freemans reach public school annual report 2015 2015 · 2 introduction the annual report for 2015...

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Freemans Reach Public School Annual Report 2015 2015

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Introduction

The Annual Report for 2015 is provided to the community of Freemans Reach Public School as an account of the school’s operations and achievements throughout the year. It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities for all students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self-assessment that reflect the impact of key school strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equity funding.

School contact details: Freemans Reach Public School 395 Kurmond Road Freemans Reach NSW 2756 www.freemanrch-p.school.nsw.edu.au [email protected] Tel: 45796146

Message from the Principal

In 2015 the school continued to make great gains in teaching and learning. Due to the highly professional and committed staff we made many improvements to our programs and introduced a number of projects to support our quality teaching. The implementation of the new Science and History curriculums was extremely successful.

Improvements to both the class rooms and the playground has led to safer play areas with the removal of hazardous trees and the beginning of the hall upgrade commenced with painting inside and out. The P&C continued to work tirelessly throughout the year assisting with the purchase of new equipment and supporting school events. The installation of the new “playground hang-out” in the bottom playground was a direct result of the Spring Fair in 2014 of which the school is extremely grateful. “100 years of ANZAC” saw the school participate in a number of special events. The school held an assembly that included invited ex and current servicemen and women; the School Captains and Vice-Captains attended the Hyde Park ANZAC Service and a Vice Captain represented the school at the Richmond Dawn Service on ANZAC Day. A soldier penny was produced to mark the occasion and all students received the “Australia In The Great War 1914-1918” coin as a gift from the school. It was custom printed with the name of the school and the date “2015” to mark the hundred year anniversary. I look forward to leading the school in the introduction of more innovative programs, further develop teacher capacity to meet the needs of 21st Century learners and work closely with the community to make this school a highly regarded centre for teaching and learning. Wireless was installed in all classrooms and in the library, providing the opportunity for students to participate in student centered learning.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone in this community. The respect and support for the staff is crucial and has resulted in another great year of learning at Freemans Reach Public School. I take great pleasure in presenting this report and I certify the information in this report is the result of a rigorous school self-evaluation process. It is a balanced and genuine account of the school’s achievements and areas for development. Grace Palamara Principal

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School background

School vision statement

Freemans Reach Public School is in its 138th year of providing quality education to the students of Freemans Reach. Since 1867 the school moto has been “Growth” and it is this message which lays the foundation for this school plan. It is evidence of growth that is intended and expected.

Students’ growth Staff growth

Community growth School growth

Personal growth Professional growth

Within this school plan there are opportunities for each and every member of the community to experience growth and strive for better things.

The growth and development of all stakeholders is achievable, encouraged and promoted through this school plan.

School context

Freemans Reach Public School is a welcoming school situated in a rural setting above the Hawkesbury River near Windsor. The school takes great pride in providing a safe and highly educational environment for each student to explore their learning potential. The school is well known for its academic focus, extensive opportunities in extra curricula activities and strong community involvement. The school continues to increase its interactive technology resources embedding them within all key learning areas. This school has strong links to the local community of schools. Hawkesbury High School is situated next door and both schools always seek ways to work together. The school student population includes a small indigenous community (8%) and there are a number of students with a language background other than English (10.8%) mostly Maltese.

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Self-assessment and school achievements

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

For all schools (except those participating in the external validation - 2015 pilot):

This section of the Annual School Report outlines the findings from self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework, our school achievements and the next steps to be pursued. The Framework supports public schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading. This year, our school undertook self-assessment using the elements of the School Excellence Framework. Staff meetings were conducted using the self-assessment surveys. Each staff member was involved in the process of determining in each of the domains where the school was situated in terms of the statements. Small focus groups gave their findings after critical discussions about each statement. In the domain of Learning, our efforts have primarily focused on wellbeing, curriculum and learning. The strong performance of the school in creating a positive and productive learning culture amongst staff and students has been a feature of our progress. The fundamental importance of wellbeing is providing an outstanding way to build a culture of trust, respect and valuing of each other. The results have been evident in the way that students are relating to each other and, importantly, in the increased engagement of students in learning. Attention to individual learning needs has been another component of our progress throughout the year. Students with high learning needs are being identified early and their parents are increasingly involved in planning and supporting the learning directions for them. In the domain of Teaching, the school has developed collaborative practice for staff members. The use of technology for learning, the importance of data analysis to inform decision-making, the growing of teaching practice through classroom observations, reflections and feedback, and the development of expertise in vital literacy and numeracy programs and in new syllabuses, all highlight a teaching culture that is moving student learning to a new level. In the domain of Leading, our priorities have been to progress leadership and management practices and processes. The consistency and effectiveness of implementation of our key strategic directions throughout the year has been due to a strong foundation of leadership capacity building across the school. This approach recognises that leadership development is central to the achievement of school excellence. The new approach to school planning, supported by the new funding model to schools, is making a major difference to our progress as a school. The achievements and identification of next steps are outlined in the following pages of this report. Our self-assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our school plan leading to further improvements in the delivery of education to our students.

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Strategic Direction 1

Positive learning

Purpose

In order for each student to achieve their potential the school needs to engage in quality teaching practices. Quality programs will be implemented throughout the school from Kindergarten to Year 6 with an emphasis on engagement and catering for students’ individual needs.

The parent body will be frequently informed and encouraged to become involved in the programs that the teaching staff are employing.

Overall summary of progress

The school plan was implemented as planned with great success. Results show that students did achieve significant improvement.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)

Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year <$>

Improved NAPLAN results-Increased percentage of students showing growth in literacy and numeracy from Year 3 to Year 5 (expected growth or better) and Increase in the number of students performing in the top bands in NAPLAN

Staff were trained in TOWN over six two hour sessions, TOWN data wall was constructed in the AP office to track student progress in place value.

The Jolly Phonics Program was implemented in term one.

Jolly grammar resources purchased for use with years one and two.

Organise current and write new units for English.

Teachers purchased maths and literacy resources to complement their programs.

Teachers entered PLAN data to track student’s progress.

$5000.00

Improved results in numeracy-75% of all Year 2 students to be “counting on and back”

Over 75 percent of students are counting on and back.

$1500.00

Next steps

-Develop a gifted and talented policy –identification of students, monitoring and evaluation. -Survey and gather data on Home Reading to improve participation. -Develop the new student report that reflects the new syllabus content ideas and language. -Professional learning refresher on Focus on Reading.

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Positive student welfare and involvement

Purpose

In order to develop students who will positively contribute to the school and the wider community, the school will instil expectations of responsibility, respect and safety. This ensures a positive and safe environment for all school community members.


In 2015 we continued our implementation of our progressive award system, where students collect merit awards and hand them in to receive Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards and eventually a Principal’s Medallion. In our second year of implementing the program to encourage our behaviour expectations, 54 students received a Bronze Award for collecting 10 merit awards. 43 students collected 20 merit awards to move on to a Silver Award and 8 students collected their 30th merit award to become a recipient of a Gold Award. Some of these students are rapidly moving towards a Principal’s Medallion and we anticipate the first of these will be presented in early 2016. In 2015 we continued to implement the Behaviour Expectations - safe, respectful and responsible - across the school that were introduced in 2014. We started to work on ways to improve the knowledge of these behaviours and the use of consistent language by the community of Freemans Reach Public School. This included reminders in the newsletter, posters displayed in rooms and prominent locations and the plan to purchase and display signs in the playground and other significant areas. These expectations are now becoming increasingly known and valued by the community, with many candidates for school captain in 2016 pointing out their knowledge and adherence to these expectations. In 2015, the school implemented Social Skills Groups to help provide additional support to targeted children in their development of social skills. These groups were run three times a week by the SLSOs under the direction of the LST in response to concerns raised at LST meetings or through the analysis of behaviour data. Some of the skills covered by this program included anger management, making friends, turn taking, being a good friend and following rules. These programs led to improved social skills for the participants and saw a reduction in behaviour referrals for many of the participants.


Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year <$>

Reduction of behaviour referrals and increased volume of students achieving Bronze, Silver and Gold level awards

Monitored and tracked merit system Implemented Social Skills groups for targeted

students Students progressing through merit system Consistently implementing behavioural expectations

across the school and the 1-2-3 Magic method

$5500.00

Decrease in number of reported incidences of bullying

Beginning to provide activities and equipment to occupy students in the playground

$5000.00

Next steps

-In 2016 we will look into implementing the PBL program across the school to continue to improve student behaviour and deal with consistent behaviour issues. -We will continue to implement social skills programs, perhaps having the LaST implement these programs to target specific children. -In 2016, we need to address the issue of activities for students in the playground to reduce behaviour issues and bullying by giving students more to do. This can include line markings, equipment and games. Students will also need to be led in how to effectively participate and utilise these resources.

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Strong community connection

Purpose

In order to promote partnerships with students, staff, parents and the wider community, the school will work collaboratively with the Hawkesbury Learning Community. The school will develop positive relationships with stake holders in the local area and strengthen connections with organisations and institutions that will enhance the opportunities of learners to aspire to achieve their personal best with confidence and build a sense of pride in the Hawkesbury.


The school promotion through website and social media made strong community connections through regular communication with parents using weekly newsletters and regularly uploading photos to the school website. The school improved parent involvement by offering a Meet the Teacher night, Grandparents Day and Parent Teacher Interviews. A technology workshop for parents was offered on Mathletics and iPads. In Education Week, the community was involved in Science experiments and school book fair. Our School Musical in Term 3 offered the community our extensive and diverse showcasing of talent in the Performing Arts with an emphasis on whole school participation. The school was involved in our annual NAIDOC celebration with an incursion that showcased and celebrated Aboriginal and traditional culture. The school is currently undertaking a proposal to offer the OOSH services to the wider community.


Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years) Progress achieved this year

<$>

Increased transition opportunities for students (Pre-School - Year 7)

Executive members visited local preschool to observe and assess individual students. Selected year 6 school students were offered a 4 week transition program to ensure a smoother transition to high school

$0

Increased relationships with outside organisation

Cyberbullying and cyber safety program delivered by local police to all Stage 3 students. Parents were also offered an opportunity at the school in the evening for this program.

$0

Greater participation of parents in school activities

Parents were offered a technology workshop on Mathletics and iPad technology in the classroom.

One day teacher relief

Next steps

-The school plans to involve the wider community and continue to offer Meet the Teacher, Parent Interviews, Grandparents/Family Day, Multicultural Day, Olympic-athon, Hawkesbury Music Festival, various Gala Days, Book Fair and Book Week festivities. -The school plans to fully implement an OOSH service and have it operational by end Term 3. -The school plans to continue offering regular updates on social media including Facebook and the School Website. It also plans to continue our weekly newsletter in both print and online/email for the wider community to view. -The school plans to continue to offer parent workshops on technology and other areas to familiarise parents with technological programs used for students. -The school plans to continue positive connections with preschool and high school by offering Orientation Day.

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Next Steps

Key initiatives and other school focus areas

This section includes: Key initiatives (from School planning template B). Policy requirements such as Aboriginal Education, Multicultural Education and Anti-Racism Education. Initiatives and other school focus areas which may not have been included in the school plan such as Early

Action for Success, student leadership, partnerships and projects.

Key initiatives (annual) Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Aboriginal background funding

The school has 6.3% Aboriginal students.

Specialised in-class support provided by SLSO.

Financial support to families.

$7, 019

English language proficiency funding

The school has 10.8%. This is English Language Proficiency Equity Flexible Funding - Flexible Funding calculated for 27.4 weighted EAL/D


$8, 858

Targeted students support for refugees and new arrivals

N/A $0

Socio-economic funding

This is Socio-economic Equity Flexible Funding - Flexible Funding


$23, 482

Low level adjustment for disability funding

FTE is 0.700 staff loading and Learning and Support - Flexible Funding

LaST teacher provides support for teachers and students.

Specialised in-class support is provided by SLSO.

$70, 351 (FTE is 0.700 staff loading)

$16, 768 (Learning and Support - Flexible Funding)

Support for beginning teachers

N/A $0

Other school focus areas Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Other, including Early Action for Success

N/A $0

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Mandatory and optional reporting requirements

Student information

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

Student enrolment profile

Student Enrolment

Gender 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Male 121 120 106 99 100 96 98

Female 99 98 100 90 100 94 85

Student attendance profile Student attendance is dependent on a number of things. At various times throughout the year parents were informed on the importance of attendance.

Overall student attendance trends remained consistent. Our school attendance in 2015 has remained fairly consistent and relatively similar (93.9) to attendance rates across State Department of Education and Communities (94.0).

Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

K 95.3 96.3 93.0 95.4 93.9 96.5

1 96.9 94.9 94.8 94.7 94.0 93.4

2 94.4 96.4 91.5 95.5 94.9 94.3

3 94.5 93.9 95.1 93.1 96.8 93.9

4 95.6 94.5 94.1 96.0 92.4 93.6

5 96.0 95.4 91.9 93.8 94.4 91.9

6 94.1 94.6 94.4 92.4 92.8 93.9

Total 95.2 95.1 93.5 94.4 94.1 93.9

Class sizes

Roll class Year Total in class Total per year

KJ K 18 18

K-1T K 5 21

1 16 21

2C 2 23 23

3B 3 24 24

4S 4 24 24

1-2A 1 13 22

2 9 22 5-6A 5 11 26

6 15 26

5-6R 5 13 27

6 14 27

Workforce information Reporting of information for all staff must be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

Workforce composition

Position Number

Principal 1

Assistant Principals 2

Classroom Teachers 6

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.2

Learning and Support Teacher 0.7

Teacher Librarian 0.4

Teacher of ESL 0.2

School Counsellor 0.2

School Administrative & Support Staff 2.2

Total 12.9

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

The number of teaching and executive staff was retained in 2015.

The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requires schools to report on Aboriginal composition of their workforce and there are no teachers who are of indigenous background.

Workforce retention There were no permanent staff changes in 2015.

Teacher qualifications

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

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 100%

Postgraduate degree 0%

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Professional learning and teacher accreditation In 2015, staff participated in a number of professional learning opportunities both in and out of school. Staff participated in both mandatory and optional training in various areas. In total all staff participated in training across the year. Average expenditure per staff member on professional learning was approximately $ 400.00. Staff development days were spent as follows. In Term One, staff participated in Code of Conduct and Child Protection Mandatory Training. In Term Two, staff participated in a full day workshop on the Science syllabus. In Term Three, staff participated in workshops on the new Mathematics syllabus and in Term Four, staff participated in mandatory CPR Training. There were two new scheme teachers in 2015. One of those teachers maintained a professional learning log regularly including both registered and non-registered courses. The other teacher is in the process of completing accreditation. Other professional learning experiences include: Child Protection Update 2015 Code of Conduct Training Planning Literacy and Numeracy (PLAN) for

teachers Jolly Phonics, Jolly Grammar School based workshops on History and

Geography syllabus’s Learning and Support Teacher Network - Western

Sydney Region Supporting Learning Technologies in School (ICT-

SLTiS) e-Emergency Care Training (e-care) Western Sydney Region School Administration

Support Staff (SASS) Annual Conference Reading Recovery Support Person Training Parramatta Teacher Librarian Professional

Learning Conference Programming for teaching and quality assessing Reading Recovery Ongoing Professional Learning Taking Off With Numeracy (TOWN) Facilitator

Training Whole school implementation of the Taking Off

With Numeracy (TOWN) program. This involved regular training throughout the year led by a staff member.

During the year significant time within school based staff meetings was dedicated to:

Focus On Reading

Jolly Phonics, Jolly Grammar

TEN (Targeting Early Numeracy)

PLAN (Programming Literacy and Numeracy)

school programming and scope and sequences for science and technology, history and geography

assessment and reporting and consistent teacher judgment

development of school policies

2015-2017 “5P planning”

Staff meetings on the School Excellence Framework, Teacher Accreditation Authority and Performance Development Plans.

Beginning Teachers There is no staff under the category of Beginning Teacher at the school.

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Financial information

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

A full copy of the school’s 2015 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the parent and/or community groups. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3 and 5 literacy and numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 8. The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments.

The My School website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and numeracy testing. Click on the link My School and insert the school name in the Find a school and

select GO to access the school data. However the following graphs give NAPLAN results. NAPLAN – Literacy for Year 3 (including Reading, Writing, Spelling and Grammar and Punctuation). Year 3 reading results show that students in the top two bands performed above the three year school average, similar schools and the state average.

Year 3 grammar and punctuation results show that students in the top two bands performed above the three year school average, similar schools and the state average.

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Bands

Percentage in bands: Year 3 Reading

Percentage in Bands

School Average 2011-2015

SSG % in Bands 2015

State DoE % in Bands 2015

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Percentage in BandsSchool Average 2011-2015SSG % in Bands 2015State DoE % in Bands 2015

Date of financial summary 30/11/2015

Income $

Balance brought forward 148157.36

Global funds 121916.88

Tied funds 119370.18

School & community sources 63065.29

Interest 3994.53

Trust receipts 10733.45

Canteen 0.00

Total income 467237.69

Expenditure

Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 15579.62

Excursions 37231.48

Extracurricular dissections 17017.65

Library 3916.10

Training & development 345.20

Tied funds 91660.40

Casual relief teachers 32759.70

Administration & office 44189.86

School-operated canteen 0.00

Utilities 26241.90

Maintenance 28585.40

Trust accounts 9251.18

Capital programs 0.00

Total expenditure 306778.49

Balance carried forward 160459.20

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

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Year 3 spelling results show that students in the top two bands performed above the three year school average, similar schools and the state average.

Year 3 writing results shows that students in bands 4 and 5 performed above the three year school average, similar schools and the state average.

NAPLAN – Numeracy for Year 3

Year 3 numeracy results show that students in the top two bands performed above the three year school average, similar schools and the state average.

NAPLAN – Literacy for Year 5 (including Reading, Writing, Spelling and Grammar and Punctuation) Year 5 reading results shows that there were no students in the bottom band. Students in band 8 performed above the school three year average.

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Percentage in bands: Year 3 Spelling

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SSG % in Bands 2015


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Percentage in bands: Year 3 Writing

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Percentage in bands: Year 3 Numeracy

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Percentage in bands: Year 5 Reading

Percentage in Bands


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Year 5 spelling results show that students performed as expected.

Year 5 grammar and punctuation results show that students performed as expected.

Year 5 writing results show that students performed as expected.

NAPLAN – Numeracy for Year 5 Year 5 spelling results show that students performed as expected.

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Percentage in bands: Year 5 Spelling

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Percentage in bands: Year 5 Grammar & Punctuation

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Percentage in bands: Year 5 Writing

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Percentage in bands: Year 5 Numeracy

Percentage in BandsSchool Average 2011-2015

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Average progress from Year 3 to Year 5 Students in Year 5 showed expected growth.

Students in Year 5 showed greater than expected

growth in spelling.

Students in Year 5 showed expected growth in grammar and punctuation.

Students in Year 5 showed expected growth in writing.

Students in Year 5 showed better than expected growth in numeracy.

Parent/caregiver, student, teacher satisfaction

Each year schools are required to seek the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school. Their responses are presented below. Parents Parents were asked about their understanding of technology in the school. The level of technology and capabilities was rated very highly. Parents noted that they required more information on the following topics for which the school plans to run workshops in 2016:

How to help with maths

Educational games for the computer and iPads

Cybersafety

Student emailing

Using Word

How to help with reading

How to help with homework

School facebook/website

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Average progress in Reading between Year 3 and 5

School SSG State DoE

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Average progress in Spelling between Year 3 and 5


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Average progress in Grammar & Punctuation between Year 3 and 5


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Average progress in Writing between Year 3 and 5


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Average progress in Numeracy between Year 3 and 5


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Students The Tell Them From Me survey was conducted for students in Term 1,201. The survey centered around student engagement and 60 students in Years 4, 5 and 6 were surveyed. Participation in sport:

76% of students in this school had a high rate of participation in sports. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 80%

Participation in extra-curricula activities:

60% of students in this school had a high rate of participation in extra-curricula activities. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 54%

87% of girls and only 33% boys in the school had a high rate of participation in extra-curricula activities. The NSW pilot norm is 67% for girls and 42% for boys.

Students with a positive sense of belonging: *Students feel accepted and valued by their peers and by others at their school

78% of students in this school had a high sense of belonging. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 84%

Students with positive relationships: *Students have friends at school they can trust and who encourage them to make positive choices.

87% of students in this school had positive relationships. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 82%

Students that value schooling outcomes: *Students believe that education will benefit them personally and economically, and will have a strong bearing on their future.

97% of students in this school valued School Outcome. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 94%. Equally valued by both girls and boys which exceeded NSW pilot norms.

Students with positive homework behaviours: *Students do homework for their classes with a positive attitude and in a timely manner.

68% of students in this school had positive homework behaviours. 80% for girls and 56% for boys.

Students with positive behaviour at school: *Students that do not get into trouble at school for disruptive or inappropriate behaviour.

In this school 82% of students had positive behaviour. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 88%.

Students who are interested and motivated: *Students are interested and motivated in their learning.

77% of students are interested and motivated in their learning. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 76%. The percentage for girls exceeded the norm.

Effort: *Students try hard to succeed in their learning. 88% of students in this school tried hard to succeed. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 91%. Skills-challenge *Students feel challenged in their English and Maths classes and feel confident of their skills in these subjects.

48% of students felt highly skilled and highly challenged.

32% of students were confident of their skills but did not find their classes challenging. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 32%.

10% of students were not confident of their skills and found English and Maths challenging. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 21%.

10% of students lacked confidence in their skills and did not feel challenged. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 4%.

Effective Learning time: *Students rated Effective Classroom Learning time 8.3 out of 10. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 8.2. Relevance: *Students rated classroom instruction relevant 8 out of 10. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 7.6. Students who are victims of bullying: *45% of students were victims of physical, social, verbal or internet bullying moderate to severe. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 35%. Advocacy at School *Students rated Advocacy at School-where students feel someone at school consistently provides encouragement and can be turned to for advice, 6.4 out of 10. The NSW pilot norm for these years is 6.3. Positive Teacher-Student Relations-8.6 out of 10, Positive Learning Culture-7.2 out of 10 and Expectations for Success-8.6 out of 10. *All of these areas rated at or above NSW pilot norms. Aboriginal students:

51% of Aboriginal students either agreed or strongly agreed that their teachers have a good understanding of their culture.

60% of Aboriginal students expect to go to University when they finish school.

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Teachers Teachers participated in the School Excellence Framework Self-Assessment Tool survey. The results show a growing understanding of the School Excellence Framework and a critical analysis of the school’s practices. It was generally agreed that the school is delivering and or sustaining and growing in the learning, teaching and leading elements. Staff noted that their greatest successes in 2015 were as follows:

Professionalism among the staff

The quality of the teaching

Commitment

Collaborative practices

Effectiveness

Analysis of data

Shared responsibility

Engagement

Growth and development

Learning Culture

Observations

Photosynthesis

Experience, knowledge and skills

Successful transitions

Informed contributions

Student leadership

Rich learning experiences

Self-sustaining

Resource allocation

Strategic

Accountability

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Aboriginal background

The school has an 8% population of students with Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander background. As a priority teachers complete Personalised Learning Plans for these students and these are regularly monitored and reviewed each term in consultation with parents and carers. Allowah Day which is an annual, locally organised event involves our Aboriginal students and on this day students join with students from other schools in a day of activities. Annual recognition of NAIDOC Week occurred in Term 3. As part of the celebrations classes

participated in discussions about traditions and culture.

Acknowledgement of Country is given at each assembly and the Aboriginal flag flies proudly on our flag pole at the front of the school and one hangs permanently in the hall.

Multicultural Education and Anti-racism

The students have been developing a clear understanding of Multiculturalism within Australia. These aspects have been integrated into high quality lesson plans throughout the year.

Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 examined why certain events are important to individuals. They explored the origins of significant days and holidays that Australians celebrate as a nation. They identified a variety of different cultures and their beliefs. They compared the various ways two cultures celebrate Christmas and presented this information in a visual display.

Stage 2 used an inquiry approach to identify how the local government provides a range of services and facilities in the local community. They also investigated the election process and the rights and responsibilities of those elected. They investigated and examined links between different features of the Great Barrier Reef and the specific needs of its animal and plant life. This also included aspects of how this relates to their world around them.

Stage 3 explored the themes of 'Living Land' which explored aspects of cultural heritage in relation to the world around us. They were also involved in 'Making Informed Choices' which investigated some multicultural aspects of Australia such as migration, the Gold Rush, establishing new towns and laws of government.

Other school programs Student leadership This year the SRC comprised student representatives from Kindergarten to Year 6. The council was made up of 2 students from each class (4 from K/1T), the School Captains, House Captains and the Year 6 SRC President. Kindergarten students were elected at the beginning of Term 2 once they had had time to settle in and become acquainted with each other.

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Each class had a suggestion box in their room for students to list items they wished to have discussed at the SRC meetings. Meetings were held two to three times each term during the first half of lunch. This year the members decided to focus on fundraising for our school. The students decided a water bubbler was needed in the back playgrounds. So they set about raising the necessary funds to purchase and install one. They held several mufti days and a cake stall which were all very successful.

Environmental education and sustainability In Term 1, the school participated in ‘Clean up School Day’. The students wore gloves and did a tremendous job cleaning up the school. We were quite impressed we didn’t have a lot of rubbish to collect as we encourage the students to use the recycle and rubbish bins around the school. Two students from 5/6 participated in the Stage 3 Enrichment Program at Longneck Lagoon Environmental Education Centre. This program is for students who show ability and interest in science. The students were provided with opportunities to develop skills in using topographic maps and compasses, Global Positioning Systems and teamwork. In Term 2, students in 4S and two teachers participated in the tree planting project at Glendenning. The group planted 200 native trees and learnt about the wetlands environment. In Term 4, all classes were involved in the presentation by EnviroCom- School Waste Education Program on behalf of Hawkesbury City Council. The students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation ‘Food Glorious Food’. They discussed and explored the many ways they could recycle food and rubbish. The school continues to teach students about the environment through Science and HSIE lessons. Our new 2016 scope and sequence for Science, History and Geography includes many components related to our environment to be taught in future years across all stages.

High School Transition This program involved five Year 6 students visiting Hawkesbury High School on three Monday afternoons in November. The students, accompanied by our teacher’s aide, met with mentors and led by a school counsellor, completed various activities to help familiarise themselves with the school. It was a valuable program appreciated by the students.

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Achievements in the arts and sport Visual Arts Waste2art For the second year, this art competition for Stages 1-3, run by Hawkesbury City Council proved very successful for our school. This competition encouraged the use of recycled materials to create art with 35 of our students being involved and achieving outstanding results. One Stage Two student achieved first place, while students in Stage Three received a highly commended, second place and first place. All entries received certificates and were on display in Windsor Library during the last week of October. Coles Mural Late in the year Coles at North Richmond invited schools to take part in a mural competition. Schools were asked to paint a mural depicting their school for display in the store. A fundraising program included the selling of raffle tickets. Our mural included the school buildings, local farmland, the Aboriginal and Australian flags, the students and the school emblem with “Growth” our school motto, being the centre of our school. The store presented the school with $960 raised from the selling of raffle tickets and the mural hangs proudly in the entrance to the store. Operation Art Continuing our involvement in Operation Art, four students from Stage 2 and 3 were chosen to create artworks for this competition. Their entries were displayed in the Armory Gallery in September and are currently on display in the school’s foyer with previous years’ entries.

Sport Students at Freemans Reach Public School were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of sporting activities in 2015. These ranged from daily fitness programs and weekly sporting activities within stage groups, school carnivals for swimming, cross country and athletics. A total of 60 students participated in the DEC School Swimming and Water Safety Program in Term 4 and the school also sent teams into a number of district gala days including Touch Football, Basketball, Netball, AFL and Cricket. The policy of the school when selecting teams to participate in such events is that all students wishing to participate are extended the opportunity unless numbers are limited by the convenor. In swimming:

19 students competed at the Hawkesbury District Swimming Carnival.

One swimmer competed at the Sydney West Regional Carnival.

In Cross Country:

48 students competed at the Hawkesbury District Cross Country carnival.

Eight students competed at the Sydney West Regional Carnival.

In Athletics:

34 students competed at the Hawkesbury District Athletics Carnival.

Five students competed at the Sydney West Athletics Carnival.

In team sports:

Students in Years 3-6 competed in a variety of gala days held in the Hawkesbury including AFL, Touch Football, Netball and Cricket.

One student was selected into the Hawkesbury District Softball team

One student was selected in to the Hawkesbury District Netball team

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Learning and Support Benchmarking results All students in K-2 were assessed in the middle of term 4 to determine their instructional reading level. 83% of students in Kindergarten were reading at or above level 5. 77% of Year 1 students were reading at or above level 18 but through their participation in the Reading Recovery program, this figure went up to 90% by the end of 2015. 75 % of Year 2 students were reading at or beyond level 26. Library In 2015 our school again participated in The Premier's Reading challenge with many children taking part and 11 students receiving certificates. During Education Week the Scholastic Book Fair was a great success with sales over $3,000 of which the school received over $600 to spend on resources. Our library gained many new and popular titles this year which the students have enjoyed reading.

Reading Recovery In 2015, Freemans Reach Public School was given funding to teach two students a day on the Reading Recovery program. The school added funding to this so that 4 students in Year 1 were on the program each day in semester one and three students a day in semester 2. This meant that 9 students were able to access the individualised Year 1 reading and writing program. 100% of these children successfully completed the program and will continue to have their growth monitored for the next two years. Student Wellbeing The school makes every effort to ensure all aspects of the Wellbeing Framework relevant to our school are explored and implemented. CONNECT The school implements an Anti-Bullying program every year. The schools Anti-Bullying Action Plan is updated annually. In Student Participation and Leadership, school leaders attend a District Leadership Camp in Term 1, SRC is formed early in the year and many events are organised as a result of consultation meetings. School Attendance is monitored vigorously as is School Uniform compliance. The school has the full support of parents and carers in this respect.

SUCCEED School programs meet the needs of students with Disabilities and students with English as their second language. The school reviews and monitors its discipline policy and procedures regularly. As a result improvements are made where necessary to procedures, awards and rewards. Award System In 2015 we continued the implementation of our progressive award system, where students collect merit awards and hand them in to receive Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards and then eventually a Principal’s Medallion. In our second year of implementation to encourage our behaviour expectations, 54 students received a Bronze Award for collecting 10 merit awards. 43 students collected 20 merit awards to move on to a Silver Award and 8 students collected their 30th merit award to become a recipient of a Gold Award. Some of these students are rapidly moving towards a Principal’s Medallion and we anticipate the first of these will be presented in early 2016.

Rules/Behaviour Expectations In 2015 we continued to implement the Behaviour Expectations - safe, respectful and responsible - across the school that were introduced in 2014. We started to work on ways to improve the knowledge of these behaviours and the use of consistent language by the community. This included reminders in the newsletter, posters displayed in rooms and prominent locations and the plan to purchase and display signs in the playground and other significant areas. These expectations are now becoming increasingly known and valued by the community, with many candidates for school captain in 2016 pointing out their knowledge and adherence to these expectations. Recess Groups In 2015, the school continued to implement “Recess Groups” to help provide additional support to targeted children in their development of social skills. These groups were run three times a week by the SLSOs under the direction of the LST in response to concerns raised at LST meetings or through the analysis of behaviour data. Some of the skills covered by this program included anger management, making friends, turn taking, being a good friend and following rules. These programs led to improved social skills for the participants and saw

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a reduction in behaviour referrals for many of the participants. THRIVE The school implements a “Read and Feed’ program. At 10.00am every morning students have a short break to eat a piece of fruit from home and/or drink water. The food eaten must be non-processed fruits or vegetables. Drug Education, Sun Safety and Road Safety are all areas that are dealt with as part of the PDHPE Syllabus. Performing Arts Premiers Debating Challenge This year six of our Year 5 and six of our Year 6 students worked together to form two debating teams to represent the school. The teams entered into the Premiers Debating Challenge which is a State wide primary school debating competition. The teams competed against several local schools. They performed very well and each had several wins. Public Speaking This year once again Freemans Reach Public School participated in the Hawkesbury District Public Speaking competition. Initially this involved children in stage two and three participating in an in-school competition. Each student delivered a prepared speech on a set topic followed by a one or two minute impromptu speech. Two students from each stage were selected to progress to one of three semi-finals. From our school competition the following students progressed to the second semi-final which was held at Freemans Reach Public School: Bella Schleter and Sienna Smith from Stage Two and Lauren Vella and Joel Zahra from Stage Three. Joel was placed first in Stage Three and went on to represent the school at the final held at Comleroy Road public School. Joel was the overall winner of the entire competition. Dance The Junior Girl Dance group performed their Let It Go at Grandparents Day, Riverview Shopping Centre in Education Week, Blue Mountains Dance Festival, Hawkesbury Dance Festival and at the school’s end of year Presentation Night. The group consisted of students from Kindergarten to Year Two. Their great costumes were made by some of our wonderful parents.

The Senior Dance Group performed their routine Inspector Gadget at a wide variety of events including: Grandparents Day, Blue Mountains Dance Festival, Synergy Dance Festival and the Hawkesbury Dance Festival.

The Junior Boy Dance group performed their very energetic Olé, Olé, Olé routine at many events including: Riverview Shopping Centre, Grandparents Day, the Blue Mountains and Synergy Festivals. This majestic Spanish style dance was also performed at the extremely prestigious State Dance Festival which is held at the Seymour Centre. The school is particularly notable for being one of very few primary schools in Western Sydney to perform at this festival. Our very own little matadors were simply outstanding.

Sixteen of our senior students were chosen to participate in the 2015 Schools Spectacular. Featuring over 4000 participants, this is a nationally acclaimed annual event and after thirty years the final time it was held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Students performed at two matinees and two night performances in the Cartoon Hero segment and then once again in the finale. They were an extremely talented group of performers of 14 girls and two boys. Much time and effort has gone into the creation of this report. Thank you to the contributors: Grace Palamara Principal David Baxter Lee Cain Rachael Abel Sarah Ayoub Ruth Hauser

Assistant Principal Assistant Principal Teacher Representative Teacher Representative Teacher Representative

Julianne Jurd Melissa Ojiako-Pettit Tessie Ripa Jo Shuster Sara Thomas Melissa Turner Yvonne Whybrow

Teacher Representative Teacher Representative Teacher Representative Teacher Representative Teacher Representative Teacher Representative School Administration Manager

freemans reach public school annual report 2015 2015 · 2 introduction the annual report for 2015...

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