FAQ

Absences – Late to school – Leaving early

Your child’s health, safety and whereabouts are of critical significance to the school. All absences or lateness should be explained by a telephone call (455 8199) to the school office before 9.00am, or a note on Hero.  An automated phone service is available outside of school hours to enable absences to be recorded at any time.  If you are planning to take your child out of school for any reason other than illness (for example family holiday), you are required to write to/email the principal for permission (section 29 of the Education Act 1989).  St Clair School actively monitors attendance, and makes contact with the families or caregivers of children each term who have lower than 80% attendance, or a significant pattern of late starts. 

If your child is not in class by 8.55am, they must come into the office to sign in on our VisTab.  

If you need to pick your child up before 3.00pm you need to go to the school office to sign your child out via the VisTab.  The office team will send for your child to meet you in the office.  

Bikes / scooters / skateboards

Children may ride bicycles, skateboards or scooters to school. Parents/caregivers should ensure their child is able to ride safely and observe road rules. Safety helmets must be worn when riding a bike and are recommended for scooters and skateboards. Police road safety research indicates that children under the age of 10 require close supervision when biking on public roads.  All bikes and scooters must be placed in the racks provided.  Bikes, skateboards and scooters must be walked to-and-from the school gates, and walked across roads, including the pedestrian crossing. Wheels may be used in school break times, providing children are on their equipment only and are wearing appropriate safety gear, including helmets.

Bullying and Inappropriate Social Behaviour 

St Clair School has a very proactive approach to bullying.  If you believe your child is the victim of any kind of bullying, it is essential that you contact the school and talk to a teacher, the Deputy Principal or the Principal as soon as possible.  Prompt contact with the school is your best course of action.

Cellular / Mobile Phones 

Students may not bring cellular devices to school, or use them during the school day. Communication in an emergency is fast and efficient via the office.  Phones and other internet capable devices are expected to be handed in to the school office for safe keeping.  No responsibility will be taken by the school for any damage or safety of student’s personal devices or phones.

Class trips 

Classes are encouraged to move out of the traditional classroom environment whenever an appropriate opportunity arises. Visits are made to places of interest in our immediate locality. Parents are often asked to assist with student supervision.  Assisting with trips is an excellent way for parents to get to know classmates, other parents and teachers.

Clothing 

When children are undertaking a physical activity, such as physical education and the year 1 and 2 Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP), they should wear clothing that allows freedom of movement.   Please ensure your child’s clothing is clearly named.  We put lost clothing in a box just inside the main Te Manawanui doors, and keep lost clothing for one term before disposing of it.

Concerns and Complaints

The school has a formal complaints policy and procedure.  This is available on our schooldocs website.   (Username and password: “stclair”)

Contacting the School

The school makes use of an answer phone to help manage high volume call periods. You can be assured messages are checked regularly and calls are returned promptly.

Absences can be reported 24 hours a day by calling (03) 455 8199 following the automated prompts.  Alternatively, absences can be emailed to the office, or noted via the Hero app.

Email is used extensively by school staff. The addresses use a common format – based on the staff member’s name, first initial and surname (e.g. ateacher@stclair.school.nz).

All staff endeavour to answer email within 24 hours.  Please do not use email for urgent information as most staff are not able to check their emails during work hours.

Urgent matters should be communicated via the office by telephone – (03) 455 8199

Cybersafety

We value the information we can access via the internet, and acknowledge that it can present some additional risks to children.  All students are required to complete a cybersafety agreement once they access the internet (from year 3).  Breaches of this agreement will result in parental contact, and often a stand-down period from using school devices.  We use Netsafe at school, to support the protections N4L have in place in our school.  Families are asked to pay $10 towards the cost of this protection as part of the school’s donation scheme.  Students are NOT required to bring their own devices to school, we provide all the technology your child will require during school time.

Health Nurse 

Our school has regular visits from a Public Health Nurse who, in addition to her input into regular education programmes, is available to advise or assist with family health concerns. If you would like to see the Health Nurse, please contact the school office to make an appointment.  Alternatively, the Health Nurse service can be contacted directly on (03) 476 9800.

Home-learning (a.k.a homework)

The school recognises that many children have after school activities.  We also acknowledge that there is little research in New Zealand to show that home learning has any positive impact on student achievement with the exception of regular reading and learning ‘rote recall’ information (eg math facts). Our home-learning expectations take this into account and we ask that all children spend some time reading at home every day to continue their learning and develop a love of reading.  You may wish to support your child with other learning, including basic facts for maths, but there is no requirement to do so from school.  Please make contact with your child’s teacher if you would like ideas on ways to support their learning at home, or utilise the parent portal that is provided by the Ministry of Education.

Hours

School officially commences at 8.55am, although children are able to come into school from 8.30am. Morning break is from 10.40am to 11.00am, and the lunch break is from 12.30 to 1.30pm. School finishes at 3pm, with school supervision finishing at 3.15pm.

Being on time, and attending school every day, have a clear correlation with achievement and success at school.  The Board’s attendance policy is available on our schooldocs website.

Injuries/Emergencies 

It is important that the school has accurate emergency contact telephone numbers for your child.  An additional contact (such as a grandparent or friend) is also valued in case parents cannot be contacted. If you change your address, phone number(s) or workplace, please notify the school office (455 8199).

In the event of a serious accident, every effort will be made to contact families as soon as possible. In the case of a serious injury, an ambulance will be called.  All costs associated with accident treatment are covered by ACC.  Parents are notified of any head injury as a standard precaution.

Illness While At School 

Should a child’s health be of concern during the school day, parents/caregivers will be contacted and asked to pick up their child from school. The medical room is only equipped to provide temporary accommodation.  Sick children are happiest and safest when cared for by their own family.

Jewellery 

For safety and security reasons, jewellery that might cause injury (self or to others) should not be worn at school. We ask that all precious personal possessions are kept at home.

Lost Property 

It is immensely helpful if all children’s clothing and property is named or has a contact phone number.  Lost property is kept in a lost property box outside the main doors to Te Manawanui.  Parents are encouraged to check the clothing box regularly to collect lost items.  All unclaimed property is disposed of at the end of each term.

Mihi Whakatau

Each term we start with a mihi whakatau at 9.00am to welcome new members of our school and their families.  Please go to this link, ask at the office or ask your child’s class teacher for more information.

Money at School 

Children should only bring money to school when required (e.g. lunch orders, book orders, donations etc).  All money sent to school should be in a sealed envelope clearly stating: child’s name, room number, and what the money is for. If possible, please send the correct change.  

EFTPOS is available at the office. We accept paywave and credit cards for payment.

Parent/Caregiver Engagement and Communication

We value an open and positive relationship with parents, caregivers and whānau. Parents/caregivers are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher to discuss progress or concerns at any time.  Discussion with a member of the leadership team or the principal is also welcome.  

Team newsletters are sent home electronically once a term.  These newsletters aim to keep families informed of school events and happenings.

Parent/Caregiver Involvement

Many activities require parent involvement both inside and outside the classroom. These include: New Entrant visits, visiting as an expert or resource person, helping with student supervision on class trips, assisting with swimming, beach education or sports programme, active involvement as a camp parent, or helping with fund-raising activities.

Please speak to your child’s teacher to find out more.

Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

Our PTA is an active group and welcomes new members.  Help with projects like the fairs, art auctions, BBQs and discos is always welcome.  See the section on this website for PTA contact details, or email them at: pta@stclair.school.nz

Pedestrian Crossing and Safe Parking

Parents/caregivers crossing Richardson St are asked to use the pedestrian crossing at all times. Drivers must NOT double-park, stop or park cars on the broken yellow lines near the school entrances on either Albert St or Richardson St. This creates a safety hazard for children.

Pohewa

Pohewa (our integrated curriculum), is a pedagogical tool to enhance life-long learning for our ākonga at St Clair School.  Search on our website for more explicit information on Pohewa at St Clair School.

Police Vetting

As a school we are very proactive about keeping our children safe.  At the same time we acknowledge and welcome parent support for many activities.  We ask that all parents who would like to help with swimming (especially changing younger children) or who wish to attend a school camp or other off-site activity complete a police vet.  Please see the school office for details around what is required with this vetting process.  You will need to provide a photographic ID and one other form of identification to complete a police vet.  You will also be asked to confirm that you do not have any overseas convictions.

Policy and Procedures

The school has a number of key policies that ensure Board governance is effective and complies with education regulation. These policies are available on our schooldocs website (username and password both ‘stclair’).  Copyright: Except where stated, the content on this site is the copyright of SchoolDocs Ltd. It may not be reproduced without written permission from SchoolDocs Ltd.

Reporting Processes

There are several formal opportunities for parent/whānau/caregiver/teacher discussion and reporting:

February – ‘Meet the Teacher’ event – an informal opportunity to meet your child’s class teacher, on the day before our official start for the year, between 10.00am-2.00pm. 

March/April – Goal setting, parent-teacher conferences. These provide an opportunity for parents/caregivers/whānau to talk with teachers about their child’s learning and specific goals for the year ahead.  Children are welcome to attend these goal setting meetings.

Children receive full written reports in the middle and end of the year, via Hero, to share their academic progress, and learning achievements.  We offer parent/whānau-teacher conferences, that children are welcome to attend, in the week that we release the reports to you in July.

December – Follow-up interviews are available upon request.

Five year old New Entrants receive a written report after 20 weeks at school, sharing academic achievement and progress after their first two terms of school.  Parents are welcome to arrange a meeting with their child’s teacher to discuss learning after this report is shared.

Our School Management System (SMS), Hero enables real time feedback to parents and caregivers on student achievement.  This is updated regularly throughout the year and can be downloaded at any point in time as a written report as required.

Scholastic Book Club 

Order forms for Scholastic Book Club products are generally issued to children twice a term.  Money and order forms should be handed into the office.

School Camps (year 6, and year 5 noho marae) 

St Clair School has a long tradition of memorable Year 6 camps.  During the camp, children enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities and four days of communal living. The camp contribution is requested early in the year.   

Year 5 students attend a noho marae at Ōtākou Marae, and overnight stay, which includes a pohwiri welcome.  We welcome parent helpers to support this learning.  

Progress payments can be arranged through the office for both camps. EFTPOS is also available. 

School Donation 

At St Clair School we try very hard to keep costs to a minimum for families.  The school donation is currently set at $110 per year for the first child in a family, and $220 for two or more children. Payment of this donation is voluntary and is issued at the start of the school year.  We ask for this pro rata for students who enroll through the year.

This donation is used to cover the costs of performances that are provided to children through the year, and activities that are offered.  This is done instead of requesting payments through the year for these events.

In addition to this there is a camp contribution for year 6 children attending the annual camp.  This is usually around $220 and is set at the end of the previous year by the school Board.  This contribution covers the cost of transport, accommodation, and food costs.

We also request a donation to contribute towards the costs of the year 5 noho marae at Ōtākou.  In 2026 this has been set at $85.

We also set a swimming donation to cover the 10 lessons children are provided with each year. This is $40 per child.

Please have a look at this link to the Ministry of Education’s website explaining in full detail what schools can lawfully charge for, and what must be called a donation.  At the end of each year the school board reviews the donations, and sets them for the following year.

We offer many sporting opportunities for children outside of school hours.  Participation in these teams is reliant on payment of the fee by a set date.  This is a fee, not a donation, as it is not part of the required school curriculum, so must be paid in order for your child to participate.

Special Education and Learning Support – LENCO

Children experiencing specific learning difficulties are supported by a multitude of acceleration programmes designed by the school. If you are concerned about your child’s progress, achievement or wellbeing please talk to your child’s teacher or one of the leadership team.  Alternatively you could speak with our school LENCO – Luke Herden.  He is contactable on lherden@stclair.school.nz

Speech Therapists 

Our school has access to limited Speech Therapist services through the Ministry of Education’s ‘Learning Support’ team. Any concerns about your child’s speech patterns should be shared initially with your child’s teacher or one of the leadership team.

Sports

The school supports more than 10 after-school sporting codes. Most codes charge a registration fee that must be paid prior to the commencement of the season. In addition, facilities such as the Edgar Centre and Moana Pool charge admission to participants. Detailed information about sports options is available on our website. Parent/caregiver support with team coaching / management is essential.  Please contact our sport coordinators on for further information sport@stclair.school.nz 

Student Enrolment and Enrolment Scheme

Enrolment at St Clair School is governed by a Ministry of Education enrolment scheme.  A map of the school’s enrollment zone is available from the school office and on this website.

If you live inside the enrollment zone of St Clair School, your child has an automatic right of entry. If you live outside the enrollment boundary, enrollment is subject to a place being available.  Police supervised ballots are used if demand for places exceeds the number of places available.

We endeavour to enrol all children seeking admission and regret that at times places are limited.

Sun Hats and Sun Safety 

In terms 1 and 4, children are required to wear a sunhat when outside.  A standard blue sunhat is available from the school office ($15).  

Children are also encouraged to wear sun protective clothing e.g. shirts with collars and longer sleeves as clothing is recognised as one of the best forms of protection from the sun.  All staff wear sun hats during breaks to model sun-safe behaviour.

Swimming

All pupils receive 10 professional swimming lessons during the year. This professional instruction is undertaken at a significant cost to the school and parents are asked to pay a nominal donation to assist with bus expenses ($45 per child).  Parent help is required with student supervision, and all volunteers must complete a police vet for approval. Children in years 1-3 go by bus to Carisbrook School for their swimming lessons, and children in years 4-6 go by bus to Moana Pool.

Te Manawanui – our collaborative learning space

Our school is very fortunate to have an innovative building design that promotes engagement, cooperation and ‘learner agency’. Children use this space for independent learning, collaborative learning and group problem solving.

Parents are asked to respect children’s learning and not enter Te Manawanui until after the 3pm bell.

Timetables 

Each class in our school has its own timetable. Your child’s teacher is able to tell you about your child’s general weekly timetable.

Toys and Precious Possessions 

Because the school cannot guarantee the safety of toys and precious possessions, children are asked to bring to school only those items they need to complete their school work – books, pencils, bag, lunch box, drink bottle etc.  Toys and other valuables should be kept safely at home.