost property are held each term.

Maintenance

Carried out by the caretaker – please make all requests for caretaking tasks through the principal please.

Money and Valuables at School

Children advised not to bring money or items of value to school.
No responsibility for lost money or valuables taken by school unless money has been handed to a teacher (preferably wrapped and labelled with name and amount) for safekeeping.
Children regularly hand in found money. It is held for a few weeks then returned to the pupil finder at school assembly.
Staff are advised that valuables such as purses, pupil’s money, etc. must be locked away. Our insurance policy does not cover valuables left unsecured. We have a very honest pupil group but please don’t tempt fate.

Music Tuition

Michael Homersham is now taking new tuition enrolments for guitar keyboard, bass and ukulele. Tuition is at school during school hours on a user pay basis.

Please contact Michael Homersham 027 756 6166 or mkhomersham@hotmail.com for more details.

Nomenclatures

Pupils are officially referred to as Year 1 – Year 8 based on the time they have spent at school.
Children who start school after July 1 in any year begin as Year 0, others begin as Year 1, nomenclatures increase by 1 each school year thereafter.

Parking/Road Safety/Road Patrol

When visiting the school please park either on the roadside or down by the hall car park. Refrain from parking in the car park outside the office as this is used for staff and the school bus.
We have a crossing point which children and parents are to use when crossing the road. Please show courtesy to our children on road patrol.
Our concern is your child’s safety and we ask you to actively support road safety rules.

Parent Help

Parent help is welcomed and encouraged both on trips and in the classroom.

P.T.A.

The school has an active P.T.A. who carry out a range of support functions for the school, mostly fundraising. Contact via email pta@tepuna.school.nz

School Shop

The school shop, an online payment method, can be found on the school’s web page and used on your computer, iPad, or cellphone 24/7. You can purchase a variety of items including, uniforms, sports, trips and camp fees. You will be able to see at a glance what you have paid for and print receipts.
Go to the school web page www.tepuna.school.nz or go online to myKindo.co.nz Click on the register button, and fill in your family details to create an account. You will then be able to pay for all your child’s needs. School Shop Help Video
You can top up your account anytime so you have funds to use when you need them in the future. There are 3 ways you can do this:

Bank Transfer, Account to Account and using your debit or credit card.

Smoking

Smoking is not permitted on the school grounds.

Special Needs

From time to time pupils will need additional programmes to help address specific learning needs. These will be discussed with syndicate leaders and Senco.

Stationery

At the end of the school year information and links will be provided on the website and via the newsletter and Facebook pages about how to purchase stationery packs online for the start of the following year. Packs must be purchase by mid January and packs will be delivered in bulk in time for the start of the school year.

Sports

A variety of sports are organised through school. View the website page for all sport registrations and details Te Puna School - Sports

Sunsafe

Sunscreen to be applied before going out in the sun.
Sunscreen pump packs to be available.

Hats

Sunhats can be purchased from the school office or paid for via the School Shop. myKindo.co.nz
All children will wear a full brimmed sun hat during all outdoor activities during Term 4 and in Term 1. Teachers will act as role models by wearing full brimmed sun hats outside. Visitors participating in outdoor sporting events are to be encouraged to wear hats.
Students will sit under the sunshade if not wearing their sun hat, during Term 4 and Term 1.

Swimming

All children are expected to take part in school swimming and require a note if they are unable to swim for health reasons.

Telephone

Mobile phones - students hand phones in to the office for safekeeping during the school day.

Uniforms

Jewellery is limited to stud earrings and watches. Items of cultural or family significance can be worn after provision of a note detailing their importance has been received.
Year 7 & 8 only are expected to wear the school T-shirt and black or dark shorts/skirt/trousers and polar fleece. Available from the school office or via the online school shop myKindo.co.nz
T-shirts are also expected to be worn for sports events.