Grahamstown Public School€¦ · Grahamstown Public School Annual School Report 2014 ......

[school code]

Grahamstown Public School

Annual School Report 2014

4609

1

School context statement A quality learning environment with a focus

on technology integration, pride in uniform

and extensive sporting and cultural activities

make Grahamstown Public School an exciting

school for students.

Grahamstown attracts equity funding which

has been used for staff professional learning

and improvement in the teaching of writing.

Students are provided with a wide variety of

quality educational opportunities delivered

by highly qualified, innovative and dedicated

teachers. Programs are tailored to individual

learning styles and the needs of all students.

Students build social skills through our peer

support and leadership initiatives. Our

Student Parliament provides opportunity for

our students to participate in school decision

making. Strong debating and public speaking

programs for Year 1 to Year 6 develop

student confidence and communication skills.

Our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) has

developed a consistent approach to discipline

and has built a structure of expectations

which are delivered in class lessons and

whole school assemblies.

A welcoming and friendly school, we work in

close partnership with parents and the wider

community. Grahamstown Public School

prides itself on providing an environment of

innovation, opportunity and success for its

students.

Princpal’s message The students of Grahamstown Public School have

demonstrated their capacity to adapt, be

supportive, lead and learn throughout 2014. They

have had opportunity to experience many extra-

curricular activities during the year and have

demonstrated their commitment to their chosen

activity by rehearsing, practising, performing and

playing in their own time. Grahamstown staff and

students are a dedicated group who are strongly

supported by parents and the school community

in the endeavours and goals for which we strive.

The Gifted and Talented Program (GATS) has seen

students participate in Starstruck, Tournament of

the Minds, Science and engineering challenge

days and literary and visual art activities. The

students were also given opportunity to make

connections with Newcastle University through a

University Reading Program for Year 2, a Year 6

discovery day and a Year 4 Smart Science Show.

Further connections were also developed with

the local high school through Year 4 and 5

students participating in the GATS enrichment

program in varying fields through terms two and

three.

The dedicated debating team trained during

lunch breaks and achieved success in several of

their debating opportunities. They will be a force

to be reckoned with in future endeavours as their

skills and confidence continue to grow.

Grahamstown Public School was again well

represented in the zone Public Speaking Finals.

The students consistently demonstrate their

confidence and capacity to engage an audience

when representing the school in zone and

regional finals.

Students were also given opportunity to

represent their school in softball, netball, rugby

league, soccer, touch football, cricket and

basketball. On each occasion the teams

represented the school with pride and were

praised for their excellent behaviour and

sportsmanship. As a school we are very proud of

the reputation our students build as good sports

2

and citizens. They represent our school with pride

and reflect the values taught and the expectation

of our school community.

Students were given many opportunities to

develop their leadership skills whilst preparing

activities for the 007 Program, the Peer Support

Program and Peer Tutoring Program. Our senior

students excelled in operating the programs

while demonstrating their citizenship as each of

the activities relies on volunteers.

The school’s Positive Behaviour for Learning(PBL)

Program has seen the students taught the four

school rules of Act Safely, Be Respectful,

Cooperate and Do Your Best. The students are

rewarded for meeting the school expectations

with a ‘Graham’, which is the mascot for the

program. The program has developed a more

positive attitude toward discipline and has seen a

common approach to teaching and enforcing

school expectations. The program is having a

positive impact on the school.

During 2015 the PBL program will move to

classroom expectations. Students, staff and

parents will develop a common set of

expectations centred round our core rules. The

development of these common expectations is

for common practice to become imbedded in the

daily routine for all students and staff.

Sue Kane

Student representative message As the 2014 school captains of Grahamstown

Public School, we have had the opportunity to be

part of so many events such as representing the

school, sporting events, fundraisers and so much

more.

We have had the opportunity to represent our

school on ANZAC Day. We were honoured to lay a

wreath and speak on behalf of all the brave

soldiers that fought for our country.

On the 14th of May we held a fundraiser, where

we sold handballs for $3. All the money raised

went to the Stewart House Foundation.

In August we had grandparents come in for

Grandparents’ Day. Grandparents’ Day is where

student’s grandparents come in and look at the

work their grandchildren have created

throughout the year, and we also had a sausage

sizzle and mini sports carnival.

On the 21st of August we held a cake stall to raise

money for the Year 6 farewell. On that day we

raised $714.

We held Nuf Nuf Day on the 16th of September.

Nuf Nuf Day is where year 5 and 6 have stalls and

activities for younger students to come and buy

things and have a go at the activities for 5c and

10c pieces.

On the 22nd of October students at our school

wore the bandanas they bought throughout the

previous 2 weeks for $4 and we raised $900 for

Canteen Cancer Council. We also came dressed in

our favourite team’s footy colours for a gold coin

donation and the money from that went to the

Mark Hughes Foundation.

This year, every Year 6 had the opportunity to

participate in 007 duties around the school. This

teaches them responsibility and leadership which

will help as they become older.

I’m sure the captains and prefects elected for

2015 will do a great job, so good luck and best

wishes to all of them. Thank you to students for

choosing us to be leaders and role models for

3

2014. We hope we have helped the next

generation of leaders.

Lilly Cashen and Lachlan Ruba.

Student information

It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all students be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

In 2013 the expected enrolment for the

commencement of 2014 was 386. The

enrolment throughout 2014 has remained

close to the original expected population.

There will be a decrease for 2015 due to a

reduction in our zoned enrolment area.

Our student population is drawn from the

eastern side of Raymond Terrace with most

students living in close proximity to the

school.

Within the student population, 5% of

children have Language Backgrounds Other

Than English (LBOTE), 13% identify as

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander(ATSI) and

8% are from Australian Defence Force

families. The school’s student profile reflects

the community profile. In 2014 the school

was supported by Transition Equity Funding

and this funding will continue to support

Grahamstown School throughout 2015.

Student enrolment profile

Our total enrolment at the start of the year was 389 and finished the year at 386. Our enrolment has remained steady throughout the year and is anticipated to decrease to 352 for 2015.

Student attendance profile

Gender 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Male 194 200 188 185 194 201 174

Female 180 184 190 201 218 217 208

Student Enrolment

Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Sch

oo

l

K 92.5 93.7 95.8 95.4 94.6 95.9

1 94.2 93.6 94.1 94.0 94.9 95.1

2 92.8 94.0 94.1 94.6 94.3 95.5

3 94.2 93.9 94.5 94.1 95.0 94.8

4 93.0 93.0 93.6 95.3 94.9 94.1

5 93.1 94.4 95.5 93.2 95.4 94.4

6 93.9 93.3 91.3 94.5 93.2 94.2

Total 93.4 93.7 94.2 94.5 94.6 94.9

Stat

e D

EC

K 94.3 94.7 94.7 94.3 95.0 95.2

1 93.7 94.2 94.2 93.9 94.5 94.7

2 94 94.4 94.2 94.2 94.7 94.9

3 94.1 94.5 94.4 94.4 94.8 95.0

4 94 94.5 94.3 94.3 94.7 94.9

5 94 94.4 94.2 94.2 94.5 94.8

6 93.6 94.0 93.8 93.8 94.1 94.2

Total 92.1 94.4 94.3 94.2 94.7 94.8

4

Workforce information

The staff at Grahamstown Public School is varied in its experience, employment tenure and job description. All teaching staff are qualified for their teaching role and many take on additional responsibilities beyond classroom teacher. There are four executive staff members including three assistant principals and one non-teaching principal. The part-time allocation of Grahamstown’s staffing formula is used to support both students experiencing difficulty and gifted and talented students. The staffing component attached to the equity funding Grahamstown Public School receives has been used for support of staff in the writing program.

Our non-teaching staff comprise of four part-time School Learning Support Officers, two full-time office staff, two part-time office staff and a general assistant.

Workforce composition

Position Number

Principal 1

Deputy Principal(s) 0

Assistant Principal(s) 3

Head Teachers 0

Classroom Teacher(s) 12

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.42

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 1.6

Teacher Librarian 0.8

Teacher of ESL 0

School Counsellor 1

School Administrative & Support Staff 4.852

Total 24.672

The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requires schools to report on Aboriginal composition of their workforce.

Two Aboriginal teachers are employed on a

permanent basis at our school. One is a

proud member of the Wiradjuri people from

the Wambol River area and takes an active

role in Aboriginal education, including being a

member of the local Youyoong Aboriginal

Education Consultative Group as well as the

indigenous community. The other is a proud

member of the Wanarrua Nation.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.

Qualifications % of staff

Degree or Diploma 83

Postgraduate 17

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

During this year the focus for professional learning has been pedagogy.

Throughout 2014 Grahamstown Public School has been implementing a writing program where a target group of staff are given weekly support in the classroom from an instructional leader for the development of strategies to improve the teaching of literacy from a writing focus. The target group are then given additional professional learning on improved pedagogy in writing and the presentation of quality literature to improve writing quality.

This program will extend to an additional stage in 2015.

5

In addition to the writing project six staff have attended a session on quality pedagogy followed by a visit to a school where the style of explicit teaching is having a dramatic effect on the outcomes achieved by students. The style of explicit teaching will be further explored before trial implementation during 2015 at Grahamstown Public School.

Significant professional learning has been centred round the implementation of the new curriculum so staff are prepared through the development of a relevant scope and sequence and a raised awareness of the content of the new documents.

Seven staff members are in the process of maintaining their accreditation. This requires 100 hours of professional development over a five year period. Each of these staff members is current with their professional learning hours and is monitored against a set of national standards.

By 2018 all staff will be required to maintain accreditation and will be monitored using the Australian Teaching Standards guidelines.

Financial summary

This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance.

The increase in the funds carried forward can be accounted for in the savings program conducted by Grahamstown Public School. The savings program is in place to build a cover for the basketball court and to resurface the same. The school is working toward developing a joint partnership with the Department of Education to improve the condition of the court, to provide additional playing space in wet weather and to increase the level of shade in our playground for everyday use.

The 2015 budget will see an increase in spending on school resources and school programs to decrease the surplus whilst maintaining the savings program.

Date of financial summary 30/11/2014

Income $

Balance brought forward 350535.41 Global funds 229364.97 Tied funds 481380.70 School & community sources 86274.55 Interest 12556.87 Trust receipts 17036.60 Canteen 0.00

Total income 1177149.10

Expenditure

Teaching & learning Key learning areas 23169.52 Excursions 45779.10 Extracurricular dissections 27845.11

Library 7952.53 Training & development 2231.77 Tied funds 420400.44 Casual relief teachers 78918.07 Administration & office 54470.31 School-operated canteen 0.00 Utilities 45055.97 Maintenance 31742.40 Trust accounts 15657.97 Capital programs 0.00

Total expenditure 753223.19

Balance carried forward 423925.91

6

A full copy of the school’s 2014 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the School Council and/or the parent body. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance 2014

The results collected through internal assessment programs represented greater accuracy of the current achievement levels of the majority of students at Grahamstown Public School. Staff have worked exceptionally hard throughout 2014 to ensure improvement in skills in the area of literacy. The focus has targeted the students vocabulary use, their sentence structure and grammatical knowledge. There have been significant gains in the quality of students writing results throughout the year.

It has been recognised that a more detailed method of collating data is necessary to determine with greater accuracy exactly where our students lie on the literacy continuum. This will be developed and implemented during 2015.

Student achievement in numeracy, particularly in NAPLAN, has demonstrated the need for improved data collection of internal results. This data collection is needed for accurate tracking of student achievement and improvement and for determining student need.

Academic achievements

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10.

The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments.

Year 3: from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest for Year 3)




The My School website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and numeracy testing (NAPLAN).

Click on the link http://www.myschool.edu.au and enter the school name in the Find a school and select GO to access the school data.

Alternatively:

http://www.myschool.edu.au/

7

NAPLAN Year 3 - Literacy

Year 3 NAPLAN Reading

Year 3 NAPLAN Writing

Year 3 NAPLAN Spelling

Year 3 NAPLAN Grammar and Punctuation

NAPLAN Year 3 - Numeracy

NAPLAN Year 5 - Literacy

NAPLAN Year 5 Reading

NAPLAN Year 5 Writing

Year 5 NAPLAN Spelling

1 2 3 4 5 6

5 6 15 17 6 6

9.1 10.9 27.3 30.9 10.9 10.9

7.5 14.2 22.1 29.5 13.9 12.8

12.2 15.3 21.8 25.4 12.5 12.8

6.1 9.9 15.3 22.6 18.5 27.6

Average score, 2014

Skill Band Distribution

Number in Bands

Percentage in Bands

School Average 2010-2014

SSG % in Bands 2014

State DEC % in Bands 2014

Band

416.3

State DEC

373.9

SSG

374.4

School


1 2 3 4 5 6

8 9 23 8 7 0

14.6 16.4 41.8 14.6 12.7 0.0

5.9 11.8 25.9 25.5 25.5 5.5

8.7 14.1 28.8 24.5 21.0 2.9

4.1 8.3 21.3 22.8 33.3 10.1


State DECSSG

366.8 401.5

Band

Number in Bands

Percentage in Bands

SSG % in Bands 2014


School

Average score, 2014 340.9

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 12 9 17 6 4

12.7 21.8 16.4 30.9 10.9 7.3

8.2 12.9 25.0 23.9 17.9 12.1

8.3 22.0 15.8 22.0 18.1 13.9

4.2 12.6 12.2 22.5 23.4 25.2

Band

Number in Bands

Percentage in Bands

State DEC

Average score, 2014 359.8 381.2 418.8

School SSG



SSG % in Bands 2014



1 2 3 4 5 6

8 8 11 10 12 6

14.6 14.6 20.0 18.2 21.8 10.9

11.8 11.4 18.9 22.1 17.9 17.9

10.1 14.9 20.6 23.0 17.8 13.4

4.7 8.3 15.3 21.1 20.9 29.7State DEC % in Bands 2014

SSG % in Bands 2014

Percentage in Bands

Number in Bands

Band


SSG State DEC

Average score, 2014 371.3 377.7 427.1

School

1 2 3 4 5 6

3 11 15 15 9 2

5.5 20.0 27.3 27.3 16.4 3.6

5.7 16.1 31.4 24.3 17.1 5.4

7.2 22.7 28.6 21.3 13.7 6.6

4.1 12.6 20.7 23.2 23.0 16.4



SSG % in Bands 2014


Percentage in Bands

Number in Bands

Band

SSG

362.4

School

369.9Average score, 2014

State DEC

401.6

3 4 5 6 7 8

7 5 10 15 6 0

16.3 11.6 23.3 34.9 14.0 0.0

17.7 14.9 24.9 27.3 10.4 4.8

9.9 23.8 27.3 23.1 10.0 5.9

6.8 14.3 22.1 24.7 16.7 15.4

462.1Average score, 2014

State DECSSGSchool

497.3462.0

SSG % in Bands 2014


Band

Number in Bands

Percentage in Bands




3 4 5 6 7 8

6 10 20 6 1 0

14.0 23.3 46.5 14.0 2.3 0.0

16.1 17.1 40.8 17.5 7.1 1.4

16.6 16.4 41.1 18.4 5.8 1.7

9.8 11.2 37.2 26.1 10.7 4.9


441.0 467.1Average score, 2014

Number in Bands

Percentage in Bands

SSG % in Bands 2014


Band

School SSG State DEC

434.3

3 4 5 6 7 8

4 7 11 11 8 2

9.3 16.3 25.6 25.6 18.6 4.7

9.6 17.6 22.4 27.2 16.0 7.2

11.0 14.0 24.4 24.7 20.2 5.6

6.3 9.0 19.0 24.6 26.5 14.5

471.6

Percentage in Bands


School SSG State DEC

Average score, 2014 471.2 502.7


Band

SSG % in Bands 2014


Number in Bands

8

Year 5 NAPLAN Grammar and Punctuation

NAPLAN Year 5 - Numeracy

Grahamstown Public School students in both Year 3 and 5 are predominantly achieving in the middle 3 bands. Throughout 2014 the literacy area was targeted with an endeavor to improve the results of students and increase the percentage of students gaining higher level bands in NAPLAN.

A greater emphasis on explicit teaching and assessment for learning was used to target the specific needs of individual students.

The aim of all staff at Grahamstown Public School is to increase the number of students achieving in the top bands but more importantly to increase student capacity to apply the knowledge gained through the explicit teaching process.

Other achievements Garden Club 2014

2014 was another busy and productive year for

the school garden club. The upgrade to the

school vegie patch has had positive influence felt

throughout the school. The garden was officially

opened earlier this year with all the people from

GPS and the community that assisted in making

the project a success attending the grand

opening. The new learning space has inspired a

range of initiatives at GPS including collecting

scrap from class fruit breaks to compost and feed

the chickens and more students are participating

in lunchtime garden activities. All the hard work

was rewarded when GPS received a Tidy Towns

Schools award for schools our size.

The garden club has continued to assist in the

maintenance of the school grounds with

weeding, pruning, mulching, raking and planting

being carried out throughout the year. The

garden club has revitalised the garden at the

school’s entrance giving the school an attractive

and welcoming appearance. Next year the garden

club plans to identify more areas to transform

and beautify.

Sadly we had to say farewell to one of our four

chickens who passed away. Specially selected

Year 5 students have performed admirably in

maintaining the health and lifestyle of our three

remaining chickens.

The end of 2014 saw the erection of a new black

security fence around GPS. It is hoped this will

deter trespassers from vandalising our garden. In

2015 we would like to incorporate student art

features to our garden areas.

Sport

This year our sports carnival, cross country and

swimming carnivals were won by Hastings and

Eldon achieved first place in the ball games

carnival. Students participated in a wide variety

of sports including; Rugby League, Oztag,

Basketball and Softball. We had particular success

in softball, advancing to the fourth round in the

PSSA competition.

We have had individual success this year as one

of our Year 6 girls was selected for the Hunter

Cricket team. Four of our students represented

our Zone at the Hunter Sports Carnival which is

the most students Grahamstown P.S. has ever

had there. One of our Year 4 boys achieved such

great results he progressed through to make the

Hunter Athletics Team for discus.

Several staff were involved as PSSA convenors or

officials at Regional carnivals. This tradition of

participation by both students and teachers will

continue in 2015 as Grahamstown P.S. believes in


3 4 5 6 7 8

6 7 5 10 12 3

14.0 16.3 11.6 23.3 27.9 7.0

13.6 16.8 27.2 19.2 16.4 6.8

11.7 18.8 23.5 21.5 15.5 9.0

7.1 12.5 18.4 20.8 20.2 21.0

14.0 16.3 11.6 23.3 27.9 7.0

SSG State DEC

504.7

School

471.7 467.9

Number in Bands

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Bands 2014


Band

Average score, 2014

3 4 5 6 7 8

2 14 12 12 3 0

4.7 32.6 27.9 27.9 7.0 0.0

10.6 20.7 26.8 27.6 9.8 4.5

11.1 22.6 29.3 23.4 9.3 4.2

6.4 15.7 23.5 27.8 13.5 13.0

456.5448.0

School State DEC


Average score, 2014

SSG

SSG % in Bands 2014

Number in Bands

Percentage in Bands



Band

488.5

9

developing the skills and healthy lifestyles that

playing sport promotes.

Gifted and Talented Program This year, students from Kindergarten to Stage 3 have been provided with opportunities to participate and demonstrate their abilities in a variety of Gifted and Talented programs. The programs offered were designed to give students opportunities to be extended in an area of which they demonstrate a significant talent. Throughout the year different students were selected to participate in individual/group projects, problem solving, creative and critical thinking activities. Grahamstown participated in a number of activities provided by the University of Newcastle Aim High Program; these included the Year 5 Careers program, Year 6 Discovery Day, Stage 2 Dino Dig and Year 2 What do they do?

At the end of third term we took a team of 24 year 5 and 6 students to Maitland to compete in the Science and Engineering Challenge where they had to compete against other schools in a variety of challenges. At the conclusion of the day Grahamstown came in third position.

Seven students from Year 5 and 6 participated in Tournament of the Minds in the area of applied technology. The students won the regional final and competed at State level in Sydney.

This year 8 students from Year 5 and 6 represented the school debating team when they participated in the Premier’s Debating Challenge and finished second in their local region.

The Irrawang High School GATS program continued with 4 Year 6 students and 6 Year 5 students who were selected by a panel of high school teachers. They visited the high school on several occasions throughout the year working in different areas of the curriculum. In Term 1 4 Year 4 students participated in a bridge building task with all primary schools in the Lakeside Learning Community. At the conclusion of Term 3 Grahamstown participated in an Enrichment Afternoon at Irrawang High School to showcase our students work in enrichment throughout the year.

This year 3 individual students from Year 6 were selected to attend a Science and English and

CAPA GATS camp where they participated in organised activities over a 3 day period.

In the area of Creative and Performing Arts, Grahamstown participated in Starstruck with 16 students from Stage 3. This year we entered one artwork in the Operation Art Exhibition in Sydney, we also had two student artworks selected to be exhibited at Maitland Art Gallery as a part of the 2014 FACE exhibition. 24 students from year 4, 5 and 6 were selected to participate in a photography workshop conducted by the Moran Foundation. Students’ photos were entered in the primary division of the Moran Photography competition with 1 year 6 student selected as a finalist.

Selected Year 5 and 6 students participated in the Newcastle Permanent Maths Competition, with pleasing results including 2 Distinctions and 16 credits. Stage 3 also participated in the Maths Olympiad Competition with 1 student achieving in the top 30%.

This year Grahamstown entered the Newcastle Herald Competition with 10 year 6 students completing our submission which included six feature stories, one editorial, photos to accompany stories and a cartoon.

At the end of Term 4 an Enrichment Celebration day was organised to provide students in Kindergarten to Year 2 with an opportunity to engage in activities which recognised individual student’s strengths and talents.

At Grahamstown, extension activities were offered to the whole school through the Science Fair Competition and Talent Quest.

Reading Recovery

Reading Recovery is an early intervention

program designed for children who are clearly at

risk in Literacy learning after a year in a good

classroom program. Entry to the program is

based on being a child’s second year at school

and who are performing within the lowest

Literacy levels in Year 1.

Reading Recovery has been implemented at

Grahamstown Public School for eleven years and

will continue in 2015. The time allocation

accommodates four students per day, as the

teacher will be training.

10

In 2014 there were 13 children who participated

in the program during the year. Eight of the

students were girls and five were boys. Five

students were carry-overs from 2013. Seven

students were discontinued successfully from the

program, two students were referred for further

support and one was referred due to behaviour.

The remaining three students will be carry- overs

in 2015.

Most of the children who entered the program in

2014 had reasonable letter identification but

used letter names for identification. Word

knowledge, both written and read in text and in

isolation was a weakness along with Concepts

About Print and one to one matching.

Directionality across words and letters was poor.

Children who entered the program in 2014 in the

first intake were at text level 1, 2 and 3. The later

intakes of children entered on levels between 2

and 5.

The carry-over students who successfully

discontinued were on the program for between

12 and 21 weeks, while students who entered the

program in 2014 discontinued between 13 and 17

weeks.

A buddy system to assist students with

homework was used for year two students this

year. It was put in place to encourage and

support children with their reading, allowing

them to read to an older student at least twice a

week.

The Reading Recovery Program continues to

impact on the Literacy programs at Grahamstown

Public School with most staff familiar with

running record analysis and using Reading

Recovery levelled texts in Guided Reading. Early

Stage 1 and Stage 1 teachers are more aware of

explicitly teaching strategies to assist their

students in reading and writing. In Year 1, there

are 18 students who did not reach the school’s

benchmark level of instructional level 16 by the

end of the year. Not all at risk students were able

to access Reading Recovery during 2014.

Students who participated in Reading Recovery in

2012 completed the NAPLAN Test in 2014. Five of

the seven students who discontinued from the

program are still at Grahamstown Public in Year

3. Of these,one performed in Band 4, one in Band

3 and 0ne in Band 2 and two in Band 1 for

Reading. In the Writing results, one performed in

Band 3, one performed in Band 2 and three in

Band 1.

The future direction of Reading Recovery in

Grahamstown Public School will be to train a new

teacher, Kristy Webb, to continue the home-

reading program after children discontinue

successfully from the program and to support

those children in the classroom. These strategies

have assisted students to have more success

when they return to the classroom situation.

I appreciate the support the Principal, Sue Kane,

School Executive, my Support Teacher, Early

Stage 1 and Stage 1 teachers and staff members

have shown throughout this year. I would also

like to thank my Tutor, Maxine Foley, for her

guidance, expertise and encouragement and my

Reading Recovery colleagues for their friendship,

support and assistance throughout the year.

Reading Recovery Teacher

Susan Dellar.

Significant programs and initiatives –

Policy and equity funding

Socio-economic background Grahamstown Public School received $265000 in Equity Funding for 2014. Our school had a Family Occupation and Education Index (FOEI) of 132 which is higher than the state average. The higher than average index generated the funding received to support additional programs within our school.

Throughout 2014 the additional funding has been used to improve pedagogy in writing, the delivery of quality literature to improve writing and comprehension skills. The development of consistent practices in the delivery of literacy lessons was introduced to Stage 2 as were the WALT (We Are Learning To) and WILF (What Am I Looking For) components of pedagogy.

The funding targeted support in Stage 2 classrooms for staff to have intensive

11

professional learning. Two Instructional Leaders were employed to conduct the professional learning which took place on a weekly basis. Staff were given guidance to develop specific learning intentions for each lesson (WALT) and to present targeted writing skills during their quality literacy sessions.

Students became more engaged in their learning and more skilled in writing using correct sentence and grammatical structure.

The language of writing was also targeted so all staff and students use the same terminology. All grammatical components now have the correct terminology taught and students are encouraged to use this language in their learning.

Each stage has developed a code to use to prompt students to edit their work. This code is simplistic in its approach but has proven to be a successful prompt for all students to determine if their sentences contain the correct grammatical elements.

A significant increase in NAPLAN results was not recorded for 2014. However the program was in its initial phase.

School assessment data shows a significant increase in the number of students who can write using correct grammatical structures. An increasing number of students are able to include compound and complex sentences within their writing and the use of descriptive has dramatically improved throughout 2014.

The program will expand through 2015 to include Stage 1 students whilst Stage 2 will continue their development of common practice across all

classes. Writing Project

The Targeted Literacy Writing project was

implemented at the start of 2014 with the

purpose of enhancing student writing skills

across the school over a period of time. The

initial phase of the project was focused on

looking at current educational research to

identify skills, practices and support materials

that could be implemented in the classroom. The

project was designed to target two main groups

for professional learning in 2014 – Whole staff

and a team of 5 teachers from stage 2 and 3.

Whole staff: A series of workshops were held to

establish a common understanding and language

across the school of the new K-6 English syllabus,

identification and sharing of specific learning

intentions with students, the use of quality texts

in classrooms and the introduction of common

classroom practices to support the development

of literacy.

Writing team: Five teachers were provided with a

range of professional learning opportunities,

classroom support and mentoring to enhance

their literacy teaching and classroom practice

based on current research findings. Quality texts

were used as the catalyst for the explicit teaching

of skills, the development of uniform terminology

and a range of specific teaching strategies. In

class support targeted the teaching of identified

skills during literacy sessions and the provision of

additional planning time allowed teachers to

discuss their practices and identify future

directions and resources.

The project will continue in 2015 with support

being provided to a new team of teachers and

2014 participating teachers as well as the

provision of whole school professional learning

development opportunities.

Learning and Support The staffing component for equity funding has been utilized to support individuals experiencing difficulty with curriculum. In class support has been offered across all stages using the 0.6 equity additional staff, the Learning and Support Teachers (LaST) and a portion of the 0.6 part time allocation.

Support in classes has been offered for individuals experiencing difficulty with both literacy and numeracy tasks. The support staff have worked in conjunction with classroom teachers to give individuals greater access to curriculum at grade level.

The part time allocation (0.3) was used to support Gifted and Talented Students (GATS) at Grahamstown Public School. GATS information is included in another section of this report.

12

Aboriginal education 100% of Aboriginal students that began 2014 at Grahamstown had Personal Learning Plans for 2014 which were developed through a meeting process. Students evaluated their existing 2013 Personalised Learning Plans (PLP’s) and decided on future directions for 2014/2015. Meetings were held with parents, Mrs Trembath or Miss Russell and students to set individual academic, social and cultural goals. 100% of these are now complete and staff will be working in 2015 to assess and redevelop plans to ensure that both the current and new Aboriginal students have current PLPs. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enjoyed an Aboriginal Cultural Program which commenced in Term 4 with a local community member running weekly sessions. The sessions focused on dance, bush tucker, lore, tools and other artefacts. This enabled Aboriginal students to reach their cultural goals set out within their PLP’s as well as to enhance their general and cultural knowledge. A bush tucker garden has been constructed and cultural lessons were conducted for the entire school population. Stage 3 students assisted in the design and implementation of the garden. Students alongside community members will plant different plants that will be able to be used throughout the school for Bush Tucker lessons. Four Totem Poles have been purchased and designs have begun for them. They will cover our four houses Coleman, Finnan, Hastings and Eldon and be inclusive of our four core rules of act safely, be respectful, cooperate and do your best.

Multicultural education and anti-racism Grahamstown Public School addresses multi-cultural education through:

integrated themes and perspectives across the K–6 curriculum;

peer support,

promoting tolerance and understanding of cultural diversities within our own community and

through our core school rule of Be Respectful: Be kind and Be fair.

The improvement in understanding and tolerance of differences is reflected in the

low numbers of students referred for conflict involving racial and cultural matters.

Further awareness raising of the positive differences and similarities of all groups within our community through participation in events such as Harmony Day should see continued improvement in tolerance.

Racial vilification is not tolerated at Grahamstown Public School and the consequences for such actions are the same as for all bullying.

School planning and evaluation 2012—2014

School evaluation processes

NSW public schools conduct evaluations to support the effective implementation of the school plan. The processes used include:

An evaluation of the 2012-2014 school plan to determine whether targets were attained and the success of the program implemented throughout the period

An evaluation of school data and NAPLAN results.

Surveying staff, parents and students.

School planning 2012-2014:

School priority 1

Literacy

Outcomes from 2012–2014

13

School based data reflecting students achieving stage appropriate outcomes for literacy.

Students to be extended to increase achievement levels and increase the percentage of students in the top bands for NAPLAN.

Decrease the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students.

Explicit teaching will become a key component in every classroom.

Evidence of achievement of outcomes in 2014:

Students achieving benchmark for literacy in Kindergarten to Year 2 (K-2) was 69% and in Year 3 to Year 6 was 72%.

The number of students achieving proficiency in literacy has remained steady for Stage 3 students and improved by 2% for students in Year 5 from 2012.

The number of students achieving below expected outcome has reduced by 3% for Year 3 and 23% for Year 5 between 2012 and 2014.

There has been an increase of 5% of students in Year 3 and 3% of students in Year 5 achieving results in the top band for literacy.

The number of Aboriginal students achieving in the lowest band for literacy has decreased by 17% for Year 3 but increased by 13% for Year 5.There has been an increase of 10% of those achieving in the top band for Year 3 and an increase of 20% for students achieving the top two bands for Year 5.

Professional Learning for all staff has ensured the imbedding of explicit teaching in all classrooms.

Strategies to achieve these outcomes in 2014

Professional Learning for all staff on explicit teaching and imbedding learning intentions into planning.

Implementation of a writing project for Stage 2 classes to target explicit teaching, quality literature.

Development of common practice among staff.

Professional Learning targeting Speech Pathology strategies for (K-2) staff.

School priority 2

Numeracy


School based data reflecting students achieving stage appropriate outcomes for numeracy.

Students to be extended to increase achievement levels and increase the percentage of students in the top bands for NAPLAN.

Decrease the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students.

Explicit teaching will become a key component in every classroom.

Evidence of progress towards outcomes in 2014:

Students achieving benchmark for numeracy in Kindergarten to Year 2 (K-2) was 76% and in Year 3 to Year 6 73%.

The number of students achieving band 6 for data and measurement in Year 3 has increased by 5.5% from 2013 to 2014.

The number of students in Year 3 achieving band 5 for numbers, patterns and algebra has increased by 1.9%

The Year 3 cohort for numeracy shows an upward trend of 5.5 from 2013 -2014.

There has been a decrease of 5.1% of students achieving the lowest band for numeracy in the Year 5 cohort.

No Aboriginal students achieved the lowest band for numeracy in year 5 in 2014.

Strategies to achieve these outcomes in 2014:

Count Me In Too practices were imbedded into the teaching cycle for all classes.

Targeted support from Learning and Support Staff was offered to K-2 students who were not achieving outcomes at expected stage level.

14

NAPLAN data was analysed at the end of 2013 to determine the areas of greatest weakness and the explicit teaching strategies researched to improve achievement of outcomes in 2014.

Areas of weakness determined through assessment in school data and drill sessions developed to improve outcomes in these areas.

School priority 3

Curriculum and Assessment


Teachers will be confident in using the new curriculum and imbedding outcomes into teaching practice.

Staff develop a relevant scope and sequence for the new curriculum.

Authentic assessment tasks will assist in developing differentiated teaching and learning programs.

Evidence of progress towards outcomes in 2014:

All staff exposed to Adobe Connect and online modules for mathematics and science syllabus documents ready for implementation in 2015.

All staff receiving ongoing professional development to imbed and deliver the new expectations from the English syllabus.

Supervision of the teaching and learning cycle incorporated the delivery of the new English curriculum.

Strategies to achieve these outcomes in 2014:

Online training and Adobe connect sessions used to develop deeper understanding of new syllabus documents.

One Staff Development Day was dedicated to the implementation of the science syllabus. Staff from Lakeside Local Management Group were given explicit instruction on the content and intent of the new document ready for implementation in 2015.

Units for Mathematics were trialled for implementation in 2015.

A scope and sequence for mathematics was developed ready for 2015 implementation.

Parent/caregiver, student, and teacher satisfaction

In 2014, the school sought the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school.

Their responses are presented below.

Parents, staff and students were surveyed to determine what was considered the successes for Grahamstown Public School in 2014 and what elements needed improvement. Open ended questions were asked so respondents could openly appraise any aspect of school life.

In place of a survey being sent home parents were approached before and after school and at the school disco to complete the survey.

Most of the parent responses received aligned with the those of staff and students.

The registered successes were the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) program, with 53% of responses acknowledging the value of the strategy, the extra curricula activities offered, the easily accessible staff and the friendly atmosphere at Grahamstown Public School.

Homework was an issue for several parents with 36% of respondents wanting change in the delivery and marking of homework. Parent expectation of notes being delivered was raised and email was raised as an alternate option. An explanation in the newsletter responded to the availability of notes, the publishing of dates for payment in the newsletter, on the school website and on Facebook. Emailing of notes will not be taken up as an option for receiving permission notes.

School uniform was also raised as an issue. Parents felt the uniform needed streamlining and modernising. This will be raised at P&C in 2015.

As second form of survey was conducted with parents, staff and students to indicate which programs are valued and worth continuation in the next three year plan.

All respondents believe the professional learning, home reading and bullying programs should

15

continue. All respondents believed the school resources funding program should continue also.

Eighty percent or more of respondents believed continuing high academic expectations, high uniform expectations, the development of a scope and sequence aligned with the new syllabus, improved homework delivery, new syllabus implementation, consistent school rules, ongoing communication development, the writing project, high expectation for school appearance, ongoing development of technology and the tracking of student development were important success and future direction for Grahamstown Public School.

All of these have been taken into consideration in the development of the 2015-17 school plan.

A further survey was conducted to determine the value of existing and future directions. The results confirmed that the majority of stakeholders (58% or above) believe that improved teacher supervision, improved student tracking, consistency in benchmarking, quality assessment for learning, ongoing professional learning, the writing project, the use and resourcing of technology, PBL, closing the gap for Aboriginal students and explicit teaching strategies were all worthwhile pursuits for future directions at our school.

Future Directions 2015-2017 School Plan

NSW DEC is implementing a new school planning process for 2015-17. The new plan will be published on the school’s website from the beginning of Term 2 2015.

Using the data from staff, student and parent surveys and the results from an intensive evaluation of the 2012-2014 school plan the following future directions were determined for the 2014-2017 school plan.

The first strategic direction is based on improving pedagogy and developing common practices across the school to assist all stakeholders in developing the best outcomes for students.

Strategic direction 1 is:

Literacy / Writing / Learning

Creating a collegial environment for the

implementation of imbedded common

practice and high performance of staff and

students. Developing a culture of

collaboration and evidence driven learning

programs, stemming from educational

leadership, learning engagement and quality

teaching.

The purpose of this direction is to improve student achievement through the provision of professional learning, imbedded common practice and valid assessment of, for and about learning while creating a culture of self-improvement for students and staff.

Strategic Direction 2 is:

Collaborative development of systems,

leadership, professional improvement

Embedding quality leadership and organisational

practices to support ongoing professional

development, leadership sustainability and

implementation of quality teaching practices.

The purpose of this direction is to empower the

school community for self-improvement and to

recognise and foster potential leadership by

building collegial and supportive organisational

and supervision practices where expectations are

common and high across the school.

Strategic direction 3 is:

Syllabus Implementation

Quality implementation of the new syllabus

documents to ensure depth of understanding of

terminology and the intent of each document.

The purpose of this direction is to develop a deep

understanding of the intent of each document.

This is vital for new curriculum to be imbedded

into teaching practice and for the successful

delivery of outcomes. The structuring of an

integrated whole school scope and sequence will

need development, implementation, review and

adjustment.

16

About this report

In preparing this report, the self-evaluation committee has gathered information from evaluations conducted during the year and analysed other information about the school's practices and student learning outcomes. The self-evaluation committee and school planning committee have determined targets for the school's future development.

Sue Kane: Principal

Leanne Russell: Assistant Principal

Kylie South: Assistant Principal

Alison White: Assistant Principal

Emily Trembath: Classroom Teacher

Sue Dellar: Reading Recovery Teacher

Melissa Blake: Gifted and Talented Coordinator

Andrew Mort: Garden Club Coordinator

Helen Doust: Professional Learning Coordinator

School contact information

Grahamstown Public School

Hastings Drive

Raymond Terrace

Ph: 49876510

Fax: 49876513

Email: [email protected]

Web: [email protected]

School Code: 4609

Parents can find more information about Annual School Reports, how to interpret information in the report and have the opportunity to provide feedback about the report at:

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/emsad/

asr/index.php

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/emsad/asr/index.php

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/emsad/asr/index.php

Grahamstown Public School€¦ · Grahamstown Public School Annual School Report 2014 ......

Documents

Transcript of Grahamstown Public School€¦ · Grahamstown Public School Annual School Report 2014 ......