Teaching and Learning 

Planned Extended Absences

We all know that attendance and being at school every day, on time, is vital to every child’s learning and school success. There are times however that families will make the choice to book a holiday within the school term, resulting in their child/red having an extended absence from school. 

Whilst we always strongly encourage families to arrange holidays within the termly school holiday breaks, we recognise that this is not always possible. In these instances, we ask parents and guardians to communicate well in advance with the school, so that we can work together to arrange a variety of supports that will ensure your child/ren stay connected to the school, their learning and their friendships whilst they are away.  

1. The first step parents/guardians must take is to contact the Principal. This needs to be in writing and should include the names of each child in the family who will be away, as well as their grade, and the exact dates that they will be away. 
2. From here, the Principal will inform the child/ren’s classroom teacher of the planned absences, along with the Assistant Principals who will support the teacher to create an ‘Extended Absence Plan’. 
3. The classroom teacher will then arrange a time to meet with the parent guardian to share the Extended Absence Plan.  The plan will cover the types of activities their child can do to support their learning. The activities will not be an exact replica of the lessons delivered in the classroom, instead they will be general activities that support Reading, Writing and Mathematical development.  A discussion will also be had about the ways that their child can maintain their relationship with their classroom (teacher and peers) whilst they are away. If there are multiple children in the family, this may be a group meeting with both/all your children’s classroom teachers together. 
4. During the extended absence, the family will be able to contact the classroom teacher/s via email should they have any questions. The child and their class will also maintain contact according to the Extended Absence Plan (eg, via WebEx, email or letter).  
5. Upon return to school, the student will be encouraged to share their experience with the class. Parents/guardians are encouraged to contact the classroom teacher/s to discuss their child’s learning upon re-entry to the classroom.

Following the process above enables a clear communication pathway between Karoo staff and families, so that our children are supported as best as possible. We thank you in advance for following the steps outlined above and for coming to us with further questions, should you need further clarification.

Home Learning Survey 

On another note, a big thank you to all of the parents who completed the Home Learning Parents and Carers Survey. We had 141 responses, which will really help to shape our updated policy and sharpen our school procedures. Our next step is to survey our students and teachers.  We look forward to communicating with you about it in the near future. 

See you about the school,

Ms Ashley Kuusela - Assistant Principal