2014 Annual Report

Kirinari Community School

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Table of contents

Convener’s Report 4

Membership & Governance 6

Council of Teachers’ Report 7

Curriculum Policy 9

Staff & Professional Development 10

Student Body 11

Grounds & Facilities 12

Grants 13

Volunteers 14

Financial Report 15

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Convener’s Report

Gilda Ayerst - Convener 2014/2015

To misquote a great statesman- some are born to be conven-ers, others grow into being conveners, and some have con-vener-ship thrust upon them! I fell into that last category.

I am not a natural committee member, being of the belief that committees are often a place where good ideas go to die. I am fractious and confrontational and an agitator and, according to my daughter- often just really mean.

But mostly I exhibit these qualities when I am passionate. And I have been- and remain, despite my absence- intensely pas-sionate about this school. If there was one thing that I hoped to achieve in my term as convener in 2014- it was to get us all to reassess what the core ‘spirit, the underlying essence’ of the school was. For me, it was the word ‘Community”.

I have always truly believed that it ‘Takes a Village To Raise a Child’

In Swahili the proverb ‘ Asiyefunzwa na mamae hufunzwa na ulimwengu’ approximates to ‘a child will be moulded by the values of its community…’

Kirinari is our village, our community.

In South Africa, we use the word ‘Ubuntu’ as a political philos-ophy, made famous by President Mandela and Bishop Tutu. It is a word that defies direct translation, but refers to some-thing much deeper: humanity, human-ness, virtue, kindness, and goodness. It is the philosophy of ‘I am because you are’- humanity is a quality we owe each other. I believe the words of Bishop Tutu sums up beautifully the ideal that Kirinari can achieve: “A person with Ubuntu is open and available to oth-ers, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from a proper self assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are diminished…”

I have felt so honoured to get to know so many of the par-ents, and to get to know so many extraordinary children, and see them grow and thrive. And so my focus as convener and parent was, the idea of The School as a Community.

The accepted paradigm relating to schools today is that they serve a single purpose: a binary, analogue-system of delivery - teachers teach and students learn. For want of a more poetic analogy, Community schools are more akin to an ad for smart phones: Community Schools Connect, Collaborate, and Cre-ate. Learning is as much about the process, as the content.

Being a community is what is integral to our school, and so as convener I have tried to focus on ways that build that spirit- with small tentative baby steps into organising events that bring us all together: whether it be the disco, the bonfire, the fair…I believe that a school isn’t a place where we send our children to learn a curriculum. It is a place where we all share in a holistic process of real education: where we and our fam-ilies and children learn about what it is to become a human being. To learn the values of Respect and Dignity and Kind-

ness and Generosity and Compassion. We learn the values of a real community.

We are so blessed to be at Kirinari. Those children who have come in from reception, will never truly know the extraordinary gift they have been given: the gift to be themselves in the best possible way.

For those that came later in years- Kirinari is often a lifeline thrown out to them, as they drown in the school system. It is a place where children feel safe, and valued, and can develop a sense of really belonging to something bigger than themselves.

For us personally- I can never articulate just how much it has done for my child. To use an awful cliché- she truly has blossomed. From being a silent, withdrawn, and insecure child, unable to communicate with class mates and teach-ers through the trauma of public school- I am so proud of the gentle, assured and confident young lady she has be-come- thanks to the remarkable effort of the teachers and parents and children here: to Jan who gave her back her soul and her smile and kept her buoyant, and Marc who taught her to laugh and learn and grow each day in a spirit of joy and craziness. And of course to The Always Lovely Nina, who met her – and me-and all of us- each and every day with a smile or a cuddle or a kindness that somehow makes the day a few degrees brighter and warmer!

We are all blessed to have teachers that are truly unique- who understand and respect our children in strange and mysterious ways that often we don’t even understand…

And so great things have happened. We have a new class, enrolments are steady. The children thrive. The block is still growing and green.

BUT- I have also seen that we can’t ever become compla-cent. It is not always smooth going: the last year has indeed seen some fractious moments. There are areas of disagree-ment, fear of change, fear of challenge and the new. And a particularly scary Budget report.

And that is ok. Growth is not always easy. It sometimes involves the odd tantrum, a lesson to be learnt, a wrong turn. But we find our way back, if we know where we are headed as a community.

And so I want to thank the dedicated members of the Par-ents Committee that gave so much of their time. I hope you- and others- continue to do so. And I implore you to con-tinue to applaud when necessary, smile good morning eve-ry day to every child and teacher, change things when things need to be changed, to help the school evolve- noth-ing in life is or should be stagnant. It’s even ok (although unAustralian I am told) to agitate a little! But always en-sure that the lines of communication remain open with a generosity of spirit- between teachers and children, par-ents and teachers- in fact everyone in the community. Lis-ten. Hear. Share.

Because above all, Kirinari must reflect in its small way, the larger community we would like our children to help create

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one day: a community based on human-ness despite diversity, and on Respect, Kindness and Dignity. If Kirinari is to continue to offer its unique place as a sanctuary- and it must- we are all going to have to really pull it along together. We are all- teachers, parents, and children- going to have to put in the extra mile. We can’t rely on the idea that others- whether it be the govern-ment, the education board, the other parents, the teach-ers, the management committee - will make this school not only survive- but THRIVE. It is incumbent on each of us to play a part. It is easy to become complacent, to believe that we are doing enough. That it’s ok to coast along.

I implore everyone here to really take this school into your hearts- become more involved. I know you are busy. Everyone is busy. There are so many ways to con-tribute. Contribute with ideas, if not time. Get behind projects that are suggested. If you think of something that would be a good idea for the school or a class– whether it is a fund raiser, a trip to a gallery or a play, an educational opportunity- make it happen! Use the man-agement committee more! Embrace the school and all the opportunities it offers. We need more families to join our community- spread the word about how much it has meant to you. It’s about being pro active. It’s about being an active and contributing member of the community. The school is what you make it. It’s about creating the kind of learning environment that is exciting and sparking with ideas and never ever stops evolving and growing. I am because you are.

Almost a century and a half ago, Abraham Lincoln wrote

a letter to his son's Head Master. The Letter reads:

“Respected Teacher,

My son will have to learn I know that all men are not just, all men are not true.

But teach him also that for ever scoundrel there is a he-ro; that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend.

It will take time, I know; but teach him, if you can, that a dollar earned is far more valuable

than five found.

Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning

Steer him away from envy, if you can.

Teach him the secret of quite laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to

tick.

Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books.. but also give him quiet time to ponder over the

eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill –side.

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong.

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when every one is getting on the bandwagon.

Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and

take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tears.

Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness

Teach him to never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob… and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.

Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him

always to have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have sublime faith in

mankind.

This is a big order; but see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow, my son.

Abraham Lincoln. "

As parents, educators and community members we want the same for our 'fine little fellows'.

With Warmest Regards

Gilda

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Governance

The Management Committee comprises two members of the Council of Teachers together with the following elected members:

Convenor ........................................ Gilda Blacher-Ayerst

Secretary ........................................ Maria Bilske

Treasurer ........................................ Ewa Kapusniak

Member ......................................... Wesley Doyle

Member ......................................... Nick Glover

Member ......................................... Sara Mitchell

Member ......................................... Pavlos Kounavelis

The management of the school is shared between the Council of Teachers and the Management Committee.

Membership

The membership of The Community comprises parents of currently enrolled students together with teachers.

The Management Committee is responsible for the financial operations and governance of the business.

Teachers who deliver at least 0.3 time of teaching are members of the Council of Teachers. They meet weekly on Wednesdays and are re-

sponsible for the day to day educational operations of the school, as well as acting as the school’s Principal.

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Council of Teachers’ Report

The purpose of this report is to give an overview of some of things that have happened in the educational program and day to day running of the school during the past year. The year from April 2014 to February 2015 has had both positive highlights and challenges so we would like to share some of them with you. In last March’s COT Report to the AGM we were hoping that the fourth class (Little Middle Group) would become full-time rather than part-time (three days per week). We are pleased to say that this was achieved from start of Term 2, 2014 and the class is continuing on into 2015. The extra class has been of positive educational benefit as it has led to year level range reduction in the class groups. For example – Little Group did range from Reception to Year 2 and is now for Reception and Year 1. Catherine Dutch started teaching Little Middle Group for four days per week once it became a full-time class but we still needed to employ extra teachers to cover Fridays and as the NIT Teacher on Thursdays. Two COT members and two Management Committee Members formed a selection panel to appoint these teachers. We received a large number of applications for the positions so the selection and interview process was time-consuming. It was worthwhile however as we found two excellent teachers – Brigitte Walker and Janna Corso. Brigitte worked successfully on Fridays during Terms 3 and 4, 2014 but has not returned in 2015 as she is expecting her third child. Janna has continued on as part of the team in 2015 and this year is doing a wonderful job as Homeschool Workshop Teacher on Thursdays and Little Middle Group Teacher on Fridays. The Home School Workshop program continued to run well during 2014 with various teachers and combinations of teachers teaching it during the year. Numbers dropped to-wards the end of the year and enrolments for Term 1, 2015 were quite low. To revamp and revitalize the program, Janna Corso has taken over as the sole Homeschool Workshop Teacher and has developed a varied and interesting program for Term 1, 2015. After a long period of not being able to use the block be-cause of a potentially dangerous tree (which was eventually felled) the children were delighted to return to the block, relishing in having more space to run, play and create. The block has been beautifully planted and is now a wonderful haven of amazing scents and glorious colour as well as an interesting and stimulating area for creative play. We are very thankful to the band of committed and hard-working parents who have helped create such a beautiful space. The Aquaponics Unit continues to be a positive addition to the Kirinari playground. As well as providing students with a basic understanding of the principles of sustainability they

are also really enjoying looking after the fish (and occa-sionally burying one). The sustainability and life cycle con-cepts fit nicely into aspects of the Science Curriculum (Biological Sciences). Another benefit is the production of healthy and delicious herbs and vegetables which the chil-dren can use in cooking sessions or just pick and eat as they pass by. Excursions and incursions help to enrich educational pro-grams by augmenting the curriculum with real life exam-ples and experiences. The last year has seen a wide variety of excursions and incursions and we will refer to some but not all of them when talking about subject areas. The Health Program in particular was enriched by several excursions and incursions. In May 2014 we celebrated ‘Wishbone Day’ with the aim of increasing awareness and understanding of Osteogenis Imperfecta. It was also a way of supporting our Kirinari student who has OI. In June 2014 the ‘Burnsafe Program’ was a workshop that taught students burns awareness and first aid. The ‘Teddy Bear Hospital’ in August 2014 was an incursion that involved the whole school and was both educational and fun. Stu-dent doctors and nurses from Flinders Medical Centre came with an ambulance and ran stations to teach stu-dents about a number of aspects of health, first aid and emergency medical procedures in order to familiarize them and reduce anxiety. The ‘Cybersafe Program’ was organized by the Management Committee and this linked in with a classroom ‘Cybersafe Program’ that was run by teachers for Middle and Big Group Students. Road Safety was another element of the Health Program that was taught in 2014. In December 2014 the whole school spent a very enjoyable morning at the SA Police Road Safety Centre at Thebarton. Students rode bikes around the mock roads with working traffic lights and real road signs to teach them about road rules and safety. This was fol-lowed up in February 2015 with an incursion by the RAA Road Safety Program. Community involvement and activities that involve the whole school are something that we see as an important aspect of school life at Kirinari. Participation in the ‘2014 Sri Chimnoy Peace Run’ in October 2014 and celebration of ‘Harmony Day’ in March 2014 are two examples of this. Another example is ‘Soup Day’, when Middle Group cooked and served soup to raise money for kitchen equip-ment to be used during cooking lessons. As part of the Art Program and also a community involvement activity, Pen-ny Mortimer helped students to create posters which were entered for the 2014 SA Refugee Week Poster Com-petition. Three students were selected to show their work in a public exhibition in June. One student was given an award for the best poster from a primary school student. During 2014, all groups had the opportunity to participate

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in a music theory, appreciation and history program. This was delivered by Oliver on a volunteer basis. A visit by the SA Police Band in July 2014 was also a musical event that was thoroughly enjoyed by all students and staff. Little Group students in particular still listen and dance to the SA Police Band CD that was given to the school. Through participation in professional development dur-ing the second half of 2014 we identified that a literacy focus for the school would be of benefit. This focus will involve:

A program of professional development for staff around literacy topics.

Working to improve literacy resources.

A whole-school approach to teaching reading. Starting with a focus on teaching reading strate-gies.

Some successful things that were already part of the Literacy Program in 2014 and will continue to be part of the 2015 program are:

Friday Whole-school Reading Buddy Sessions. Older and younger students are buddied up and read to each other. Both parties benefit and have opportunity to practise or consolidate their read-ing skills (along with older students being able to share their skills and knowledge and to develop mentoring skills).

The SA Premier’s Reading Challenge. We had a record number of students complete the chal-lenge in 2014. Participation in the challenge really does stimulate interest in reading and can en-courage students to step up and develop their reading skills.

National Simultaneous Storytime. Participation in this event in May 2014 helped to enrich the Liter-acy Program.

Scholastic Book Club. Sales of books has earned ‘credits’ for the school. Using the ‘credits’ we have procured books for both the Kirinari Library and the classrooms, thereby improving our re-sources.

Theatre Production of ‘Cranky Bear’ by Patch The-atre. Attendance at this play of the book ‘The Very Cranky Bear’ by Nick Bland helped to make the book come alive.

The electronic roll continues to be one of the challenges that we face due to ‘crashes’ and in that it still lacks a way to easily record part-time attendance. In February we upgraded all the student desktop computers with refurbished boxes and compatible software. These are not brand new computers but are an improvement on the old ones and the impact on the budget was very modest. The classroom interactive whiteboards continue to be a wonderful teaching resource. Some use of them is de-pendent on internet access however and we are current-ly trying to resolve internet issues that have been hap-pening since the start of 2015.

The last year at Kirinari has been another exciting and busy one for both staff and students. This is only made possible by all the hard work that is put in by everyone (both staff and the commu-nity) to make sure that we continue to meet our curriculum goals as well as having some fun along the way. We would like to thank all the parents who volunteer their time and efforts around the school to help Kirinari remain the won-derful place that it is. We would also like to thank the Manage-ment Committee for all their support over the last year and we look forward to another productive positive year of working to-gether. Kirinari Council of Teachers Catherine Dutch, Jan Carson, Marc Wedding and Philippa Calla-ghan. March, 2015.

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Curriculum Policy

As a registered school, Kirinari has an obligation to ensure that each of the eight key areas of learning is being covered by its

curriculum.

This is currently being undertaken through a combination of the new Australian Curriculum for English, Maths, History and

Science (as of 2012) and with the South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability (SACSA) Framework for the re-

maining subjects. As each new key learning area of the Australian Curriculum is released, Kirinari will use this as foundation

for its educational delivery.

The Australian Curriculum sets out what all young Australians are to be taught, and the expected quality of that learning as they progress through schooling. At the same time, it provides flexibility for teachers and schools to build on student learning and interest.

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Staff

Teaching staff

There is a student staff maximum ratio of 17:1 We have a staff attendance rate of

100%.

Big Group ...................................................... Marc Wedding (B.Ed)

Middle Group ................................................ Jan Carson (B.Psych - Ed)

Little Group ................................................... Philippa Callaghan (Dip T)

Little Middle Group…………………………………..…Catherine Dutch (B. Arts, Dip T)

Art Teacher & Homeschool Workshop.......... Penny Mortimer (B.Ed)

Little Middle Group…………………………….………..Brigitte Walker (B.Ed)

Homeschool Workshop……………………….……….Janna Corso (B.VC, MT(JP&P))

Relief Teacher…………………………………………......Jema Callaghan (B. Arts, B. Ed)

Other

Administration staff provide receipting, payments, purchasing, payroll, banking, de-

sign, marketing, promotional advertising, events, printing, financial reporting, grants,

communication, planning, enrolment services and management services.

Office Administrator/Bursar............................ Nina Wedding (B. IT)

SSO & OSHC .................................................... Emily Hester (Cert IV Children’s Services)

Professional Development

The school spent $328 on staff Professional De-

velopment.

Summary of PD:

CCB/CCR OSHC Legal Requirements

AISSA Curriculum Support

ACARA—Planning Differentiation

ACARA—Struggling Readers

Literary Focus Planning

HSR Training (5 days)

David Hornsby PD

NDIS and Schools Briefing

School Improvement Plan (AISSA)

First Aid Training

Staff Retention Rates

2014 2015

Continuing New to Year Continuing New to Year

Teaching 5 - 5 2

Other 2 1 2 -

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Student Body

2014 Staff : Student Ratio

There were 53.4 FTE students enrolled at the

August census (56 actual).

14 to 1 (max 17 to 1; 4 Teaching staff)

In 2014 at the time of the August Census, the school had 25 girls and 31 boys

enrolled.

At the end of the 2014 school year, 7 students graduated from Year 7 and

moved on to the following high schools:

Urrbrae Agricultural High School (1)

William Light School (1)

Woodville High School (1)

Unley High School (1)

Christian Brother’s College (1)

Homeschooled (1)

Moved interstate (1)

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Grounds & Facilities

Buildings comprise

5 classrooms

art room

library / computer suite

2 offices

archives & storeroom

resource storage

community room / kitchen

Toilets (newly renovated and extended)

Equipment comprises

classroom furniture

office furniture

computer equipment (laptops and desktop PCs)

6 iPads

internet to all computers

double kitchen

art room equipment

Library books

4 interactive whiteboards and projectors

5 galvanised steel bike racks

Grounds comprise

playground area

cubby house & sand pit

basketball hoop & grounds

Oxford St block (leased from Unley Council)

outdoor eating area

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Grants

Capital grants in 2014

No Capital Grants were applied for in 2014.

Future grants will be aimed at educational programmes, retrofit fire safety, painting interior of front building, and the school will

continue to apply for grants to assist with the school garden.

Other Grants

Nature Resource Management Board, Mount Lofty Ranges—Successfully won a grant of $904 for edible plants in the

school garden

Future improvements

Security Upgrade (10,000)

Repainting the interior of the front building

Repairs to the brickwork in the front building

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Volunteers

Thanks to the many volunteers without whom Kirinari would be a much poorer

place. Every week, many volunteers carry out a range of duties, here is just a

sample of them that helped us in 2014:

Sally Nelson (Friday lunches)

Sara Mitchell (Gardening )

Wesley Doyle (Gardening)

Andrew Nance (Gardening)

Sharon Pickard (running the Thursday market stall)

Stella Nall (School Banking Coordinator, class reading)

Coby Hudson (classroom support)

Gilda and Graeme Ayerst (sausage sizzles, bar work at social events)

Konrad Date (computer assistance)

Dallas Brine (computer assistance)

Jill Hoopmann (washing tea towels)

Michele Jarldorn & Ian (running drinks and BBQ fundraisers)

Maura McInerney (class reading, library)

Alexandra Ellermann (sausage sizzle)

All the Spring Fair helpers, planners and stall holders

All our Thursday Market stall baking volunteers

The Management Committee

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Financial Report

Overdraft

A $99 000 overdraft facility was implemented in early 2007. This was increased

to $260,000 during 2012, and in December of 2013 decreased to $150,000. The current balance of this account as at 31/12/14

is $70,159.59 dr.

P&I Loan

A $100k principle and interest loan was drawn down at the beginning of 2007. This was increased to $350,000 in December

31/12/14 to consolidate debt (payout of overdraft, and payout of $5,000 on the business credit card).

The balance of this account as at 31/12/14 is $334,425 dr.

Financial Position

The business has nil cash assets, the remaining assets are in the form of capital assets - principally the buildings. The business

borrowed heavily between 2007 and 2010 to cover operating costs, this is being repaid. The Land & Buildings have been reval-

ued and the Balance Sheet reflects this increase in valuation.

2014 COMMENTS

While in 2012 a small profit was made for the first time in several years, 2013 was not a particularly successful year financially.

The school is sought professional financial guidance in August 2014 to ensure the years ahead are sustainable. Our school Audi-

tor presented a budget snapshot to the Management Committee in September. The teachers and staff used these figures to

make changes, where possible, to incorporate savings without impacting the quality of teaching and care for the students.

These savings will be reflected in the 2015 figures.

The Profit & Loss Statement shows an annual loss of $50,630. While this is a loss, we made savings of $58,000 on the previous

year. We have already received $40,000 more government funding in January 2015 than we did in January 2014. We also have

staff wage savings put in place in January 2015 that will be reflected in next year’s figures. We are certainly moving in the right

direction.

THE FUTURE

2015 is off to a positive start for Kirinari. We yet again have the highest number of students we have ever started a school year

with (54). Little Group and Little Middle Group are at capacity with more students registered to begin in Little Group in Term 3

this year. Enrolments are at a fantastic level and seem to still be increasing each year.

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