Attendance, arrival and departure

School Times

End of Term Dismissal Times

Dismissal time on the last day of terms 1, 2 and 3 is 2:30pm.

Dismissal on the final day of the school year is 1:30pm.

Arrival and Departure

We ask parents to make sure that their children arrive punctually for a 9:00 a.m. start each morning. Students are supervised in the yard from 8:45 a.m. and students should not arrive before this time.  Routines commence as soon as the bell rings with notes being collected, daily reminders being given and the mornings’ learning focus being introduced.  A late child can impact on the learning of all children. Once children arrive at school, they may not leave the school grounds without the permission of the Principal or the parent. 

At 3:15 p.m. students are dismissed from the classroom or specialist area.  Please wait for your child outside the building.  All children waiting to be collected after school are to wait inside the school gate. Students are supervised by the staff on duty until 3:30 p.m. Parents who are delayed in collecting their children are asked to ring the school. 

At times children may arrive late to school, or leave early on occasions due to medical appointments, etc. Parents/Guardians are required to report to the school office to collect their child. The teacher will record late arrival and early departure details in Sentral.

Both school and parents have an important role to play in supporting students to attend school every day. Teesdale Primary School believes all students should attend school all day, every day when the school is open for instruction and is committed to working with its school community to encourage and support full school attendance.

However, a parent/carer must provide an explanation on each occasion to the school, on the day of the absence or in advance when possible, such as family holidays.

Parents should notify Teesdale Primary School of absences by:

• an email or message to a teacher via the Sentral Parent Portal
• a phone call to the school

If a student is absent on a particular day and the school has not been previously notified by a parent, or the absence is otherwise unexplained, the school will notify parents by email or message via Sentral. Classroom teachers will attempt to contact parents as soon as practicable on the same day of the unexplained absence, allowing time for the parent to respond to the first email or message. If contact cannot be made with the parent (due to incorrect contact details), the school will attempt to make contact with any emergency contact/s nominated on the student's file held by the school, where possible, on the day of the unexplained absence.

For further information on school attendance at Teesdale, please find the Attendance Policy on the School Website.

Safety of Students

The school staff will maintain supervision of the buildings and grounds between 8:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

• Children will not be permitted to leave the school grounds during school hours unless they are collected by a responsible person.
• In the event that your child arrives at school before 8:45 a.m. or is not picked up by 3:30 p.m. please book into the OSHC program.
• Children should come directly to school and return directly home after school when walking or riding.
• Children are not allowed in classrooms unless a teacher is present.
• On days of extreme weather students will remain inside.

School Crossing

It is important that children crossing Main Road use the school crossing.

The crossing is supervised from 8:45 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. and from 3:15 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.  Please ensure that your children are taught how to use the crossing and that they are punctual for school, so that they use the crossing while it is being supervised.

Please keep well clear of the school crossing when dropping off or picking up children by car.  Remember to park your vehicle legally and be patient in finding a car park.

No Standing Zones

The 'No Standing' area on Sutherland Street runs the entire length of the school and is marked by signs at either end of the school boundary. It is important these areas of illegal parking are communicated to anyone who may pick up your child after school so they avoid parking here on the odd occasion. It is not only illegal to park in these areas, but it is unsafe during busy drop off and pick up times for children to be crossing the road. Please only park in designated spaces and observe the 'No Standing' areas on the school side of Sutherland Street in front of Fire Services as well as the speed restriction of 40km/h at all times. The local Police and Council do monitor theses areas so please do the right thing to keep students safe and avoid being fined. 

We are going to continue to grow as a school and are fortunate to have the amount of parking we already do. We need to manage it as best we can and illegal parking is never acceptable around the school. One strategy is to take advantage of the teacher supervision that we provide as a school until 3:30. Rather than arriving at 2:45 or 3:00 for a park, the on street parking is always nearly empty by 3:25. Staff supervision is provided every day until 3:30 which means your children are safe and pickup is a breeze. 

 Bikes

Children who ride bikes to school MUST wear an approved safety helmet.  Foundation to grade two students must be accompanied by a responsible adult to and from school if they wish to ride to school, as their peripheral vision and reflexes are generally not developed enough for them to deal safely with traffic without supervision.  Bikes must not be ridden in the school grounds at any time.