Kia ora Parents, caregivers and students,
We are aware that students are vaping whilst at school and we are concerned about this from both a legal and health viewpoint. As such I need to remind everyone that SHC is a vape-free and smoke-free site. The school's expectation is that there is to be no smoking or vaping at school. ('At school' includes on trips and while representing the College.)
The NZ law states:
Students found smoking or vaping in or around school are offered appropriate counselling and education. Parents are contacted and encouraged to deal with it as a health issue rather than a discipline issue.
Parents who enable their student to vape outside of school make it difficult for us to prevent this from happening at school.
Adults smoking or vaping in or around school environment will be reminded that the school is smokefree by law and asked to stop or leave the premises.
Please read the College's message here along with information for whānau.
Ngā mihi nui
Maria Potter
Principal
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Phones away for the day
Kia ora whānau, parents and caregivers,
Welcome to 2024, I am looking forward with excitement and hope for a great year ahead with your student. This email contains important information about the implementation of the new government’s ban on cell phone use in schools as published below by the Ministry of Education.
The new regulations require that school must ensure students do not use or access a phone while they are attending school, including lunch time and breaks. This includes students who are on a school course or visit outside the school grounds.
Schools must allow students to use or access a phone when:
We do not wish our staff to spend their time managing defiance of what is a quite simple requirement that students do not use their cell phones during school hours or during any school related activity.
To avoid this, we will be continuing the process we had in place for phones in the classroom from last year (effective immediately) and have added a very simple process for phones found outside the classroom (from week 3)
Inside the classroom from Monday 29 January
Students need to bring their device to school daily and use it to access all the information that is required for their learning.
If phones are seen in the classroom:
Outside the classroom from Monday 12 February
If phones are seen outside of the classroom they will be confiscated and taken to the school office.
Students should not use their cell phones or have them out of their bags or pockets while at school or during school activities during school hours. (We are very used to the “oh I wasn’t using it….it was just in my hand” defence.) They will be reminded of this frequently.
If a student simply refuses to hand their phone to a staff member the issue will be one of defiance and will be treated as such by our senior leadership team.
To allow this message to be conveyed to all students and whānau we will be repeating it at every possible opportunity in week 1 and week 2. Whilst we do not expect to see phones at any time during this “grace period”, implementation of the 3-step process outside of the classroom will start from week 3, Monday 12 February. Phones can not been seen in class from Monday 29 January.
If you need to contact your student urgently during the day, please contact the school office 04-566-1089. There is also a phone available for your student to use at the school office should they need to contact you.
If you feel that your student does require use of their cell phone during the day because of a medical or ‘learning support’ need please communicate that to one of our Deputy Principals.
Yr 13 and 11 Mrs Maria Kerr [email protected]
Yr 12 and 9 Ms Sinapi Taeao [email protected]
Yr 10 Mrs Ngaira Sewell [email protected]
The Ministry of Education advise us that an example of a medical requirement might be if a student is diabetic and uses a phone to track their blood sugars. An example of a 'learning support' need would be a student who does not speak English and uses a translator app on their phone.
Thank you for your support of us as we meet the government's requirements.
He waka eke noa – we are all in this together.
Ngā mihi nui
Maria Potter
Principal
A big shout out to the Sacred Heart College Junior Touch Team on winning the CSW Regional Tournament yesterday.
Thanks to Coach Rae Abbott and Manager Claire Risk for running a slick operation, the team were undefeated in every game including the final. Our students were fabulous role models on and off the field.
Report an Absence by calling 04-587 1777, use the school app or email [email protected]
