Communication

An essential element of our work together is the building and maintenance of effective communication.

From School

1. A fortnightly newsletter is emailed every Wednesday and deals with up-to-date happenings at the school. Classroom comments are included in the publication. The purpose of these comments is to inform parents and the wider community of the recent happenings in classrooms. Various community bodies who wish to communicate with parents should send the information to be communicated, in writing, to the school office before noon on Wednesday.
   
   
2. The minutes of the monthly Parents and Friends meeting are uploaded to Parent Lounge after the meeting.
   
   
3. Formal report cards are issued each semester.
   
   
4. SMS text messages are sent to communicate reminders, events, cancellations etc to the parent community.
   
   
5. Parent/Teacher interviews are held twice a year. Parents are welcome to contact their child's teacher at any stage throughout the year to discuss their child's progress.
   
   
6. At the commencement of the school year, parents will be invited to attend an information evening regarding Key Learning Areas and classroom procedures.

From Parents

1. Notes, emails or personal contact by phone are required to explain pupil absences or inability to complete homework.
   
   
2. Attendance at Parents and Friends meeting and school functions is encouraged.
   
   
3. Parents are encouraged to view or to sign homework and comment in writing when they are aware their child is having difficulty in an area of work.

Partnership
Because parents and teachers are partners, each teacher in this school seeks to establish clear lines of communication with the parents of the children in his/her class early in the year. Some of the ways this is achieved includes:

• A Parent Information Evening is held early in Term One. At this Information Evening, the class teacher presents a summary of what presents can expect to see happening in the classroom during the year ahead.
  
  
• Formal Parent/Teacher interviews are offered to parents at the end of Term 1 and Term 3. In these meetings parents and teachers discuss educational goals for the year and outcomes achieved so far.

Throughout the year parents are always welcomed and encouraged to make an appointment to discuss their child’s development with the child’s teacher. Teachers will keep parents informed of significant trends or occurrences with regards to their child’s development. Teachers also encourage parental assistance in the classroom when required.

Staff Meeting
Staff meetings are currently held on a Tuesday afternoon commencing at 3:15pm. Issues pertaining to curriculum, administration, religious education and policy development are covered. Due to these meetings, staff members are unable to meet with parents on a Tuesday afternoon.

School Diaries

A School Diary is used in Year 5 and 6 as another communication tool between school and home. Within this diary, there is an area at the end of each day to record nightly reading. Teachers may use diaries in a variety of ways though their main purpose is as a source of communication between teachers, students and parents. Parents should check School Diaries each night for any homework or teacher comments. Parents are expected to communicate with the child and/or teacher by writing relevant comments in the School Diary; the student is to alert the teacher to any messages written at the commencement of each school day. Students in years 2 and 3 do not have a school diary but have a home reading log which also has space for communications.

Term Calendar

At the beginning of the year, a calendar is set out and available online through the OLSH Google Calendar. The calendar contains all school events and will be updated whenever a change or addition is to be made. Additional dates will be added to the calendar as the term progresses. The calendar is another important communication tool between school and home.