INTRODUCTION

“New Student” Enrolment Resources are used to collect key information, consents, and endorsements for students that are intending to enrol in a Pacific Church School for the first time in an upcoming school year. School administrators should become familiar with the ‘templates’ and ‘forms’ outlined in this article that can be used to support and enhance the enrolment process.


NOTE: Information about “Returning Student” enrolment resources can be found in the article titled: Using the RETURNING Student Enrolment Resources.



WHAT ENROLMENT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR NEW STUDENTS?

WORD DOCUMENT TEMPLATES

Various forms and resources are available to help collect and manage enrolment data for new students. A list of currently available resources is provided below:

  • Course Registration Form TEMPLATE
  • New Student Enrolment Pack BASIC
  • New Student Enrolment Pack FULL
  • Needs Based Scholarship Application Form
  • For ALL Tongan students - Consent form for Liahona Give Back 


These templates are provided in a Word Document format so that they are easy to manipulate and adjust for local school needs. More information about how to use these documents is included later in this article in the section titled: HOW DO I USE THE WORD DOCUMENT TEMPLATES CORRECTLY?


OTHER RESOURCES

The forms and templates listed above are considered “standard” resources that all schools should have access to and use during the scheduling and enrolment process. However, schools may also create additional resources that are required to meet local needs. For example, some schools may opt to send out one or more “Reminder Letters” regarding “Due Dates” or “Tuition Collection” etc. While additional resources such as these are not listed here, please do not hesitate to create additional documents and forms that will support and enhance your local process for collecting enrolment data.


NOTE: If there are forms, templates or reminders that you feel should be added to the existing “standard” resources, please contact the Area Team directly with your suggestions. We will do our best to expand and enhance these packs as per your valuable feedback.



WHERE CAN I FIND THE ENROLMENT RESOURCES?

The most up-to-date versions of these resources can be found on Microsoft Teams in the SCH - Scheduling and Enrolment Team document library found here. Please speak to the Area EdTech Team if you are having trouble connecting to this library. These resources can also be requested from the Area Office at any time.



WHICH OF THESE RESOURCES SHOULD I BE USING?

REQUIRED RESOURCES

The resources listed below are “required” documents that all New Students must complete in order to correctly enrol for the upcoming school year:

  • Course Registration Form TEMPLATE
  • New Student Enrolment Pack BASIC


NOTE: The “Course Registration Form” is only required for students that have elective options in the upcoming school year. For example, Primary and Middle School students usually have a set schedule with 7 or more core subjects and will not need to fill out a Course Registration Form. However, students from Year 10 and onwards often have a list of course electives that they must choose from for the upcoming school year. Any students taking electives must fill out a Course Registration in order to correctly enrol for the upcoming school year.


OPTIONAL RESOURCES

The resources listed below are highly recommended for all New Students but not “required”.

  • New Student Enrolment Pack FULL
  • Needs Based Scholarship Application Form


NOTE: Although optional, it is strongly recommended that the Needs Based Scholarship Application Form is distributed to all students at some point during the enrolment process. More information about using these templates is included later in this article in the section titled: HOW AND WHEN SHOULD I BE DISTRIBUTING THESE RESOURCES?



HOW AND WHEN SHOULD I BE DISTRIBUTING THESE RESOURCES?

Simply speaking, it is up to each school to decide how and when they would like to distribute the various enrolment resources to New Students. Please see the notes below for some suggested guidelines.


“ALL AT ONCE” APPROACH

Some schools may opt to print and distribute all enrolment resources in a bundled “pack”. When using this approach, it is suggested that a well-written cover letter is provided to inform parents and students of dates and deadlines for completing the various forms and paying tuition etc.


“STAGGERED” APPROACH

Some schools may choose to distribute individual forms at different times throughout the year rather than “all at once”. Some schools might choose to send out each of the forms individually one by one, but other schools may opt to send out forms in two or three separate “mini packs” or “bundles”. Please note the following as an example of how a school might opt to use a staggered approach for distributing and collecting forms:

  • 15 Aug: Distribute Course Registration Forms (Deadline: 31 August)
  • 1 Sep: Distribute “Student Information Forms” and “Bishop Endorsement Forms” (Deadline: 30 Sep)
  • 15 Sep: Reminder letter regarding “Student Info” and “Endorsement Forms”
  • 1 Oct: Distribute “Needs Based Scholarship Application Forms” (Deadline: 31 October)
  • 15 Oct: Reminder letter regarding “Scholarship Applications” and “Tuition Settlement”.


RECOMMENDED DEADLINES

Whether distributing enrolment resources as a bundled “pack”, or as individual forms, it is vitally important to ensure that information is collected back to the school within the deadlines suggested below. The dates suggested below are the latest recommended dates by which the various forms and resources should be collected. In other words, schools may opt to collect these resources much earlier than the suggested deadlines.

  • 31 Aug: Suggested deadline for collecting Course Registration Forms
  • 30 Sep: Suggested deadline for collecting Student Information Forms
  • 31 Oct: Suggested deadline for collecting Bishop Endorsement Forms
  • 30 Nov: Suggested deadline for collecting Needs Based Scholarship Application Forms


NOTE: There are pros and cons to each of the approaches mentioned above. Please plan appropriately and use wisdom in whatever approach you choose to adopt.



HOW DO I USE THE WORD DOCUMENT TEMPLATES CORRECTLY?

The Word Document templates provided are designed to give schools flexibility in using and adapting the forms to meet local school needs. Please see below for guidelines on how to use the Word Document Templates correctly:


BLACK TEXT

Any text in the standard Black colour represents content that would not usually be changed or customized. We are trying to send a consistent message to all schools about our enrolment process, tuition deadlines, form instructions, and expectations of parents and students. For the most part, it is recommended that black text is left ‘as is’.


RED TEXT

Any text in Red enclosed by square brackets ([LIKE THIS]), represents text that should be replaced with local dates, names, or instructions etc that pertain specifically to your school.


For example, the template text may read something like this:

“Student’s should expect to receive a notification from the committee no later than [INSERT DUE DATE HERE].”


But once the template has been updated to reflect local needs it might read something like this instead:

“Student’s should expect to receive a notification from the committee no later than 15 October 2019.”


This text is highlighted in Red and enclosed in square brackets to make it easy for you to find in the template. When preparing the template for distribution however, it is recommended that you remove the square brackets and replace the text and colour appropriately.


GREEN TEXT

Any text in a Green colour represents content that schools should adapt specifically to their local needs. In many cases, schools may opt to delete all green text completely – if they consider it irrelevant. Other schools may opt to alter the Green text significantly to accommodate local needs. Whatever the case, use wisdom in deciding whether the green text should be modified and updated, or deleted from the document completely.


For example, the template text may read something like this:

“New applicant’s desiring to attend [INSERT SCHOOL NAME HERE] for the first time must also provide:

  • a Clearance Letter from their previous school
  • an Academic Transcript or Report Card from their previous school
  • a copy of their Birth Certificate
  • a Statement of Interest, expressing their desire to attend the Church School (see below)
  • a Passport Photo
  • a Character Reference from a previous Teacher or Administrator”


But once the template has been updated to reflect local needs it might read something like this instead:

“New applicant’s desiring to attend Church College Vaiola for the first time must provide:

  • an Academic Transcript or Report Card from their previous school
  • a copy of their Birth Certificate
  • a Passport Photo
  • a Character Reference from a previous Teacher or Administrator”


For convenience, this text is highlighted in Green to make it easy to identify in the template. When preparing the template for distribution however, it is recommended that you update the text and replace the colour and formatting appropriately as shown in the example above.



WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE “CHECKLIST” LOCATED AT THE TOP OF SOME OF THE FORMS?

A checklist appears at the top of some of the enrolment forms and resources. This checklist is provided to help support school offices and office assistants to track and manage enrolment information for individual students more effectively.


In addition to the checklists provided on these paper forms, a digital resource called the “Enrolment Checklist” is available in PowerSchool to help support staff involved in collecting and managing student enrolment information. An article outlining the details of how to best use these checklist resources will be released in the near future.