Alligator Creek State School (0773) Queensland State ... · Each classroom is equipped with 4 computers that have internet connections. We also have wireless coverage of classrooms

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT

Alligator Creek State School (0773)

Queensland State School Reporting

2012 School Annual Report

Postal address 50 Grasstree Road Alligator Creek via Mackay 4740

Phone (07) 4956 4166

Fax (07) 4956 4417

Email [email protected]

Webpages

Additional reporting information pertaining to Queensland state schools is located on the My School website and the Queensland

Government data website.

Contact Person Mr Phillip Vonthien – Principal

Principal’s foreword

Introduction

It is with great pleasure that I introduce Alligator Creek State School’s 2012 School Annual Report.

This report sets out the progress we have made towards the goals that were set in the 2012 School Operational Plan, provides an overview of our school population, its curriculum, and how satisfied parents and students are with the education that the school is

providing. You will also gain an appreciation of the profile of our staff and how our students have performed in systemic assessments. The 2012 School Annual Report provides a snapshot of key aspects of school operations, however it is impossible to capture all the

activities and aspects of school life. There may be some topics that have not been addressed in the report. Where this is the case and you wish to know more, then you are invited to contact the school so that we can provide you with the additional information that you are seeking.

A hard copy of this report can be accessed through the school’s office.

Phillip Vonthien Principal

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

http://data.qld.gov.au/

http://data.qld.gov.au/





School progress towards its goals in 2012

The priorities of the 2012 Annual Implementation Plan were derived from the 2012-2015 School Strategic Plan. The table below

outlines our priorities for 2012 and the progress made toward their completion.

2012 SCHOOL PRIORITIES PROGRESS MADE

Continue to implement the Australian Curriculum and adapt whole-school curriculum, assessment and reporting plans as the new syllabi are released to clearly

document our whole-school plan for the additional Learning Areas and strongly align the whole-school curriculum plan with term and unit plans, teaching and

assessment.

Continue to access and adapt C2C to meet school

requirements and be responsive to students’ learning needs

Continue to address school improvement priorities related to Reading, Word Study (including Spelling) , and

Numeracy (especially Number)

Implement EATSIP

Improve student learning, particularly in school

improvement priority areas, by improving teaching based on research and evidence-based strategies, and providing teachers with clear expectations about the teaching

strategies that have been identified as highly effective

Embed goal-setting for students across all classrooms and

monitor student performance to inform planning and teaching so that students are receiving regular and timely feedback on

how to improve

Regular data on student achievement, progress, strengths

and weaknesses, are used by teachers to monitor student learning and to identify how to differentiate classroom

instruction to meet students’ learning needs, levels of readiness, interests and motivations, including those of high–achieving students.

Teachers’ planning shows how this difference is being catered for and managed in the classroom (what

adjustments, supports and modifications are in place in response to the monitoring of learning progress)

Develop and implement a Plan for Gifted Education across the school which also focuses on increasing the number of

students represented in the top two bands

Develop an implementation plan so that Brain Gym and

Philosophy for Children become embedded practices across the school

Continue implementing School Wide Positive Behaviour Support

Consolidate You Can do It! as our social education program

to address well-being and social-emotional needs of students as part of improving learning, engagement,

Completed in 2012 with assistance of cluster Head of Curriculum

Completed – our reflection is that we need to focus on

curriculum intent and assessment tasks and shape C2C resources to achieve these

Not completed – to be continued in 2013

Completed in 2012

Not completed in 2012. Chose to participate in the Region’s first phase of Explicit Instruction initiative which commenced in second semester, with the expectation

that it be embedded practice by end 2013.

Some progress made but not completed in 2012 –

consistent practice not achieved across all classrooms. To be continued in 2013.

Processes established in 2012 – needs consolidating in 2013.

Significant progress made towards this – needs following up in 2013.

Some progress made - need to access more support to

achieve this.

Not completed – review if this is a priority to be followed up in 2013.

SWPBS continued to be implemented in 2012 –

implementation will continue in 2013 and beyond.

This priority was not consolidated in 2012 and needs





underachievement and negative well-being

Support teachers in the implementation of the Australian

Curriculum and accessing and adapting C2C to meet school requirements and be responsive to students’ learning needs

Develop and implement a school attendance strategy to improve student attendance data

Support teachers in using ICTs effectively in their teaching

and implementation of C2C and to enhance literacy and numeracy outcomes

Use a collaborative model (teams) to implement and support the Developing Performance Framework which

includes team leader development

Developing Performance Agreements include at least one

area staff members will work that has been identified as a school improvement priority

The Professional Learning Plan, developed annually, includes professional development activities across the life of

this plan (2012-2015) in response to the school improvement priorities identified on an annual basis

Develop teacher expertise in goal-setting for students across all classrooms and monitor student performance to

inform planning and teaching so that students are receiving regular and timely feedback on how to improve

Build the Feedback and Coaching Culture of the school by developing the School Improvement Team as a coaching

team using the GROWTH Model to support our improvement agenda

Continue participation in the Growing School Performance cohort

Strengthen partnerships with our parent community through effective communication and supporting the P&C as the

forum representing parents

Continue partnering with BMA Hay Point Services,

Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, North Queensland Ports Corporation, Sarina Landcare, Conservation Volunteers

Australia, and the Sarina District Schools Chaplaincy Committee

Continue participation in Sarina Links, our local cluster of public schools

Look for new opportunities to partner with other local companies and organisation

renewing in 2013.

Completed in 2012 with assistance of cluster Head of Curriculum.

Significant progress made in implementing this strategy and will continue to be implemented in 2013.

Completed through Developing Performance Framework teams.

Completed in 2012.

Completed in 2012.

Completed in 2012.

Some progress made but not completed in 2012 –

consistent practice not achieved across all classrooms. To be continued in 2013.

Completed in 2012. Requires consolidation in 2013 and

beyond.

Completed in 2012.

Significant progress in 2012, remains ongoing.

Partnerships continued in 2012.

Participation in Sarina Links (local schools cluster) continued in 2012.

Unsuccessful in 2012. Continue to look for new

opportunities to partner with other local companies and organisation





Future outlook

Key priorities for 2013

Improving student performance through the use of Explicit Instruction and Differentiation:

• In reading performance by continuing this focus through embedding the ‘Big 6’ (Oral Language,

Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension) in our practice.

• In spelling performance by continuing to focus on word study as our whole school approach.

• Improving performance in Number.

• Improving positive behaviour.





School Profile

Coeducational or single sex: Coeducational

Year levels offered in 2012: Prep - Year 7

Total student enrolments for this school:

Total Girls Boys

Enrolment Continuity

(Feb – Nov)

2010 467 206 261 89%

2011 456 217 239 89%

2012 408 198 210 87%

Characteristics of the student body:

The ICSEA rating, a socio-economic measure, for our school community is 947 compared to the Australian average of 1,000. 24% of our families are in the bottom quartile, 47% and 26% in the middle two quartiles with 4% in the top quartile – the Australian average is 25% per quartile. There are 9% of our students who identify as indigenous. Our school population is rural with the majority of our students residing in beach-side settlements or living on acreages. Most students live some distance from the school and use a school bus service. The majority of our parents are either employed in mining or related industries with trade qualifications, and some are self-employed, usually in trade-related areas. There is a mobility factor of one in 10 students. We have a very small number of ESL students.

Average Class sizes

Phase

Average Class Size

2010 2011 2012

Prep – Year 3 24 23 21

Year 4 – Year 7 26 27 23

School Disciplinary Absences

Disciplinary Absences

Count of Incidents

2010 2011 2012

Short Suspensions - 1 to 5 days 23 <5 18

Long Suspensions - 6 to 20 days 0 0 0

Exclusions 0 0 0

Cancellations of Enrolment 0 0 0





Curriculum offerings

Our distinctive curriculum offerings:

English, Mathematics, and Science are based on the Australian Curriculum. Curriculum delivery of these four Learning Areas is from Curriculum into the Classroom (C2C) units developed by Education Queensland.

Study of Society and the Environment (S.O.S.E.), Health and Physical Education, Technology, The Arts and Languages Other

Than English (LOTE) are based on the Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Framework (QCAR).

Time allocations for Learning Areas are based on the Queensland Studies Authority guidelines.

You Can Do It! Education and Greenhouse Native Plant Propagation and Foreshore Revegetation Project are programs that have been incorporated into our curriculum activities.

Extra curricula activities:

Instrumental Music Program – tuition in Brass, Woodwind and Percussion instruments is offered with a School Concert Band and Beginners’ Band

Recorder Band

Choir

School Concert

Participation in the Mackay Eisteddfod in Verse Speaking, Folk Group, Choir, School Band, Recorder Band

Whitsunday Voices – opportunity to participate in this annual literary festival

Skipparoos – our skipping squad endorsed as the Jump Rope for Heart Demonstration School for the Mackay district

Sporting trials in a variety of primary school sports; School Rugby League, AFL, and Touch Football

AFL, Soccer and Tae Kwon Do Clubs operate after school programs

Tennis coaching

School camping program for Year 5-7 students – Year 5: The Caves (Rockhampton), Year 6 Leadership Camp (Kinchant Outdoor Education Centre), and Year 7: Mungalli Falls

Interschool debating

How Information and Communication Technologies are used to assist learning: Teachers regularly access digital resources to support their teaching because C2C units integrate a wide variety of digital material from the internet. Our school subscribes to several on-line educational sites – in particular, Mathletics and ABC Reading Eggs.

Students regularly access these subscription and other on-line resources as part of their program of learning. The curriculum program requires that students complete assessment tasks that incorporate ICTs – this includes research and digital presentation of assessment tasks. Students also regularly publish their work in digital formats as part of curriculum learning tasks.

Each classroom is equipped with 4 computers that have internet connections. We also have wireless coverage of classrooms. Each classroom is equipped with a multimedia station that has a data projector, document camera, Onfinity unit for interactivity, and iPod docking station. Teachers are able to use their C4T laptops to utilise these devices for their teaching.

The school has a computer lab with 30 work stations that teachers are able to book for whole class activities. The lab is equipped with

an interactive whiteboard. The Resource Centre has a bank of 12 computers available for student use. The two classrooms in the Resource Centre annexe have an interactive whiteboard each – teachers are able to book these rooms for class use.

Teachers also have access to digital cameras, Flip cameras, web cameras, ipods and other peripherals.





Social climate

We aim to develop safe, respectful and responsible learners at our school. Being safe, respectful and responsible and a learner are our core rules. They are constantly reinforced and students are taught how they apply in all school settings. We use School Wide Positive Behaviour Support as the implementation process to encourage and reinforce positive behaviour and embed this. We are also a You Can Do It YCDI as our social and emotional learning program where we explicitly teach social skills lessons.

85.7% of parents surveyed in the 2012 School Opinion Survey were satisfied with the management of student behaviour at this school. In comparison, student survey responses showed 82.1% satisfaction with how student behaviour is managed.

Our 2012 School Opinion Survey data indicates that the majority of both students and parents who responded see our school as being a safe and happy place for students to come, and express high satisfaction levels about students being treated fairly. 93.1% of parents surveyed and 94% of students surveyed rate our school as safe.

The School Chaplain continues to play an important role in the life of our school. She is a very experienced School Chaplain who has

supported the members of our school community with practical caring and help and her work in our school is fully supported by the Alligator Creek State School Parents’ and Citizens’ Association. Our ‘Chappie’s’ pastoral care has included:

Pastoral care of school families dealing with the death of a family member or tragedy, relationship difficulties or welfare-related issues

Supporting students, staff and parents with personal problems or concerns

Following up on students referred to her because they may have behaviour problems, difficulty managing their emotions or resolving conflicts with others or making friends – particularly when no other school personnel are available to do so

Being proactively out and about in the school at the start of school, breaks and end of the day to be available if anyone wants to have a chat

Bullying of any sort is not tolerated at our school. Our Responsible Behaviour Plan outlines the procedures which are to be used when there has been an incident of bullying. Students are regularly reminded that they have a right to feel safe at school and that no one has

the right to make them feel unsafe, and that they should report any incidents of bullying to a teacher so that it stops. We also have addressed the issue of cyber-bullying by arranging talks to upper school students by Police Officers from the Crime Prevention Unit nad have procedures to manage incident of cyber-bullying.





Parent, student and staff satisfaction with the school

As you will see from the performance measures listed below, parents, students and our staff express high levels of satisfaction with these aspects of our school.

Performance measure (Nationally agreed items shown*)

Percentage of parents/caregivers who agree that: 2012#

their child is getting a good education at school 96.6%

this is a good school 96.6%

their child likes being at this school* 93.1%

their child feels safe at this school* 93.1%

their child's learning needs are being met at this school* 89.7%

their child is making good progress at this school* 89.7%

teachers at this school expect their child to do his or her best* 93.1%

teachers at this school provide their child with useful feedback about his or her school work* 93.1%

teachers at this school motivate their child to learn* 96.6%

teachers at this school treat students fairly* 86.2%

they can talk to their child's teachers about their concerns* 89.3%

this school works with them to support their child's learning* 88.9%

this school takes parents' opinions seriously* 88.5%

student behaviour is well managed at this school* 85.7%

this school looks for ways to improve* 93.1%

this school is well maintained* 96.4%


Percentage of students who agree that: 2012#

they are getting a good education at school 92.4%

they like being at their school* 89.6%





they feel safe at their school* 94.0%

their teachers motivate them to learn* 97.0%

their teachers expect them to do their best* 100.0%

their teachers provide them with useful feedback about their school work* 95.5%

teachers treat students fairly at their school* 89.6%

they can talk to their teachers about their concerns* 85.1%

their school takes students' opinions seriously* 91.0%

student behaviour is well managed at their school* 82.1%

their school looks for ways to improve* 93.9%

their school is well maintained* 97.0%

their school gives them opportunities to do interesting things* 97.0%


Percentage of school staff who agree: 2012#

that they have good access to quality professional development 93.8%

with the individual staff morale items 98.2%

* Nationally agreed student and parent/caregiver items were incorporated in the School Opinion Survey in 2012.

# Percentage of respondents who Somewhat Agree, Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement. Due to changes to the School Opinion Surveys in 2012,

comparisons with results for previous years are not recommended.

DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.





Involving parents in their child’s education

The complimentary Communication Book which each child receives at the beginning of the school year is our primary way of involving parents in their child’s education. This allows messages to go between home and school on a daily basis. All students who enrol after the commencement of the school year receive a complimentary Communication Book. Class teachers conduct parent information

sessions at the start of the school year. Parents are welcome as classroom volunteers. A weekly newsletter is produced. Class teachers also make phone contact to follow up on concerns about students. Parents are welcome to make appointments with class teachers and are also welcome to see the class teacher after each reporting period when teachers make themselves available to meet with parents.

Formal school reports are sent home at the end of every semester and parents are welcome to make appointments with their child’s teacher to discuss these. The School also commenced its own Facebook Page in 2012 as another means of communicating with, and involving, our parents.

Reducing the school’s environmental footprint

Data is sourced from school's annual utilities return and is reliant on the accuracy of these returns.

Our Environmental Team has been working hard and consistently to raise awareness of the ways that we can waste energy, and to

look at ways that we can reduce unnecessary use. It is pleasing to see that our energy is declining. Reducing water consumption is also a goal of our Sustainable Environment Management Plan. Unfortunately our efforts to reduce water use did not work in 2012.

Environmental footprint indicators

Electricity kWh

Water kL

2009-2010 193,860 2,646

2010-2011 182,061 1,922

2011-2012 173,716 3,039





Staff composition, including Indigenous staff

2012 Workforce

Composition

Teaching

Staff

Non-teaching

Staff

Indigenous

Staff

Headcounts 27 14 <5

Full-time equivalents 23.5 9.4 <5

Qualifications of all teachers

Highest level of

attainment

Number of

classroom

teachers and

school leaders

at the school

Doctorate 0

Masters 2

Bachelor degree 22

Diploma 3

Certificate 0

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 2

22

30

Doctorate Masters

Bachelor degree Diploma

Certificate

.

Expenditure on and teacher participation in professional development

The total funds expended on teacher professional development in 2012 were $22,487.65.

The major professional development initiatives are as follows:

Code of Conduct

Student Protection

Workplace, Health and Safety – maintain currency of First Aide certificates, evacuation and lock down procedures

Asbestos management and awareness

Curriculum and Risk Assessment





You Can Do It

Teaching a Balanced Reading Program

Analysing Student Performance Data

Curriculum Planning

Persuasive Writing

Australian Curriculum: implementing History

Words their Way

Developing Performance Framework – DPF Teams formed to support members achieve their development plans

Explicit Instruction

The proportion of the teaching staff involved in professional development activities during 2012 was 100%.

Average staff attendance 2010 2011 2012

Staff attendance for permanent and temporary staff and school leaders. 96.5% 96.6% 96.4%

Proportion of staff retained from the previous school year

From the end of the previous school year, 88.9% of staff was retained by the school for the entire 2012 school year.

School income broken down by funding source

School income broken down by funding source is available via the My School website at http://www.myschool.edu.au/.

To access our income details, click on the My School link above. You will then be taken to the My School website with the following

‘Find a school’ text box.

Where it says ‘Search by school name’, type in the name of the school you wish to view, and select <GO>. Read and follow the instructions on the next screen; you will be asked to accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before being given access to the

school’s My School entry web page.

School financial information is available by selecting ‘School finances’ in the menu box in the top left corner of the school’s entry web page. If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a paper copy of income by funding source.


Performance of our students

Key student outcomes

e

Student attendance 2010 2011 2012

The overall attendance rate for the students at this school (shown as a percentage). 92% 92% 91%

The overall attendance rate in 2012 for all Queensland state Primary schools was 93%.

Student attendance rate for each year level (shown as a percentage)

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Year 7

2010 93% 92% 92% 93% 92% 92% 92%

2011 90% 92% 90% 90% 93% 92% 92%

2012 91% 91% 92% 90% 89% 91% 91%

DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.

Student Attendance Distribution

The proportions of students by attendance range.

11

14

16

16

21

16

33

34

38

40

32

30

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2010

2011

2012

Proportion of Students

0% to <85% 85% to <90% 90% to <95% 95% to 100%Attendance:

Description of how non-attendance is managed by the school

Non-attendance is managed in state schools in line with the DET policies, SMS-PR-029: Managing Student Absences and SMS-PR-036: Roll Marking in State Schools, which outline processes for managing and recording student attendance and absenteeism.

Non-attendance is managed in state schools in line with the DET policies, SMS-PR-029: Managing Student Absences and SMS-PR-036: Roll Marking in State Schools, which outline processes for managing and recording student attendance and absenteeism..

Class rolls are marked morning and afternoons. At the end of each day class roll information is entered on the school data base. Where students have been absent without explanation, class teachers write a note in the Communication Book requesting parents to provide

and explanation. Where students have been an absence of three or more days, parents are contacted by phone to follow-up on this. This is then followed up by a letter expressing concern about the ongoing absence, the importance of regular school attendance for child to learn well, offer of support and the legal obligations parents have regarding school attendance. If there is no positive response to this communication, then we proceed to truancy procedures as per Education Queensland policy guidelines.

Our school proactively encourages school attendance through ‘Our Every Day Counts’ program where regular articles about ‘Every Day Counts’ are published in the newsletter and is promoted at school assemblies. A weekly “Class of the Week “ award was introduced to recognise the class with the best weekly attendance. This class receives the award and the privilege of looking after ‘Allie’, the attendance mascot (a toy alligator!).


National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results – our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are available via the My School website at http://www.myschool.edu.au/.

To access our NAPLAN results, click on the My School link above. You will then be taken to the My School website with the following

‘Find a school’ text box.

Where it says ‘Search by school name’, type in the name of the school whose NAPLAN results you wish to view, and select <GO>.

Read and follow the instructions on the next screen; you will be asked to accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before being able to access NAPLAN data.

If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a paper copy of our school’s NAPLAN results.

Achievement – Closing the Gap

Summary of our school’s progress on closing the gap between the performance of Indigenous and Non- Indigenous students :

Student Attendance Rate:

2010 2011 2012

Non- Indigenous students 92.7% 91.8% 91.4%

Indigenous students 88.8% 89.2% 87.9%

Gap 3.9% 2.6% 3.5%

During 2012 the gap in the student attendance rate between Indigenous and Non -Indigenous students has widened in comparison to 2011attendance rates.



Student Attainment: Gap between Non-Indigenous and Indigenous Student Performance in NAPLAN Testing

2012 NAPLAN Tests Reading Writing Numeracy

Year 3 students Increasing Increasing Decreasing

Year 5 Students Decreasing Increasing Decreasing

Year 7 students Increasing Decreasing Decreasing

During 2012 the gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous students has decreased in NAPLAN performance in Numeracy, while the trend for Reading and W riting is inconsistent with the gap increasing in some Year Levels and decreasing in others.

Documents

Alligator Creek State School (0773) Queensland State ... · Each classroom is equipped with 4 computers that have internet connections. We also have wireless coverage of classrooms