ASHBURTON
Dragon boats battle at Lake Hood
www.guardianonline.co.nz
P24 Monday, Mar 24, 2014
Since Sept 27, 1879
Retail $1.40 Home delivered from 95c
Holidays headache for local schools BY MYLES HUME
MYLES.H@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
Mid Canterbury parents are well-known for taking children out of school to embark on family holidays, and schools admit there is little they can do. New figures show almost one in five Kiwi parents plan overseas holidays during the school term while travel deals are cheap and tourist numbers are low. It has sparked concern in education circles and schools display their dissatisfaction with parents, but as one local principal admits “they are informing and not really asking”. Mt Somers-Springburn School principal Brent Gray said he knew of at least three families at his school this term who had already taken their children out of school to head abroad. The Education Act requires pupils to attend each school day, however a principal may allow an absence for no more than five school days, with the absence going down as explained but unjustified. “Teachers work pretty closely
to those weeks in a term and if you all of a sudden take a two or three-week block out of it there’s a bit of catching up to do and that’s a frustration for the teacher,” Mr Gray said. Based in a rural community, he said family holidays usually fit best within the school term for farming families, which was not ideal. Ashburton College research at the end of 2012 found Year 11 pupils whose attendance slipped below 83 per cent were more likely to fail NCEA Level 1. “It’s a tough one, I guess the bottom line is if parents are taking their kids out of school but are concerned about their child’s level of learning then they have to look back at those times they are absent,” Mr Gray said. Mount Hutt College principal John Schreurs said he understood parents’ decisions, and teachers sometimes gave them work to do while they were away. There was value in immersing themselves in different cultures, he said.
THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
Endless fun at the Rakaia fair A fine day and endless fun met Bena Lorimer, 4, and hundreds of others at the Rakaia School Country Fair yesterday.
FULL STORY
230314-TM-223
BEST TASTE, BEST PRICE DAIRY DALE MILK (2L Varieties)
$ .30
2 FOR Limit 10
6
Or
3
$ .50
BISCUITS
RING DONUTS
$ .00
$ .00
(Anzac, Choc Chip, Hokey Pokey, Kiwi Delight, Oat & Raisin, Peanut, Shortbread, Super Choc Chip. Family Packs.)
2 FOR
8
24/03/14 to 30/03/14
Weather: High 22˚ - Overnight 10˚ Page 22
Save
2
$ .98
Puzzles: Page 21
6 FOR
6
24/03/14 to 30/03/14
Save
Television: Page 23
4
P4
Ph 03 307 7900 to subscribe!
BAK ER IES
$ .00
Open 7 Days 7.30am - 6.00pm 110 East St, Ashburton • Ph: 03 308 8487 While stocks last.
Family Notices: Page 22
www.guardianonline.co.nz