St Theresa's Primary School Albion - 2013 Primary … · Web viewSt. Theresa’s is a Primary School in the Western suburb of Melbourne. St. Theresa’s school is part of the parish

St Theresa’sAlbionREGISTERED SCHOOL NUMBER: 1499

2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 1

St Theresa’s, Albion

ContentsOur School Vision...............................................................................................3School Overview................................................................................................4Principal’s Report..............................................................................................6School Education Board Report...........................................................................8Education in Faith............................................................................................11Learning & Teaching........................................................................................14Student Wellbeing...........................................................................................18Leadership & Management...............................................................................22School Community...........................................................................................26Financial Performance......................................................................................30Future Directions.............................................................................................32



Contact Details

ADDRESS 16 Drummartin StAlbion 3020

PRINCIPAL Marie Gamwell (Acting Principal)

PARISH PRIEST Fr Barry Hughes

SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR Rose Raniolo & Michelle Bant

TELEPHONE (03) 93119070

EMAIL principal@stalbion. catholic.edu.au

WEBSITE www.stalbion.catholic.edu.au

Minimum Standards AttestationI, Marie Gamwell attest that St Theresa’s is compliant with all of the requirements for the minimum standards and other requirements for the registration of schools as specified in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) and the Education and Training Reform Regulations 2007 (Vic), except where the school has been granted an exemption from any of these requirements by the VRQA.

23 May 2014



Our School VisionSt. Theresa’s is a Catholic School community that strives to teach and celebrate the Catholic faith and traditions that enable us to live the Gospel values.We are committed to providing an education, which allows for individual needs to be catered for. We believe that learning should be promoted in a positive and relevant way. We accept the challenge to provide a diverse and developing curriculum, which caters for a variety of academic abilities and interests of our children. The promotion of self-esteem, self-confidence and self-discipline is held as an important characteristic of our school life.We foster the understanding that education occurs between school and home. We share the responsibility for all the children in the school and work in partnership with the home to support the school vision.We acknowledge the richness and diversity of each other. We foster respect, acceptance and understanding and encourage each other to live harmoniously and justly.

School OverviewSt. Theresa’s is a Primary School in the Western suburb of Melbourne. St. Theresa’s

school is part of the parish of St. Theresa’s, Albion which has three churches and two

schools. Mother of God Primary school in Ardeer is the

other school in the parish. The school is a small school



blessed with 175 students. It was built in 1950 and officially opened by Archbishop

Mannix in August 1951. The school is named after St.Therese of Liseaux (The Little

Flower).

At the end of the 2013 school year St. Theresa’s had 8 classes with 19 nationalities

represented. The diversity of the different cultures represented in the school continues

to provide great opportunities for the community to share the richness of many varied

views and beliefs with each other.

The partnership between the school and every family that makes up our community is a

priority a St. Theresa’s. Ensuring that each child has every opportunity to achieve the

best educational outcomes possible is a commitment evident in both the staff and

parent community. We strive to ensure that every child is supported as they develop

socially, spiritually, emotionally, physically and academically. The support of the parent

community has been very evident once again throughout 2013. Parents continue to be

involved in their children’s learning by working in classrooms, coaching sports teams,

coming to working bees, helping with fundraising activities and joining in social

activities. They join us on school camps, help in the library, on excursions and wherever

we ask. The School Board works to support the educational needs of the community

and advises the principal and parish priest on needs and direction.

School improvement is continuing to drive all that we do at St. Theresa’s. Our Annual

Action Plan clearly prioritises improvement in Literacy and

Numeracy. The goals and strategies identified in this plan are

clear and simply identify a pathway to better learning

opportunities for the students based on accurate data

collection, analysis and future action planning.

Wellbeing also remains a strong focus within the school. An emphasis on strengthening

peer relationships and social interactions for the students, establishes an environment

where all are respected and encouraged in their endeavors. This respect and tolerance

for the rights and needs of others fosters the great community feeling that permeates

the school. All members of the school community are responsible for every other

person.

St. Theresa’s continues to be a community that is focused, supportive and a great place

to be. We celebrate the achievements of all of the students and enjoy the support and



the relationships they share at the school. We are grateful for the achievements of staff

and parents who work so closely to make this a special place to be.



Principal’s Report2013 was once again a year that enabled us to celebrate many achievements. Learning

and Teaching at St. Theresa’s was once again the prime focus of all at the school and

our relationships with our extended community were a priority. We were very fortunate

to be able to take advantage of the resources provided through the National

Partnerships Commonwealth Government initiative, which has supported us to continue

to work closely with each other using the skills of every person who is part of our

community. We are very grateful to every member of our community for the involvement

and interest that that they bring to our school.

I once again thank the parish priest, Fr. Barry Hughes for his ongoing encouragement

and support of all we do at the school.

St. Theresa’s is privileged to have the staff that it has. Every member continues to work

tirelessly alongside our families to enable the children to achieve the best possible

outcomes in their learning. I congratulate every member of the staff and thank them for

their ongoing professionalism and willingness to give whatever is required to improve

the outcomes for children and families at our school. Students and teachers are well

supported by aides and administration staff at the school and this helps us to ensure

that the learning environment can promote excellence and is welcoming and supportive.

Every member of our community is well supported by the Leadership Team and those

who take on extra responsibilities to ensure ongoing improvement. We are so lucky to

have a staff that cares so much for every member of our community and I thank each

one of them.

Once again I acknowledge the wonderful parent community for their involvement and

support. I thank each family for all they do in sharing the responsibility for the learning of

all students in our school. I congratulate each family for their increasing interest in the

well being of everyone here and their willingness to join us in making the important

decisions that give direction to our community.

I congratulate and thank the children who always do their best with a smile on their face.

We are blessed with these amazing personalities that help to create the friendly

atmosphere that exists within our community. The children continue to participate so

eagerly and enthusiastically in all aspects of their schooling. They try their hardest to



excel academically and are committed to their development in sporting, social, spiritual

and extra curricula involvements. We look forward every day to working alongside each

child and supporting them as they grow and learn.

Our work in continuing our learning journey together as a community places us in a

good position to continue to move forward in embracing the challenges of the future with

excitement and enthusiasm. We are embracing the challenges that are obvious in the

ever-changing curriculum demands that seem to emerge. The National Curriculum and

the ongoing change and improvement in approaches to learning and teaching can only

serve to continue to improve the outcomes of students. I remain very confident that St.

Theresa’s will continue to be a place of great learning, ready to meet the changing

needs of our students and the families that are our community.

At the end of 2013 the principal Rob Costin, left St Theresa’s to take up another

principal position and we now look forward to working in collaboration with a new

principal who will start his contract in Term 3 2014.



School Education Board Report2013 has been an incredibly busy year for the St Teresa's School Board which has met on six

occasions throughout the year. Michelle Bant and I have shared the role of Chairperson. Jodie

McLeod has again performed the role of Secretary.

This year we see four of our Board members step down from their positions having completed

their three year terms and I farewell from the Board & thank for their support of the Board and St

Theresa's, Toby Wright, Gaye Reader & Michelle Bant.

It is with some sadness that I too step down from the role of chairperson after having served

my second non-consecutive term on the Board, however, opportunities need to be available for

other parents to have their say and leave their mark on our wonderful school community. I was

therefore extremely pleased to hear that amongst the Board's new recruits are two parents of

prep students and a parent of students who have transferred over to this school only this year. I

congratulate the new Board members, Suzanne Serra, Simon Lovell, Maria Linehan and

Patricia Brown and thank them for offering to serve the school by accepting positions on the

Board.

The role of the School Board is very often confused in that it is not necessarily always a vehicle

for immediate action to be taken around the school in relation to matters which are best and

more expertly performed by teachers and the principal. Instead, the Board is a consultative

group made up of the parish priest, the school principal and deputy principal and a number of

elected parents of students at the school which meets periodically in order to discuss policy

issues which are pertinent to the education and well being of our children. The Board is here to

provide a vehicle for the school's administration to formally consult with parents on educational

initiatives to be taken by the school, on matters of planning for the future and on an array of

topical issues which arise from time to time in the education setting. Often over the course of

the past year, I have observed that the matters placed on the agenda for discussion are not

easy issues and they do not always have a ready answer available. The agenda items have

sometimes led to strong but healthy and productive debate between members of the Board who

hold opposing ideas or differing points of view. This is a necessary feature of a thinking and

productive school board; a board who is receptive to new ideas and is keen to offer a helping

hand in the delivery of new initiatives to the school community.

Throughout 2013, the Board has considered new methods of communication with parents

available through social media and other means. We have favourably considered the

development of a St Theresa's Facebook page which was considered by the Board to be an

easy and contemporary way for the school to communicate with existing school families and the



community generally. A Facebook page was considered to also be a suitable vehicle for

enhancing the school's profile and public image within the community. The St Theresa's Primary

Facebook page would be appropriately controlled by an administrator to protect it from misuse.

In 2014, the Board will consult the CEO's policy and guidelines on the use of social media and

more specifically on Facebook, and will work further towards the launch of a Facebook page.

The successful Landscaping Committee was set up in late 2012 as a consequence of

discussion at Board level on the development of the school's playground. Working on a

shoestring budget and with the assistance of parents and teachers who volunteer their time on

valuable weekends the school has seen the development of a planter box and seating area at

the Adelaide Street entrance and the repaving of the path with pavers bearing the names of

families from the school. Of this group, special mention needs to be made of two parents in

particular, Toby Wright and Patricia Browne. Toby and Patricia have committed a significant

number of hours to the landscaping of the school completely free of charge and driven purely by

their selfless wish to contribute to the visual and functional enhancement of the playground.

Armed with specialist garden and construction skills, Toby and Patricia have expertly guided

and advised the committee on the playground's development and have also spent a

considerable number of hours building and planting at the working bees held at the school.

A particular highlight for the Board this year was our attendance at the St Mary McKillop

Heritage Centre in East Melbourne in June. There we heard of the inspirational good works of

St Mary McKillop and the Josephite order of sisters who made Catholic education accessible to

so many children across Melbourne in the19th and 20th centuries. St Theresa's itself is only

here today as a consequence of the extraordinary efforts of the Josephite sisters and as a

Board we have endorsed the need for this school to keep the legacy of St Mary McKillop alive

by paying tribute to her and her sisters every year on her feast day, 8 August and by exploring

the possibility of placing a reminder of our connection with St Mary McKillop around the school

such as a portrait of St Mary McKillop or another piece of artwork.

The Board has also contributed to the development of St Theresa's Information and

Communication Technology Agreement and to the possible improvement of the current model

of Parent Teacher Interviews provided at the school.

I would like to thank on behalf of the school Board, Greg Woolford, who has made a significant

contribution to this school in bringing together the two most significant spheres of influence in

the lives of our children, the school and their parents. As a beneficiary of the Commonwealth

Government and Catholic Education Office's National Partnerships Program, this school has



participated in a large number of activities and initiatives which have been ably led by and

facilitated through Greg's good efforts.

I also wish to acknowledge the efforts of two very special people who work incredibly hard for

the good of this school. First, Marie Gamwell, thank you for your commitment to our children

and this wonderful school which you have helped shape. You have served us well not only in

your position as Deputy Principal, but also in your voluntary efforts on the Board and the

Landscaping Committee. You are here until all hours of the night with us at our meetings, you

come in & help out at the working bees, there is no question as to your commitment to St

Theresa's.

Finally, it is without a doubt the end of an important era in St Theresa's Primary School's history.

The other person I wish to acknowledge on behalf of the Board is of course, Rob Costin who

has decided to take on the principalship of Holy Spirit Primary in East Thornbury after almost

two decades of service to this school and to the parish of St Theresa's. Rob Costin has lived

and breathed St Theresa's Primary for a significant part of his life. Those of us who know even a

little bit about him, know that his role of leading our school community is not just a job to him. It

has very much been his vocation and his passion. I know that he leaves us with a heavy heart,

but also know that in taking this step he has made a difficult decision to take his life in a

direction where he can meet new challenges. Rob set up the blueprint for our school board

approximately 10 years ago and has made it not only viable, but strong. It is a credit to him that

he has set up a mechanism where the school's parents are consulted and are able to contribute

to the school's development.

Yours Faithfully

Rose Raniolo (Co-chairperson)



Education in Faith

Goals & Intended OutcomesTo strengthen the Catholic culture and identity of the school within parish community.

That students’ understanding of faith based values will be deepened and connected to real life.

That students are engaged in all aspects of the Religious Education program.

AchievementsAt St. Theresa’s we strive to live the message of the Gospel. We try to give life to the

story of Jesus. Our community is made up of many cultures and families who bring a

variety of different religious beliefs and practices to our school. We are proud to be able

to share our beliefs and enter into great conversations which help deepen our

understandings of the catholic traditions within this context.

During 2013 we continued to work as a whole staff to ensure that there was a common

approach to teaching Religious Education at the

school. RE planning was our focus. We worked

towards improving and revising a common approach

to planning RE ensuring that the teaching was more

integrated into the inquiry approach used across other

curriculum areas and had an emphasis on social

justice actions. Meetings worked towards the whole

staff having a consistent approach to KWL and

structuring a 2 year scope and sequence, with all levels using the same planner. A

social justice team of Grade 6 students was formed and they conducted various events

throughout the year eg money raising events and a blanket drive.

We continued to prioritise our sacramental programs as an important part of our school

curriculum and calendar across the school. Children are involved in regular attendance

at our local parish mass and share in many celebrations with the parish community.

Children are encouraged to be involved in all levels of the celebrations at church. They

are invited to be readers and altar servers a well as participate in more reflective

practices throughout the celebrations.



We have encouraged students to become involved in creating religious icons, which are

prominently mounted around the school to remind us of the importance of our catholic

identity. The prominence of visible signs of our faith in classrooms has been a priority

and this serves to support the culture of prayer and reflection that exists in every room.

Staff development has continued to be a priority throughout 2013. We encouraged all

teachers to continue to work towards their accreditation to teach in a Catholic school

and one teacher has completed her accreditation to teach Religious Education through

Australian Catholic University throughout the year. During 2013 the staff continued to

investigate the other faiths represented in our school by visiting different places of

worship, inviting guest speakers to speak at PLTs and using this new knowledge to

inform our RE planning.

The principal met regularly with the parish priest and the principal of the sister primary

school in the parish to ensure that there was a common approach to Faith Development

and the sharing of resources where possible. Two teachers continued to complement

each other in the shared role of Learning Leader in Religious Education. There is a

close relationship between the Religious Education

Leaders in the school and the parish. Regular combined

planning meetings ensure this ongoing link to the broader

parish community. The principal is an important part of the

Parish Leadership Team and is active in ensuring that

there is consistent communication and interaction between

the school and wider parish community.

Representative senior students from grade 6 once again attended the Catholic

Education Week Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate their faith with other

schools in the diocese.

Parent education was an important part of the programs offered at the school. Families

were a part of the sacramental preparation of students throughout the year. Once again

we worked with Maria Forde who was a great support to the families and staff in

extending the view of our community beyond the school gates. Fortnightly assemblies

organised by the children offered an invitation to parents within the community to share

in prayer and reflection with the children.



St. Theresa’s offers a broad range of involvements as part of our Religious Education

program. Some of the involvements and social justice actions the community are

involved in include:

Community charity support through an ongoing roster of collections for the local

St. Vincent’s store. These include books, toys, clothing, blankets etc.

Collection to support a parish food bank operated through the presbytery.

Children’s and staff involvement in fundraising for Caritas and Ox-fam.

Parent education sessions with outside presenters including Maria Forde and

Presentation Sisters sacramental program leaders.

Regular involvement in parish liturgy.

Ongoing facilitating of a training program and roster for new altar servers to help

within the parish and at school celebrations.

Organising and facilitating a healing mass for the sick and elderly which was

catered for and celebrated.



Learning & Teaching

Goals & Intended Outcomes

To develop a more personalised approach to learning.

• That Numeracy performance improves

• That Literacy performance improves.

• That students’ experience of learning is both stimulating and purposeful.

AchievementsE1165St Theresa's School, Albion

PROPORTION OF STUDENTS MEETING THE MININUM STANDARDS

NAPLAN TESTS 2011

%

2012

%

2011–2012Changes

%

2013

%

2012–2013Changes

%

YR 03 Reading 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

YR 03 Writing 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

YR 03 Spelling 96.6 94.7 -1.9 100.0 5.3

YR 03 Grammar & Punctuation 93.1 100.0 6.9 100.0 0.0

YR 03 Numeracy 96.6 95.0 -1.6 100.0 5.0

YR 05 Reading 100.0 88.2 -11.8 100.0 11.8

YR 05 Writing 100.0 100.0 0.0 96.4 -3.6

YR 05 Spelling 96.0 100.0 4.0 96.4 -3.6

YR 05 Grammar & Punctuation 100.0 88.2 -11.8 96.4 8.2

YR 05 Numeracy 100.0 82.4 -17.6 100.0 17.6



STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Numeracy and Literacy were once again a priority focus during the 2013 school year.

We are continuing to track cohorts of students over three years to help monitor real

progress. The 2011 cohort of students has been able to maintain a 100% result in

Reading over the past 3 years. This is due in part to our involvement in the Literacy

Assessment Project which targets the area of comprehension

across grades 3-6 and is beginning to give us quality data to

help us in our planning to address individual needs of students

in this area. We continue to be confident that this will continue

to impact positively on our results over the coming years.

There have been very consistent results in Spelling for both grades 3 & 5 students over

the past 3 years. 96% of students have maintained results at the minimum standard in

these levels at a cohort level and in individual classes.

Writing has shown to be a slight area ofchallenge for the students over this period. From

100% of students meeting the minimum standards in grade 3 there was a fall to 96.4% in

Grade 5. This dip in our percentage may have been influenced by one child as it is a

small cohort and this can result in a marked influence on our percentages.

Grammar and punctuation results continue to fluctuate slightly from year to year, however

2013 has shown a pleasing upward trend to 96.4%. We are consistently within the range

of 100% of students reaching the minimum target.

Numeracy has once again been a particular focus in our school. We continue to work

hard at a staff professional learning level to improve student outcomes and also improve

teacher proficiency in this area. The results have reflected this work, with the students

improving from 96.6% in 2011 to 100% of students reaching the minimum standard in

2013.

Parents, staff and students are regularly surveyed to gauge levels of satisfaction with the

learning and teaching aspects of the school. Once again we have been very pleased with

parent survey results, which continue to indicate that our parent community is very

satisfied with the progress of their children and the teacher performance of the school.



The results in these surveys indicate that St. Theresa’s has continued to perform at a

high level for all of the indicators in the 2013 surveys. These indicators included the areas

of Learning Focus, Provision of Stimulating Learning and General Satisfaction.

Staff survey results indicate a marked improvement on last year’s satisfaction levels both

in their position in the school and the learning and teaching they are involved in. Student

survey results have continued to be above average. The surveys indicate that students

are positive about school, they enjoy good relationships with their teachers and their

engagement in their learning target for 2013 has been exceeded. The 2013 student

surveys showed a high level of satisfaction with the school experience. The school has

continued to emphasise student engagement, student involvement in decision-making

and the provision of a stimulating learning environment as a part of the 2013 Annual

Action Plan.

Other involvements

St. Theresa’s has continued to be involved in the Literacy Assessment Project in

partnership with the Catholic Education Office and Melbourne University. All teachers

from grade 3-6 have attended professional learning at Melbourne University within this

project. Further improvement in the area of comprehension is the expected outcome of

this initiative. This project was consolidated in grade 5/6 and grade 3/4 during 2012 and

we will continue to in-service junior school teachers during 2013 so that best practice

strategies continue to be shared across the school.

All students continue to be regularly assessed with this data driving their learning,

enabling it to be more personalized. Students are involved in CTLM interviews and SINE

maths assessments aimed at ensuring accurate knowledge and current data in maths.

Staff meetings and PLTs are held twice each week to ensure consistent ongoing

professional learning and data analysis in both literacy and numeracy.

Inquiry continued to be an important focus within the

classrooms. As a staff we have familiarised ourselves with

the AusVels curriculum as it has become available. The

school implements the State Government mandated

reports and has full implementation of all curriculum areas.

During 2013 St. Theresa’s continued to be part of a research project supported by the



Catholic Education Office. The Leadership for Contemporary Learning in a Catholic

School project offered the school an excellent opportunity to investigate contemporary

learning in catholic schools and deepen our knowledge of contemporary practices in

education. During 2013 we focused on trialing and embedding our understandings of

contemporary pedagogies so that they become best practice. We shared ideas and

expertise with other schools. We were involved in extensive professional reading,

discussions, and planning of innovative classroom strategies to further our knowledge in

this area and improve the learning experiences of the students.



Student Wellbeing

Goals & Intended OutcomesTo improve student wellbeing and connectedness to the school.

• That students become active resilient members of the school community.

AchievementsWe continue to strive to provide the best possible learning environment for students at St. Theresa’s.

We are committed to ensuring that the needs of the students and all who are part of our community are met. A whole school approach to developing self-efficacy and

social skills is part of the culture at our school. During 2013 we continued to embed the practices and philosophy behind our anti bullying, pastoral care and discipline policies.

The Active Afterschool Sports program has continued to be a very successful and inclusive program aimed at providing active opportunities for students who would normally not be involved in afterschool sports programs.

We always make it a priority to included active learning experiences that are outside the normal experiences for our students. Some of these exciting experiences included golf, circus skills, bocce and active movement ball skills programs. Twenty students participated in a program of Taekwondo over 2 terms with a qualified instructor and achieved their yellow belt after their assessments. This was a great experience and very satisfying for the students involved.

Attendance at this program is high and the students are always enthusiastic.

Our Outdoor Education and camping program at the school has always provided children with fantastic experiences that extend their relationships with their peers and gives them opportunities to learn more about themselves and grow in independence. Camps continue to be well attended. All but one child in grade 3-6 attended these great experiences in 2012. All grade 2



students spent a night at school and all grade prep & one students stayed late at school and joined us for tea. As usual, we always have fantastic support from parents in these programs and work closely with them to staff the camps. We thank these parents for their interest and commitment to this program and for the time they always so freely give.2012 ANNUAPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 12

The students and staff are well supported by a 0.2 FTE Wellbeing Leadership position at the school. The areas of welfare and wellbeing are a priority for all. The school has continued to be able to employ a school counsellor through Catholic Care to support the children and their parents in the social and emotional learning. Our school counsellor has been fantastic in supporting the learning of many students through interventions and relationship building with the students and their families.

Regular safety and emergency management practices and audits ensure that processes are in place and are effective and well-coordinated. We conducted safety sessions which have allowed students to now ride bikes to school. This is a new practice at our school and has grown from our involvement in the active walk to school days over the past few years.

Once again the Student Representative Council was very effective throughout 2013. The students took control of regular meetings with the principal and implemented many initiatives throughout the year. The opinions and suggestions of the SRC are always well received and appropriate action always follows these vibrant discussions. The SRC is continuing to investigate new options for our school uniform and a new banner for the school.

The school participated in parish celebrations and activities where this was possible. We hosted a Mass for the sick and elderly within our parish, collected donations of food for the poor at the Poor Man’s mass and supported St. Vincent De Paul in Sunshine through ongoing collections of toys, blankets, books and gifts. We formed a Social Justice group amongst our Grade 6 students ensuring a consistent and active involvement in social justice related actions in our community.



AVERAGE STUDENT ATTENDANCE RATE BY YEAR LEVEL %

Year 1 94.47

Year 2 91.97

Year 3 96.81

Year 4 94.52

Year 5 94.65

Year 6 93.81

Overall average attendance 94.37

Attendance rolls are recorded twice daily. Accurate records are kept on the school administration system for all students. Students are required to bring written notes from home if parents have not already notified the school of student absences. Students who are consistently absent or inconsistent with their attendance in any way are closely monitored.

Classroom teachers contact parents if students are absent for more than 3 days without contact with the school. If a student’s attendance is becoming a concern then the principal is notified and contacts the parents directly. If the school is not successful in2ensuring that students are at school then reports will be made to Child Protection / Human Services and every effort will



continue to be made to ensure that the student is back at school. Parents will continue to be our first point of contact and we will always work to support parents in ensuring regular school attendance is a priority.

Attendance rates across the school remained steady from 2012 to 2013.

VALUE ADDED

Active after school sports program operates 2 nights per week at no charge to the students from 3.15 – 4.30. Students receive fresh fruit as part of the program.

National Partnerships funding helps to provide child care for parent meetings and parent education programs at the school.

English classes are organized for parents who wish to improve their English so that they can better support the learning of the children. This is well attended on a weekly basis.

A Family School Partnership Convenor is employed through the Catholic Education Office to support the parents in being partners in their children’s learning and providing opportunities for interaction between families and the school.

Parent education forums and morning teas on educational issues provide avenues for parent learning and input at many levels.

A student counsellor was employed through Catholic Care to support families and students.

Principal went on a study tour to Santa Fe, New Mexico to study better ways to involve parents in student learning and improving data. This investment proved once again to be very valuable and has led to many innovative changes in practice at the school

STUDENT SATISFACTION



Student responses in the Annual School Improvement surveys have been extremely positive. Students continue to enjoy their classes and attendance rates are good. Student attendance averages at 94.4% and there are many students who consistently record no absent days for the year. Our student surveys indicate that the students are very happy and enthusiastic to be at school with their results placing our school in the top 25% of the state in the areas of stimulated learning. There continues to be a great atmosphere of co-operation amongst the students and this makes for a learning environment that can provide excellent supportive learning opportunities for all students.



Leadership & Management

Goals & Intended OutcomesTo strengthen the professional learning culture of the school.

• That staff are empowered to become leaders of their own learning.

• That Appraisal and Recognition processes improve.

AchievementThere was little change in the staffing at the end of the 2012 school year. One staff member moved on and we were fortunate to be able to employ a great teacher at short notice to fill this position. At the end of the year, as usual, we were able to make new allocations of hours to part time staff and there were a number of teachers who were interested in new roles for the 2013 school year.

Staff attendance has continued to be high and sick days are minimal for all staff including those teaching. Many teachers once again took no sick days this year. The average staff attendance is at 90%. The number of teachers who accessed Long Service Leave throughout the 2013 school year influences this figure. A total of 7 staff accessed 16 weeks of Long Service Leave during 2013 and this is reflected in the staff attendance figures.

Professional Learning is very important at St. Theresa’s. All teachers are involved in Professional Learning programs across many curriculum areas to improve their own expertise and therefore offer the best opportunities to the students. During 2013,1 teacher continued to study at Masters Level in numeracy through Monash Universities. All of the teachers are well qualified to teach our children. In 2013 almost all teachers had attained a Bachelor Degree and 3 had gained Masters Qualifications. There is diversity in the institutions from which the teachers have attained their qualification and this ensures a diversity of experiences that can be reflected in the teaching at the school.

School facilities and grounds continued to be improved throughout 2013. Stage 1 of our playground landscaping was completed and plans for Stage 2 are ready to go.



TEACHING STAFF ATTENDANCE RATE 90.38%

STAFF RETENTION RATE 80 %

STAFF COMPOSITION

STAFF COMPOSITION

Principal Class 2

TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS


Doctorate 0.00%

Masters 0.00%

Graduate 20.00%

Certificate Graduate 0.00%

Degree Bachelor 90.00%

Diploma Advanced 70.00%

No Qualifications Listed 0.00%



EXPENDITURE AND TEACHER PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

NUMBER OF TEACHERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN PL 24

AVERAGE EXPENDITURE PER TEACHER FOR PL $3,500

DESCRIPTION OF PL UNDERTAKEN IN 2013

All teachers and support staff are involved in further study through professional

learning programs offered through the Catholic Education Office and other private

organisations. St. Theresa’s supports staff in attending all Zone and Regional Network meetings and cluster meetings. These networks included;

Religious Education, Deputy Principal, Principal, Librarian, I.C.T Leader, Reading Recovery, Wellbeing, Literacy, Numeracy.

The school also supports staff in attending conferences and study tours outside of our local area. The principal attended a study tour to Los Angeles and Santa Fe in New Mexico to further his learning in the area of parent involvement and partnership in our school. This two week program was of great value to our school in the follow up actions and insights gained. Our two RECs attended the Catholic Education Office Religious Leaders conference in Sydney. The principal attended a network conference in Melbourne looking at school and personal vision. A group from Leadership Team attended Student Wellbeing Conference.

Six teachers continued with our Leadership Research Project in conjunction with the

Catholic Education Office. This led to the production of a DVD highlighting the learning journey that St Theresa’s has been on, investigating contemporary learning pedagogy. The entire staff attended a 2 day



conference to complete a self reflection exercise of our School Improvement and Annual Action Plan.

Two of our staff members were part of a leadership study group involving a cluster of 4 schools.

Other Professional Learning included: Staff and parent professional learning facilitated by George Otero

around the topic of school and family partnerships. Family School Partnerships. Community Arts Project. Change 2 project with a focus on Appraisal and Recognition Literacy Coaching. National Curriculum Briefings. ICON Briefings. AEDI survey briefings to support prep entry data. Graduate Teacher Mentoring PD

TEACHER SATISFACTION

The 2013 School Improvement Surveys indicated an increase from 2102 data in teacher satisfaction in all areas ie Staff wellbeing and morale, supportive leadership, role clarity, empowerment, professional learning, working in a team, student management, working with parents and quality teaching practices. Most of the results placed us in or close to the top 25% of schools which was pleasing. Appraisal and recognition, although improved falls into the middle 50% of schools and so will become a priority in our 2014 Annual Action Plan.





School Community

Goals & Intended Outcomes

To continue to build a school community in which all members work together in positive partnership.

That students’ learning is improved through enhanced partnerships with families

and the wider community.

Achievements

During 2013 we continued to make our involvement in the local community a priority for

us. We worked closely alongside our parent community to ensure that many

opportunities were available for families to work in partnership with us to improve

learning outcomes for their children. The students took their studies and investigations

down to the local creek with the support of Brimbank Council.

Parents continued to be a focus and were involved in so many aspects of the school on

a day-to-day basis and for special occasions. As usual, we were very well supported in

classrooms where students accessed the expertise of our own community in the areas

of cooking, sports coaching, involvement in camps and ongoing support in literacy and

numeracy sessions in the classrooms. Parents attended information nights and parent

education programs facilitated by the school and outside providers.

Parents have continued to be involved in literacy education sessions and have become

fantastic classroom supports in the learning programs of the students. Parent volunteers

are an important part of the school outdoor education and camping program as well as

the sports program. As usual we were fortunate to always have many more volunteers

than we could possibly use for these activities. Eight parents joined us for camps in

2013, both mums and dads.

Our sports and physical Education Program included involvement in the local and

regional Interschool sports program. This provides the opportunity for the students and

teachers to interact with the other schools in our local area.

Our school has been fortunate to be involved in educational programs at our local

Catholic Secondary Colleges both at Marian College and Caroline Chisholm Catholic



College. We continued to encourage involvement from local secondary students in

Work Experience programs and had many students join us throughout the year.

We believe that we have a responsibility to be involved in the ongoing preparation of

tomorrow’s teachers. We welcomed students from Australian Catholic University and

Victoria University as student teachers in our school. Our Physical Education program

included TAFE students who worked alongside our teacher to provide tennis, netball

and football clinics for the students. These sessions were very successful and linked us

closely with local initiatives at a tertiary and secondary level.

St. Theresa’s has continued to work closely with Mother of God Primary School, which

is part of St. Theresa’s parish. We shared common parent meeting nights related to the

sacraments and met as one at common staff meetings and staff masses when it was

relevant to do so. Resources and equipment were shared where possible. The parish

leadership team was an important part of the interactions that occurred between the

school and parish. The principal was an important part of this team throughout the year.

The parish priest continued to encourage and support this relationship at all times.

Our school continued to gather many times throughout the year for special events.

Fortnightly assemblies showcased the talents of the children who took turns in

organizing these. Parents always joined us for these assemblies. We met at liturgical

celebrations regularly throughout the year and joined with the parish community often

as a school and in grades to celebrate the Eucharist.

We were fortunate to have a very vibrant and enthusiastic Fundraising Committee that

enabled many parents to join us in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. This group

provided great financial support to the school but more importantly it allowed us to

gather as members of a community to enjoy each other’s company. Our twilight sports,

excursions, graduation and end of year celebrations provided many opportunities for the

parent community to join with us and share in the spirit of involvement in the school.

Casual meetings in the yard before and after school every day were an important part of

the staff and parent interactions that we ensured were a part of our normal practice.

Every day we finish our day together in the yard so that our parents, staff and children

can come together before we go our own ways. This has been an excellent way for

teachers and parents to catch up on a daily basis.

We endeavor to involve Albion Kinder and Anderson Road Kinder in our transition



program each year. Albion Kindergarten took the opportunity to visit the school and

interact with the existing preps to broaden their experiences. We were involved in the

“Kinda Kinder” program in partnership with Victoria University and facilitated a free

playgroup open to any families in the area. This was very successful and provided

fantastic opportunities for families to meet other locals and get to know the school a little

better.

Our Annual Art Show and School Production provided a great opportunity for us to

share the talents of the children with the school andextended community.

The School Board met eight times and continued to be a great support in discussing

important emerging educational issues that are challenging every school community.

PARENT SATISFACTION

The results of the School Improvement Surveys for 2013 indicated a very high level of

satisfaction from parents in all areas and the results were generally in the top 25% of

schools in the state. Parent general satisfaction was high and the areas around

Connectedness to the school rated in the top 25% of the state as well. The extremely

high level of parent involvement and enthusiasm that we have at the school is also a

good guide as to the satisfaction of parents within our community. We will continue to

target the area of parent partnership in the 2014 Annual Action Plan.



Financial Performance

REPORTING FRAMEWORK MODIFIED CASH$

Recurrent income Tuition

School fees 50,357

Other fee income 57,791

Private income 22,125

State government recurrent grants 379,451

Australian government recurrent grants 1,498,893

Total recurrent income 2,008,617

Recurrent Expenditure Tuition

Salaries; allowances and related expenses 1,443,906

Non salary expenses 26,877

Total recurrent expenditure 1,740,783

Capital income and expenditure Tuition

Government capital grants -

Capital fees and levies 38,666

Other capital income 25,070

Total capital income 63,736

Total capital expenditure 50,056

Loans (includes refundable enrolment deposits and recurrent, capital and bridging loans)

Total opening balance -

Total closing balance -

Note that the information provided above does not include the following items: System levies charged to individual schools, intra-systemic transfers and diocesan supplementary capital fund (SCF) supported borrowings for primary schools. The information provided is not comparable with other educational sectors. This VRQA template is not comparable to the ACARA school-level income reporting requirements which are to be reported on the MySchool website. ACARA school level reporting requirements will require system level income from Government grants and some private income to be allocated by school. This will be a small adjustment in relation to the total level of school resources. At this stage, recurrent income from Government sources, school generated income and capital expenditure are to be reported by schools. Additionally when assessing the private income of the school include both recurrent and capital school fees.



Future DirectionsThe ongoing nurturing of faith within our community will continue to be a focus. We will

continue to work to ensure improved engagement in Religious Education lessons and

increased opportunities for different types of liturgical and faith experiences for students.

Staff will continue to focus on learning more about the religious backgrounds of our non-

Catholic students to ensure that we are providing the best opportunities for learning for

all students in the Religious Education area.

The ongoing focus for St. Theresa’s will continue to be improvement in student

opportunities and outcomes in their learning. The School Improvement Plan is used as

a guide to direct our Annual Action Plan and this is constantly updated throughout the

year. The Leadership team will continue to drive this improvement by closely working

alongside every teacher at the school to ensure ongoing improvement. The use of

accurate and relevant data will be a particular focus at a planning level throughout 2014.

Professional Learning for staff and the use of experts from outside the school will be a

focus in 2014. St. Theresa’s is involved in the Leadership for Contemporary Learning

Research Project and this will continue to drive our investigations into current

contemporary thinking and practice in the school. We will be involved in the Catholic

Identity Project in conjunction with the Catholic Education Office and K.U. in Leuven,

Belgium during the year.

Improvement in Literacy and Numeracy results for all students will continue to be an

underlying goal across the school in 2014. Our planning will continue to target

improvement in student engagement and responsibility for their own learning. We will

particularly look at engaging students with particular skills or needs through a better

understanding of Individual Learning Plans.

We are continuing to work towards improving student and parent voice in the school to

ensure that the community is working as one in supporting student-learning goals. Self-

confidence and self-efficacy are high on the priority list in ensuring that students

continue to have every opportunity to achieve success in their learning. Improvements

in the learning environment are a focus for the rest of 2013 and into 2014. We are

continuing to develop contemporary learning spaces that will support student learning in

an inspiring environment. A school Master Plan will be developed throughout 2014.



Under the National Partnership Initiative introduced by the Commonwealth Government,

further funds will be available to ensure even stronger parent involvement and sharing

in the education of their children. An enhanced parent English class will be part of the

service we provide alongside the "Kinda Kinder" program, which has been so

successful over the past 3 years. More teachers will be invited to attend a study tour to

New Mexico to investigate closer family / school relationships and support the new

learning from this initiative.

With the new 2014 school year comes a new principal to St Theresa’s. Together we

look forward to continuing to provide engaging and individualized learning for our

students with a focus on working with our community to increase the learning outcomes

of our students.



VRQA Compliance Data

E1165St Theresa's School, Albion

PROPORTION OF STUDENTS MEETING THE MININUM STANDARDS

NAPLAN TESTS 2011

%

2012

%

2011–2012Changes

%

2013

%

2012–2013Changes

%

YR 03 Reading 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

YR 03 Writing 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

YR 03 Spelling 96.6 94.7 -1.9 100.0 5.3

YR 03 Grammar & Punctuation 93.1 100.0 6.9 100.0 0.0

YR 03 Numeracy 96.6 95.0 -1.6 100.0 5.0

YR 05 Reading 100.0 88.2 -11.8 100.0 11.8

YR 05 Writing 100.0 100.0 0.0 96.4 -3.6

YR 05 Spelling 96.0 100.0 4.0 96.4 -3.6

YR 05 Grammar & Punctuation 100.0 88.2 -11.8 96.4 8.2

YR 05 Numeracy 100.0 82.4 -17.6 100.0 17.6



AVERAGE STUDENT ATTENDANCE RATE BY YEAR LEVEL %

Year 1 94.47

Year 2 91.97

Year 3 96.81

Year 4 94.52

Year 5 94.65

Year 6 93.81

Overall average attendance 94.37

TEACHING STAFF ATTENDANCE RATE

Teaching Staff Attendance Rate 90.38%

STAFF RETENTION RATE

Staff Retention Rate 80.00%




Doctorate 0.00%

Masters 0.00%

Graduate 20.00%

Certificate Graduate 0.00%

Degree Bachelor 90.00%

Diploma Advanced 70.00%

No Qualifications Listed 0.00%

STAFF COMPOSITION

Principal Class 2

Documents

St Theresa's Primary School Albion - 2013 Primary … · Web viewSt. Theresa’s is a Primary School in the Western suburb of Melbourne. St. Theresa’s school is part of the parish