Whaanau Hub
Absences
You can advise the school if your child is to be absent by using one of the following methods:
Email – Send an email to absent@wdsg.school.nz
Phone – Call 07 981 5555 and leave a message
Please state your name, your child’s name, your child’s class, along with a reason for the absence. If the absence is for more than one day, please also advise this in your message.
Bell Times
Bells are rung 5 minutes before a lesson and again at the start of the lesson time. Students are expected to make their way to class at the first bell and be lining up waiting for their teacher outside the classroom before the second bell rings. Bells are also rung to signify the end of a lesson.
Boarding
For the school’s boarders, developing caring attitudes towards each other and the wider community is the foundation of their boarding experience.
Through a school-wide Peer Support Programme and ice-breaker weekend at the start of the year, students quickly find friends, mentors, and ‘big sisters’ among the older students.
Waikato Diocesan School for Girls is a seven-day boarding school. However, students can go home for weekends if they wish. There is no limit on this bar, one in-weekend at the beginning of the year to build unity.
Boarding families will receive more information about starting at boarding before we break for the summer holidays.
Buses
Parents and caregivers are responsible for getting their children to and from school daily. However, the Ministry of Education acknowledges that some parents and caregivers face distance issues and a lack of public transport. For this reason, the Ministry offers School Transport Assistance (a school bus place and/or an allowance) to help these parents and caregivers get their children to and from school.
For further information, please click here.
Please contact Student Services or the bus companies directly (details on the relevant bus route link) if you have any questions.
Careers
Dio now has a dedicated Career website enabling both students and parents can keep up to date with the latest career news and events that are happening in the Waikato and around New Zealand. All senior students are subscribed to the site which enables them to receive a weekly newsletter containing all the latest news and events posted that week. Parents are encouraged to subscribe as well to keep them up to date with career news they can then discuss with their daughters.
Events
Year 9 Grandparents’ Day – Wednesday 3 December – timing and details to follow
Dio’s Carol Service – Sunday 7 December, 7 pm, All Saints Chapel
Year 9-11 Prize Giving – Thursday 11 December, 11 am, All Saints Chapel
Facilities Hire
To enquire about hiring our facilities, please contact the Facilities Hire Coordinator or complete and submit the Facilities Hire Enquiry Form below.
Email: hire@wdsg.school.nz
Phone: 07 855 2038
Financial Information
Dio is an Anglican school with an excellent academic, sporting and extra-curricular performance record, committed to providing a well-rounded education for its young women. We are grateful for the parental support that enables us to provide the level of education we do. Voluntary donations and Attendance Dues are essential to maintain the standard of education offered at Dio and to support the site’s ongoing development. As a state-integrated school, the Anglican Church owns our land and buildings, and we are responsible for maintaining and developing the site and its facilities.
Attendance dues are charged quarterly at the commencement of each term. Any donation payments may entitle you to a donation receipt for tax credits as of 31 March each year. All statements will be emailed to you. When you receive your first statement, if the email address is not your preferred account email, please let us know so we may change this for future statements. This first statement will be sent to boarding families in January and daygirls in the first week of February. Monthly instalments should be initiated before then. Several payment options are available to you, but our preferred payment method is by direct debit. A direct debit form is available below.
For more information or help setting up a direct debit, please get in touch with our accounts department.
Email: debtors@wdsg.school.nz
Phone: 07 981 5583
Important Dates & Calendar
Thursday 22 January – Course confirmation for Year 13 students
Wednesday 28 January – Year 9 Orientation Day & Year 13 leave for Camp
Thursday 29 January – Year 10–12 start school
Monday 2 February – Whole School Returns
Term 1: 28 January – 2 April
Term 2: 20 April – 3 July
Term 3: 20 July – 25 September
Term 4: 12 Oct – 11 December
Library
The Dio library holds a range of items including books, DVDs and magazines. We also subscribe to the Wheeler’s ePlatform, where there is a large selection of ebooks and audiobooks. These can be accessed through the library database.
The library is open Monday to Thursday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm and Fridays 8:00 am – 3:30 pm.
Online Database
Sign in and you will be able to keep up-to-date with anything happening in the library, view and reserve items, access EPIC databases and use one search.
Monitor/Payment System
My Monitor is an online system for making secure payments for school-related printing expenses.
Online Safety Hub
Trusted digital safety advice for caregivers. Online bullying is a serious concern for parents in the digital age.
Parent Portal
Most direct communication from the school is by email, so please check and update all contact information, especially email addresses, when we invite you to access the Parent Portal. Once school has begun, you can also see your daughter’s timetable and reports through the portal.
Parents' Association
The Dio Parents’ Association is a friendly group open to any Dio parent/caregiver. We warmly welcome all newcomers and their ideas.
Contact the Parents’ Association
Email: dioassociation@wdsg.school.nz
School Map
School Handbook
We encourage you to familiarise yourself with our website and social media over the next few months. This will assist you in getting a feel for the Dio community. Our social media is linked here, so make sure you like and follow us to keep up-to-date with all the great things happening in our school community. Most direct communication from the school is by email, so please check and update all contact information, especially email addresses, when we invite you to access the Parent Portal. Once school has begun, you can also see your daughter’s timetable and reports through the portal.
Stationery Requirements
Waikato Diocesan uses OfficeMax MySchool.co.nz online ordering system for stationery requirements. The school gets paid a rebate based on the sales on the website, which supports students’ teaching and learning.
The stationery requirements for each year level are on the OfficeMax website.
Other emergency stationery items (pens, paper, cellotape, etc.) are available to purchase at the school reception.
Student Leave Application Form
For leave of two days or more, please complete and submit the following application form for your daughter(s). ALL students must also complete a Student Assessment Leave Form (as below) or collect a form from Student Services.
Student Leave Application Form
Uniform Shop
UNIFORM GROUP sells all compulsory items of our Dio school uniform and is independent of Waikato Diocesan School.
UNIFORM GROUP offers a click-and-collect online Webshop. You can register, order, pay online, and then collect from the UNIFORM GROUP shop located at 125 Ward Street, Hamilton Central on the specified day during opening hours.
Please note: UNIFORM GROUP is independent of the school, so any monies paid directly to a school account held for your student/s cannot be accessed by UNIFORM GROUP.