Parents must notify the school when their son is going to be absent. It is a Ministry of Education requirement that all students are to be present at school except in special circumstances such as illness, bereavement, etc. 

It is expected that students maintain an attendance average of 90% or higher.

• The SchoolBridge app is our preference for notifying the school of student absences, lateness, this includes any appointments they need to leave the school grounds for.  A QR code to download the app is located at the bottom of this page.   
• If you are unable to access the SchoolBridge app, you can email [email protected], please include your son’s full name, date of absence and reason for the absence or lateness. Any lateness or appointments not explained will automatically be marked as Unjustified absences. For the ministry of education guidelines on Justified absences, please click here.

Daily Absences
 
It is a Ministry of Education requirement that a Parent/Caregiver notify a student’s absence each day in order to ensure that accurate attendance codes and records are kept. Any absences or leave passes for appointments should be reported to the school by 9.00am. 
 
If your son is absent due to an illness or medical procedure, please use the Sick/Illness/Medical button. If he is going to be away for the full day due to a medical or dental appointment, please select Doctor/Dentist. For any other full day appointments, please use the Appointment button. For Bereavement or attending a Tangi/Funeral, please use the Bereavement button.

The school will send notifications home for any unexplained absences or lateness via text message or email to Parents/Caregivers by 11.45am daily. Parents/Caregivers should reply to the school advising a reason for their son’s absence, to ensure accurate coding of any absences. In the instance where we are not advised of an absence these will be marked as Truant and will be followed up by the year level dean.
 
Appointments During the Day

Please ensure any appointments are made at times which enable your son to attend school for the majority of the day. Please use the SchoolBridge app to request an EXIT pass for all appointments. You need to include the reason for the appointment and time your son needs to leave, and if he will be returning to school after. 

• Students MUST sign out on the iPad at student services prior to leaving, they will have a leave pass slip printed and must take this with them, to present to any staff member who questions why the student is out of class. Emails will be sent home to follow up on any student leaving school without parental consent. 

Occasionally last-minute appointments need to be made, however Parents/Caregivers need to be aware that it is not always possible to find students in class quickly. If you anticipate needing to get your child out urgently, it would be helpful to have at least 30 minutes to make these arrangements. Please do not arrive at school and expect to have your son out of class immediately.  

Late Arrivals

Any student arriving late to school (after 8.40am), must sign in at Student Services before attending class. This will timestamp their arrival and will prevent unnecessary absence notifications going home. Parents/Caregivers must advise via the SchoolBridge app, by selecting the Late option, or email a reason why their son is late to ensure the correct attendance codes are recorded. 

Unwell During The Day

Any student who feels unwell during the school day should visit the nurse in the health centre, located behind the top gym. Our registered Nurses can assess and treat for a large range of health issues / injuries. They will assess the students and if necessary, make arrangements for the students to go home.

If students are unwell during class time, they need to let the teacher know and they will be given a note to visit the health centre. At any other time of the day students are free to walk in for treatment. 

Students should not be using phones in class or leaving school grounds without following the correct process. 

Holiday / Extended Leave (3 or more days)

Extended periods of leave are generally unapproved and are actively discouraged as time out of school is a disadvantage to students. 

If the absence cannot be avoided, then Parents/Caregivers need to advise the school at least 2 weeks prior to the leave. Students need to collect an orange leave form and have their Teachers, Dean and Senior Leadership staff member sign it off. This is not to ‘approve’ the leave, but to ensure students are aware of any work or assignments they are missing during this time.   

Medical Certification

Medical certificates are required for any medical absence of 4 or more consecutive days off. Please email these directly to attendance: [email protected]