Bramfield Park Primary School

ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Annual Report 2015

Introduction

Bramfield Park Primary School is an Independent Public School and our goal is to provide a warm and caring environment where children thrive. This ethos guides everything we do.This is a community where everyone is treated as a valued individual - children, parents and teachers alike. Together we work to ensure children achieve their best possible learning outcomes. Importantly, they feel safe to venture out of their comfort zones, knowing their efforts will be encouraged and supported.

Positive and challenging teaching programs mean children develop the necessary knowledge and skills to become confident independent learners and Bramfield Park offers a diverse range of subjects including music, instrumental music, arts and crafts and physical education - taught by dedicated specialist teachers.

Specialised early childhood teachers provide innovative and engaging classes for those all important early years. At Bramfield Park we inspire a passion for learning so children have a solid foundation as they embark on their educational journey.

Our school has a strong focus on numeracy and literacy, and teach in well-maintained, air conditioned classrooms, all with multimedia teaching facilities including computers, iPads and interactive whiteboards.

There are two undercover areas, a brand new canteen and two purpose built Arts facilities. The Library is well resourced and provides another indoor learning area for children.Outside, Pre-Primary and Kindergarten children enjoy their own outdoor play area and sandpit with a school garden nearby. Netball courts, cricket pitch, soccer goals, a large oval and three challenging age-appropriate climbing frames provide opportunities to develop physical motor skills and social skills.

There is a high expectation for appropriate behaviour at Bramfield Park, supported by policies in attendance, bullying and behaviour management. Our very popular faction competition and gold card award system help students to understand the idea of reward and recognition for their efforts both in and out of the classroom.

The Bramfield Park Primary School community spirit is strong. We have a newly elected School Board that meets at least twice per term to support the continuous school improvement processes. The Parent & Citizens Association provides strong support to the school and organises a variety of activities that bring our school community together and is involved in fund raising for school activities, resources and equipment. We have the Volunteer Incentive Program which offers encouragement and rewards for community members becoming actively involved in our school. Celebration is an important part of our school's culture. Parents and children enjoy the whole school performance assemblies where individual effort and progress is acknowledged through awarding honour certificates and recognising Citizen of the Month.

Bramfield Park Primary School is located 20 km southeast of the Perth CBD and caters for Years K to 6. We welcome parents to our school to discover more about the amazing opportunities on offer for your child.

2015 was an exciting new phase for Bramfield Park Primary School. The school became an Independent Public School which provided the motivating opportunity for staff, families and members of the wider community to become more involved in the school and improvement strategies. The Inaugural School Board was hard working and provided a wonderful platform for authentic discussions on improvement needs and processes to support all of our students. Many areas for focus were identified and prioritised according to student needs and benefits. Many projects were begun and some will lead to fruition in the coming year/s. 2015 was a year of hard work but it was an extremely fulfilling year with so many wonderful highlights.

I would like to thank all staff, parents, community members and the wonderful students of Bramfield Park Primary School for making 2015 such a successful year. I am confident that the plans that have been put in place will continue the strong improvement processes and make Bramfield Park Primary School even better and a school of choice.Thanking you sincerely and wishing you the very best.

Janice Cuculoska

Principal

2015 HIGHLIGHTS

Term 1

School Development Days – these two days provided the whole staff with vital opportunities to review curriculum and operational plans, collaborate in teams to ensure best teaching and learning programs for all students and we had a variety of presenters providing professional development.

Bush Dance - We began with a tremendous whole school and community event in week 3 that was funded by winning the City of Gosnells Safe City Award. The Bush Dance was attended by many families who enjoyed a picnic dinner and joined in dancing with the Mucky Duck Bush Band. The purpose of the event was to make a positive start to the year and take the opportunity to get to know each other. School staff and their families also attended and enjoyed the event. There were many wonderful prizes won throughout the evening.

Year 5 & 6 camp -The Year 5&6 camp at Logue Brook was superb. Mrs Cuculoska visited on the Thursday and enjoyed some activities with the students. The staff were marvellous and gave up their time to ensure the students were able to enjoy the experience of camp. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to enjoy being with their peers in an amazing setting. It gave them many opportunities to grow and experience some independence. It was tremendous to hear the camp management staff speaking highly of our students and their behaviour.

Harmony Day was another whole school celebration. It was wonderful to see so many students and parents wearing traditional dress. Teachers prepared a variety of activities and students enjoyed rotating through different classes to enjoy the activities. Food from

different countries was certainly a highlight for most. It was a highly successful day celebrating our diverse school community.

Term 2

School Development Day – a very busy day with reviewed and updated Operational Plans being presented, staff involved in professional learning on Visible Learning, Assessment & Moderation and EAL/D. Education Assistants also spent some time together to share resources and effective strategies. It was a successful day with lots of interaction and self-reflection.

ANZAC Day Assembly – It was lovely to see parents attend the ANZAC Day Assembly. We were very proud of our student leaders who did a tremendous job in preparing the assembly and speaking so confidently. Thank you to our special guests for attending our assembly and to the P&C for providing delicious homemade lamingtons, Anzac biscuits, tea and coffee.

NAPLAN – we reminded our Year 3 & 5 parents that the teachers and students have done all that they can to prepare for this testing but at the end of the day we are trying to keep things in perspective and not create too much of a big deal for the children. It is, one test on one day. All we ask is that they will all do their best. Parents were encouraged to ensure their child was in bed at an appropriate time the nights before and that they are well fed and happy. We would take care of the rest. Parents were also reminded that it was imperative that students in Years 3 and 5 turn up for school on these days as some school funding is based on the student’s performance in NAPLAN and the tests also assist us to gauge how well our school and our literacy and numeracy programs are working. We were

very proud of all our Year 3 & 5 students. They all sat the tests with a positive attitude and put in their best efforts. That’s all we ask for.

Book Fair – what a wonderful way to celebrate the joy of reading. We were absolutely thrilled to see the excitement in our students when they bought a book. THANK YOU for supporting the school and encouraging reading.

Literacy Games Club – in term 2, we began a ‘club’ where parent volunteers were able to gather and make games for our school, take a game home and spend some great time chatting and getting to know each other. It has been wonderful to see our parents working together for the benefit of all our students.

P&C School Disco – What a fantastic night we had! THANK YOU to the P&C for organising this wonderful event. The students in both groups had a fabulous time and it was awesome to see the variety of dancing talent we have here. We would also like to thank our Local Police Team who made the effort to join us for a while and they commented on how well organised the disco was.

Reporting to Parents Interviews - All staff at BPPS would like to thank families who were able to meet for our inaugural Reporting to Parents Interviews. For us the day was a success with many positives, especially having students involved to see that parents and teachers are working together. If parents were unable to make an appointment, we encouraged them to contact their child’s teacher after the holidays to discuss the report. The report is a major way for us to tell you about your child at school and communicating with parents is vital so that we can work together to assist all students to reach their potential.

Term 3

School Development Day – The first day back in Term 3 was allocated to a MADCAN Network Day. All staff attended at Yule Brook College. Staff were involved in a variety of professional learning sessions and presentations. The day provided opportunities for staff from all schools to share their knowledge and experiences. Network communities were formed for groups and this has provided staff with the option of regularly communicating and meeting with teachers from other schools. The day was highly successful and we are planning to continue a MADCAN Network Day in 2016.

Jeans for Genes Day – once again we were involved in supporting the Children’s Medical Research Institute by raising funds to support vital genetic research.

Learning Journey - this annual event was held from 4pm until 6pm. Parents and family members were invited into classrooms to view the variety of wonderful learning each class was completing. The Music Room and Art Room were also popular with students proudly showing their families their work and the skills they were acquiring.

Dance Lessons – the Year 5 & 6 students enjoyed professional weekly dance lessons that supported their physical and artistic development. The dance lessons also supported students to feel confident at the Dinner Dance and were able to display their newly acquired skills.

SKIPS (Supporting Kids In Primary Schools) – Year 5 & 6 students attended three 1 hour sessions run by our School Psychologist in conjunction with Social Workers. The sessions involved many various activities and case studies to support de-stigmatisation of mental health and mental illness.

Life Education Incursion – the Life Education Van provided students with the opportunity to participate in a program where they can develop strategies, and practice the skills required, to avoid harms associated with an unhealthy lifestyle.

Love In a Shoebox – a really successful whole school charitable initiative in which children in Third World countries, countries where there are wars or conflicts, or countries suffering natural disaster, are given gifts to show that we, in more fortunate parts of the world, care. The aim of ‘Love in a Shoebox’ is to try and provide some joy and love. Our wonderful students and their families filled 17 shoeboxes to support this charity.

Term 4

Swimming lessons – students in Pre Primary to Year 6 were given the valuable opportunity to access swimming lessons at the Cannington LeisurePlex. Students attended 10 swimming lessons with qualified instructors as part of the Department of Education’s Water Safety program.

Halloween Disco – this event was an outstanding success with an absolutely amazing amount of effort put into costumes and make up. All students enjoyed a night of dancing, games, food and fun.

Kindy 2016 parent seminars and orientation - We held two parent information sessions and orientation with students. These were well attended and we thank Miss Smith who planned, organised and ran these sessions. We would also like to thank Tresna Gale from the East Maddington Child and Parent Centre & Michelle Williamson from the Office of Early Childhood Development and Learning for presenting. These sessions were vital to share information but also to welcome new families into the Bramfield Park family and encourage more families to get involved within the school.

School Development Day – On Monday 16th November the staff worked extremely hard to review this year and plan for next year. It was a great opportunity for us to reflect on all the wonderful things that have been achieved this year. Staff presented Curriculum Plan reviews and Assessment Analysis and reviews. We also reviewed our Business Plan Targets and results from the National School Improvement Tool were shared, discussed and future directions identified for continuous improvement. The day culminated in planning 2016 priorities.

Constable Care incursion – this was for all students from Pre Primary to Year 3. The valuable demonstration focussed on education about pedestrian, bike and road safety. Another incursion is already planned for 2016.

Presentation assembly – this was a lovely way to celebrate the successes of students who worked hard, always did their best and consistently showed the school motto of ‘Strive to Achieve.’ Each class teacher presented two book awards and it was lovely to hear the various reasons for the award winners.

Volunteer Morning Tea – this was an opportunity for staff to acknowledge the large number of wonderful volunteers at our school. A delicious and healthy way to say THANK YOU for supporting our students and for the time you have invested in our school.

Gold Card Reward excursion – 31 worthy students went to Heathcote Reserve for a picnic lunch and a play in the playground there. This was their reward for working hard all year and receiving 20 Gold Cards. This is a wonderful way to reward students who continually exhibit our values listed on the gold cards.

Year 6 Graduation – a wonderfully organised event at the nearby hall with local dignitaries and staff presenting a variety of awards to worthy recipients. The whole school was able to celebrate the successes of all our students.

Year 6 Dinner Dance – another beautiful event showcasing our students. All Year 6 students presented themselves with pride and the evening was attended by almost all staff members. Our students once again showed their best behaviour and respect towards each

other, especially with the dancing aspect. It was a pleasure to watch the students truly enjoying themselves.

Big Day of Fun – this is a whole school reward excursion held at Hoyts Cinemas, Carousel. The movie The Good Dinosaur was chosen for its theme of confronting your fears and discovering what you are truly capable of. This was a perfect way to celebrate a fantastic year full of wonderful highlights and achievements.

New initiatives in 2015

The Business Plan for Bramfield Park Primary School has three main aspects;

Successful students Excellence in teaching and learning Strong parent and community engagement & partnerships

As part of our short and long term targets, the school also ran some specific programs and initiatives such as;

Play group was run every Wednesday for children aged 0-5 years. This gave the children an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the school, meet new friends and have lots of fun. There were over 30 families who attended over the year with at least 10 regulars.

Parent Workshops – in 2015, we collaborated closely with the Child Parent Centre (East Maddington PS) to provide a variety of workshops/seminars for parents. These were held at the school with free crèche on offer to support parent attendance. Workshops included;

Dealing with Disobedience – this Triple P session supported parents with some practical strategies when dealing with children’s behaviour.

Healthy Food – Healthy Kids parent workshop provided valuable information about nutrition for families and how to save money while shopping. Parents received many valuable ideas about low-cost healthy and tasty meals.

SIDS CPR – another parent workshop held to support families with specific CPR advice. 10 parents attended the SIDS workshop with the feedback received being very positive.

Understanding Self-Regulation and Your Child – the session supported parents to understand self-regulation and how to create environments to best support their child’s development.

Starting School Successfully – valuable ideas and strategies provided to parents to support a successful start to their child’s schooling.

VIP (Volunteer Incentive Program) Launch – the school staff, School Board and wider community wanted to reward all the wonderful volunteers who often supported our school and students. Volunteers who helped out in classes, the library, at school events, canteen, attended meetings, attended assemblies, helped out in the garden as well as many other opportunities, received a raffle ticket into the draw for a chance to win a variety of prizes that were kindly donated by local businesses. There were draws held at the end of each term to recognise our volunteers.

Adult English Classes – In term 2, we were able to offer English classes for our parents and friends. We had gorgeous volunteers who came in every Monday to work with adults

who wanted to improve their English. This has enabled our parents to improve their own English skills and feel confident in coming into the school environment.

Fathering Project – the P&C began discussions to join the Fathering Project. The purpose is to create a self-supporting fathering group for the benefit of children, dads and schools. Research shows the significant impact fathers have on the social, cognitive, emotional and physical well-being of children, from infancy to adolescence and with lasting influences into their adult life. The Fathering Project seeks to inspire and equip fathers to be engaged with their kids.

Urban Designer – we were extremely fortunate to gain the assistance and support of an Urban Designer from the City of Gosnells. She met with a focus group to audit the school in terms of the look of the buildings & grounds, ease of access, entrance, etc. We were privileged with some drawings and designs to assist us with planning possible improvements. This led us to obtain quotes and enabled us to prioritise projects for funding and we look forward to seeing some of these projects come to fruition.

Nature Play – as a whole school staff we investigated the benefits of nature play. A focus group of staff visited a few schools to get ideas and advice. This group presented information to staff, the P&C and the School Board who were all very positive about creating some natural bush areas for students to access. Students were involved in some planning and design aspects and we are looking forward to seeing students using their creative ideas in various ways of play.

Tiqbiz app – one of the school’s main aims was to ensure open and quality communication with parents. After some investigations, the school staff and School Board agreed on purchasing the tiqbiz app for telephones. The app enabled communication between home and school and was specifically chosen for its translation option. By the end of the year, we had 77 families regularly accessing the app.

Staff Professional Development – there is clear evidence based research that shows that effective teachers and support staff have a positive impact on student achievement. A focus for all staff was accessing appropriate and effective professional learning to support their teaching and learning programs. The staff were involved in a variety of after school sessions that focussed on improving student outcomes. Staff had access to professional learning on Visible Learning strategies, Professional Learning Teams (Observation & Feedback), Protective Behaviours, Assessment & Reporting, EAL/D strategies and the National School Improvement Tool.

CURRICULUM AREA REPORTS

ENGLISH

During term 1 the English Curriculum Team looked at reviewing and updating the operational plan for implementation over the next three years. The K-2 team explored and developed a phonics sound and letter sequence, which has been included into the English Plan and forms the core component of our spelling program. Links to EAL/D and SAER were also included to streamline literacy processes for all students. A new font was also adopted, the NSW manuscript, for implementation into our school. A note was sent home to parents explaining our decision to change the font, which facilitates easier formation of letters in our early childhood classes, and a copy of the script for parents and children to practice at home.

Throughout terms 1 and 2 resources that support the implementation of the operational plan were purchased such as high interest low level novel sets for our upper primary classes, resources to support the phonics intervention program in junior primary, and junior primary alphabet desk mats and phonics charts in the NSW manuscript font.

A Book Fair was held in term 2, which was very successful and resulted in 50 books being purchased for our library. It also resulted in many children having a book in their hand in the weeks following the fair! As a result of this successful Book Fair, Scholastic offered our school a Buy One Get One Free Book Fair which ran in term 4.

Students in K – 6 have participated in online learning through Reading Eggs and Literacy Pro. Great improvements have been noted in phonetic knowledge and comprehension levels.

Resources have been purchased to support programs in the school such as the Junior Primary Intervention – Letters and Sounds. Additional reading books, games and materials have been purchased to support the implementation of these programs.

Another wonderful initiative this year to support the English Learning Area has been a Game Making Club. A number of dedicated parents have come into the Library once a fortnight to laminate, cut out and sort games for our students to consolidate single sounds and phonemic awareness. Parents have been able to take a game home to play with their children with the remaining sets going into the Kindy, Pre-primary and Year 1 classes.

Jayne Murray

MATHEMATICS

The Operational Plan for 2015 to 2017 was developed and accepted by the staff to be used going forward.

The focus for Bramfield Park Primary School is on number fact fluency. Each class in Year 1 to 6 is tested in Terms 1, 2 and 4. The term 4 data is analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching and learning program. In 2015, this data showed an improvement in the 4 operations. There was a +20% movement out of the critical range and a +16% movement of students into the target range. We will continue to monitor this in 2016.

Mathletics is utilized by the school and it was agreed that the program would be purchased for 2016 with the pre-primary to Year 6 students having access.

Materials such as cards, measuring tapes, counters and paper tape were purchased to replenish used stock. A class set of Geo reflectors was purchased to enhance the space program.

Robyn Bailey

SCIENCE

The two main objectives for the science learning area for 2015 have been the continued implementation of Primary Connections as well as supporting staff in accessing, teaching and assessing the curriculum.  The operational plan has clear links for each strand at every year level to the resources available in Primary Connections and the continued purchasing of Science kits has made it easy for staff to access.  I have received positive feedback from all staff regarding the programme and the kits are in constant use in the classrooms.   The operational plan was also updated to include the latest changes to the Australian Curriculum with each year level displayed in a comprehensive yet easy to access format.

David Herbert

HISTORY

The Bramfield Park Primary School History Plan was reviewed and adjusted to meet the new curriculum standards and assessment requirements. A focus will continue to be on planning and implementing the HASS curriculum. This plan will encompass history, geography, civics and citizenship and economics and business. The plan will be used to assess two different strands; H.A.S.S. skills and H.A.S.S. content, and teachers will report on these in 2017. The whole school plan has been made available for teachers to look at and, if needed, provide feedback or changes that need to be made.

Resources were purchased according to teacher needs and requests. These included: big books to help teach the difference between cultures big books of dream-time stories audio books of dream-time stories big books of Jeannie Baker’s Window and Belonging to help teach continuity and

change larger maps for each classroom to help teach geography skills

Daniel Pollacchi

HEALTH

This year the team created and implemented a Health Plan for Bramfield Park Primary School. After attending professional development days provided by SDERA they were given the opportunity to collate and review the current resources to develop an up to date health plan. It included expectations in the areas of PATHS, Protective Behaviours for Children and general health, safety, knowledge and well-being. Whole school staff attended workshops on Suicide Prevention, Asthma Training and Protective Behaviours. Books relating to the Protective Behaviours lessons were purchased. The whole school participated in the incursion Life Education Van during Term 3 and were provided with work booklets for all students who attended and Teacher work packages. In Term 4 the Pre-Primary to Year 3 students attended the incursion ‘Getting to School Safely’ provided by Constable Care.

Annual incursions have been planned in the whole school health plan for future years. The PATHS program is going to continue to be a large focus for students’ resilience at Bramfield Park Primary School.

Kirsten Morgan & Liz Morgan

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

This year we had our school carnivals for cross country and athletics, took part in the Southern River Sports Association interschool carnivals and most of our school participated in swimming lessons.

Term 1 signalled the start of the summer sports carnival where students played softball and cricket. The senior students practised every Friday morning in preparation. It was such a great day out in the sun with a few wins here and there but no overall placing. During Physical Education classes the students learnt how to play Tee-Ball. We had fun learning how to slide into bases and throw and catch with the Tee-Ball gloves on.

Term 2 was a busy one with the winter carnival where students played hockey, netball or soccer. The soccer team won the SRSA soccer shield for the second year running. What an amazing achievement! We also had the cross country carnival which was really successful! The students were training hard in the weeks before it during Physical Education classes. This meant the competition was harder and the students all pushed themselves which is always great to see. During Physical Education classes the students completed the beep test and played Soccer. It was so great to see some peer coaching from our amazing soccer superstars!

Term 3 was even busier still! We began the term with interschool cross country at Lumen Christi College. The students competed against 11 other schools. We had some really tough competition but all of the students should be proud of their efforts, they all ran their little hearts out! Later in the term we had our school Athletics carnival. It was a glorious sunny day and has been my favourite day of this year. After weeks of training and organising it was absolutely magical to stand back and see all of the students trying their best and having an amazing day cheering on their faction. Green came out on top again, much to the dismay of the other factions! Term 3 in Physical Education was a combination of Athletics and Netball. It was so great to see even the sceptical ones enjoying playing Netball by the end of the term.

Term 4 bought with it all of the fun and excitement of the end of the year and the SRSA athletics carnival. This year things were a little different and it was all run on one day, which kept the students very busy! We came 5th in both the handicap and overall shields. It is always such a great day out and so fantastic to see all of the students interacting really positively with other schools. During Physical Education classes we played volleyball and completed the beep test once again. The beep test has been our common assessment for Physical Education. It gives both the students and myself an idea of how fit students are and how much they are improving their fitness as the years go by. This year we had a couple of absolute champions finish the entire thing! Such an incredible effort!

Next year I am looking forward to seeing the student’s skills progress further and building on their fundamental movement skills, gross motor skills and further encouraging the idea that sport doesn’t always have to be about winning. I love that all students are willing to try new sports out and seeing their passion grow for something they may not have ever tried before.

Kirsten Morgan

ART

We have continued to consolidate the skills learnt in semester 1, with a strong emphasis on using the skills and techniques which have been explicitly taught in art lessons, in personal art projects. I have found that in each class there is a small group of children who are happily able to generalise their skills when working with free choice, but many students revert to their habitual ways of working in art. This is not discouraging, because, as in all kinds of learning, children are developing skills at their own rate. Opportunity to take risks with creative projects will continue to be given.

During semester 2 the bulk of work across the classes has been two-fold:

a unit of work on creative stitchery and thread work a unit of work on imaginative/abstract design utilising different techniques with paint

and dye for creating background.

There was some time dedicated to narrative picture making using mixed media. Ideally this could have married well with writing narratives (this is something that could be collaborated on with classroom teachers next year).

Time was also given over to seasonal projects such as Remembrance Day, Halloween and Christmas, always being mindful of the various cultural issues accompanying some of these times.

The use of scrap books as a portfolio of work was continued, with the children frequently looking back on previous work to see their progress. I developed a self- assessment rubric and evaluation sheet for each year level to use at the completion of some projects; as yet the completion of these rubrics is managed as a whole class but I see it becoming something that, with training the children will be able to do themselves. This will continue next year.

With the development of a Visual Arts Plan I expect to work more closely with the curriculum. I also see a benefit in working more closely with the music teacher as music is an allied art form. Closer work and collaboration with classroom teachers is also an aim for 2016. The ultimate aims for me in visual arts are;

To heighten students’ skill development in order for them to create and enjoy a high standard of creative work

To increase students’ awareness of the function of art and design in the natural and made environment

To develop an understanding of the role that visual arts plays in the varied cultures of our students.

Pauline Abbott

ICT

This year, physical resources were consolidated to ensure that sufficient devices were available in the computer room and classes to meet the minimum requirements such that all students had appropriate access to technology.

BrightPath was introduced and implemented by teachers to set a standard for recording and tracking student development in writing across the school.

Year 5/6 students started using code.org to develop coding skills. Other online resources, Mathletics, Reading Eggs and Literacy Pro, were continued to be used throughout the school, with a focus on training staff to get the most efficient use possible from them.

There are three main aims for 2016. The development of a Scope and Sequence to guide teachers in when to present skills to students to learn, SOE 4 upgrade, and purchase and implementation of devices under the Primary School Device Program.

The main aim for the purchase of devices will be to complement education programs in the development critical thinking skills by giving greater access to technology to facilitate this outcome. It is also to ensure that enough resources are available for online testing, such as NAPLAN, in the future.

Physical Resources

•    computer lab stocked with 30 computers and a projector•    iPads in 6 boxes of 8 assigned to specific classes•    interactive whiteboards in the music room and rooms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12•    classroom computers•    digital video camera•    sound recorder and microphone•    3 digital cameras•    mobile projector and screen

Online Resources

•    Mathletics•    Reading Eggs•    Literacy Pro•    BrightPath

Murray Lake

SMALL GROUP LITERACY

To enhance our English plan, it was decided that teacher expertise be used to advance the skills of small groups of children in the area of English, specifically writing.

The groups of children came from years 2, 4 and 5.

The year 2 and year 4 groups comprised of 10 children each, coming from rooms 3, 5, 6, and 10. Each group attend two 45 minute sessions weekly. The groups are run in the art room.

The criteria for inclusion in the groups are that the children are of mid-range ability and are willing to participate. The aim is to hone their existing writing skills and to extend their abilities further.

The starting point for each group was to review the necessary terms routinely used in English: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, vowels and consonants. The concepts of sentence and paragraph were introduced / reinforced. The concept of ‘definite and indefinite article’ was introduced. The students were all able to write simple sentences and so developing this into the use of compound sentences, using conjunctions was the next step.

These concepts and ideas have been rigorously reviewed practised and developed at each lesson. The metalanguage of English is important and familiarity with, and use of the terms is constantly used so that it becomes embedded.

The children in these two groups have been making great progress with discernible improvement. The EAL/D children have particular needs, but within the context of small groups, individual attention at the point of need is possible.

Meaningful feedback is a part of every lesson; both from the teacher and from peers and the children see this now as a helpful device in improving their writing.

The children from year 5 are 10 students who have particular ability and talent in writing; the aim for this group is to lift their writing from a high standard to an excellent standard. The things covered by the other small writing groups are also covered with this group but at a higher level. I have introduced the concept of VCOP (Vocabulary, Connectives, Openings and Punctuation) as an editing / improvement device. This has been very useful but I have added ‘Endings’ to the acronym which now reads VCOPE. This was because the students were not adept with concluding their writing satisfactorily.

This is a lively group with a real enthusiasm for writing. The current focus has been punctuating a piece of text so that the reader reads it the way the writer intended it to be read. This has married really well with work on punctuating direct speech. Another focus for this group has been rewording non-fiction texts; a useful skill for research and report writing.

This intense working with small groups has been very effective. I have kept the class teachers up to date with what I have been doing and have matched it as much as possible to enhance the work being done in classrooms. I believe an area of need which needs more work, is vocabulary extension.

Pauline Abbott

EAL/D REPORT

In 2015, Bramfield Park Primary School made English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) a school priority. An EAL/D curriculum plan was created and has been implemented by staff from Kindergarten to year 6. The plan contains an outline for early detection, intervention and awareness for teachers. In addition to the curriculum plan, a target was set within the school business plan that 85% of eligible students progress at least 1 level as measured at end of 2016 & 2017. Also students tracked at a whole school level.

Collation of InformationEarly in term one, information was retrieved from the school system to identify student background and languages spoken at home. This was given to individual teachers so they were made aware of children who may need to be monitored and tracked on the progress maps.

Resource AllocationTo support staff with EAL/D teacher and learning two books titled ‘Tool Kit’ were purchased which had specific strategies, games and ideas to use with EAL/D learners. These books were shared with teachers and displayed in a prominent place in the staff room for viewing.

Welcome signs in the office were created by teachers to make EAL/D students and parents feel valued in our multicultural school community. Student generated signs for the music and computer rooms, were created by buddy classes. Children worked together to research and write phrases in different languages.

Time AllocationDuring term 3 week 6, teachers used an early close to complete their Progress Maps and input data into the electronic student record. This time enabled sessions teachers to focus on the student progress maps, collaborate with others and plot their own students’ progress. This data was then transferred into the electronic student files to enable easy tracking of student achievement over time.

Teacher SurveyAt the conclusion of the year teachers were requested to complete a survey to enable a review of the curriculum support for 2016. 83.33% of teachers who responded felt confident teaching EAL/D students. 83.33% of teachers felt confident plotting children on the Progress Maps. 50% of teachers found the time allocation for plotting students very helpful and would like to see it continued in 2016. 33.33% would like to see some professional development included in the plan for 2016 and 16.67% of respondents would like to investigate other options. Should we say how many people did the survey? There were only 6

Recommendations for 2016

- Relevant information and student details passed onto teachers at the start of the school year.- Continued awareness and value to be placed on the different languages and cultures at our school.- Time allocation for collaboration with peers and Progress Map completion.- Professional development provided to teachers to provide concrete teaching ideas and activities for work with EAL/D students in a classroom setting.

Rana Landsborough & Rebecca Smith

EARLY YEARS COORDINATOR

A major priority this year at Bramfield Park Primary School was the introduction of the National Quality Standards (NQS). After completing Professional Development, I worked closely with Jayne Murray and Rebecca Smith to introduce the NQS to all staff. As a small team, we continued to unpack the document and develop our own tools to assess where our school sits according to the elements within the Quality Areas before creating an action plan. We used additional time to gather and collate data from staff, to create a shared database of evidence collection and start a documents file which is located in the staff room. We have also presented to, and continue to collaborate with and involve K-6 staff on our progress.

Other aspects of the Early Years Role have incorporated working closely with Jayne Murray to incorporate a comprehensive phonics scope and sequence into our English School Plan, facilitate a change of handwriting script throughout the school, purchase resources for K-2 classrooms and reorganize the junior reading resources. The role has also provided time for mentoring newer teaching staff, managing collaborative teaching team meetings and has allowed time to prepare and facilitate our parent Games Making Club.

 Dayna Ramsden

PATHS REPORT

Bramfield Park Primary School staff members were asked to complete the Teacher Satisfaction Survey about PATHS, giving their ratings (strongly agree, agree, disagree,) for their classes in Term 1. Twelve classroom teachers responded and two education assistants also chose to respond.

Survey items:

1. Students eagerly anticipated being the PATHS Kid of the Day.2. Student response to peer compliments suggests that the PATHS Kid of the Day was

an effective self-esteem activity.3. Students increased their understanding of ‘feelings’ words.4. Students gained empathy and compassion for each other’s feelings5. Students improved in resolving conflicts.6. Students improved in solving problems.7. PATHS contributed to improved classroom behaviour.8. PATHS integrates well with other academic subjects and school activities.9. PATHS was effective in my classroom this year.10. Parents in my class were interested in PATHS.11. I plan to continue teaching PATHS next year.

K PP1

PP2

Rm3

Rm4

Rm5

Rm6

Rm8

Rm8

Rm10

Rm12

Art

PE

Mus

EA

EA

1 N/A

/ SD A A SA SA SA SA A A A A / A SA

2 N/A

/ D A A A A SA SA A SA A A / A SA

3 A / A SA A A SA SA SA A A A A / ? A4 D / D A A A SA SA A A A A A / A A5 D / D A A A A SA A A A A ? / A S

A6 D / D A A A A SA A A A A A / A A7 A / D A D A A SA A A SA A A / A A8 A / A A A A SA SA A SA A A S

A/ A A

9 A / D A A A SA SA SA SA A A A / A SA

10

A / A A D D A A D ? ? A D / ? D

11

SA / A SA SA A SA SA SA SA SA SA

A / A SA

The ideal response to each item would have been ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’. The table indicates that these two responses were the most frequently used, indicating a high level of teacher satisfaction with the PATHS programme overall. The table consequently indicates that the areas we need to focus our efforts on are those items to which the response was disagree.

It is worthy of note that the ‘disagree’ responses were predominantly from Pre-Primary and Kindergarten; this could be because those classes are only in the very early stages of learning PATHS strategies and also because of the developmental level and understandings of such young students.

It is also noteworthy that item 10, “Parents in my class are interested in PATHS”, was strongly weighted towards ‘disagree’. This would lead us to investigate ways in which we could address this, as PATHS is such a significant aspect of our school culture at Bramfield Park.

Recommendations:

Discuss ways in which we could improve the interest level of our parent body in PATHS, at a future staff meeting

Ensure that all staff have received PATHS training Introduce all new staff, including education assistants to basic PATHS principles Maintain current integrated classroom PATHS programme Maintain visibility of PATHS in and around the school Keep language of PATHS to the forefront Maintain PATHS Pals initiative Consider parent workshops about PATHS Re-introduce PATHS information to parents through regular school newsletter items

Re- vitalise intra-staff communication via ’ Yellow Brick Road’ ( PATHS newsletter)

Pauline Abbott

STUDENTS AT EDUCATIONAL RISK

As part of our student wellbeing focus, the school employed a School Psychologist and Chaplain for an additional day each; resulting in 2 days School Psychologist time and 3 days Chaplaincy time. As a result the Student Services team has been far more effective in addressing new referrals and maintaining ongoing cases. Regular case conferences were held with parents, teachers and outside agencies as required. As a result a list of actions were always identified which addressed concerns in the class or at home, and identified subsequent assessments or strategies to be undertaken? A consistent and dedicated approach to intervention was implemented in 2015 with MultiLit in Years 3 – 6. 21 students worked through the MultiLit program three times a week with 2 students completing the program. A Junior Primary Intervention (Letters and Sounds) in Years 1, 2 and 3 was also run by education assistants and parents. 18 students were involved in the program covering Phase 2 and Phase 3 – which would be the expected level at the completion of Year 2.A Talented and Gifted Students (TAGS) writing group also ran once a week with Pauline Abbott, Literacy Specialist, for 10 students each in Years 2, 4 and 5.Individual education and behaviour management plans were developed in consultation with the SAER coordinator and School Psychologist as required. Parents were informed of any individual plans and signed off plans where possible. The School Nurse conducted screening for vision and hearing for all Kindergarten students and as requested for other students. As a result a number of referrals to the GP and optician were recommended. Our school was successful in securing a grant for $2250 through Managing Students with Special Needs and Disabilities (MSSD) and we were able to purchase a number of resources such as the Understanding Learning Difficulties book for each staff, books relating to zones of regulation and a number of wedge seats, disc seats, sensory manipulatives and noise reducing headphones for our students that require intervention and support in this area.Our School Psychologist presented a session on the updated Guidelines for Suicide Prevention. This was an informative, awareness raising session for staff. Once again, Supporting Kids in Primary School (SKIPS) ran again with our Year 5/6 classes. This 3 week presentation was run in conjunction with COPMI (Children of Parents with a Mental Illness) and our School Psychologist. The purpose of the program is to reduce the stigma attached to mental health, provide factual information to students and set up a support network for those students that are affected by mental health. A partnership was also formed with CUSP to have a Social Worker and a Youth Support Worker based in our school one day a week. A MOU is will be signed between our school and CUSP and staff will be able to refer students and families to work with this agency as required.Throughout the year 29 students were involved in our Chaplaincy program – 8 students in groups for semester one and 21 students in groups for semester two. 39 students (16%) had open files with SAER Coordinator and / or the School Psychologist.Chaplaincy involvement included participation in groups such as Rainbows: a grief and loss program, Shine: a self-esteem program for girls, Student Leadership: student council meetings, organization of events, fundraising activities, philanthropic activities; working in classes, and arts/crafts activities in the Library at lunchtime.Open files with the School Psychologist stemmed from a teacher or parent referral. A review of student files, previous psychologist files coupled with teacher discussion and data

collection initiated the process of school psychologist involvement. Case conferences were held which provided a forum for collection of background information, teacher and parent information and a list of actions and strategies that will be implemented. Review meetings were also held after about a term to provide feedback on actions, discuss student progress and identify any further actions required.

Jayne Murray

STUDENT COUNCIL

The student council consisted of 6 members including a Head Girl and a Head Boy. The councillors met with Rebecca Birch, School Chaplain, every week to develop leadership skills and undertake tasks allocated to the council.

Some of the student’s jobs –

* count faction cards and update the scores on the faction tally board;

* manage the sports shed duties once a week;

* announce merit certificates and provide a Student Council report at assemblies;

* help staff with jobs around the school and for special events / days;

* assist with the set up and pack up of assemblies;

* contribute to fundraising efforts, including selling cheesies and milo throughout terms 2 and 3.

* brainstorm and promote ideas for student council events and philanthropic endeavours;

* run the ANZAC service;

* greet and welcome special guests to the school.

The councillors all felt very happy, excited and proud to be part of the Student Council for 2015 and were terrific role models for other students.

Rebecca Birch

Bramfield Park Primary School Board Annual Report 2015.Becoming an Independent Public School in 2015 saw the School Council make changes to become the inaugural Bramfield Park Primary School Board.

The Board consists of 12 members. Three community advocates, five parents and four teaching staff including the school Principal.

Our first year has proven quite eventful as many documents were required to prepare for the beginning, and continuation of being an Independent Public School. We as a Board were required to oversee and approve the Schools Business Plan and the Delivery and Performance Agreement. This is in affect the schools three year plan.

The Board met twice a term to first formalize then discuss and review these documents. Along with this the board also produced a sub-committee to brainstorm the schools facilities and do a building audit. This was very exciting as the prospects of enhancing the outdoor environments was established. A local council Urban Designer helped us by providing some practical, affordable and great ideas to get us started.

The replacement of the Passport program with the Volunteers Incentive Program was facilitated and endorsed by the School board. This program supports the recognition of the valuable contribution, our parents and community members make to our whole school community.

Toward the end of the year we engaged in reviewing our Business Plan targets and concluded the school is meeting or inline to meet all targets set for the three year plan.

We have a new year commencing with lots of ideas to see come to fruition as our first year successfully provided the foundation to get the ball rolling on all projects at hand.

Looking forward to a productive 2016 as the Board reflects and represents the school motto “We Strive to Achieve”.

Kind RegardsRachael MuhafidinSchool Board Chairperson

P&C

The Bramfield Park P&C Association has held many events throughout the year. These events have been for fundraising and for student enjoyment and we hope you have enjoyed them all. This year we have organised and run:

*Easter Raffle *5c Fundraiser

*Mother’s Day stall *2 school discos

*Father’s Day stall *Read-a-thon

*WA Day Sausage sizzle *Athletics carnival sausage sizzle, cake stall and raffle

We also held a free morning tea after our ANZAC assembly with many community members attending.

The P&C has supported and given back to the school by funding or subsidising the costs of:

*Marquee hire for athletics carnival

*Bus hire for getting students to and from interschool carnivals

*The cost of catering and decorations for the year 6 graduation dinner and dance

*Year 6 graduation student gifts and book prize

For 2016 we have already made plans to fund the entire cost of the annual bush dance to keep it a free event for our school, and are funding a cyber-safety course for students.

The canteen has been open once a week this year for recess and lunch as well as a trial of school dinners. It received a glowing report from the City of Gosnells health inspectors and we hope to open with a full menu in 2016.

Next year will also see the launch of our chapter of ‘The Fathering Project’ BUDs – Bramfield United Dads.

NAPLAN 2015

Staff analysed the data for NAPLAN in terms of Literacy, Numeracy and Growth achieved from testing in Year 3 to testing in Year 5. Below are the achievement graphs for Year 3 – Numeracy and Writing showing achievement as Limited, Satisfactory, Good and Excellent.

The following graphs show achievement for Year 5 in Numeracy and Reading as Limited, Satisfactory, Good and Excellent.

The table below shows the number of bands improved across the Reading, Writing and Numeracy assessments from testing undertaken for students in Year 3 (2013) and then again in Year 5 (2015). The expected growth is generally two bands.

Reading Writing NumeracyBands % Ach Bands % Ach Bands % Ach

0 0 0 7.14% 0 14.29%1 42.86% 1 50.00% 1 35.71%2 35.71% 2 35.71% 2 35.71%

3 21.43% 3 7.14% 3 14.29%

From the staff discussion the following points were highlighted as areas of focus:

Maths

Lots of problem solving activities needed and reading for meaning in mathematical context.

Focus on working out strategies for multi-step problems Maps – walking out maps Maths language Make use of the activities in the Problem solving folder

English

Correlation between Literacy Pro score and NAPLAN score Information reports Year 3 Writing – at a higher level – quantity, critical feedback, getting better at writing by

writing NAPLAN Marking Guide

Progress

Targeting an extension group (TAGS) Streaming – ability grouping

Make use of the NAPLAN Planner