Assemblies 
Are held twice each term and are advertised in the school newsletter.  Generally there is also an end of term celebration assembly. Parents and family members are welcome to attend.

Appointments
Children should attend school every day.  Appointments and family celebrations should be made, where possible, outside school hours.  If you do need to take your child to an appointment during school hours you are required to go to the school office to sign them out before collecting them from the classroom.  It is also advisable to let their teacher know in advance if you can.

To make an appointment to see your child’s teacher please contact them directly or the school office.  If you would like to meet with Gary O’Brien, Glenys Harwood or Susan Ye please contact the school office.

Attendance and Absences
Children should attend school every day, unless they are unwell.  Appointments, holidays and family celebrations should be made, where possible, outside school hours.

Children’s attendance at school is tracked and monitored, electronically.  The class roll is taken formally at 8.55am and 1.30pm. Parents will be sent a text if their student is absent from school without notification.  Parents, please contact the school as soon as you know your child will be absent or late to school by using one of the methods below:

Please remember to leave the child’s name and room number and the reason for the absence.  If your child is late to school, he/she must come to the school office to let the office staff that they have arrived at school.

Bicycles and Scooters 
Only Year 5 and 6 children are permitted to ride a bicycle/scooter to school unaccompanied – they must firstly complete a Bike/Scooter licence form which can be obtained from the office and signed by their parents, requesting permission to do so. It also gets approved by the Principal.  They must follow all safety rules, wear shoes, a helmet and should bring a padlock to secure it in the appropriate place.  They will be provided with a school licence showing they are able to bring them to school.

Brain Food  |  Rationale/Beliefs About Learning

It has been recognised through research that people regularly need food and water to maintain high-level brain function.  This has important implications for students in our schools.  Research strongly advocates for students being able to nibble on brain food and drink water throughout the school day. “… brains run better on a “nibbling diet”. Nibblers were shown to have better cognitive efunctioning, fewer discipline problems, lower cortisol levels, better glucose tolerance and better maintained insulin levels.  Some schools have reported significant drops in behaviour problems and increased learning performance since making nibbling food available at various times of the day.”(John Joseph – Focus Education “Food for Thought: The Critical Foundation for Brain Care”)

For a young developing brain the most important meal of the day is breakfast.  The metabolic rate in the brain increases soon after the alertness chemicals move us out of sleep patterns and into daytime cycles.  An increase in blood flow to the brain will ensure that nutrients are carried to the brain for conversion into chemicals.  Brain cells require fuel (through glucose) to operate effectively, and water to keep them hydrated. Proteins also boost brain alertness while carbohydrates induce calmness or relaxation.

For many students, particularly during periods of growth, the wait until a break time can also cause a decrease in energy and brain function.  The brain needs a regular supply of water to keep it in top working order.

Staff will:

  • Provide a flexible morning Brain Food time for students. It is a time when students are encouraged to eat brain-healthy food that helps maintain the glucose supply to the brain.

  • Allow students to sip from water bottles throughout the day.

  • Ensure students are seated during brain food breaks (this is not a play time)

  • Include Healthy Lifestyles programming as part of the Health curriculum.

Students will:

  • Develop higher level brain function

  • Have more energy to learn

  • Be more engaged in their learning thus reducing behaviour concerns

  • Experience more success with learning

  • Begin to develop lifelong skills around healthy eating and lifestyles

Parents /Caregivers will:

  • Ensure that students have eaten a healthy breakfast

  • Support the school’s Brain Food policy

  • Provide children with a small amount of healthy brain food in a separate container

  • Ensure children have a bottle of water for use in the classroom

Acceptable Brain Foods include:

  • Fresh peeled & sliced fruit and vegetables

  • Dried fruit (eg apricots, prunes, raisins and sultanas)

  • Shelled unsalted nuts (no peanuts) or seeds

  • Plain unsalted pop corn

Cellphones and Smart Watches 
Children are not permitted to use mobile phones or smart watches during school time.  All mobile phones and smart watches must be turned off and handed into the office each morning, to be collected again at 3pm.

Custody of Children
The school expects that both parents will have full access to, and disclosure of information regarding their children.  A copy of any current Protection Order or Shared Custody Agreement must be filed with the Principal if there is an issue of legal custody.

Enviro-School 
Torbay School is an environmentally friendly school.  Projects are continually undertaken to enhance and sustain a healthy environment.  Torbay School has a zero lunch rubbish policy.  All lunch rubbish is to be taken home in student’s lunchbox.

Gates
We have three gate entrances into our school.  These have been provided by the Ministry of Education and will be shut when the school crossing monitors come in each morning.  Parents, please keep the gates shut during school hours (8.55am to 3.00pm).  If you are dropping your child late to school (i.e. after the bell at 8.55am) please walk them into the grounds as they may have difficulty opening them themselves.

General Safety
We encourage you to talk to your children about keeping themselves safe and, in this context, to walk to and from school in pairs or groups.  If you normally meet your child and find that for some reason you cannot do so, please do not hesitate to ring the school office as soon as possible so that alternative arrangements can be communicated to your child.  You should also stress that, if by any chance your child is left waiting at the gate after 3.15pm (or when the crossing patrols finish), your child should go to the office and stay there until arrangements have been made.  If your child does not arrive at home at the expected time, once again please contact the school and every assistance will be given to locate them.

Gifted and Talented Programme
At Torbay School students are extended within classrooms with differentiated programmes and offered a variety of opportunities.  They are identified following specific criteria and catered for across the curriculum.

Homework
This is personalised by individual teachers within their class setting. Homework is encouraged at Torbay School.  Teachers, at the beginning of the year will outline with the children and parents suggestions and ideas for homework.

Learning
Learning is shared in a variety of ways – in classrooms, books, on devices, through our website and individual sites/blogs.

Learning Support
Torbay School offers a comprehensive learning support programme to assist students who have learning, behaviour and physical challenges.

Lost Property
Lost property is located in the hall; please check this for lost items.  Clothing and other personal property that is named will be returned to the owner.  Occasionally small items are handed in to the office so please check with them if you are looking for anything other than clothing, hats, shoes, lunchboxes and drink bottles. Please Name All Items

Messages to Children
Contact the school office if you have an urgent message for your child.  Please do not ask to speak to your child personally on the telephone. Arrangements for after school should be organised with the children before they leave home in the morning.

Money
All money sent to school should be placed in a sealed envelope with the amount, purpose, child’s name and class clearly written on the outside.  Staff will not accept responsibility for money lost at school but we will do our best to help locate this with your child.

Open Door Policy
Our school has an “Open Door” policy that encourages parents to come in and see us at any time for a discussion or to assist in our educational programme. We have a very supportive Board of Trustees who strives to achieve what is best for our school. We foster a family atmosphere and environment, with students taking pride in our CARE values.  Parents and caregivers are welcome at the school.

Teachers are the first point of contact, by emailing or making an appointment. Teachers are often involved in school meetings and professional development before and after school.  The Principal and Deputy Principals can be seen at any time, but to ensure a meeting, please make an appointment.  When collecting students at the end of the day please wait outside the classroom.

Parents/caregivers are encouraged to visit classrooms, however, in fairness to teachers, we request that visiting classrooms is done in an appropriate manner. Please arrange with the teacher, times that you could assist in the classroom. In term one we run a Parent Helper Training meeting that we would like you to attend before offering to help.

Torbay School has many parents assisting in classrooms and also has a number of other people from the community who come into school to assist in a variety of ways. The links between school, home and the community are continually strengthening.  We very much see Torbay School as the school which belongs to the Torbay Community.

Please contact the following staff regarding the following matters

  • Individual learning and behaviour – classroom teacher

  • School wide learning and behaviour – Leadership team – (Glenys Harwood, Susan Ye or Gary O’Brien)

  • School organisation, procedures and management – Gary O’Brien

  • School governance and policy – Board of Trustees

Parking
Please do not use the school car parks and the disability car parking in Deep Creek and Alexander Road car parks, unless you have permission to do so (e.g. disability sticker).  Please do not park in the Bus Bay/Drop Off Zone at any time – this is a drop off zone only and cars must keep moving through this area.

At various times throughout the year safe parking practices are monitored by Auckland Transport.

To ease traffic congestion and promote “push play” we encourage families to Park and Walk: parking away from the immediate school gate and walking part way to school.  Contact the school office if you would like more information.

Road Safety
Please ensure that you use the appropriate crossings and entrances around the school. School car parks are not for pedestrians to use.  In the interests of child safety please model safe practices.

Smokefree
Our school is completely smoke free at all times.

Sun hats 
School sun hats are compulsory in Terms 1 and 4.  Children without a hat at school during that time will only be permitted to play in shaded areas.  Hats can be purchased from Janbells Uniforms and at the school office.

Sunscreen
Please ensure you apply sunscreen to your children at home before they come to school.  We have sunblock available in the school office for students to use should they need to reapply during the day.  Sunblock will be sent with first aid kits on all school trips for students to re-apply.

Visitors
To meet the requirements of the school’s Health and Safety Policy and Guidelines as set out on our website, all visitors (including parents, caregivers and any other person(s) in relation to a student or staff member at Torbay School) to the school between 9am and 2.45pm must sign in and out at the school office.