2017 liverpool public school annual report · introduction the annual report for€2017 is provided...

Liverpool Public SchoolAnnual Report

2017

7424

Printed on: 12 April, 2018 of 14 Liverpool Public School 7424 (2017)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2017 is provided to the community of Liverpool Public School as an account of the school'soperations and achievements throughout the year.

It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities forall students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self–assessment that reflect the impact of keyschool strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equityfunding.

Ian Tapuska

Principal

School contact details

Liverpool Public SchoolRailway StreetLiverpool, 2170www.liverpool-p.schools.nsw.edu.auliverpool-p.School@det.nsw.edu.au9602 7882


Message from the Principal

2017 has been another outstanding year of learning at Liverpool Public School! Congratulations to each and everystudent on their progress and achievements this year. Thank you to the wonderful staff and supportive families, as it isonly by working together that we can achieve as much as we do.

This annual report is the final one for the 2015–17 school plan and outlines the impact each of our strategic directionshas had on student learning outcomes. We should be proud of the achievements we have made together and I ampleased that our next three year plan can build on such a strong foundation.

It is also important to recognise and celebrate ‘the little things’ that make Liverpool Public School great. I would like toacknowledge the staff who give extra time to provide an ever increasing range of opportunities for our students beyondthe classroom, the parents and carers who are so supportive, and the students for their increasing resilience and ‘have ago’ attitude.

As your read this annual report, I trust you will see how all those little things add up to create a positive and supportiveenvironment that allows the great things that are happening at Liverpool Public School to happen.

Message from the students

2017 was an eventful and productive year for the SRC of 2017.

We began the year by allowing students of the school to access their creative initiative to enrich our school with thedevelopment of student proposals. Many amazing ideas came from these suggestions, such as soccer tournaments,Pokémon clubs, drawing coaching clubs and many others involving interesting activities.

The SRC had a wonderful opportunity to attend the GRIP Leadership Conference. This enriched all our strong leaders'minds and allowed them to showcase and learn creative and better ways to be the leaders of our future, developing theskills needed to be the role models of our school.

Later in the year; our School Ambassador Toulene organised an anti–littering poster competition which was beneficial inteaching the students of our school the importance of cleaning up and having a clean environment, as well as rewardingthe effort with a Smiggle stationery pack. The SRC supported and ensured the message was well spread for theAmbassador Programme of cleaning up and re–establishing the clean environment of our school. Since the initiativebegan, the school was noticeably and exceptionally cleaner.

The SRC also organised and judged the much–loved school talent quest, showcasing the talented individuals in ourschool and providing entertainment to students of the talented vocalists, magicians, comedians and many moreoutstanding people. The judging teachers certainly brought out their pokerface, as everyone did an amazing job making ita close call. However, an amazingly talented singer won the competition.

We also could not forget our student vs teacher tournament which had us all anticipating the results of the gamesinvolving teachers and students' strategies, athleticism and sportsmanship, which we value (even though the teacherswon!).

We’d also like to thank Miss Comer and Mrs Kirkness for helping us every step of the way and making 2017 an enjoyableand memorable year for all.

On behalf of the Student Representative Council 2017.

Toulene Hanoun

School SRC Leader and Ambassador


School background

School vision statement

Providing a learning journey for each child that empowers them to be the best they can be.

School context

Liverpool Public School is situated in the Liverpool CBD serving an area rich in cultural diversity, with 93% of studentscoming from non–English speaking backgrounds. Approximately 50% of students have been speaking English for lessthan three years and about 20% are from refugee backgrounds. There are approximately 750 students, with high studentmobility.

Liverpool Public School's core values are for our students to be safe, to be respectful and to be learners. These valueswere developed by the school community and are promoted through both curriculum and welfare programs.

Students are encouraged to become independent learners and creative problem solvers. They are challenged throughquality teaching and learning programs with literacy and numeracy being our major focus areas.

Significant whole school programs include an ongoing focus on quality evidenced–based teaching and learning as wellas Reading Recovery, The Leader in Me and Intensive English Programs for newly arrived students in primary schools.

The school also works closely with local support services such as the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitationof Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), Learning Links and the Liverpool Migrant Resource Centre.

Self-assessment and school achievement

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework,school achievements and the next steps to be pursued.

This year, our school undertook self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework. The framework supportspublic schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practiceacross the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

In the learning domain, the implementation of The Leader in Me has resulted in our assessment against the wellbeingelement as delivering. In addition to maintaining the statements of excellence that were identified in 2016, we haveadded additional statements in the learning elements of learning culture and wellbeing. Our overall judgements for theremaining learning elements are the same as 2016.

In the teaching domain, we now assess ourselves as delivering in the element of professional standards due to thegreater use of the standards to support school planning and staff professional development. In the other teachingelements, we maintain the same judgements as 2016 with additional statements in data skills and use and professionalstandards.

In the leading domain, we have maintained the same judgements as 2016 although there has been an increase in thenumber of statements of excellence that we are demonstrating in school reporting and school planning, implementationand reporting.

Our self–assessment process will assist the school to refine our school plan, leading to further improvements in thedelivery of education to our students.

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching–and–learning/school–excellence–and–accountability/sef–evidence–guide


Strategic Direction 1

Empower students to be high achieving self–regulated learners.

Purpose

To ensure students leave our school with a solid foundation in their core knowledge and a deep understanding of howthey learn to enable them to become life–long learners.

Overall summary of progress

• Ongoing engagement of a mathematics consultant to work with staff on quality mathematics teaching. • Continued implementation of The Leader in Me and updated the behaviour code and discipline policy. Reviewed

the whole school rewards system with recommendations to be presented to staff, students and parents/carers forconsultation in 2018.

• Tiered system of interventions was implemented building on the existing catch up program and expanded toinclude MiniLit and MultiLit.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Funds Expended(Resources)

Progress achieved this year

School NAPLAN averagesexceed SSG averages inachievement and growth.

• $320 000 – additionalSLSOs • $80 000 – English andmathematics consultants • $82 500 – staff trainingand release costs • $47 000 – collaborativeplanning days • $15 000 – interventionprogram resources

• Exceeded 2015–17 SSG averages forachievement in Year 3 writing and spelling, andYear 5 spelling. • 2015–17 SSG averages were similar to LiverpoolPublic School in Year 3 grammar, Year 5 writingand Year 5 grammar. • Student growth from Year 3 to Year 5 was lowerin 2017 which reduced our 2015–17 average. Thisis a 2018–20 focus area.

Minimum of 80% of students areat or above grade expectations inPLAN.

as above • The number of students at or above gradeexpectations in PLAN has remained consistentalthough is still below target.

Minimum of 25% of students areachieving at proficiency inNAPLAN.

as above • Increased the 2015–17 average for the number ofstudents achieving proficiency in Year 3 reading by6% to 34%, and Year 3 writing by 7% to 43%. The2015–17 average for Year 3 numeracy is 3% belowthe improvement measure. • Year 5 reading in 2017 exceeded theimprovement measure at 27% although 2015–17averages did not.

Reduce the number of studentsat or below national minimumstandards to a maximum of 20%.

as above • Reduced the 2015–17 average for the number ofstudents at or below national minimum standards inYear 3 writing by 5%, and maintained the number ofstudents in Year 3 reading below the improvementmeasure. Year 3 numeracy in 2017 was 1% abovethe improvement measure at 21%. • The 2015–17 average for Year 5 did not meet thetarget in reading, writing and numeracy and is a2018–20 focus area.

Next Steps

• In the 2018–2020 School Plan, Strategic Direction 1 will continue to focus on student learning with an emphasis onsecuring expected learning growth for all students.



Lead innovative teaching practice in classrooms as part of a school learning community.

Purpose

To develop a reflective school culture where staff members take responsibility for their own learning and buildconnections within and beyond the school to ensure that they are proficient in a wide range of evidence based teachingpractices to meet the individual needs of students.


• Evaluated the role and structure of Professional Learning Communities and their impact on student learning. Anew approach has been considered and will be incorporated into the 2018–2020 School Plan.

• School leadership team engaged in leadership development with Dr Simon Breakspeare around supporting teamcollaboration focused on student learning.

• Developed induction modules around evidence based teaching practices used by the school for staff who are newthe school or new to a grade.





Established PLCs driveprofessional learning across theschool through an analysis ofdata from the student level up.

PLCs continued to meet regularly and reviewedscope and sequences to ensure they aligned withsyllabus documents and supported student learningneeds.

Induction programs developed by some PLCs wereused to support new staff.

Student Progress Meetings areheld for all classes with PDPsand Class Action Plansdeveloped to address thelearning needs of students andstaff and are aligned to schoolpriorities.

• Quality Teaching,Successful Studentsallocation

Staff attended Student Progress Meetings over theyear and developed class action plans to identifyand address student learning needs.

Teaching staff had a PDP for the year whichsupported teachers to developed the skills neededto meet student learning needs.

All staff trained in the 7 Habits ofHighly Effective People andhabits embedded in schoolculture.

• $20 000 – staff trainingand release costs • $17 500 – teachingresources

Staff new the school were training in the 7 Habits ofHighly Effective People.

School structures continued to be aligned to thehabits.

Next Steps

• In the 2018–2020 School Plan, Strategic Direction 2 will focus on building a collaborative school culture that workstowards securing expected learning growth for all students.



Partner with our community to pave the learning journey for every child.

Purpose

To foster an environment of mutual respect and responsibility that builds connections within and beyond the classroomso that students are supported by a broad range of resources.


• Established a weekly playgroupin collaboration with the Migrant Resource Centre. • Implemented quality physical education lessons for students each week delivered by Fit Futures. • Increased participation at our weekly parent and carer social gathering Friends of Liverpool.





Tell Them From Me parents andcarers survey scores 8/10 for'Parents feel welcome atLiverpool Public School' and'Parents are informed at LiverpoolPublic School'.

• $4000 – communityprograms

There was a reduction in the number of parentsparticipating in the Tell Them From Me survey thisyear.

Parents feel welcome at Liverpool PublicSchool scored 7/10.

Parents are informed at Liverpool Public Schoolscored 6.5/10.

Increased range of externalsupport services are available tosupport students' additionallearning needs.

• $50 000 – externalsupport services

External services engaged to support studentlearning included focuses on: • speech therapy • counselling • social skills • mindfulness • music therapy • art therapy • social awareness

Skoolbag used by 80% offamilies.

Next Steps

In the 2018–2020 School Plan, Strategic Direction 3 will continue to focus on partnerships with an emphasis on buildingunderstanding and developing a common language of schooling.


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

Aboriginal background loading $5970 (flexible funding)

• Aboriginal backgroundloading ($5 970.00)

• all students have an individual learning plan

English language proficiency $487 555 (staffing)

$11 883 (flexible funding)

• English languageproficiency ($499 438.00)

• staffing allocation used to provide additionalsupport to students through small groupwithdrawal and in–class support. • flexible funding used to employ anadditional teacher as part of the gardeningproject.

Low level adjustment for disability $192 990 (staffing)


• Low level adjustment fordisability ($291 057.00)

• staffing allocation used to provide additionalsupport to students through small groupwithdrawal and in–class support. • engagement of external support services tosupport students with additional needs. • implementation of targeted interventionprograms for students with additional needs. • flexible funding combined withsocio–economic background funding toemploy additional School Learning Support

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

$53 733 (staffing)

• Quality Teaching,Successful Students(QTSS) ($53 733.00)

• staffing allocation used to provide additionalrelease to teachers to support collaborativepractices.

Socio–economic background $593 298 (flexible funding)

• Socio–economicbackground ($593 298.00)

• consultants employed to work with teacherson quality teaching practices in English andmathematics. • additional release provided to teachers tosupport collaborative practices. • flexible funding combined with low leveladjustment for disability to employ additionalSchool Learning Support Officers to supportstudents with additional needs.

Support for beginning teachers $21 576 (flexible funding)

• Support for beginningteachers ($21 539.00)

• beginning teachers received additionalrelease time and mentor support.

Targeted student support forrefugees and new arrivals

Refugee Student Support


New Arrivals Program

5.0FTE teacher and 3.0FTEschool learning supportoffice (ethnic).

• Targeted student supportfor refugees and newarrivals ($43 504.00)

• staffing allocation and flexible funding usedto provide additional support to studentsthrough small group withdrawal and in–classsupport.

Flexible Wellbeing $37 200 (flexible funding)

• Flexible Wellbeing ($37200.00)

• flexible funding used to employ anadditional School Learning Support Officer tosupport students with additional needsimplement wellbeing strategies.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2014 2015 2016 2017

Boys 378 374 377 389

Girls 348 371 333 369

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2014 2015 2016 2017

K 93.6 91.9 93.6 92.7

1 92.8 91.4 92.3 92.6

2 94.8 91.6 93.2 93.5

3 93.9 93.8 93 93.2

4 96.5 92 93.8 92.8

5 94.4 94.1 92.1 94.8

6 94.8 92.7 94.4 92.1

All Years 94.4 92.5 93.2 93.1

State DoE

Year 2014 2015 2016 2017

K 95.2 94.4 94.4 94.4

1 94.7 93.8 93.9 93.8

2 94.9 94 94.1 94

3 95 94.1 94.2 94.1

4 94.9 94 93.9 93.9

5 94.8 94 93.9 93.8

6 94.2 93.5 93.4 93.3

All Years 94.8 94 94 93.9

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Deputy Principal(s) 2

Assistant Principal(s) 4

Head Teacher(s) 0

Classroom Teacher(s) 27.03

Teacher of Reading Recovery 1.05

Learning & Support Teacher(s) 1.9

Teacher Librarian 1.2

Teacher of ESL 4.8

School Counsellor 1

School Administration & SupportStaff

4.47

Other Positions 2

*Full Time Equivalent

The school employs additional staff to meet the needsof students. In 2017 this included nine School LearningSupport Officers, one additional School AdministrativeOfficer, five additional English as a Second Languageteachers, and five School Learning Support Officers(Ethnic Aide).

There are three staff members who identify asAboriginal or Torres Straight Islander.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirementsfor teaching in NSW public schools.

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 100

Postgraduate degree 8

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Professional learning focussed on providingopportunities for staff collaboration. A mathematicsconsultant continued to work with the school K–6 aspart of strategic direction one. All school staff wereinvolved in training on the S.T.A.R.S model to buildgreater understanding of how to support the significantnumber of students from refugee backgrounds in theschool.

Seven staff members were accredited at proficient levelin 2017.


Financial information (for schoolsfully deployed to SAP/SALM)

Financial summary

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from 1 January 2017 to 31December 2017.

2017 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 578,550

Revenue 7,668,263

Appropriation 7,463,348

Sale of Goods and Services 24,016

Grants and Contributions 172,593

Gain and Loss 0

Other Revenue 1,286

Investment Income 7,021

Expenses -7,416,156

Recurrent Expenses -7,416,156

Employee Related -6,733,926

Operating Expenses -682,230

Capital Expenses 0

Employee Related 0

Operating Expenses 0

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

252,107

Balance Carried Forward 830,657

Financial summary equity funding

The equity funding data is the main component of the'Appropriation' section of the financial summary above.

2017 Actual ($)

Base Total 4,642,743

Base Per Capita 108,507

Base Location 0

Other Base 4,534,236

Equity Total 1,389,762

Equity Aboriginal 5,970

Equity Socio economic 593,298

Equity Language 499,438

Equity Disability 291,057

Targeted Total 96,836

Other Total 818,001

Grand Total 6,947,343

Figures presented in this report may be subject torounding so may not reconcile exactly with the bottomline totals, which are calculated without any rounding.

A full copy of the school's financial statement is tabledat the annual general meetings of the parent and/orcommunity groups. Further details concerning thestatement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results acrossthe Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy andnumeracy assessments are reported on a scale fromBand 1 to Band 10. The achievement scalerepresents increasing levels of skillsand understandings demonstrated in theseassessments.

The My School website provides detailedinformation and data for national literacy and numeracytesting. Go to http://www.myschool.edu.au to accessthe school data.

Premier's Priority: Increase the proportion of NSWstudents in the top two NAPLAN bands by eightpercent. • 24.87% of students in Years 3 and 5 were in the

top two NAPLAN bands.Premier's Priority: Increase the proportion of Aboriginalor Torres Strait Islander students in the top twoNAPLAN bands for reading and numeracy by 30%. • Due to the low number of Aboriginal or Torres

Strait Islander students completing NAPLAN wecan not report on this priority.


Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

Student responses to the Tell Them From Me surveyhave indicated that 75% of students are interested andmotivated in their learning and 87% try hard to succeedin their learning through the amount effort placed ontasks. Students have reported they find classroominstruction relevant to their everyday lives. Studentsalso indicated the school staff emphasise academicskills and hold high expectations for all students tosucceed.

Parents and carers indicate that they feel welcomewhen they visit the school and the school'sadministrative staff are helpful when they have aquestion or problem. Once again parents and carersbelieve they are well informed about schoolactivities. Parents and carers indicate they supportlearning at home by encouraging their children to dowell at school, praise them for doing well and talk abouthow important schoolwork is. They believe teachershave high expectations and their children areencouraged to their best.

Staff monitor the progress of individual students and sethigh expectations for student learning. With data beinga driving force in our core business staff indicated whenstudents' formal assessment tasks or daily classroomtasks fail to meet expectations they give them anopportunity to improve. Staff give students feedback onhow to improve their performance on formalassessment tasks, as well as bringing them closer toachieving their goals. Staff have indicated that studentshave opportunities to use computers or other interactivetechnology, however continues to be an area of need.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories andcultures are included as a cross–curricular priority in allschool learning programs. Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander students and their families held a number ofjoint afternoon teas to build community links and workto develop a native bush garden to support Aboriginaleducation for all students.

The Liverpool Community of Schools celebrated thelearning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderstudents with a special event and awards ceremony inNovember acknowledging the students who haveachieved their personal goals and literacy or numeracytargets. The Liverpool AECG partnered with theschools to highlight student achievement in theAboriginal Community.

In September the Liverpool Community of Schoolsorganised a combined NAIDOC day at Miller PublicSchool with seventeen local schools participating tocelebrate unity between all cultures . The Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander students were able to bring abuddy to celebrate community cohesion.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

Multicultural perspectives are included in learningprograms through the cross–curriculum priorities andgeneral capabilities from the NSW syllabuses. Tofurther enhance learning, events to celebrate Australia'sdiversity in 2017 included Harmony Day as well as thecelebration of our school community during assemblies.Anti–racism education is addressed through classroomteaching and the school has two trained Anti–RacismContact Officers (ARCOs) as an additional resource.

Significant programs support the learning needs ofstudents with English as an AdditionalLanguage/Dialect (EAL/D). Specialist English as aSecond Language (ESL) teachers provide additionalsupport for students in class and/or in small groups.Bilingual Ethnic Aides are employed to supportstudents and their families through interpreting,translation of materials, parent/carer informationsessions, and in–class student support.

Other school programs

Friends of Liverpool

Friends of Liverpool is a weekly gathering hosted by theschool each Monday afternoon where parents, carersand the wider community are invited to attend with theopportunity to meet new people and make new friends.This opportunity has been successful through theoffering and sharing of refreshments and a relaxedatmosphere where parents and carers can socialiseand feel comfortable with one another.

This year saw an increase of the number in attendancewith up to 40 parents and carers attending each week.Some of the organised events that have taken placehave included special guests such as Liverpool CityCouncil, a local high school Principal, Migrant ResourceCentre, Cancer Council discussing the importance ofhealthy food options and the Centre for MulticulturalYouth visiting and interviewing staff, parents and carersabout the successful community partnerships andintercultural understanding that has been fostered.

Debating

In 2017 Liverpool Public School has had theopportunity to increase their focus on creating wellrounded public speakers. As part of the LiverpoolDistrict Debating Competition (LDDC), eight studentswere selected from Stage 3 and competed in a seriesof debates. During the debating season students tookpart in workshops that increased their understanding,skills and confidence in order to successfully competein the competition. As a result Liverpool Public Schoolcame third in the LDDC.

Stage 2 and 3 students also took part in theMulticultural Public Speaking competition. Thiscompetition encourages students to explore the ideasof multiculturalism in Australia and how this relates tothemselves and the world. Each class presented their


speeches to their peers and 12 students were selectedto present their speech at a stage final. From this, twostudents from each stage were selected to attend thearea finals. This has created a stronger emphasis onpublic speaking within the school community.

Gardening Project

During 2017, Liverpool Public School ran a successfulvegetable garden program. The program ran onMondays with Miss Hanemann, a specialistgardening/science teacher. Together, students learntabout ecological principles through practical organicgardening practises. Students built up garden beds,planted, weeded, mulched and watered regularly. Theymade salads and cooked foods from the garden usinglettuce, tomatoes, lemon, kale, beetroot, pumpkin,potatoes and more.

Garden–time was highly prized by the children, whothrived there! They grew seedlings and took themhome, learnt about litter collection to protectcatchments and were treated to a display of localtaxidermied animals! Students learned to work withothers, as well as to work well independently and feltproud of their achievements.

The program is expanding to beautify the entrance tothe school as well. We look forward to continuing theprogram during 2018, with an expanded compostcollection, to save waste from the school as well ascreate wonderful soil for growing vegetables in.

Student Leadership

Leadership opportunities saw students participating inthe GRIP Leadership Conference providing studentswith a clear vision and understanding of their role as amember of the school leadership team. Students thenapplied these leadership skills when liaising withmembers from the local council in which they sharedtheir perspectives and vision for revitalising LighthorsePark in Liverpool.

The Student Representative Council reviewed andvoted on proposals to decide which ones to implement.Some of the successful proposals included a TalentQuest and a Science Club. The leadership teamplanned a variety of fundraising activities supporting avariety of community organisations such as The Houseof Welcome and Camp Quality.

Students also organised a Mufti Day which funded theattendance of a student at the NSW State AthleticsCarnival at Olympic Park, Homebush. In addition,students also had opportunities to support youngerstudents develop skills in reading and sports.

As part of The Leader in Me, students have beenencouraged to find their strength and become a leaderin the classroom.

Sunrise Reading

Sunrise Reading is in its third year and continued togrow with around 200 students attending everymorning. Its main aim is to ensure our students have

the literacy skills required to be successful in theirschool career. We look for creative ways for students tohave a positive experience with books and reading.Sunrise Reading provides students in Year 1 and Year2 with the opportunity to read picture books, camerawords and phonemes with students in Year 3, Year 4,Year 5 and Year 6 on a daily bases. This is of greatbenefit to all the students involved as they get topractise their reading and listening skills. The readersare able to improve their fluency and the SunriseReading Leaders improve their listening andquestioning skills while show great care and leadership.

Transition Class

In 2018 the two transition classes established providedstudents with continued opportunities to participate inspecial programs including ‘Sporting Linx’, ‘Art Therapy’and gardening to support their social and emotionaldevelopment. During the year 32 students transitionedinto mainstream classes, 17 from Years 1–3 and 15from Years 4–6. Support continued from two BilingualSchool Learning Support Officers and two EAL/Dteachers providing in–class support. Professionaldevelopment gained through these experiences wereshared with other school communities through our staffparticipation in the “Opening the School Gate” initiative.

Liverpool Arts and Film Festival (LAaFF)

In September 2017, 70 students from Kindergarten toYear 6 had the opportunity to participate in theLiverpool Arts and Film Festival at the LiverpoolCatholic Club. Students from five other schools in ourlocal area were also involved in the festival. TheBollywood Dance Group, Senior Singing Group andJunior Singing Group attended regular rehearsals overthe year and performed brilliantly in front of hundreds offamily members.

PSSA

The Stage 2 and Stage 3 school sports programcontinued each Friday afternoon allowing our studentsto participate in a range of sports to build the skillsnecessary to improve their co–ordination and theirunderstanding of a variety of sports, includingbasketball, netball, cricket, soccer, Oztag and dance.

In Term 1 we were extremely excited to have CatherineCannuli (ex Matilda, Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC andWanderers player) attend our weekly Years 3–6 sportsessions where they focused on developing ourstudents' soccer skills through a variety of soccer drillsand playing of mini games as well as helping coach andselect our PSSA teams.

In Term 4, Josh Hunter and Anthony Scicilisno from theWestern Sydney Wanderers provide skills sessions forour Year 6 Fun Day.Our school also entered teams intoPSSA netball, soccer and Touch Football. Our JuniorMixed Touch Football team made the semi–finalsunfortunately losing in a tight match. In Netball, ourJunior Mixed C–Grade team won their grand final.While in the soccer, the Junior Boys lost their grandfinal while the Senior Boys won their final in rather wetconditions.


We also entered into the Liverpool Zone Cross Countryand Athletics Carnivals. We had many studentscompete in both of these zone carnivals. In athletics,we saw 6 students make it to the Sydney South WestAthletics Carnival including Claudia Ximenes (Year 6),Milicia Vugdalic (Year 6), Aishata Donzo (Year 5),Leona Paye (Year 5), Vincent Korang (Year 4) andWinston Agyei (Year 4), who all achieved outstandingresults. Of these competitors Leona Paye made it to theNSW State Athletics Carnival where she representedthe SSW team for the Long Jump and 100m sprint. Sheperformed exceptionally making the semi–final andrecording her best time.

We continued with our weekly Friday learn to swimprogram for students from Years 3–6, with studentsdemonstrating significant improvements noticeablethroughout the year. Our Year 2 students also attendedweekly swimming in Term 3 which was successfullyattended by more than 40 students demonstratinginstruction in basic freestyle and backstroke, floatingand focusing on basic survival skills.

All students who represented the school did so withgreat pride and confidence. Each student is to becommended on his or her efforts.

Sport in Schools

All students Kindergarten to Year 6 participated in onehour weekly sport and fitness lessons through our FitFutures sessions. This program allowed every studentto develop a positive attitude, skills and building ofconfidence through being an active participant duringeach lesson. Students were involved in developing theirbasic fundamental movement skills through a variety ofball games, gymnastics, dance and athletics whichsupported the implementation of a 3–6 athleticscarnival which saw every student involved in all trackand field activities. The success of this program hasbeen rewarding for all students to seek good health andphysical competence through life long involvement inactivity.

Outdoor Classroom

Early Stage One

Kindergarten spent a lot of time working on basicliteracy and numeracy skills in 2017. We focussed onspeaking in full sentences about sea animals in Term 2and enjoyed an in–school incursion called 'Splash' tosupport our learning.

In Term 3, we focussed on reading quality picturebooks and writing simple sentences about farmanimals. We enjoyed a trip to Calmsley Hill Farm toallow the students to see farm animals in real life.

In Term 4, we held a fairy tale day to support ourlearning about our favourite characters in stories.

Stage One

In Term 3, Year 1 and Year 2 went to FeatherdaleWildlife Park to support their science unit, Schoolyard

Safari. Students learnt about living things and animalhabitats.

In Term 4, Year 1 visited Merrylands Central Gardensto celebrate their year of learning. This allowedstudents to engage with their peers in a social andrelaxed environment.

In Term 4, Year 2 went to the movies to celebrate theiryear of learning. They watched the movie Ferdinand.

Stage Two

Year 3 visited Taronga Zoo and completed theBackyard Buddies workshop to support studentslearning about animal life cycles and writing informationreports. Students explored the mystery box and metsome Australian animals up close to identify differentstages of their life cycles. Students also investigatedhow they could create habitats to support the animals intheir environments.

Year 4 visited Sydney Aquarium and MadameTussauds. Students were provided with a real lifecontext for learning. The visit to Sydney Aquariumsupported students to develop a deeper knowledge andunderstanding of food chains, food webs andecosystems. The visit to Madame Tussauds supportedstudents in writing autobiographies. Students were ableto put on Ned Kelly's armour which was not onlyengaging but gave students greater insight into howthey could use this information for theirautobiographies.

Stage 2 had an exciting opportunity to experience andbe part of Bookfest via video link. Students in Year 3were able to listen to author Kat DiCamillo talk abouthow she became an author, how she generates ideasand some of her writing processes. Students in Year 4interacted with author Jeff Kinney and were able tolisten to him read parts of the book Diary of a WimpyKid, as well as develop tips on how to become a betterwriter.

At the end of the year students celebrated their learningand achievements by attending Event Cinemas towatch Ferdinand. 2017 was a great learning experiencefor all students.

Stage Three

In Term 1, Stage 3 students were learning to writenews reports. To support their learning, they attendedthe Titanic exhibition to expand their knowledge of thishistoric disaster in order to assist writing an accuratenews report about the disaster.

Stage 3 also visited the Science Centre andPlanetarium at Wollongong to broaden and deepentheir understanding of space. Through the combinedexhibitions in the planetarium, students were able toengage, explore and explain aspects of space.

Throughout the year students participated in the SEATproject. This literacy based program developedstudents' problem solving skills through groupcollaboration and helped to develop civic mindedness


in our students. They learned about social changethrough a small gesture of building a seat with somefriends. The project helped the students to see that anordinary student in Liverpool can achieve extraordinarythings and, in our case, help Oxfam with $412 raisedfrom our auction of the seats made by students.

Stage 3 were also able to attend the Bush Camp in TeaGardens. The camp activities were focused ondeveloping resilience, collaboration and problemsolving skills. Students enjoyed three days of canoeing,rock climbing and team building challenges.


2017 liverpool public school annual report · introduction the annual report for€2017 is provided...

Documents