ABSENT FROM SCHOOL

If your child is going to be absent from school please leave a message on the Absentee Notification on SZAPP or phone the School on 8284 1666 and leave a message on the Absentee line.

Regular attendance at school is a very important habit to develop.  Parents are requested to notify the School Office by 9:00am if children are absent due to illness or any other unexpected cause.  If the School Office has not been notified, a parent of the student will be sent an SMS Message.  These measures seek to ensure the safety of all students in the school community and provide reassurance for families.

Permission is required, in writing for planned absences such as family holidays. An Application Form for Exemption from School is required if over 5 days.  When parents are away from home and leaving children in the care of a temporary guardian, notification should be given to the School in writing.

• Catherine McAuley School is committed to maximising learning outcomes for every student. Absenteeism is an issue for the wellbeing and learning for all students.
• Habitual absence is where a student is absent for 5-9 days in one term for any reason.
• Chronic absence is where a student is absent for 10 or more days in one term for any reason.

We are mandated to report unexplained absences as neglect. Please make sure you let your child’s school know why they are absent and please note that all illnesses of 2 days or more require a doctor’s certificate.

Although the vast majority of our students arrive at school regularly and on time, we are committed to ongoing improvement in the overall area of punctuality and attendance.  Being late for school has a negative impact on your student’s learning.

We all run late sometimes, however, chronic lateness eventually takes its toll on a student’s overall educational experience.

Being just 10 minutes late every day adds up to an nearly an hour a week of lost learning. This adds up to one and a half weeks of school missed in a year.

Being late for class often means important interactions and learning opportunities are missed and the learning of other students in the class, is interrupted. Arriving at least 5 minutes before the school day begins allows your student time to prepare. The skills developed through attending school regularly and arriving on time, builds in our students the skills and capabilities that will prepare them not only for school, but for life.

It is important to contact your care teacher if your child experiencing other reasons for lateness that can be supported and addressed within the school setting.

PARKING / KISS and DROP ZONE

We remind families of the parking laws on Adams Road, between 8.30am - 9.30 am and 2.30pm – 3.30pm there is  NO PARKING directly outside the school grounds.

Please DO NOT park and leave your vehicle in the ‘Kiss and Drop” zone.

We particularly ask families to use the pick-up and drop off zones during this time correctly – drive in, drop off and drive out. Parking in this area causes great frustration for those wanting to drop off. Council and police monitor these areas regularly and fines are issued to people who do not follow the parking conditions as outlined on the signs.

We look forward to everyone abiding by the procedures and rules that have been put in place for the safety of everyone accessing and leaving our Campus.

We understand the difficulty which surrounds parking at the Campus and urge all families to use patience and respect whilst remembering that the safety of our children is our priority. Parents speaking rudely to one another or staff and using abusive language is offensive and this behaviour is not condoned by either school.

Families are reminded to:

• abide by the parking signs on Adams Road and Somerset Grove.
• refrain from stopping in the bus zone or at any of the crossings and calling children to the cars.
• refrain from parking and using the staff carparks as drop off/pick up zones.
• refrain from parking in the Somerset Grove driveway/car park, adjacent to the ovals.

All these practices pose a risk to student safety and potentially could result in a child being seriously injured. Staff on these duties have a ‘duty of care’ to students and appreciate your support with this matter. We trust you will put the safety of all our children first.

The road is regularly monitored by SAPOL and you will be fined for not following road traffic signs.

• Staff have no jurisdiction over the road, and we ask our school families to adhere to the rules.
• Parents/Caregivers can use the Police Traffic Watch site to register a complaint against road/parking users using the link https://forms.police.sa.gov.au/Runtime/Form/TW+Data+Entry+Form
• or contact the local Council.