Location

East Taieri School is located on the edge of Mosgiel in semi rural surroundings - our physical address is:

East Taieri School
11 Cemetery Road
Mosgiel

East Taieri School has an enrolment scheme and all children who live within the home zone indicated by the shaded areas below are entitled to enrol. Each year the Board of Trustees will determine the number of places available for out of zone children. For further information regarding our enrolment scheme please contact the school office.

East Taieri is one of Otago and New Zealand's earliest schools. On November 27, 1853 it was opened as a preaching station. We look back on our heritage and connection with the pioneering Christian settlers whose way of life saw the school come into existence.

In 1856 an application was sent to the Board of Education for the use of a ten acre site for school buildings, a school house and a teacher's house. In 1863 the new school was opened and a library added in 1865.

In 1972 the main brick building that was established in 1907, was demolished and the present building erected.

Our School Community

East Taieri School is a decile 9 contributing primary school and as a result of development on the Taieri and the recent network review of schools in the area, has experienced significant roll growth. This has posed challenges for the Board of Trustees, who have an ongoing property development programme.

A strength of the school is its “family atmosphere”. Syndicate and school wide activities are consciously planned to ensure that this is maintained.

We are very fortunate to have children who are generally receptive to learning because their parents value education and fully support the staff. Children with individual abilities are also identified and tracked to ensure their needs are met. We believe in providing for enrichment needs primarily in the classroom, but in addition we run withdrawal extension groups focusing on different curriculum areas.

The children are well cared for and they, along with their families and a wonderfully hard working and committed staff, all contribute to our happy and positive school environment. Our staff are dedicated to maintaining and enhancing our family environment.

We also have a very talented music specialist who takes weekly sessions with all pupils as well as working with an ensemble of middle and senior pupils.

We currently have 11 classrooms.

"Students stated that they enjoyed the wide range of learning opportunities that the school offers." - ERO Report 2008

General Information

Absences/Sickness:

Please phone the office by 9am if your child is to be absent from or late to school. If we have not already heard we try to make contact with the home number. Schools are required by law to maintain a daily attendance register and to follow up on any unexplained absences from school.

The school operates a First Aid policy and parents/caregivers are notified if there are any concerns about your child's health, either through sickness or injury. Parents are asked to arrange for collecting their sick/injured child. In case of serious accidents at school, parents will be contacted immediately and appropriate agencies contacted e.g. ambulances, doctor etc. The school has trained personnel in First Aid.

Children Leaving the School:

Please do not take your child from school without making sure that a staff member – preferably the class teacher – is told. This can avoid a great deal of anxiety.

Address:

To ensure our records are kept up to date, please inform the school if you have changes of address and/or telephone numbers.

Bikes:

Bike stands are available behind the PE shed. Children must walk their bikes into the school grounds. Police recommendations are that only children 10 years and older bike unsupervised.

Buddies:

Various buddy systems operate at East Taieri School. These range from the pairing of senior/middle and junior children , to individual buddying within a class. We value positive social relationships which develop throughout the school as a result of buddying.

Email:

The whole school is capable of sending and receiving email. The school email address is: etaieri@east-taieri.school.nz

Sun Safety Practices:

We have a sun safe practice and all children must wear hats (wide brimmed) when sunny. The wide brimmed sun hat can be purchased from the school office.

Payments:

All money is to be put into sealed envelope, named, room number, purpose and handed in at the school office.

School Donation/Activity Fee/Paper Levy:

To supplement our Ministry funding, it is necessary for us to seek an annual contribution per family - $60.00 first child and thereafter $50.00 for the other family members per annum. As well, families are invoiced each term for an activity fee which includes fees for any trips, concerts, swimming etc. Paper levy is paid at the start of the year with stationery ($20).

Dental Health:

Pupils receive treatment yearly. Initial examinations are in the East Taieri Dental Clinic. If you have any concerns regarding your child's dental health, please phone the Dental Nurse 027 284 9768 or 489 4225.

Health Nurse/Vision and Hearing:

The public Health Nurse calls at the school regularly and she may be contacted through the school office. Also our Vision and Hearing Technician visits the school once a term to test new entrants and other referrals.

Medication:

Medication can only be given at school where prior written permission is given from parents/caregivers.

Homework:

Early in the year, each classroom teacher should inform parents of the class homework requirements. It is hoped that parents will adopt a supportive role in respect of home learning. Homework should always be work that is based on the classroom programme. If your child experiences difficulty meeting requirements, and is spending excessive time on work set, please discuss the issue with the classroom teacher.

Library:

We have excellent library facilities available. Please encourage your child to return library books promptly and in good condition. A library bag may be purchased from the school office.

Lost Property:

Lost property will be displayed outside the office at the end of the week (otherwise it is located in the PE shed. Please clearly name all items of clothing, drink bottles, lunch boxes etc to ensure they can be returned to the owner. Unclaimed items are donated to charity at the end of each term.

Lunches:

The Home and School sell cookies and milk on Fridays. Children are to bring their order in an envelope with the order on the front and money inside the envelope. This is handed to the teacher. Smart lunches are also sold on a Monday and Wednesday. These are provided by an outside agency – cost $2.00.

Bookclub:

The school operates Scholastic New Zealand Ltd Bookclub once a term and children benefit from discounted prices. The school also earns valuable bonus points which we use to purchase further resources for our school.

Newsletters:

School newsletters are distributed weekly, on Monday and are given to the oldest child in the family. From time to time newsletters from the Board of Trustees and the Home and School Association and syndicates are dispatched in the same manner. There may be flyers as well. The school newsletter can also be accessed on the schools website under newsletters: Newsletters

Religious Instruction:

Religious instruction lessons are for all classes and are usually taken on Thursday mornings from 9:00am – 10:00am. Parents have the right to withdraw pupils.

Parent Help:

Throughout the year we seek your help in many ways: e.g.

» Classroom help

» Sports coaching

» Equipment making

» Working bees

» Involvement in special events – e.g. athletic sports

If you have any specific skills, hobbies or interests and wish to offer your assistance at any time, please contact the principal or classroom teachers as we value your input.

School Hours:

9:00am – 10:30am (Teaching)

10:30am – 10:45am (Interval)

10:45am - 12:30am (Teaching)

12:30pm - 1:30pm (Lunch)

1:30pm - 3:00pm (Teaching)

Ensuring that your child arrives at school in good time makes for a relaxed entry into the class. Arriving at approximately 8:45am is a good general rule and avoids disruption of a class and stress for your child. Parents are responsible for a child's safety if she/he is in the playground outside school hours.

A before school road patrol is provided at our Cemetery Road entrance. While we appreciate that parking is difficult for a short time after school, we seek your co-operation in not parking on the yellow lines or behind or in front of the no parking signs.

Safe Practices when arriving and leaving school:

As we now have the new East Taieri School car park it is expected that all parents/caregivers drop off and pick up their children from here. By the bus shelter there is a pick up and drop off zone which allows parking of 5 minutes and there are plenty of other parks for cars. Please ensure that you do not park over the bus zones or block the car park for others. We advise that you do not use the old Church car park as we are no longer providing a safety crossing patrol.

Please do not park in front of the church gates (bus only) or on the footpath . Children going and coming from Kinmont must push their wheels past the Pre-School.

School Terms and Holidays:

School term dates and holidays are set by the Ministry of Education and will vary from year to year. The school year is divided into four terms with holidays (for the children) of two weeks each in April, July and September/October, with the main Christmas holidays in late December/January. Parents will be informed of term dates and statutory holidays through the newsletter.

Sports Uniforms:

The jade polo shirt with navy monogram forms part of the sports uniform and can be worn with blue track pants/shorts. It is a basic requirement for students Year 4-6. Shirts can be purchased from the office. Younger children may purchase sports tops, if they wish.

Stationery:

Parents are issued with a list of stationery requirements at the beginning of each year, in preparation for the new year class. Most ongoing requirements can then be purchased through the school office. A new entrant stationery pack is available for purchase at enrolment time.

Student Teachers:

Many of our teachers are qualified as associate teachers to assist in the training of student teachers from the Dunedin College of Education and the University of Otago Teacher Training Programme. These student teachers are usually assigned to our school for up to three weeks at a time and depending on how far through their training they are, will do a few days of full classroom management under the supervision of the classroom teacher. Trainees bring enthusiasm and different skills to our school, which we believe is beneficial to both our staff and children.

Student Behaviour Management:

East Taieri School expects that students will display high standards of acceptable behaviour at all times. Our expectations are based on our Code of Conduct.

A school wide behaviour management plan provides the basis for teachers to develop classroom behaviour plans and procedures for addressing inappropriate behaviour both in the classroom and playground. Parents will be advised and involved whenever a child's inappropriate behaviour causes concern at school. Ensuring that children behave appropriately at school of regarded as a shared responsibility between home and school.

East Taieri School has a zero tolerance attitude towards all forms of bullying. Please involve the school and your child's teacher if you suspect that your child is being bullied or is bullying others.