Registering for the @school App/Parent Portal Guide
SPORT
Our aim is to meet the needs of all students, no matter their ability in sport. We want to encourage participation and learning of skills, so students can explore, perform and excel in their chosen sport(s).
Swimming
Learn to Swim and Water Safety Information
The ‘Learn to swim and water safety’ program is run by Mount Albert Aquatic Centre for our students. The program consists of 5 x 30 minute swim lessons and 5 x 30 minute Wave Pool Fun. There is a team of 5-6 Instructors with a wealth of knowledge and experience to teach your children.
● 1 Instructor /5 Children for Beginners
● 1 Instructor /6 Children Intermediate
● 1 Instructor /8 Children Advanced
30 min Lessons – Lessons will consist of learning: 30 min Wave Pool Fun ● Water safety skills (deep water survival skills plus ● Practising skills learnt in the lesson pool, beach and boat safety) ● Building confidence ● Correct technique for swimming in a variety of ● Having Fun swimming strokes (level dependent) ● Ratios : ● Dives and Tumble turns (level dependent) |
Netball
Registration is now open for all Y3-6 students who are interested in playing winter Netball this season 2023 . You can find more information here
Register here now closes 7 April.
Netball Fees online school Kindo Shop
Eden Albert Inter school Sports
Our school is part of the Eden Albert Cluster. The cluster normally has two or three inter school sports competitions per term for Year 5-6 students.
Parent Helpers
It is great to have parent helpers on board to help, especially with inter school competitions. If you would like to lend a hand please contact the office.
ATTENDANCE
Lateness
Students who arrive late to school must report to the school office before coming to class. They will be given a slip to take to their teacher.
The school learning programme starts at 9.00am. The morning is an important part of the class learning programme where the teacher and students discuss the expectations, learning and goals for the day. It's also a time when members of the class can share news. Arriving late at school is very disruptive for your child, for the teacher and for the rest of the class.
Attendance and absences
For safety reasons it is important that parents and teachers know where children are. Please let us know when your child is absent from school or is going to be late by calling the school and following the instructions to leave a message with details of your child's name, room number and the reason for absence.
If your child/ren are going to be away from school, please do one of the following BEFORE 9:00am each morning:
● call the school (098469288), press option 1 and leave a message on the answer phone
● use the Absence submission template on the MAPS eTap School App
● send an email to reception@maps.school.nz
Please clearly state your child/ren’s name, Guardian Group and reason why they are absent.
If your child is away for more than 5 days for medical reasons, please ask your doctor for a copy of a medical certificate to pass on to the school.
Repeated absences
Research shows that students who are regularly absent from school are more likely to have gaps in their learning making it more difficult to keep up with their peers. It is important that students attend school regularly in order to maximise their learning potential.
The school is required by the Ministry of Education to monitor student attendance and where there is a pattern of repeating unexplained absence and/or lateness a Truancy Officer may be required to investigate the matter.
BYOD
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
Bring your own device is an option (i.e. not compulsory) that allows students to have one-to-one time on a device that is set up to their specifications for their learning. This has many benefits including:
Enabling students to take increasing responsibility for their own learning
Empowering students to learn at a pace and place as well as a way which suits them
Teaching students how to discern which tool will best help with their learning
Encouraging and enabling teachers to more easily implement personalised learning
Preparing students for a future where they are likely to be working in an environment with increasing amounts of technology and IT/collaborative/cloud based tools.
You can access our BYOD policy and permission form on our SchoolDocs Policy and Procedure website.
BYOD Student Internet Agreement Years 3-6
Our classes also have an allocation of school-owned devices to ensure that all students have access to technology when they need it.
STATIONERY
Order Stationery Online 2024
For simplicity we have teamed up with Schoolpacks.co.nz – you can order the correct set of school stationery for your child and have it delivered to your door. Follow these steps:
Visit schoolpacks.co.nz
Select "Mt Albert School"
Select the Year level stationery pack(s) you'd like
Add to cart and checkout – the stationery will be delivered to your home
You can also purchase a mini whiteboard ($12) and/or a school book bag ($6) from the school office if your child does not have one.
2024 full stationery lists for all year levels can be viewed here.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Road Patrols
Patrolled school crossings are at the lights on New North Road and on Sainsbury Road near the top netball courts. They are patrolled by trained school students and supervised by Duty Teachers from 8.30–8.45am and 2.55–3.10pm.
Bikes / Scooters
Bikes and scooters may be brought to school and left in the bike racks outside/near Room 14, Room 29 and Room 34. While all standard precautions will be taken to protect them from any interference, the school accepts no responsibility for any bikes or scooters that are brought to school and recommends that students bring a lock as a precaution. Please ensure your child is fully aware of all road safety practices and wears a correctly fitted helmet.
Medication
Please advise the school office if your child needs to take any form of medication during the school day. Staff are not allowed to administer medication (including panadol or similar pain relief) without parental consent. Consent forms should be signed at the school office.
First Aid Treatment
Should your child have an accident at school our staff are trained in first aid and will attend to the problem. If a doctor is needed you will be contacted immediately. For this reason please ensure the school has your contact details and please advise us immediately if anything changes.
Health
If your child is unwell they should not come to school. Keeping your child at home helps them to recover more quickly and also minimises the spread of illnesses to other students. Below is a guide to help identify the times when your child should stay at home.
| Cold or flu symptoms | We recommend you keep your child at home especially if they are sneezing and/or coughing. | |
| Vomiting and/or diarrhoea | It is important they stay away from school for at least 24 hours after the last incident. | |
| Measles | At least four days from appearance of rash until recovery. | |
| Chicken Pox | Stay at home until the blisters have formed dry scabs |
Keeping Safe in the Sun
We recognise the importance of protecting students, staff and visitors from the effects of UV radiation.which can lead to skin cancer in later life. Students are required to wear the school wide brimmed hat which provides protection for the face, neck and ears when they are outside or involved in outdoor activities during Terms 1 and 4. Staff will enforce a 'no hat no play' procedure whereby children without hats or suitable clothing will be limited to the designated house shade area.
You can read our Sun Protection procedure in full listed under the Health and Safety Policy on our policies website.
OUT OF SCHOOL CARE
Before and After School Care
Before School Care: 7.00am – 8.30am
After School Care: 3.00pm – 6.00pm
Y Kids Out of School Care is much more than a child-minding service. They are recreation based, and the aim is to meet the needs of children in their out of school hours in a fun, safe and learning environment. Each child is a different, unique person. While they have commonalities, their uniqueness should be embraced and fostered.
Each programme offers a variety of activities that may include arts and crafts, sports and games and some incorporate homework activities. We provide a safe environment for your child to relax in after their day at school while ensuring there are stimulating options for those still with energy.
Every child is unique; our programmes allow for the diversity in age, gender, and background of each child while encompassing the individual needs and interests. Should you have any concerns about your child, or if your child has special requirements whether dietary or other, please take the time to discuss this with your centre manager. It is important that you notify us of any information we may need to know to ascertain the suitability of our programme to meet your child’s needs and for your child to have the best experience possible.
The four values of the YMCA are Caring, Respect, Honesty, and Responsibility. They are the foundation of building strong kids, strong families, and strong communities. They are how we ‘make a difference’.
Bookings are essential as we need to know who is attending daily. All payments are made via direct debit. Please register online.
SCHOOL DONATION
School Donations
In accordance with the Education (School Donations) Amendment Act 2019 the Mt Albert Primary Board of Trustees has chosen to receive a $150 grant per student, per year payment instead of asking parents and caregivers for donations. This grant covers all compulsory costs of schooling.
Therefore, parents will not be asked for a school donation this year.
There are areas not covered by the grant and for these, the school may ask that parents cover costs – examples include:
- school stationery
- uniform
In accordance with the Act, Mt Albert Primary retains the right to ask parents for a donation for school camps.
Finally, the PTA, as a separate fund-raising entity, will continue to hold events with a view to raising funds that benefit students and their learning at the school.
For more information read the Ministry of Education guidelines here.
UNIFORM
School Uniform
We have a compulsory school uniform available exclusively from The Warehouse, St Lukes (located opposite Westfield St Lukes at 7 Wagener Place). It is very important that all items of your child's uniform are clearly labelled with their name in case they are lost.
Check the images to see examples of correct school uniform. You can also browse individual uniform items and prices here.
Hats
As part of keeping ourselves 'Sun Smart' and 'Sun Safe,' we have a compulsory school hat. School hats are available at The Warehouse, St Lukes.
Shoes
School Shoes:
- Any shoe, sneaker or flat sandal suitable for running and playing may be worn
- No heels, jandals, gumboots, crocs, high tops, wheelies or ‘flashing light’ shoes are allowed
Winter
For students who feel the cold on their legs we ask them to wear the correct MAPS uniform track pants or dark coloured (blue/black) long socks or tights with their shorts/skorts. For warm tops students would be wearing the correct MAPS uniform Polar Fleece. They can also wear a dark blue or black long-sleeved top beneath their school shirt. Students are welcome to bring a rain jacket to wear over the top of their fleece for walking to and from school.
SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING
Parents are children's first teachers
We place a lot of value on strong and open communication with parents and believe that when parents and schools have a shared understanding of learning it increases the success and wellbeing of their children. With the advent of digital technology, the opportunities to be involved in your child's learning have increased, whether it's getting regular glimpses of what your child does at school through Seesaw or working alongside them at home on a shared google doc.
Following consultation with our community we have created home learning guidelines that have recommendations around the duration and type of home learning set at different year levels. The table below summarises this or you can read the full guidelines here.
| Year Level | Type of home learning | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Reading | 10-15 mins weeknights |
| 3–4 | Reading, Learning times tables | 15–20 mins weeknights |
| 5–6 | Reading, Learning times tables. Some optional project work at times. | 20 mins weeknights |
Throughout 2019-2021 we focused on improving maths learning across the school. Our Supporting Your Child With Maths booklet explains what we are doing as a school and what you can do to your child gets the same messages about maths at home.
The best way to get more information about supporting your child is by talking to their teacher. You can email questions, speak informally before or after school or set up a time to meet to discuss your child's learning and ask questions about how to support this at home. There is also a range of guidance given by the Ministry of Education and other experts: links to these external sites are given below.
- General guidance from the Ministry about supporting learning at home as well as advice on homework, school holidays and learner-led conferences can be found here
- Take a look at youcubed.org to learn more about how having a Growth Mindset can make a big difference to learning maths. They also have information specifically for parents here
- Specific information from the Ministry on how to support maths learning can be found here
- Reading at home is an information page from the National Library of NZ and has ideas and resources you can share, including downloadable brochures in a variety of languages on supporting children to become readers
- You can explore some excellent science and technology challenges at home with your child. There are plenty of examples online but these BP Challenges are particularly engaging and very manageable as they use easy-to-find materials from around the house
Assessment and Reporting
We report to parents/whānau in a variety of ways throughout the year. There are two formal reports – a mid-year progress report and an end-of year achievement report. We also hold a number of scheduled events where students, their families and their teachers can discuss and celebrate learning. However, we are always open to talk about your child's learning at any time of the year. You can make an appointment to meet with your child's teacher whenever you want to and we very much encourage you to do so, especially if you want more certainty around how they are progressing or more information about how you can support them.
Teachers are constantly assessing students informally through observation. More formal assessment also takes place regularly throughout the year. This document goes into more detail about how assessment and reporting work here at MAPS. If you have any questions please feel free to contact your child's teacher.
Parent Portal
At Mt Albert Primary School we use the @school app/Parent Portal to provide easy online access to school services, and all formal reporting. Below is the key information you will need to register for your own access to the Parent Portal and how to use the different services.
Registering for the Parent Portal
You will receive an email from Mt_Albert_School@etap.co.nz with key information and a link to access the @school app/Parent Portal. When you click the link in your email it will open a secondary window that will give you your own personalised User ID (please take note of this) and ask you to agree to the terms of service and privacy statement. Please click ‘Agree’. Once you have done this, it will take you to the login page (https://www.atschool.co.nz) and you will be emailed a temporary password.
Once you have logged in you can change your password to something of your choosing. This can be done inside the ‘Settings’ option. You are also able to customise your notifications. You will now have access to services inside the @school app/Parent portal.
Please note that once you have received your email to register for the @school app/Parent Portal the link will expire after 7 days. Following on from this you will need to send a request for a new link. This can be done by contacting: pauline@maps.school.nz
If you have not received an email please check your spam/promotions folder before contacting the school. It is important that you have the correct email address registered with the school.
Please refer to the PDF instructions below for further support in registering for your @school app/Parent Portal account.
TRAVELWISE
We are a Travelwise school!
Travelwise is an innovative programme to make school travel safer, healthier and more fun.
Some of the ways we support the Travelwise programme here at MAPS are:
- encouraging parents to run a walking school bus
- encouraging drivers to slow down around our neighbourhood
- educating students and families about the value of walking to school
If you're interested in starting a 'Walking School Bus' and would like to know what it entails, check out our information sheet. For more information about the Travelwise programme and how you can be involved, contact the School office or visit the Travelwise website.