Expectations

Our students are supported to develop positive and productive relationships within the school and community and to achieve their personal best.

The continued development of the intellectual, emotional, social, physical and spiritual sides of each student is important to us. We know this requires a partnership with families and the local community. We aim to provide a caring, safe and respectful school where the following values are evident Perseverance, Respect, Creativity and Integrity.

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We require students to:

  • Attend school every day (unless unable for medical reasons or for reasons approved by school).

    See below for more information about Attendance.

  • Inform the school when they will be absent from school, or are unable to complete set work

  • Be punctual at all timetabled lessons and study periods

  • Complete all class work and assignments (including homework) by the negotiated due dates

  • Accept that other students have the right to enjoy a learning environment which is safe, free from harassment

  • Accept that teachers have the right to teach and support learning including the management of inappropriate behaviour

  • Follow the school rules and policies

  • Comply with the requirements of the Uniform Policy established by the Governing Council

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Effective, Teaching & Learning at VHHS is;

  • Relevant, Rigorous, Innovative, Challenging

  • Constructive and involves Frequent Feedback

  • Collaborative (colleagues, families and the community)

  • Intentional and Inclusive in design of learning experiences and assessment tasks, Reflective of student interest

  • The implementation of agreed policies and practices for Achievement, Attendance and Behaviour (AAB)

Attendance – why is it important?

The Department of Education has set a target for attendance of 93%. Some families will assume this is normal attendance others may be surprised by the target. Let’s look at some figures:

  • The teaching year is 40 weeks (for year 8-9, shorter for senior students)

  • This is 188 days (taking out public holidays and Student Free Days).

  • 2.5 days off per term for students will meet the target.

 Looking at it another way:

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¶¶Òõ¸£ÀûÊÓƵ Harbor High School is committed to working with families to improve attendance.

  • The school uses a Learner Management System (Daymap) which calculates attendance from all lessons (not just mentoring).

  • It also allows teachers to publish lesson outlines and tasks on the program.

  • All students have access to their own information on the system.

  • Students have remote access to the system which will allow students (and families) to see this from home.

We want to raise awareness of attendance and encourage parents to strongly support students to attend. 

WHAT CAN FAMILIES DO TO HELP?

  • Be positive about school and support the culture. If you are negative, your student will be negative.

  • Support the school culture around punctuality and uniform. Young people need to realise that there are some things they just need to do. Students who don’t wear uniform or are constantly late will start the day with negatives – detention, questions etc. Students who meet the expectations of the school tend to be more focused on the learning.

  • If your student is not well enough to go to school, they are not well enough to work, play sport or go out socially.

  • Ensure you are communicating any legitimate absences with the school through Daymap and the SMS system.

  • Ask about school – what are they doing, what is going well.

  • If there are issues related to non-attendance, contact the school sooner than later. Phone your student’s House Teacher / Leader. It is better to get an issue sorted out quickly, students need to learn to face and work through issues rather than avoid them.

  • Monitor your students attendance with them on our Daymap system – talk about it.

  • Have reward systems in place – set a target with a clear goal – e.g. to go to the formal you need x% attendance. If you want to get your Learners and driving lessons you need to show responsibility e.g. x% attendance. Students need to understand privileges are earned not simply given.

Share your story – if you have something that works, let us know so we can share it with other parents.