Prospectus

PROSPECTUS

2007

Howard State School

MISSION STATEMENT

This school promotes a balance of academic, recreational and social experiences in order to maximise the potential of its students.

VALUES AND BELIEFS

1. This school sees its chief task as the development of the child to reach his or her potential in our Australian democratic society. The values of our society are many and diverse, but tolerance, honesty, trust, self-discipline, work ethic, respect and integrity are central.

2. The degree of achievement of the school’s task is dependent on the successful interaction of the:

a. Children

b. Teachers and aides

c. Parents, and

d. Wider community

3. We believe that the main objective is to prepare the child for complete living. It is our responsibility to preserve the proper blend of subject material to achieve academic, cultural, ethical, moral and recreational satisfaction. We also believe that the cultivation of courtesy, consideration of others, habits of respect and obedience and cleanliness are as important as any other aspect that we might try to achieve.

4. We believe that each child is an individual with unique capacities, problems and background. We shall endeavour, within the limits of practicality, to treat each child as a unique character.

5. Staff at this school accept that the Australian population is made up of different ethnic groups, each group contributing to the whole Australian character. Within this multi-cultural society, it is recognised that while ethnic/cultural groups have unique characteristics, all groups share cultural traits. However, all members of our society conform to Australian laws.

6. Staff shall provide the organisational structure within the school, and utilise the wider community so that the school is able to fulfil its role in our democratic society.

7. The school community will utilise evaluative and reporting practices that reinforce the value of learning.

INDEX

TOPIC PARAGRAPH

Absences...................................................................................................... 15

Accidents...................................................................................................... 18

Advice to Parents of PREP/Year One Children................................................... 1

Appropriate student use of Mobile Telephones / Electronic equipment………… 33

Arrival at School.............................................................................................. 4

Arts Council.................................................................................................. 30

Book Club..................................................................................................... 31

Buses............................................................................................................. 6

Children Leaving School Grounds.................................................................... 10

Children Riding Bikes to School and

Accepting Lifts from Strangers........................................................................ 8

Code of Behaviour.......................................................................................... 12

Conveyance Allowance..................................................................................... 7

Dental Service............................................................................................... 20

Dismissal - Departure from School.................................................................... 5

Driving into School Grounds.............................................................................. 9

Excursions.................................................................................................... 29

Head Lice...................................................................................................... 22

Homework..................................................................................................... 14

Infectious Diseases........................................................................................ 21

Issue of Medication........................................................................................ 19

Library Information.......................................................................................... 32

Lost Property................................................................................................. 34

Money Coming to School................................................................................ 23

Parent Helpers............................................................................................... 40

Parents & Citizens Association....................................................................... 39

Religious Education....................................................................................... 35

Reporting of Children’s Progress...................................................................... 38

Return of Forms to School.............................................................................. 17

School Banking............................................................................................. 24

School Discipline Policy................................................................................. 13

School Newsletter.......................................................................................... 37

School Sports................................................................................................ 28

Sporting Houses............................................................................................ 27

Swimming..................................................................................................... 26

Telephone Calls re Pupils............................................................................... 16

Term Dates..................................................................................................... 3

The School Day............................................................................................... 2

Transfers....................................................................................................... 36

Tuckshop...................................................................................................... 25

Uniforms....................................................................................................... 11

Booklist ………………………………………………………………………. Appendix 1

P&C Membership Application ………………………………………………Appendix 2

Putting Things Right………………………………………………………….Appendix 3

Before the First Day of School

Develop in your child the desire to start school and if necessary, remove any fears that he or she may have.

4. That the child knows of the necessity of washing hands after visiting the toilet.

5. That he/she has a clean handkerchief each day and knows when and how to use it.

Please put the child’s name on ALL his/her belongings so that we may recognise them too.

Take your child to the indicated classroom and leave him/her with the teacher. Please leave immediately. Delaying departure or lingering in the vicinity may tend to cause upset.

First day upsets are contagious. One tearful child will often cause a chain reaction. One tearful Mum can have the same effect.

On the first week of school, children are to be collected from the classrooms. After this, parents are asked to meet children at the gate to help them gain independence.

On arrival at school each morning, children are to place their ports in the racks outside their classrooms and wait for teachers to arrive. As some school bags are very similar, it may be a good idea to paste a picture on PREP/Year 1 bags as well as their name and year.

At 10am (approx) children are able to access a fresh fruit, vegetable, or nut snack and drink of water during class to aid concentration.

First recess commences at 11.00am. For the first 15 minutes, children remain seated to eat their main school meal. The second 15 minutes allows children time to play, have a drink, visit the toilet, and wash their hands ready to go back into school.

Second recess is at 1.00pm. Children eat a small snack and then are permitted to play. Hats must be worn when playing. When the bell is sounded at 1.40pm, children must visit the toilet, wash hands, have a drink and line up ready for school again.

Please note the following points of school policy as they are essential to the safety of children.

1. No child is allowed out of the school grounds once he/she has set foot within

3. If you want your child to leave early on any occasion, please ring the school office or send a note to that effect to the class teacher.

Classes commence at 9.00am and children should be at school prior to the first bell at 8.50am. Children must use the crossing and obey the Crossing Supervisor at all times. Bicycle riders using the bikeway should use extreme care when crossing Thomas Street and Maria Street. In the afternoon, bikes are to be pushed from the school grounds, not ridden.

Early Arrival At School - Parents, please note that it is not this school’s policy to provide formal supervision of children in the school grounds out of school hours, although in case of an accident teachers will help.

Teachers who arrive at school early have come to prepare for their classes and not to act as child minders. Please take this into account and adjust your child’s time of arrival at school accordingly. Children should not be in the grounds before 8.15am.

School is dismissed at 3.00pm. Once dismissed, children are to proceed home. Children who travel on school transport services are to wait in the school grounds for their bus.

Parents who collect students each afternoon in private vehicles are asked to ensure that they arrive at school by 3pm so that students are not left unsupervised for long periods after dismissal from class.

Parents who drive students to and from school each day are asked to observe safety regulations with regard to parking of vehicles. The designated bus zone is not a drop off or collection point. This ensures safety for all children who enter/leave our school grounds.

There is one official school bus operating at this school. The bus is provided at government expense to transport eligible children to the nearest school. To be eligible to use the school transport service, primary school children must live more than 3.2km by the shortest trafficable route from the school.

Financial assistance may be available under the provisions of the Safety-Net Scheme for financially disadvantaged students residing closer than 3.2 km to the school.

Students travelling on school buses are expected to conduct themselves within acceptable standards of behaviour. They are to be seated in an orderly manner while the bus is in motion. Older students are expected to set examples of acceptable behaviour to younger students.

Students travelling on school buses must follow directions of the bus driver. Failure to do so may well result in withdrawal of eligibility for travel on the bus.

In February each year, a bus meeting is called, and a “Conveyance Committee” elected for the year. Parents of eligible children are invited to attend the meeting. If your children use the school bus this is an important meeting at which to be present. Usually only one meeting a year is held.

For pupils travelling to school by private transport, financial assistance is obtainable provided that -

Parents are asked to impress upon their children the importance of observing the rules of the road when riding to school. Also the importance of not accepting lifts with strangers must be emphasised.

Vehicles are NOT permitted to drive into school grounds for the purpose of delivering or collecting children.

Children must be let off and picked up from legally parked vehicles in William Street or associated feeder streets. Children who ride bicycles to school are to place them securely in the bike racks.

Leaving the school grounds between arrival and dismissal is NOT generally permitted. Written parental requests for emergent situations must be directed to the principal.

The P&C Association of Howard State School supports a student dress code and has endorsed a compulsory school uniform. The association believes a school student dress code promotes the objectives as outlined in the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006, and in particular that it:

It is expected students will take pride in their appearance and modestly dress in a style that is suitable for a school learning environment. The following specific guidelines apply.

Hairstyles must not interfere with the appropriate wearing of the school hat. The Principal reserves the right to determine whether a hairstyle is acceptable. Hair ties should be in school colours.

For safety reasons, the following list constitutes the only permissible jewellery to be worn at school:

Howard State School has high standards regarding school uniform. Students in all year levels are required to wear the complete school uniform in a manner which promotes a positive image of the school to the community.

The school prides itself on the high level of compliance by students with the policy. Students will be regularly reminded of their responsibility and parents will be notified if there is an ongoing problem. Students will be encouraged through positive reinforcement and polite reminders to ensure that the uniform is worn. However, if this fails, the following disciplinary consequences may be applied.

The school enforces “no hat – play in the shade” and “inappropriate footwear – no play” policies.

In winter, any black or bottle green jacket or pullover jumper with black or bottle green track pants may be worn in addition to the above uniform items. Girls may wear black or bottle green tights.

The school is aware of the need to protect students’ eyes in the Queensland climate. This is a health issue and children will be allowed, in fact encouraged to wear sunglasses in the playground. Plain, practical, framed sunglasses are therefore acceptable uniform attire. Sunglasses will not be permitted to be worn indoors in classrooms.

The dress code on non-uniform days must comply with Sun Safety and Workplace Health and Safety requirements, namely, no singlets, no bare midriffs or muscle shirts. Appropriate shoes and a hat must be worn.

In resolving matters of student dress codes, the Principal may negotiate an agreement:

· with families having conscientious objections raised on reasonable religious or cultural grounds.

All school community members – students, staff, parents, guardians and visitors are expected to abide by a ‘Community Behaviour Code’. Central to this code are safety, effort, respect and self-responsibility:

Further Details/Reference – Refer Howard State School ‘Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students.’ This document is available upon request from the school office.

In 2007 the school will implement and report on 5 levels of Student Management which will be supported by three student behaviour management plans ranging from least to most intrusive:

Level 5 Self-Managed + Teacher Support + Parent + Behaviour Teacher/GO + Principal

At level 5, formal referral to other agencies and support personnel may also take place. Informal approaches to such personnel, including a Guidance Officer, may be instigated by the class teacher as early as Level 2.

Howard State School practices a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to bullying in all its forms and endorses the right to safety of all school community members.

Bullying involves the abuse of power with the intention of causing distress to the other person(s), or for personal gain or gratification. Behaviours may include repeated behaviour that can be covert and subtle, and be social, psychological, verbal, physical and/or sexual in nature.

For ease of student understanding and identification of bullying, the school has defined bullying for students and staff in relation to three specific behaviours. These are:

1) Bad touches any deliberate touch of a person’s body without their permission

2) Stealing unauthorised removal of possessions, social opportunities, and teaching / learning time

3) Teasing use of name-calling, actions and gestures, words, rumours to hurt or to ostracise

Students will adopt an assertive, sequential response to all incidents of bullying

STEP 1 TELL THE BULLY TO STOP (Ignore / Talk friendly / Talk firmly / Walk Away)

This identifies for the bully that their behaviours are unacceptable to the victim, and provides the bully with the opportunity to modify behaviour without further consequence. It also establishes the victim’s control over handling the situation.

If the bullying does not cease immediately, or has caused significant physical or emotional harm, tell someone in authority.

Once reported, a logical and sequential action plan for bullying incidents will be instigated

We consider our system of discipline just and fair because children are first taught the required behaviours and also the consequences of their misbehaviours and so know what is expected.

Further Details/Reference – Refer Howard State School ‘Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students.’ This document is available upon request from the school office.

Practice exercises – providing students with the opportunities to apply new knowledge, or review, revise and reinforce newly acquired skills, including:

Preparatory homework – providing opportunities for students to gain background information on a unit of study so that they are better prepared for future lessons, including:

Extension assignments – encouraging students to pursue knowledge individually and imaginatively, including:

The amount of time that students are expected to spend on homework will depend upon the age, ability, home environment and extracurricular activities of students, including family and cultural obligations. It is important that students of all ages have opportunities for free time, leisure and physical activities outside of school.

In Years 1, 2 and 3, set homework could be up to but generally not more than 1 hour per week.

Homework in Year 4 and Year 5 could be up to but generally not more than 2-3 hours per week.

Homework in Year 6 and Year 7 could be up to but generally not more than 3-4 hours per week.

It is an expectation that all children in Years 1-7 will receive some form of learning homework each night.

Written homework will, in general, be restricted to Years 2-7. This may take a variety of forms:

Written homework will only be set when teachers see the value of this work complementing their school program. Written homework will not necessarily be given every night.

Teachers will inform parents via a class newsletter, as to the operation of their class homework procedures. Under this policy the emphasis is on quality and not on quantity

A requirement of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 is that Principals keep attendance records and monitor attendance and absenteeism of enrolled students.

Failure of parents/caregivers to notify the school in the event of a child being absent will result in the absence being flagged as ‘unexplained’. Unexplained absences will be carefully monitored and if warranted will trigger a process that may result in a referral to the police service for prosecution.

All telephone calls relating to pupils should be directed to the principal. This will enable an appropriate course of action to be initiated.

From time to time, forms are requested to be returned to the school by parents. Parents are asked to please return the forms promptly as any delay in the return of these forms could result in children being excluded from a particular activity.

Parents are asked to ensure they contact the school with any change of address or telephone numbers so that the school files may be kept up to date. The files are used to contact parents at home or at work if an accident occurs or a child becomes sick.

The following is Departmental policy on the issue of medication by teachers to children at the school.

(a) Should medication prescribed by the student’s medical practitioner be required to be administered while the student is at school or involved in school-approved activities, a parent/legal guardian must, in the first instance, make a written request to the principal of the school.

(b) Where a teacher or other adult person on the school staff authorised by the principal to give medication to a student, is to administer medication, the instructions provided should be written on the medication container by the pharmacist at the medical practitioner’s direction. The teacher or other authorised person should not accept the instructions solely of the parent/legal guardian. The instructions on the medication container need to indicate specific times at which medication is to be administered, as well as the quantity of medication to be administered.

(c) At all times medication must be kept in a secure place. (One exception, in selected cases, is that of inhaler therapy for asthma. On receipt of written permission from a parent/legal guardian, and with the approval of the school principal, the student may be responsible for the inhaler.)

(d) Non-prescribed oral medications (such as analgesics and over-the-counter medications) can only be administered by teachers or other persons on the school staff if a label with the child’s name and dosage directions written by the pharmacist is applied to the medication. A medication form is also required to be signed by the parent.

2. Medication must be sent in the original packaging and clearly labelled with specific times and quantities by a pharmacist. NB The direction “Give 3 times daily” is not sufficient. Parents will need to alert the doctor and/or pharmacist of this requirement at the time of prescribing the medication.

3. Non-prescribed oral medication will only be administered if labelled by the pharmacist. A signed medication form from the parents is also required.

Dental treatment is provided each year by the Mobile School Dental Clinic. Treatment is free. Parents are supplied with a permission form prior to the van’s arrival.

The following are required periods of exclusion from attendance at school for an infected child. Adherence to these recommendations will help prevent further spread of illness.