Information for Families

Attendance

Augusta Park has an attendance policy, however the information provided below details of the day to day procedures.

Daily absences and lateness

• Any student arriving at school after 8.50am must proceed to the front office and collect a late slip before they enter the classroom.  Front office staff will record student lateness in Sentral after 8.50am.
• Text messages are sent to families of students who are absent.  In addition, phone contact will be made with families and home visits conducted, as necessary, to obtain a reason for each student’s absence. 
• Any unexplained absence of 3 or more days will be followed up with a home visit in accordance with the Attendance Policy.

Early Dismissal

• Authorised parents/caregivers need to fill in the Early Departure Book at the Front Office, where they will receive an Early Departure note to pass on to the classroom teacher.
• Students will not be released into an adults care unless this procedure has been followed.  Also, if a child is being collected by an adult other than the enrolling parent/caregiver permission must be obtained and the school notified for this person to collect the child from school. This may also involve school staff asking to sight a person’s identification if they are not known to staff at the school. 

Permission for students to attend school part-time including shortened days

The Department for Education has a process which needs to be followed for students to be granted permission to attend school part-time i.e. attend until 12.30pm.  These processes vary depending on the length of time the student will be attending school part-time.  This is only approved in consultation with the Principal and other Education Department support services, as per the DECD Principals Guide to Exemptions.

Permission for students to be absent for 5 days or more from school during the school term

Families wishing to take their children out of school for an extended period (i.e. holidays) must obtain permission from the Principal to do so. An ED175 (Exemption from school) form needs to be filled in by the parents/caregivers and Principal.

School Dates and Times

There is no yard supervision before 8.35am, therefore children who are unsupervised by an adult are not permitted to be on school grounds.

Last day of term 1, 2, 3 and 4 – Early dismissal at 2.10pm as approved by Governing Council in accordance with the Education Act

2023 Public School Term Dates:

Term 1
30th January – 14th April

Term 2
1st May – 7th July

Term 3
24th July – 29th September

Term 4
16th October – 15th December

SA Term Dates and Public Holidays

https://eduweb.solutions/sa-state-schools-term-dates/

Canteen

Our canteen operates daily for recess and lunch.  The food provided by the canteen adheres to the Department for Education’s Right Bite Healthy Eating policy therefore many of the items sold in the canteen are freshly made every day using fresh fruit and vegetables.  We have daily and weekly specials which are advertised via our newsletter and Facebook page. 

Our canteen is able to open prepaid accounts for families, so children don’t have to bring money to school every day.  If you are interested in opening a prepaid account please see our Canteen Manager, Georgia.

We are always looking for extra help in the canteen to assist with food preparation and serving students during recess and lunch time.  If you would like to volunteer, please ring or call in to see Georgia to find out more information.

Uniforms

The aim of compulsory school uniform at Augusta Park Primary School, is to promote a sense of belonging and membership.

The Augusta Park Primary School uniform comprises of the following elements:

• navy T-shirt with pale blue inserts, adorned with the school logo.
• school jumper with school logo.
• school hat (bucket or broad-brimmed)

Uniform prices may be obtained by contacting the school.  We also provide a one-off special discount on school uniforms for new students on enrolment in addition to a free hat.  After initial enrolment further uniforms or hats must be purchased at the regular price.  Please refer to our uniform policy if you need additional information.

Family Information

Student Achievement

At Augusta Park Primary School our student achievement targets and data collection timelines are aligned to the Port Augusta/Quorn Partnership Student Achievement Targets and Data Collection Agreement.  We also have additional student achievement data that we collect which is independent of these targets and timelines.

Student Transition

We implement the Port Augusta/Quorn Partnership Transition policy in conjunction with all schools across Port Augusta and Quorn.  The Deputy Principal oversees the transition processes for all students transitioning into our school.

Preschool to School Transition

Commencing in Term 3, staff from Augusta Park Primary School visit local preschools to get to know children and families before school transition visits in Term 4.  The school will also:

• Hold an information session for families at our feeder Preschools (August Park Childhood Service Centre and Flinders Children’s Centre)
• Assist families in completing school enrolment forms
• Work closely with families to ensure extra transition is provided to identified children
• Ensure each family has received transition information and answer any questions

Transition visits occur as follows:

• Tuesday, Week 5: 8:50am – 11:20am          

Families and children to meet in the Library. A family information session will be held and children will meet two of our Reception teachers; Miss Tara Nayda and Miss Rebecca Kidman. Families can then leave as the children will take part in activities with other children and their teachers until the end of recess play time. Please bring a piece of fruit/vegetable and a healthy snack for recess. Children will also need a sun safe hat.

• Tuesday, Week 6: 8:50am – 11:20am

Children are dropped off and collected from their classroom to take part in activities with other children and their teachers. They will stay at school until the end of recess play time. Please bring a piece of fruit/vegetable and a healthy snack for recess. Children will also need a sun safe hat.

• Tuesday, Week 7: 8:50am – 1:30pm

Children stay at school until the end of lunch play time. Please bring a fruit snack, recess, lunch and a sun safe hat. Children can be collected from their classroom at 1.30pm.

• Tuesday, Week 8: 8:50am – 3:10pm

Children experience a full day at school, including recess and lunch. Please bring a packed recess, fruit snack, lunch and a sun-safe hat.
 

Special Options Transition

We ensure an individualised student transition process takes place for Special Options students.  The transition process is flexible and adapted to meet the needs of individual students and their families in consultation with DECD/non-DECD service providers and the site the students are transitioning from.

Transition visits for Special Options students include:

• Site tour with the Principal or Deputy Principal.
• Meeting with Deputy Principal, Teacher, All Children’s Education (ACE) Team and other school staff as required
• Classroom visits (as negotiated to meet the student’s needs)
• Participation in school events as deemed appropriate i.e. swimming lessons
• ACE Team and class teacher visiting students school and classroom to get to know each other

For students transitioning into a Special Option at another site or who are transitioning out of a Special Option the Deputy Principal works closely with students, families, DECD/non-DECD service providers and with personnel from other sites to ensure a successful individualised student transition process takes place.