Smart Watch Update: 

As I'm sure most of you know, the government and the Ministry of Education have banned smartphones from being used in schools. This policy was in place at Western Heights before it was ministry-mandated, and it works well. Children hand their phones in at the start of the day and collect them at the end of the day.

Our children are safe at school and do not need a phone at this time. They all have access to Chromebooks, and we also have class sets of iPads available for creative work.

We currently have a new problem: Smart Watches. Recently, photos were taken with a Smart Watch during school hours, and other children were asked to rate those photos. The photos were not inappropriate, but taking them was - an obviously inappropriate activity during what was supposed to be focused learning time. It is exactly the sort of reason Smart Phones are not to be available during school hours.

We have some parents who call or text their children during class time, and sometimes, children do the same to their parents.

Every classroom has a two-way intercom system and a phone. If parents need to get a message to their children, they can call our office, and that message will be relayed to the class teacher and/or child as soon as is necessary or appropriate.

If, on a rare occasion, the Office phone is not answered and the matter is urgent, parents can call me on 021 779 009, and I will ensure your message is delivered as urgently as possible.

Therefore, we will apply the same rules and systems to Smart Watches: hand them in at the beginning of the day, secure them safely for the day, and return them at the end of the day.

Some parents have explained that they turn off the Smart functions of their child's watch and hope their child can, therefore, wear the watch all day. As teachers, we would find it far too difficult to police and manage this request, so we are unable to support it.

As always, your understanding and support will be greatly appreciated. And, as always, if you have specific concerns or suggestions you want to discuss, do get in touch with me either in person, via email at macash@mac.com or via text to 021779009.

My sincere thanks.