INFORMATION TO PARENTS.
Absences from School
It is a legal requirement that the classroom teacher maintains an accurate record of children’s attendance in the class roll. Attendance rolls are marked twice daily and all absences noted. Parents are requested to notify the school by 9.00am on the day of their child’s absence. Notification can be by phone to the front office on 08165656285 or email to the school’s email address info@hadassah’sgraceacademy.com
NB: Absence notification must NOT be to the class teacher but notification will be forwarded to the teacher.
Accident and Illness
If a child appears to be unwell before school, parents should make arrangements for the child to remain at home or be cared for in the hospital.
Student information check sheets are sent home at the start of each year to gather parent contact information for ready reference and should be returned promptly to the class teacher. To facilitate speedy contact with parents in an emergency, any change in home or work phone numbers, home address, place of employment or name of emergency contact should be notified immediately.
In the event of an accident or a child becoming ill during the day, we will make every effort to contact the parent using the information on the student information check sheets. If this is not possible, medical attention will be obtained at the health centre, unless parental permission has been refused in writing.
Appointments
Communication between school and home is highly valued. Parents are asked to make an appointment for any discussion with the Head of school and teachers. An appointment will be arranged at the earliest possible time and attention will be given immediately to urgent issues.
Behaviour Management
The school respects the basic values of the home and promotes socially acceptable behaviour based on the fundamental principles of:
• The right to learn/teach without disruption;
• Care and consideration for each other;
• Care of the environment and property;
• The right to feel happy and safe at all times.
Communication with parents is always made when the child’s behaviour indicates that this is necessary. Parents are requested to inform the teacher or head of school when a child’s school work or behaviour might be affected in some way by circumstances not known to the school.
Excursions
Excursions are an integral part of the education program at Hadassah’s Grace Academy. Through excursions, students benefit from enriching experiences which enhance their educational program by giving them direct access to skills, knowledge and understanding they need to relate to their social and environmental surroundings. Experiential learning of this type is invaluable for integrating the education experience within the wider community. School uniform must be worn when students attend these activities. A separate cost is charged for this to cover the transportation costs of excursions and other associated cost.
Homework
Communication and shared family experiences are of primary importance to children’s learning and self-esteem and is a partnership between school and home. Teachers, parents and students each have responsibilities. We believe that homework is important to:
• practise skills taught in the classroom,
• develop study habits and organizational skills,
• develop responsibility,
• involve parents in the learning process,
• pursue extra or special activities.
Parents are encouraged to take an active interest in homework and to assist when necessary. Homework, provided it is approached correctly by your child, should not intrude unduly on leisure activities. Please discuss homework with your child’s teacher if you believe it is excessive or too difficult.
Home Reading
Children learn to read by regular reading and writing. Home Reading – how you can help?
• Be a classroom helper. Each day, each class has the need for one or two helpers to support our Home Reading program. This task involves listening to children read and assisting teachers in the changing of reading materials.
• Set aside a special time to listen to your child read; read to your child; encourage success; help to make reading a pleasurable stress free experience; work with your child to find information or to provide support when completing homework tasks.
Classroom Population
Our optimum class size in Kindergarten is 15 children per class. Our small class sizes ensure that teachers get to know each child very quickly and are able to accurately develop programs that meet each child’s learning needs.
Kindergarten Entry
Children are accepted into Kindergarten if they turn 18 months on or before September. Starting school is a big step for children and it takes time to adjust. Children do best at school when their parents and teachers support each other.
Newsletter
The Newsletter is the main means of communication between the school and school community. It contains information about school activities, excursions, meetings, coming events and policy information.
Safe Play
Hadassah’s Grace Academy is committed to maximising opportunities for every student to learn and play in a friendly and safe environment. The school has developed clear guidelines in relation to building positive relationships which are used to deal with issues which can occur in the classroom or playground. The school works with students to promote positive behaviours and any problems are addressed promptly.
The school rules are:
• Play and behave in a safe, sensible and fair way
• Be kind, caring and considerate of others
• Help other people learn and work without interruption
• Look after our school environment, equipment and other people’s property
Safety
Developing school and class rules is a collaborative effort and they are designed for safety and security of the whole community. These are regularly discussed during class meetings, SRC meetings and assemblies and should be clear to all students. They are:
• we follow our CORE values,
• bullying and harassment, physical violence or verbal abuse is unacceptable,
Security
Outside school hours the school buildings are under the protection of a security system. However any suspicious behaviour on school property should be reported to Police immediately. Parents, students and community members who use the school after hours are asked to enter and leave by the entrance nearest the School Office.
Supervision in the Playground
The school is fortunate to have an attractive playground featuring play equipment and grass areas. The playground is supervised by the teaching staff. However, staff are on duty in classrooms before school and are not rostered for playground duty.
Teaching and Learning Program
Hadassah’s Grace Academy works with families to assist students to become responsible, caring and cooperative learners who actively participate in a broad curriculum that serves their present needs and provides a secure grounding for later learning and living. The curriculum has strong emphasis on developing literacy and numeracy skills. Quality programs support the academic, emotional and social needs of each student. The development of students is our core business. We believe that every student can learn and that every student must have sustained opportunities to learn. It is our responsibility to provide the conditions and experiences that provide equitable access to high quality learning for all students.
We aim to develop students who demonstrate resilience, respect, integrity and independence; and who will be able to
• Think critically
• Have a sense of community
• Be able to find out things
• Express themselves for a range of audiences
• Have confidence to make choices, and
• Self manage
Toys
Children’s toys, unless specifically asked for by a teacher, should be kept at home. It is difficult sometimes for children to care for these properly at school and the chance of breakage is high.
Water
Drinking water is essential for keeping the brain and body hydrated for learning. Students are asked to bring a plastic water bottle to school daily. Students are reminded to have regular drinks of water during the day. Students may drink water inside the classroom.