Our Daily Learning Schedule
Our Daily Learning Schedule
School grounds open for children to arrive 8:30am – 8:50am
Block 1 / Ako Tuatahi 8:50am – 10:30am
Morning Tea Break / Tākaro Tuatahi 10:30am – 10:55am
Read and feed / Pānui me te Kai 10:55am – 11:10am
Block 2 / Ako Tuarua 11:10am – 12:30pm
Lunch Break / Tākaro Tuarua 12:30pm – 1:10pm
Lunch Eating / Wātina 1:10pm – 1:25pm
Block 3: Ako Tuatoru 1:25pm – 2:50pm
Term Dates
Term Dates 2024
Term 1: Thursday 1st February - Friday 12th April
Term 2: Monday 29th April - Friday 5th July
Term 3: Monday 22nd July - Friday 27th September
Term 4: Monday 14th October - Tuesday 17th December
Public Holidays 2024
Waitangi Day: Tuesday 6th February
Good Friday: Friday 29th March
Easter Monday: Monday 1st April
Easter Tuesday: Tuesday 2nd April (Observed by NZ schools)
King’s Birthday: Monday 3rd June
Matariki: Friday 28th June
Labour Day: Monday 28th October
Teacher Only Days
As part of our Collective Agreement announced by the Ministry of Education all primary schools are entitled to two Teacher Only days over and above school holidays for professional learning.
The following are the dates that Tākaka Primary School will be closed for Teacher Only days.
Thursday 28th March (tagged before Good Friday to create an extra long weekend)
This is a day booked in with our Literacy Consultants around Writing
Friday 31st May (tagged onto the public holiday for King’s Birthday)
This is a Kahui Ako Day with all the schools in Golden Bay
Sharing and Celebrating Learning
Reporting at TPS
Research has shown that parent engagement and successful parent-teacher partnerships result in improved educational outcomes for students (Ministry of Education, 2010). We believe that a strong home-school partnership is vital in supporting achievement for our tamariki.
Teachers are continually assessing student learning through daily conversations, marking of books, formal testing, observation and so on, to determine current achievement and next step learning. Sharing progress regularly is vital for each child’s ongoing learning and success. Sharing quality learning information between learners, parents, whānau and kura helps everyone to understand how to best support the learner.
We begin our year with a Whānau Picnic as a means to foster whanaungatanga, reconnecting and fostering relationships with whānau and our tamariki.
Whānau Connect Conferences: (Beginning of Term 1)
We begin the new year with Whānau Connect Conferences and a focus on getting to know tamariki and whānau. These conferences allow children and parents to meet with their teachers and share any information that will positively impact on relationships and learning. These are an opportunity for learners and whānau to share key information with the classroom teacher. This includes: the learner's strengths, areas for growth, whānau and learner aspirations, interests and hobbies, successes, challenges and any information that may be relevant to supporting each child as an individual.
Progression Reporting:
We are using progression reporting to report progress and achievement in Reading, Writing and Mathematics for all children. We also use progression reporting for our Dual-medium classes to report Panui and Tuhituhi Te Reo Māori progress and achievement.
The Reading, Writing and Maths progress circles show real time achievement and progress which replaces our written reports which were previously printed and handed out twice a year. As children make progress through the curriculum, these circles and goals will adjust accordingly, allowing parents to see progress as it is made throughout the year.
Whānau Reconnect Conferences: (Beginning of Term 3)
In Term 3, kaiako again meet with whānau and their tamariki to review the first half of the year, discuss the mid-year achievement data and progress and make plans for the final two terms of the year.
Whānau Reconnect occurs at the beginning of Term 3. This is an opportunity for learners, whānau and teachers to connect to discuss learning progress and achievement, and share next learning steps and how home can support this learning as well as school.
End of Year Summaries:
These are a personal summary of the child's learning and progress throughout the year, and captures the whole child; school values etc.
Real time Reporting with Hero: (All Year)
Learning posts combined with achievement data and goal-setting will form an online report designed to build year on year so that over time you will have access to written posts, learning samples, and helpful resources all in one place. Your child’s current achievement, next steps and learning progress will be shared with you in real time through Hero. We believe that a strong home-school partnership is vital in supporting achievement for our learners. Hero is designed to strengthen this partnership by providing parents with more regular, relevant and up to date learning information.
Meet our Hero
Every school needs a Hero, meet ours!
We are excited to launch our communication and reporting system, Hero.
Learning posts combined with curriculum information and goal-setting will form an online report designed to build year on year so that over time you will have access to written posts, learning samples, and helpful resources all in one place. Your child’s current achievement, next steps and learning progress will be shared with you in real time through Hero. We believe that a strong home-school partnership is vital in supporting achievement for our learners. Hero is designed to strengthen this partnership by providing parents with more regular, relevant and up to date learning information.
The Hero App is our one stop shop to ensure that you are a genuine partner in your child/children’s education. All communication comes through the school app. The App has been customized for our school to provide easy access to the following features in one place:
School and class notices, including our School Newsletter
Term Dates including Teacher Only Days
School Calendar with dates for all events throughout the term
Quick links to our School Website, School Policies and Procedures, and our Facebook Page
A quick and easy way to report an absence
A place to share learning in real time
As well as a means to book Learning Conferences with your child/ren’s teacher.
To see the APP in action, click on the link for a quick tour.
Getting Started with Hero
Finance and Payments
We use Hero for all Finance for your convenience. Here you can view your account and pay online via the Hero App.
Accessing your School Account:
Go to the Hero App and click the ‘Finance’ icon.
A list of unpaid items will appear next to your child’s photo outlining what the invoice is for.
Click the ‘Pay Online’ button to slide the tab to red.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click ‘Pay Selected Items’.
You will now see a screen that gives a summary of what you are wanting to pay. Once you have checked this, click ‘Pay $? Now’.
Now you can enter your Visa details and click ‘Pay’ to finalise this payment.
This payment will now show on the main Finance screen as PAID next to the invoice. You can also view this by clicking ‘View Donation Payments’ at the top of the screen.
There is a small fee for this convenience or you are welcome to pay via bank transfer to: NBS 03-1354-0403776-00. You can also pay cash at the school office. Once payment has happened, you will see this on the statement inside Hero.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions about your school account on postie@takakaprimary.school.nz or 03 525 9030.
Reporting an Absence
If your child is going to be away for the day due to sickness, an appointment or any other reason, please notify the school as soon as possible by using the Hero app.
There is a ‘Report an Absence’ icon right on the homepage of the app
1. Click on the ‘Report an Absence’ icon
2. Select the reason for absence (add in any message if you need to)
3. Click ‘Send Message’ and you’re done!
Sharing Learning through Hero
Real Time Learning with Hero:
Hero also gives students a place to document their learning, be creative and learn how to use technology with an authentic purpose. As children move through the school, they will begin to share their learning with you through Hero. For our younger tamariki, the classroom teachers will support this process. Hero is designed to continue to strengthen the home school partnership by providing parents with more regular feedback on student learning and achievement as it happens in real time in the classroom.
Home Learning
We believe that home learning is a partnership between home and school, and we encourage whanau to engage with their child’s learning. Below, outlines how you can be part of supporting your child's learning.
Year 0-3
Year 4-6
Attendance
Our attendance procedures:
Classroom teacher marks register
Known absences are coded by administration staff
Classes are checked to ensure students have not arrived late without signing in
Text sent to whānau requesting reason for absence from class
If no contact is received from whānau, then the student is marked truant at the end of the day. (If contact is received after the absence then this mark is changed to accurately reflect the reason)
Hero notifies us with regular absences and this is monitored by the Principal. After 10 half days continuous absence (generally a week or so) OR low attendance rates, you can expect a phone call from the Principal to discuss attendance and look at what support we can provide you and your child.
If still no improvement in attendance then a referral will be put in to the truancy service to provide further support.
Updated 2024