Thursday 29 August - update

By now, you should have received at least one email from us with your child's attendance for last week and a print out of their attendance for the year so far. If you haven't, please contact the school to confirm that we have the correct email address for you.

We have received a number of responses from whānau supporting this initiative and we would like to thank you for helping us help our students form good habits and achieve.

Thursday 22 August

With your support, fewer students are arriving at school late in the mornings. This morning 97 students were recorded as arriving between 9am (10 minutes late) and 9:45am (55 minutes late to school).

This morning we once again stopped each student who arrived at school late (after 9am) to talk to them as to the reason they were arriving late. A number stated that they dropped younger siblings off at school or kindy before coming to school themself.  We have asked all these students to drop their siblings off earlier, as most of our local Primary schools open between 8:00 and 8:15am, or even earlier, allowing our students sufficient time to get to school on time (8:50am).

If your child has a doctors appointment before school, or you know that they will arrive at school late for any other reason, please call/text/email the attendance officer before 8am to let us know.  (09) 295 1506 or 0508 ABSENT (0508 227368), using the SchoolApp or email [email protected]

Thank you very much for your support with this.

Monday 19 August 

There is a clear connection between going to school regularly and doing well in the classroom. Higher levels of educational achievement can mean better health, higher incomes, better job stability, and more participation in communities. This all makes society stronger and more connected.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/.../attendance-action-plan...

Making sure that students attend school regularly is a priority for us all. We have a large number of students arriving late in the mornings and we need to attend to that. We are continuing to meet students at the front gate to find out why they are arriving late to school.This morning 101 students arrived between 9am (10 minutes late to school) and 9:45am (55 minutes late to school).

If you know that your child/children are going to be late because of a medical appointment, please inform the school before 8am.

If you know that your child/children will be absent because of a tangi/funeral, please call the school before 8am to inform us.

From tomorrow, students arriving after 9.30am will need a written note if we have not been notified by you prior. Students without a note will be sent home to get one.

Thank you for your support in helping us to raise achievement.

Papakura High School

16 August 2024 

This morning three members of our Senior Leadership Team (SLT) were once again at the front gates to talk to students coming in late. 

We would like to thank you for your support, as the number of students arriving late was greatly reduced compared to yesterday - between 8:55 and 9:55am 94 students were recorded coming into school late.

This afternoon or tomorrow morning you will be receiving an email from the school with your child/children's attendance information for the week and for the whole year. 

If you have any questions about this, please talk your child and/or contact your child's Kaitohutohu (form teacher) or Kaiārahi. Contact details will be in the email.

Attendance push

As you may have noticed, or your child/children may have told you, we have started a new initiative this week - members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) have been meeting students who arrive at school late at the school gate and speaking to them about the reasons they are late, and what they can do to get to school on time.

This morning (Thursday 15 August) we had an overwhelming number of students who arrived at least 5 minutes after the school bell had rung at 8:50am. Despite there being four members of staff at the gate at times, the last students did not get to class until 10:30am. 

In all, 337 students arrived between 8:55 and 10:30am this morning, 15 August. Each of those students was spoken to and their attendance entered on KAMAR (our student management system) so that we can get an accurate gauge of the issue when trying to address it.

This is the highest number of late students since we started the initiative on Monday.

If students arrive at or before the bell goes, which is 8:50am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and at 9:20am on Wednesday, they will be able to go straight to class. If they come after that time, they will be asked to explain why they are arriving late. 

We know that some parents/caregivers drop their child/children off at school well before the bell goes, but some of these students are making the choice to delay entering school until up to half an hour after the bell has gone.

We ask for your support in getting your child/children to school on time.

From tomorrow, you will be receiving weekly updates of your child/children's attendance via email and what it means.

Thank you very much for your support.

Papakura High School