annual report 2012 · this year, many more students exceeded our target of 100 ‘gotchas’ per...
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Klemzig Primary School and Centre For Hearing Impaired 0898 1317 7080
Annual Report 2012
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
The major highlight of the year was the
commencement of the capital works project which
will eventually see over $7million worth of
improvements to our school.
Whilst progress on the new building has been
frustratingly delayed and we have had to tolerate
noise, dust and vibrations from the building site, the
end of stage one is in sight and we will soon be able
to move into our modern, purpose built learning
facility.
Other highlights of the year include:
The continued academic success and
achievement of our students, particularly in
Literacy. Our test results indicate a
continuation of the growth in reading skills
from 2011.
The (almost) completion of our new
building. This is the culmination of years of
planning and lobbying for funding. We are
excited about moving in to the classrooms
early in 2013.
Continued development of the Children’s
Garden.
Participation in the Model Solar Boat
Competition.
Our singing and signing choirs’
performances at the Festival of Music.
Continued involvement of our students in the
instrumental music program.
Collaborative work with Klemzig
Kindergarten and Windsor Gardens
Vocational College.
A successful Junior Primary Show Day.
Participation and success in academic
competitions.
Successful participation in interschool sport
competitions.
A successful school sports day in term 1.
A high percentage of students completing the
Premier’s Reading Challenge.
A festive and celebratory School Concert.
Recognition of the work of all volunteers and
in particular, Margaret Abbott this year’s
recipient of the Robyn Geraghty School
Volunteers Award.
Our very popular Active After School
program
2013 promises to be another year of challenge and
growth. Upon the completion of the new building,
work will commence on the transformation of the
main two-storey building into an up-to-date, modern
learning facility. This work should be completed by
the end of 2013.
These achievements are due to the outstanding
teamwork and collaboration of staff, parents and
students at Klemzig. I look forward to another year of
success and progress in 2013.
ENROLMENTS STEADY, DESPITE
ZONING
At the beginning of 2012 we were applied to DECD
and were given approval to implement a school zone.
This means that we can restrict our growth while the
redevelopment of the school is in progress and
classroom space is limited.
Our junior primary mid-year enrolment figures over
the past 10 years are as follows:
03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ‘12
59 71 60 74 96 102 106 111 113 103
Our total enrolments for each term over the past 7
years were:
TERM 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
1 161 194 210 223 239 256 244
2 166 203 220 224 245 262 250 3 184 227 238 237 269 271 263
4 199 230 242 250 279 273 272
Although we started the year with less students than
in 2011, by the end of the year the total was almost
the same.
BILINGUAL PROGRAM
2012 saw the beginning of the building of the new
CHI building to house the Bilingual Program. Much
thought and consideration has gone into determining
the best possible learning environment and hopefully
we will be moving in soon. In 2013 the CHI will
expand to four bilingual classes to cater for 18 hearing
impaired and Deaf students.
The Teachers of the Deaf have additional
qualifications as well as Auslan qualifications to
enable them to work in the bilingual classes. These
include Masters in Deaf Education through Macquarie
University which some have completed and others are
continuing working towards, TAFE Auslan
Certificates and NAATI Interpreter qualifications.
In 2011 we employed Kim Adams as a Speech
Pathologist to work with the Deaf students. Kim has
qualifications in Deaf education as a Teacher of the
Deaf as well as in Speech Pathology, enabling her to
bring a range of skills to the position including
Auslan. Throughout 2011 and 2012 the students have
shown enormous progress in their speech and
understanding of phonemic awareness which is an
important factor in developing literacy skills. In 2013
our speech pathology services will expand, with Kim
overseeing a Speech Clinic two days each week. Four
Speech Pathology students will work individually and
with groups of students under her guidance. We are
one of the few schools in the state with this service
and we will be able to offer speech pathology and
group sessions to many more students both Deaf and
hearing.
Additional Professional Development has been
provided at school, state wide and interstate. A group
of teachers attended the biannual Symposium of Deaf
Education in Sydney. Our staff were co-organisers of
the event, as well as presenting an overview of
developments in our state and running a literacy
workshop. Professional development is also
incorporated into fortnightly Bilingual meetings for
teaching and support staff.
The Auslan Early Learning Program reached capacity
for only the second time since it’s inception. The
preschool curriculum is the Early Years Learning
Framework for Australia with a strong focus on
language development through play. Sandra Kelly
continues to be the teacher working part time at
Klemzig as well as at SERU (Special Education
Resource Unit) as an Early Intervention Coordinator.
Through 2012, the Bilingual SSOs were Vanessa
Trenwith, Kathleen Odgers and Robbie Mayne.
Vanessa moved interstate and in 2013 will be replaced
by Sophia Borrrick who has worked at Klemzig
previously.
The preschool is compliant with the National Quality
Framework. Some of the areas that were focused on
for development this year were:
Developing new ways of recording
children’s achievements
Ensuring safety through the building process
Further professional development for staff
Creating new brochures and website
Creating a new induction package
Putting all children’s records on EYS
As can been seen from the enrolment graph numbers
of children are variable because of the low incidence
of deafness but we have maintained the required
enrolments.
Mr Zed’s boat visits the kindy.
In Term 4, we once again ran our annual 6 week
Auslan Course for early childhood workers and
parents. The weekly ongoing Auslan classes for
parents and community members continued on
Thursday mornings.
The Auslan LOTE program supports the bilingual
program by providing a language with which
everyone can communicate with each other. Each year
Deaf Studies is incorporated to further our cultural
understandings.
The Signing Choir continues to be popular with all
age groups and once again the children were guest
artists and also performed the National Anthem each
evening at the Public Primary School’s Music
Festival. They also performed at a variety of other
functions. Two signing choirs provide for the varying
age groups.
ATTENDANCE
The table below shows a slight decrease in attendance
for the last 3 years. Closer examination of the data
reveals that during 2012, 691 absences were due to
exemptions for students to travel overseas with their
families. If these figures were removed from the data
the average attendance for the year would increase by
1.3% to 91.8%
The following graph shows our attendance rates for
each year level for semester one 2012.
Improving Attendance The school Admin. Officer, who maintains attendance
data and contacts parents/caregivers, and the Assistant
Principal-Student Wellbeing formally reviewed
attendance data at the end of each term to identify
patterns or new concerns. We responded to absences
as they occurred by:
Introducing a note to families that teachers
issue immediately after an unexplained late
arrival or return to school without an
explanation.
Investigating causes and issues for the
student and addressing these.
Providing 1:1 attendance counselling with
children and setting attendance targets.
Daily checks of students and follow ups with
families.
Regular conversations with families –
telephone calls, home visits.
Alerting Senior Staff to concerning absences.
Providing Case Management to students with
attendance issues.
Referrals to agencies and support services.
Providing short term transport assistance to
and from school.
Connecting children to neighbourhood
families who do attend.
Finding school families for children to
briefly stay with.
Contacting new/potential schools and
schools that a child had recently left.
Modifying school programs.
Providing learning packages to students
living away.
Reporting to Family Services and planning
with a range of agencies
Contacting Police for assistance
Issuing formal letters to families
Referring absences to the District Attendance
Counsellor
Involving the Aboriginal Student Inclusion
Officer
ICT and LEARNING
With the completion of the new building drawing
near, plans have been made and orders have been
placed to upgrade the school’s technology. Initially,
each new double classroom will be fitted with two
interactive whiteboards. An interactive whiteboard
will also be installed in the new preschool. At the
same time, wireless internet access will be installed,
allowing students and staff to access the internet both
in and around classrooms and the gym.
Five new laptop/tablet computers per class will be
provided for students working in classrooms in the
new building. There will also be two portable, class
sets of laptop/tablets for teachers to access when a
whole class needs access to computers at the same
time. The upgrade to the main building, including
classroom, will also involve the installation of new
interactive whiteboards in each classroom. The
provision of laptop laptop/tablets will be extended to
students and teachers working in those classrooms.
The ICT curriculum is continually evolving in
response to changing technology and the needs of
staff and students. The introduction of new interactive
whiteboards and laptop laptop/tablets will require
intensive training for both staff and students.
TERM 1 2 3 4 YEAR
2005 93.2% 89.7% 89.3% 89.9% 90.5%
2006 93.6% 90.6% 89.6% 91.9% 91.4%
2007 90.9% 90.1% 90.9% 90.2% 90.5%
2008 92.9% 91.4% 90.6% 88.9% 90.9%
2009 93.0% 91.6% 91.1% 89.6% 91.3%
2010 92.9% 90.7% 88.4% 90.0% 90.5%
2011 92.0% 89.6% 90.6% 89.7% 90.5%
2012 92.2% 91.2% 90.2% 90.2% 90.5%
A CULTURE OF SUCCESS
‘Successful Start’ Program This year we introduced a 2 week learning program at
the start of the year which focused on the social,
emotional and behavioural parts to life at school, and
what students need to be successful throughout the
year. Some of the things taught included:
Knowing classmates better through games,
activities and a 2week Identity Project
Friendship and getting along with others
Being in a cooperative group
Ways to solve conflicts
Bullying, harassment and getting help
School values and rules and PBL
Making their classroom rules
Everyday routines for their class
Teachers expectations of bookwork, sheets,
equipment
Healthy eating
Being safe at school and in the community
School Emergency signals
Coming to school every day, on time
PBL- Positive Behaviour for Learning
This year, many more students exceeded our target of
100 ‘GOTCHAs’ per term which are awarded for
displaying positive behaviours around the school.
Two classes trialled an electronic version of
acknowledgement called ‘Class Dojo’. Students could
see their positive efforts, behaviours and encounters
recorded on their class whiteboard against their name
and their ‘avatar’. Dojo was particularly popular with
older students and will be promoted across the school
in 2013.
Our colourful, 30 GOTCHAs postcards to
parents/caregivers were very successful and pictures
will be updated by our students in Term 1.
The success of our PBL and other programs is evident
in the data on incidents of violence or threatened
violence. The number of such incidents (which range
from minor to more serious) decreased by 20% in
2012 when compared to the 2011 data. Likewise, the
number of reported incidents of bullying decreased by
38% from 2011 to 2012. All incidents of bullying
were worked through with all parties concerned and
consequences applied to ensure that they were
resolved.
Active After Schools Program
We were again successful in winning a grant from the
Commonwealth Government to employ community
coaches to lead 7 week activity programs after school
and a healthy snack. Hirva Adhvaryu and Crystal
Boxer were employed to assist coaches and
coordinate the sessions that lasted one hour each.
Activities: softball, netball, AFL footy, dance, martial
arts, basketball, volleyball, athletics, soccer, baseball
and cricket.
Despite 3 activities on offer some terms, there were
still not enough places for the huge demand by
students. Girls, boys, Deaf and Aboriginal children,
JP and upper primary students and children from all
of our school families’ cultures participated in these
activities.
Student Voice and Kids Councils
A Junior and Senior Kids Council operated weekly
throughout the year. 42 Representatives attended
leadership training and served 2 terms. Deaf and
Aboriginal students were represented. Support for
their work and voice in classes varied. They addressed
school spaces; student behaviour; special events;
fundraising; recycling; organising their end of term
Disco; purchasing of equipment and school
improvement.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Students and
Families
The school has a strong commitment to improving the
educational outcomes of Indigenous-ATSI students
and acknowledges that this requires deliberate actions
by the school.
22 students from 13 family groups attended at various
times during the year. Individual Plans were prepared
to maximise student success at school and for
confident transitions to high school. We offered a
range of programs across the school to meet students’
needs and to promote an understanding and
appreciation of Indigenous cultures and history and
the contributions of Indigenous people – developing
strong bonds with our families; APAS tutoring in
Literacy and Maths; fortnightly R-7 Nunga Group; Yr
6/7 Student Elders Program; individual Case
Management; Reconciliation Week in Term 2;
Aboriginal Culture Week in Term 3; school-wide
Aboriginal Cultural Studies Curriculum; sleepover
Term 1; Nunga Students & Friends Camp at the
Adelaide Zoo in Term 4 and support from our school
Aboriginal Community Education Officer (ACEO),
Mignon Wilhelm.
This year the Yr 6/7 Indigenous Student Achievement
Award was granted to Tallara Ledder.
A more comprehensive Report on the Progress of
Aboriginal Students 2012 is available from the school.
NATIONAL TEST RESULTS Across the range of tests conducted in May, in 94.2%
of individual tests our students (excluding students
with disabilities) achieved at or above the National
minimum standard. This is a significant improvement
on recent years (89.3% in 2011, 91.5% in 2010,
92.6% in 2009 and 84.9% in 2008).
We are especially proud of the achievements of 15 of
our students who scored in the highest possible band
in one or more of the National Literacy and Numeracy
tests (up from 11 in 2011, 10 in 2010, 7 in 2009 and 5
in 2008).
LITERACY A STRONG FOCUS AT
KLEMZIG Over the past two years, literacy comprehension has
been the focus of Klemzig’s Site Improvement Plan.
In 2011, two staff members were appointed Literacy
Facilitators. They attended 10 professional
development workshops run by the DECD Northern
Adelaide Region, sharing their knowledge and skills
with other staff members.
In 2012, three more teachers attended the same series
of workshops. This was a deliberate strategy to
increasingly build the literacy teaching knowledge
and skills of all teachers and consistent practices
across the school.
Twice each term, the Literacy Facilitators ran literacy
workshops for the School Support Officers (SSO),
building the knowledge and skills necessary for them
to work effectively with students involved in the
Literacy Intervention Program which has been
operating successfully for two years now.
Teaching staff continually monitor the reading and
comprehension skills of all students. Formal reading
assessments are carried out seven times per year on all
students until they reach an independent reading level.
Data collected allows us to carefully track the
progress of every student. The graph below is an
example of one child’s data, collected over the last
two years.
Our Reading Support Program provides intervention
for students who are in need of support to improve
their reading levels. The following graph shows that
in year 1, the students receiving this support (wave 2
students) made at least as much progress as those the
average of all students.
We measured the achievement of our junior primary
students against the standards set by the Northern
Adelaide Region (by the end of Reception – level 10,
by the end of year 1 – level 20 and by the end of year
2 – level 26).
The following graph shows that significant
improvement was made between 2010 and 2012
We have seen a rise in the number of students
learning English as A Second Language in the school
– from 46% of students in 2010 to 55% in 2012.
Many of these students enter our school with
beginning English skills so we provide additional
learning support through our ESL teacher and
bilingual school support officer. As a result of this
support, 70% of our ESL students progressed by one
or more levels on the ESL scale, which is a measure
of English achievement for ESL learners.
In 2012 we had 5 students studying 3 different
languages after school hours at ethnic schools. By
studying a language these students are enriching the
cultural and linguistic knowledge of their
backgrounds and contributing to the cultural diversity
of our school community. Our ESL teacher, Cula
Nowecki, continued her work with class teachers of
Reception to year 3 classes to support and improve
their Literacy teaching.
In May our year 3, 5 and 7 students participated in the
National Assessment Program – Literacy and
Numeracy (NAPLAN).
The following graphs show the average scores for our
students at year 3, 5 and 7 in each of the components
of the literacy tests for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and
2012.
YEAR 3
300
320
340
360
380
400
420
440
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
ME
AN
SC
OR
E
YEAR
YEAR 3 READING
68% of our year 3 students achieved proficiency band
4 or above in reading in 2011.
YEAR 5
32% of our year 5 students achieved proficiency band
6 or above in reading in 2012
YEAR 7
24% of our year 7 students achieved proficiency band
7 or above in reading in 2012
2011
2011
NUMERACY Maths forms an integral part of the curriculum at all
year levels. Numeracy is integrated across all learning
areas throughout the school.
Our focus on comprehension includes providing
students with the literacy skills and language
requirements that will enable them to access the
numeracy and mathematics curriculum.
The following graphs show the average scores for our
students at year 3, 5 and 7 in each of the components
of the numeracy tests from 2008 to 2012.
OPINION SURVEYS
1.PARENT SURVEY:
A random selection of parents was invited to respond
to an on-line survey which asked to responses to 44
statements about our school. Twenty seven parents
responded to the survey. The statements were grouped
into four areas. The results in all four areas (Quality
of Teaching and Learning, Support of Learning,
Relationships and Communication and Leadership
and Decision Making) were all within the middle 50%
when compared to surveys across the state. 93% of
responses were at or above the average level of
agreement for responses across the state. Higher than
average responses were given in relation to support
for special needs, resourcing and opportunities for
parents to be involved in the school’s educational
activities.
2. STAFF SURVEY:
All staff were invited to respond to 49 questions,
grouped into the same four areas as the parent survey.
Thirteen members of staff responded. Again, the
results in all four areas were all within the middle
50% when compared to surveys across the state.
Higher than average responses were given in relation
to the school’s assessment processes and how
assessment is used to evaluate, develop and refine
teaching programs.
3. STUDENT SURVEY:
Our older students were invited to respond to 47
questions, grouped into the same four areas again.
Again, the results in all four areas were all within the
middle 50% when compared to surveys across the
state. Higher than average responses were given in
relation to support and assistance with learning,
encouragement to achieve their best, their level of
excitement about the work and their desire to go to
school each day.
GOVERNING COUNCIL
Our Governing Council worked collaboratively to
support the school community in a range of areas,
including:
Management of the OSHC program.
Discussion and approval of the School
Uniform Policy.
Overseeing finance and the budget.
Approval of the Materials and Services
charge for 2013.
Organisation and involvement of fundraising
activities.
We also had the support of dedicated and committed
volunteers who worked tirelessly to support our
school in a range of areas, including management of
our uniform shop, helping in the canteen, supporting
student learning in classrooms, helping on excursions,
improvement of the school grounds and raising funds
to improve school facilities. The parent club and
governing council members have been the core of this
dedicated group of parents.
FINANCES IN SOUND POSITION In 2012 we received the following funding from a
range of sources. The figure for Parent Contributions
includes the materials and Services charge as well as
money paid for uniforms, excursions, performances
and swimming.
We have money set aside to purchase new furniture
and IT hardware as our building project continues.
WORKFORCE INFORMATION