st thomas’ annual report 2018 principal: justin tuohy · school profile st thomas' school,...

St Thomas’ Annual Report 2018

Principal: Justin Tuohy

St Thomas’ Primary School Annual Report

2018

The Annual Report provides the school community with fair, reliable and objective information about school performance measures and policies, as

determined by the Minister for Education.

The Report also outlines information about initiatives and developments of major interest and importance to the school community during the year and the achievements arising from the implementations of the School’s

Annual Improvement Plan.

The Report demonstrates accountability to regulatory bodies, the school community and the Catholic Education Office of Western Australia.

Further information about the school or this report may be obtained by

contacting the school.

School Contact Details:

St Thomas’ Primary School 8 Warden Street

Claremont WA 6010

Phone: (08) 9286 9500

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.stthomas.wa.edu.au

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.stthomas.wa.edu.au/

PART ONE: Publication of Information Relating to School

SCHOOL PROFILE

St Thomas' School, Claremont, is a Catholic Primary School, established in 1909 by the Presentation Sisters. Today St Thomas' is a vibrant, single-stream, co-educational school catering for the families of St Thomas' parish and surrounding areas for students from Kindergarten to Year Six. The school is part of a strong and nurturing community and has an excellent reputation for providing a welcoming, involved and academically diverse environment for its students. The 'whole child' is nurtured, not only through a Religious Education and strong academic program, but also through extracurricular programs. Specialist teachers in Art, Health, Physical Education, ICT and Music, support the rich education available. St Thomas' implements the RAISe (Raising Achievement in Schools) initiative, focusing on improving outcomes in literacy and numeracy for all children. This includes an extension program. Reading Recovery and Extending Mathematical Understanding intervention are used for students requiring support. As expressed in our motto 'Together in Christ', the school thrives on a whole-school approach and commitment to collaborative processes, enjoying the excellent good-will and support of the Parish Priest, School Board and Parents and Friends Association.

We welcome students and their families from a variety of cultures into our school community. The community takes great pride in the heritage, tradition and history of the school and is very proud of the students who have graduated from the school in years gone by. There is a rich support program at the school, which assists teachers to cater for all children. The school has access to the Non-Government School Psychologist services. There is a school choir and instrumental tuition is also available to complement the children’s learning. Our Early Childhood Centre provides opportunities for children to participate in the Three Year Old Kindergarten, Kindergarten and Pre- Primary. Students then progress to more formal learning in Years 1– 6. The school acknowledges the involvement of parents as the prime educators of their children and acknowledges them for their assistance in classrooms, social events, attendance at parent meetings and participation on the Parents and Friends Association. Parents are provided with information about their children’s learning through information meetings, parent/teacher interviews, learning journeys and portfolios. Teachers also make themselves available to meet with parents on request. Parents are issued with written reports twice a year. They receive information through a fortnightly newsletter that provides information on a range of issues relevant to the school’s curriculum, organisation, special events, student achievements and other matters.

TEACHING STANDARDS AND QUALIFICATIONS

We have a very dedicated team at St Thomas’ with the children’s development being the focus at all times. All our staff members are professional, committed and caring in their duties and therefore our children have a real love of life and learning. The one essential criterion for a staff member is to care and to foster a love of learning and of life.

Teaching Staff Qualifications There is a total of 15 teachers at St Thomas’ School who work in either a full-time or part-time capacity. Master Degrees: 2 Bachelor Degrees: 9 Diplomas: 4 Workforce Composition Teaching Staff (full-time) 8 Teaching Staff (part-time) 7 Teacher Assistants (full-time) 1 Teacher Assistants (part-time) 4 Library Assistant (0.2) Office Administration (0.8) Bursar (0.6) Presently the school does not have any indigenous staff employed. Gender Information: 21 Female Staff 2 Male Staff

STUDENT ATTENDANCE FOR 2018 The average student attendance rate for the school during 2018 was 94.79%

Non-attendance is followed up in several ways...

• Parents of students who know they will be absent in advance must complete a leave form to signify days that the student will be absent and are required to collect work for the period from their teacher(s). Parents are responsible for following up this work with their child.

• Reminder forms are sent out to parents who do not send in an absentee note.

Year Level Attendance Rate 2018

Pre-Primary 93.64%

Year One 91.99%

Year Two 95.02%

Year Three 96.14%

Year Four 94.52%

Year Five 96.28%

Year Six 95.92%

• Follow up is conducted by Assistant Principals at various times during each term. Normally a phone call or meeting for parents who do not comply.

• Principal conducts interview with parent to determine issue. Resolution is determined and acted on.

• Letters detailing absentee information to parents whose children attend less than 90% each semester.

Several students have longer periods of absence from time to time due to overseas travel. Most grades experienced increased absenteeism during winter terms due to winter illnesses. All parents are requested to provide written notes for non-attendance. Parents are contacted for children who are regularly absent. Other action is taken as appropriate regarding non-attendance.

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT RESULTS FOR LITERACY AND NUMERACY (NAPLAN)

The school’s results in both Literacy and Numeracy are extremely pleasing. The success of our programs was evidenced by our NAPLAN results for children in Years 3 & 5. All our children are above the National Minimum Standard benchmark in Reading, Spelling, Grammar & Punctuation, Writing and Numeracy. The school mean is above the National mean in every area and in some cases well above. The school’s commendable NAPLAN results are a consequence of the dedication of staff and the regular communication between teachers and parents, as well as the weekly professional development that takes place at St Thomas’ Primary.

NAPLAN Results Summary 2018

NAPLAN Results Summary 2017/2018

Year 3

2017 2018 Spelling School Mean: 440

All Australian School Mean: 416

School Mean: 447 All Australian School Mean: 417

100 % students at or above the National Minimum Standard


Grammar & Punctuation





Writing School Mean: 467 All Australian School Mean: 413




Reading School Mean: 495 All Australian School Mean: 431




Numeracy School Mean: 449 All Australian School Mean: 409




Year 5

2017 2018 Spelling School Mean: 520

All Australian School Mean: 500 School Mean: 531 All Australian School Mean: 503



Grammar & Punctuation





Writing School Mean: 523 All Australian School Mean: 472




Reading School Mean: 560 All Australian School Mean: 505




Numeracy School Mean: 526 All Australian School Mean: 493




PARENT, STUDENT AND TEACHER SATISFACTION

The community atmosphere at St Thomas’ School is obvious and this is one of the strengths of the school. The support provided by parents for all events is outstanding. Satisfaction with St Thomas’ School is apparent by the strong attendance demonstrated at all community events. Students treat the environment respectfully and a high standard of respect for everyone exists in classrooms and in the playground. The staff is collectively very professional and supports the school in all endeavours. Our School Climate Surveys indicate that parents, students and staff are very satisfied with what is offered at St Thomas’. The data was very positive with most indicators of school climate being above to well above the system average. Strengths, as indicated by the data, are as follows:

Student Behaviour Staff Team Work Staff Professional Growth Teacher Confidence Student Connectedness to School Student Connectedness to Peers Teacher Empathy School Improvement Homework Teacher Morale Parent Input

POST SCHOOL DESTINATIONS

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

System Strategic

Outcomes

2018 Goals Success Measure

L E A D 100% of students demonstrate 0.8 or above growth. NAPLAN is used as the measurement tool.

Based on 2018 NAPLAN data, 53% of students in Year 5 made 0.8% or more growth across the 5 NAPLAN testing areas. The average effect size for each test was as follows: Numeracy – 1.4 Reading – 0.9 Spelling – 0.89 Writing – 0.9 Punctuation & Grammar – 1.13

L E A D

Develop an Aboriginal Education Plan through collaboration with staff and CEWA.

Due to miscommunication with CEO in organising a date for the Aboriginal Education PD, and issues with the Industrial relations act, we were unable to hold the planned Aboriginal Education PD

Secondary Schools/College Number of Students Iona Presentation College 3

John XXIII College 14

Christchurch Grammar College 2

Scotch College 1

Mercedes College 1

Shenton College 4

St Hilda’s 2

Trinity College 1

Churchlands SHS 1

Hale School 1

aimed at developing the school’s Aboriginal Education Plan.

L E A D

Decrease our electricity consumption in order to reduce electricity bills. Decrease our water consumption in order to reduce water bills.

Based on both Electricity and Water accounts, both electricity and water consumption was significantly reduced by up to 35%.

L E A D

By implementing the CEO new Religious Units of work aligned with the Judging Standards; along with a focus of embedding best teacher practice in RE the achievement of students will improve by moving up the scale of the judging standards criteria.

We were not successful in our goal due to circumstances beyond our control - Staff were given Professional Development by CEWA RE Consultant in February 2018 regarding the new RE units and using the Judging Standards. Teachers started to use the New Religious Units of work but then they were withdrawn to be reviewed by the Bishops. We still are promoting best teacher practice and will revisit this goal once the RE units are released (possibly 2020)

2019 Priorities In 2019, the Quality Catholic Schooling Components that will be reviewed are: Wider Community Partnerships Effective Pedagogical Practices All Catholic schools are required to have a Curriculum Plan in place. Using our data collected from across the school to drive our planning the major curriculum priorities for 2019 will continue to be:

• Writing in Years PP – 6 (Brightpath) • Spelling will continue to be an ongoing focus. • NQS instructed by the schools QIP will also be an ongoing focus.

PART TWO: School Community Report Report by the current Board Chair to the School Community on the operations of the Board at the AGM St. Thomas’ Board Overview School Boards primary responsibility:

• Strategy • Financial management – capital budget, fee setting, expenditure

recommendations • Support to Principal and Senior Staff

• Culture setting and standards

Key Issue • Finance – Catholic Schools Funding Model

Key Initiatives • Educational Outcomes • School Marketing Initiative • Cyber Safety • Resilience • Asbestos Audit • Solar Panels

Future – 2018 Plans • New Assistant Principal • Finance Management through to 2020 funding model • Resource allocation to existing and new initiatives around

educational outcomes • Marketing Initiatives • Staff Development – our staff are exceptional • Continue the positive collaboration with the P&F for the benefit of

our children and community. • Promotion within the community and Church of the importance of

Parish Schools • Effectively communicate with and embrace our community at all

levels – primary beneficiary – everyone's responsibility. Our Exceptional Staff

• EduDance • Surfing • Robotics • Swimming Training • Year 6 Camp • AQWA Sleepover • Year 6 World Vision Backpack Challenge Sleepover • Year 5/6 Cricket regional finals • Perth Zoo

Board Changes – Thank you

• Cath Carroll • Linda Foot • Brad Howard • Carla Di Latte

Thank you / Acknowledgements • Fr Wayne and St Thomas Parish. • Justin, Ryan, Nicky and the team for their educational and operational

leadership. • The wonderful teaching staff who nurture, educate and positively

encourage each of the varied gifts our children have. Educational, personal and faith development.

• Julie and Lea in Administration / Front Office. They are an incredibly welcoming face for our community and make sure everything runs very smoothly.

• Carla and the school P&F. The collaborative work between the Board and P&F continues to build our community and benefit our children.

• Special thanks also to Linda Foot who has done an incredible job as Treasurer. Linda’s guidance and dedication has been instrumental in providing responsible and prudent financial management at St Thomas.

• Best wishes to parents, families and staff that are leaving the school. • We have a wonderful community here with a continued opportunity

to support each other, regardless of our roles, with the support, care and development of our beautiful children as our shared achievement.

Best wishes to you all for a safe, happy and holy Christmas and holiday season with your families. Thank you. Peter Gibbons Board Chair

A statement of the provisional budget for the ensuing year

2018 INCOME- represented by chart $

Fees and Levies 888,690

Discounts and Concessions -39,831

Fundraising 0

Sundry Revenue 823

Interest Received 5,952

Commonwealth Govt Recurrent Grants 1,072,20

7

State Govt Recurrent Grants 463,786

Other Recurrent Grants 4,900

Commonwealth Govt Capital Grants 0

State Govt Capital Grants 0

Other Capital Grants 0

Donations 48,373

Other Income Grants 13,186

Trading Activities - PreKindy 61,920

Total Income

2,520,006

34%

-2%0%

0%0%

41%

18%

0%0% 0%

0%

2%

1%

2%

Fees and Levies

Discounts and Concessions

Fundraising

Sundry Revenue

Interest Received

Commonwealth Govt RecurrentGrantsState Govt Recurrent Grants

Other Recurrent Grants

Commonwealth Govt Capital Grants

State Govt Capital Grants

Other Capital Grants

Donations

2018 EXPENDITURE- represented by chart $

Employee benefits expenses 1,835,038 Curriculum expenses 140,070 Finance costs 6,281 Administration and general 212,269 Maintenance and utility expenses 135,868 Other expenses -163 Cost of goods sold 0

Total Expenditure 2,329,363

Surplus (Deficit) for the year before depreciation, amortisation and impairment 190,643 Depreciation, amortisation and impairment 263,872

Surplus (Deficit) for the year -73,229 Other comprehensive income - Changes in reserves 0

Total comprehensive income for the year -73,229

NB: This report was created prior to "Final" audit signings and may be subject to minor changes

79%

6%

0% 9%

6%

0% 0%Employee benefits expenses

Curriculum expenses

Finance costs

Administration and general

Maintenance and utilityexpenses

Other expenses

Cost of goods sold

st thomas’ annual report 2018 principal: justin tuohy · school profile st thomas' school,...

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