Canterbury Girls High School Annual Report for Upload… · prepare them for 21st Century world, education and civic demands. Overall summary of progress The Learning and Participation

Canterbury Girls High SchoolAnnual Report

2016

8806

Printed on: 5 April, 2017Page 1 of 20 Canterbury Girls High School 8806 (2016)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2016 is provided to the community of Canterbury Girls High School as an account of the school'soperations and achievements throughout the year.

It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities forall students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self–assessment that reflect the impact of keyschool strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equityfunding.

Sue Holden

Principal

School contact details

Canterbury Girls High SchoolChurch StCanterbury, 2193www.canterburg-h.schools.nsw.edu.aucanterburg-h.School@det.nsw.edu.au9718 1805


School background

School vision statement

Canterbury Girls High School’s vision is for a dynamic learning community in which students, staff, parents andcommunity members collaborate to enable each student to achieve her personal best. To achieve this aim, the school isstrongly committed to enacting the principle of continuous improvement, and to building school community capacity toimprove learning and social outcomes for girls. The school seeks to ensure the personal potential of each student isrealised through the provision of innovative programs addressing Quality Teaching, student welfare, 21st Centurylearning, the Creative and Performing Arts, Environmental Education, Sport and student leadership.

School context

Canterbury Girls High School is in Canterbury, Australia’s city for cultural diversity. This diversity is reflected in theschool’s population: a LBOTE population of 64% comprising both international and refugee students; Aboriginal students;local and out of area enrolments. The school prides itself on being an inclusive learning environment in which differenceis celebrated.The vast majority of students are highly engaged and enjoy attending school each day; attendance andretention rates are above the state average,and student behaviour is excellent. The diversity of the student populationmandates differentiated curriculum patterns to enable student needs to become comprehensively addressed. Stage 4 isarranged in groupings with a specific ‘lens' underpinning the learning focus: Gifted and Talented, Performing Arts, MixedAbility, EALD and STL. Differentiation and extension are ongoing curriculum priorities for Stages 5 and 6. Elective linesfor Years 8–12 are determined by student choices, and student voice is an increasingly enfranchised focus within theschool. Valued adding for the school in state and national assessments is uniformly excellent and is a testament to thestrong home–school partnerships the school enjoys.

Self-assessment and school achievement

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

For schools participating in external validation processes:

This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework,school achievements and the next steps to be pursued.

In September 2016, our school undertook self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework and participated inan external validation. The framework supports public schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providinga clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading. During theexternal validation process, an independent panel of peer principals considered our evidence and assessment of theschool’s progress, aligned with the standards articulated in the School Excellence Framework.

The results of this process indicated:

In the domain of Learning the school’s self–assessment is consistent with the evidence presented in four elements and isvalidated using the School Excellence Framework. Both elements of Wellbeing and Students Performance werevalidated as Excelling and the elements of Curriculum and Assessment and Reporting were validated as Sustaining andGrowing. In the element of – Learning Culture the evidence presented indicates the school is operating at the Excellingstage.

In the domain of Teaching, the school’s self–assessment is consistent with the evidence presented in three elements andis validated using the School Excellence Framework. In the elements of Effective Classroom Practice, Learning andDevelopment and Professional Standards the school was validated as Sustaining and Growing. In the element of – DataSkills and Use the Collaborative Practice the evidence presented indicates the school is operating at the Excelling stage.

In the domain of Leading the school’s self–assessment is consistent with the evidence presented using the SchoolExcellence Framework. School Planning, was validated as Sustaining and Growing and in the domain of Resources theschool was validated as Excelling. In the elements of – Leadership and Management Practices and Processes theevidence presented indicates the school is operating at the Excelling stage.

The future directions for Canterbury Girls based on professional conversation currently being undertaken through ourthree Strategic Plan Committees and from a Learning Evaluation conducted in June, 2016 include; improve effectivenessof student transition programs – especially Stage 5 to 6. Increase student voice and student direction in learning. Extendintegration of technology in teaching and learning. Build staff capacity to differentiate the curriculum. Pursue 21stcentury learning practices. Sustain collaborative practices within and beyond the school community. Build leadership


capacity of staff to mentor peers in best practice teaching and learning.

2016 self–assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in the School Plan, andenable continuing improvements in the delivery of quality teaching for all students. A School Evaluation for 2017 willfocus on one of the School Excellence Framework domains of Teaching and elicit student, staff and parent feedback aspart of the evaluation. Planning and critical conversations about school strategic planning using the School ExcellenceFramework, Domains and Elements are already underway for strategic planning for 2017 and beyond to 2018–2020School Plan.

Our self–assessment and the external validation process will assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in ourSchool Plan, leading to further improvements in the delivery of education to our students.

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:

http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about–the–department/our–reforms/school–excellence–framework


Strategic Direction 1

Learning and Participation

Purpose

To ensure students are provided with the best educational experiences possible, our staff are committed to differentiatingthe curriculum and undertaking rich, innovative curricular and extracurricular experiences to challenge students andprepare them for 21st Century world, education and civic demands.

Overall summary of progress

The Learning and Participation team supported significant improvements in relation to student learning and participation.These included:

• building staff capacity regarding the authentic integration of technology into teaching and learning • building staff capacity to reflect on practice and mentor peers through the Quality Teaching and Inner West

Community of Professional Practice projects • strengthening the roles of both students and parents as partners in the teaching and learning process • broadening the school's rich curricular and extra–curricular programs to cater for individual student differences and

further their participation in learning.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year Funds Expended(Resources)

Increased number of staff usingtechnology and differentiation /acceleration to meet individualstudent needs.

Head Teacher Teaching and Learning (Technology)worked across the school to professionally supportstaff in the authentic integration of technology inteaching and learning programs.

Professional support continued to be provided tostaff around curriculum differentiation.

8,000 Professional Learningfunds

10% increase in studentsundertaking formal reflections onassessment tasks and teacherpractice.

Eight Stage 4 classes trialled initiatives relating towritten reflections on assessment tasks and writtensurveys evaluating teacher practice and its relationto individual learning needs. Trialled strategies werepositively evaluated and a decision made toimplement them with all Year 7 students in 2017.

15% increase student inparticipation in Extra–Curricularand Curriculum Extension /Acceleration programs.

A broad range of curricular (e.g academiccompetitions, excursions) and extra–curricular (e.gCreative and Performing Arts, Sport, AustralianBusiness Week) programs continued to beimplemented and enjoy high levels of studentparticipation. A link with Ashfield Boys High Schoolresulted in their students' participation in severalevents.

Self funding

All 17 Aboriginal studentscompleted Individual EducationPlans and successfully completedtheir academic year.

School continued to employ a teacher one day perfortnight to support the school's Aboriginal studentsto remain connected to school and to lead thedevelopment of Individual Education Plans inconsultation with students and parents.

6000 –RAM AboriginalEducation

5000 – Donation fromHurlstone Park RSL

20% of teaching staff participatedin Quality Teaching Rounds andInner West Community ofProfessional Practice projectswhich enhanced their capacity tolead learning within the school.

Twelve staff undertook the Quality TeachingRounds project. Twenty staff participated in theInner West Community of Professional Practiceproject and undertook a Peer Mentoring coursefacilitated by the University of Sydney.

15,000 Professionallearning funds

20,000 State leadershipInitiative


Next Steps

1. Extend the integration of technology in teaching and learning through the creation of an additional Head TeacherTeaching and Learning position to continue to support teachers in the authentic integration of technology into teachingand learning.

2. Pursue 21st century learning practices and build leadership capacity of staff to mentor peers in best practice teachingand learning through further promoting staff ability to reflect on practice, refine pedagogy and mentor peers throughimplementation of Quality Teaching Rounds and Quality Teaching Buddies projects in 2017. The target is to have 30staff fully trained in Quality Teaching Rounds by the end of 2017.

3. Sustain collaborative practice within and beyond the school community in a variety of forms, including, Implementing aStudents and Parents as Partners for Learning project in 2017 to enhance student and parent participation in learning.



Literacy and Numeracy

Purpose

Development of high levels of capacity in literacy and numeracy that will underpin lifelong learning. Literacy andNumeracy to be the cornerstones of the achievement of national curriculum outcomes. Extension and enrichment ofstudents possessing particular skills in literacy and numeracy. Ensure effective integration of Literacy and Numeracy tosupport successful learning in all contexts.


In 2016 significant gains were made in improving achievement in literacy and numeracy for students as indicated byNAPLAN data and semester reporting. In particular the intensive support programs in literacy and numeracy for studentsat or below benchmark students led to improved successful engagement with the curriculum and improved confidenceand skills. All stage 4 students were also extended in literacy and numeracy skills through a variety of enrichmentprograms, including cross curricular field days, competition participation, and training as mentors for the peer readingand peer numeracy projects. Significant gains were also made in expanding staff professional knowledge in the areasof:–

1. Explicit teaching of EADL students with now 35 teachers trained in TELL;

2. Enhanced understanding and use of DoE Literacy and Numeracy Continuum in the integration of literacy andnumeracy skills in programming, assessment and reporting;

3. Quality Teaching Rounds project in which staff developed improved pedagogy regarding explicit teaching, problematicknowledge and meta language.

In summary the range of enrichment and consolidation for LAN programs for students and well integrated staffprofessional learning in LAN in 2016 has achieved improved outcomes in the strategic direction and outstanding valueadded for students from Year 7 2014 to Year 9 2016..




% of students BNMS in Year 9NAPLAN below state average

CGHS Data for students in Year 9 show that interms of percentage of students below the nationalbenchmark;

School State

Reading 4% 7%

Writing 11% 18%

Spelling 6% 10%

Grammar 8% 11%

Numeracy 1% 4%

18,000 Numeracy Supportteacher from RAM low leveldisability funding

5000 Numeracy Supportteacher donation fromHurlstone Park RSL

18,0000 additional days forLiteracy support teacherfrom RAM low leveldisability

Growth statistics in Yr 9 NAPLANwell above state growth in allareas.

A comparison of average Growth for students2014–2016 between CGHS and state is exceptionalfor our students

CGHS State

Reading 43 33.2

Spelling 45 33.8

Professional learning timefor all teaching staff toanalyse NAPLAN individualstudent data and how tomodify programming toimprove specific literacyand numeracy skill areas forstudents





Growth statistics in Yr 9 NAPLANwell above state growth in allareas.

Grammar 27.4 21.1

Numeracy 51.9 40.7

Value added growth is highlighted in the graphbelow.

Professional learning timefor all teaching staff toanalyse NAPLAN individualstudent data and how tomodify programming toimprove specific literacyand numeracy skill areas forstudents

100% of students in MULTILITprogram demonstratedimprovement in reading andwriting

Initial testing of the Stage 4 Multilit studentsidentified that all were 12 or more months behindsame age peers in one or more literacy domains.

Participation in a 150 minuteweekly program inphonemic awareness (non–word reading), spelling,readingaccuracy, reading comprehension, readingfluency, syntax and grammar usage leadtoimprovements in these areas for the majority ofstudents with 14 of the 19 sufficientlyimproving notto require the Multilit program in 2017.

The Year 7 MultiLit graduates will have literacyskills consolidated in Year 8 Literacy Elective in2017.

Wages for 3 days a weekLearning Support TeacherLiteracy from RAM Lowlevel disability funding

All faculties trained in TELLstrategies

13 additional staff were trained in TELL. We nowhave 35 staff who have completed this training

25,000 for in house trainerfrom RAM–EALD flexiblefunding

Next Steps

1. Continue the range of strategies to improve literacy and numeracy in Stage 4 including:

Peer Mentoring in Literacy and Numeracy; additional learning Support in Literacy and Numeracy; targeted support forstudents identified; Literacy elective in Year 8 for identified EALD and Learning Support students; MULTILIT for Year 7students; Learning Support plans for those students identified as having learning issues.

2. Continue to build staff capacity to differentiate the curriculum for all types of learners.



Support and Wellbeing

Purpose

To constantly improve approaches to support students to become resilient, resourceful 21st century global citizens,ensuring staff, caregivers and community partnerships are enabled to actively plan pathways based upon strengths,passions and needs.


In 2016 Personal Best was implemented for the second year with the Support and Wellbeing Team working to improveits delivery and uptake in Stage 6. Liaison with Ashfield Police was maintained to support cybersafety and anti–bullyingthrough workshops for Year groups 7–10, as well as individual and small group support to manage safety and positiverelationships. The Senior Student Support Program continued successfully with additional staff supporting students inthe Senior Learning Centre, resulting in improved attendance, retention, engagement and achievement. Careers, YouthSupport Worker and Counsellor continued to access Stage 6 students as part of the Personal Best program to developcoping skills and post–school planning. Effective collaboration and liaison of staff saw no student unsupported.

The SAW Mental Health team piloted the Blackdog Headstrong program in PDHPE and the school strengthened itspartnership with break thru services to support girls cope with adolescence. The SAW Inclusion team maintained deliveryof initiatives including RUOK Day and International Day of Disability Assembly, as well as International Women’s Daywith Zonta Club breakfast for student leaders and PDHPE excursion to YMCA hosted by local council, Go Active andLebanese Muslim Association.

Through Personal Best, Mental Health and Social Inclusion initiatives a range of community partnerships supported ourstudents to be resilient and resourceful young people. NCCD data reflects adjustments made to accommodate studentsof diverse learning needs in our school community.




Attendance data to be abovestate average by;

2015 – 2.6%

2016 – 2.8%

2017 – 3%

In 2016 Canterbury Girls High Attendance rateswere 2.3 % higher than State Department ofEducation rates.

39,000 from RAM Low–Socio Economic allowancecost for 2nd Deputy to focuson attendance monitoring

2,500 on SLSO support inclasses from RAM LowLevel Disability

Retention to increase:

2015 – 86.1%

2016 – 87.1%

2017 – 88.1%

Retention from Year 10 2014 to Year 12 2016 was80%, similar schools were 70%.

18,000 from RAM Low leveldisability funding to employadditional Learning SupportTeacher Mental Health

6000 from Internationalstudents funds to supportSenior Student program

16,000 from RAM LowSocio Economic Funding fora Youth worker

HSC Value Added to increase:

2015 – 0.5 higher rangevalue–added


Value added in the High range learners was 0.68 in2016. This is highlighted in the graph below.

6000 donated fromHurlstone Park RSL forYouth Worker wages

8000 from ProfessionalLearning funds to developstaff in curriculum expertise






Value added in the High range learners was 0.68 in2016. This is highlighted in the graph below.

6000 donated fromHurlstone Park RSL forYouth Worker wages

8000 from ProfessionalLearning funds to developstaff in curriculum expertise

Next Steps

1. Expand the support of senior students through maintaining Youth Worker support, additional Learning Centre supportfor 2017 in English and Mathematics for Year 12.2. Continue to have a Deputy Principal focus on attendance monitoring and collaborative action with families and supportservices on attendance. 3. Continue to refine the cycle of well being activities which support a range of learners., and improve student voice andstudent direction in learning4. Expand leadership opportunities across the school for students.5. Continue to refine and improve the effectiveness of student transition programs.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2013 2014 2015 2016

Boys 0 0 0 0

Girls 683 682 676 697

The school's enrolment profile for 2016 reveals a trendof increasing enrolments within an extremelycompetitive inner–city demographic. The school'scontinued strong value–added, increasing attainment ofhigh performance bands and Performing Arts andGifted and Talented streams for Stage 4 have beenidentified by parents as factors influencing their choice of Canterbury Girls High School as the best fit for theirdaughter. The school will have an enrolment of over700 in 2017; this will allow the school to be entitled to asecond Deputy Principal within its staffing allocation.

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

7 94.9 94.4 96.8 92.2

8 92.9 93.8 96 92

9 91.3 93.8 95.9 93.3

10 91.6 89.4 96.8 91.3

11 90.3 92.2 96.4 91.2

12 92.7 93 97.9 92.7

All Years 92.3 92.9 96.6 92

State DoE

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

7 93.2 93.3 92.7 92.8

8 90.9 91.1 90.6 90.5

9 89.4 89.7 89.3 89.1

10 87.7 88.1 87.7 87.6

11 88.3 88.8 88.2 88.2

12 90.1 90.3 89.9 90.1

All Years 89.9 90.2 89.7 89.7

The school's attendance profile is extremely positive,with five cohorts having an attendance rate above thestate average. Efforts will continue to be made tosupport full attendance by all students in the school.The introduction of electronic roll marking in all lessonshas positively impacted upon the school's monitoring of

attendance. The senior executive, Head TeacherStudent Wellbeing and Year Advisers collaborateregularly in implementing strategies supporting fullschool attendance, and refer students requiringadditional support to the Home School Liaison OfficerProgram.

Retention Year 10 to Year 12

School retention refers to the percentage of studentsenrolled in a school in Year 10 who complete theHigher School Certificate two years later. The school'sretention rate for 2015–2016 was 80%. This is tenpercentage points higher than the retention rate forstatistically similar schools, and fifteen percentagepoints higher than the retention average for NSWgovernment schools. The school's retention rate reflects the significant support students at the schoolreceive regarding Stage 6 subject selection, andassessment, and in remaining socially connected to theschool.

Post-school destinations

Proportion ofstudents movinginto post-schooleducation, trainingor employment

Year10%

Year11%

Year12%

SeekingEmployment

0 0 0

Employment 0 0 10

TAFE entry 1 3 10

University Entry 0 0 74

Other 0 0 0

Unknown 0 0 6

The vast majority of Year 12 students at CanterburyGirls High School continue to progress to university.The school is extremely proud that three quarters of itsYear Twelve cohort achieved offers to attend universityfor 2017. The remainder of the cohort were equallydivided between TAFE and employment as theirchosen post–school pathway.

Year 12 students undertaking vocational or tradetraining

In 2016, eleven students in Year Twelve undertookvocational or trade training at TAFE in the followingareas:

–Tourism–Media

–Animal Studies

–Human Services


–Retail Services

–Community Services.

In addition, one student undertook a school basedtraineeship.

With regard to vocational training courses offered atschool, eleven students undertook the BusinessServices course, while ten students undertook theKitchen Operations course.

Year 12 students attaining HSC or equivalentvocational education qualification

All Year 12 students who sat for the 2016 HigherSchool Certificate gained this qualification. In addition,five Year 11 students also attained their Higher SchoolCertificate in 2 unit Dance as part of an acceleratedHSC program.

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Deputy Principal(s) 1.6

Head Teacher(s) 8

Classroom Teacher(s) 34.8

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 1.2

Teacher Librarian 1

Teacher of ESL 1.4

School Counsellor 1

School Administration & SupportStaff

9.68

Other Positions 3

*Full Time Equivalent

The school is fortunate enough to have outstandingtalent among both its teaching and administration staff,most of whom are highly experienced practitioners. Theschool has one Aboriginal permanent staff memberamong its teaching staff.

Workforce retention

The school enjoys exceptionally high workplaceretention. The only permanent staff member who leftthe school in 2016 – Gayle Gibson, Head TeacherMathematics – did so due to retirement. One othertemporary staff member – Marion Gifford in

Mathematics – also retired, and another – DanLuzinsky in TAS – gained a permanent position atanother school.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirementsfor teaching in NSW public schools.

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 100

Postgraduate degree 20

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Professional Learning and Teacher Accreditationremained priorities for the school throughout 2016. Allstaff completed a Performance and Development Planat the start of the year. Teacher identified goals wereused to inform the planning of School DevelopmentDays and other professional learning sessions.

The school's major professional learning projects forthe year included Quality Teaching Rounds, in whichthree groups of four staff undertook lesson observationof a colleague's lesson and provided explicit feedbackvia coding the lesson against the NSW QualityTeaching Framework. This project was so successfulthat the twelve staff will be mentoring twelve new staffin the Quality Teaching Buddies project in 2017. Theschool's other key professional learning project was2016 was the Inner West Community of ProfessionalPractice; Canterbury Girls was the lead school in aCommunity of Schools with Ashfield Boys, Tempe andDulwich Hill high schools. Forty staff from across theschools were interested in acquiring the skills thatwould support their application at Highly Accomplishedand Lead accreditation levels undertook a twelve hourTeacher Peer Mentoring course facilitated by theUniversity of Sydney. Professional learning sessions forthe executive at the four schools were also undertakenas part of this project.

New Scheme teachers continued to be supported tomeet accreditation requirements and to undertake theappropriate professional learning hours needed foraccreditation. Communication was also undertaken withpre–2004 service teachers regarding their impendingaccreditation in 2018.


Financial information (for schoolsusing OASIS for the whole year)

Financial information

This summary financial information covers funds foroperating costs to <insert date> and does not involveexpenditure areas such as permanent salaries, buildingand major maintenance.

Income $

Balance brought forward 510 652.82

Global funds 505 476.24

Tied funds 303 262.38

School & community sources 557 198.52

Interest 12 169.64

Trust receipts 69 572.55

Canteen 0.00

Total income 1 958 332.15

Expenditure

Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 121 982.39

Excursions 137 732.66

Extracurricular dissections 227 307.34

Library 14 065.04

Training & development 8 509.58

Tied funds 324 725.10

Short term relief 73 327.87

Administration & office 174 971.63

School-operated canteen 0.00

Utilities 103 138.39

Maintenance 57 535.20

Trust accounts 61 593.05

Capital programs 118 910.70

Total expenditure 1 423 798.95

Balance carried forward 534 533.20

A full copy of the school’s financial statement is tabledat the annual general meetings of the parent and/orcommunity groups. Further details concerning thestatement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance

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other assessment data including: • Best Start • Literacy and numeracy achievement against the

literacy and numeracy continuums>Delete text not required.

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results acrossthe Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy andnumeracy assessments are reported on a scale fromBand 1 toBand 10. The achievement scale represents increasinglevels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments.

Year 7 NAPLAN

Summary

The percentage of students Below National MinimumStandards continues to be extremely small: 5% inReading; 5% in Writing; 4% in Spelling; 4 % inGrammar and Punctuation; 0% in Numeracy. The factthat no Year 7 student is below natural minimumstandards in Numeracy is extremely pleasing. Theresults show the school has a smaller percentage thanthe state average Below National Minimum Standardsin all examined areas.

The percentage of students achieving in the highestbands (Proficient) is very good:29% in Reading; 17% inWriting; 36% in Spelling; 39 % in Grammar andPunctuation; 28% in Numeracy. In Reading andWriting, the results are only one percentage point belowthe state percentage, but Spelling and Grammar &Punctuation were actually both above the statepercentages. Numeracy was three percentage pointsbelow the state percentage for Proficient students.

In terms of Mean (average) performance scores, theschool was above the average for NSW Schools inWriting, Spelling and Grammar & Punctuation, and slightly below in Reading and Numeracy.

Student Growth

Student Growth refers to the level of improvement instudent results from their previous NAPLANassessments undertaken in 2014. In the 2016 NAPLANexaminations, the level of Student Growth forCanterbury Girls High exceeded the average level ofgrowth by students in NSW schools in both Grammarand Punctuation and Numeracy, with the latter resultbeing especially strong. The school was marginallybelow the average level of student growth for the statein Reading and Spelling.

Future Directions

The Year 7 Performance Class and Gifted andTalented Classes will continue into Year 8 in 2017 inorder to continue to extend the skills of gifted andtalented students in all areas of learning, including


literacy and numeracy.

Targeted support will continue to be provided forstudents achieving below their personal best. Supportfor Year 8, 2017 will include the provision of an electiveLiteracy class, targeted numeracy support, peermentoring in Literacy and Numeracy during thePersonal Best Program, the operation of the Making upfor Lost Time in Literacy (Multilit) reading program, STLand ESL classroom support, and the Mercy Connecttuition program to assist refugee students..

The School Plan team with responsibility for Literacyand Numeracy will continue to drive whole schoolimprovement in these areas.

Year 9 NAPLAN

The percentages of students Below National MinimumStandards was as follows: 4% in Reading; 11% inWriting; 6% in Spelling; 8 % in Grammar andPunctuation; 1% in Numeracy. In all areas of Literacyand in Numeracy, Canterbury Girls had a smallerpercentage of students Below National MinimumStandards than the state. This is an excellent resultwhich affirms the significant support being provided inStage 4 to students to address learning difficulties inliteracy and numeracy.

The percentage of Year 9 students placed in thehighest achievement bands (Proficient)for 2016 wasvery good: 24% in Reading; 9% in Writing; 25% inSpelling; 18 % in Grammar and Punctuation; 16% inNumeracy.

In relation to Reading and Spelling, the school was onlyone percentage point below the state in terms of thepercentage of students deemed to be Proficient. In allother areas of Literacy, the school was slightly belowthe state in terms of the percentage of students in theProficient bands. In Numeracy, the school was elevenpercentage points below the state in terms of thepercentage of students in the highest achievementbands.

Percentage of students in highest achievementbands (Proficient)

In terms of Mean (average) performance scores, theschool performed above the average for NSW schoolsin all areas of Literacy, and slightly below in Numeracy–584 for Canterbury Girls as opposed to 595 for thestate, a very pleasing result.

Student Growth

In all areas of Literacy – except Writing which wasunable to be reported upon – and in Numeracy, theaverage level of growth experienced by students atCanterbury Girls High School was greater than theaverage level of growth experienced by students forNSW Public Schools. Business Intelligence dataprovided by the Department of education shows thatthe value added for students from Year 7 to Year 9 inNAPLAN in Reading and Numeracy was 44.4 forCanterbury Girls High compared to 39.6 for similarschools. This puts Canterbury Girls High in the

excelling range.This is an exceptional achievement anda testimony to the excellence of teaching and learningafforded every student at Canterbury Girls High School.

Future Directions

A focus for 2017 will be to continue to increase thepercentage of students achieving in the highestperformance bands. Additional Numeracy support willagain be provided to students below nationalbenchmarks. Curriculum adjustments in relation toWriting and Grammar and Punctuation will beundertaken to further extend students in these areas.

Learning support will continue to be provided tostudents not achieving to their potential in Literacy andNumeracy. Literacy and Numeracy Mentoring programswill also continue in 2017. Stage 5 students willcontinue to have access to Multilit and Mercy Connectprograms.

The My School website provides detailedinformation and data for national literacy and numeracytesting. Click on the link http://www.myschool.edu.auand insert the school name in the Find a school andselect GO to access the school data.>

Higher School Certificate (HSC)

The performance of students in the HSC is reported inbands ranging from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6(highest).


HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE (HSC)

The previous four graphs depict the school'sperformance in subjects undertaken as part of the 2016HSC.

2016 proved another fine year for the school in terms ofHSC results: 61% of students achieved at least one


High Performance Band, and 31% of all results wereplaced in the High Performance Bands. Elevenstudents were placed in the High Performance Bandsfor all subjects, an excellent achievement.

The school performed above the state average inCommunity and Family Studies, Dance, Drama,Advanced English, ESL English, Legal Studies,Mathematics Extension 2, Music, Society and Culture,Heritage Chinese and Chinese Background Speakers.This was less than the 2015 and 2014 results, whichwere exceptionally strong in terms of the percentage ofstudents achieving in the highest performance bands.

These results do indicate however, that the school iscontinuing to do an excellent job at catering for thediverse learning needs of students across a broadrange of subject areas.

The school was within two marks of the state averagein Biology, Business Studies, Standard English, EnglishExtension 1, English Extension 2, 2 Unit Mathematics,Visual Arts and Business Services, a very soundachievement.

Areas the school will continue to support improvementsin during 2017 include Ancient History, Chemistry,Physics, PDHPE, Studies of Religion, Textiles &Design, French Beginners and French Continuers,where candidates were at least 5 percentage pointsbelow the state average.

In comparison to the 2015 Higher School Certificate,the school increased the number of students achievingin High Performance Bands (Bands 5 and 6) inCommunity and Family Studies, Drama, StandardEnglish, Mathematics 2 Unit, Mathematics Extension 1,Mathematics Extension 2, Music, PDHPE, ChineseBackground Speakers and Japanese, KoreanBackground Speakers, Indonesian Heritage andVietnamese Continuers, an excellent outcome giventhis year’s much smaller cohort.

This fact that almost a third of all results were placed inthe High Performance Bands can be attributed to anumber of intersecting factors, including theintroduction of Performance and Gifted & Talentedclass structures, the implementation of a broad range ofengaging, extra–curricular programs, extensiveexpenditure on technology and other innovativeresources and a high level of social support afforded toeach student. The Value added data for all learners inthe HSC continues the trend for the last 4 years ofbeing well in the positive. The critical factorunderpinning this trend remains teacher quality and therelentless focus on quality teaching at CGHS. Theschool will continue to provide the leadership andprofessional learning needed to ensure each teacherhas the capacity to address the personal learningneeds of individual learners and address ever–evolvingeducational challenges.

Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

SCHOOL EVALUATION 2016

An evaluation was help in May which sought the viewsof students, staff and parents in relation to the school'sability to meet student learning needs. Surveys andinterviews were conducted with school communitymembers, and a broad range of qualitative andquantitative data examined.

Focus Question: How effectively is CGHS meeting thediverse learning needs of all students?

FINDINGS

Transitions

Year 5 Enrichment Program, Peer Mentoring, OpenDay programs, Teacher and Prefect support andOrientation programs effectively support studenttransition from Year 6 to Year 7.

Subject Selection Programs support students totransition across the learning stages.

Careers programs support student transitions topost–school pathways.

Integrating ICT and Library Information Services

Moodle, BYOD, Google Apps and Google Drive havesupported advancements in student learning at CGHS.

Some students from equity backgrounds are finding itdifficult to meet the costs associated with technology(e.g. purchase of device and printing), which can placepressures on learning and wellbeing as a result.

Curriculum differentiation

Individual Education Plans and Nationally ConsistentCollection Disability (NCCD) adjustments ensurestudents with disabilities are comprehensivelysupported within the curriculum.

Aboriginal student Individual Education Plans and theAboriginal Student Support Program enable the needsof Aboriginal students to be addressed.

Stage 4 class organisation enables diverse studentneeds, interests and abilities to be catered for.

The school’s extensive extra–curricular programseffectively cater for student diversity.

Partnerships with other organisations to supportlearning

The Inner West Community of Professional Practice isan effective community of schools which supportsadvancements in educational leadership across foursecondary schools.

Strong relationships with mental health and otherwellbeing agencies support vulnerable students toremain connected to learning.

Partnerships with students and parents to enhance


learning

Personal Learning Plans and Learning Presentationsengage students and parents as partners in thelearning continuum.

Parent Teacher Nights and other forms ofcommunications such as P&C, twitter, newsletter andthe Mother–Daughter program build parent capacity inrelation to understanding about learning issues.

Integration of Quality teaching, curriculum deliveryand assessment

Value–added system data reflects an outstanding levelof integration between Quality teaching, curriculumdelivery and assessment.

Quality Teaching Rounds and TELL have providedteachers with intensive, research–based models toreflect on and improve quality teaching practices.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Transitions

Obtain additional student feedback regarding Stage 5and Stage 6 Personal Best and how this program canbest support their learning needs.

Review the Year 7 Homework Policy to support studentwellbeing and learning in the transition to high school–homework needs to be incremental in duration andmonitored regarding impacts on students.

Review Year 10 curriculum to better prepare studentsfor Stage 6 learning demands.

Explore ways of presenting information about Universityand other post–school pathways to students prior toStage 6.

Integrating ICT and Library Information Services

Provide ongoing opportunities to integrate technologyinto teaching and learning programs and to addresssyllabus technology outcomes.

Provide students from equity backgrounds opportunitiesto submit assessment tasks electronically to mitigateprinting costs.

Provide ongoing opportunities to teach studentstargeted ICT skills, and enable them to understand anduse a range of innovative software and programs.

Continue to have a school policy to support thosestudents who do not have access to BYOD through loans of a school owned device.

Curriculum differentiation

Continue to expand teacher repertoires of practice,especially with regard to using visual teaching aids andteaching students research information skills, and shareeffective practices with peers in professional learningactivities.

Use the N Warning system in a context of supportinglearning rather than as a management tool.

Continue to investigate strategies which support lowability students to meet learning requirements and toremain engaged with learning, recognising that somestudents are unable to articulate the help needed

Partnerships with other organisations to supportlearning

Continue to explore opportunities to work in aCommunity of Schools along the same lines as in theInner West Community of Professional Practice.

Partnerships with students and parents to enhancelearning

Survey students in all classes on a semester basisregarding learning issues, to inform the teaching andlearning cycle and ensure student needs are met.

Explore strategies to strengthen partnerships withparents around learning.

Integration of Quality teaching, curriculum deliveryand assessment

Ensure all assessment tasks for Stages 4, 5 and 6 havea marking rubric issued to students along with the taskto enable all students to achieve their personal best.

STUDENTS AND PARENTS AS PARTNERS FORLEARNING SURVEYS

Following on from the School's Evaluation undertakenin Semester One, additional surveys were conductedwith both students and parents to ascertain their viewsas to ways to strengthen their roles as integral partnersin the teaching and learning continuum. Surveyresponses were analysed by the Deputy Principal andseveral strategies developed as a result of thefeedback received. Following the successful trialling ofthese strategies in Term 4, 2016, it was determined thatthe school would implement a project in 2017 entitledStudents and Parents as Partners for Learning acrossall Year 7 subject areas, and involve students andparents in the development of:

–Personal Learning Plans

–Assessment Task Reflections Sheets

–End of Term Student Feedback on Teacher Practice

–Yearly Learning Presentations

–Yearly Parent Reflection Statements.


Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

The School is extremely proud that its Aboriginalstudent population has continued to grow each year –17 students in 2016. We again implemented theAboriginal Student Support Program, where MrsMcLelland, a retired Deputy Principal, was employedfor one day per fortnight to support the school's 17Aboriginal students in terms of their learning, welfareand attendance. Mrs McLelland also collaborated withstudents and their parents in the development ofIndividual Education Plans for all students. These plansidentify personal learning requirements specific to eachstudents, and are shared with staff to inform eachteacher's classroom practices.

There were a number of highlights for the school'sAboriginal students in 2016. These included: • NAIDOC Week Assembly • participation in Ngarawumara Research Project

with UTS • Implementation of Individual Norta Norta tuition

sponsorship for Stage 6 students and Norta NortaNumeracy support for Stage 4 students providedby Sam Altman

• Indigenous Mentoring Program where Buia Davidand Aziza Seror mentored Aboriginal Stage 3Aboriginal students at Canterbury Public School

• Sharnee Dingwall receiving the Deadly KidsDoing Well award

• Sharnee Dingwall and Jessie Simon Fitzpatrickparticipating in the Vocal Identification Program

• Sharnee Dingwall and Jessie Simon Fitzpatrickbeing invited to perform at Nanga Mai Awards.

• Jessie Simon–Fitzpatrick, Marie Ikonomou andBuia David performing in the School Spectacular

• Marie Ikonomou and Buia David being selected toparticipate in the NSW Aboriginal DanceCompany.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

Canterbury Girls’ school population is diverse, with 67%of students coming from over 62 Languagebackgrounds other than English. Mainstream teachingwhich makes the curriculum accessible to students withEnglish as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D)

and to students from language backgrounds other thanEnglish (LBOTE), is a priority at Canterbury Girls. Inaddition, all curriculum areas taught at the schoolcontain units of work which provide multiculturalperspectives and knowledge.

An overwhelming majority of classroom teachers atCanterbury Girls have received training andprofessional development in the teaching of EAL/D andLBOTE students. A further priority this year, was toimprove the academic language proficiency of Stage 6students in order to enable them to improve theirachievement levels in HSC subjects. An EALD teacherwas released to work with teachers across differentcurriculum areas, in the use of explicit teachingstrategies to develop these students’ academiclanguage proficiency.

In addition, each year the Department of Educationprovides the school with staff specially trained inteaching EAL/D and LBOTE students, based on thenumber and needs of such students enrolled at theschool.

EAL/D teachers provided the following support forEAL/D and LBOTE students: • Students with EAL/D backgrounds in Years 7 & 8

were supported through team teaching in corecurriculum by an EAL/D teacher. In addition,students in Year 8 with EAL/D and LBOTEbackgrounds who needed extra help with theirliteracy attended an English literacy elective classtwice a week.

• Students with EAL/D backgrounds in Years 9 &10 were supported through team teaching in theircore English classes and in some History,Geography and Science classes.

• Students with EAL/D backgrounds in Years 11 &12 studied the English as a Second LanguagePreliminary and HSC courses and a Year 11Fundamentals of English course taught by anEAL/D teacher.

EAL/D students in Year 10 were able to completeintensive English literacy classes for one week duringTerm 4 when other students were at work experience.

Other school programs

CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS

The Creative and Performing Arts faculty at CanterburyGirls High school continued to bubble with enthusiasmfor all strands of the arts and the schedule ofperformances both in and out of school time seems tomultiply each year. Opportunities were offered for ourstudents to participate in a range of performanceactivities from our subject specific Showcase,Education Week, Schools Spectacular, Art Exhibition,Dance Festival, Kool Skools to our bi–annual schoolDrama Performance ‘Family Matters’ and work gotunderway on our up–coming, School musicalproduction for 2017 “Lil Ms. Adventure’. Our showcaseevenings in Music, Dance, and Drama enabled StageSix arts students to present their work to an audience in


preparation for examination. The annual Art Exhibitionshowcased the accomplishments of our Visual Artists. We again staged our MADD night where parents wereinvited to see the work their daughters accomplished inthe creative arts classroom.

The enthusiasm and sustained passion for the creativeand performing arts was clearly visible in the increasingnumber of students involved in extra–curricularensemble groups. It is clear those students whochoose to join such groups extended their skills andexperience in the various strands of the performing artsthrough their participation.

Our Drama production 'Family Matters' wasoutstandingly successful with students from acrossyears 7–11 participating in process and performances. It was very much a labour of love, as students drewupon accounts and stories from their own lives andpresented characters loosely based upon theirexperience. Technical & staging were provided bystudents as was organisation, costuming, promotioncatering and design. The performance incorporated thetalents of all students as they watched their initial ideasand improvisation move from concept to polishedperformance. The parents who gave support in somany ways to this production also need to berecognised.

Visual Arts – Our art students held our annual ArtExhibition as an opportunity to showcase the work ofour HSC students. It was a major success and theworks provided stimulating opportunities for thoughtand discussion. Art students again put time and effortinto coming up with creative ideas for the design ofProgram, Poster, set and props for Lil’ Ms Adventureour school Musical.

Drama – Throughout 2016 Canterbury Girls HighSchool’s drama ensembles were happy and productiveplaces as our students practised and extended theirskills. All drama ensembles contributed to our dramaproduction ‘Family Matters‘ for 2016. Students weregiven the opportunity to view professionalperformances as well as be able to see the excellenceof HSC performance at On–Stage at the SeymourTheatre.

Our Theatresports teams grew in strength in 2016. Wefielded students in the Intermediate and Junior sectionsand our teams participated in the NSW SchoolsCompetition.. The Junior Theatresports team testedtheir skills and were successful all the way to thesemi–finals where they were narrowly defeated. Wealso ran an inter–school Theatre Sports Challenge inTerm Four in order to practise the techniques and skillstaught in class in a public forum.

Dance – Students were inundated with opportunities topublically perform their dance work. The HSC DanceShowcase gave excellent preparation for the finalexternal examination for dance. Once again our schoolwas invited to send a troupe of dancers to participate inthe NSW School Spectacular. Three of our students inHSC Dance had their work considered for theprestigious ‘Callback” performances for 2016. The

school was also invited to perform as part of EducationWeek celebrations at Ashfield Mall performing a rangeof work from their Dance repertoire.

The school’s highly successful dance ensemblescontinued to flourish in 2016. Our dance ensemblesperformed at the Sydney Regional Dance Festival atthe Seymour Centre and in the School’s Spectacularunder the guidance of our expert dance teacher MsReed. Dance elective students attended performancesat the Wharf Theatre to see the Sydney DanceCompany.

Music – In 2016 music students had the opportunity ofonce again participating in the Kool SkoolsCompetition. Students from across the school had theopportunity to write their own lyrics and compose theirown song and work with our wonderful music teachersand music industry professionals to make a recording ina professional studio. There was an enormousresponse to the competition, and our studentssuccessfully composed original music which resulted intheir work being selected for recording at Music FeedsRecording Studios in St Peters. The resulting tracksproduced were recorded on the ‘J Walking is a Crime’CD which was distributed broadly. Our school wasagain recognised with success in a range of categoriesat the Kool Skools Award Ceremony.

Music students represented the school in a number ofcommunity based events. As part of Volunteers Week anumber of Year 12 students performed at formalluncheons as a way of introducing our girls tovolunteering, it enabled valuable performance practicefor HSC exams. Elective music students representedour school at the Campsie Food Festival earlier in theyear. They performed a 40 minute set of original andcover songs for an appreciative audience. TheCanterbury Girls High School Concert Band andmusical ensembles have continued to grow as morestudents devoted lunchtimes and before and afternoonschool hours to practice and perform with theirinstruments. It was been wonderful to see the growingenthusiasm which appears to be contagious.

A number of students earned places in the Departmentof Education (DoE) Performing Arts Unit Ensembles. Ella Hosty–Snelgrove in Year 10, LyndseyBarry–Byrnes, Franki Eastment and Emma Lemonjianin Year 9 and Lilli Pollard in Year 8 were selected asmembers of the DEC Arts Unit Drama Ensembles. Caitlin Maloney and Lily Spencer–Tighe in Year 7,Naomi Agius and Lucy Melville of Year 10 and ZoeViney in Year 11 were selected into the NSW PublicSchools Singers. Zoe Morris in Year 7 was a memberof the NSW Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

SPORT

2016 was an outstanding sporting year for CanterburyGirls High School. Three carnivals were held in 2016 –swimming, cross country and athletics.

Swimming – Canterbury Girls entered a strong teaminto the St George Zone Swimming Carnival. ElenaCosta (13 years) and Jemma Nguyen (15 years) were


both named as age champions and Jenny Nguyen (17years) was named age champion runner–up for herrespective age group. Sixteen students were selectedto represent St George Zone at Regional level andJemma Nguyen was selected to compete at NSWCHS,Swimming.

Cross Country– At the St George Zone Cross CountryCarnival, Ada Kelly (13 years) was named as agechampion in 2016. Seven students were selected torepresent St George Zone at Regional level.

Athletics –Canterbury Girls also entered a strong teaminto the St George Zone Athletics Carnival. Twenty fourstudents represent St George Zone at Regional level.

Representatives at regional level included:

Nell Bryson–Smith, Salam Issa and Chaltu Strachanwho all represented St George Zone in soccer at theSydney East girls soccer gala day.

Other outstanding individual performances for 2016included: • Nell Bryson–Smith (Year 9) represented Sydney

East at NSWCHS in girls’ cricket. • Alison Anae (Year 12) represented the Sydney

East team at NSWCHS in girls' Volleyball. Shealso received a St George Zone Sporting Blue.

• Louisa Taukeiaho (Year 12) represented theSydney East team at NSWCHS in girls' Volleyball.She also received a St George Zone SportingBlue.

In Knockout Sport – Canterbury Girls entered 11 teamsinto the Sydney East Knockout competition. TheCanterbury Girls Knockout Volleyball team won theircompetition and went onto represent Sydney East atthe NSWCHS Knockout competition.

In Grade Sport – Over 430 students competed in boththe summer and winter St George Zone Gradecompetitions with a total of 55 teams being entered. Ofthese teams, 12 made it through to the finals and 8were victorious – 2nd grade mini soccer,2nd gradetable tennis (summer and winter), 15 softball,15Avolleyball, 14A table tennis 14B table tennis and15A basketball.

All students in Year 7 took part in the NSW Premier’sSecondary Schools Sport Challenge. Canterbury GirlsHigh School was awarded Gold for their sportingefforts.

Giovanna Penitani (Year 11) was awardedsportswoman of the year.

Adelaide House was awarded Champion House for2016.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Reflecting back on 2016, the School’s Environmental Ambassadors (SEAs) were very happy with theprogress they achieved. The group became involved invarious activities that kept each year group focusedtowards making positive environmental change

for the future.

The SEA registered for the GoMAD Challenge of 2016,where Year 8, 9 and 10 focused on a global challenge– the declining pollution of bees in the Australia – andmade a small change local in the community. Thestudents attended workshops, seminars and a camp tohelp them focus on their project. Year 8 produced a clipof the school's bee hives – readers are asked to please'view' and ‘like’ their YouTube clip that was posted forthis challenge at: https://youtu.be/4Wqfbqk055M

The following are an outline of various projects SEAworked on throughout the year: continuing theircampaign of “Postcode 2193” – Plastic Water BottleFree; improving paper recycling in the school; addinggrowth (crops) to the school garden beds for selling andto help practical lessons in TAS subject areas;continuing to address environmental issues and raisethese in the school newsletter monthly; working asmentors with the local primary School; and beingpositive role models in the school as EnvironmentalAmbassadors.

SEA are especially proud of an article relating to theirwork that was published in the local paper – pleaseclick on link below to view the whole article.

http://www.localnewsplus.com.au/storyID=122741&stories=stories&publication=Valley&section=Real%20Estate

COMMUNITY OF SCHOOLS – AUSTRALIANBUSINESS WEEK

Australian Business Week (ABW) is an extracurricularactivity that the school offers for Year 10 during week 8Term 4 of the school academic year.

During the week long program, students develop adeep knowledge about business by running their owncompany in teams of ten. Each team competes againstone another in a computer business simulation of theAustralian economy. In order to succeed, studentslearn all the basics of business operation from profitand loss through to planning and marketing a newproduct. On the last day there is a trade display of allthe companies’ new products, video commercials, andoral presentation of their company reports. Thestudents’ work is then judged by representatives fromvarious businesses and schools.

In 2016 Canterbury Girls organised its ABW program incollaboration with Ashfield Boys High School. Year 10students from Canterbury Girls and Year 10 Commercestudents from Ashfield Boys participated in this hugelysuccessful program. ABW was the culmination of anumber of activities undertaken in 2016 involving theCanterbury Girls and Ashfield Boys Community ofSchools. Other activities included White Ribbon, SocialInclusion Day, Creative and Performing Arts activities,.Inner West Community of Professional Practice andexecutive workshops.


Documents

Canterbury Girls High School Annual Report for Upload… · prepare them for 21st Century world, education and civic demands. Overall summary of progress The Learning and Participation