St Columba’s Catholic Primary School

For girls and boys | Pre‑kindergarten to Year 6 | Outside school hours care

South Perth | Western Australia

Code of Conduct

Kindness | Compassion | Respect

Our school values of kindness, compassion and respect guide all our interactions as a community.

The Code of Conduct describes the minimum standards of conduct in all behaviour and decision making to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students. It includes all online communication and digital interactions. The Code applies to staff, students, volunteers, parents and guardians.

Our Student Code of Conduct describes the standards of conduct and behaviour expectations of students to ensure all children feel happy and safe in our school.

The Codes of Conduct can be found under Quick Links - Procedures.

Parent information and guidelines

Parents play an important role in helping to provide a safe and respectful school environment.
Our procedures and guidelines help set clear standards and expectations for the school community.

Quick links

Submit absentee
Contact School Counsellor

Important dates and times

Find our calendar, term dates, student free days, sacramental dates, school times and procedure for late arrival or early deprture.

Compulsory school uniform

Our school uniform unites us as a community and we wear it with pride. It is compulsory to wear school uniform in accourdance with our guidelines and expectations. School uniform is purchased instore or online from Nell Grey Uniform Concepts. We also have a Facebook Group where parents can buy and sell second hand uniform.

Sports Uniform

Worn by Kindy to Year 2 every day. Worn by Year 3 to Year 6 for Physical Education and Edu-Dance.

Formal Uniform

Worn by Year 3 to Year 6 every day, except on Physical Education and Edu-Dance days.

Tracksuit

Forms part of the sports uniform. The jacket is also worn with formal uniform.

Other items

Hats, trainers, shoes, socks, backpacks, homework bags and other items.

Uniform standards and expectations

Long hair

Shoulder length hair is tied back with school coloured accessories.

Hairstyles

Neat hairstyles. No buzz cuts, coloured hair or braids with beads.

Jewellery

Small gold or silver studs or sleepers are permitted - only one in each ear. A necklace with religious symbol is permitted.

Watches

Watches are permitted, but not messaging.

Makeup

No makeup or nail polish.

Health and medication

Children do not attend school if unwell

Administering medication: Only essential medication is administered at school by staff or the student. Parents complete the School Medication Record and provide prescribed medication in the original container or with a copy of the label, with relevant instructions. The form can be found under Quick Links - Forms.

Medical treatment: The treatment of asthma or use of an EpiPen will be according to the Medical Action Plan provided by your doctor. It is parents’ responsibility to provide updates and medication within the expiry date.

Emergency contacts: Parent and emergency contact details must be kept up to date, in case of illness or an emergency.

Accident or head injury: Parents will be notified if a child is injured or bumps their head. In case of emergency, you will be contacted immediately. An ambulance may be called and associated costs are the responsibility of the parent. Student insurance is included in school fees.

Supervision and safety

parents help to ensure children are safe at school

Supervision before and after school: You are responsible for supervising your child on campus outside of school hours: before 8.35 am and after 3.05 pm. A duty teacher supervises the undercover area for Kiss and Drive from 8.35 am (children must proceed straight to class) and after school until 3.20 pm. The designated pick up time is from the end of school until 3:20 pm, after which students will be escorted to the office. Parents must collect children on time to uphold duty of care.

Play areas and equipment: Play areas and equipment may be used after school under parent supervision, but not before school.

Food at school: We are an allergy aware school and encourage that foods containing nuts, or nuts themselves, not be brought to school. For birthdays, children may bring an individually packaged food item to share with the class (no baked goods).

Sun safety: Children must wear a hat when outside, or play in the shade. Sunscreen is available in classrooms.

Traffic management

children enter and leave the school safely

Drop off and collection: The speed limit is 40 km per hour in school zones. Parents may use the parking bays on York Street and Alexandra Street. Do not park in the parish carpark, visitor’s bay, staff car park or on Forrest Street (which creates congestion and limits visibility).

Kiss and Drive: Operates before school from 8.35 am to 8.50 am and after school from 3.05 pm to 3.20 pm. It may be used by students from Kindergaretn to Year 6 (but not Pre-Kindy). Entry into the school’s Kiss and Drive is by left turn from Forrest Street. Exit is onto Alexandra Drive. The speed limit on school grounds is 10 km per hour. Parents remain in the vehicle and children only exit on the left hand side. Please display your family’s name on the vehicle’s sunvisor for pick up.

Cycling to school: Children may ride their bicycle to school. Helmets must be worn. Once on the school grounds, bicycles are to be pushed. Bike racks are available and we recommend the use of a bike lock for safe keeping.

Communication

Communication is respectful and purposeful

Contacting the teacher: Parents may contact teachers through email during the school’s commuication hours (8 am to 4 pm on school days) and we will endevour to respond within 24 hours. For matters requiring a more in-depth conversation, the teacher may phone parents or request a meeting.

SeeSaw: Teachers publish child and class-related news and notes on the SeeSaw app - please check it regularly. Download the SeeSaw Parent & Family app and the teacher will provide a QR code to log in.

Weekly newsletter: We provide parents with need-to-know school information, important dates and merit award winners in the weekly newsletter. Our aim is to only communicate with you once a week - please ensure you read the newsletter. Previous editions can be found under Quick Links - Newsletters.

Social media: You can choose to follow nice-to-know news, photos, events and videos on our Facebook and Instagram.

Use of student images: A pictures says a thousand words and permission for your child to appear in photos and videos helps immensely. We are respectful in the way we share images and do not publish children’s names on social media.

Handling complaints: We seek to handle any complaints with procedural fairness. According to National Child Safe Organisation Principles, our school also has a child focussed complaint handling procedure. Student complaints are taken seriously; responded to promptly and thoroughly; and privacy is respected. The procedure can be found under Quick Links - Procedures.

Wellbeing and pastoral care

children are supported so they may flourish

Wellbeing: We use the RULER approach to social and emotional learning in educational settings (developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence). The program is based on the five skills of emotional intelligence, which are Recognising, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing and Regulating emotions (RULER). For our younger students we use Kimochis characters, each representing a different emotion, to help children identify and express their feelings in a healthy way.

Pastoral care: In addition to our staff and leadership team, our School Counsellor offers additional guidance, support and strategies to help students navigate challenges and develop coping skills. We also have access to CEWA’s Psychology, Safety and Wellbeing team for additional support when assessing student needs and recommending interventions. Parents may send a confidential message directly to our School Counsellor; the form can be found under Quick Links - Contact School Counsellor.

Behaviour management: Our Behaviour Management Procedure can be found under Quick Links - Procedures.

Keeping safe: Each term we teach students about respectful relationships and child safety through the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum. Themes included that we all have the right to be safe and can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust.

Curriculum, homework and assessment

We deliver the curriculum using inclusive, flexible and engaging teaching methods that cater to diverse developmental needs, interests and abilities. We seek to educate children in partnership with families.

Parents as partners

Our school works in partnership with parents to promote the learning, growth and sense of belonging of each child. There are many rewarding ways to get involved.