A-Z of Important Facts & Information
Absence and Lateness
Clarendon Primary School has an active Attendance Policy. Regular and consistent attendance at school every day is a vital part of establishing good work habits and routines with your children. Please let us know when your will be absent by calling 8383 6110 or sending a text message to 0428 409 989. You may use the school text messaging service for other non-urgent notifications too. If you need to get a message to us ASAP, however, the best way is to call 8383 6110.
When children arrive late (after 9am) or leave early (before 3.20pm), they must be signed in or out at the front office.
While we encourage families to take their holidays outside of school term times, we understand that this is not always possible, and exemption forms for absences of 3 days or longer must be completed prior to the leave period. Exemption forms are available at the front office. If your child is sick for three or more days, a sickness certificate is required.
Annual Report
Each year, an Annual Report is prepared for the School Community and reports on a range of mandatory areas in line with state and federal compliance requirements. Click here to find a copy of our latest Annual Report 2021.
Assemblies
We tend to have about three assemblies per term, often in weeks 3, 6 & 9, but there can be changes to this in order to fit in with what else is happening at school.
Assemblies are generally held in the library from 2.40pm until end of school at 3.20pm.
Bank Transfer Details
School Account Number: 1032 8702
Payments can also be made in the office using EFTPOS.
We ask that you use either of these methods rather than cash, thank you.
Behaviour Management
Books and Stationery
Bushfire Action Plan
Please note that the school is closed on days of Catastrophic Fire Danger, as forecast the day prior before 4pm on the CFS website or BOM website. Parents will be informed using our SMS text system of any bushfire related closures or emergencies.
See our Emergency Management Plan for more information.
Care of Belongings
Car Parking
There is a car park immediately behind the school in Potter Road, with steps leading down to the classroom areas. Please travel at 5km/h in the car park so you can brake suddenly if needed.
Please observe parking and pick up restrictions on Potter Road.
Overflow parking is available at the community hall/kindergarten, accessed via Grants Gully Road. This is a lovely short walk up to our school; be sure to cross at the school crossing.
Communication Book/Diary
All students have a communication book/diary for important messages from their teacher or parent. Please check this each day and encourage your children to utilise the diary to foster their personal organisation and time management skills.
Emergency Contacts
We like to keep our emergency names and telephone numbers up to date and we also ask for the names of people with whom your child may go home, if necessary. Please let us know if details change. It is vital that we have your current mobile number also in the event of needing to notify you re bushfire closures and other significant events.
Enrolment Procedures
When do I enrol my child? Please enrol your child at about the time he or she begins pre-school. This will help the pre-school as well as us. We would like to know as soon as possible so that our staff and our classes can be well organised.
Please submit an Enrolment Registration of Interest and we will get in touch with you. If you do not hear back from us within a week, please follow up with a call (8383 6110) in case something went awry with our website.
See the Reception Students and New Students headings on this page for further information.
Feedback and complaints
Let us know if you have feedback or a complaint, or if you want to give us a compliment. Feedback is valuable as it helps us shape our services to meet your needs. Each year, the parent opinion survey is distributed to collect information from families about the way we run the school. We may also distribute surveys at other times to collect feedback from parents on various issues.
Contact can be made by coming into the office, by emailing our office on dl.0720.info@schools.sa.edu.au or emailing the Principal on regan.birrell196@schools.sa.edu.au.
Food
Students need to be supplied with adequate, nutritious food for the school day. Lunch (first break) is at 10.50am, and recess (second break) is at 1.10pm. Each day children should bring:
- a drink bottle to ensure they remain hydrated throughout the day (particularly in warm weather); filtered drinking water is provided to refill bottles.
- a fruit snack (for around 10am)
- lunch (for first break)
- recess (for second break)
We encourage parents and children to pack food for school that has minimal packaging. Please save chocolates, lollies, etc for after school snacks.
The Right Bite Strategy has good tips for good food to bring to school, plus this Pick & Mix suggestion is a great at-a-glance guide. Lunch orders are available every Friday (see Lunches heading).
All nuts are allowed to be brought to school. We have one student with a severe nut allergy who is able to manage this by avoiding those nuts. Our kitchen classroom does not use nuts, but students are allowed to bring any nuts inside their lunchboxes. Please remind your children they are not to share food with their friends that they have brought from home.
First Aid
Class teachers and support staff need to be informed if your child suffers from asthma or any other condition requiring medication so that an appropriate plan may be made and we can keep any required medication onsite.
Fundraising
We encourage parents to be involved in fundraising activities for the school. In the past these have proven to be successful social occasions as well as a valuable source of raising funds for the school. Fundraisers to date have included quiz nights, wine bottling, a Christmas fair, Sports Day sideshows, Bunnings sausage sizzle, firewood, bulb and Entertainment Book sales.
Grievance Procedure
High School Transition
Students in year 6 have the opportunity to participate in the relevant Year 7 Transition programs offered by various high schools across the region. Year 6 students and their families are kept informed about upcoming open nights and information sessions throughout the year. Students from Clarendon Primary go to a range of different schools across central/southern Adelaide including public and private schools. Please talk to the senior school teacher or principal for more information.
Hot Weather
All classrooms have air-conditioning and our older buildings remain relatively cool in hot weather. When the weather is hot, students are encouraged to stay cool, be less active, wear sunscreen and drink water regularly. When the temperature is 36 degrees or above, students are to remain inside at break times and outdoor activities are discouraged.
We have a Sun Safe Policy which requires a broad-brimmed, sun smart hat to be worn in Terms 1, 3 & 4. Children without a sun hat during these times will have their playtime limited to designated shade areas. It is best to ensure your child has a hat in their bag year-round.
See Emergency Management Plan for further information.
Lost Property
Lunches
Lunches may be ordered once a week on Friday from the Clarendon General Store. Order forms for each class are available from the office and from the General Store in the main street of Clarendon. Complete the correct colour:
green = Reception-Year 1 Class
yellow = Year 1-2 Class
blue = Year 3-4 Class
pink = Year 5-6 Class
Drop the form at the General Store by 4pm on Thursday (pre-orders earlier in the week are welcome).
Lunch orders are delivered to each class by the first break (10.50am) on Friday.
Newsletter
We distribute approximately three newsletters per term on a Friday via Seesaw.
To keep in touch with the latest at school, each family has a specific link for Seesaw so they can connect with their child’s learning. Notifications specific to your child/ren’s class/es are sent home via Seesaw, including our fortnightly newsletter.
Our newsletters can be viewed by anyone on this website on the “Parent & Family Information” tab ->Newsletters.
If you have any family members who would like to receive the newsletter via email, please let us know in the office and we can add them to our electronic mailing list.
New Students
Please complete our Enrolment Registration of Interest form. We encourage new students across all year levels to commence at the beginning of the year or term. Starting school on the first day of the week is also preferred to ensure that the transition to a new school and class is as smooth as possible. If you are enrolling your child in Reception, please see Reception and Starting School for more information.
OSHC and Vacation Care
6.30am to 8.30am Morning OSHC
OSHC is available in the morning from 6.30am to 8.30am for school children, or from 6.30am until 9am for children who attend Clarendon Kindergarten; they are walked to kindy for a 9am start.
3.20pm to 6.30pm Afternoon OSHC
OSHC is available after school from 3.20pm to 6.30pm. If parents are unable to collect their child/ren at the end of the school day, their child/ren will be directed to OSHC at a cost to parents.
Vacation Care is available during school holidays and school closure days, generally at an alternate site: Aberfoyle Park Campus Schools; please phone 8270 6178 or email oshc@adam.com.au with Clarendon Primary as the subject for more information.
Parent Visits
Parents are invited to an acquaintance evening early in Term 1 each year. These are a great opportunity to connect and reconnect with staff, other parents, students and community members. Parents may visit the school and classes at other times by negotiation with staff and the principal.
Pastoral Care Worker
Local community churches provide a Pastoral Care Worker to our school. Our PCW Annara Oxenham supports a range of community and school programs from Wednesday to Friday. Open the attached document for a message from Annara that was included in our first newsletter this year. Annara can be contacted via: annara.oxhenham401@schools.sa.edu.au
Reception Students
At Clarendon Primary School, our vision for a child’s Reception year is that it features the best aspects of Kindergarten and Junior Primary in a school setting that understands and respects their developmental needs and meets them in a caring, nurturing way that provides a strong foundation for their future learning.
Please Refer to the dedicated Reception – Starting School section on this site for more information.
If you wish to register your interest to enrol your child at Clarendon Primary, please complete the Expression of Interest form.
School Council – Governing Council
The Governing Council assists and advises the Principal regarding governance of the school. The meetings are held on Tuesdays twice a term and start at 7pm in the Resource Centre. The AGM is held in early Term 1 and elects councillors to serve a two-year term. The Governing Council is the representative body for the parents of the school. School Councillors will welcome your suggestions or concerns in relation to governance matters and raise them on your behalf at council meetings. Please see the Our School tab –> Staff Information for an up to date list of our Governing Council members.
School Photographs
Your child’s class and individual photographs are taken by a nominated photographer each year – usually during Term 1 or 2.
School Priorities and Strategic Plan
A three year plan details the developing areas within the school as well as our core business and long term focus. Copies of this Strategic Plan and other policies are available from the office or from this website. Current priority areas at Clarendon are Wellbeing of Learning, Engagement for Learning and Quality Teaching & Learning.
School timetable
Our school hours are from 9.00am to 3.20pm. There is a teacher to supervise the play area from 8.30am until school starts at 9.00am, and from 3.20pm (when children are dismissed) until 3.35pm.
Morning OSHC is available onsite at Clarendon Primary from 6.30am; breakfast is provided. Afternoon OSHC is available until 6.30pm. For more information or to book, email oshc@adam.com.au, using ‘Clarendon Primary School’ as the subject.
| Lesson Block 1 | 9.00am – 10.50am |
| Supervised Lunch Eating Time | 10.50am – 11.00am |
| Morning Play Break | 11.00am – 11.30am |
| Lesson Block 2 | 11.30am – 1.10pm |
| Afternoon Play Break (Recess) | 1.10pm – 1.40pm |
| Lesson Block 3 | 1.40pm – 3.20pm |
Children who have not been picked up by 3.30pm need to report to a staff member in the office. Staff will contact a parent/carer and students will be escorted to OSHC.
Uniform
Students at Clarendon are required to follow the dress code of navy and light blue. Sun hats are part of the dress code and children are expected to wear them during all of Terms 1 & 4, and from the first day of spring, 1 September. Children should also keep a hat in their bag for other unseasonably hot days during Term 2 & 3.
The asterisked items below are available at the office. Please enquire at the office for a price list and payment details. Uniform items with logos may also be purchased from the office. Other items that meet the dress code are readily available from general department stores.
UNIFORM DESCRIPTION
Hats:
– *Broad brimmed, navy, sun smart hats are required for all outside activity in Terms 1 & 4. We have a navy bucket hat with a crown drawstring embroidered with our logo and your child’s name. Please note that children without a sun hat during the prescribed times above will have their outside playtime limited to designated shade areas.
NB hats with crown drawstrings are preferred and recommended as a safer option. Hats with under chin drawstrings or cords require a safety release mechanism. Baseball style or flat caps are not acceptable.
– *Plain Navy or Light blue beanies are appropriate for winter. We have a navy beanie available, embroidered with our logo and your child’s name.
Lower Body:
Navy-coloured, mid-thigh length or longer:
– *sport shorts
– *cargo shorts
– *skorts, or skirt
NB: bike shorts/leggings can be worn underneath skirts/dresses, however, not as pants
Navy-coloured:
– long pants/*tracksuit pants
– trousers/*cargo pants
NB no denim, large visible commercial logos, skirts, skorts or shorts shorter than mid thigh. Leggings, bike shorts or tights alone are not acceptable as school pants
Upper Body:
– *Short or long-sleeved polo shirt in navy or light blue
– *Two-toned Clarendon Primary monogrammed polo shirt
– *Navy school rain jacket or navy spray jacket for wet weather activities and play times
– Collared shirt or skivvy in plain navy or light blue
– *Navy hooded school jumper or *windcheater
– Navy cardigan
– *Two-toned Clarendon Primary monogrammed school dress
– *Commemorative school shirts/jumpers including senior tops
– Students may wear their own personal rain jackets and parkas to and from school and outside in inclement or cold weather
Footwear:
– Sturdy shoes with socks including closed sneakers, leather ‘work’ boots, school shoes or sturdy sandals are appropriate for school
– Closed shoes need to worn during Kitchen-Garden lessons
– Gumboots/work boots are recommended for Kitchen Garden lessons and winter play times and children are welcome to keep a pair of gumboots at school
– Children are welcome to keep slippers/ugg boots at school for inside times during colder months
– Thongs and flimsy sandals are not acceptable school footwear
Accessories:
– Earrings: small studs or sleepers are acceptable
– Watches: wrist watches are okay as long as they do not create a distraction
– Hair: long hair must be secured off the face using a hair tie or scrunchy; having the hair secured also reduces incidences of head lice and this is a requirement also for Kitchen Garden and technology lessons
– School bag: appropriate proportions to the child and preferably kept light (less than 10% of a child’s body weight)
– Umbrellas: the safe use of umbrellas by children is acceptable outside during wet weather. When not in use, umbrellas must be stored safely in bag areas
NB make up, false nails and nail polish are not appropriate for school wear.
It is a good idea to pack a change of clothes to school, particularly for younger students.
Please see our Uniform & Dress Code Policy for further information.
Visitors
For the purpose of safety and security ALL VISITORS are kindly requested to report to the office upon arrival at the school to sign in. This includes visitors for assemblies who need to sign the register in the library. If you are volunteering, there is a sign-in sheet specific to volunteers.
Wet Weather
Our school has little shelter so jackets and umbrellas are very common in the winter months. Students can leave their rubber boots and shoes in classroom foyers to avoid making the carpets muddy and slippers can be worn inside. Your co-operation is greatly appreciated!
If there is wet weather during break times, inside activities will be provided in classrooms/the library as decided by the teacher on yard duty.
