2011 Annual School Report - Gordon West Public School

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Curriculum Literacy – Writing and Improving Student Learning Background During Terms 2 to 4 2011, Year 3, 4 and 5 teachers developed an action learning project based on current educational research identifying the major influences that lead to improved student learning. Participant teachers commenced the project by reading an extract from Professor John Hattie’s paper, “Teachers Make a Difference -What is the research evidence?” and discussed the research findings. Teachers viewed and discussed the dimensions identified in the research that distinguish the difference between expert and experienced teachers. The three dimensions that Hattie’s research concluded most effectively separated expert from experienced teachers were challenge, deep representation and monitoring /feedback. Findings and Conclusions Teachers closely reviewed the research and identified how these most effective teaching strategies could be directly implemented in their classrooms. A series of writing lessons focusing on descriptive writing techniques were chosen by teacher consensus as a focus area for the project. Teachers used these lessons to practise a range of teaching strategies and investigate which were the most effective in leading to improved student learning and engagement and the most manageable, practical and realistic to implement in the classroom. Teachers incorporated scaffolded or tiered lesson activities with a range of challenges built into the task to meet the scope of student abilities and provided a range of modelled, independent and guided small group activities. Through negotiation with students, highly explicit lesson criteria was identified and presented to the students at the beginning of each writing lesson and reinforced throughout the lesson. These specific statements about the quality of work required of students became clear reference points for the students to develop and check their own work. Teachers devised a simple system of assessing student’s work during development as well as on completion of the task. This was aimed at giving the students more immediate, meaningful feedback. To assist students to develop skills in self evaluation, written work samples that illustrated high quality work were viewed and discussed. Students evaluated these as part of their learning process. An improvement in the level of student on task behaviour was observed and noted by teachers. They identified a substantial improvement from the pre assessment task level. Students’ improved on task behaviour in group activities included contributing to group tasks, helping peers and raising questions. In Term 4 participating teachers presented their finding and shared their experiences. Teachers shared student work samples from the action learning experience and their thoughts about the effectiveness of the teaching strategies employed. Future Directions Teachers have and will continue to reflect on the benefits and challenges of the project. They will encourage the wider use of the positive practices realised and incorporate the best of these ideas into plans for future students’ learning K to 6 across all Key Learning Areas. School General Satisfaction Survey 2010 Every year a sample of families are surveyed in relation to general school satisfaction. Survey results and follow up strategies/plans are reported in the school’s fortnightly newsletter. A total of 100 parents were invited to respond to the School Satisfaction Survey with 94% completing all questions. The survey consisted of a set of 14 statements and 2 questions which required a written response. The following statements were presented for response: 1. My child is happy and enjoys being at school. 2. As a parent/guardian I feel welcome at the school. 3. The school encourages students to achieve their best. 4. The school is a caring and nurturing place. 5. The school facilities are clean and well maintained. 6. The office staff are approachable and helpful. 7. The schools processes and procedures address staff welfare needs. 8. The school values parents' opinions. 9. There are effective lines of communication between home and school. 10. There are always opportunities to raise concerns or issues about my child's schooling. 11. I receive helpful information about my child's progress and achievement. 12. I am comfortable approaching my child's teacher to talk about his/her progress. 13. The resources and facilities at the school are sufficient to meet my child's learning needs. 14. Overall I am satisfied with my child's academic progress. Responses were collated under strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree. The feedback was extremely positive with responses of strongly agree and agree selected for 11 of the 14 statements over 80%. The 3 statements which rated less positively were “There are effective lines of communication between home and school (76%), “The school values parents' opinions” (73%) and “I receive helpful information about my child's progress and achievement.” (69%) The following questions were asked: 1. What could the school do better? 2. What is the school doing well? In reply to the question “What could the school do better?” a number of parents indicated the need to improve school/ parent communication regarding upcoming school events and activities. Increased prior knowledge of events could better assist forward family planning. 22
To address this concern the office staff regularly update the school’s website under the banner “Term Calendar” which not only indicates the date on which an event will be held but contains hyperlinks to further information and the prerequisite permission notes. The school newsletter, titled The Bulletin is printed and distributed fortnightly on a Thursday with the aim to comprehensively inform parents on a range of educational and organisational matters. In February 2010 an online version of The Bulletin was attached to the school’s website allowing for greater access by busy parents. This feature is proving more popular with an ever increasing volume of families requesting direct emailing of the Bulletin in 2011. Another area of parent concern raised in the responses was the adverse condition of the children’s toilets with particular reference to odour and lack of soap. These issues have been attended to with the installation of deodorisers and soap dispensers. The school, in conjunction with Transfield the DET cleaning contractors, will continue to monitor and improve the hygiene and presentation of these high traffic areas of the school. The school has been allocated an additional 8 hours of cleaning for 2012, a proportion of which will concentrate on cleaning toilets. It was pleasing to read the responses to the question "What is the school doing well?” with an overwhelming number of comments expressing the supportive, caring environment created at Gordon West and the dedication of the teaching staff to providing high quality teaching. Comments relating to positive aspects of the school included the wide range of high quality, extracurricular activities offered to students, the strong, friendly community focus and the provision of quality teaching and learning resources. Gordon West will continue to improve all aspects of school management and aim to address the concerns raised by the school community. Future Directions The evaluation of survey results identified certain areas for future development including the need for the school to: • Ensure the fortnightly Bulletin newsletter contains all the relevant information parents need to keep them up to date with major and minor changes to school programs and procedures with plenty of notice given for school events. • Continue to monitor and improve the hygiene and presentation of all school amenities. The school communications committee will follow up all suggestions during 2012 and report their findings to the school community. 23
Page 1 and 2: NSW Department of Education & Train
Page 3 and 4: P&C MESSAGE The P&C had another ver
Page 5 and 6: STAFF INFORMATION It is a requireme
Page 7 and 8: Rugby Union Children in Years 3 and
Page 9 and 10: Year 3 NAPLAN - Spelling School SSG
Page 11 and 12: Year 5 NAPLAN - Reading School SSG
Page 13 and 14: Year 5 NAPLAN - Numeracy School SSG
Page 15 and 16: National Benchmarks The Commonwealt
Page 17 and 18: TECHNOLOGY With the increase in cla
Page 19: KEY EVALUATIONS It is a requirement
Page 25 and 26: SCHOOL PLANNING 2012-2014 School Pr
Page 27 and 28: School Priority 3 - Quality Teachin

2011 Annual School Report - Gordon West Public School

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