Our A-Z
Absences
Please let the office know as soon as possible if your child is away.
Absences can be reported through the SchoolApp (preferable) or by calling 049393010 or emailing admin@islandbay.school.nz
They also need to know on following days if your child is still away. Absences of longer than three weeks need to be discussed with the Principal.
Before school supervision in the School Library
We provide a before school care option from 8-8.30am, free of charge, in our school library each day. It is important that this service is only used by families who need it.
If you wish your child/ren to be a part of this, please contact the office to let us know which days you require care.
BYOD
Bring Your Own Device · An Invitation
The Opportunity
We invite all students in Year 4, 5 and 6 to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) from home to use at school.
The concept of BYOD is not new to education and is used by numerous schools up and down the country to supplement the devices provided by the school. Our goal is to increase student access to a device and ideally enable all students to have a dedicated device to use for their learning. The BYOD invitation is optional.
The Vision
An education at Island Bay School embraces joy and curiosity and provides challenge to ensure each student achieves to the fullest of their capabilities.
Our holistic philosophy recognises that learning is highly personal. We are interested in developing our students as active researchers of their own world. Our goal is to ensure our students are advantaged as they grow into an
Island Bay School is a progressive school with a bold vision. We believe in moving with the times to best prepare our students for life in the 21st Century.
Our goal is to grow children to be excited and energetic about their education—for schooling to be fulfilling and rewarding. ever changing world. Ensuring our students understand themselves as learners and are skilled as managers of themselves is central to our National Curriculum.
It is not a small vision but at Island Bay School we don’t believe in being timid about the aspirations we hold for the success of our students.
Our Rationale
It seems strange that many classrooms throughout New Zealand still look and work the way they did 100 years ago but other practices in areas such as medicine and science have evolved significantly as new knowledge and understanding has developed.
The advent of technology is an example of the changing world confronting our students. Many educators in schools throughout New Zealand are thinking about how to harness the advantages of technology to benefit students. At Island Bay School we value technology because it is an enabler of our vision. It helps children personalise their learning. It activates learning not otherwise possible without the use of technology.
There are many advantages—Technology provides:
connectivity to digital information
audience for learning and feedback
easy access to student learning for parents and for communication between home and school
digital learning; the combination of multiple literacies in the one learning experience—sound, moving images, and text.
an ability for students to communicate their achievement in more accurate and complex ways
access to a more personal curriculum for students
We embrace the challenge of enabling 1:1 access to a digital device to support students to reap the advantages of technology and access these opportunities—opportunities made available because of technology.
Island Bay School has invested in Apple devices. Apple devices are popular in education as they support a wide range of educational applications.
Our preference is for children to bring an Apple device or a Chromebook.
The Chromebook was an addition in 2016. This is not an Apple device but offers excellent connectivity to the Google Suite of applications. It is also the device of preference at South Wellington Intermediate School and as such could be used when students progress onto Intermediate.
The focus on either Apple devices or a Chromebook has an associated advantage for staff who need to be able to integrate technology into teaching and learning programmes.
Devices provided by the school, in the kura, include iPad Mini, Acer Chromebook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air.
In 2023, we invite any of the following devices:
Chromebook (higher spec)
Apple iPad (newer models)
MacBook Pro or MacBook Air
Other tablets may be negotiated with your hub teachers.
Communications
The School App is our primary form of school communication. This includes a calendar of upcoming events, weekly newsletters, absences, term dates, and important links, as well as alert reminders for events and activities.
Our school newsletter is published weekly to the app and school website and provides news and information from around the school and community.
School App
The School App allows us to target the information we send out as much as possible.
The App is the quickest and most reliable way to report student absences, access the school calendar and staff contact details, and link to newsletters and the school website.
School App alert reminders are usually sent out the night before for things like bake sales, junior school swimming, class trips etc, and in emergencies. If you haven’t got it already, use this link to install it.
You will need to update your School App notifications with your child’s new class/hub and also their year group at the start of each school year.
School newsletter
Newsletters are sent out weekly usually on a Friday via both the App and email. They contain information for upcoming events and general reminders, and also collate the week’s information so that you have the weekend to put dates in your diaries etc for the coming week.
In between newsletters, email updates are sent out as required .
School email
In addition to the App, to ensure that you receive all relevant communication from school, please add: no-reply@islandbay.school.nz to your contacts list and check your email settings to ensure that emails are not filtered or blocked by your email provider.
Below is the communications cheat sheet of where to find out what you want to know
We realise there are multiple channels, but in the interests of making sure all our parents and whānau are informed in the most accessible way for them, we’ve streamlined the info as much as possible so you can find what you need, when you need it.
Feel free to print the pdf here and put it on your fridge!
School Donation
School donations are voluntary (tax deductible) and help fund the curriculum, classroom resources including playground and sports equipment and library facilities.
Donation: $350/child (per year)
This can be paid in termly installments of $87.50/child.
There is a maximum donation amount of $1000 per family.
Enrichment
At our kura, we prioritise the holistic development of our students through a range of enrichment activities. These activities go beyond the traditional academic curriculum, offering additional opportunities for growth and learning. Through our enrichment programs, students can explore their interests, develop critical thinking skills, and cultivate their creativity. Our activities include various clubs, sports teams, art workshops, and STEM initiatives. These experiences foster teamwork, resilience, and a passion for lifelong learning. By engaging in these enrichment activities, students develop a well-rounded skill set that prepares them for future success and nurtures their individual talents.
Hero (Hero by Linc-Ed)
Hero is a Student Management System (SMS) and Learning Management System (LMS) used by our kura to manage student records, learning data, and assessment information for each ākonga.
In Term 2 and Term 4 you will be directed to Hero to view your child’s reports, including curriculum graphs and social comments.
Parent accounts are automatically generated from email addresses and siblings are connected by default. Therefore parents can log in once and see all children.
Home Learning
Home learning is an extension of class instruction and provides opportunities for practice, reinforcement, developing independent skills, disposition for learning, enrichment activities and preparation for class learning. Home learning is supported as required and may include reading, heart words and supporting the completion of in-class learning. It may include projects from home that are also supported in the class.
Kelly Club Afterschool Care
After School Care Programme – 3:00pm-6:00pm (Term Time Only)
Kelly Club after-school care programmes are focused around sports, cooking, discovery, arts and crafts, as well as structured free time after a busy day at school.
- Half sessions run from 3:00pm till 4:30pm
- Full sessions run from 3:00pm till 6:00pm.
Visit their website for further information, including current prices.
Contact: islandbay@kellyclub.co.nz
Lost Property
Please ensure that your child’s property is clearly marked with their full name. A lost property box is maintained in the Road Patrol room behind the bell tower and items are displayed at regular intervals.
At the end of each term, unclaimed lost property is donated to charity. Smaller valuables, for example, glasses are held at the office.
Dangerous items and personal valuables, including toys or money, are not permitted. The school cannot be responsible for loss or damage to any property brought to school.
Payments & permission - KINDO
You can pay for all school activities online using Kindo. Once registered, you will be able to pay for donations, trips, stationery, sunhats etc. Kindo also acts as an online permission form, so you may be asked to sign your child up on Kindo for an activity that doesn’t have a cost attached.
Mihi Whakatau
The Mihi whakatau is a traditional Māori welcome ceremony. The purpose of the Mihi whakatau is to remove the tapu of the Manuhiri (visitors) to make them one with the Tangata Whenua (Home people). It is a gradual process of the Manuhiri and the Tangata Whenua coming together.
Each term, new ākonga and their whānau are welcomed officially to our kura. This begins with a quick briefing to discuss tīkanga (protocols) and practice waiata (songs).
Our Process
Our Kapa haka group, along with the rest of the school, welcome new ākonga and their whānau through the waharoa and into the hall for the Mihi whakatau welcome ceremony.
The Mihi whakatau includes a mixture of speaking and singing and takes approximately 30 minutes.
It is customary to share kai (food) afterwards, so new families and staff are invited to stay for morning tea in the staffroom afterwards.
Reporting
Mid-year and end-of-year reports (or summary of progress) for ākonga are made up of curriculum information on Hero and Learning Samples shared via Seesaw.
Reporting information includes a social comment (written to each ākonga by their guardian group (GG) teacher), curriculum progressions/graphs and goals for learning.
Learning Stories and Learning Snapshots are specific illustrations of learning that demonstrate ākonga progress across the curriculum, including our WE CARE dispositions.
You can read more information about Reporting at the bottom of the Our Learning Page of our website.
Our School Day (School Hours)
Children are welcome in their learning environments and the playground from 8.30am.
Children who arrive after 9am are required to check in at the office before going to their learning space.
If required, children may be dropped off at the school library from 8am, where they will be supervised until 8.30am. Registration for this service is required through the office.
8.55am – 11am Learning Block 1
10.00 am Fruit Break
11am – 11.20am Morning Tea Play
11.20 am – 11.30 am Supervised Eating
11.30am – 1pm Learning Block 2
1.00 pm – 1.40pm Lunch Play
1.40 pm – 1.50 pm Supervised Eating
1.50pm – 3pm Learning Block 3
Teachers are rostered on to supervise children in the playground during morning tea and lunch break times. Duty staff wear hi-vis jackets to ensure they can be easily identified.
Children who return to play in the playgrounds after school are unsupervised.
School Organisation
Island Bay School is organised into two teams:
- Kōwhai – the junior school, Years 1-4
- Pōhutukawa – the senior school, Years 5-6
These teams are made up of different learning environments that cater for the needs of diverse learners.
Within these teams are a mix of collaborative hubs and single classes. Teams are led by Ako leaders.
A hub refers to a collaborative learning environment where tamariki work with more than one educator. Kaiako to ākonga ratios are set by the Ministry of Education and remain the same, regardless of whether tamariki are in a hub or single class.
Seesaw
Seesaw is digital platform used as a narrative form of assessment where ākonga are empowered to document and share what they are learning at school.
This can be in the form of learning stories written to the child, or learning snapshots which capture the process of learning in real-time, using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links.
We focus on using Seesaw to show the learning process. Learning, as we know, is a creative, messy journey full of twists and turns. We do not expect perfection but instead focus on effort and the reflection on the learning taking place.
We encourage whānau to celebrate what their tamariki can do and the effort they have taken to produce each particular piece of learning
Stationery
Each year, ākonga are asked to provide certain stationery to support their learning. Kaiako distribute stationery throughout the year, as needed.
All stationery requirements can be found at https://www.myschool.co.nz/.
Stationery packs can be purchased from the office on your child’s first day, which includes a book bag which will be used throughout their time at Island Bay School.
Additional stationery items can also be purchased during the year, as required.
Sushi orders
Sushi day is Thursday.
We use the Kindo online payment system for ordering Sushi on Thursday each week. Chicken, salmon, and vegetarian options are available for order and come in different size packs. Refillable soy sauce bottles are provided in each learning space.
Please register on www.kindo.co.nz
Ways of Connecting
We believe in the importance of whakawhanaungatanga and forming meaningful connections between kaiako, tamariki, whānau and the wider community. We aim to create authentic opportunities to connect Island Bay School families together to develop a stronger sense of community.This includes a range of opportunities such as:
Coffee Connection – An opportunity twice per term to visit your child’s learning environment between 8.30 am and 9.00 am. Come along, have a coffee, chat to other parents, look at your child’s learning, and connect with their kaiako.
Parent Link aims help to form connections between the families of each learning environment and to initiate/facilitate social opportunities each term to bring families together.
Families will be able to organise play dates etc using the contact information shared, for those who have agreed to this being shared.
School Events including a whole-school BYO dinners, whānau social events and our annual end of year picnic at Shorland Park.
