Ridgway School information for parents

“Pure information; no preservatives, no added sugars.”

Getting to school “It is possible to ride a giraffe to school, but it is not particularly practical.”

When going to school you will probably have to walk with your parent/guardian or friend, if you’ve just started school.You can scooter to school if you are happy and your parents agree. Some families come to school on a walking-to-school bus.

Road Patrol “Why did the chicken cross the road? Because it would rather have fun at school than stay cooped up all day.”

Feel confident — your kids are in safe hands: our Year 6 road patrollers have been trained and they are on patrol from 8.30 - 8.50 in the mornings and 3.00 - 3.10 in the afternoons.P.S. Make sure you say hi. They’re the ones in the fluro-orange coats - you can’t miss them!

Office“Ring the bell once - Mrs Sloper will come. Ring it twice - she’ll stomp like a drum. Ring it thrice- she’ll give you a hard sum. P.S. She’s actually much sweeter!”

In the office (which is on the left of the main door) is Mrs Sloper (ring the bell once and she will come to see you), and Mrs Smith — our fair principal.We sometimes go down to Mrs Smith’s office to get a certificate if we do well in something. We have a sick bay and lost property. The lost property is for lost clothes, and the sick bay is for people who aren’t feeling well or have hurt themselves. If you have lost your hat or forgotten to bring one, there are spare hats in the office to borrow (or if you’re lucky, in your class).

The principal “She has black hair that goes down to about just below her ears in a kind of bob style, and she has glasses, and one time she got gunged on television. She visits the classes lots and loses her coffee cups sometimes.”

Ms. Smith likes her job because all of the days are different. It is a tricky job. She has to look at students’ achievements and learning skills, she has to do paperwork, she talks to students about their behaviour, she helps teachers, she reports information to the Board of Trustees, she helps write journals for interested parents, and she has ministry jobs to do.

Bells “Why did Tinkerbell like working in the office? Because she always got to ring the bell.”

There are different bells to tell us different things.There is one that rings at the end of morning-tea and lunch. It lasts for about five seconds and it tells us to go back to our classrooms. If it starts raining during a break, a short bell (about one or two seconds) will ring and we go inside to finish the break there.

Morning-tea and Lunch “A banana split would be okay, but keep it in a container and eat in the shade.”

When it is fine we eat morning-tea sitting down outside, and during lunch we eat either inside or outside - on our new picnic tables. If it is spring or summer we wear hats.Some choices: play games or sports on the court, play on the adventure playground, go to the library, use the sandpit, ask duty teachers to get equipment out of the sports shed for us, play with friends.The field: if there is a yellow strap on the gate by the path we are allowed to go down to play on the bank or the field.

Play areas “Why was the chicken running away? Because it was frightened by the flying-fox.”

We have an awesome playground with a flying fox, a slide, monkey bars, a hamster-wheel for kids, a fort, a balancing-beam, a giant spider’s web and a climbing frame. We have a court for sport and after school we can scoot on it, a courtyard with a big planter-box, and a sandpit. We use the zigzag path to go to and from the field.Down on the bottom field there are swings and a roundabout, and a little seat if you want to sit down or lie down and sleep.

Boundaries “What do dogs have in common with boundaries? They bound.”

At Ridgway School we respect nature; we will not climb into the planter-box or touch the caterpillars/swan plant.We need to play in a place where the teacher on duty can see us or get to us easily. Behind Room 6 there is a pathway that is one of our boundaries.Behind Room 8 there is a pathway that leads to another entrance to the school. Behind the sports shed there is bush that we do not play in.

Library “Please could you try and help the school make a NO PENGUINS sign on the door of the library; they have trouble turning the pages, and make the books wet with sea water.”

On a set day chosen by your teacher, you go with your class to the library and take out a set number (usually two or three) of books to read during the rest of the week.You may be able to go to the library during some lunchtimes (please leaveth the books in the library).

Garden “Sometimes, if you’re very quiet, you can see fern fairies frisking about in the strawberries with the Fairy Queen - Ms Green.”

Some lunchtimes people go to the garden club — it’s in the name. It is a little workshop in the garden. At the club we tend to the plants and help the animals living there. We also learn how to care for the environment.

We are a bronze award-winning enviro-school“We are going to grow a giant sunflower that climbs into the clouds next to a giant’s castle - true or false?”

We work with our teachers to learn about nature and being green.We have solar panels which save heat from the sun to make power for the school. This also saves the school money each year.We think about saving power: we turn off the lights when we leave a room, we recycle plastics, paper, and food (worm farm).We have collection bins around the school to make it easy for everyone to recycle.We have an organic garden and compost bins.

We are a PB4L school “Peanut butter for life!!!! Not really.”

PB4L means Positive Behaviour for Learning.Our four school values are respect, responsibility, resilience and resourcefulness.We learn what these things mean and practise being them in class, in the playground, and out in the community. When we are caught using one of the four Rs — we get an R card.

Collaboration in the classroom“Now we’re teaching the teachers, who do the teachers teach?”

Our school is organized into three teams. Teachers in these teams plan and work together to teach the students in different ways.You might see students doing different things at the same time; individually, working in pairs or small groups. This includes working in spaces where they feel the most creative and can do their best work, e.g. at desks, under tables, standing up, lying down, outside — just wherever they work.Our aim is for every student to have access to a device. Older students in years 5-8 are able to work from at home or at school on Google Classroom.A specialist teacher may take groups of students from the 3 senior classes in a rotation to work on a specific subject, e.g. science.

Assessment/tests/3-way conferences“Why did the chicken go back across the road? Because it had forgotten its next steps.”

Occasionally your child will be assessed to see what level they are at and to see what they should learn next. These tests are usually short and some children even consider them fun!Twice a year you, your child and your child’s teacher meet and set goals for the next two terms. In years 1-3 they occur on the 6 month and actual anniversary of their birthday. In years 4-8 they are usually in mid Term 2 and mid Term 4. The meetings last for about 20 minutes.

How to build successful friendships “The recipe for friendship: you will need a friend, and also wood, a mast, a sail, and a Jolly Roger flag to build the ship. P.S. this is a ship for friendship only.”

If you have just started school, and you want a friend, because no one knows you, you could join in with any game or you can sit with a nice person at morning tea and lunch.When you are a friend with someone, that person might have other friends who eventually become your friends.You grow a social connection with lots of people. Practise being the friend that you want to have. Use the four Rs.

Assemblies “... through the bonds of lovely meat, hear our voices as we eat treats, God defend our free land... ”

At Ridgway School, twice a term on Fridays we have school assemblies. We ‘walk into the big space as quietly as a mouse with its mouth zipped up’. We sit down in rows. Then Ms Smith, our amazing principal, will talk about the upcoming events. We also sing songs and share and celebrate successes.

Relieving teachers “That’s a relief; I’m relieved I’m having a reliever!”

Sometimes if your class’s teacher is sick or on release (busy with meetings or paperwork), a reliever will be called in.

Earthquakes “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Earth.” “Earth who?” “EARTHQUAKE!!! GET UNDER A TABLE!!!”

If you feel the ground shake, go to the nearest table, door frame or sturdy shelter and do the turtle drop (curl up in a ball with hands over your neck and head). A loud bell will ring continuously. When your classroom teacher has given the all clear, come out from your shelter and go on about your lesson. The principal will give the teacher instructions on what to do next. The most important thing is to be quiet and calm. You can pretend you are sneaking around a giant’s castle and you must be quiet or you will be caught. Fee-fi-fo-fum!

Contributing collaborative writers and artists of this power-pointAmelia, Amelia, Angel, Danica, Freja, Francesco, Geronimo, Hugo, Ishbel, Julia, Lola, Margot, Mimi, Nadya, Ngaio, Olivia, Ruby, Sarah, Skye, Stella, Tiger-Lily, Vita, Will, Zoe.