A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
The A-Z of Information about Palmerston
Welcome to Palmerston District Primary School. We have provided an A-Z of information to assist in a smooth transition to Palmerston Primary School. If you have any further questions, please call the front office on 02 6142 1440 and they will endeavor to assist you.
Before & After School Care
School commences at 8.55am and finishes at 3pm. If you require care outside these hours Communities @ work provide before and after school care for K-6 in the Hall and Preschoolers in the Preschool. For more information and enrolment forms please refer to the Communities @ work website.
Before School
The ideal arrival time is between 8:40am and 8:50am, as school begins at 8:55am, with the library open from 8:30am. There is also a teacher on duty on the blacktop.
Students should move to morning lines as soon as they arrive. Once on school grounds students must walk with bicycles, scooters and skateboards. Big balls are not to be played with on the blacktop.
Behaviour Management
The school respects the basic values of the home and promotes socially acceptable behaviour based on the fundamental principles of:
- A trusting relationship between students, teachers and parents
- Teaching and learning strategies which are perceived by students as useful, meaningful and worthwhile
- The promotion of excellence and the nurturing of the whole school community
- A commitment to quality teaching to achieve quality learning outcomes
- The use of Circle Time to promote relationship building
- The explicit teaching and implementation of Palmerston PRIDE core values – Participation, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Empathy
- The use of restorative practices to facilitate and empower students with problem solving conversations
- The use of quality programs such as Kids Matter, Peer Support, Everyone Everyday and Friendly Schools Plus to explicitly teach social and emotional learning and foster inclusivity.
The school has Behaviour Management and Wellbeing Procedures and a Welfare Policy which states that children are responsible for their own behaviour. With teacher assistance, children draw up a comprehensive list of acceptable behaviours for classes, we call this our Code of Conduct. The procedures outline various steps through which a child progresses, depending on the type of misbehaviour.
Communication with parents is always made when the child's behaviour indicates that this is necessary. Parents are requested to inform the teacher or principal when a child's school work or behaviour might be affected in some way by circumstances not known to the school (eg serious illness in family or separation). Class communication between home and school assists in student wellbeing.
We have a zero tolerance to bullying behaviours and work with students and their families to enable them to change their behaviour when necessary. Our procedures on ‘bullying’ are also in this document. Classes take a proactive approach to wellbeing by running weekly circle times to discuss issues. We are a restorative practice school. Palmerston is also a Kids Matter school and we promote the PRIDE values (participation, respect, integrity, determination and empathy).
Bicycles
Bicycles should be placed in the bicycle areas which are out of bounds during the day. While we lock the bike area, the school cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to bicycles. For the safety of all children bicycles/scooters are not to be ridden in the school playground at any time. If children ride bicycles to or from school they should wear helmets at all times under ACT law.