Expectations at Pittwater High School
This document details the high expectations we wish our students to reflect and commit to.
Rules and policies are in place to make sure your child remains safe and well at school.
Visit the NSW Department of Education’s policy library for all current operational policies.
Our school uses the department's School Community Charter to ensure all of our communication is collaborative and respectful.
Attendance and absences
Students must attend school regularly so they can achieve their educational best and increase their career and life options.
In NSW, all children from the age of 6 are legally required to attend school or be registered for home schooling through the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). All students must complete Year 10, or its equivalent.
Young people below the age of 17 who have completed Year 10 must be:
in school, or registered for home schooling
in approved education or training, such as a traineeship, apprenticeship or TAFE
in full-time paid employment (average 25 hours a week)
in a combination of work, education and/or training (average of 25 hours a week combined).
Students 17 years and over who are enrolled in school must attend school regularly to meet HSC course requirements.
As a parent or carer, you are responsible for ensuring your child attends school every day when they are of compulsory school age. You must explain all absences to the school within 7 days.
For more information about compulsory school attendance, visit:
Absences
Missing school means your child misses out on vital information and maintaining learning routines. This can result in a loss of confidence and missing out on forming vital friendships. For absence procedure, please go to Procedure for Absence page.
Attendance is recorded each day. As a parent or caregiver, you are responsible for ensuring your child attends school every day, including sports days unless your child:
- has an unavoidable medical or dental appointment (preferably these should be made after school or during school holidays).
- is required to attend a recognised religious day.
- is required to attend an exceptional or urgent family circumstance (such as a funeral).
- is sick, or has an infectious illness.
Students need to attend school regularly to meet the course requirements of the Higher School Certificate.
If you are having difficulty getting your child to attend school regularly, you might like to talk to the school Principal or the school Counsellor.
Procedures for Wednesday Afternoon Sports (Years 8, 9 and 10)
Students in Years, 8, 9 & 10 must participate in the structured Wednesday afternoon sports program. The updated (June 2022) Sport & Physical Activity Policy can be viewed here.
As Wednesday school sport is a compulsory part of the school week for Years 8, 9 and 10, students are expected to maintain attendance at 85% or over.
Students planning to be absent from sport on a particular Wednesday afternoon, due to a medical appointment or other emergency, are required to follow the following procedures:
- Students must present a signed parent note to their relevant Deputy Principal before 8.40am on the day of their proposed absence
- The note must give a specific reason (e.g. specialist medical appointment). Students attending medical appointments must provide a medical certificate to the front office on the day following their absence.
- Notes without a specific and valid reason will not be accepted.
- The school is unable to accept emails due to the large volume of emails received by the front office.
Wet Weather
If a sport is cancelled due to poor weather, students are expected to attend their wet weather room for the duration of sport time. In this case, students are encouraged to use the time productively to complete homework/assessment tasks.
Illness, Misadventure or Late Submission Appeal
If a student has a valid reason for not submitting an assessment task or not completing an inclass assessment task on the due date, the following procedure is to be followed. If you know before the due date:
1. Complete the Illness, Misadventure or Late Submission appeal as soon as you know there is a problem or no later than the day before the due date for all affected tasks.
2. Submit the form to the Head Teacher no later than the day before the due date.
3. Head Teacher will arrange an alternative date and/or refer to the Assessment Review Panel.
If you DO NOT know before the due date:
Phone the school before 9:00am on the day the task is scheduled or due, providing the following details:
• Name
• Subject and type of assessment task
• Class teacher
• Brief detail of the Illness / Misadventure / late submission. Complete one form for each subject.
Download the illness, misadventure and late submission form (PDF 189KB).
How to Pay Fees for School or Excursion
With the introduction of School Bytes’ Event Management software, the management of these excursions has been simplified with the emailing of information, online consent and payment links.
This involves a two-step process which is crucial for the student to be able to attend the excursion:
- Consent - Ensure you click on the ‘Consent’ button on the right-side of the online permission form page AND;
- Payment - Paying the excursion fee via the link in the online form. This link will take you directly to the Parent Online Payment Portal (POP).
Payments are to be made by the due date before 6 pm.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I pay the fee if I can’t see the event on my Statement of Account?
Please select the ‘Add Other Item’ button at the bottom and complete the information.
I can’t remember if I’ve paid the invoice already, how do I check?
We will be sending out reminders to all who have not paid or have not completed the process with giving consent to attend. If you have not heard from us, then you have completed the process.
I forgot to select the Consent Button?
If the deadline hasn’t passed, please find the original email to get the link.
If you have missed the deadline, please email the school at pittwater-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Can I get a refund if my child is unable to attend?
We are only able to offer refunds if the venue has not been prepaid.
Behaviour Code for Students
Please download a copy of the Behaviour Code for Students from the NSW Department of Education.
Using the School's Computers
For details on using our computers, please read Expectations for PHS computers.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) refers to students bringing a personally owned device to school for the purpose of learning.
It is recommended that both students and parents download and read the Pittwater High School BYOD Policy before completing a User Agreement. You can download these here:
For more information and specifications, plus discount deals PHS has with Hewlett Packard, please go to our BYOD page.