INFO FOR PARENTS
2024 Term Dates
Term 1 7 Feb -12 April
Term 2 29 April - 5 July
Term 3 22 July - 27 Sept
Term 4 14 Oct - 20 Dec
Bikes
Children are encouraged to ride their bikes to school and use our fantastic bike track during before school and in their lunch breaks. Children are expected to have a bike that is safe to ride, wear a correctly fitted helmet and be familiar with road safety before they do so. For those students who do not have bikes, we have school bikes that the students can use during lunch times. For safety reasons, they must only ride their own bike or they can use one of the school bikes at lunchtime.
Communication with Teachers
Communication between home and school is vital in supporting students with their learning. The links between home and school are actively encouraged by our staff at Fernlea School. Parents are notified of school news and events in a weekly newsletter that is sent home on a Monday. We also use our Fernlea School Facebook page as a way of keeping parents informed.
We use the app Seesaw as a means of sharing learning with home. Please see your child’s class teacher about signing into this.
Parents receive a written report twice a year. These written reports provide parents with information on how their child(ren) are progressing and achieving against the national standards and what they can do at home to help.
As well as a written report, parents have the opportunity to find out about the child’s learning during learning conversations which happen in Term 1 and again in Term 3. These learning conversations are led by the students and focus on what the student is currently learning about and what their next steps are.
If you have any concerns, you are encouraged to meet with your child’s teacher. It is a good idea to make a formal meeting time with the teacher concerned. If after this, you still have issues that need addressing, a meeting with the senior teacher of the area your child is in may be necessary.
The Principal, Tony Field, will be happy to meet with you if you feel this is necessary at any time. Please note however, it would be sensible to make an appointment with him.
Connecting with Fernlea
Education at Fernlea School is based on strong partnerships between home and school. There are many ways that you can help develop a positive relationship between home and school. These include:
Parent help: We really appreciate help with things, such as publishing, testing word cards, coaching or managing sports teams and helping on school trips.
Whānau Hui: A group of parents and whānau of Māori children who meet once a term.
Pasifika Fono: A group of parents and whānau of Pasifika children who meet once a term.
Fernlea Fundraisers: We are very fortunate to have a group of hard working parents that fundraise tirelessly for our school. This group meets once a term.
Attending school assemblies: These are held in the school hall every second Friday and start at 2:20 pm. These are run by classes. Parents and whanau are welcome to attend.
Homework
The purpose of homework at Fernlea School is to:
give the students an opportunity to practise skills and help commit knowledge to memory
build a partnership between home and school, based on students’ learning, through interactive homework that involves parent/caregiver support
This normally involves children reading to you, or reading together, learning word power cards or spelling words. While homework is a child’s responsibility, support from parents and caregivers is vital.
Inter School Sports
Older children have the opportunity to represent the school in sporting activities with children from other schools. Currently students are involved in sporting field days covering cricket, softball, rugby, rippa rugby, miniball, soccer, hockey, bmx racing and tennis with the opportunity to represent the school, community or region at swimming, athletics and cross country events.
Interschool teams have been selected to participate in netball and flippaball competitions with teams from the wider Hutt Valley.
Library
At Fernlea all students have access to a well stocked and up-to-date libary. Children are introduced to a range of library skills to enable them to use our library more effectively and also public libraries in the future. More able students and others who wish to be involved are encouraged to attain advanced library skills to assist staff as pupil librarians.
Our library:
Contains the latest children’s literature
Has excellent reference material
Contains educational non-book materials
Is a fun place to read and study
Has television, video and computers set up for student/staff use
Mutukaroa
Fernlea School is a Mutukaroa school. Mutukaroa is a home school learning partnership that seeks to accelerate learning progress and achievement for students in Years 1, 2 and 3 by fostering the active engagement of parents and whānau in learning partnerships, and to provide them with the tools and knowledge necessary for them to support the development of core skills in their children.
School Voluntary Donation
From the 2020 school year, Decile 1–7 state and state-integrated schools/kura are able to choose to receive a $150 per student, per year payment if they agree not to ask parents and caregivers for donations, except for overnight camps. This initiative is designed to alleviate that pressure and expectation. Fernlea School is part of this programme and does not ask for donations except for school camp or voluntary trips, concerts or sporting exchanges.
Scooters
Many children ride scooters to school and we allow them to ride them in the scooter area, by the school hall during break times. Again for safety reasons, children must only ride their own scooters.
Sunhats/ Sunsmart
We encourage students to wear hats all year round, although the wearing of sunhats during Terms 1 and 4 is compulsory for all outdoor activities. If they do not have a sunhat during Terms 1 and 4, they are required to play in the shady areas during their break times. Children must bring an appropriate sunhat from home.