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 9.00am and finishes at 3pm. If care is required 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 9:00am, with the library open from 8:30am. There is also a teacher on duty on the blacktop and basketball court.
Students should move to the blacktop or basketball court 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 the Winyu Ways core values – Be connected, Be Kind, Be curious, Be inclusive, Be resilient
- The use of restorative practices to facilitate and empower students with problem solving conversations
- The use of quality programs such as Bounce Back to explicitly teach social and emotional learning and foster inclusivity.
Blue Room - This is a space supervised by executive staff, during the first half of lunch every day. Students experiencing difficulties on the playground are referred here and are supported to participate in a restorative conversation to problem solve concerns.
Communication with parents/carers is always made when the child's behaviour indicates that this is necessary. Parents/carers 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 circle times to discuss issues.
Palmerston DPS has developed strong systems of support for students and staff through our PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) framework. This includes a consistent response to negative incidents and in a tiered acknowledgement system. You will find further information here.
Berry Street Education Model
The Berry Street Education Model is an educator-designed and evidence-led framework that empowers staff to create classrooms where every student is ready to learn and able to thrive. It is a whole-school approach to student engagement, self-regulation and wellbeing practices.
It has been designed to implement a holistic approach to education that helps everyone, from preschool to year 6 and works alongside our PBL strategies.
Berry Street Education Model helps Palmerston strengthen our whole-school approach to build consistency and predictability across all classrooms for all students.
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.