Handbook

Our Lady of the Rosary School is a Catholic, systemic, parish primary school coming under the direction of the Education Board of the Parramatta Diocese.

Our spiritual leaders are Fr Alejandro Lopez and of the Orders of Friars Minor, Conventual who administer the Parish of Kellyville.

Our enrolment is approximately 465 5girls and boys from Kindergarten to Year 6.

It is important for the child and the class for all children to be on time. Children need to be at school before 8:45 am so that classes may commence promptly.

Arriving after 8:45 am - parents MUST escort their child to the office to collect a Late Pass and sign into the FACES database before going to class. Parents do not accompany their child to the classroom. Please do not drop them off at Kiss & Drop - Park and come in.

Parents must call at the office to collect their children if they need to leave early where children will be signed out of the system officially. Parents are requested to make medical or dental appointments outside school hours where possible, rather than disrupt their child’s school routine. If it is necessary for parents to pick up children before the end of the school day they should be collected before 2:45 pm to avoid last minute congestion.

Children are not to be dropped off before 8:15 am as this is when the school gates are opened. There is no supervision before this time. We ask all parents to collect their children between 3:00 and 3:15 pm from the carpark pick up. 

Children are supervised as follows:

• on the playground before school from 8:15 to 8:45 am
• at the dismissal point from 3 to 3:15pm.

OLOR Kellyville - COSHC (under the Parish Hall)
Phone: 0458 492 987

Regular communication between parents and teachers makes for more effective education for the children. If you would like to organise an appointment with class teachers please contact the school office or email the teacher directly.

Meetings between teachers and parents are arranged at the beginning of Term 1. At the end of Term 2 a semester one report is issued followed by a student led conference. A semester two report is issued in the last weeks of Term 4.

Any real concerns of either the parent or the teacher need to be discussed at an arranged interview. Interviews can be arranged by teacher or parent as follows:

• By phoning the School Office or parent’s home
• By writing a short note or email

When making a time to meet, the general area of discussion needs to be made known so that both parties can be prepared for the interview.

Weekly Communication will be through facebook and notifications via the OLOR website and the Compass Parent Portal.

Compass is our primary parent communication tool for day-to-day operational matters, upcoming events, notices and notifications so it is essential that all parents download the app.

Student Banking is with the Commonwealth Bank & is conducted by school parents every Thursday morning.

Due to the large number of students in our schoool with Anaphylaxis and other medical conditions we are asking that children ONLY bring in small sealed lolly bags that can be handed out at the end of the school day. This will allow children to take the treats home and parents can decide if these can be consumed.

There are two bus companies providing school bus routes to OLOR Primary:

Who is eligible for bus passes?
To be eligible a student must be a resident of NSW plus:

• Infant student (K-2) older than 4 years and 6 months who lives any distance between home and school; or
• Primary student (Years 3-6) who lives more than 1.6km (straight line) from school, or 2.3km or more by the most direct practical walking route

How do parents/students get a School Opal card?

For new applications or for students with changing circumstances, the parents, guardians or students over 16 years are required to fill in a form online at www.transportnsw.info/school-students

Once the online application is endorsed by OLOR, Kellyville,  Transport NSW will mail the school Opal card to the applicant's home address.

Regular attendance is most important during these first years as it maintains continuity of learning experiences and helps social adjustment. Home, however is the place for a sick child. If in any doubt about your children’s health it is wise to keep them at home. If a child becomes ill at school, parents are contacted and asked to come and collect the child. If a child is hurt in the playground, he/she should tell the teacher/s on duty at the time. The child may then be escorted to the Office for First Aid.

If your child needs to take medication on either a short term or long term basis, a Medical Authority Form needs to be completed. These may be collected from the School Office. We ask that these forms, together with detailed action plans be returned to school at the commencement of the school year. It is essential that these forms and actions plans are updated annually by your child's doctor so that our records are accurate and reflect the needs of each individual child. Please note, it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their child's medication remains current, ie not expired.

(PS: It would also be appreciated if Kinders could have a spare pair of undies in a plastic bag left in their school bag ‘in case of emergencies’)

School Policy is that children wear the school navy blue hat for play and sports activities. Please make sure your child has one in his/her bag. Those without hats will sit in a shaded area during both breaks.

In Kindergarten the children will be given no formal written home learning. However during the year the children will have home reading books and sight word sheets. These need to be carried to and from school in a separate plastic folder. Full details regarding home learning will be sent home prior to the commencement of the program.

Protection against infectious diseases

The Department of Health recommends that children entering school should be immunised. This is particularly important because your child will be coming into contact with many other children and infections can spread very easily.

Children starting school who have not already had booster immunisation should have:

• one booster injection against diphtheria and tetanus (CDT)
• one booster dose of polio vaccine by mouth (Sabin)
• one injection of measles/mumps vaccine if they have not already had measles or been immunised against the disease.

Immunisation is available from your family doctor, from many council clinics and from some community health centres. Dates and times of clinics may be obtained from the council.

School requires an immunisation certificate for every enrolled child. Parents obtain these from their local doctor or health centre when their child is immunised. Children enrolling in Years 1-6 need to obtain a copy of the immunisation certificate from their previous school or a new certificate from their current doctor.

This certificate should attest that your child has been immunised against:

• diphtheria-tetanus-whooping cough (Triple Antigen)
• polio (Sabin oral vaccine)
• measles-mumps-rubella.

Any child for whom the school does not have an immunisation certificate must be excluded from school over any period where cases of infections arise within the school. The Health Department or the school will notify you at the time.

Please make arrangements to lodge your immunisation certificate on the first day of school, if you have not already provided it to the school office.

Please help us to save you money. All personal belongings need names: hats, jumpers, both parts of tracksuit, drink bottles, lunch boxes (lid too), school bags and bag flaps, etc. Please check regularly to make sure that the label is still readable as after a few washes the writing is often illegible. Items not clearly marked end up in the Lost Property and every 3 weeks any unmarked clothing is donated to charity.

The school publishes a fortnightly newsletter on the Wednesday of even school weeks. This newsletter is uploaded onto the website and also sent out via the Compass Parent Portal. Compass is our primary parent communication tool for day-to-day operational matters, upcoming events, news, newsletters, notices and notifications so it is essential that all parents download the app.

Children are supervised eating their lunches prior to the play bell. Sometimes appetites and needs change. We ask the children to take home 'leftovers' to help you gauge their needs. Please separate ‘recess’ and ‘lunch’. Recess to be placed in a paper bag with child’s name and class and Lunch in a lunchbox clearly labelled with the child’s name. We are aiming at becoming Waste Free – so please try and keep waste to a minimum.

Children place all notes/fees in the Class Note bag daily.

All notes are collected each morning in the Classroom Notebag. Forms, letters, fees can be sent this way. Please ensure that on the outside of the envelope you include full details (ie: child’s name, class, amount enclosed). Notes from the Office are sent back the same way. Any money sent to the school should be deposited directly into the locked box located in the office. For security reasons no money should be sent through the class bags.

Absence: Either a written note or an electronic absentee note via the Compass Parent Portal is required when a child is absent. This must be completed within seven (7) days.

Compass is our primary parent communication tool for day-to-day operational matters, upcoming events, notices and notifications so it is essential that all parents download the app.

Medicine: Medicine Administration Forms are available from the School Office.

At Our Lady of the Rosary School we have children who have severe allergies to nuts. While allergic reactions are common and most are not serious, for these children the reaction can be life-threatening. This is called anaphylaxis and can occur in minutes of an exposure to a trigger, in these children's case, nuts.

We see prevention as a major part of providing a safe environment for these children.

So as to support our community's effort in this regards we kindly ask that parents do not send snacks for recess or lunch that include Nutella spread, any peanut butter, nut spreads, snack bars and biscuits that contain nuts.

Products having the statement may contain "traces of nuts" are suitable to bring to school. We also ask that you do not include food that contain nuts when providing food for special events such as cake days or morning teas.

Additionally, we will continue to ask that children not share their food.

It is essential that if your contact details (address, phone numbers, etc) change during the year you notify the School Office immediately.

All parents are encouraged to participate in the organisation and coordination of special events, information sessions, fundraisers etc. It is a great opportunity to socialise whilst helping OLOR at the same time.

There are a number of areas for play within the school. There are always teachers on duty in these areas. During the breaks separate areas are reserved for different age groups.

At recess and lunch time children are permitted to bring balls (tennis,) and skipping ropes (all clearly marked with child’s name).

PLEASE DO NOT SEND EXPENSIVE TOYS TO SCHOOL

Sports Uniform is to be worn on sports days.

Sport lessons (which includes games, personal development and health) are conducted each week. You will be notified of the day your grade will be doing sport.

For safety reasons ALL visitors, INCLUDING PARENTS AND VOLUNTEER HELPERS, need to come first to the school office, to sign in via our KIOSK system. It will automatically print you a label which must be worn and be visible to the children at all times the visitor is in the school. On leaving, visitors return to the office and sign out of the system.

PARENTS ARE NOT TO GO DIRECTLY TO CLASSROOMS FOR ANY REASON.

There are occasions when Visitor Passes are NOT required. These are when general or specific invitations are issued to groups of parents eg. Open Day, Class presentation, Cross Country, Sports Carnival, Grandparents Day. Parents will not need to come to the office in the first instance on these occasions.

The following procedures have been introduced to ensure your child's safety.

1. Entry to the school is via the main gate or via Kiss and Drop zone behind School Hall. 8.15am - 8.45am

2. Parents may walk their children to school along the pathways as far as the Front Office. From here children go independently onto the playground.

3. Parents are NOT permitted to drive into the Staff Car Park area between 8am and 4pm. The Staff Car Park is not to be used to drop off late children or as a pick up point for collecting children unless authorized by the Principal.

4. Please observe posted parking restrictions in the streets surrounding OLOR as both the Castle Hill Highway Patrol and Council Rangers regularly patrol these areas.

5. If you need to collect your child from sick bay at any stage, there is a "SickBay Parking' spot made available for your convenience. This parking spot is located directly outside the school administration office.

• Diana Ave - short walk to school front gate.
• Rear of School Kiss and Drop – children enter through gate at rear of school hall, adjacent to school canteen
• (Please exercise utmost care when driving in this area as it is a shared pedestrian/vehicular traffic zone with a 10km/h speed limit)
• Acres Road – park and walk approx 300m
• Bus – see school office for bus pass application (conditions apply re distance from school)
• Walk, Ride or Scoot – great for fitness
• Park in Kiss and Drop carpark at rear of school or church carpark- enter through gate at rear of school hall, adjacent to school canteen
• (Please exercise utmost care when crossing from centre carpark to footpath)
• Park legally in nearby streets and walk in with your child(ren)

• Acres Road – park and walk into school to meet your child(ren). Children are also escorted by two teachers from the school around to Acres Rd each afternoon.
  
  
• Bus – see school office for bus pass application (conditions apply re distance from school)
  
  
• Walk, Ride or Scoot – great for fitness.
  
  
• Diana Ave – Children are escorted by two teachers to the pedestrian crossing at the lower end of Diana Ave. Children can be collected from the corner of Diana Ave and Redden Drive.
  
  
• Park legally in nearby streets and walk in to collect your child(ren).
  
  
• Rear of School Kiss and Drop – join the queue, ensuring all traffic rules are followed. After 3.15pm, any remaining children are escorted to the school office (Please exercise utmost care when driving in this area as it is a shared pedestrian/vehicular traffic zone with a 10km/h speed limit).
  
  
• Park in Kiss and Drop carpark at rear of school - enter through gate at rear of school hall, adjacent to school canteen, to collect child(ren). This carpark is usually full by 2.30pm so, after this time, legal offsite parking is required. (Please exercise utmost care when crossing to centre carpark from footpath)

PLEASE NOTE: Diana Ave vehicle access is permitted after 3.15 to collect children from school office or COSCH.

The following points will assist in helping the Kiss and Drop flow smoothly.

• Parents are to display the family SURNAME in their car window for easy identification. This can be requested from the school office.
  
  
• Remain in the queue and move forward carefully, once it is safe to do so.
  
  
• Enter and exit the vehicle from the passenger side only.
  
  
• Please do not leave your vehicle while Kiss and Drop is operating. If necessary, you can move to a vacant parking space to assist with seatbelts.
  
  
• Let your child(ren) practise getting in and out of your vehicle at home so it will be easier to do once at school.
  
  
• Have a designated place within the vehicle to place school bags…many families place the bags on the front seat as their child(ren) get in the back. Using the boot creates a potential safety issue from following traffic.
  
  
• Once the Kiss and Drop queue is back into the access driveway, do not attempt to overtake the queued traffic to enter the carpark.
  
  
• Delaying your arrival till after 3.05pm will minimise the waiting time.
  
  
• Please avoid turning right from Redden Drive into the driveway while the traffic is queued…it is potentially dangerous and hinders through-traffic. Continue along Redden Drive and join the rear of the queue.

Many thanks to everyone who accesses the school site in a considerate and courteous manner… the safety of our school community members must be foremost in our minds.

The Uniform Policy on students hairstyles applies for the whole time students are in school uniform, sports uniform, at any school function either on school property or in the community.

• It is the choice of the parents of OLOR school that all students wear the set school uniform.
• Any changes to the school uniform are made in consultation with parents. Major changes are considered only once every five years.
• Changes are introduced gradually allowing due notice in justice to suppliers and parents are encouraged to use earlier styles until they are outworn or outgrown.
• No child is criticised or embarrassed when he/she is unable to wear uniform. Parents are requested to send a note when a child will not be in full uniform. This saves the need to question the child.
• Children are not permitted to wear jewellery except for sleepers/stud earrings or a small cross and chain.
• Nail polish is not to be worn to school

Hair is a very important aspect of your child's appearance. Children must have appropriate haircuts. Coloured hair is not permitted nor should hair be cut in steps or stairs, or have any other symbols or patterns. Tropical holiday beading and braiding is to be removed within one week of returning to school.

All students:

• Shoulder length or longer hair must be tied back with a hair tie, ribbons or a "scrunchie" in neutral or school colours.
• A headband is school colours may also be worn.
• Hair colouring is not permitted.
• NO undercuts, Mohawks, Number Ones, Lines or Rat Tails are permitted.
• Hair must be of consistent length.

• All uniforms are available online from The School Locker  www.theschoollocker.com.au
• The School Locker
  The Grove Homemaker Centre
  2-18 Orange Grove Road
  Liverpool NSW 2170
  Ph: (02) 8796 2100
  Email: liverpool@theschoollocker.com.au