annual school reportminimum standards the support unit had an exciting year with the commonwealth...
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NSW Department of Education & Training
2060
2010 Annual School Report Grafton Public School
NSW Public Schools – Leading the way
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Our school at a glance
Students
We have an enrolment of 701 students comprising of town and rural, from a heritage of multicultural, Aboriginal and Anglo-Saxon backgrounds, all growing
and learning together.
Staff
We have a dedicated teaching and ancillary staff who are focused upon student development. All our teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.
Significant programs and initiatives
Within the balanced curriculum we have targeted Literacy and Numeracy along with Technology and Environmental Education as our school foci over the 2010 – 2014 quadrennial.
Student achievement in 2010
We are pleased with our continued achievement in grammar and punctuation as well as spelling. These previous targets are displaying sustained progress. We have reviewed and moved our focus to Writing, Number and Computer Studies over this next quadrennial.
Messages
Principal’s message What a ‘ripper’ of a year!! Our students have been
provided with a diversity of opportunities across all
curriculum areas. This year we have had students
participate in: The Premier’s Spelling challenge; The
Premier’s Reading challenge; the NSW Multicultural
Debating competition; Writer’s Workshops with
visiting authors John Heffernan and Cameron Stelzer;
Band and music tuition; the school’s - photography
club; the Kilometer challenge; dance and drama club;
and chess club. We had over 120 students participate
in the university challenge whereby our students were
accredited with 63 credits (top 25% of NSW), 20
distinctions (top 10% of NSW) and one high
distinction ( top 2% of NSW). We also had teams
participate in the NSW PSSA state wide knockouts in
tennis, boys and girls football(soccer), hockey and
touch football and a boys team in the cricket and a
girls team in the netball. This year our tennis team was
ranked third in the state and our Girl’s Hockey were
crowned state champions! We also had twelve of our
students represent our North Coast Region at state
events in swimming, cross country, athletics, tennis,
hockey and softball.
On top of this our students also managed to fit in
extended excursions to Canberra (Year6); Brisbane
(Year 5) and Cascade Environmental Centre (Year4)
and local excursions for years 3 to Kindergarten
including a ride on the steam train from Grafton to
Glenreagh.
Across our community we have formed alliances and
working partnerships with the Grafton Regional
Conservatorium, the Grafton Regional Art Gallery and
the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.
These have provided a wealth of diverse benefits for
our students K to Y6. Overall, it was an engaging, busy
and rewarding year for our students and staff.
I certify that the information in this report is the result of a rigorous school self-evaluation process and is a balanced and genuine account of the school’s achievements and areas for development.
Will Randall
Principal
P & C and/or School Council message
Our P & C was in an hiatus state between the change
over of executive and a report was unavailable at the
time of printing.
Student representative’s message We have enjoyed ourselves this year with many of
us representing the school in a variety of ways. We
have seen our Aboriginal heritage receive a greater
profile as well as our environmental studies. This
year we participated in the Water Wise Program
and are now accredited as a Water Wise school.
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This means that we are trying to be more
responsible with the use of our water. Our NAIDOC
activities included a BBQ which was really well
attended by our whole community.
The SRC raised in excess of $4 500 for charity. The
mufti days were particularly successful.
Our sporting teams were successful, especially our
tennis and girls hockey teams. We also had AFL and
soccer enrichment training provided by the local
associations.
Callum O’Loughlin and Isabella Davis
School context Student information
It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all students must be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.
Student enrolment profile 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Male 348 353 359 349 336
Female 351 364 374 365 351
Student attendance profile
Management of non-attendance
We follow the policy of contacting parents/guardians after three days absence, partial or full.
Class sizes
In March 2003 the Government announced its commitment to publish primary class sizes in annual school reports in order to provide parents with as much local information as possible.
The following table shows our class sizes as reported at the 2010 class size audit conducted on Wednesday 17 March 2010.
Roll Class
Year Total per Year
Total in Class
KB K 21 21
KG K 21 21
KP K 22 22
KR K 20 20
2TK 2 26 26
2SA 2 24 24
2JN 2 27 27
2MR 2 26 26
3EW 3 30 30
3SH 3 29 29
3CM 3 28 28
6JD 6 32 32
6NC 6 31 31
6KJ 6 30 30
3/4KM 3 17 30
3/4KM 4 13 30
5/6SL 6 21 32
5/6SL 5 11 32
1AS 1 19 19
1JA 1 18 18
1PF 1 17 17
1JE 1 19 19
5KB 5 32 32
5TA 5 30 30
5KR 5 30 30
4HA 4 26 26
4RR 4 27 27
4LA 4 27 27
Additional to this table are our Support Unit classes, these being: Y3-6 MB, K-Y4MM and Y3 – Y6 LJ with a total enrolment of 31 students.
Staff information
It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all staff must be consistent with privacy and personal information policies
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Att
en
da
nc
e r
ate
Year
Student attendance rates
School Region State DET
3
Staff establishment
Position Number
Principal 1 Deputy Principal(s) 2 Assistant Principal(s) 5 Classroom Teachers 23.970 Teacher of Mild/Moderate/Severe Intellectual Disabilities
3
Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.815 Support Teacher Learning Assistance 1.4 Teacher Librarian 1.2 Teacher of ESL 0 Counsellor 0.6 School Administrative & Support Staff 7.872 Total 46.857
The National Education Agreement requires schools to report on Indigenous composition of their workforce. Within our complex staffing mix we have two persons of Aboriginal Heritage as part of our team.
Teacher qualifications
All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.
Qualifications % of staff
Degree or Diploma 87 Postgraduate 13
Staff in character at the book parade in Term 3.
Financial summary
This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance.
Date of financial summary: 30/11/2010Income $
Balance brought forward 77 119Global funds 381 868Tied funds 321 329School & community sources 142 196Interest 8 145Trust receipts 27 201Canteen 0.00Total income 957 860
ExpenditureTeaching & learning Key learning areas 58 489 Excurs ions 72 025 Extracurricular dissections 42 964Library 375.00Training & development 7 535Tied funds 263 761Casual relief teachers 133 349Administration & office 75 551School-operated canteen 0.00Utilities 59 193Maintenance 52 257Trust accounts 12 893Capital programs 63 378Total expenditure 841 775Balance carried forward 116 085
A full copy of the school’s 2010 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the School Council and/or the parent body. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school. The school Library has its own account .
School performance 2010
Achievements
Arts
Grafton PS continued to provide a variety of
opportunities for children to participate in artistic
endeavours. The band, supported by a revised
organisational structure, made excellent progress.
Many of the band members made outstanding
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progress and performances showed remarkable
improvement. We are very proud to be associated
with the Clarence Valley Conservatorium of Music
as they provide a depth and breadth of specialist
tutors.
The school choirs continued to function well, under
the guidance of Mr. Keogh and Mrs. Ware,
providing opportunity for our students to
participate in the local eisteddfod as well as
perform at our school’s special events.
Our Photographic Club held a display in the school
hall which was well received by the public and our
school community. The students work on display
was remarkable and we now have a strong link with
a local business due to this. Ms McDonagh and Ms
Dowsett have provided excellent guidance to the
students in this club.
We also made many journeys to the local Art
Gallery which led to many students improving their
appreciation that art is a part of life. The creative
writing workshop, conducted as part of an Artist in
Schools Community of Schools Project, resulted in
an e-anthology being published.
Sport
2010 has been an outstanding year for sport here at
Grafton Public School. The day to day sports and
fitness program supported all children in developing
their skills. The PPSA Tennis and Girls Hockey teams
were Regional Champions making it through to the
final four in the state. The tennis team, under the
guidance of Mrs Avery, were placed third in NSW.
This was a fantastic result. The girls’ hockey team,
under the coaching of Mrs Janet Philp, played out
the finals of the competition at Bathurst and were
proclaimed State Champions!
This was a magnificent effort. Players and staff are
to be congratulated for these outstanding results
which reflect the schools commitment to providing
opportunities for all to excel. Our students
participated in cross country, athletics and
swimming.
Fun Swimming Carnival Event
100m 9y Girls Event
Academic
In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10.
The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments.
Gotcha Award recipients
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Literacy – NAPLAN Year 3
[Yr 3: from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest)]
Numeracy – NAPLAN Year 3
Literacy – NAPLAN Year 5
[Yr 5: from Band 3 (lowest) to Band 8 (highest)]
Numeracy – NAPLAN Year 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1 2 3 4 5 6
Perc
en
tag
e o
f stu
de
nts
Band
Percentage of students in bands: Year 3 grammar and punctuation
Percentage in band
School average 2008 - 2010
SSG average 2010
State DET average 2010
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1 2 3 4 5 6
Perc
en
tag
e o
f stu
de
nts
Band
Percentage of students in bands: Year 3 numeracy
Percentage in band
School average 2008 - 2010
SSG average 2010
State DET average 2010
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
3 4 5 6 7 8
Perc
en
tag
e o
f stu
de
nts
Band
Percentage of students in bands: Year 5 grammar and punctuation
Percentage in band
School average 2008 - 2010
SSG average 2010
State DET average 2010
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
3 4 5 6 7 8
Perc
en
tag
e o
f stu
de
nts
Band
Percentage of students in bands: Year 5 numeracy
Percentage in band
School average 2008 - 2010
SSG average 2010
State DET average 2010
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Progress in literacy
Progress in numeracy
Minimum standards
The Commonwealth Government sets minimum standards for reading, writing, grammar and punctuation, spelling and numeracy for years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
The performance of the students in our school in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy is compared to these minimum standards. The percentages of our students achieving at or above these standards are reported below.
Percentage of Year 3 students in our school achieving at or above the minimum standard in 2010
Percentage of Year 3 students achieving at or above minimum standard
Reading
89
Writing
93
Spelling
92
Punctuation and grammar
92
Numeracy 89
Percentage of Year 5 students in our school achieving at or above the minimum standard in 2010
Percentage of Year 5 students achieving at or above minimum standard
Reading
88
Writing
83
Spelling
86
Punctuation and grammar
85
Numeracy 88
Significant programs and initiatives
Music. Grafton Public School continues to gain recognition for the music programs offered to support all students. Apart from the regular programs provided to support all students, our school also achieved the following: School choirs participated in the regional eisteddfods and at special school functions; The school maintained and expanded upon our tuition programs for drums, wind, percussion and string instruments. The band program operated through the continued collaboration with the Clarence Valley Conservatorium of Music with our school band winning its section of the Clarence Valley eisteddfod.
Support Unit
The Support Unit had an exciting year with
construction of new classrooms commencing under
the Federal Government’s BER funding. The students
enjoyed watching their new complex being built and
are excited about the future move early next year.
The new complex consists of two classrooms, a
therapy room and a joint bathroom and kitchen area.
All students in the Support Unit were provided with an
education based on their individual academic, physical
and emotional needs. They were also given the
opportunity to participate in age appropriate
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2006 - 2008 2007 - 2009 2008 - 2010
Pro
gre
ss
Average progress in reading between Year 3 and Year 5
School SSG State DET
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2006 - 2008 2007 - 2009 2008 - 2010
Pro
gre
ss
Average progress in numeracy between Year 3 and Year 5
School SSG State DET
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integration activities by accessing classroom activities,
grade camps, excursions and assemblies. The students
from the Support Unit also enjoyed a two night camp
to Arrawarra where they participated in a range of
activities promoting healthy living and independence.
Aboriginal education
2010 witnessed our school successfully applying for and accessing School’s in Partnership funding. This led to the appointment of two Aboriginal Education Workers whose roles included assisting our students and setting up networks across our community. We also had our K to Y2 students all develop their own Individual Learning Plan as well as the inception of our GPS Aboriginal Education Consultative Committee which is assisting with the guidance of our school’s implementation of the NSW Aboriginal Education Policy.
Aboriginal Art Show – NAIDOC Week.
Respect and responsibility
Students are encouraged and supported to demonstrate respect for others and to take responsibility for their actions. Throughout 2010 our Positive Behaviour and Learning program was implemented, designed to explicitly teach aspects of life requiring students to exercise respect and responsibility. The whole-school Leadership Policy is one of many strategies used to teach students respect and responsibility. In addition parents were also invited to support student understanding of respect and responsibility.
Progress on 2010 targets
Target 1
Target 1: Deepen teacher and student knowledge
and understanding of quality writing:
Strategies used to achieve this target included:
The review and expansion of the GPS Writing Rubric for each stage to a five point marking scale.
Staff development sessions on the writing process including the ‘Artists in Schools’ residency and in school consultancy.
Stage level workshops dedicated to consistency in the marking of writing using the rubric and writing continuum.
The teachers collaborated with colleagues, developing and trialing quality teaching practices and assessments. Our achievements included:
Pre and post teacher surveys displayed a greater depth of professional understanding and confidence in teaching descriptive writing.
The comparison of 2 recount/narrative writing work samples per class, one from the beginning of term 1 and one from the end of term 3, indicated improvement as indicated by positive movement in the students rubric scores. Target 2: To improve the students’ outcomes in
Number and Working Mathematically.
Strategies used to achieve this target included:
Each stage developing a teaching and learning sequence which comprised of open ended real world maths tasks, language pattern scaffolds and working mathematically prompts.
The provision of funding and opportunities for the continued development of teacher knowledge and understanding of the Working Mathematically and Number strands of the Mathematics syllabus.
The refinement and implementation of the Count Me In Too program K – 2.
Grade planning for the implementation of the Mathematics Syllabus K-6.
Early assessment of numeracy skills with the implementation of Best Start Assessment in Kindergarten. Our achievements included:
The majority of staff indicating an improved level of understanding of the teaching of number and working mathematically.
All staff actively participating in professional dialogue regarding number and working mathematically as evidenced within the supervision process.
Quality teaching practices being incorporated in the teaching of number as evidenced within teachers classroom teaching programs and lesson observations.
Student results show improvement as the result of explicit teaching K-6.
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Target 3: To foster a deep understanding of
Aboriginal Australian history and culture in each
student.
Strategies to achieve this target include:
Opportunities provided for all students to develop a greater understanding of Aboriginal history and contemporary culture through activities and exposure to guest speakers on a class, stage or whole school basis.
Focus activities organised to celebrate NAIDOC week.
Key staff trained in preparing PLPs for Aboriginal Students.
100% of Personalised Learning Plans developed have the active engagement of parents.
Develop a local cultural knowledge program in consultation with the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group as part of the Grafton Community of schools.
Utilise the Dare to Lead program for a situational analysis and snapshot for our school.
Establish a school Aboriginal Education Committee. Our achievements included:
All students participate in planned activities to improve their awareness and understanding of aboriginal culture.
40% of Aboriginal students with Personalised Learning Plans.
Grafton Public School having an operational and effective Aboriginal Education Committee with strong links to the local AECG.
All staff being trained and proficient in writing PLP’s.
Grafton PS celebrating NAIDOC week with the participation of local elders and members of the
local Aboriginal communities. 200 teachers participating in the local Cultural Day as a Community of Schools Development Day.
Target 4: To raise awareness of environmental sustainability both at home and school.
Strategies to achieve this target include:
Establishment of a student led Youth Environment Council to help direct the growth of the schools environmental sustainability.
The students participate in school based environmental competitions: Poster/ Litter Free Lunch/World Environment Day.
Develop a local vegetation knowledge in consultation with the school’s Aboriginal Education Committee as part of the Grafton Community of schools.
Establish a School Environment and Sustainability committee. Our achievements included:
All students participate in planned activities to improve their awareness, understanding and application of environmental sustainability.
A 7 % reduction in electricity and water usage.
Environmental concepts incorporated into classroom units of study and witnessed within the TARS process in T3.
The establishment of a school, student led, Youth Environment Council and their participation in the regional YEC meetings.
Key Evaluations
It is a requirement for all NSW public schools to
conduct at least two annual evaluations – one related
to curriculum and the other related to educational and
management practice. In 2010, our school carried out
evaluations in the areas of Support Teacher Learning
(STL) and Writing and Number. 2010 was the first year
of our focus in these two curriculum areas. They will
remain as priorities and be re-evaluated in the near
future as more detailed outcomes become available.
Curriculum:
Background
In 2010, the school, with the assistance of an external
consultant, conducted evaluations on the school’s
progress in achieving its outcomes in writing and
number. The intended writing outcomes included
improvements in writing quality, better stage results,
the increased use of innovative technology and the
use of the Quality Teaching Framework to achieve
better teaching practice. The intended number
outcomes included enhanced teaching practices,
improved student results and the increased use of
innovative technology.
Findings and conclusion:
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The table below indicates the general school factors
that contributed to achieving progress in the focus
area of writing and number (based on staff feedback).
School organization
Teacher
attitudes
Professional
learning
Teaching
practice
Teaching
programs
Resourcing
Writing 96% 92% 79% 71% 68% 56%
Number 92% 83% 73% 52% 63% 69%
The following specific school activities have
contributed the most to achieving progress in the
focus area of writing.
Shared teaching/collegial experiences e.g. guided
writing, lesson study, modeling etc
Shared planning e.g. rubric development
Professional visits e.g. John Heffernan visit
Teacher’s aide support
Additional STL/Reading Recovery (RR)
Improved technology usage
The following specific school activities have
contributed the least to achieving progress in the area
of writing.
Too much emphasis on text types
Too many assessments
Inadequate writing resources
Inconsistent STL support in some classrooms
Daily interruptions
The following school activities have contributed the
most to achieving progress in the focus area of
number.
Collegial planning
A focus on mental computations
The TENS program
Hands on interactive technology
The following school activities have contributed the
least to achieving progress in the area of number.
Aspects of the introduction of the new numeracy
program leading to problems with:
the lack of familiarity with the program early in
the year;
some staff abandoning the new program in K-3;
a rushed process;
programming, resourcing, and personal support
seen to be lacking particularly in K-2, 5-6; and
no time for consolidation with too much
content.
Discontinuing the use of text books with
photocopies being ‘substituted’
A variable staff approach to teaching practice and
the lack of continuity between stages
Daily interruptions
Future directions
In general, sound progress is being made particularly
from the support provided by the school’s
organisational processes, professional learning
activities, resourcing and to a degree, teaching
practice/programs. Additional focus needs to be in
the areas of teaching practice and programs in
number, and resourcing, in writing. All intended
outcomes are being achieved to varying degrees.
More specifically the activities involving shared
collegial experiences, such as lesson study, planning,
professional development and interactive technology,
were successful and valued. Additional focus needs to
be in supporting the new numeracy program and in
particular the area of number with the types of
activities mentioned above.
Educational and management practice
Background
In 2010, the school, again with the assistance of an
external consultant, conducted an evaluation into the
effectiveness of the school’s STL arrangements.
Arrangements for 2010 involved an increased
commitment of resources.
Findings and conclusions
Responses to the enhanced STL structure were
generally positive and supported the increased
amount of STL resources being used. Evidence existed
of significant progress against stage outcomes in Year
1 in particular. The in class model of delivery was
clearly favoured by staff particularly if interactive
technology was part of the learning strategies.
Morning classes were also favoured in terms of the
most appropriate time of the day for STL. Delivery by
qualified teachers was also identified as an important
factor as was determining the respective roles of the
classroom and STL teacher in each classroom.
Issues that arose included the need for consistency
between STL teachers, and across the participating
years e.g. K-3. The compatibility of the classroom
teacher with the STL teacher was identified as being
important. Strong support was indicated by staff for
having STL staff involved in guided writing and other
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aspects of the teaching of writing and number. Finally
some staff teaching the more senior years without STL
support expressed the opinion that they also need
these resources.
Future directions
The upgraded STL structure introduced in 2010 will
continue to operate in 2011 with minor amendments.
The available resourcing is targeted where we hope it
will produce the best results. An additional focus will
be on consistency in the classroom and across
classrooms. Discussion will occur involving the use of
limited STL resources in areas other than reading and
what gains and losses this process might involve.
Parent, student, and teacher satisfaction
In 2010 the school sought the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school. Their responses are presented below.
School Open Day Celebration
Grafton students are proud of their school. This is reflected in their involvement in school activities beyond the classroom. Comments made by the students indicate an understanding of the care and concern the staff have for them. The students also enjoy belonging to the school community. Teaching staff continue to be very supportive of the school. Staff retention is an indicator that teachers find the school professionally rewarding. Responses from parents as indicated in an individualised straw poll, parent teacher meetings and P and C meetings indicated that there is a general respect and support for the staff and the way the school functions. The poll revealed a number of areas which might be better addressed and most of these comments were in regard to communication with earlier notice of some school events being requested. Many of the survey
responses were very complimentary towards the staff and the school in general.
Grandparents Day Celebration.
Professional learning Literacy - Casual relief days have been used to release teachers to have the opportunity to participate in Lesson Study and to enhance our Consistency of Teacher Judgment. The Lesson Study Model had not previously been used at Grafton Public School. At a whole staff meeting, the process of Lesson Study was explained and teachers were asked to select a buddy to design a lesson from their programs and teach it while their buddy coded it against one of a number of recording tools. As a result of having the time for teachers to meet to plan and design, there was an increase in professional dialogue. Following the teaching of the lesson, there was reflection and the lesson "tweaked". This refined lesson was then taught to a different class by the other buddy. Teacher feedback about this experience included: Positives: "Shared understanding; Good to see outcomes of other students; Positive to see how other people teach; Strategies were shared; Do want to do it again; Good enticement to collect great resources to improve lessons." Negative: "More preparation time and notice needed. Not during STL time. Some felt a little stressed." Interesting: "The same lesson was delivered very differently; quite different outcomes. ICT was added in classrooms that have it; Programs need to be changed to revisit each text type. Debriefing helped." While team teaching has increased in K-2 as a result of our in-class STL model, Lesson study allowed class teachers to have professional dialogue around teaching writing. Consistency of Teacher Judgment using student writing was facilitated by the time provided to grade teams. Teachers had constructed marking rubrics and the teacher relief time was used to gain a common
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understanding of criteria. The result was less difference between teachers' assessment of student writing. Numeracy - Grafton Public School has utilised professional learning time and funds to support numeracy development in three ways this year. We have been mentoring staff members in how to plan and rewrite Stage plans for the Mathematics K-6 syllabus. These plans have been gradually put into place enabling staff to learn from others in areas such as using ICT to enhance mathematics teaching & learning. Some staff also trialed new assessment tasks, evaluated those tasks and created new K-6 tracking instruments that will allow individual student progress to be monitored easily by class teachers and administrators. This tracking has also linked in with Best Start and Count Me In Too assessment programs and has provided 8 staff members from K-6, valuable professional development. The third area of professional learning in numeracy we have been able to develop is in catering for Gifted & Talented students in regular mathematics lessons. Support includes, sending extra staff to collaborative planning days with other local schools and follow up lesson trials and lesson study. Six additional staff members have been able to participate in this program with the assistance of SGHS funds. Numeracy for Gifted and Talented students - Differentiating the Curriculum. A professional learning course, was delivered to 25 teachers from one high school and two primary schools as a CoS SNP, designed to deepen teachers’ understanding of the research underpinning GAT education and to give tools to teachers to better improve the student learning outcomes of their GAT students. The evaluation of this course showed success in:
moving teachers forward in their thinking about the issues underlying the need to cater for GAT students
building the capacity of teachers to program a differentiated curriculum, through enrichment and extension, using high order questioning techniques and the tools and models of curriculum differentiation and planning; Bloom's taxonomy, Maker, Williams and Kaplan models and the Quality Teaching Framework and
recognition of the significance of the links between Stages 2, 3 and 4 in the Maths K-10 Continuum.
School Development Plan 2010 – 2014
This can be accessed on our school website.
Targets for 2011
Target 1
School Priority Area: Literacy – Writing
Intended Outcomes:
Deepen student knowledge and understanding of quality writing.
School based data will show students achieving individual learning goals in relation to stage/grade outcomes for Literacy.
Use of innovative technology will enhance student learning through increased levels of competency, confidence and utilisation by students and staff.
The Quality Teaching Framework and Best Start Continuum will be used as an instrument for improvement and consolidation of teaching practice and improved learning outcomes for students.
Grade based consistency of teacher application of NSW syllabus expectations and assessment levels.
Our success will be measured by:
To have 35 % of our Year 3 students achieve at or above the proficient standard (Bands 5 & 6) in NAPLAN 2011.
Each student will improve by 0.5 of a GPS writing rubric between March and September 2011.
Reduce the proportion of Year 5 Aboriginal students at or below minimum standard in writing from 20 % in 2009 to 10 % in 2011.
Increase the proportion of Year 5 Aboriginal students achieving at or above the proficient standards from 0 % in 2009 to 15 % in 2010.
Increase the percentage of Year 5 students in the top 3 NAPLAN skill bands in writing from 75% in 2009 to 78% in 2011.
Move the middle grouping of Year 5 students 3% above their performance in the 2009 NAPLAN.
Target 2
School Priority Area: Mathematics – Number Intended Outcomes:
Improve our students’ conceptual associations and connecting information in Number through consistent, targeted quality teaching practices.
Improve our students’ achievement in Number.
Engage all students in the use of innovative technology, increasing their levels of competency, confidence and utilisation.
Our success will be measured by:
To have 25% of our Year 3 students achieve at or above the proficient standard (bands 5 & 6) in NAPLAN 2010.
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Each student will improve 1 growth level of the GPS Number profile between February and October 2010.
Increase the percentage of Year 5 students in the top 2 NAPLAN skill bands (proficient) in Number from 25% in 2009 to 38% in 2011.
Decrease the percentage of Year 5 students in the bottom 2 NAPLAN skill bands in Number from 27% in 2009 to 19% in 2011.
Decrease the proportion of Aboriginal students at or below minimum standard in number from 33% in 2009 to 15% in 2011.
Increase the proportion of Aboriginal students achieving at or above the proficient standards from 0% in 2009 to 11% in 2011.
Target 3
School Priority Area: Environmental Education
Intended Outcomes:
Raised student and community awareness of environmental sustainability.
Developed a more sustainable school environment by increasing recycling within the school.
Further development of the school vegetable garden to support the school canteen and healthy eating.
Our success will be measured by:
Raised environmental awareness both at school and home.
Commencement of a School Environmental Management Plan.
Increased recycling techniques used within the school.
Reduction in electricity and water usage by 2.5 %.
Student participation and management of a vegetable garden.
Environmental concepts incorporated into the school’s curriculum.
The establishment of a school, student led, Youth Environment Council.
Community Participation
Jacaranda Festival Float
Waterwise Presentation
Cycle for Cancer Research.
About this report
In preparing this report, the self-evaluation committee has gathered information from evaluations conducted during the year and analysed other information about the school's practices and student learning outcomes. The self-evaluation committee and school planning committee have determined targets for the school's future development.
Will Randall Principal Leigh Robertson Deputy Principal Lisa Laurie GPS Aboriginal Education Consultative Committee.
School contact information Grafton Public School Queen St, Grafton. NSW 2560 Ph: 02 66 421 000 Fax: 02 6643 2073 Email: [email protected] Web: Enter here School Code: 2060
Parents can find out more information about Annual School Reports, how to interpret information in the reports and have the opportunity to provide feedback about these reports at: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/asr