Mobile phones at school We recognise that students of Secondary age and some of their parents may wish that they carry a mobile phone with them. Students in the Secondary School may bring their phone to school but it must be switched off during the day unless a teacher allows the student to use it during a class. It is the students responsibility to keep it safe; it is their responsibility if it is lost or damaged. Students who are found using a phone during the school day without permission from a teacher will have it taken and stored safely in the Secondary Office. Phones may be collected at the end of the day for a first ‘offence’ or after a week for subsequent ‘offences’ in the same half term. If a child needs to call home during the school day they may do so from the school office. This has the advantage that we are aware of any issues and we can therefore help should a parent need to call back. Parents too may call the school office to pass on vital messages to their children. Please do not contact your child by mobile phone during the school day as inevitably we end up with lockers ringing when a student has forgotten to turn their phone off. A sure way to interrupt learning!
Laptops/iPads Students are encouraged to bring a lap top or iPad to school and use it in lessons. When not being used in the requested class, students should keep their lap tops locked in their lockers. School does not specify a particular type of device– the students can choose whether it is a PC, Macbook or iPad
Lost Property Lost property will be sent to the front office or the Head of Secondary’s office. Please contact the office regarding anything your child has lost. Periodically lost items will be laid out in the foyer to encourage students to ‘find’ their losses. By labeling everything your child brings from home you are assuring it is returned much sooner.
Homework Homework is an integral part of the learning process. Students develop successful independent learning behaviours by participating in relevant homework. As lessons in class are differentiated so is the homework your child completes. They should find success within the structure provided and if they are struggling we have allowed time for students to ask for help. We hope that all homework tasks build connections between home and school. All homework given out has a deadline set. This deadline allows your child enough time to ask for help from their teacher. Homework should usually be attempted the night it is set to allow your child this opportunity. We do not operate a strict homework timetable as it is not educationally sound to set a piece of homework just because it happens to be a particular day of the week. To be effective, homework must be valued by the students as helping their learning and not just some pointless chore to be endured. Students are therefore given homework where it is appropriate to their learning and they record it in their planners. Students are increasingly expected to plan their studies at home to avoid being overloaded on one night and then having nothing to do on another. This requires your help and support, hence we ask you to check their planners regularly. If a child has not been set a specific homework task, we expect them to be reviewing their work done in class and reading as much as possible. All students should be doing this every night. Teachers post a majority of homework tasks on google classroom or in Firefly (the online learning platform) together with relevant worksheets. The deadlines are also clearly displayed and often the students are asked to submit work electronically.
St. Andrews International School– Secondary School Parent Handbook 2021—2022
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