General Information
Absence from school
By regulation, children are required to attend school unless prevented by illness or some special home circumstances. If your child is absent, please phone or email the school before 9:00am. If the school has not been notified of an absence, the school office will call home to confirm the absence.
Agricultural day
This has been an annual event at this school since 1934. All children are encouraged to participate by rearing an animal, planting a vege or flower garden, creating a hanging basket or working on an art, science or research project. The projects culminate on judging day, early in Term 4. This is a day on which all children are expected to attend and participate in. A team co-ordinates this event with parent help essential.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees are elected every three years and is made up of five parents, a staff representative and the principal. The BOT governs the school in consultation with the staff and community. BOT meetings are open to the public. Meetings are held twice per term at the school and meeting dates are found on the school calendar. The minutes of all meetings are held in the School Office. Dates of meetings are subject to change should this be needed by the members of the Board.
Book Club
The school participates in the Scholastic Book Fair up to twice a year where a comprehensive range of books are displayed. There are also regular bookclub brochures sent home. The school benefits by way of book credits.
Bus
We currently have two Ministry of Education funded bus services contracted to UzaBus. The service is funded for eligible pupils only.
The MOE eligibility criteria states that pupils living less than 3.2km from the school are ineligible. Pupils living north of Wright Road, are also classified as ineligible.
The bus routes will be regularly reviewed by the MOE to ensure the majority of eligible Pahoia pupils have access to the service.
Pupils who go home on the bus are marked off by a teacher on duty. If your child is not going home on the bus, please let the office know.
If the bus is running late, please ring the school office on 548 0723. After hearing from UzaBus, we will be able to let you know approximately how much longer the bus will be to your drop off point.
Car parking
Pupil safety is the prime concern. During the busy times at the start and finish of the day, please do not park in the 'Drop Off Zone’ or in the bus stop. Please do not use the staff car park for dropping off or picking up your child. There is a disabled car park outside the school office for those who require it.
Community assemblies
Twice per term our community is invited along to be a part of our whole school assembly. These start at 2pm and take place in the Community Hall. It is a chance for us all to share and celebrate student achievement, listen to messages and sing. Dates vary for these assemblies, but information is published in the school newsletters. Every other Friday we hold a School Hui to share notices and sing together. Parents are welcome to join us at our Hui if they wish.
Lost property
Parents are asked to name all children’s clothing and property and to encourage children to be accountable for their belongings. Clothing and shoes for which owners can not be found is located on the field side of the school hall.
At the end of each term clothing is laid out in the hall, after which unclaimed clothing is donated to a charity.
Money
The majority of transactions are done through Kindo / School Shop. If there is a need to send money into the school office, please place it in an envelope with your child’s name, room, amount and what it is for, clearly marked on the front.
Pupil health
The school needs to know if your child requires medication for any reason e.g. bee stings, asthma, allergies etc. Please discuss medication requirements with the classroom teachers. A Medication Agreement is also required.
School hours
The school is open to students from 8:15am. Children should arrive no later than 8:50am to ensure they are ready for the day. Children who do not travel on the bus are are expected to be collected as near to 3:00pm as possible.
9:00am School starts
10.30 - 11:00am Morning Interval
12:30 - 1:30pm Lunch
3:00pm School ends
Supervision is between the hours of 8:15am and 3:15pm.
It is expected that children have been picked up by 3.15pm.
Staff members are on duty for the afternoon buses until 3:15pm.
School property (Damage or Loss)
We have a responsibility to the community for school resources. Fortunately, the majority of children at our school respect and care for school property. On occasions, however, thoughtless or careless action cause damage to property which must be paid for from money which would be more profitably spent on teaching resources. If school property is damaged as a result of wilful damage and/or blatant disobedience of a direct instruction or school rule by a student, then an account for the cost of repairs or replacement will be sent to the parents of the child/ren responsible.
Swimming pool keys
Each year keys to the school pool are made available to our school families for a fee (enquire at the school office for the cost). This enables key holders to use the pool outside school hours. We ask that all children are supervised by an adult and pool users respect the rights of other users. The number of keys made available is directly related to what pool maintenance will allow. Keys must not be loaned to other families. The rules are in place for everyones safety and enjoyment. If the rules are not followed then we will revoke the use of the pool.
Sun protection
Pahoia School is officially recognised as a Sun Safe School. Wide-brimmed or bucket style hats are compulsory for all staff and pupils during Terms 1 and 4. Pahoia School bucket style hats are available to purchase from the school office.