Parents
General Information
The following information should answer any questions you have about George Street Normal School. If you have further questions or concerns please contact the school.
Absences: children who are sick - going to be late to school - leaving early
Please ring the school absence line and leave a message or use our school app to advise us of your child's lateness or absence. If you need to pick your child up before school finishes at 3 p.m. please advise the office team so they can send your child to meet you at the office.
Assembly
Assemblies are held fortnightly on Fridays at 2.00 - 2.45pm. Each class hosts an assembly during the year and parents are invited to attend.
Behaviour
Our School has a Code of Conduct which sets out our expectations under two headings:
Use common sense
Treat others as you would like to be treated
We also have clearly defined procedures and consequences for bullying. We have a very proactive approach to bullying. If you believe your child is the victim of any kind of bullying, please let the Deputy Principal or Principal know immediately.
The Code of Conduct can be found in the school’s welcome pack and is also available from the school office.
Bus Trips/Visits
During the year classes may go to various locations in town (museum, art gallery, other schools etc). Information about these trips will be made available by the class teacher. Consent for all trips is requested at the beginning of each year.
Calendar Events
The easiest way to find out what is on in our school and when is by downloading the Skool Loop app. All of our events will be posted on this calendar and also the calendar linked to our school website.
Car Access
Please - NO cars down the Junior classroom block driveway or on school grounds without permission because this puts children at risk.
Clothing
Please label your child's clothing. Every term we have a huge amount of lost property that we have to dispose of. Lost property is located upstairs in the foyer by Room 11 and Room 3.
Dental Care
George Street Normal children attend the Dunedin Dental Hub for oral care.
George Street Normal School Policies and Procedures
Should you wish to view our school policies and procedures, they are available in the school office to view.
Health Nurse
The Health Nurse regularly visits the school. Please let teachers know if you have a health concern about your child. All New Entrants are checked by the Hearing/Vision tester.
Injuries/Emergencies
It is super important to ensure your emergency contact details are kept up to date. Please also ensure those of your additional contact (e.g. partner, grandparent, friend) are updated as we contact these people if we can't reach you.
Lunches
Our School lunch break is from 12:30pm until 1:30pm. On wet days, children are expected to sit quietly in their classroom and eat lunch until they are released for play. If the day is fine the children sit outside in defined areas Most children bring their lunch (and morning tea snack) from home but orders for lunches from the Willowbank Dairy can be made before school at the Dairy. These lunches are delivered to school at 12:30 p.m. On Thursdays sushi may also be ordered via Lunchonline. Parents are required to register and set up an acount. This is delivered to school before lunchtime.
Medication
If your child requires medication to be taken at school, please ensure a Medication Administration Authority form is filled out at the school office.
Notices
Newsletters are sent home via Mailchimp (an email service) every second Thursday. Please ensure our office team has your correct email address. Our notices are also posted on the Skool Loop app.
Parent Help at School
Parents, caregivers and extended family are welcome to visit the classroom at suitable times or help with selected programmes identified by the teacher.
Parent–Teacher meetings
Formal Parent–Teacher meetings take place in Term 1 and Term 2. There are written reports issued twice per year (June and December). We welcome meetings outside these times if there are any concerns.
Parking
It can be very tricky finding a park near our school especially at the beginning and end of the school day. We encourage our children to walk to meet the person picking them up after school. The Dunedin Police have recommended safe routes for the children to meet you. There are maps showing these routes in our enrolment booklets. Alternatively we have a pick up / drop off zone outside the front of the main school. This is well signposted and is a DROP OFF ZONE ONLY. During specified times cars are not able to park in these spaces and the Dunedin City Council Parking Services people regularly patrol this. Likewise, on our junior side of the school, parking is also tricky. We request parents to respect our neighbours by not parking in or across their driveways.
Road Patrols and Pedestrian Crossings
Road Patrols are on duty 8.30 – 9.00am and 3.00 - 3.12pm. Parents are requested to use the pedestrian crossing at all times. Bikes are walked to the crossing. Staff and volunteer parents act as road crossing supervisors.
School Donation
The George Street Normal School Board of Trustees asks that each family contribute to the cost of a number of extra and desirable educational opportunities for children this year.
In the past, these have included subsidising the cost of:
Trips to the museum and art gallery for all children
Providing nationally and internationally recognised visiting performers for all children
Professional swimming coaching for all children
Providing ICT resources
Put simply, with your help we can do more for your children.
The amount of the requested donation set by the Board of Trustees is $200 (or $350 for 2 or more children from the same family) per year.
School Entry Assessment
When your new entrant child has been at school for approximately six weeks they will be assessed on a range of tasks making reference to numeracy and literacy. After this assessment task and other classroom observations parents will be invited to a parent-teacher conference to discuss strengths and areas for development.
School size and type
George Street Normal School is a state funded, co-educational, Decile 9 contributing primary school with a roll that peaks at approximately 500 children each year. We have 22 classes that include four 'Country Model' classes.
School Stationery
Our stationery lists/ability to purchase stationery online can be accessed via the OfficeMax My School website. NB: Kindle classes do not need to purchase stationery online, it is available to purchase from school. You will need your child's 2021 classroom number when accessing the stationery list/ordering online.
School times
9:00am: School starts
11:00–11:20am: Morning Interval
12.30–1:30pm: Lunchtime (Children are seated and eat from 12:30pm until 12:45pm)
3:00pm: School finishes
We welcome children into our classrooms from 8.30am onwards. Children who arrive at school earlier than 8.30am are invited to attend 'Georgies' before school care (7.45am -8.30am). Please see our 'Georgies' page for costs relating to this. All children must leave school by 3.20pm unless they are actively supervised by a parent or caregiver.
Special Educational Learning Needs
Our school is well equipped to meet the needs of children with specific learning needs. Our Deputy Principal, Leanne Stanton, is also our school SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator). If your child requires additional support please contact Leanne (leanne@georgestreet.school.nz)
Swimming
Each year, all of our children receive swimming lessons carried out by professional instructors.
Sunsmart
Parents are strongly advised to provide children with sunscreen and bucket-style sun hats. Children will be encouraged to wear our School sunhat during terms 1 and 3 as recommended by the NZ Cancer Society. School sun hats are avaiable for purchase from our school office $10.
Winter Weather
In the event of snow falling or possible dangerous ice on streets in Dunedin, there are well-established procedures to follow:
1) If the snowfall is light, schools will open as usual.
2) If the snowfall is heavier, or there is severe frost with icy roads before school begins, our school website and school app messages will be updated as soon we receive information. Alternatively, most local radio stations will broadcast times that schools will open on these winter days.
3) If snow falls during a school day, children will not be sent home early from George Street Normal School. We will close at the usual time of 3pm. However, if parents or caregivers wish to collect their children before 3pm, that is quite acceptable. Please let the office team know before taking your child.