School Attendance

Day Commencement:

Our learning time at school commences from the moment our young people walk through the gates/door at St Mary of the Angels.

Whilst we provide opportunities for our parents and carers to engage in our learning spaces and we welcome parent interaction, the commencement of the day is a time to avoid teacher conversations and lengthy drop offs.

Some expectations for Drop off at St Mary of the Angels Guyra are as follows:

Arrive on time.

Tardiness can create anxiety for children. Late arrival hampers a child’s ability to;

have access to all learning time,
establish a constructive cycle of activity, and can
interrupt the flow of the classroom.
Our young people also miss opportunities for leadership in the classroom.

If you are running late, please let us know. Our academic day begins at 8:50 am.

Drop off

Be quick and cheerful. We recommend a prompt drop off and pick up, and expect this to be done at the gate of the school. Lengthy drop off/pick up can cause confusion and anxiety and disrupt other children in the classroom or playground.

We are also fostering independence. We expect that our young people will be allowed to walk independently into the classroom to drop off their bags and commence their social learning and play.

Do not walk into the classroom unless necessary. Our primary classrooms are designed for independence building, we want your child to feel confident that they can do it themselves.

Have your child carry his/her belongings into the classroom from the bus or gate.

Additionally, the time before learning commences is the time that our skilled helpful adults are preparing for their day and engaging with our young people. If you have the need to have a discussion with your child’s classroom educator/s, please make a time with the Front office by seeing Naomi or Amber at Reception, emailing guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au, or calling (02) 6779 1661.

Pick up

Safe Collection Expectations for BUS/PICKUP Safety:

Here at St Mary of the Angels, we work hard to help our young people get to buses and to their parents/carers as quickly as possible in an afternoon. Thank you to those people that support these efforts by ensuring they follow the norms that have been set for effective and safe collection.

Please ensure that all other helpful adults who collect your child are aware of the Safe Collection Expectations.

If you are collecting your child from school:

If you would like to talk to friends/ other parents/ educators: please park across the road on the roundabout, exit your vehicle and cross the road to the school.

If you are completing a quick collection:

Please DO NOT exit your vehicle

Please DO NOT engage in conversations with other parents/carers/educators that prevent the smooth running of the car collection line.

Please move up the parking space to ensure that more parents/carers can fill in behind you.

Please do not park at the entry of the car park, as this creates a bottleneck and does not allow for buses to get away in time and for students to be collected safely.

If you are asked by another parent/carer or educator to please move up the collections line, please listen and respect others by complying with the collection norms.

Attendance:

Students who have been absent for 20 days and 40 days will receive a letter from the school highlighting the number of absences the child has had over the course of the school year.

Sustained absence from school is certainly a cause for concern for parents and teachers, however please note it is a requirement that we send these letters from the school. If your child's teacher was concerned about your child's social/emotional or academic wellbeing they would have been in contact prior.

We also understand the content of the letter does not read well in our current context, when we are asking parents to keep children home with flu like symptoms etc.

At St Mary of the Angels we will continue to expect and encourage all students, to stay home if they are ill.

What if my child has to stay away from school?

If your child has to be absent from school, you must inform the school and provide a reason for your child's absence.

A small number of absences may be accepted by the Principal. For example, if your child has to

Attend a special religious ceremony
Is required to attend to a serious and/or urgent family situation (e.g: a funeral)
Is too sick to go to school or has an infectious illness.

How can you provide a reason for absence?

There are a number of options available to notify the school:

Compass
send an email to guydmin@arm.catholic.edu.au
send in a written note OR
call the school on 67791661

Less than 90% attendance converts to 1 day per fortnight at least where students are not attending school. Those students who fall below a 90% attendance, risk detriment to their learning. According to the Spotlight; Attendance Matters accessed HERE

Parents are responsible for:

Enrolling their children of compulsory school age in a government or registered non government school or registering them with the NSW Education Standards Authority(NESA) NSW for homeschooling
Ensuring that their children attend school regularly
Explaining, to the school, the absences of their children promptly and within seven days
Taking measures to resolve attendance issues involving their children
Working in cooperation with the school to improve student attendance.

If your child is sick for greater than two days it would be appreciated if you would provide the office with a medical certificate.

Students with continual absences are flagged with the Catholic Schools Office Attendance Team through our Compass information system.

Some things you can do to help:

Make school attendance a priority.
Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day.
Help your child maintain daily routines, such as finishing tasks, their reading homework and getting a good night’s sleep.
Do not to schedule dental and medical appointments during the school day.
Do not let your child stay home unless truly sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety.
Help your child stay engaged.
Stay on top of your child’s social contacts. Peer pressure can lead to skipping school, while students without many friends can feel isolated.
Communicate with the school through guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au if you are concerned.
Know the school’s attendance policy.
Talk to your child's educators if you notice sudden changes in behavior. These could be tied to something going on at school.
Check on your child's attendance to be sure absences are not piling up.
Ask for help from classroom educators, the Principal, other parents or community agencies if you’re having trouble getting your child to school.

School Supervision

Supervision hours commence at 8.30am in the morning and conclude at 3.20pm each afternoon. Please ensure that your child is not arriving to school prior to 8.30am or being collected from school after 3.20pm. Outside of these hours, school staff will not be available to supervise students.

For students arriving earlier then 8.30am there is NO supervision available meaning that there is a significant risk with cars and the school buses pulling into the grounds. Please ensure that your child is not walking, riding or arriving to school prior to this time.

Please note that if you are dropping off a student after 8:50am you must accompany your child in and sign them into the school at the office.

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