2016
INFORMATION BOOKLET
Campus includes Primary School and Preparatory
Principal: Scott Anderson
Deputy Principal (P-3): Rachael Jeffrey
Deputy Principal (4-6): Michael Burkin
Head of Curriculum (P-3): Fiona Keswell
Head of Curriculum (4-6): Tony Miller
Head of Special Education Services: Anne Hart
Business Services Manager: Kerry Campbell
Congratulations on choosing to live in Pacific Pines and for also choosing for your child to attend Pacific Pines Primary School.
With over 960 student enrolments, Pacific Pines Primary School is the pride of its community. In just 13 short years the school has risen to become one of the higher achieving schools in Queensland. We pride ourselves on our current and past achievements and look forward to our future achievements.
Named by the Department of Education and acknowledged by the Gold Coast Bulletin as one of the “most improved” schools on the Gold Coast in NAPLAN 2015.
Some outstanding past achievements have been:
· Australian winners in Robotics Dance.
· Queensland winners in Robotics Dance.
· Gold Coast winners in Robotics Dance
· District winners in Readers’ Cup.
· State Showcase Award Finalists for early childhood excellence.
· State Showcase Award Finalists for inclusive educational practices.
· Winners in Gold Coast Eisteddfod in Band.
· Winners in Gold Coast Eisteddfod in Choir.
· 2015 Regional Winner Showcase Awards for Excellence in
Schools – Excellence in Early and Primary years.
· 2015 QLD All Schools Touch Champions.
Pacific Pines Primary School
“Learning for Life” (L4L)
Our Values and Beliefs
At Pacific Pines, we are committed to providing quality educational experiences for all students, which are connected to real life, have a futures perspective and are embedded through a supportive, creative and inclusive environment.
We value:
· Intellectual Quality
o Quality educational experiences that include high intellectual challenge
o Academic excellence
o An explicit improvement agenda
· Connectedness
o A curriculum connected to real life
o Analysis and discussion of data
o Systematic curriculum delivery
· A Supportive School Environment
o Teamwork
o A culture that promotes learning
o Building positive relationships
· The Recognition of Difference
o A differentiated curriculum
o Targeted use of school resources
o An expert teaching team
o Effective teaching practice
Foreword
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to Pacific Pines Primary School. Our school provides a partnership with parents in developing your child for the future. In particular we understand every parent values:
¨ a warm and supportive environment in which their child can grow with confidence;
¨ a focussed curriculum that develops a student’s potential to the fullest;
¨ teachers who are committed to excellence in the teaching and learning process, who value the gift each child offers;
¨ fair, firm and consistent discipline that ensures that the teaching and learning process is not compromised;
¨ high expectations in uniform presentation that are upheld;
¨ extensive interaction with the school community;
¨ effective channels of communication ensuring all partners are well informed;
¨ opportunities for parent involvement.
Pacific Pines Primary is a P-6 school which is committed to providing quality educational experiences that are connected to real life and have a futures perspective, through a supportive and creative environment.
Our school motto is “Learning For Life”. We believe that the values and characteristics of our families are reflected in the feeling of the community and in productive partnerships between the community, the high school and our school. We believe that our students should learn today for tomorrow's challenges.
Our aim is to help provide a seamless education from Preparatory to Year 12, working with the high school initiating a curriculum embedded in the excellent teaching of the Key Learning Areas underpinned by the Australian Curriculum.
The school infrastructure features state-of-the-art technology embedded into the curriculum from Prep. We believe through the use of technology, we are equipping our students with the skills and abilities to be active and informed citizens of the 21st Century. We work closely with our school community in order to deliver this supportive environment.
Our school has established itself as a school of excellence in academic, sporting and cultural pursuits. We are very proud of the school’s standing in its community, and often celebrate our many successes.
Culminating Days at the end of each term bring our community into the school to celebrate our students achievements.
Regards
PACIFIC PINES PRIMARY SCHOOL
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Contact Numbers:
Administration Office: 5502 5333
Absence Line: 5502 5360
Tuckshop: 5502 5316
P&C Administration: 5502 5316
Email:
Website: www.pacificpinesss.eq.edu.au
Prep Hours: 8.50am – 3.00pm
Queensland School Terms for 2016
1st Term 27 January 2016 – 24 March 2016
Public Holiday 26 January 2016 – Australia Day
25 March 2016 – Good Friday
2nd Term 11 April 2016 – 24 June 2016
Public Holiday 25 April 2016 – ANZAC Day
2 June 2016 – Labour Day
3rd Term 11 July 2016 – 16 September 2016
Public Holiday 26 August 2016 – Gold Coast Show
4th Term 4 October 2016 – 9 December 2016
Public Holiday 3 October 2016 – Queen’s Birthday
17 October 2016 – Pupil Free Day
GENERAL INFORMATION (in alphabetical order)
ADMISSION AGES FOR 2016
Preparatory: must turn 5 by June 30 2016
Year 1: must turn 6 by June 30 2016
ABSENTEEISM
If children are absent from school, parents are required to either contact the school by telephone or send a note, signed and dated with the reason for the absence. If a student has considerable days absent, then a medical certificate must be provided to the Principal. Letters of explanation will be sent home if more than 3 consecutive days absent are unexplained. The student absence phone number is 5502 5360. Reward days are held at the end of each term for those children in our school who meet our high attendance standards. Every day at school counts for every child, so only keep your child home if he/she is sick.
AMBULANCE
All students are covered for ambulance costs through the school’s electricity account.
ASSEMBLIES
These are held weekly in the school hall at the following times:
Junior P-1 2.15 – 2.45pm Monday (odd weeks)
Junior 2-3 2.15 – 2.45pm Monday (even weeks)
Years 4-6 2.15pm Friday every week
From time to time Parent Information sessions may be offered following Junior Assemblies. Dates will be advised.
Parents are invited to attend assemblies.
BELL TIMES
First Bell 8:45am
School starts 8:50am
First Break 10:50am -11:30am
Second Break- Grades 1-3 12:50pm -1:30pm
Grades 4-6 1:30pm – 2:10pm
School finishes 3.00pm
BICYCLES/SCOOTERS
Bicycles/Scooters are not to be ridden inside the school grounds. They are to be pushed to and from the bicycle racks provided behind Administration. Chains and locks are to be used. All students riding bicycles must, by law, wear a helmet.
BOOK CLUB
Redgum Bookclub operates at the school approximately once per term. It offers a variety of levels of quality books and computer software at low prices. The school gains bonus books for purchases and these are placed in the resource centre for all students to access. Order forms are sent home with instructions for parents to go online to Redgum to place their orders.
BUS OPERATOR’S CONTACT NUMBER
All enquiries/complaints about bus runs, costs, behaviour on buses etc. are to be directed to the bus operator in the first instance. Surfside Buslines 5552 2700.
CLASS ALLOCATIONS
On enrolment, students are allocated to classes according to numbers, balance and suitable class level. Each year some combined classes may be formed by request or in accordance with individual and staffing needs. Our class sizes at the beginning of each year are as per our Day 8 enrolment numbers. Every attempt is made to meet class size limits as agreed between the Queensland Teachers’ Union and Education Queensland. P – 3 classes have a maximum of 25 students per class and 4 – 6 classes have a maximum of 28 students per class.
CURRICULUM
Key Learning Areas in the Primary School are English, Maths, Science, History ,Geography, Health and Physical Education, Languages Other Than English (Japanese), Information Technology and The Arts (Music/Art). Specialist teachers are appointed for Health and Physical Education, Music and Languages Other Than English (LOTE). This school studies Japanese in years 5, 6 and 7.
This school introduced the Australian Curriculum in 2012 in the key learning areas of English, Maths and Science. History was introduced in 2013 and Geography will be taught in 2014.
EMERGENCY CONTACTS
Please ensure that addresses, phone numbers and emergency contacts are kept current in case we need to contact you in a hurry. This also applies to current Email addresses. Teachers main correspondence is via email and the school also send out excursion notes, reminders of upcoming events and Alerts via this method. You, as parents, have a responsibility to your child and the school in your Duty of Care to keep the school informed of changes.
EXCURSIONS & CAMPS
The children participate in a variety of excursions and camps as part of their regular educational program. An emphasis is placed on environmental studies. You will be advised when excursions are programmed. Costs for these are borne by parents. Parents who have economic hardships are asked to contact the Principal to discuss the matter. Please refer to our website for this school’s refund policy. Please be advised that our preferred payment method is by direct deposit or by eftpos.
FAMILY LAW COURT ORDERS
Some families are bound by Family Law Court Orders. Documentary evidence of these must be provided to the school where these exist to provide clear legal guidelines for school authorities in these sensitive issues. The school will not become involved in family disputes. School is to be neutral territory for our students.
FIRE DRILLS/ LOCKDOWNS
All students participate in fire drills and lock downs at least once per term.
FIRST AID
The majority of staff are qualified in first aid and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). When students receive minor injuries they report to the office where qualified staff make appropriate decisions in the circumstance. Actions are recorded in the medical register.
If a student has a serious accident or becomes ill while at school, medical attention is applied by the trained first aid officer and parents/caregivers are immediately notified of the incident so they can make the decision to take further action if necessary. In an emergent situation, where parents/caregivers cannot be contacted, the Principal or Principal’s delegate will contact the Queensland Ambulance Service or doctor as directed by written instructions from parents.
HOME READING
Home reading at Pacific Pines Primary is offered to all students. Home reading begins in Prep as a formal managed process and continues to Year 6 where it becomes an informal self-managed process which supports individual reading for pleasure. Parent volunteers enable daily borrowing of home readers.
HOMEWORK
Teachers may set homework activities. Children are expected to complete these tasks to the best of their ability. Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if there are any problems.
Pacific Pines Primary has a process in place to inform parents whether homework tasks are being completed. This process will be displayed in all learning areas. At Pacific Pines Primary School our P & C fund access to Mathletics and Reading Eggs. Children can access these programs at home for additional personalized learning opportunities. There is a Homework Club available three mornings per week in the school’s Resource Centre.
Homework Guide
Prep No formal homework - home readers
Year 1 0 - 10 minutes + home reading Year 2 up to 15 minutes + home reading
Year 3 up to 20 minutes + home reading Year 4 up to 30 minutes + home reading
Year 5 up to 30 minutes + home reading Year 6 up to 40 minutes + home reading
INFECTIOUS DISEASES EXCLUSION TABLE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Pacific Pines Primary School is very proud of the technology program we offer to students. All students access computers and have technology lab lessons to enhance their skills. In 2014 we trialled our first ever prep Mypad iPad class and in 2016 we will have iPad classes for prep, year 1 & year 4. We provide a developmental technology program for all students through our computers and printing facilities. Technology skills are integrated across key learning areas. Visit our school's Web Page on www.pacificpinesss.eq.edu.au. Pacific Pines Primary has 100% connectivity and all students have e-mail and internet access.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PROGRAM
Instruction in playing woodwind, brass and stringed instruments may be offered to Year 3 - 6 students. A limited number of instruments are available to hire to the students, however after one year parents are encouraged to buy their own. Applications to enter this program are made through the instrumental specialist music teachers early in the school year.
LATE STUDENTS
All students who arrive late to school are required to sign in and obtain a late slip from Administration. The late slip is to be given to the classroom teacher. Early departures must also be signed out through the school’s office.
LEARNING SUPPORT
Learning support is provided through specialist teachers and intervention programs. Access to extra support is through consultation with a Learning Support Teacher or a Guidance Officer, who meet with parents to make decisions on the most effective program for students within the available resources. This school has a strong and focussed Special Needs Program.
LOST PROPERTY
All items of clothing need to be named. When so many items are the same this helps to identify them. Sweaters, shoes and lunch boxes are among items most frequently “lost” and unclaimed. A lost property box is placed outside the Maths Resource room in the Canteen block and is accessible daily. At the end of term, lost property is displayed and any unclaimed items are recycled or donated to charity. Toys and personal items of sports gear are not permitted at school unless special permission is approved.