2016 Mittagong Public School Annual Report - Amazon S3 · Mittagong Public School Annual Report 2016 ... Page 4 of 16 Mittagong Public School 2581 (2016) ... using the half yearly

Mittagong Public SchoolAnnual Report

2016

2581

Printed on: 21 March, 2017Page 1 of 16 Mittagong Public School 2581 (2016)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2016 is provided to the community of Mittagong Public 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.

Garry Mansfield

Principal

School contact details

Mittagong Public School21 Pioneer StMittagong, 2575www.mittagong–p.schools.nsw.edu.aumittagong–[email protected] 1020


School background

School vision statement

Mittagong Public School provides a rich educational environment where engagement and learning and emotionalwellbeing are fostered through challenging programs within a safe school culture.

Our students are guided to meet their full potential by passionate, professional staff and supported by strong parent andcommunity partnerships.

Our school will: • provide ongoing opportunities for students and teachers to develop and demonstrate their talents and interests; • promote social awareness and responsibility; and • teach the skills essential for 21st century learners.

School context

Mittagong Public School strives to be a leading primary school in the Southern Highlands through emphasising thefundamental importance of basic skills development for all students. Regular opportunities are provided for students todevelop and demonstrate their talents and interests in all curricula and by promoting social responsibility.

Our school motto 'Strive to Achieve' underpins the school's strong belief that each child needs to be recognised for theirachievements, celebrating success at both a school and personal level.

Teachers meet collaborate in teams to develop common learning programs, utilise unique or shared knowledge andskills, and develop our students, including those students from a non–English speaking or Aboriginal background. Ourschool also caters for students with specific learning needs through the provision of three support classes.

Self–assessment and school achievement

Self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework

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.

This year, our school undertook self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework. The framework supportspublic schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practiceacross the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

We assessed our achievements as sustaining and growing in all elements of the learning domain except for studentperformance measures and assessment and reporting. Here we believe we are delivering. To improve in these two areaswe believe we must explore further our data regarding student performance measures as a method to drive studentprogress in the middle bands of achievement.

In the domain of Teaching we assessed that we were delivering in the areas of effective classroom practice and dataskills use. Providing more effective, explicit feedback to students and a wider exploration of student data would help usimprove here. The other elements of collaborative practice, learning and development and professional standards wereall rated as sustaining and growing.

In the domain of Leading we considered our level of performance to be at sustaining and growing for each element withthe exception of school resources, where we believe we are excelling through strategic planning and partnerships withother community groups to maximise opportunity and success for students in our school.

Our self–assessment process will assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School Plan, leading to furtherimprovements 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

Present and Participating

Purpose

All students achieve their full potential as engaged learners through regular, full day school attendance and activeparticipation in all areas of school. This will ensure that valuable learning time and the sense of belonging are not lostthrough unnecessary time away from school.

Overall summary of progress

Did we do what we planned?

The strategies implemented in 2015 continued this year. These included: • Attendance issues to be included on the agenda of all Stage Meetings • Teachers to contact parents on the third day of student absence • Teachers contacting parents following 4 partial absences in a fortnight • Class teachers to issue ‘white’ absentee notes daily • Inclusion of all partial/full absences on Semester Reports • Class teachers actively reminding students and parents/guardians of the need for students to remain at school for

the entire day, particularly after school events where parents/guardians are visiting the school, i.e. assemblies,special events.

In addition to the 2015 strategies listed above, this year the following strategy was implemented: • Introduction of a school Breakfast Club to encourage students to arrive at school on time

Did it have the planned impact? • Some students who have regular partial absences, now attend the Breakfast Club, arriving before school begins • With the intervention of the School Chaplain, we have had many successes with certain students • Forging strong relationships with families has led in some cases to an 80% reduction in late arrivals to school.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year Funds Expended(Resources)

95% of students in each classarrive at school before the classroll is recorded each day

95% of students on average arrived before theclass roll was marked • attendance monitoring was a regular feature ofstage, executive and learning support teammeetings and communication to students andparents/carers about this was a priority • Most students have an understanding of thesuccessful learning behaviours expected of themand the part they played in this

No financial outlay.

SASS time

School Chaplain time

95% of students across theschool achieve a 95% or abovescore for whole day attendanceeach term

92.2% of students achieved the desired attendancerate for whole school days. Progress indicators asreported above.

No financial outlay.

SASS time

School Chaplain time

Next Steps


What are the next steps required for 2017 to ensure Strategic Direction 1 is successfully implemented? • Strategies to be continually reviewed and modified as needed– Identification of a ‘Target Group’ • students whose attendance continues to be a concern– Involvement of the School Chaplain to follow up attendance

concerns and establish productive and supportive relationships with families of students in the ‘Target Group’ • Class teachers will enter class attendance data on LMBR. This data stays live for 7 days to alert teachers to

attendance issues, generate letters, etc. • School to target ‘Unjustified’ leave • Use of Student Wellbeing software implemented for teachers and executive staff to monitor student attendance

rates and follow up.Throughout the year, modifications were made to the plan and some of the proposed strategies for achieving the targethave had their implementation placed on hold and others have been removed.

Strategies placed on hold include: • Letters being sent home to parents at the end of each term summarising all partial/full day absences • Congratulatory letters being sent home to parents of students with attendance >95%

Strategies removed from the plan: • Attendance awards issued to students for achieving 95% attendance



Success for All

Purpose

Creating a culture of continued growth and success for every learner in our school through strengthening and refiningteaching practices and closely monitoring student progress on the Literacy and Numeracy continuums.


The Strategic Direction 2 team implemented further professional learning into assessing and plotting student literacyachievement against the Literacy Continuum to illustrate the importance of accurate and objective teacher judgement.Teachers were given a concrete timeline to assess and plot student achievement against Literacy Continuum markers,using the half yearly and yearly reporting cycle as a finite goal. This has resulted in more accurate data being available toteachers in PLAN as students move between classes.

The Strategic Direction 2 team implemented an introductory cycle of professional learning into the Numeracy Continuum.It was decided that a more rigorous series of professional learning was required to fully implement the depth of theNumeracy Continuum. Teachers have been informed that they will be required to complete the Mathematics: BuildingBlocks for Numeracy eLearning package in 2017.




100% of students in each classare assessed and their progressplotted on the Literacy andNumeracy continuums at the endof each term

• 100% of students in each class were assessedand their progress plotted against the LiteracyContinuum only. • Assessment and plotting completed by mid–Term2 and mid–Term 4 to align with reports to parents.

Stage Planning day (Term 2only)

Stage meeting time

85% of students in each class areassessed are assessed as beingwhere they should be on theLiteracy and Numeracycontinuums at the end of eachterm

• Between 80% and 85% of students have beenassessed as being at or above a grade expectedlevel in reading and slightly lower in comprehensionand writing.

Stage Planning day (Term 2only)

Stage meeting time

Next Steps

• Further teacher professional learning is required to consolidate knowledge and understanding of studentexpectation of literacy achievement at grade expected clusters. Consistent teacher judgement tasks should beundertaken regularly to ensure accurate analysis of student achievement against continuum markers.

• Teachers and stage leaders should work together more consistently to review and discuss student achievementagainst Literacy Continuum and Stage Leaders should, more consistently bring student achievement data toexecutive level discussion for evaluation.

• Teachers may be required to develop a strategy to implement student feedback on Literacy Continuum progress.Strategies may include wall charts or individualised charts of achievement.

• Professional learning into the Numeracy Continuum will be undertaken using the Mathematics: Building Blocks forNumeracy resource. This will include reviewing and implementing the updated SENA assessment to assistteachers in plotting student achievement on the Numeracy Continuum.

• Further professional learning and stage based discussion into suitable evidence for assessment against bothliteracy and Numeracy continuums would be beneficial.



Creating 21st Century Learners

Purpose

Developing student capacity to successfully engage in the 21st Century learning environment as creative thinkers andcollaborative problem solvers.


Over the last 12 months students and teachers have worked with new technology in the form of new laptop computers.Teachers have been using Google Apps and Google Classroom to enable students to use new ways of communicatingusing collaborative writing, teacher/student digital communication blogging and photography and movie making. Thetechnology based programs of Reading Eggs and Mathletics are being used by teachers to develop increased interestand fluency in reading and mathematics. The computers in the lab are not being replaced when they break down. Somesee value continuing the lab as a resource especially for younger classes.

Stage Three have been introduced to coding using 10 Edison robots bought with a grant from the Mittagong RSL. Thishas been a valuable taste of simple computer programming and will continue next year in Science.

Open Ended Questioning has been well received with improvements in developing higher order thinking in studentsespecially in Maths. “Open ended questioning has made maths more authentic”. Teachers have reported their use ofOpen ended questioning in other KLAs especially Geography and History, encouraging meaningful discussion anddeeper engagement with content.




100% of students in each classuse appropriate technology tocomplete tasks each term

Students have not all reached the stage of makinga digital e–card and more work on introduction andimplementation of the IT scope is needed. Stageleaders will be asked to present IT scope at a stagemeeting every term Teachers will be asked toshade areas where content has been covered. Theintention is to embed IT scope in the other KLAsrather than make it a separate subject. IT Scope willbe evaluated at end 2017 to test relevance andrealistic expectations of the document againstsyllabus demands in all KLAs. Better managementpractice of Laptops is needed to ensure their easeof use, storage and battery charge.

Funds should be kept asideto replace machines thatfail, so as to maintain thecollection. As classnumbers increase soshould purchase of morelaptops to enable wholeclass access. The labshould be continued to bemaintained and machinesupdated as it is usedregularly to good effect. Thetablets have not beenpopular for anything otherthan game and drill andpractice type activities.

Each term 100% of classteachers’ programs containopen–ended andproblem–solving tasks as part oftheir approach to teaching

This has encouraged more explicit use in otherKLAs. Some teachers are making good use of theSOLE program which is based on big open endedquestions. Two teachers have participated in TPL inEnquiry Learning inspired by the open endedquestioning techniques. They will be asked to reportto staff early Term One 2017.

Funds for further TPL inEnquiry Learning.Attendance at a two daycourse in Term one by twoor more teachers.

Next Steps

• Continue to develop laptops as tools for research and publishing in the classroom. • More TPL in Google Apps such as Sheets, Doc, and Classroom. Look at ways of better managing the growing


number of files in Google drive so that staff can navigate to documents easier. • Continue to look at ways of improving Laptop management so that laptops are stored safely and are always fully

charged. • Evaluate Reading Eggs and Mathletics. • Continue to promote Open Ended questioning techniques and develop interest in trialing Enquiry Learning

techniques into class programs. • Use and encourage the use of learning intention and success criteria techniques across the school as championed

by John Hattie • Continue to develop expertise in reporting using the literacy and numeracy continuum in PLAN. • Continue to develop collaborative programming using Google Doc. • Discuss and indicate progress each term in accomplishing the IT Scope and Sequence outcomes • Continue to introduce simple coding to students using Edison Robots and online programs such Scratch


Key Initiatives Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Aboriginal background loading Use of Aboriginal background funding hasresulted in: • strengthened partnerships and promotedgenuine collaboration between schools,Aboriginal families and Aboriginal communityorganisations through teacher release to planand liaise with these stakeholders • Improved the quality of teaching andlearning for Aboriginal students through thefunding of additional teacher’s aide (SLSO)time to support students in Literacy andNumeracy sessions • Increased Aboriginal students’ attendance,participation and engagement in learningthrough the use of funds to cover any schoolrelated costs families have needed assistancein meeting • Improved outcomes so that Aboriginalstudents achieve educational outcomes thatmatch or better the outcomes of ‘all students’through releasing teachers to createpersonalised learning pathways and monitorstudent progress • Strengthened support for Aboriginalstudents at key transition points includingKindergarten orientation and additional SLSOtime in the first term of beginning school.

$17,166

English language proficiency English language proficiency funding wasused to employ specialist staff to meet theEnglish language needs of EAL/D students.The teacher was employed for one day perweek across most of the school year andsupported a small group of students whowere new arrivals to our country with verylittle English.

This support has resulted in: • Increased EAL/D students’ Englishlanguage proficiency • Improved EAL/D students’ learningoutcomes. • Improved EAL/D students’ participation andengagement in learning and formalassessment • More effective reporting of Englishlanguage learning outcomes toparents/families • Improved professional learning for teachersin EAL/D pedagogy, and student support • Improved quality of teaching and learningfor EAL/D students. This includes: using dataabout EAL/D students in planning andprogramming; differentiating for EAL/Dstudents in teaching programs; and wholeschool and classroom assessment practices;incorporating EAL/D pedagogy and strategiesin classroom practice and has helpedfacilitate clearer communication with parentsregarding special needs of students and thesupport required from medical practitioners.

$10,515

Low level adjustment for disability Our school received $100,501 as anallocation for a full time Learning And SupportTeacher. This and a further $33,736 has been

$34,680


Low level adjustment for disability partly used to purchase teacher time to runthe Multi–lit program for thirteen students andan intensive reading programfor thirty–six students in Years Three to Six.This program which also uses about tencommunity volunteers has seen participatingstudents grow on average fifteen months inreading age over the span of each ten weekprogram. The Learning And Support Teachertime has been used to help developpersonalised learning plans and to assist inidentifying learning adjustments needed tosupport low level disabilities withinmainstream classes. Our highly successfulLearning And Support Team was also used tohelp triage needs that emerged throughoutthe school year. Additional Learning AndSupport Officer time was also purchased togive support where this was required tosupport learning adjustments.

These programs have: • Engaged students and their parents/carersin consultative and collaborative processes topersonalise learning and support reflectingstudent needs • Increased the level of students' participationand engagement in learning • Improved students' learning outcomes • Improved professional learning programs toaddress learner diversity in classrooms,including the provision of support for teachersin recognising and responding to students’additional learning needs • Enhanced students' access to a widerrange of curriculum learning experiences,specialist teachers, sources of knowledge,individual connections and educational andcommunity services • Increased the effectiveness of classroomand school organisation.

$34,680

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

Teacher relief was incorporated into ourweekly timetable and allocated to staff whowere working on specific projects. Theseincluded lesson observation and mentoringsessions. This time allowed staff to implementquality teaching programs and manage theirprofessional development plans.

0.20 FTE*

Socio–economic background Socio–economic funding has been used inour school to support improved learningoutcomes for students. Some funding wasused to provide teacher release to plan andliaise with parents and agencies to developpersonalised learning plans or case managestudents with significant needs. The fundingof additional SLSO time to support students inLiteracy and Numeracy sessions has alsobeen an important strategy for buildingsuccess. The result of this has: • Raised the expectations of students,teachers, executive, families and communities • Strengthened partnerships betweenschools, families and communityorganisations • Developed and sustained a positive andinclusive school culture

$39,039


Socio–economic background • Enhanced students' access to a widerrange of curriculum learning experiences,specialist teachers, sources of knowledge,individual connections and educational andcommunity services • Increased the effectiveness of classroomand school organisation • Increased levels of students' participationand engagement in their learning by ensuringthat no student misses out on learning.

$39,039

Support for beginning teachers This funding was used to support threeteachers who matched the criteria asbeginning teachers. In order for teachers tobenefit from a reduced or restructuredteaching load, the following conditions are inplace: • Beginning teachers have reducedresponsibilities or teaching loads sufficient tosupport the development of their skills in thefirst year. Each beginning teacher had anadditional hour of release from face to faceteaching timetabled into their week • Beginning teachers are provided withongoing feedback and support that isembedded in the collaborative practices of theschool mentoring structures and collaborativepractices support beginning teachers withinthe school and across our community ofschools. Our teacher mentors have access tospecific training and the flexibility in theirteaching responsibilities to support classroomobservation and provide structured feedback.This was achieved by ensuring the mentorteacher hadadditional release time eachweekthat aligned with the beginning teacher’srelease. • Beginning teachers have access toprofessional learning that focuses onclassroom and behaviour management,strategies to build student engagement,collaborative professional practices within theschool and productive relationships withparents and carers. These teachers had anincreased budget to persue more professionallearning opportunities.

$21,539

Targeted student support forrefugees and new arrivals

New arrivals and refugee funding was used toemploy specialist staff to meet the Englishneeds of EAL/D students. The teacher wasemployed for one day per week across mostof the school year and supported a smallgroup of students who were new arrivals toour country with very little English.

This support has resulted in: • Increased EAL/D students' Englishlanguage proficiency • Improved EAL/D students' learningoutcomes • Improved EAL/D students' participation andengagement in learning and formalassessment • More effective reporting of Englishlanguage learning outcomes toparents/carers/families • Improved professional learning forteachers for teachers in EAL/D pedagogy,

0.2 FTE*


Targeted student support forrefugees and new arrivals

and student support • Improved quality of teaching and learningfor EAL/D students. This included: using dataabout EAL/D students in planning andprogramming; differentiating for EAL/Dstudents in teaching programs; and wholeschool and classroom practices; incorporatingEAL/D pedagogy and strategies in classroomassessment practices has helped facilitateclearer communication with parents regardingspecial needs of students and the supportrequired from medical practitioners.

0.2 FTE*


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2013 2014 2015 2016

Boys 231 248 274 275

Girls 183 183 193 216

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

K 94.7 94.2 93.8 93.8

1 94.3 94 93.3 93.4

2 93.3 94.7 93.7 93

3 93.6 94.9 93.8 93.3

4 92.8 93.9 93.8 92

5 95.4 93.8 93.5 93.9

6 92.1 94 94.2 93.5

All Years 93.8 94.2 93.7 93.3

State DoE

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

K 95 95.2 94.4 94.4

1 94.5 94.7 93.8 93.9

2 94.7 94.9 94 94.1

3 94.8 95 94.1 94.2

4 94.7 94.9 94 93.9

5 94.5 94.8 94 93.9

6 94.1 94.2 93.5 93.4

All Years 94.7 94.8 94 94

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Assistant Principal(s) 5

Classroom Teacher(s) 17.85

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.84

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 1

Teacher Librarian 1

School Counsellor 1

School Administration & SupportStaff

6.42

Other Positions 0.78

The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requiresschools to report on Aboriginal composition of theirworkforce. We have two staff members who identify asAboriginal.

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 95

Postgraduate degree 5

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Staff at Mittagong Public School completed a range ofprofessional learning courses delivered at school andoff site. All staff completed mandatory training on ChildProtection, Asthma, CPR and Anaphylaxis. As part ofthe strategic direction focus, all teachers refreshed theirskills in using PLAN and the Learning Continuum.

Three areas of interest were dominant in 2016 for staffseeking to extend their knowledge and skills setthrough professional learning. They were Literacy,Support and Physical Education.

In 2016 eight teachers continued to work onmaintaining their accreditation. One teacher wasmentored as part of the Beginning Teacher Program.Two received additional RFF to support theirimplementation of effective learning programs.

All teachers continue to develop their skills andknowledge to promote quality teaching practice in theirwell structured and engaging classrooms.


Financial information (for schoolsusing both OASIS and SAP/SALM)

Financial information

The three financial summary tables cover 13 months(from 1 December 2015 to 31 December 2016).

The financial summary consists of school incomebroken down by funding source and is derived from theschool Annual Financial Statement.

Income $

Balance brought forward 223 613.00

Global funds 332 691.00

Tied funds 240 188.00

School & community sources 150 369.00

Interest 5 074.00

Trust receipts 9 267.00

Canteen 0.00

Total income 0.00

Expenditure

Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 75 526.00

Excursions 34 694.00

Extracurricular dissections 52 491.00

Library 5 845.00

Training & development 2 357.00

Tied funds 181 239.00

Short term relief 77 244.00

Administration & office 43 927.00

School–operated canteen 0.00

Utilities 49 718.00

Maintenance 25 112.00

Trust accounts 10 246.00

Capital programs 31 098.00

Total expenditure 0.00

Balance carried forward 0.00

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from 1 December 2015 to30 November 2016.

2016 Actual($)

Opening Balance 0

Revenue 413 981

(2a) Appropriation 391 515

(2b) Sale of Goods and Services 1 165

(2c) Grants and Contributions 20 983

(2e) Gain and Loss 0

(2f) Other Revenue 0

(2d) Investment Income 316

Expenses –176 028

Recurrent Expenses –176 028

(3a) Employee Related –88 324

(3b) Operating Expenses –87 703

Capital Expenses 0

(3c) Employee Related 0

(3d) Operating Expenses 0

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

237 953

Balance Carried Forward 237 953

This summary covers funds for operating costs anddoes not involve expenditure areas such as permanentsalaries, building and major maintenance.

2016 Actual($)

Base Total 2 948 124

Base Per Capita 26 565

Base Location 4 815

Other Base 2 916 744

Equity Total 203 422

Equity Aboriginal 17 166

Equity Socio economic 39 039

Equity Language 10 515

Equity Disability 136 700

Targeted Total 550 782

Other Total 271 616

Grand Total 3 973 946


School performance

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 to Band 10. The achievement scalerepresents increasing levels of skillsand understandings demonstrated in theseassessments.

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.>

Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

Each year schools are required to seek the opinions ofparents, students and teachers about the school. Theirresponses are presented below.

This year we surveyed parents using the Partners inLearning survey tool online. The results revealed thatour school scored higher in all areas of parentsatisfaction compared to the average of schools acrossNSW. Parents indicated they feel welcome and that theschool supports positive behaviour. Students andteachers also indicated a high level of satisfaction withschool life and culture.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Mittagong Public School has 23 students who identifyas Aboriginal. As in all New South Wales public schoolsprograms are designed to educate all students aboutAboriginal history, culture and contemporary AboriginalAustralia as we continue to implement both theAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education ActionPlan 2010–2014 (ATSIEAP) and the PartnershipAgreement between the Department and the AboriginalEducation Consultative Group Incorporated.

The school values, respects and appreciates Aboriginalculture and student identity as an intrinsic part of theschool’s culture. Staff recognise, value and respectAboriginal culture and student identity as an intrinsicpart of the school community. Each year Staff aretrained and implement the 2009 Aboriginal Educationand Training Policy. Appropriate cultural resources areprovided for classrooms and teachers implementinnovative activities to celebrate Aboriginal culturethroughout the year.

NAIDOC Week was celebrated by all students fromK–6 participating in a focus day. A cultural enriched

program was presented by National Parks and WildlifeOfficers, to educate and develop understanding ofAboriginal and Torres Strait culture. The studentsenjoyed cultural activities, artwork, dance andpresentations on traditional bush tucker and medicine.

Our Wollondilly Principal’s network area and our schoolare working towards engaging our Aboriginal studentsin their education and improving their learningoutcomes. To assist our student’s further, parents,students and their teacher sit together and discusseach child’s personal goals to develop their PersonalLearning Pathway. Personal goals are set for bothschool and non–school success. Funding through DECRAM (Resource Allocation Model) allocations havebeen used to support this process and also to provideadditional Learning Support Officer time in classroomsfor small group or 1:1 instruction where support isrequired. Some of this funding has also been used tosupport the purchase of learning materials, uniformsand excursion fees to ensure that no student isdisadvantaged in their access to the curriculum andschool activities.

The resulting learning outcomes for our Aboriginalstudents have typically been at or above the level ofthose of a non–Aboriginal background. These programsand strategies have: • strengthened partnerships and promoted genuine

collaboration between our school, Aboriginalfamilies and other Aboriginal communityorganisations

• developed and sustained a positive and inclusiveschool culture

• improved the quality of teaching and learning forAboriginal students

• improved the quality of leadership outcomes forAboriginal students and families

• increased Aboriginal students’ attendance,participation and engagement in learning

• strengthened support for Aboriginal students atkey transition points such as students’ readinessfortransition from home to school and Year 6 toYear 7

• improved Aboriginal students’ literacy andnumeracy achievements .

Multicultural and anti–racism education

Our school enrolment includes students from culturallyand linguistically diverse backgrounds and our staff areconscious of implementing inclusive classroom andschool practices. Aside from maintaining teachingprograms promoting intercultural understanding andskills, teachers also implement initiatives to enhancecommunication with parents and community membersfrom linguistically diverse backgrounds, including theuse of interpreters. In some instances whereappropriate, bilingual students have assisted here.Multicultural perspectives are incorporated into Historyand Geography units of work and students weredelighted and amazed by some of the culturaldifferences they learned. Initiatives to enhanceengagement in school by parents and communitymembers from culturally and linguistically diverse


backgrounds have been undertaken, including invitingones to speak about their country of origin and culturalbackground/traditions. Over 50 students this yearcompleted projects for the Country Women’sAssociation International Day. The country this yearwas Mongolia. Over 100 students attended thiscelebration of culture. NAIDOC week was alsocelebrated by the entire school and Indigenous culturewas explored throughout the year. Our school has atrained Anti–Racism Contact officer and on occasionthroughout the year students were referred for supportof guidance in relation to incidents with the school. TheARCO also supported staff in guiding students withintheir classes. Our school community is proud of itsdiversity and continues to enjoy a peaceful climate oftolerance and respect.


Documents

2016 Mittagong Public School Annual Report - Amazon S3 · Mittagong Public School Annual Report 2016 ... Page 4 of 16 Mittagong Public School 2581 (2016) ... using the half yearly