Frequently Asked Questions

To encourage children to accept responsibility for their own actions and create a positive and secure environment, we have developed school rules which expect children to learn to co-operate, be tolerant towards one another and be courteous.

If a school rule is broken, then the child may be dealt with by a teacher or management staff member, depending on the severity of the incident. Many incidences are very minor and are dealt with quietly and quickly. If we have any concerns about your child’s behaviour, we will contact you. You are also most welcome to talk to your child’s teacher if you have any concerns about behaviour.

The "Cool Schools" Peer Mediation Programme is also operating. A number of Year 5/6 students elect to become mediators and they are provided with appropriate skills to sort out their peers' conflicts in the playground. The mediators wear bright green T-shirts at lunchtimes to make them easily identifiable to children. The mediation skills are also taught in the classroom so that all children may gain an understanding of the causes of conflict and are empowered with the processes and skills to resolve conflicts.

8.30 a.m.                       Pupils may enter school.
8.55 a.m.                       Morning school begins
10.40 to 11.00am          Morning interval
12.30 to 12.40pm          Lunch seating SUPERVISED by duty teachers - no exceptions
12.40 to 1.25pm            Lunch eating/playing time
1.25 p.m.                       End of Lunch bell
1.30 p.m.                       Commencement of afternoon classes
3.00 p.m.                       School finishes

We encourage cyclists (bicycle and scooter) to be in Years 5 or 6.  Any children younger than this riding to school should be closely accompanied by an adult.

NZ approved safety helmets and fluoro vests should be worn by all Milford cyclists including unaccompanied scooter riders, all the way to and from school.

Cycles and scooters are not to be ridden in the school grounds and should be stored in the designated bike stands between the Hall and Rooms 10/11.  Cycles should be courteous on their way to and from school and act sensibly in relation to cars and pedestrians at all times. Offenders against cycle regulations may be banned for indefinite periods.

These people govern the School. Three to five are elected every three years. Up to one less than the elected number may be co-opted and one is elected as a representative of the staff and it is mandatory for the Principal to be a member.
While having an indirect input into the professional life of the School, the main function of the Board is to provide financial management and guidance for the School, establish policy and procedures for the ongoing maintenance of the School, assist in and approve the appointment of staff, approve the local curriculum goals formulated by the staff and develop policies that will ensure good practices are maintained and enhanced.
Milford is fortunate to have a supportive caring Board who work extremely hard to provide assistance that will enhance the children's learning.

The main carparks, at the Shakespeare Road and Otakau Road entrances, are only open to staff and those on official school business. Please do not be offended if you drive into the school grounds and are asked to park elsewhere.

Students and their parents/caregivers should not walk through the car park. There are footpaths provided to walk in and out of school.

Please use the designated controlled crossing when you need to cross Shakespeare Road.

Parents and caregivers must not park on yellow lines or across residential driveways when dropping off or picking up children. In the morning you will notice that there is a “Clearway” on Shakespeare Road until 9am. The Auckland City Council police this clearway regularly and do fine drivers that park there.

On days when there are parent related events eg. Parent interviews, discos etc. and weather permitting, the Shakespeare Road top field will be opened as an additional carpark. The asphalt should only be used outside of school hours.

The school generally supports three charities per year. Donations to these worthy appeals are voluntary.

A copy of the Milford School Charter can be borrowed from the office. The Charter is a legal document approved by the Ministry of Education.

Link to Milford School's Charter Information

Children all come to school with varying abilities and needs. Most of these are well catered for in the classroom programme or in special programmes within the school, but some children with higher needs may require referral to outside agencies.

There are several agencies/services to use and these will be discussed with you, the class teacher and the Associate Principal before any action is taken. The services available from the Ministry of Education include MoE Special Education (for behaviour, speech or occupational therapy), Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour (RTLB for learning needs and behaviour needs), and Resource Teachers of Literacy (RTLits for reading and writing).

Referrals to these services are only available after consultation with parents and prior work in the class aimed at addressing the special needs, and only children with the highest needs will be referred and accepted. Other services available from private companies and counselling services are at parents’ discretion although it is very helpful for the school to have information about these if you use them. We have information about a range of private services available – please see the Associate Principal.

It is school policy that all pupils' clothes are expected to be named. Every endeavour is made to find lost property but if it is not named, there can be no great expectation on the part of the owner of it being returned.

See:  Lost Property

At Milford School, the cut-off birthdate for children to move from Year1 to Year 2 is 31 May. This means that a child who has a birthdate and starts school before or on 31 May will go into Year 2 in the next calendar year. Any children whose birthdays fall on or after 1 June are considered to be New Entrants and will go into Year 1 the following calendar year.

We carefully look at all children’s progress if their birthdays fall within a month either side of 31 May to ensure they are suited socially, academically and physically to the Year level their birthday puts them in. We will only move children out of their age group under exceptional circumstances and after full consultation with parents.

The Milford School uniform is compulsory. It consists of a variety of pieces that can be mixed and matched for summer and winter. There is not a particular time when one type of uniform is worn, it is parents and children’s choice which pieces are worn. The options include:
Girls – skorts, yellow polo shirt (short or long sleeved options), culottes, shorts, polar fleece zip front vest, polar fleece sweatshirt.
Boys – shorts, yellow polo shirt (short or long sleeved options), polar fleece zip front vest, polar fleece sweatshirt.
Many of the above items are unisex and the children wear a variety of combinations. The uniform is available from the main office. Second hand uniform sales will be organised by the PTA and notification will be via the school newsletter when these sales occur. Footware should consist of white, navy blue or black socks/tights, black or navy shoes, or white sneakers. High heeled footwear and long boots are not allowed as they are unsuitable for fitness and PE activities. Although tights are allowed, these may need to be removed for activities such as gymnastics for safety reasons. All footwear and items of clothing should be clearly named. During the swimming season it is important to name swim suites, towels and underclothing. Jewellery should be left at home and we prefer children not to bring watches to school because they are easily lost. Rings and bangles are often dangerous during children's play. For those with pierced ears, studs only are acceptable.

The value to children of educational visits shared with other children from their own class is well recognised and most classes are able to arrange at least one such visit per term. Board of Trustees' approval for school trips is subject to specific supervision ratios of adults to pupils.
Class teachers will send home notes requesting parent help if it is required for a trip, and this is usually decided on a “first come, first served” basis. However, teachers will endeavour to include all parents who offer their help during the school year, to include those parents who need to organise time off work and may not have had their reply slip in first. If your help is not required due to there being enough helpers already organised, we thank you for your support and will probably use your help another time. For most of the trips we make, there is no provision for including pre school age children.
Performances by outside groups at School are very carefully screened and we usually have no more than one of these each term.

For those children for whom English is their second language, the school has provided additional English tuition in small groups during the week. These children are also supported in their classrooms. For more information, please follow the link http://milfordesol.blogspot.com/

Regular checks are kept on children's hearing and eyesight. A form for consent/non consent of Hearing and Vision testing must be signed at the time of your child’s enrolment. All New Entrant children with consent will be tested, and all other testing after this occurs at parent or teacher request. You will be notified of the Hearing and Vision testers’ visits via the Thursday newsletter.

Head-lice are a recurring problem in all schools nowadays and we strongly advise parents to have weekly inspections of their children's hair to prevent the spread of this problem.

We have two weeks holiday in at the end of Terms 1, 2 and 3 and five to six weeks over the December/January period.

In addition to the term holidays (see below) there are also the following holidays:

·         Waitangi Day – 6 February

·         Good Friday – 22 April

·         Easter Monday – 25 April

·         Day after Easter Monday 26 April

·         Anzac Day – 25 April

·         Queens Birthday – 6 June

·         Labour Day – 24 October

Parents are discouraged from taking children on holidays during the school term as it is reasonable to expect you to arrange trips away during the school holiday periods.

Link to Ministry web site for term dates

Please click on the links below for more information:

homelearning programme

homelearnig term 2 brochure year 4 to year 6

8.30 am                  Pupils may enter school.
8.55 a.m.                Morning school begins
10.40 to 11.00am   Morning interval
12.30 to 12.40 pm  Lunch eating SUPERVISED by duty teachers - no exceptions
12.40 to 1.25pm     Lunch playing time
1.25 pm                  End of lunch bell
1.30 pm                  Commencement of afternoon classes
3.00 pm.                 School finishes

We strongly suggest that children are not dropped off at school before 8.30am and they must leave the grounds by 3.10 p.m. unless supervised. It is essential that children know who is picking them up after school and where to meet them.

Parents of New Entrant/Year 1 children may want to notify the teacher of after school arrangements so they can make sure the child sets off in the right direction each day. Teachers often have meetings after school and may not notice a child wandering alone after 3.10pm. All parent and emergency contact numbers must be kept up to date with the school office in case of emergency. It is a good idea to speak to your child in advance about what to do if they are confused as to who is picking them up or if the contact person has not arrived. We are happy for any child to go to the main office for help or to talk to any teacher at all if they are feeling “lost” or confused.

Parents are always welcome to seek an interview with the teacher should the need arise. More formal ten minute interviews are schedule twice yearly, and take place in the school hall.

Pupils must have permission before leaving the School grounds once they have arrived at school. If children need to go home for any reason we like to be sure parents know about this so a note to the teacher is expected.
For this reason we need to know where parents may be contacted and to have as an emergency, the name and phone number of another person we can contact if the parents are not available. Children should be told by their parents, not to leave the School without the Principal's permission.

The Library is situated at the end of the two storied Junior Block and is open from 8.30 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Children are welcome to visit the library at lunchtimes where there will always be a teacher on duty. It is often a safe, quiet place to visit if new children are feeling overwhelmed or in need of some peaceful time.

Classes visit the library at least once a week. Children may borrow two books for up to two weeks. If they require an extension of time they should see the Librarian. When a child is ready to return the book(s) to the library they should place it in their class library box. When the class visits the library they leave the box with the librarian to check the return of books. If any books are lost the pupils will be billed.

Food or drink must not be consumed in the library.

All pupils' clothes are expected to be named. Every endeavour is made to find lost property but if it is not named, there can be no great expectation on the part of the owner of it being returned.

All lost property is placed in a large built-in box situated to the left hand side of the front of the school library. Items of value are always handed into the office.

Children are under the supervision of a Duty Teacher for the first 10 minutes of the lunch hour. They are required to sit quietly and eat their lunch during this time. Any uneaten food should be taken home. Plastic bottles should be provided for drinks as glass tends to be dangerous. No lollies, chocolate or fizzy drinks are allowed. Children may not share food with others as there is always a chance of the spread of germs, as well as food allergies flaring up. We have several children in the school who are severely allergic to nuts, and ask that parents keep nut products in children’s lunchboxes to an absolute minimum.
A wholesome, interesting lunch which children will want to eat should be provided by parents plus fruit or something special for "play lunch" at 10.40 a.m. Teachers will endeavour to ensure that children eat a reasonable amount of food, but this is sometimes difficult to measure due to the different amounts of food each child brings to school, i.e. teachers may not be able to ascertain how much lunch every child had to start with. If you have any concerns, please see your child’s teacher.

The Milford School lunchroom is currently not operating on FRIDAYS. Pita Pit lunch orders are available to our students on Mondays and Fridays. Pita Pit order envelopes are distributed on Fridays and delivered to the office on Mondays before 9.15am. Sushi lunch orders are available to our students on a Wednesday. Sushi order forms are sent home Mondays and delivered back to the school office on Tuesdays before 9.15am for delivery on a Wednesday.

It is appreciated if parents avoid telephoning the school with messages for children. We are, however, pleased to help in an emergency. Likewise, children are only permitted to use the school telephone if the matter is important.

The school has a choir which senior children may join and we frequently have activities for children to display their talents.
Glenfield Music Centre tutor individuals on a user pays basis during the school day. Details are available from the office.

Currently a newsletter is sent home every Thursday. Teachers will give a newsletter to each child who is the oldest or only child from their family at school. Other letters may also come home on Thursdays, so please check your child’s bag each week.

If you would like to receive a newsletter by email, please register your details here.

The school office is attended between 8.30am and 3.30pm, Monday to Friday.

It should be remembered that parking adjacent to the School gateways in Otakau and Shakespeare Roads, is restricted and parents should not stop on the dotted yellow lines. There is only room in the staff carparks for staff cars, so please do not use these at all. A teacher will be on road patrol duty at the lights on Shakespeare Road before and after school.

Class groups are taken in the first term and are on sale to children who wish to purchase them. Individual or family group photos and sports teams photos are taken later in the year. It is not compulsory to buy these individual, family or class photos.

Physical education classes are a compulsory requirement for all classes. Lessons may include ball skills, athletics, gymnastics, folk dancing, swimming, fitness programmes, games and relays.
Physical fitness is recognised as being particularly important throughout life and parents should encourage good habits of regular exercise by joining in with their children outside school hours with games, jogging, swimming, etc.

We have three playgrounds in the school. The Year 1 and 2 playground is situated outside Rooms 10 and 11, by the Otakau Road entrance. The Year 3 and 4 playground is situated at the top of the field nearest to the Dental Clinic. The Year 5 and 6 equipment is nearest to the Shakespeare Road end of the field. All children are expected to play only on the playground appropriate to their year level. All children are allowed to play on the field, although we encourage the younger children to stay at the top of the field near to the classrooms. In the winter terms, children must get changed into spare clothes before playing games on the field as it can become very muddy. The spare clothes do not have to be uniform although children must change back into uniform before the afternoon session of school begins.

These are a cumulative record of pupils' work and achievement throughout the year. They go home with the children at the end of each term and are returned to the class teacher at the beginning of the following term.

Consultation is welcomed at any time and should this be required by either parent or teacher, it will be arranged by appointment through the School office or with the teacher concerned. Open door policy means that staff are happy to meet parents outside the teaching times of 9am to 3pm. During these times, it is possible for parents to be parent helpers as organised by the teacher prior to the day.

The Milford School Parent Teachers Association (PTA) is made up of parents who meet together on a monthly basis to support their children's education, with links to staff and BOT members. In the main they plan fundraising activities for additional equipment required by the school.

Everyone is welcome to attend these meetings which are advertised in the weekly newsletter. You can also contact the office for meeting times.

We have regular contact with the Public Health Nurse. If your child has medical tests elsewhere we like to be told of the results. Please share such information with us as a child's physical health greatly affects his/her ability to learn and progress at school.

It is extremely important for classes to begin punctually after each bell during the day. This is especially so at 8.55 a.m. If a child is late, they must immediately report to the school office where they will be given a “Late Pass”.

A brief written report will be sent home prior to the first formal interview of the year, and a summative report of achievement will be sent home at the end of the year.

All families are asked to contribute annually by donation to allow the Board to purchase "extras" not provided by the Ministry of Education, e.g. sports gear, extra learning aids for children, library books, computers, etc. By doing this at the beginning of the year we avoid making too many appeals for funds and your support in this manner is greatly appreciated. Currently the school donation is $195 per child.
An Activity Fee of $60  for Years 1 and 2, $65 for Years 3 and 4 and $70 Years 5 and 6, may also be paid at the beginning of the year to cover class trips and school performances from outside performers. This saves the effort of finding the cash for each show/trip as it arises during the year. Notes about every trip/show will be sent home before the event so you can say whether you have paid the activity fee or are enclosing the individual amount.
There will also be an annual $18 Waterwise fee for children in Years 5 and 6.

Our school uses the Mathletics website which requires a $20 subscription per student.  Year 5/6 students will also need a Nelson maths book charged at $11.

Please check out the online version for making payments for 2012 stationery, activity fees and school donations by following the link.

These are held at various times throughout the year, generally twice a term, in the School Hall. All parents and caregivers welcome. A programme is advertised in the School newsletter.

Sick Bay is located in the main office block.

We have many sporting teams at Milford School and enjoy the support of many parents as coaches and umpires. Sports offered include netball, touch rugby, rippa rugby, miniball, hockey and flippaball. The Year 5 and 6 classes also have regular inter-class sporting competitions at lunchtimes throughout the year.

Mother - Father - What Can You Do To Help?
• Talk to your child about starting school where he/she will meet new friends, play games, sing and make interesting things.
• Help your child to learn how to put on clothing and care for personal belongings - tie shoe laces, put clothes in own bag etc.
• Label clearly all possessions your child will bring to school with his/her full name - raincoats, hats, uniform, bags, cases, plastic bottles, etc. Be sure to check from time to time whether the label is still intact and legible. Avoid glassware.
• Send your child to school on time each and every day. Be prepared to say goodbye for the day before school starts. If your child is upset to see you go, encourage them to play with others, and be firm. In most cases, an upset child will settle very quickly and have a great day. We will always phone you if there is a continued problem.
• Give your child duties to perform in and around home which require only one or two simple directions. This will give him/her confidence to complete small tasks.
• Encourage children to be responsible for putting school equipment in the right place, e.g. bookbags in the bookbag box, lunch orders in the lunchroom box etc.
• Encourage your child by admiring his/her work when he/she brings it home. Give his/her painting or model a place of honour for a few days.
• Select good stories to read to him/her regularly picture books for him/her to browse through, T.V. programmes to look at and discuss with you. Read the school reader with them each night, with lots of praise and enjoyment.
• When reading to them or giving them instructions, make sure they are listening.
• Some children are told by their parents that they will learn to read and write as soon as they come to school and are disappointed when this is not accomplished on the first day - warn your child that it takes time.

The swimming season usually begins soon after Labour Weekend and lasts through to the end of Term 1 providing the weather is suitable. All children are expected to take part in lessons in the pool,usually once or twice per week, as swimming is an important part of the Physical Education curriculum. Please check that your child brings togs and towel every day unless a health problem prevents taking part. No child will be forced into the pool if they are not confident, but they will be required to get changed for swimming and will be encouraged to paddle feet or hands. This gently introduces swimming and is very non threatening. Our aim for Year 1 and 2 children is to develop water confidence and water safety. Swimming lessons are available from many private providers and we encourage this. Teachers do not get into the pool with the children as they need to have an overall view of the pool for safety reasons. We require parent helpers for Year 1 and 2 swimming sessions and appreciate your help. There will be no more than 10 Year 1 children in the pool at one time.
Please, name togs and towel, together with clothing likely to be mislaid by children when changing for swimming.

The school telephone number is 489 7216. The fax number is 486 1335.
Children do not use the phone except in emergency. The phone is not to summon parents to bring left equipment to school, e.g. Waterwise gear, homelearning, lunch etc. The school's email adddress is admin@milford.school.nz

See also the Contact Us page for more info

See under:  Holidays

Link to Ministry web site for term dates

Parents are asked to make sure that all toys are left at home. Toys at school tend to be lost, broken and sometimes stolen, and any toy brought to school is the child's responsibility. Teachers cannot be expected to search for toys should they go missing.

Adults are asked to set an example to our children and assist teachers by using the crossing at all times.

If you are visiting the school for any reason, between the ours of 9.15am and 2.45pm, you must first sign in at the office and receive a visitor's badge.

The school is fortunate to be the venue for a unique outdoor education centre on the shores of Lake Pupuke - named Waterwise. Children at Milford School participate in the Waterwise programme in Years 5 and 6. The centre is used by schools to teach sailing and canoeing skills during the summer months.