School profile
section

Profile Section

Witherlea school:


  • Grounds
    Is a modern school set in attractively developed grounds

  • People
    Our teaching team has experienced, professional, enthusiastic teachers and support staff

  • Equipment
    Well resourced with a variety of sports, ICT and playground equipment

  • Facilities
    Big enough to provide a range of activities and programmes, but small enough to care for individual needs

  • Teams
    Four teams that start in the Ferns Room (part of the Punga Team), Kowhai is our middle team, students then develop into our kaitiaki (guardians) and leaders in the Kauri Team
  •  
    Learning Environment
    Innovative Learning Environment (ILE) with different sized Flexible Learning Environments (FLE) where students and teachers collaborate
 


  • Zones
    Multi purpose teaching spaces, an indoor sports space/hall, our own pool, upper and lower turf space/courts and an outdoor 'forest classroom' to be created in 2020

Term Dates

Term 1 9 February - 16 April
Term 2 3 May - 9 July
Term 3 26 July - 1 October
Term 4 18 October - 17 December (Half Day)

Holidays

Waitangi Day:

Saturday 6th February

Monday 8 February (observed)

Easter:

Week 9: Friday 2 - Tuesday 6th April

Queens Birthday:

Week 6: Monday 2 June

Labour Day:

Week 2: Monday 25 October

Marlborough Anniversary Day:

Week 3: Monday 1 November

 

Teacher Only Days 2021

Term One

Week 9: Thursday 1 April

Term Two

Week 9: Friday 2 July

Term Three

Week 9: Friday 24 September

Bell times

8:30 amSchool grounds open for children to arrive at school
11:00 amMorning Interval
8:50 amSchool Starts
11:20 amClasses restart

Afternoon

1:00 pm Supervised Lunch Eating Time
1:55 pmClasses restart
1:15 pmLunch break
3:00 pmSchool ends

School Donation

Annual Donation $125 (Voluntary)

The Board of Trustees ask that parents make an annual donation of $125 per child. Income is used to supplement the Operations Grant provided by the Government and allows for our school to be well resourced and offer your child the very best learning opportunities.  Please enquire at the school office about paying your school donation in instalments. Following payment of the donation you will recieve a tax credit note.

Internet banking

details

How to pay

Many people prefer to pay through internet banking. Please be aware we do not check this everyday however there is a dedicated time for our office staff to go through these.  Make sure you use your LAST NAME and WHAT you are paying for as a reference otherwise we will not know who and what the payment is for.  

This is the school number:  12-3167-0133327-00

Uniforms

How to get a uniform

Witherlea School students wear a uniform which can be purchased through The Warehouse.  A second hand store operates via our WSPCG in the hall one afternoon per week.  Please contact the office if you have any queries.

Absentees: Safety Check

Safety details

We operate a phone-in system each morning from 8.00 am for all daily absences.  In the interests of your child’s safety, we seek your cooperation in advising us of your child’s absence each day.  Parents will be contacted if absences are not notified.  A note is required for any prolonged absence. 

You MUST call the office: 578 5568 or contact through the School App  if your child is going to be late or absent. If your child is late for school (after 8.50am) he/she must report to the school office to have his/her name checked off.

Concerns

Complaint
Resolution Pathway

We have a clear pathway to solve issues and come to either
a shared understanding or a resolution at Witherlea School.

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Step 1

The Teacher
Teachers are the first people to engage with when there is any type of concern. One or two meetings will resolve most issues. However, at times there may need to be an extensive plan of action put in place which will be created together.

STEP 2

Hub Leaders
If the issue cannot be solved by the teacher alone our Hub Leaders will help to create a new plan or way forward through the issue or consern.

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STEP 3

Senior Management
After a team approach has not effectively resolved the issue our Senior Managers; Assistant Principals, Deputy Principal and Principal can work through possible next steps or options.

STEP 4

The Board
If parents feel there has been no resolution they can formally write to the Board of Trustees with an official complaint which the board will investigate using the governance lens.

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Team Leaders

From time to time matters of concern and/or questions may arise. The first person you should speak to would be your child’s teacher, who will work with you to resolve the issue and find solutions. If concerns persist, the Team Leader may be able to assist and then management could support. Please follow this process to save valuable time and so the right person is dealing with each concern/issue.

Ferns
Angela Clark
angelac@witherlea.school.nz
Kauri
Hazel Halton
hazelh@witherlea.school.nz
Punga
Catherine Stringer
catherines@witherlea.school.nz
DP
Phil Funnell
hazelh@witherlea.school.nz
Kowhai
Matt Robertson
mattr@witherlea.school.nz
Principal
Andrea Harnett
office@witherlea.school.nz

Deputy Principal

Please contact the school office and make an appointment to the Deputy Principal; Or book an appointment with our Principal, Andrea Harnett through the school office.

Phil Funnell: philf@witherlea.school.nz, 
  

Communication

The following methods are used to communicate information to the school community:

  • education2Assemblies
  • smartphoneSchool App
  • computerSchool Website
  • facebookFacebook
  • presentationMeet the Teacher
    (term one)
  • fax2Newsletter
    issued every second Monday
  • notificationWSPCG Meetings
    (Tuesday Evening 7:30pm – usually twice per term)
  • penParent Teacher
    Interviews (term two)
  • open magazineParent Information
    Evenings and Open Days

Parent Interviews
Take place in Term 1 and 2.  Before and after school commitments often make teachers unavailable, but if you have any concerns or would like to meet with your child’s teacher, we encourage you to make an appointment.

Phone Calls
Although we appreciate that sometimes there are urgent phone messages for children, we ask that these be kept to a minimum.  We cannot allow personal calls for children, but will try to pass on important messages.  Pupils are only allowed to use the phone with staff permission.

Written Reports
There will be two written reports per year. An initial Report at the end of Term 1 for Year 2-6 and Mid Year for New Entrants and Year 1. All students get a Summary Report at the end of the year.

Contact Staff
All members of the staff are able to be contacted by email or you can ring the school between 8.30am and 9am or after 3pm.

Medical Information

Group 1

Medication

Only medication prescribed by a registered practitioner can be administered at school. A consent form must be completed at the office by the parent / caregiver. Medication is kept at the office, not in classrooms.

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pharmacy

Accidents

In the event of your child being involved in an accident which causes concern at school, we will, if necessary arrange for medical attention and notify you immediately. Please make sure that we always have your up-to-date telephone number, and an emergency back-up number.

medicine

Medical Care

We have a sick bay, which is available for first aid, and as a place for ill or injured children to wait for parents to collect them. In case of sickness we will get in touch with you if children need to go home. We have visits from the Public Health Nurse, and she will contact you if there are matters needing further attention.

Before and After

School Care

Programmes

Many after school activity programmes operate five days per week from 3.15pm – 5.30pm. Children must be enrolled in order to attend these programme. Further information regarding each programme can be found at the office

Cycling and Wheels

Bikes may be stored on bike racks.  No bikes, scooters or other wheels should be ridden in the playground between 8.30am and 3.15pm - we also ask all students to walk their bikes and scooters down to MaKenzie Street before riding as we have many pedestrians that could be run into.  It is recommended by the Police that those pupils under 10 should not cycle to school.  All cyclists must wear an approved safety helmet and we encourage the use of a reflector jacket.

(03) 578 5568 office@witherlea.school.nz