Welcome to Onehunga Primary School

Welcome to Term 3 of 2019.We have a big term planned with lots of exciting events. You can find out more about each team's plans for the term in our weekly newsletters.

Have you ‘liked’ our Facebook page - ‘Onehunga Primary School’? We recommend this as an effective way to get information in an emergency situation and a good way to hear about things we are doing between newsletters.

Our weekly newsletters go home on a Thursday and outline the most recent events that have occurred and there is a term calendar usually on the back page with the most recent events listed

You can access our newsletter here. If you would like to have an email alert each week with a link to our newsletter sent to you, please email us at office@onehungaprimary.school.nz to add your name to the email group.

2020 Term dates

Confirmed by our Board of Trustees

Term 1 - 3/2 - 9/4

Term 2 - 28/4 - 3/7

Term 3 - 20/7 - 25/9Term 4 - 12/10 - 17/12

In Term 1 we sent home our Highlights and Celebrations from 2018. You can find that document here.

Our approved 2019 Charter can be found here. This document outlines the significant areas fo focus for 2019 for our school.

2018 Education Review Office Confirmed Report For Onehunga PrimaryAs many of you will be aware, we had the Education Review Office (ERO) at our school in Term One 2018. ERO is the New Zealand government department that evaluates and reports on the education and care of students in schools and early childhood services. We are now able to share the report with you.
The Board of Trustees are really thrilled to see that the significant changes, hard work and professional learning carried out by the staff since the last review was recognised and noted by the ERO team.
The following statements from the report are particularly pleasing to both the BOT and the school:
· School-wide professional learning has contributed to positive student outcomes
· Very good strategic leadership and governance prioritises ongoing improvement and promotes a strong school-wide culture of learning
· Trustees scrutinise school information to inform decision making in the interests of improving student outcomes
· The strong school culture of learning is supporting students to be confident and competent learners
· Children were actively engaged in learning- not just ‘busy' or 'on task’
This last statement is particularly noteworthy, because ERO pointed out that this kind of engagement in learning is an indicator of a highly functioning, great school
Congratulations to our dedicated and passionate staff for the crucial role they played in this review. Special thanks to Viki, who has been the key driver of the professional learning and change that has occurred over the past three years.
As with all ERO reviews, areas for improvement or next steps were identified. The areas which were identified as next steps fit exactly with what we have planned in our charter over 2018 and for the next few years. Actions are already underway in relation to this. See our 2018 Charter and Annual Plan.
You can view the report here.
Ngā mihi nui
Rachel McCarten, Board Chair

Child Protection Policy:

Our Child Protection policy and related procedures in relation to the Vulnerable Children's Act have recently been updated. These are available here.

Online Safety and Use Agreement for family
Our increased use of digital technology and learning in an online environment has meant we needed to update our agreements with families. This agreement has now been sent home for families to complete. Please don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher if you have any queries.

Complaints Policy:
We ask that all concerns are please directed to the appropriate person in the first instance - class teacher, Team Leader, Deputy Principal or Principal.
If you feel that your concerns have not been addressed a formal complaint can be made. The process for doing this is outlined in our Procedure for Concerns or Complaints

Health and Safety:

There are some important reminders for families related to Health and Safety and keeping children and adults safe in our school. Please do not be offended by these measures. They are simply aiming to keep everyone safe!

Please ensure that if you are coming in to school for anything other than a drop off or pick up, you sign in (and out) our visitor book in the office. It is crucial in the case of an emergency that we are aware and can account for all adults in the school.

Volunteers helping within the school on a regular basis - e.g. reading volunteers or helpers in class will need to be police vetted. We have just been through this process with all of our parents who went on camp. It simply means completing a form and listing identification on the form. From there, we send it away to be vetted. These forms are available from our office.

A term calendar can be found within the 'What's Happening' section of our website.

Have you seen our school ENVIRO Wiki? Check it out here.