General Information

ABSENCE

When children are absent parents must ring the school office by 9.30am.   In the interests of children’s personal safety, the office will contact parents when we have not heard from the family by 9.30.  If you know in advance that your child will be absent, please notify the office beforehand, in writing.  While we understand that special family circumstances occur, we prefer parents do not schedule holidays during term time.

ASSEMBLIES

These are held every second Monday at 2.30pm in the school hall.  Prayer assemblies are scheduled during the term on Fridays at 9.00am in the school hall. We welcome parents and families to join with us. 

AWARDS

During Friday prayer assembly each teacher nominates students from class for a Spirit of St Leo’s award.  At Monday assembly the Principal gives Principal’s Awards to students for particular achievement or effort.  Staff members can also award any student with “Noticed Good Behaviour” awards. 

BEHAVIOUR

All students are expected to behave in accordance with the values of our Mercy Charism and in the Spirit of St Leo’s. At St Leo’s there is a school wide code of behaviour that is known to all children, teachers and community members.  If teachers have any concerns about students, parents will be contacted in order that home and school can work together to address any issue.

BICYCLES AND SCOOTERS

If you would like your child to ride a bike to school without parental supervision you should advise the office in writing.  It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that their child is aware of the safety requirements of using the road and footpaths.  It is important that the correct safety gear is worn.  All bikes, scooters etc. must be walked inside school grounds between 8.30am and 3.30pm.  Bikes and scooters are brought to school at the owners risk and must be stored in the racks provided. 

CAR PARKING

To ensure the safety of our children there is strictly no car access into the school grounds during the hours of 8.15am until 3.15pm.  The area immediately outside the school gates in Owens Road is also strictly a no parking zone at these times.   

CLASS GRANDPARENTS

Every class in our school has a class “grandparent” from our parish community.  Class grandparents are regular visitors to class.

CONCERNS/COMPLAINTS

Please feel free to discuss any concerns you have with us.  Our school complaints policy is available online .  It states that the first port of call with any concern should be with the staff member concerned.  If that has not been resolved you should speak to the Principal.  

COMPOSITE CLASSES

Composite classes, with two year levels in one class, are in place where possible throughout the senior and middle school. We find they are a particularly useful way to teach children at their own level.   Each class is a composite class in that there are many levels of social, emotional and academic ability/maturity in each room. 

DENTAL CLINIC

The free dental clinic service is a mobile clinic and visits the school regularly to assess children’s teeth and recommend treatment.   Please note, a child will not be treated without the permission of their parent. 

EARLY CLOSING

We close at the end of terms 1-3 at 3.00 pm. At the end of term 4 we close at 1 p.m. Should the school close early at any other time parents will be notified well in advance by newsletter. 

EMERGENCIES

Please ensure that the school has all your contact and emergency numbers so that we can contact you in an emergency.  This is particularly so if you move or change phone numbers.  Where we are unable to contact a parent or guardian the school will make a decision in an emergency in the best interest of the child.

FOOD ALLERGIES

Some children in our school have severe life threatening food allergies and so we ask all parents to ensure that no fish, nuts or eggs are included in their children’s lunch boxes – this includes peanut butter and nutella. We appeal to you as parents and request your co-operation with this.  We appreciate this is an inconvenience and we have tried to keep the list of foods that should not be brought to school as short as possible.

FUNDRAISING

As with all state schools in New Zealand, fundraising is an important aspect of our schools funding.  Our vibrant and enthusiastic PFTA (see page 8) is primarily responsible for this.  All new parents are invited to attend meetings and join in the fun.

There are also other fundraising schemes in the community which we encourage parents to utilize:

• Devonport New World – pop your shopping receipts in the box in store.  Our school receives a cheque each term based on the receipts total.
• Yummy Stickers.  Children should bring in yummy stickers from fruit.  The school receives sports equipment based on the amount of stickers collected. 
• Slingshot 'Better Schools' Programme.  Slingshot customers can choose to have a percentage of their monthly bill donated to the school. Each month, Slingshot will send us a cheque to use as we see fit. How big that cheque is depends on you! If you’d like this easy and pain free way to contribute please go to www.slingshot.co.nz/schools or call 0800 89 2000 and speak to one of their friendly customer helpers

 HOMEWORK

Teachers set homework that is appropriate to the age and maturity of students. You can expect to see regular reading and for older children, maths, spelling, Religious Education and some Topic work. The purpose of homework is to reinforce or complete work being done at school and to allow parents an opportunity to share in the learning. The school expectations for homework are no more than 30 minutes daily.

If your child is unable to complete their homework you should communicate this to the classroom teacher – a note in your child’s homework diary would suffice.  

 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

As a school St Leo’s believes that Information Technology is a key skill which our students must master to succeed in the modern world.  All classes at St Leo’s have interactive whiteboards.  Computers are in each class and are used as part of regular teaching.  Each class has a wiki page which is used regularly as part of class work.   Senior students are introduced to more complex  IT as part of their daily program. 

LIBRARY

Our school has an excellent library collection.  Each class visits our library typically once a week.  Please ensure that books brought home are respectfully cared for as part of developing a life long love of literacy.   Each class also visits the Devonport Library once a term and children are able to borrow books at this visit if they have a North Shore Library card.  

As a school we recommend that you join your local library and visit with your child on a regular basis if possible. Once a year we have a book week in which families are able to purchase books for the school and themselves. 

LITURGY

Liturgy is part of the fabric of every day life at St Leo’s. Weekday liturgy is held each Friday at 9.00am and we welcome parents and families to join with us. This liturgy lasts for about thirty minutes and classes take turn about at leading the liturgy. We frequently have a liturgy to celebrate a special event and welcome families to join with us for this. 

LOST PROPERTY

Lost property is located outside the PE/Art Sheds. Small valuable items are handed in at the office. Lost property is regularly displayed in the playground for parents and children to check through. It is critical that all articles of uniform are named. 

LUNCH

We ask that children be provided with an adequate and nutritious lunch and drink. As mentioned, children should NOT have eggs, fish or nuts (including peanut butter) in their school lunches as there are some children with allergies to these products. Glass bottles are not permitted. We ask that you consider the contents of drinking flasks and suggest that water is a good and healthy option.  

MASS

School/Parish Mass is held once a term.  It is expected that all students attend.  If for any reason this is not possible then a note is required.  Parish School Mass is regarded as an integral part of attending St Leo’s Catholic School and belonging to our school community. It always provides us with great joy to see families attending Mass with their children on these occasions.  Once a term each class also attends the parish Friday Mass at St Francis de Sales.  Parents are always welcome to attend.

MATHLETICS

St Leo’s utilizes the Mathletics computer programme to support the maths curriculum.  We have found it is a great way to encourage and develop our students love of maths.  An annual fee of $20 is paid to the school at the beginning of the year.  Each child is then given a password which allows them to go online at home and school to follow tasks set by their teacher and play other maths games to earn points.

 NEWSLETTERS

These are published fortnightly on Thursdays as a means of communicating with families about what is happening at school and upcoming events.  Classes take turns to contribute examples of their current work in each newsletter.  We encourage parents to register to receive this online.

OFFICE

The school office is open from 8.30am until 3.30pm daily. Jacquee Pedrick is our Office Administrator, she is always pleased to help parents and families in any way she can.

OUT OF SCHOOL VISITS

The value of Out of School visits is widely recognised and at St Leo’s it is linked to curriculum study for the term. We ensure strict guidelines are upheld when organising trips, e.g. checking for WOF, registration, seatbelts etc. Please do not be offended by these enquiries when you volunteer for transport as it is in the best interest of our students. Ratios of parents to students are imperative so please consider whether you are able to help out.

PAIRED READING & WRITING

Peer tutoring is a co-operative learning situation where two students work together on a learning task. Both students and tutors show a great enthusiasm for learning, an increased confidence, and a sense of autonomy and responsibility with regard to their learning.

PARENT HELP

At St Leo’s we welcome parent help.  Classroom teachers will send out requests for help and will advise parents of the kind of help required. If you have time and would like to help, contact your child’s teacher.

PETS/DOGS

We ask that if parents walk to school with a dog, that the dog is left at the school gate and does not come into the school grounds.

PHOTOS

Class, individual and family photos are taken once a year at a date advised through the newsletter.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

All children participate in regular physical education as a compulsory part of the school curriculum. We emphasise physical fitness and the mastery of skills.   All children are expected to participate in physical education lessons and fitness unless they have a note from home excusing them.   PE Uniform must be worn for fitness and children should have full PE uniform at school five days a week.

REPORTING TO PARENTS

St Leo’s believes that the more informed parents are, the more input they can have in a child’s education.  We report to parents about progress a number of times throughout the school year.

• In March the class teacher sends home a report tracking early progress against National Standards.  Parents, teacher and child then meet to discuss and agree on a plan for the year.
• In August an interim progress report is sent home.  This is followed by a child led conference to discuss progress.
• Final reports summarizing both progress against National Standards and other achievements at school are sent home at the end of the year.  At St Leo’s all parents also receive an overall report on progress across the school.

Parents should not feel restrained by the reporting cycle.  If children have any problems or parents have a concern with learning, however small, they are encouraged to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss any problems or issues as they arise.  One of the benefits of our small size at St Leo’s is that all teachers and the Principal can operate an open door policy and welcome this dialogue.

REGGIO EMILIA

At St Leo’s we utilize the teaching philosophy Reggio Emilia to underpin our delivery of the curriculum.  Reggio Emilia is an Italian philosophy best summed up by “the 100 languages of children”.  It values all learning environments: the academic, physical, aesthetic and spiritual and draws on our long tradition of a community to work together for the good of our children. 

Reggio Emilia ties in with our vision to educate the whole child and promotes learning through research, experimentation and excellence and cultivates the traits of resilience and integrity within the child.  Many of our teachers have trained in Reggio Emilia teaching and our staff library has a number of fantastic books on the subject.  Any interested parents are welcome to borrow them.

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMME

Students at St Leo’s participate in the Parish based Sacramental Programme.  Parents are advised by the School of starting dates.  Our School fully supports this programme.

SCHOOL PRODUCTION

Every second year, typically in term 3, St Leo’s proudly puts on a school production.  All children are involved and parents, friends and family are all invited.

SOLO TAXONOMY

SOLO Taxonomy is a tool for extending learning.  It measures learning progress and allows both teachers and students to assess the level of understanding of any subject.  St Leo’s students learn to gauge their own progress – from pre structural stage (ie acquired bits of unconnected information) to extended abstract stage ( ie grasping not only the subject matter but applying it in other ways.)  

We are lucky at St Leo’s in that one of our teachers,  Mrs Pasley is the lead teacher on SOLO for our cluster of local schools.  Mrs Pasley runs SOLO taxonomy thinking groups throughout the school to benefit the childrens thinking skills at all levels.  Since SOLO was introduced to St Leo’s in 2008 we have found that it has improved our ability to tailor learning towards each individual child.

SPECIALIST TEACHING

At St Leos our small class sizes mean that all our children can receive a focused and individualized program of learning.  However we also operate a number of more specialized teaching programs.

• Reading recovery: Reading recovery is a very successful programme instituted by the Ministry of Education to allow early intervention for students who could fall behind with reading.  Our specialist teacher works with 6/7 year old students to help give confidence and boost reading techniques.  A number of our class teachers are also reading recovery trained.
• Special Needs: At St Leos we have a Special Needs Committee which implements  a system of early identification for early intervention if required.  Should parents have any concerns at any time, please speak to the Principal.
• Gifted Students: As part of classroom planning, all teachers at St Leo’s must identify those children who need extending in particular areas.  Current educational thinking is while advanced children need to be challenged and extended, separate programs for gifted children can be isolating.  At St Leos we believe that the needs of our gifted students can be best met by teachers tailoring specific learning to challenge within the classroom environment.  Our teachers have been trained for this.  We have also found that  SOLO Taxonomy as a means of extending thinking is a useful tool.

 STATIONERY

At the beginning of each year, your child will be advised of their stationery requirements for the year.  Stationary is supplied from the School office at very competitive prices.

At St Leo’s we have very strict guidelines about the presentation of exercise books and how they are maintained. A big part of this is the clear plastic covers that come as part of the stationery pack. We ask that exercise books are not covered or adorned with any additional decoration. We believe this creates a level playing field in the classroom:  it eliminates peer pressure regarding expensive covering materials, eliminates the use of inappropriate images on books and supports the good condition of the books.