Flemington School

Central Hawke's Bay • New Zealand

School Contact Details

Phone: 06 855 4860

Email: office@flemington.school.nz

Principal: principal@flemington.school.nz

Upcoming events

  • No upcoming events available

Term Dates 2024

Term 1: Wed 31 Jan - Frid 12 April
Term 2: Mon 29 April — Fri 5 July
Term 3: Mon 22 Jul — Fri 27 Sept
Term 4: Mon 14 Oct —  Tues 17 Dec

 

Public Holidays or School Closed:

  • Waitangi Day: Tuesday 6 Feb
  • Good Friday: Friday 29 March
  • Easter Monday: Mon 1 April
  • Easter Tuesday: Tues 1 April
  • King’s Birthday: Monday 3 June
  • Matariki: Friday 28 June
  • HB Anniversary Day: Friday 25 October
  • Labour Day: Monday 28 October

 

Educational Excellence and Success

Parent Information

POLICY REGISTER

This has now been transitioned to School Docs. This is an online document that parents have access to with a school login and password. The link for the Flemington School Docs portal is under Policies in the School Information tab.

A Folder containing the Current School Plan and the current Budget is available for viewing by all members of the School Community, but must not be removed from the School premises.
Policy changes may be initiated by Community, Board of Trustees or Staff but must be approved by the Board of Trustees.

 

INTERNET BANKING DETAILS:

Internet banking is available for payment of Levies, School Lunches, Uniform; Bookclub etc.
Please enter your name and what you’ve paid for, if possible, and notify the office that you have made a payment.
Westpac Bank Account: 03 – 0779 – 0144402 – 00.

HOURS OF SCHOOL

The hours of school are as follows;
Monday- Friday
8.50am - 11.00am
11.20am - 1.00 pm
1.55pm - 2.55pm
At playtime and lunchtime the children go out and play before sitting down to eat and then going back into class.

 

ENROLMENT PROCEDURES

Prior to your child's fifth birthday contact the School to arrange a meeting with their teacher and/or Principal, and also their preliminary orientation visits, if they are a New Entrant. We do not operate under a Cohort Entry structure. 

If it is very helpful for the school if you can pre-enrol your child as early as you can. This involves completing an enrolment form..

It is required that we get a copy of a birth certificate or other proof of your child's age; and get a copy of the immunisation record if your child is immunised.

 


PREPARATION FOR SCHOOL

Parents with children due to start school as New entrants are invited to bring them along for four days of schools visits before their starting date. These are scheduled for Wednesdays and is a great way to start that transition to school process. Often there is a cross over with other children who are also doing pre-start visits.

Arrangements can then be made for them to stay for a morning or whole day prior to starting school officially.

  • It would be a great help if the child is able to;
  • Change into togs and back into clothes.
  • Recognise his / her own name (and write it).
  • Handle all books with care, knowing which way up to look at them and which way to go.
  • Understand that reading books are not written in or cut up.
  • Count up to ten, recognise the main colours and understand the basic positions, eg, up, down, under, over etc.

It is not necessary for the child to be able to write, but if they want to, an alphabet sheet showing the correct letter formation is available on request.

 

NEW ENTRANTS

Children starting school should find it an enjoyable experience. Any work they bring home could be talked about and celebrated - for the effort they put in and the result achieved.

We like you to be involved in our programme, and you are invited to join various activities. At various times requests will be made for parents/grandparents or extended whanau to come in and support the literacy programme in various ways.

Learning to read when they start at Flemington is based around Structured Literacy. Structured Literacy explicitly teaches systematic word identification/decoding strategies. This approach will benefit all students and is vital for a number of children. It lays the foundation on which children will be able to build on and experience success across the literacy field.

The children will be learning a prescribed group of sounds/concepts which will be supported by letter sounds cards etc and then decodables as they progress. Children will move through the sequence of sounds/concepts at their own rate and support at home with their progression will be greatly beneficial.

Reading learning material going home in the initial time at school will consist of letter sound cards. This initial foundation learning of the vowel sounds and consonant sounds will progress to words and after a number of weeks they will bring home Decodable books which are designed to support the structured literacy sequence of learning to read. They will take home other reading books from the library or in class but they are not their instructional reading books - they are for enjoyment and having them read to them. The teachers will outline this in more detail once they start school. 

A Reading Bag is part of their stationery and will be used as a conduit between school and home:

When reading to children at home as they are learning to read:

  • Make sure it is an enjoyable experience.
  • Talk about what a book is and how it works.
  • Look through the book to explore it.
  • Help your child with the sounds of the letter and how they make up the whole word if needed.
  • They may bring home sound or word cards or decodable books.
  • Repetition is a very powerful learning process so these reading resources may be read multiple times keeping in mind the level of interest. 
     

Learning To Read

  • Structured Literacy will be the fundamental approach to supporting children in learning to read especially in Years 1-3, using the
  • New entrants will be using decodables books until they are at a level that they can be introduced to the readers at around Level 7. Decodables may still be used in conjunction with levelled readers until such time they are no longer needed.
  • Structured Literacy is a crucial part of the ‘learning to read’ stage but children will still be exposed and immersed in rich literacy opportunities that provide many experiences and opportunities to engage with the written word and be successful.
  • Teachers implement explicit acts of teaching

Support and Intervention

  • Structured Literacy will be the basis for ongoing support and intervention for those children that need more time to build their reading capability and skills.
  • Support and Intervention will be available across all year levels to support the needs of tamariki.
  • Learning assistants will be used to support the delivery of the intervention and support programmes and strategies used.
  • Support agencies and personnel will be accessed as needed to support the students, teachers, whanau with support of the SENCO.

Reading To Learn and Understand

  • Continued support to reach automaticity of the key aspects of word recognition
  • Further development of the key aspects that support and grow language comprehension through specific teaching and choice of language experiences.
  • Structured Literacy is a key tool used to support ongoing knowledge and understanding of the increasingly broader aspects of the 40 Concepts.
  • Spelling and morphology are linked to Structured Literacy with connections made across the curriculum.
  • Teachers implement deliberate acts of teaching

 

CLASS PLACEMENT

Because of the nature of our school, classes are of mixed age groups. If, on entry, the child has attended a previous school, placement will be guided by the records received from the previous school.

Movement from one year level to another is guided by the child's intellectual, social and emotional development. Students stating at the same class level the following year may on occasions be recommended, but this will only occur following the closest consideration and consultation with parents.

The main purpose is to ensure that all children are placed at a class level that will be advantageous to them. Strengthening their confidence and self-belief are very much to the fore when considering these decisions.

ASSEMBLY

There is one weekly assembly.
This is held on a Friday afternoon at 2:15pm where we celebrate sport and other activities and also children receive certificates and awards, ‘Gotcha’ recipients are drawn and weekly information is given. Classes /children are encouraged to share their work successes at these assemblies.
The assembly is run by two senior children on a rotation basis.
Parents are invited to share assembly with us.

Once a term, usually on the last Friday afternoon, a Talent assembly is held in which any child can share some particular talent they may have. This is normally quite varied with things such as dance, singing, drama recitals and musical instrument playing occurring on a regular basis.

 

DESIGNATED PLAY ZONES AT THE SCHOOL:

We have the school divided into 3 areas for play for different Year groups - as outlined on maps posted around the school and in classrooms.

  • The old playground behind Ngahape (by the hall) and the grass area beside the hall. This area is for Ngahape and Purimu children - Year 1-3 only.
  • Tourere Playground is for Year 1-4 students.
  • The big field and tennis court is for all students.
  • The senior playground on the field is for Year 5-8 students unless supervised by an adult.

 

LEVY SYSTEM

This is a system whereby parents are invoiced at the end of each term for actual costs that have occured during the term. This saves the children having to frequently bring small amounts of change to school. Parents are informed upon entry of how this process works - Refer to page 2 for Internet Banking details.

The Year 7 & 8 students also have a technology fee which is charged by Waipawa School for the technology programme they run foir all CHB primary schools. 

Soem families/whanau run an regular auromatics payment for thier children/tamariki and for those families at the end of the year, or upon withdrawal, parents are supplied with a balance sheet and issued with a credit for the next year if returning the following year or refunded any moneys owing oif leaving the school.

Items paid for in this manner include school stationery and other *itesm such as head phones, school day trip costs, visiting performer charges, uniform and Saturday morning team fees. Camp payments may be done through this process as well. 

 

UNIFORMS

The school has no compulsory school-day uniform, but a uniform is required when representing the school at interschool sporting, academic or cultural events. The following items can be purchased for those occasions. PLEASE NAME ALL UNIFORM.

A monogrammed red polar fleece top, polo shirt, and tracksuit pants/or jackets may be bought through the school and these are very suitable for everyday wear as well as for school events. White rugby shorts may be bought from Story’s in Waipukurau.

The following is the dress for school and interschool events.

Cross Country, Athletics, Softball Tournaments, and any other school events: School polo shirt and white shorts.

Cricket: White shirt and shorts.

Hockey: School polo shirt and white shorts.

Netball: School supplied uniform for Year 5 + ; Year 1-4 Flemington sports uniform

Gymnastics: White shorts and school polo shirts for boys. Leotards for girls (provided by the school.)

Rugby: Black shorts and school supplied jersey.

Junior Soccer: School polo shirt and white shorts

Ngati Whai Festival: Boys- black shorts only. Girls- supplied by school.

 

TRANSPORT / BUSES

Parents are generally called upon to help with transport to cultural and sporting events.

Buses - It is important that the parking area at school is kept free of congestion so that the buses may pull up safely.

When parents are picking up children after school they are, for safety reasons, requested to collect the children from the gate. The teacher on bus duty will release these children.

Our School bus runs are:

  • Rotohiwi Rd
  • Ngahape Rd - Tourere Road - Ngahape Rd.
  • Bush Rd (Wallingford Hall)
  • Lake Station Rd - Epae Rd - Ugly Hill Road.

If, for any reason, parents wish their children to travel either to school or home on a bus that they do not normally use, it is important to confirm with the driver that there is sufficient room as our buses have maximum loadings which cannot be exceeded.

No children are permitted to travel on any bus without notification to the school.
Please also notify any change in your child’s routine e.g. if your child is not on the bus one day, for whatever reason. It is important that parents please contact the bus driver, when your child is not on the bus in the morning.

The Year 7 & Year 8 Children are bussed over to Waipawa School for Technology. Any changes to pick up or drop off for any children has to be notified to GoBus in Writing/email before the day or days of technology. Parents have to email, or send a note, to school indicating any Drop Off or Pick Up that is not at Flemington School or Waipawa School.

Any changes to normal daily routine pickups - eg. early pickups - are to be recorded on the notice whiteboard on the office bench.

ABSENCES

To be sure of the safety of our students we appreciate knowing on the day or prior, when/why a child is absent.

Please use the ETap app or telephone before school if your child is sick or absent at any time. We have a checking system in place, and will contact parents/caregivers when there is an unexplained absence.

 

SUN HATS

School sun hats are provided for the 2 summer terms. These are numbered and distributed where appropriate. The hats are cleaned when redistributed to ensure that they are hygienic. Children are required to wear them at play and lunch times. They are to be kept at school unless otherwise arranged for a particular trip.

 

TERM CALENDAR

A calendar outlining all known events in the coming term is distributed at the beginning of each term and sent out with the newsletter. It has term dates for the year and contact numbers for the school and various staff and Board members.

 

TECHNOLOGY

Year 7 and 8 students attend Technology for five days a term. This consists of 2 lots of 2 full days and then a one half day. They are transported by a Go Bus school bus from school to the technology centre at Waipawa School and then back to school. Parents will be notified early in the year of the fees and payment will be collected by the school on behalf of the Technology centre.

PUBLIC HEALTH

The school dental clinic base is Waipukurau Primary School. Visits are arranged for children to attend annually by the dental clinic. For urgent matters or queries contact the dental clinic direct.

The Community Health Service based in Waipukurau is available to the school as a referral agent.

Once a term new entrant pupils are checked re immunisation status. Immunisations can be given following parental consent. They also annually provide the Rubella vaccination for senior students.

Vision and hearing testing is also carried out, either on a referral basis or as part of the annual programme.

Other agencies available for school or parent support are the Special Education Service (speech and language therapy) and the Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children)

 

POOL / SWIMMING

The pool will be used as often and as regularly as the weather permits in Terms 1 and 4. It is expected that all children swim daily. If a child is unable to swim on any day a note would be appreciated.

The key is available for hire during the swimming season to anyone in the community. Contact school for information about the key. A responsible adult must be in charge of any children swimming. The pool must be locked when not in use. Toilets are made available through the Toilet block. COVID-19 have had an impact on the availability of the pool over the summer break. 

It is expected that the pool area is kept clean and tidy by those using it outside of school hours and during the holiday period.

 

BOOK CLUB

Book Club catalogues are supplied six times a year. Catalogues are distributed and orders collected at school. Payment must accompany orders, either online banking; cash or cheque (made out to Flemington School). It is best sent, sealed in a used envelope.

As well as encouraging children to read, your purchases help the school, because for every $100 dollars spent we get $10 worth of free books, which go into the library or classrooms.

 

NEWSLETTERS

School Newsletter

There has been some recent changes to the format this newsletter takes. The newsletter is produced every week on a Wednesday and is in two parts.

 

  • Part One - 'School Newsletter' - This is the main part of our newsletter and contains all of the relvant school information and dates our families need to know. A hard copy is given to each family to take home on a Wednesday, it is also emailed out to the Flemington School parents as well as the wider community contacts who wish to recieve it.

 

  • Part Two - 'School and Community Notices' This part contains news, events and dates of a much broader range of community and district information. This is not sent home to families as a hard copy but instead is emailed out to our families and wider community contacts list along with the School Newsletter.

Community Newsletter

 

  • The Community Newsletter is produced by Jo Percival and an edition is published once a Term in line with the seasons - Summer, Spring, Autumn, Winter. This newsletter contacins a wide range of community information and contacts, including such things as the 'Policeman's Page' and other community focused snippets 

 

OUT OF SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

  • Summer - Cricket, Tennis, Softball and Miniball
  • Winter - Rugby, Netball, Hockey, Soccer and Indoor Hockey.

 

TELEPHONE
The telephone will be answered promptly by the office or other staff if available. If telephones are unattended please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. A second line -Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) - is available as well if the normal line is not working.

Phones and the emails are checked before bus departures in the afternoon.

A School Phone Tree is circulated with the newsletter at various times throughout the year. This allows urgent or emergency information to be sent out to the school community in an efficient manner.

Children are discouraged from using the school telephone, except for emergencies.

 

REPORTING OF CHILDREN'S PROGRESS

Two 3-Way Conferences - One at the start of the year in Term 1, which will be focused on connecting with whanau and how the year has started and where to next for the students in collaboration with the parents/caregivers. The other 3-Way Conference will be at the beginning of Term 3 as a review of the year’s achievement so far and determine what the next steps for learning and development are.

If you have queries or concerns at other times please feel free to arrange a time to see your child’s teacher, or the Principal.

Seesaw is an online tool that we are using to share with parents samples of their children’s work during the term.
Written reports are part of the 3-Way Conferences during the year. End of year reporting will be a compilation of these written reports.

Parents are encouraged to communicate regularly with school.

 

LIBRARY

Each class tries to visit our school library once per week. The children are allowed to take out a maximum of two books for juniors and three for the middle and senior room. These books can be kept for two weeks before being returned and/or re-issued.

All borrowed material, including school journals, maths textbooks and readers must be returned on time in sound condition. Books that are not returned at the end of each term are to be replaced or equivalent cost paid.

 

CLOTHING / LOST PROPERTY

LOST, STOLEN OR STRAYED....Clothes are much easier to return to owners if they are named. We recommend that all personal property be labelled in some way.

Items found around school are placed in a box outside Tourere and, if not reclaimed, are held up at assembly and laid out periodically for children/parents to view at break times and at the end of the day. Any objects not claimed after a fortnight are suitably disposed of.
It is recommended that personal 'precious' items are not brought to school unless they are for a specific purpose and are part of some class activity.

We suggest parents check the lost property box when at school.

 

PHOTOGRAPHS

We have moved to engaging a professional photographer to take these now and families will order them directly with the photographer online - the timing of when these are taken will depend on the availability of the photographer but will normally be late in Term 3 or in Term 4.

  • The photos include class photos, individual and family/whanau groupings

 

FUNDRAISING – Parents and Friends Group (PFG)

Fundraising for School activities and projects is organised by the Flemington School Parent and Friends Group (PFG). This is a group of interested parents/caregivers and community members who want to help provide the best opportunities for the children at Flemington School. ‘The Flemington Mud Run’ are held annually, with other events organized when a good opportunity arises.

The PFG also runs a Cattle Scheme which organizes for cattle to be grazed by members of the community on behalf of the School.

They are always coming up with new ideas that help raise funds and also create opportunities for the community to get together and have a good time. It is a great way to get involved with the school and great bunch of people.

On occasions throughout the year the school actively involves itself in fundraising for charities. In the main it is for organizations that have some relevance to us. Past activities have included; 'Jump Rope for Heart', ‘Pink Shirt Day’ etc.

Please contact one of the Flemington PFG members or the school if you have ideas to share. They are very welcoming to any parents wanting to get involved. They actively support any new families that have moved into the area or are just starting out on their schooling journey. Contact numbers for the PFG are on page 2 of this booklet.

 

HOMEWORK

There is no time set for homework but all classes have ongoing programmes that will require the children to complete work at home and develop quality routines. The work will generally be of either a revisionary nature or work that has been introduced in class to be completed at home. As the pupils progress through the school independent studies may be assigned as research and extension activities.

EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

One Charter Goal is ' to introduce the children to challenging physical conditions, and social interaction from working together'.

School Camps are an educational experience involving learning outside the classroom setting.

Day excursions take place during the year - in conjunction with classroom planning. Parents are encouraged to participate, and are welcomed as helpers.

 

SCHOOL LUNCHES
Lunch boxes are checked by the duty teacher before the children are dismissed from the lunch area, to ensure that the children have had sufficient to eat.

Lunch is eaten on the steps in front of the pool, or under the sunshades.

Every Friday lunches are available for the children to purchase. This is not only a treat for them but also generates some funds for the school camps and the Big Day Out. Parents on duty need to be at school at about 12.25pm to turn the ovens on etc. If you are a new parent, details of basic lunch duty requirements will be sent home prior to your turn.

Lunches consist of a main, from a menu which is sent home at the start of every term and a frozen treat (juicy). The lunches range in price from $3 to $4 and include an ice block and either a bakery pie, Waipawa Butchery sausage & bread, American Hotdog or Burger - which are on a 4 week rotation. A double option is available for an extra $2, which is a double of the main and just the one frozen treat. 

Orders are placed at the beginning of each term on an order form sent to home to families. Lunch orders are paid for in advance at the start of each term through online banking - Refer to page 2 for Internet Banking details. If paying by cash this needs to be sent to school with the order form in a sealed named envelope. 

You are most welcome to phone in your child’s order and then send the money in, anytime before Friday, or select and pay for the entire term in a lump sum. Please call the school office if you have any enquiries.

Because this is a fundraising venture, all families are asked to donate their time and are put on a roster (distributed at the start of each term) to help heat and serve the lunches. Thanks to the senior class we have been able to limit the amount of parent helpers to just one per week, which means fewer annual duties for all families. Most will find they are only called upon once or twice a year. This is a great service to those who choose to purchase their lunches as a treat.
 

Because this is a fundraising venture, all families are asked to donate their time and are put on a roster (distributed at the start of each term) to help heat and serve the lunches. Thanks to the senior class we have been able to limit the amount of parent helpers to just one per week, which means fewer annual duties for all families. Most will find they are only called upon once or twice a year. This is a great service to those who choose to purchase their lunches as a treat.