St Mary’s Primary School, Yarram MARY’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, YARRAM 2014 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 3 Our School Vision At St. Mary’s, we are committed to: Building a vibrant,

2014 ANNUAL REPORT to the School Community

REGISTERED SCHOOL NUMBER: 1058

St Mary’s Primary School, Yarram.

Primary School

ST MARY’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, YARRAM

2014 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 1

Contents

Contact Details ............................................................................................................................................ 2

Minimum Standards Attestation ................................................................................................................ 2

Our School Vision ....................................................................................................................................... 3

School Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 4

Principal’s Report ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Education in Faith ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Learning and Teaching ............................................................................................................................... 7

School Community and Student Wellbeing .............................................................................................. 8

Leadership and Stewardship ................................................................................................................... 11

Financial Performance .............................................................................................................................. 12

Future Directions ....................................................................................................................................... 14

VRQA Compliance Data ............................................................................................................................ 15



Contact Details

ADDRESS Buckley St Yarram VIC 3971

PRINCIPAL Mrs. Jodie Ware

PARISH PRIEST Fr. Bernard Buckley

SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR Mrs. Helen Barlow

TELEPHONE (03) 5182 5659

EMAIL [email protected]

WEBSITE www.stmyarram.catholic.edu.au

Minimum Standards Attestation

I, Jodie Ware attest that St Mary’s Primary School, Yarram 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

Australian Government accountability requirements related to the 2014 school year under the

Schools Assistance Act 2008 (Cth) and the Schools Assistance Regulations 2009 (Cth)

22 May 2015



Our School Vision

At St. Mary’s, we are committed to:

Building a vibrant, faith-filled community

Building a culture of confident learners through collaborative partnerships with parents, teachers

and students

Promoting an environment where everyone is welcomed and treated with respect

.



School Overview

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School is located in the rural town of Yarram in South Gippsland.

St. Mary’s school was established in 1918 by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The

school was built on the site now occupied by the Presbytery. In 1954 the school was moved to

its present site and additional rooms were built. Although plans for a new school were

developed and the first stage completed by 1982, a fire in 1992 destroyed the original school

buildings. The rebuilding project and renovations were completed in 1996 with the official

opening on March 24th, 1996.

St. Mary’s Primary is a Catholic school which aspires to provide a happy, safe and confident

teaching and learning environment in which the needs of students and staff are met with

support and understanding. We ensure that our work reflects ideals such as mutual respect, trust

and honesty. We care for others, particularly those in need. We aim to do this in a way that

reflects the individual talents, gifts and experiences of each person. In this, we actively seek the

support of parents and the wider community. We strive to work together in a collaborative

manner.

We believe that St. Mary’s is a faith community where we strive to be a true example of

contemporary Christian living. Gospel values are a basis for all that is done and Jesus is the

focus of Prayer, Liturgies, and Religious Education and Sacramental programs. Information and

Communication Technology is central to our teaching and learning. Our classrooms are modern

and well resourced with interactive whiteboards and laptops in the senior and junior classrooms.

We also have trained Literacy and Numeracy intervention teachers and teacher aides to assist

children who require development in these areas. We offer Rainbow Reading (reading

intervention) in Grades One to Six and EMU (mathematics intervention) in Junior Primary. We

offer Chinese as our LOTE subject.

At present St. Mary’s has an enrolment of 74 students and a staff of fifteen, consisting of the

principal, classroom teachers, part-time staff, school support staff (classroom) and school

support staff (administration). Specialist subjects offered at St. Mary’s include Physical Education

and Art.

We are proud of our school and endeavour to share this pride with all who come into contact

with us.



Principal’s Report

2014 saw me beginning my journey at St Mary’s and I wish to thank the school community for the

warm welcome. Many exciting things have been happening over the past 12 months with a

focus on building independent learners at St Mary’s. During the year staff participated in

professional learning around what independent learning looks like for the students at St Mary’s.

Key criteria for planning whole school integrated units of work were developed.

Building partnerships both within the school and wider community was a key focus for 2014. We

believe that educating our children is a partnership between families and school staff. This can

be achieved through the parents engaging with the school where learning outcomes for each

child is significantly enhanced. An important part of developing partnerships has been on

sharing information with the school community about the learning we are doing within the

school. We established a learning wall in the student building showcasing the student’s

understanding through increasing displays and at assembly each week a grade shares the

learning that has taken place in their classroom.

On a faith front we moved to Parish in Partnership with Traralgon during the year and welcomed

Fr. Buckley and Fr. James to our school community. We also farewelled Sr. Margaret from the

parish who has taken up a new role in Yarraville. Through our liturgies, actions and displays in our

school and the Church, we have kept alive the Catholic traditions. Our Mini Vinnies group has

been active this year in organising ‘social justice’ events. Only one sacrament was held last year

in Yarram; Reconciliation, as we changed the timing of each sacrament to fall in line with the

rest of the Diocese.

We had small but active parent groups who worked tirelessly throughout the year to build the

sense of community amongst families and the school. Social events occurred each term with

numbers steadily increasing. We thank the parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles and guardians

of our school community have been so supportive and welcoming throughout 2014.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for your support over the past 12 months. I am looking forward

to continuing to work with you all.

Kind regards

Jodie Ware



Education in Faith

Goals & Intended Outcomes

St. Mary’s is a faith-filled community where the Good News of the Gospel is lived and celebrated.

There are strong ties with the Parish community.

The students make connections between faith and life.

Achievements

During 2014 connections with the parish were strengthened on many levels. School news and

invitations for the parish to attend our Masses were placed in the Parish Bulletin each week.

Parishioners were also invited to join us for Reconciliation with our Sacramental Candidates. A

combined parish and school end of year luncheon was held in the Mary MacKillop hall and was

well attended. New altar servers were trained and began to serve at school and Sunday Masses.

Senior students were also trained to operate the PowerPoint at School Masses.

Our combined school choir continued to grow and support was offered by parishioners to

prepare them for masses and community performances. They performed very well at the

Yarram Eisteddfod, winning the prestigious Bird Family Choir Award. Students from the senior

grades also participated in community events such as the Anzac Day March and Vietnam

Veterans day.

Class room teachers worked with CEO staff to ensure that the RE units reflected contemporary

learning and allowed students to make connections between their faith and their life. Displays of

this understanding were included in the whole school learning wall. There was an emphasis on

using one piece of scripture for each unit of work. Staff attended professional learning about the

authors of the Gospels to support them in this area.

VALUE ADDED

Increased support from the local community was evident in many ways through the year.

Community members came to the school at lunchtimes to run lunchtime activities for the

students during Active April. There were more parishioners regularly attending school masses

and joining us for a morning tea at the school. The local Kindergarten also accepted an

invitation to attend our Post Eisteddfod Concert in the Mary MacKillop hall.

Mary Mackillop’s feast day was celebrated with the whole school completing activities that

helped students make connections with her life. Artwork from the day was showcased through

displays around the school showing the qualities of Mary MacKillop. Two staff members were

presented with special awards decided on and voted by the students to recognise Mary

MacKillop’s role as a teacher.



Learning and Teaching


St. Mary’s is a place where the culture of learning is evident across the school community.

The students are engaged in their learning

The students are encouraged to be independent and confident learners

Assessment data is used to guide student learning.

Achievements

During 2014 there was a shared learning focus across the whole school through the

development of integrated units that involved grades Prep to 6. Staff participated in

professional learning to make their teaching engaging for the students and developing them

as independent learners. The focus was on providing opportunities for students to develop a

deeper understanding of the content, encourage questioning and allow for creative

thinking.

Through the establishment of a learning wall, outcomes for learning and the scope and

sequence across all grades were shared with the school community. Displays showcasing

student learning were shared on the learning wall, in corridors and within classrooms. Parents

were encouraged to participate in follow up activities at home and were supported through

suggested strategies to try at home.

Student literacy and numeracy data was collected and students were placed on a

continuum where through professional learning meetings this data was analysed and goals

for improving outcomes established using the SMART goal framework. Staff then presented

results back to each other seeking feedback and advice.

Chinese as our LOTE language was introduced at St Mary’s during 2014. Staff incorporated a

range of technology to develop the conversational skills of our children.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Our 2014 NAPLAN results indicated that 100% of students in Year 3 were at the expected

level in reading, writing, grammar and punctuation and numeracy. 100% of students in

Year 5 were at the expected level in reading, spelling, grammar and punctuation and

numeracy. There was a slight decline in the area of writing in grade 5. Teachers analysed

these results and identified the writing process as a focus area for 2015.



School Community and Student Wellbeing


St. Mary’s is a place where everyone is welcomed and treated with respect.

The students take ownership for their learning

There are effective partnerships between parents and the school.

The students will take more responsibility for their behaviour.

Achievements

At St Mary’s we developed the social/ emotional learning of our students using the

Bounceback program. This was introduced during 2014 to all grades. Core values and the

meaning of Bounceback as an acronym were the focus for enabling students to take

responsibility for their behavior.

Students in the senior grades negotiated with their teacher to develop their own investigation

about a topic and how they would present their learning to others. The students were

encouraged to set goals to improve their own learning using a set template. These goals

were reviewed and adjusted as required. The senior students then taught their junior buddies

how to do the same during collaborative buddy sessions.

Each student in the school completed learning self evaluation tasks during the year and

these were included in the child’s report. Learning examples from each grade were also

included on the learning wall showing the student’s understanding about a topic.

Partnerships between home and school have been highlighted with a more conscious effort

by staff to inform parents of school activities in a timely fashion. Teachers also included

information in their class newsletter which encouraged and supported family engagement in

learning. The social committee took this approach on board and made developing

community as their focus for the year. Attendance at school functions steadily increased as

the year progressed which was pleasing. Parent input in school decision making was sought

through the establishment of a parent forum seeking ideas in developing a parent resource

room in 2015.



Attendance

At St Mary’s we consider non-attendance to have a serious impact on students learning.

Families were informed about the slogan “Every day counts” and “Every minute counts”

through displays and information in the school newsletter. Teachers also discussed this

within their classrooms. The roll was taken in hard copy and electronic form twice a day

and parents were informed of the amount of absent days in their child’s report. Teachers

made appointments with parents to discuss high levels of absenteeism where necessary.

Teachers also recorded if no explanation for an absence was given by a parent. Follow up

discussions by the Principal and/or Wellbeing Leader and the parents to develop strategies

to improve attendance then occur.

VALUE ADDED

Senior students held a well attended learning showcase in the Mary MacKillop hall where

they presented the models they had created to members of the school community.

Feedback was sought and comments such as “high quality work”, “a fantastic range of

work on display” and “we are very proud of how hard you worked to complete this”!

Cultural committee events also occurred during the year in conjunction with other Yarram

and district schools. These included a magic show and a performance of Cinderella.

Sporting events and a successful Swim and Survive swimming program were also held

during 2014. Heather Flynn, class teachers and a dedicated band of parent helpers did a

great job in running this program. With a continual run of cool weather it was lucky we

were travelling down the road to Toora and the heated pool. The students commented “I

liked the fun games”, “I liked it because we learnt to swim” and “the new program was

helpful with survival skills”.

Our camps program saw us attending camps in Melbourne & Ballarat with the 5/6 children;

Forest Lodge with the grade 3/4 children and a school sleepover for the grade 2 children.

All saw new experiences for the children and ran smoothly thanks to careful planning of

our school staff and parent volunteers who came on camp with us.



STUDENT SATISFACTION

Insight SRC data results indicate that students feel safe at school, have strong

connectedness to their peers and believe that the teachers listen to them to assist their

learning.

PARENT SATISFACTION

Insight SRC data results indicate that parents feel that the extracurricular activities offered

by the school provide learning opportunities for their children. The parents feel that they

are able to make a contribution to school planning and that the teachers are managing

the behaviour of students effectively.



Leadership and Stewardship


As leaders at St. Mary’s we strive to become a professional learning community where we

support the performance of everyone.

There is clarity of Purpose

There is clarity of Process

The leadership is Distributed

St. Mary’s is a place where the environment is safe, well resourced and maintained and where

organizational structures support all school programs.

Technology meets the needs of the school community.

School maintenance is timely and maintained.

The school playground equipment is maintained.

Achievements

During 2014 teachers were provided with opportunities to share professional practice and

learning at scheduled staff meetings. Lead teachers in the areas of faith, learning and wellbeing

led Professional Learning Team meetings where staff identified priority areas and SMART goals

developed to assist student learning.

Staff were involved in writing the school improvement plan as a team with each person taking

an area of responsibility to focus on. Goals for success were identified and action plans

established for achieving these goals,

The school Techsperts program was supported by Phil Rebbechi from the CEO. The focus was on

developing the student’s leadership skills using the area of ICT. The students had the opportunity

to develop a model of student leadership that was implemented during the year and formed

the basis for deciding captains for 2015.

Major works completed during 2014 included the establishment of a new, larger library; painting

the outside doors, outside eaves and facia of the student building; putting in overflow pipes to

the water tanks; putting in a tap close to the vegetable gardens; increasing storage through the

installation of a shipping container and the installation of a new phone system that connects

both buildings.

New shade sails for the junior playground and goal post pads were purchased during the year

as the old ones were in need of replacement.



EXPENDITURE AND TEACHER PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

DESCRIPTION OF PL UNDERTAKEN IN 2013

EMU training

CPR update

Anaphylaxis training

Mandatory Reporting

Fountas and Pinnell reading program

Spirituality

Masters of Educational Leadership

Country Diocesan Leadership Program

NUMBER OF TEACHERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN PL 9

AVERAGE EXPENDITURE PER TEACHER FOR PL $1150.00

TEACHER SATISFACTION

Insight data results indicate that staff are building positive partnerships with parents. Staff

believe that they have had opportunities to come together and work as a team when

planning curriculum.



Financial Performance

REPORTING FRAMEWORK MODIFIED CASH

$

Recurrent income Tuition

School fees 0

Other fee income 27,286

Private income 11,232

State government recurrent grants 264,635

Australian government recurrent grants 958,495

Total recurrent income 1,261,647

Recurrent Expenditure Tuition

Salaries; allowances and related expenses 783,333

Non salary expenses 132,137

Total recurrent expenditure 915,470

Capital income and expenditure Tuition

Government capital grants 0

Capital fees and levies 35,469

Other capital income 4,000

Total capital income 39,469

Total capital expenditure 25,320

Loans (includes refundable enrolment deposits and recurrent, capital and

bridging loans)

Total opening balance 66,000

Total closing balance 54,000

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 Directions

In 2015 St Mary’s Primary school aims to continue to build the partnership with the Parish through

events such as jointly celebrating the 100th anniversary of laying the foundation stone of the

Church. We are also working closely with the liturgy group to provide displays of student learning

in the Church. The school community will deepen their understanding of the school’s vision

statement through daily recitation at morning assembly by parents, staff and students. We will

also participate in the Enhancing Catholic Schools Identity Project.

Staff will be developing their professional knowledge of assessment practices and how best to

use this information to improve their teaching and therefore the learning for students in all

learning areas. Learner attribute statements for our school community were also developed and

will be used to inform professional learning opportunities for all members of our school

community. Staff meetings will be focused about improving professional practice and will

include learning through master classes run by staff members about identified areas of interest

or need.

Family partnerships will continue to be a focus during 2015 with the setting up of a parent

resource room and the establishment of buddy parents to work with new families. Morning teas

will be held that involve existing and new parents to share knowledge/questions of the school

and build connections with each other and the school.

The Techsperts program will be expanded and further training with Phil Rebecchi will occur to

build student leadership within the school. Opportunities for staff to participate in leadership

development programs will be offered.



VRQA Compliance Data

E4012

St Mary's School, Yarram

PROPORTION OF STUDENTS MEETING THE MININUM STANDARDS

NAPLAN TESTS 2012

%

2013

%

2012–2013

Changes

%

2014

%

2013–2014

Changes

%

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 91.7 100.0 8.3 94.4 -5.6

YR 03 Grammar & Punctuation 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

YR 03 Numeracy 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

YR 05 Reading 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

YR 05 Writing 92.9 100.0 7.1 91.7 -8.3

YR 05 Spelling 93.3 100.0 6.7 100.0 0.0

YR 05 Grammar & Punctuation 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0

YR 05 Numeracy 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 0.0



AVERAGE STUDENT ATTENDANCE RATE BY YEAR LEVEL %

Year 1 95.34

Year 2 92.94

Year 3 93.73

Year 4 94.06

Year 5 92.19

Year 6 91.20

Overall average attendance 93.24

TEACHING STAFF ATTENDANCE RATE

Teaching Staff Attendance Rate 88.18%

STAFF RETENTION RATE

Staff Retention Rate 90.00%



TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS

Doctorate 0.00%

Masters 12.50%

Graduate 50.00%

Certificate Graduate 12.50%

Degree Bachelor 62.50%

Diploma Advanced 25.00%

No Qualifications Listed 0.00%

STAFF COMPOSITION

Principal Class 2

Teaching Staff (Head Count)

11

FTE Teaching Staff

9.500

Non-Teaching Staff (Head Count)

8

FTE Non-Teaching Staff

5.845

Indigenous Teaching Staff

0

Documents

St Mary’s Primary School, Yarram MARY’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, YARRAM 2014 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 3 Our School Vision At St. Mary’s, we are committed to: Building a vibrant,