Getting back into routines has been challenging for us all however it has become very noticeable lately that we have quite a number of children who regularly arrive late to school. This can cause all sorts of problems as rolls have been marked and lesson begun.

Late arrival at school is often embarrassing or uncomfortable for the student, an interruption to the teacher and a disruption to the learning time of other students. Generally speaking, the first learning session is one of the most important in relation to children’s functioning ability (eg. alertness) and is when we focus on literacy and numeracy development. These two areas are the foundations of academic success.

We expect all children to be at school by the first bell at 8.55am. Classrooms are open then and the children are expected to get their things organised for the day ahead.“Be on time, be at school: that’s the rule.”  The important message here for parents is that every time your child is late for school it is costing your child a learning experience, as well as interrupting the learning time for others. We ask for parent support in ensuring that we have ‘on time’ starts to the school day.

Should you find you are struggling to get here on time we would suggest leaving 10-15 minutes earlier, particularly on wet days.