Absences 
A roll check is carried out each school day. Whilst the school cannot take responsibility for students who do not arrive at school, this process helps to ensure that we know where individual students are.
If your child will not be at school on a particular day, we ask that you advise us by telephone before 9am.
If you know in advance that your child will be absent at a future date we would appreciate your early notice.
If your child is going to be away for an extended period please advise the school and the class teacher. We can assist with learning activities during such times.

Book club
During the year children have the opportunity to purchase good quality books at a reduced cost through the Scholastic Book Club. Orders forms are issued in class and are returned to the school with delivery about three weeks later. The school earns points based on sales which it uses to purchase additional books for the library.

Class trips
Our school programme includes day trips and, for some classes, a school camp. These are a valuable extension of the classroom teaching. Parental assistance on these trips is essential. Information about these will be provided by the class teacher. Parents who assist with transport must hold a current full driver’s licence, their vehicle must have a current warrant of fitness, and there must be a full seatbelt for each child travelling in the vehicle.

Cycling
Children are welcome to cycle to school but caution is needed, particularly at the intersection with the main road. There is a bike shed inside the gate to the staff parking. Bike helmets are compulsory and should be named. It is recommended that children under 10 should have a parent actively supervising them as they ride to school, and that children over 10 should be taught the road rules and initially supervised to ensure that they are aware of any hazards on their route to school.

Dental clinic
A mobile dental clinic comes to the school once a year. Children receive confirmation that they have been examined and extra information if required. If your child misses this annual visit or requires emergency treatment, you can contact the Dental Service directly to make an appointment on 0800 846 983

Emergency plan
The school has a procedure in place for the evacuation of children to the playground in the event of an emergency. 

Homework
Homework requirements will vary with the age, class and needs of the student. Parent support with this is appreciated. All classes use a notebook system to manage homework activities and to communicate with parents. Please also feel free to talk with the class teacher should you have any questions.

Hours
8:30am School opens.
9:00am Classes start
10:30-10:50am Morning tea
12:30-1:30pm Lunch break
3:00pm Classes end
3:30pm Playground clear unless children are under parental supervision
4:00pm School grounds are available for families to use for play and recreation

Lost property
Lost property is kept in the school office area and parents are welcome to look for missing items during school hours. At the end of the year unclaimed items will be donated to charity.

Lunches
Students should bring their own lunch to school every day. There are water fountains in the school grounds but students may prefer to bring their own drink bottles. On Fridays students are able to purchase their lunch, yhis is either a sausage sizzle provided by a parent volunteer or hot food cooked at the Governors Bay Hotel. An order form is included in the weekly newsletter and this is to be returned with payment to the school office by Friday 9am.

Parent help
We welcome the involvement of our parents in and around our school. Parents often help with doing playground duty, running a sausage sizzle, being involved with the PTA, in classroom activities and on class trips and visits. Requests for help are generally made known in the class newsletters, notices and the school newsletter.

Parking
For the safety of our students please follow these guidelines for parking around the school grounds:
Keep the school side of the road clear from the bollards by the school playground slope to the top corner by Tui classroom.
Keep the school side of the road clear between Tui classroom and the staff car park entrance.
Do use parking spaces along the bottom of the school grounds and around the fence line, up to the bollards. There is a gate entry at the bottom of the school grounds.
Where possible please reverse into the angle parks above the community pool. 

Payments to school
Cash and cheques can be sealed inside an envelope (we don’t mind recycled ones) with your child’s name, classroom name and the reason for payment marked on the outside. This helps us greatly with allocating payments to the right activities. The correct change is appreciated and cheques should be made payable to Governors Bay School. Alternatively, payments can be made by direct credit to the school bank account, details of which can be obtained from the school office.

Personal information
To help us keep up-to-date please do let us know as soon as possible should your contact details change.
We issue a contact list of students by classroom that other school families may use, for example, to contact friends outside school hours. You can choose whether or not to be included.

Phone tree
The school operates a phone tree to advise parents in the event of an unplanned closure of the school, and to advise of a reopening time. This is run by the PTA who look for volunteers to assist with this each year.

Sickness
Children who become sick or injured at school will be taken to the sick bay in the school office area. School staff have first aid skills and will initially attend to your child.
It is important that your emergency contact numbers are up-to-date in the event the school needs to contact you.
When requested school staff will administer medicine to a student, but ask that parents complete a permission form giving full details of what is required.

Stationery
Class stationery lists are issued at the start of the school year. The school uses high quality Candida stationery and in general this is issued to students in class. Additional items can be purchased at the school office during the year. We do prefer our students to use the Candida stationery and this can be purchased externally.
A small charge is made each year to cover the cost of photocopying. This is currently $12.00. 

Valuables, toys and sports gear
Parents and students are responsible for all personal property brought to school.

Website photos
We enjoy celebrating the activities and experiences of our students through photos and words on our website. Should you prefer that your child’s photo is not included please advise the school office.