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Ministry of Education data provided voluntarily by 2184 schools for Term 2 last year showed one in five children missed the last day of term and the lowest attendance was on Fridays and Mondays. Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin says it's not a good look and improvement must be made. … View moreMinistry of Education data provided voluntarily by 2184 schools for Term 2 last year showed one in five children missed the last day of term and the lowest attendance was on Fridays and Mondays. Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin says it's not a good look and improvement must be made. "That Friday, that child might miss the connecting piece to the next piece of learning which puts them behind their peers - it's important," she told. "Every day that school is open, children should be at school - it's the message we send to children about how important their education is." Greenmeadows Intermediate School principal Cathy Chalmers says regular attendance has been declining at her Manurewa school for the last five years. Students can only miss four days of school a term to maintain regular attendance. "It's becoming more common for parents to take advantage of cheaper airfares to take holidays during term time," Ms Chalmers says. "If it's a long weekend we have a much higher number of students away on the Friday of the long weekend as parents take advantage to get away early."
Ms Chalmers says students who don't attend school regularly don't have the opportunity to have consistency in their learning, which is needed to maintain achievement levels. The data showed 58 per cent of students attended school regularly, compared to 64 per cent in 2018, and 70 per cent in 2015. "Three-quarters of justified absence cases were reportedly due to illness. Just over half of unjustified absence cases were recorded truancies or unable to be explained," a data summary from the Ministry of Education states. "Although regular attendance has declined across all demographics since 2015, the largest declines have been seen across year levels 1-8 and among Māori and Pacific students." All schools will be asked to record attendance data for the whole year to build a better understanding of the issue. In the meantime, the Government has announced a pilot programme for Kawerau and South Auckland, which sees groups of schools have control over how to deal with truancy in their areas, including the ability to hire local attendance officers. The decision to change from district attendance officers to contracted providers was made under the previous Government in 2013. Ms Chalmers says having the contracted organisation not based in the community was an issue, so she supports the new pilot structure.
"It just makes that direct link between schools and the families. It will help build relationships with those families," she says. "Schools will have ownership over the delivery of the attendance service, which perhaps currently we don't have as much as what we'd like to have." The pilot has started in Kawerau and will start in April in South Auckland, running through until December 2021. "This will allow time to collect good information. A full evaluation will be undertaken during 2021.
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Hi neighbours
Our washing machine will not turn on after we moved it slightly last week. Was wondering if there is a local repair person that can help us out? It's a Fisher and Paykel Quicksmart. Please recommend. Thanks.
Not many people know about this beautiful butterfly which arrived in New Zealand a few years ago. It was brought into New Zealand because it likes to lay its eggs on Japanese honeysuckle, which is becoming a problem weed around the country
The caterpillars eat the leaves of Japanese honeysuckle … View moreNot many people know about this beautiful butterfly which arrived in New Zealand a few years ago. It was brought into New Zealand because it likes to lay its eggs on Japanese honeysuckle, which is becoming a problem weed around the country
The caterpillars eat the leaves of Japanese honeysuckle so the plant is less likely to spread. Please look out for these butterflies which were released in Blockhouse Bay today. By this time next year hopefully you will see more of them
Posting photos of caterpillar and chrysalis (which may be found on honeysuckle).
Sightings can be reported in to www.mb.org.nz....
LOOKING FOR:
PAN ASAIN OR EURASIAN (BOY) :AGE 3
BROWN EYES DARK HAIR
Message me asap with photos and name
Txt me on 0220437365
A landlord's son harassed tenants by sending dozens of "distressing" emails to one of the tenants' p…
An "isolated" man who admitted strangling his mother and attacking her with a hammer told police he …
Our residents are not shy or retiring. They live their lives with passion and purpose. They strive to push further, create better, and go beyond the ordinary. We are pioneering a new way to live in retirement. One with flexibility, certainty, and the ability to dial care up and down as you need it.… View moreOur residents are not shy or retiring. They live their lives with passion and purpose. They strive to push further, create better, and go beyond the ordinary. We are pioneering a new way to live in retirement. One with flexibility, certainty, and the ability to dial care up and down as you need it.
Ryman has been pioneering retirement living for 35 years. Our New Zealand and Australian villages are named after trailblazers: Sir Edmund Hilary, Weary Dunlop, Rita Angus, Nellie Melba. We always have, and always will, challenge the status quo and adapt to better serve our residents.
I have sold Mount Albert fully furnished house and moving to USA. Urgent full house items clearance all items within 1.5 weeks. Very wide range includes whitewares and full furniture range (lounge, bedroom suite sets, kitchen etc). Home décor, designer women clothes and designer shoes. Full house … View moreI have sold Mount Albert fully furnished house and moving to USA. Urgent full house items clearance all items within 1.5 weeks. Very wide range includes whitewares and full furniture range (lounge, bedroom suite sets, kitchen etc). Home décor, designer women clothes and designer shoes. Full house home items. Call 021 032 2808 to set private viewing. Call early for best choices. James
A co-owner of a dilapidated Auckland property wants to sell the house - a year after council inspect…
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