If you have questions, we are here to answer them – find out more about our Auckland Steiner school by reading through the commonly requested info below.
If a student is going to be absent from school, parents / care-givers are expected to phone or email the school reception and leave a message by 8.30am or notify the school via Musac Edge.
Any student who arrives late to school must sign in on the late register located in Reception.
When students have been absent because of illness, parents need to provide an absence note to the teacher. This helps us monitor and act on any school refusal and truancy concerns.
Students away for more than 2 days must provide a medical certificate.
Any requests for extended holidays or absences during term time, other than for medical reasons, are discouraged.
The school does not formally approve nor decline leave for students to travel overseas.
Parents are requested to contact the school well in advance of any such trips and the school will advise what work needs to be undertaken to ensure that the trip does not have an undesired impact on learning. It may be necessary for the student to undertake additional learning tasks on their return to school.
Our aim is to ensure there is a safe, inclusive, orderly and positive school environment in which students are supported and encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and behaviour, and in the development of appropriate social skills and modes of personal behaviour. This is described in our Student Code of Conduct.
Our approach to student management aims to promote a culture of service leadership, as well as the principles of restorative practice, and ensures a fair and consistent response to any behaviour and wellbeing concerns.
The kindergarten has a positive guidance system in place. Issues that may arise are referred to the Kindergarten Leader for support.
Our approach to student management aims to promote a culture of service leadership, as well as the principles of restorative practice, and ensures a fair and consistent response to any behaviour and wellbeing concerns.
Teachers are familiar with the guidelines and our Code of Conduct to ensure consistency and a focus on resolution and the restoration of positive behaviour.
Any queries regarding follow up and potential consequences for students should be referred to the appropriate class teachers or Dean.
If you have any questions or concerns, please raise them with the class teacher or appropriate administration officer in the first instance. If you require further information you may wish to consult our policies or contact a section leader.
This is differentiated in Kindergarten, Lower School and High School environments and takes account of our special character and the age range of students.
School students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the student dress code at all times and, when participating in inter-school sports activities, wear an appropriate sports uniform.
At graduation, formal ceremonies and concerts a formal standard of dress is expected.
Enrolments at Michael Park are handled via our Enrolments Officer, tel. 09-579-3083 x710 or email [email protected]
See our Fees page for details.
Homework is never set for the sake of it. Homework expectations will vary depending on the age of the student and the learning context / curriculum. If you have questions concerning homework, we encourage you to talk to your child and contact the Class Teacher or Subject Teacher.
In the Lower School (Classes 2–4) teachers will outline their homework expectations. This may include reading, spelling, Maths maintenance and the completion of some Main Lesson work.
In the Middle School (Classes 5–7) regular Maths maintenance is encouraged to support the development of multiplicative and proportional thinking.
Students are also expected to review and extend the learning / content from Main Lesson each day and maintain a programme of personal reading to build inference skills and vocabulary. There may also be some home-based tasks associated with their language and instrument programmes.
The teacher will make clear to the students their expectations and homework will be recorded in a student notebook (Classes 5 and 6) or diary (Class 7).
High School students have a mix of Main Lesson and elective subjects and their homework will vary from student to student. However, regular subject homework is set in addition to Main Lesson and extracurricular activities of music and sports.
Students have a diary / planner for recording this information, as well as due dates for assignments.
We welcome international fee-paying students and exchange students, particularly from other Steiner Schools.
International fee-paying students are commonly accepted into Classes 9, 10 and 11 while exchanges usually only occur in Class 10.
Our Weekly Friday Flyer Newsletter can be downloaded from the Newsletters page.
Monday – Thursday from 8.30am – 2.45pm
Friday from 8.30am – 2.00pm
Monday – Friday from 8.30am – 3.00pm*
(*Classes 1-7 finish at 2:10pm every Friday)
Monday – Friday from 8am – 3.30pm
Michael Park has several open days a year when the school is open to visitors for talks and guided tours. This is an ideal time to view the school in action.
Copies of school policies can be found here.
The school reports to parents on student achievement twice a year, in writing, and once at parent teacher interviews.
The timing of reporting and parent teacher interviews is different in the High School and the Primary School.
At enrolment, parents are asked to sign a blanket consent form which covers permission for school trips not involving water activities.
This blanket consent does not cover permission for camps. For such activities not covered by the blanket consent, a separate permission pack will be sent home to parents.
Annual camps include:
Class 3 – Shelter Building
Class 4 – Lakewood Lodge
Class 5 – The Olympics
Class 6 – Waitomo Caves
Class 7 – Whanganui River
Class 8 – Boyle River, Lewis Pass
Class 9 – Survival skills
Class 10 – Surveying / Trigonometry
Class 11 – Treaty of Waitangi
Class 12 – Reflections on their journey
Parents attending camps are required to be familiar with school protocols for adults attending camps.
Snapdragon is our school co-operative shop run by parent volunteers. The shop provides a range of Steiner inspired products, handcrafted items and classroom materials to our community and raises funds for the Rudolf Steiner Schools Trust.
Opening Hours
Fridays 8.00–9.00am and 2.00-3.00pm
Location
First building on the left as you enter the school gate.
Parents frequently ask about our stance on social media.
In accordance with our special character, we do not encourage students having access to social media before the age of 15. This includes access to social networking sites and the use of smart phones.
Social media frequently becomes a distraction from the many other more purposeful and creative routines and extra-curricular activities with which students can be engaged.
As an Integrated Rudolf Steiner School, Michael Park School and Kindergarten has a defined ‘special character’ or ‘designated character’ (Ministry of Education). As such, all parents/caregivers enrolling children in the school are required, under the preference clause of our integration agreement, to have established a connection with the special character of the school.
Please see Our Philosophy for details.
Michael Park uses a Hub approach to special education in the Primary School through which students and teachers can access a range of support programmes provided by the school and external agencies. This includes Eurythmy therapy, work with retained reflexes, Irlen’s and behavioural optometry and differentiated support programmes for literacy and numeracy, including phonics support and lexia.
Where students have additional learning needs this may be documented in a partnership plan or through an individual education plan (IEP) which involves support of external agencies.
In the High School all students participate in the Horizon Programme. This ensures all students have an individual learning plan and regularly meet with the Horizon Coordinator to review progress, individual needs and goal setting.
In addition to regular, ongoing PE and movement lessons, Michael Park has an extra-curricular sports programme including Basketball, Netball, Soccer and Volley Ball teams.
Stationery arrangements and lists will be communicated at the time of enrolment and in Term 4, well ahead of the start of the next academic year.
Contact reception if you have any queries.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 09-579-3083
A list of Term Dates can be found here.
Michael Park is located at 55 Amy Street which is a 10 minute walk from Ellerslie Village (via Ladies Mile or Amy Street). This shopping district is on a main arterial and bus route and within easy access of Ellerslie Railway Station.
As an area school we draw families from across the Auckland region and we encourage you to collaborate with other families and carpool to minimise transport costs.
