School Information

10 Key Facts

• 1. School starts at 8.55am and finishes at 3pm.

  2. Children usually arrive from 8.30am. (The school cannot take any responsibility for students in the school facilities before 8.30am or after 3.00pm.) 

  3. Morning break is at 11.00am - 11.40am and lunch from 1.00pm - 1.40pm. 

  4. Student-led Assemblies are usually held at 9.10am every second Friday - come along. Dates are in the Newsletter and on the Calendar. Similarly, please join with us at Karakia every Monday and every other Friday morning just after 9.00am. 

  5. Worser Bay School does not have a uniform. 

  6. No child is permitted to leave the school grounds during the school day unless this has been arranged between the school and a parent/caregiver. 

  7. Children must not bring money, valuable or ’attractive‘ items to school. 

  8. Terms 1 and 4, children must wear a hat that shades the face, ears and neck. We also have sunblock in every classroom. 

  9. Wheels Day is every Wednesday.

  10. Students are invited to bring scooters and helmets. No helmet, no scoot!

Whetūkairangi - Star Gazer

The school was established in 1897, on a historically significant pā site.;  Whetūkairangi (star gazer), named by Ngai Tara iwi , to convey the idea it was located on high ground, from which only the stars and sea might be seen.

A Rich and Varied School Curriculum

Click on the link to read the Worser Bay School Curriculum Document - updated 2018

Click here for our Positive Education Strategy 

Click on the link to read the  Targets for 2025 and Strategic Plan 2024-2026

Here's our Annual Report for 2023

Absences

A phone call (04-939 7281) or email is required explaining when and why your child/ren is/are absent from school. 

If children arrive after 8.55am they must come to the office, sign in and get a Late Pass to give to their base group teacher. We will ring/text parents shortly after 9.15am if we have not been notified. 

If your child needs to be collected early from school for any reason, please come to the office and sign them out of school.

Rolls are taken shortly after the bell rings at 8.55am and also after lunch.

After School Care

Some of our families choose Kids Community Hub. Children are collected by shuttle van just after 3pm.

Digital Technology at School 

Instructions for parents*

• • Please read our guidelines carefully. If there are any points you would like to discuss with the school, let your child's Base Group teacher know as soon as possible.

  • The Worser Bay School Acceptable Use of Technologies Agreement was developed with the students, based on the school ‘rule’, the value of respect and learning about digital citizenship and safety on the net. WBS Cybersafety Guidelines and Agreement

  • The guidelines and agreement have been discussed at school in a way that is age appropriate. Please reinforce the messages and go through this information again at home.

  • Please sign the agreement and return it to the school. The other information can be kept at home for your future reference.

  • Starting in 2015, senior students (Years 4-6) will be able to bring a digital device to school to assist their learning. This is NOT compulsory. Students can use their own devices throughout the day for collaborative learning, web-based research and applications, including using Google Apps for Education. BYOD Agreement

*The term ‘parent’ used throughout this document also refers to legal guardians and caregivers.

Digital Portfolio - Seesaw

We use Seesaw - a digital portfolio. Seesaw gives your child creative tools to capture and reflect on their learning - in real time. Then this work is shared with you. Seesaw will give you a window into each of our classrooms and into your student’s learning process. Our students are excited to use this tool in partnership with the great things our teachers do in their classrooms.

You can download Seesaw’s Parent App for iOS, Android, or use the web to view your student’s learning artefacts. When your child adds new work, you will receive a notification to see, hear and respond to your child’s learning item. You only have access to your own child’s work and all of the content is stored securely.

Healthy Eating, Accidents and Sickness

Stationery

We’ve teamed up with OfficeMax again to make your back to school shop super easy. And, if you order in December, you’ll go in the draw to WIN $1000 cash prizes. 

Your child’s class list will be loaded. Just go to https://www.myschool.co.nz/worserbay. Simply add your details, check that you want everything on the list, then click and confirm — and OfficeMax will get your delivery underway with free delivery on orders over $70*.

Plus, you’ll be helping our school earn school rewards* that we use to purchase much needed extra resources for Worser Bay School.

We encourage you to order early to ensure your child has all their stationery requirements ready to go in plenty of time for the start of Term 1. All items are carefully chosen for a particular function and purpose. 

So, go ahead and beat the back to school rush, order today.

Please name all books, coloured pencils and felt pens. The other items go towards class sets for the year. 

Stationery Drop Off at school will be on Friday 31 January 2024, 9.00 - 10.30 am.  

* Terms & Conditions apply, see myschool.co.nz for details.

Term Dates

Term Dates for 2025

Term 1        Stationery Drop Off - Friday 31 January, 9am - 10.30am 

                       Monday 03 February – Friday 11 April 

                       (Thursday 6 February – Waitangi Day and school closed Monday 24 March – Curriculum Day)

Term 2        Monday 28 April – Friday 27 June 

                       (Monday 2 June - King's Birthday and school closed Tuesday 3 June; Friday 20 June - Matariki Day)

Term 3        Monday 14 July – Friday 19 September

                        (School closed Friday 8 August – Curriculum Day)

Term 4        Monday 6 October – Thursday 18 December

                       (Monday 27 October - Labour Day and school closed Tuesday 28 October)

Voluntary Contributions 2024

At Worser Bay School, we enjoy an active school community and depend heavily on the families and whānau who contribute to the school in many different ways.  

The Ministry of Education provides all schools with an equity-index-based Operational Grant, which funds basic administration, teaching and property running costs of schools. The Government considers our students come from the highest socio-economic area, so we receive a smaller operational grant per student than some other schools. As a school with a smaller roll, our funding base is more modest than other larger schools.

To enable us to provide a quality educational environment and additional resources to enhance the learning we strive for at Worser Bay School, we particularly rely on the Voluntary Contributions made by our families and whānau. This makes up half of the fundraising we undertake each year. Follow the link for more information about Fundraising. 

The Voluntary Contribution for 2024 is $380 per student. We appreciate that family incomes may be stretched and payments can continue to be made by instalments during the year. If you wish to pay in 2 instalments, these will be $190 to be made by the end of Term 1 and by the end of Term 3. If your child starts part way through the year this is calculated on a pro-rata basis. Please discuss with office staff or pay online in 2024 via online payments.

Claim your donation rebates with Supergenerous 

Did you know that if you have donated to us, you are eligible to get 33% back in donation rebates? Supergenerous is a small, Kiwi social enterprise helping get these rebates back to charities like us. 

Their aim is to supercharge human generosity and tap into the estimated 1 billion dollars of unclaimed donation rebates sitting in a government bank account right now.

How it works:

You sign up online with them, give them your details and the names of the charities you donated to - that's it. They'll collect the receipts from charities, schools and religious organisations you donated to and manage the IRD side of things so you can sit back and relax.

They don't assume that you want to keep the money for yourself, they know you are already Supergenerous by donating in the first place. They give you the option to become a Supergiver by re-gifting the rebate right back to us. They handle that side of things too. The option is yours.

If they secure your rebate, they take a small  fee that allows them to keep operating and reaching out to more generous individuals like yourself.

Still have questions? Visit their website  https://www.supergenerous.co.nz/superpartners/worser-bay-school or sign up via Online Payments.  Receipts also available there.

Re-gifting:

We know that, if you've donated to our cause before, you are already generous. Supergenerous helps your generosity go even further through their re-gift option. Regifting donation rebates also has a powerful compounding effect because each financial year the rebate re-gift is considered a new donation and therefore is entitled to another rebate.

These funds will go towards extra staffing and support in the classroom, for creating a new library/creative space, purchasing new library books and upgrading outdoor learning areas.

For further information, see Balancing the School’s Books and Drivers for the Annual Budget.