FAQ

• What are our school hours?
• What are our class sizes?
• Does our school have a behaviour management plan?
• Do the children get home learning?
• Do we have a uniform?
• Does our school request a school donation (old 'school fee')?
• What exercise books and stationery will my child need?
• Can lunches be bought at school?
• Do the classes go on school trips and visits outside the school?
• Do we have school sports teams?
• Is after-school care available?
• What access have we to a dental clinic and health nurse?
• How do we report to parents on their child's progress and achievement?
• Absences

Our school operates on a four-term year following dates set nationally by the Ministry of Education. These are listed on our website.

• Classes begin 9.00 am
• Morning break 10:35 – 11:00 am
• Lunch 12:30 – 1:30 pm - Play then Eat (Younger children may begin eating their lunch slightly earlier than this). 
• Classes end 3.00 pm

We do not have a shortened lunch time on wet days or in the winter terms.

Looking at our class numbers over the last 3 years, on average our class sizes were:

Year 1 = 17, Year 2 = 22, Year 3 = 23, Year 4 = 25, Year 5 = 28, and Year 6 = 28.

Our New Entrant classes are often smaller than 17 as the numbers increase as new children enrol during the course of the year.

We do not have complete control over our class numbers as children who move into our school zone have an automatic right to enrol, therefore class numbers may not stay the same during the course of the year. However, the average figures for the current year along with the previous two years provide a general indication.

Yes. Our positive social climate is a feature of our school and is critical to effective learning and teaching. In 2018 we began our PB4L (Positive Learning for Behaviour) school development. PB4L is a framework that we use to continually modify our systems and practice to better enable positive behaviour for learning. Our behaviour management plan and information about PB4L is available from the school office.

Do the children get home learning?

Yes. However, we do not have a prescriptive policy stating things such as minimum time to be spent. We believe home learning should be manageable and balanced with the commitments of family life and out-of-school activity, that many of our children are involved in. All children are expected to read each night. Children in their first three years of schooling will be given 'readers' to bring home, and beyond this the children will move into material from School Journals, other school readers, school library books, or sometimes specific material related to topical work carried out in class. Other types of home learning, particularly at the higher Year Levels, may relate to reinforcing learning in spelling, maths basic facts, and sometimes other activity linked to classroom work.

Do we have a uniform?

No, with the exception of a standard Royal Blue ‘bucket-type’ sunhat for summer months. These are available from the school office at a very reasonable price.

Does our school request a school donation?

All exercise books and other stationery items can be purchased from the school office including items needing replacement during the year. A stationery list is provided upon enrolment or or can be viewed online by clicking here.  Sometimes, exercise books from the previous school can be used.

We do not have a canteen, although a weekly Friday Lunch Fundraiser is available - Pita Pit (Online Ordering).  

Yes. We promote learning in places outside our school. We are proud of our ‘Education Outside the Classroom Programme’, which incorporates an overnight experience at Year 6, as well as experiences during the school-day for children at other Year Levels. 

Do we have school sports teams?

Yes. Durie Hill School encourages the participation of children of all ages in after-school and weekend sport. We have school sports teams for hockey, netball, T-Ball, cricket, and rippa-rugby, and we have a strong affiliation with the locally based Durie Hill Football Club. For out-of-school sports that our school cannot cater for, such as tackle rugby, tennis, badminton, and gymnastics, we have formed strong contacts and can help by liaising with these organisations and clubs.

Our school is committed to supporting opportunities on a city-wide/regional basis, including 'inter-school' events. We participate fully in annual inter-school cross-country, athletics, swimming, and winter sports days. We have a proud record in terms of entries, fair-play, and results.

After-school care is not provided on-site or by our school but families from our school utilise the following after-school providers as they also provide transport between our school and their facility. Parents are to make arrangement directly with their preferred provider;

YMCA: ph (06) 3490197 or SKIDS ph 0277391986 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A mobile dental clinic is on-site at our school for one term, this currently being for set weeks in Term 3 and Term 4. For appointments outside this time, parents are to phone the Dental Service directly on (06) 3437138.

We also have a public health nurse assigned to our school, who visits on a regular basis. Parents are also able to contact the Public Health Service/Nurses directly regarding matters around family and child health - ph (06) 3481796.

Our reporting programme includes:

• Term One Student Conferences (students at all Year Levels are encouraged to participate)
• Student Self-Reflection (Term 1)
• Mid Year Conferences (students at all levels are encouraged to participate)
• Mid Year Written Report
• End-of-Year Written Report
• Learning Folders with samples of children's learning (Term 2, and, Term 3).

Each child’s ‘Learning Folder’ is sent home towards the end of each term. This is an important way to show your child’s progress and current achievement, by providing samples of your child's actual work. The folder is also an excellent personal record to keep when your child leaves the school.

On-going parent-teacher communication is encouraged, and parents are able to meet with teachers at any stage of the year to discuss their child’s progress or any other matters which may arise.

Absences

Parents or caregivers are expected and responsible to inform the school of all absences as soon as possible in the morning as absences are recorded electronically by each teacher. An answer-phone option is set up on our phone system to leave absence messages. Absences can also be relayed to the school office via 'SKOOL LOOP' (our free School App).