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AN INFORMATIONHANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS, SUPPORT STAFF, PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS AND VISITORS

ABSENCES

  • When a student is absent from kurawe would appreciate a parent/caregiver either ringing the kura office to explain the absence or sending a note explaining the absence with the student on their return to kura.
  • Teachers must inform the principal when they will be absent from kuraand complete an application for leave form i.e. date leave requested, type of leave applied for, name of reliever.

ACCIDENTS

  • Any student who suffers an injury in the playground or classroom that requires some form of first aid must be accompanied by a staff member on duty to the sickbay and treated according to the nature of the injury.
  • There are disposable gloves available in the sickbay medical supplies cupboard. These must be worn when treating any injuries involving the discharge of blood.
  • The first aid register in the administration office must be filled in correctly.
  • In the event of a student sustaining a major injury e.g. fractured limb, seek the assistance of another colleague and inform the principal/deputy principal as soon as it is possible.

AFTER KURA CARE

  • Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o BernardFergusson does not offer any after kura care for children.The kura grounds are usually clear of children by 3.45 p.m. If there are children still at kura after this time they should be questioned as to whether or not they require any assistance.

ANCILLARY STAFF

  • All employees who are not registered teachers are considered to be ancillary staff (or support staff). All are employed under the conditions of the current Support Staff in Schools Collective Agreement.

ASSEMBLIES

  • Kura assemblies are held every Monday morning at 8.40am and every Friday afternoon at 2.45pm under the pīruru (Te Rongokoekoea) weather permitting. If the weather is inclement the assembly will be held in Kimikimi (the hall).
  • The kaiwhakahaere of the week is responsible for the running of the assembly.
  • The junior or senior syndicate can opt to have an assembly at any other time of the week as required.

ASSOCIATE TEACHING

  • From time to time a teacher may undertake associate-teaching duties. This will involve the teacher working closely with a teacher trainee from a NZQA accredited teacher training institution.
  • All registered teachers can apply to become an associate teacher. The current reimbursement figure is $2,000 p.a.

ASSESSMENT EVALUATION AND RECORD KEEPING

  • All teachers are expected to keep accurate assessment records of each and every child in their care. These must be updated at regular intervals or when and where required by the syndicate leaders.
  • The methods of recording assessment data and other information must be in accordance with agreed kura policy.

REQUIREMENTS FOR USING AN ELECTRONIC ATTENDNACE REGISTER (eAR)

Schools must comply with the following attendance management requirements when using an eAR:

  1. students must be marked absent or present during the course of every school day as required by the Act and Regulations (attendance must be marked mornings and afternoons)
  2. attendance must be marked during class time by the teacher with the students in front of them
  3. all absences must be appropriately coded in the SMS (entering an explanation in the comment section of the SMS is good practice)
  4. all unexplained absences must be followed up and reported to parents and caregivers as soon as possible
  5. as soon as an unexplained absence is resolved, the SMS must be updated with the appropriate code (entering an explanation in the comment section of the SMS is good practice)
  6. school management must follow up instances where attendance is not marked by the teacher responsible and address the matter in an appropriate and timely manner
  7. students with continuous and/or regular absences must be identified and monitored.
  8. You must take the register before 9.30 in the morning and again before 1.00 in the afternoon. You only need to mark the students who are not here
  9. Mark the register before you send the children to another class
  10. You must put in a code for every child who is not here (these can be found on the help tab at the top of the page).

Below are the codes that can be used to explain an absence.

Code / Reason (Business Rule) / Explanation
? / Unknown reason (A temporary code) / This is the initial entry for a student not in class and the reason is unknown.
It will be edited as relevant information becomes available about the reason
for the non-attendance. If required, the SMS can be set by the school to
automatically change the '?' code to a T after a configurable number of school
days (e.g. 7)
P / Present / Student is in his/her regular class (this includes supervised study)
L / Student Late for class / School policy will determine when this code is used. E.g. School policy may
recommend that a student more than 10 minutes late is coded "L". Note this
code does not contribute to a school's absence or truancy rate.
S / Sickbay / Student is known to be in the school's sickbay
D / Medical Appointment - doctor or dentist / Current legislation means this type of absence is counted as present for ½ day
summaries. There must be documentation verifying the appointment. This code
is not to be used for a stay in hospital. Use code "M"
I / Internal school appointment or activity - Dean, DP, sports administrator or coach, attendance officer / This can include students who are out of class for various school appointments
including: form teachers, dean, senior management, counsellor, sports
administrator, coach, nurse, careers, as well as students on an administration
activity such as messenger, collecting attendance etc. It does not include a
student who has been removed from his/her regular class and sent to the
administration area for disciplinary reasons. This student would be coded P in
the class and the code would probably be changed to R by the senior staff
member dealing with the student.
E / Student is absent with an Explained, but unjustified reason / The explanation for the absence is accepted by the school as the reason for
the absence, but the reason does not fit within the school's policy as a
justifiablereason to take the student off school (even though the parents
may consider the absence was justified and may have provided a written
explanation) e.g. "Molly had to stay home to look after her younger brother"
or "we went for a two week family holiday in the South Island" This includes
overseas absence not approved by the principal (a parent's note does not
provide justification)
M / Student absent due to short-term illness/medical reasons / Student is at home, or in hospital, because of illness or other medical reason.
Depending on school policy a medical certificate may be requested for
prolonged illness e.g. three days, or as policy requires.
J / Justified absence - reason for absence within the school policy /
  • Unplanned absences such as a bus breakdown, accident, road closure,
extreme weather conditions
  • Planned non-attendance such as national/local representation in a
sporting or cultural event in New Zealand or overseas. (See also Code O)
  • Approved absence (including overseas) can also include bereavement,
visiting an ill relative, exceptional family circumstances or a Section 27
T / No information provided - truant (or throw-away explanation) / An absence where no verifiable explanation is received, or the explanation is
trivial (throw-away):
  • I didn't feel like mathematics so I took the period off
  • I had to finish an important assignment
  • I went down to the river
  • I went to the shops
  • we had a test and I wasn't ready for it

V / Examination or Unsupervised Study - student is on the school-site / Students sitting examinations at school (if the SMS can provide attendance
marking during exams.) Unsupervised study - school process verifies student
is on the school-site. Note that supervised study is recorded as a regular
timetabled class.
X / Exam leave Unsupervised study - student is off-site / Code X will count as a justified absence and contributes to ½ day absence
summaries. Note that supervised study is recorded as a regular timetabled class.
N / On a school based activity / A school-based (on-site) activity.
  • cultural/sporting presentation/practice including swimming/athletic sports
  • one to one tuition either as tutor or tutored

Q / Attending an off-site school-organised activity such as trip/camp / A school-organised off-site activity including overseas
  • school trip (sporting, cultural or academic)
  • school camp

W / Work experience / Student is working for a recognised employer as part of their course
(Gateway is an example)
R / Removed (temporarily) from regular class (internal school student isolation) / This code is for students who for a time period had an arrangement for
alternative supervision, that may be in the administration corridor or in
another teacher's class, instead of the regular scheduled class
O / Justified overseas / A student accompanying or visiting a family member who is on an overseas
Posting e.g. military or diplomatic. Other approved (justified) overseas
absence is coded "J". If the absence is unapproved, it is coded "E".
K / Attending a teen parent unit / The student is not in class, is on the school roll but funded elsewhere
A / Attending alternative education / The student is not in class, is on the school roll but funded elsewhere
Y / Attending an activity centre / The student is not in class but in an approved environment for which the school
is entitled to be funded
F / Attending an off-site course/class / The student is not in class but is on a legitimate off-site school-based course
H / Attending a health camp/regional health school/residential school / The student is not in class but in an approved environment for which the school
is entitled to be funded
C / Student is attending Justice Court proceedings / Under existing legislation this type of absence is deemed to be Present when
calculating ½ day summaries
U / Student is stood down or suspended / Student is stood down or suspended according the conditions of Section 14 of
the Education Act 1989 (This code is for the period of the stand down/suspension.
It does not include the day the stand down was imposed)

AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT

  • The kura has a range of audio visual equipment to complement the delivery of classroom programmes. The larger items are stored in the storage room and the photocopying room in the main administration block.
  • All teaching staff have access to the audio visual equipment. There is no booking system as such but you should notify others that you wish to use a certain piece of equipment at a certain time by writing this information on the whiteboard located in the staffroom.
  • Please report any damages or repairs needed to any of the AV equipment as soon as it is apparent.

BELL TIMES

8.35amWarning bell

8.40amFirst period begins

9.40amFirst period ends (10 minute interval)

9.50amSecond period begins

10.50amSecond period ends (10 minute interval)

11.00amThird period begins

12.00 pmThird period ends – lunch break (first 10 minutes supervised)

12.45pmWarning bell

12.50pmFourth period begins

1.50pmFourth period ends (10 minute interval)

2.00pmFifth period begins

3.00pmFifth period ends – kura finishes

BERNARDFERGUSSONSCHOOL

  • Ngāruawāhia Primary School No. 3opened on Monday 24th May 1965 with 8 classrooms and a roll of 275.
  • A formal approach was made to Sir Bernard Fergusson, Governor General of New Zealand and Dependencies 1962 - 1967, to name the school after him. He agreed on 24th September 1965 and on April 4th 1966 he officially opened BernardFergussonSchool and became its Patron.
  • BernardFergussonSchool,at the behest of parents and grandparents, translated to BernardFergussonBilingualSchool in 1986 and to Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Bernard Fergusson on 1st February 1993.

BICYCLES

  • Children can ride their bicycles to kura but they must wear an approved safety helmet when doing so and they must abide by the road code.
  • There are bike stands strategically placed at kura for children to park their bikes. A bike lock is highly recommended for the obvious reason.
  • Children are not permitted to ride their bikes around the kura.

BILINGUAL PROGRAMME

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o BernardFergusson delivers a bilingual programme. Students are totally immersed in Māori for the first five years, after which all Y6 – 8 students receive one hour of formal English language instruction per day. This arrangement has led to high levels of achievement in both Māori and English for most students in our school. Performance in English in particular is consistently at higher levels than many Māori students experience in an English only programme. As reported by Ministry of Education (2004), in the information booklet Bilingual education in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Key findings from bilingual/immersion education: indicators of good practice, being able to read and write well in two languages is associated with wider academic success.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES (2015)

Hemi RauElected parent representative/chairperson

Jules NumangaMinutes secretary/staff representative

Paul W RoyalPrincipal

Trina KorohekeCo-opted parent representative

Kiri MorganElected parent representative

Ruhe MatengaElected parent representative

Fiona MorganElected parent representative

Charlie VertsappenTreasurer (seconded)

Marama RuriMarae representative

BUDGETS AND FINANCE

  • All accounts for payment are collated monthly and approved for payment at the monthly Board of Trustees’ meeting.
  • Reconciliation of the BOT’s accounts are collated monthly and approved at the BOT’s monthly meeting.
  • All purchases must use a kura order number (available on request from the office administrator).
  • Teachers who have budget responsibilities are the only people who can approve purchases made from that particular budget code.
  • The purchase of goods or services worth $500.00 or more must have the principal’s approval.
  • No purchases can be made once the annual budget allocation has been exceeded.
  • The collection of monies for educational visits/shows and sports trips must be paid directly to the kuraoffice.
  • Till receipts are held for any monies paid and are available on request.

CARVED KURA SIGN

  • Warren McGrath, a local carver, was commissioned to carve the top half of the kura sign at the end of 1992/beginning of 1993.
  • KeretiRautangata, a local master carver, was commissioned to complete the bottom half of the carved kura sign that stands at the front of the kura in 1999.
  • The sign was erected on the road frontage by Leo Muru and dedicated by Rewi Graham in 2004.

CARVED ENTRANCE POU TO ‘TAINAMAU’

  • Marty Ryan was commissioned in 2010 to carve the two pou adorning the entrance to the administration area (Tainamau). They were installed by Warren McGarth and blessed by Koro Leo Muru in the presence of Heeni ‘Bobbin’ Katipa on the morning on 14th December 2011.
  • The left hand pou depicts former governor generals of Aotearoa from the Fergusson Clan.
  • The right hand pou signifies is the carver’s interpretation of Te Puea’s tongi mahia te mahi hei painga mōte iwiand signifies kia tupara te hoe (row in unison).
  • In the middle of the pare above is the kura tohu originally designed by Inia ‘Boy’ Te Wiata. The at left hand end of the outstretched arms is a bumble bee denoting industriousness and at the right hand end is a tatā(bailer) denoting the ability to dip into the puna of education as often and as many times as one wants to.

CHARTER

  • The original kura charter was formulated in 2004 for the period 2004 – 2006.
  • An updated 2013 - 2015charter will be submitted to the Ministry of Education by 31stMarch 2013.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

  • Teachers are encouraged to keep their classrooms clean, tidy and attractive. Children’s work should be displayed wherever possible and these displays should be changed regularly.
  • Displays should not hinder the exit points of any classroom.

CLASSROOM ROUTINES

  • Teachers should have set routines for children for any manner of things in their classroom. It is recommended that these routines be adhered to.
  • All good behaviour should be rewarded appropriately to encourage continued good behaviour.
  • Common sense will usually suffice when faced with an unknown or difficult situation. However, collegial support is encouraged, so do not be afraid to ask for help.

CLASS TRIPS

  • The kura has a set policy on educational visits. This should be strictly adhered to for the safety of the children and accompanying adults including teachers.
  • A Safety Action Plan (SAP) must be completed and approved for all trips.

CLASSROOM CONSUMABLES

  • Children can purchase consumables from the kura office before kura begins and during intervals.
  • At the beginning of the year the office administrator distributes to each classroom teacher a supply of consumables free of charge for their own personal use. Any further consumables can be purchased from the office.

CODE OF CONDUCT

  • Teachers and other adults in the kura must model the behaviours expected of the students at all times e.g. standard of dress, use of appropriate language, conversing in Māori.
  • All staff are required to read and sign the code of conduct promulgated by the New Zealand Teachers’ Council.

COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS

  • A newsletter (usually weekly) is distributed to parents/caregivers and key stakeholders within the community via the children and by e-mail.
  • Parents are always welcome and encouraged to talk with any member of the teaching staff including the principal, about any concern that they have about the welfare of their child or the kura as a whole. However, parents who have a gripe against a teacher and/or student must address their concern to the principal in the first instance. A parent must not be allowed to confront a teacher or child in class in front of the other students.
  • Student-led parent interviews usually take place over the last two weeks of term two or first two weeks of term three.
  • Reporting to parents will be in written form at the end of term 2 and term 4.
  • The contents of any letter of concern from a parent will be made known to those on a need-to-know basis and dealt with appropriately.
  • All notes home to parents about any kura activity should have the appropriate authorisation.

COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE KURA

  • Staff meetings occur every Monday afternoon from 3.10 p.m. – 4.10 p.m.
  • Syndicate meetings are scheduled for every alternate Tuesday or Wednesday or at the discretion of the syndicate leaders.
  • All other notices are written on the whiteboard in the staffroom including events for the current and forthcoming week.
  • Playground duties are also listed on the noticeboard in the staffroom.
  • A term planner is usually distributed to each staff member in the first week of each term.

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