Structure of the School Day 2024
- GATES OPEN: 8.30am
- SIREN - CLASSES BEGIN: 8.45am
- RECESS: 10.45am -11.05am
- LUNCH: 1.05pm - 1.45pm
- SCHOOL FINISHES: 3pm. 2.30pm Thursday EARLY CLOSE
The school observes an EARLY CLOSURE EVERY THURSDAY. Staff use this time for essential planning and discussion and are unable to supervise children. Please ensure you make the necessary arrangements to have your child collected at 2.30pm on Thursdays.
Term Dates 2024
Term 1 - Wednesday 31 January to Thursday 28 March
Term 2 - Tuesday 16 April to Friday 28 June
Term 3 - Tuesday 16 July to Friday 20 September
Term 4 - Tuesday 8 October to Thursday 12 December
School Development Days 2024
1 To Be Announced (TBA)
Term 1
Monday 29 January
Tuesday 30 January
Term 2
Monday 15 April
Term 3
Monday 15 July
Term 4
Monday 7 October
Friday 13 December
Public Holidays 2024
Labour Day - Monday 4 March
Good Friday - Friday 29 March
Easter Monday - Monday 1 April
ANZAC Day - Thursday 25 April
Western Australia Day - Monday 3 June
Other Public Holidays that do not occur during the school terms.
Attendance
Schools are required to analyse their attendance data, set targets for improvement and evaluate the effectiveness of improvement strategies that have been put in place. A partnership with parents is essential in making any improvements to school attendance, whether that is for late arrivals, early departures or days absent.
. . Every school day counts . . Attendance matters . . .
When attendance reports indicate that absenteeism is above 10% of total school days, follow up is required. Research is very strong in this area and when a child misses more than 10% of their schooling, the deficit has the potential to significantly impact on learning. For this reason, Department of Education Semester Reports indicate the total number of days of absence. When this is seen as a total, the number can often be quite confronting, adding up before we realise attendance has become an issue. In fact, at 10% of the time each year absent, by Year 8 a child has missed the equivalent of one year of their schooling. This would obviously have a huge impact on learning and the child's ability to achieve their potential.
The late arrivals and early departures are something often unrelated to sickness and by addressing morning routines and rescheduling after school activities, these can often be avoided, or at least, greatly reduced. This is an area that as a school we can target for improvement as our data indicates we are well above average for signing students in and out during the school day. With parents' assistance we should be able to make a difference. Being present for the commencement of the day and the completion of the day is important for all students. At Belmay Primary we need to make significant improvements in this area.
Attendance Codes
There are a variety of reasons why students are absent and records differentiate these with a code, as follows:
- C - Cultural or religious significance to the family.
- E - Approved Department of Education programs - eg: PEAC.
- K - Unapproved Vacation during school term.
- L - Late by not more than 30 minutes.
- N - The school has been notified that the student is unwell.
- R - Acceptable reason for absence - eg: medical appointment, high school interviews.
- U - No explanation has been given for the absence.
- X - Unacceptable absence - eg: holidays, haircuts, basketball, dance rehearsals, birthday parties, sibling appointment.