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GOAL
1 CURRICULUM To
provide all students with a relevant comprehensive
curriculum which includes access to a wide range of
subjects, a variety of learning experiences and
opportunities for participation in extra curricular
activities
Implementation Strategies
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Achievement Measures /
Progress
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Further Action /
Comments
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Provide for all students a range of
learning opportunities in each learning area.
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Curriculum profile for each
Sub-School is included in the School Annual
Reports. These document the subjects at each
level within each Key Learning Area.
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Faculty
handbooks are now written in terms of CSF
strategies and learning outcomes. Changes to
report formats which reflect these learning
outcomes are to be trialed for Semester 1
reports, 1997. At Middle School level it is not
possible to implement all Department of Education
(DOE) directives (eg. LOTE, PSE) and still
maintain the breadth of student choice that
currently exists.
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| Extend
the use of curriculum implementation documents
for whole school and faculty curriculum planning |
The CSF will
be fully implemented by the end of 1997.
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| Continue to offer a wide range of
lunchtime activities (sport, cultural/artistic,
passive recreation, academic) |
Lunchtime activities in 1994
suffered because of staff cutbacks and lack of
incentives for staff to organise the program.
However, the last two years saw an expansion in
the number of students involved and a wider range
of activities offered. |
Data collection has not been
formalised in this area.
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| Provide a wide range of intra- and
inter-school sporting competitions. |
Many inter-school sporting
activities have taken place with success at
State, National and World Junior level. |
Data collection has not been
formalised in this area. Refer also to Priority 6
report. |
| Monitor extra-curricular
participation and recognise this, where possible,
through reporting procedures. |
The School bands, Rock Eisteddfod,
the annual musical production and the
aerobics competitions are all annual highlights
in the school calendar. |
A reporting procedure for extra
curricular activities for each individual has not
been established Investigate the possibility of
achieving this through some form of pastoral care
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| Provide VCE students with the
opportunity to undertake vocational programs. |
VCE post-school destinations have
been monitored each year (See VCE report in
Annual Reports.) In 1996, 4 Year 11 students
completed a course in Hospitality and 3 Year 11
students a course in Building at Peninsula TAFE.
Vocational
Education and Training (VET) program extended in
1997 as follows: Hospitality - 3 Year 12 students
and
11 Year 11
students Electronics - 3 Year 11 students
Office
Administration - 7 Year 11 students
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Post school destinations should
continue to be monitored to gauge the
effectiveness of our curriculum initiatives. An evaluation of the VET
program will be undertaken during 1997.
These 3 programs
are "dual recognition".
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GOAL 1 CURRICULUM
Interpreting Data
The subjects taught within
each key learning area (KLA) have been documented each
year in the School Annual Report. However, trends have
not been established.
Whilst there is anecdotal
evidence that students enjoy a wide range of
extra-curricular activities, data collection has not been
formalised.
Making Judgements
The staff have made
enormous efforts in time and professional development
in-services to implement the CSF as a whole school
priority by the end of 1997.
Staff have also developed
skills in teaching for mixed ability classes and are
continuing to pursue innovative curriculum design eg.
aeronautics and open learning groups.
Students see considerable
prestige and pride in belonging to one of the well
established extra curricular groups - music bands,
aerobics, rock eisteddfod, musical production. These are
highlights in the school calendar and staff devote
considerable time after school to direct and manage these
activities.
Lunchtime activities and
sporting competitions are a vital part of school life.
Participation in the lunchtime activities program has
increased and participation in inter-school sport is
high.
Recommendations
To review the
curriculum and extra curricular programs to ensure
wide participation by students and to investigate a
range of options for some form of pastoral care at
Years 7-10.
To evaluate the VET
program at VCE level, and determine the level at
which an ongoing quality program can be resourced
GOAL 2 CURRICULUM
To make school experiences
enjoyable and challenging for all students, encouraging
personal excellence and promoting self esteem.
Implementation Strategies
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Achievement Measures /
Progress
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Further Action /
Comments
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| Give priority to the allocation of
qualified staff to run recovery programs in
literacy and numeracy. |
The appointment of a Leading Teacher
position and the development of a Learning Centre
has provided a focus and leadership for this
Goal. Parent helpers are trained through the TRI
program to assist in this work. |
The time allocation to this
leadership position needs to be reviewed annually
to ensure that staffing for these services are
adequate. |
| Provide the opportunity for students
to participate in accelerated programs. Provide
greater access to VCE units in Middle school and
selected students to undertake first year
university subjects through enhancement programs. |
An Extension and Enrichment
Coordinator has been appointed to assist the
development of more able students. The number of Middle School
students undertaking VCE studies has increased
nearly 100% in the Charter Period. Accelerated
classes in Mathematics and Languages operate in
Middle School.
Some students have
successfully undertaken University studies in
Mathematics (1) and Languages (2).
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Accelerated classes continue to
expand. A mentoring system to extend more
academically able Year 12’s and Year 7 &
8’s is being trialed this year. |
| Recognise and celebrate achievements
by students. |
Achievements in Music, Sport and
academic excellence are celebrated at school
assemblies, the annual music concert and Awards
nights. |
Student achievement in all areas
should continue to be celebrated. |
| Emphasise recognition of students as
individuals. |
PEEL groups operate to assist
teachers to extend all students, and PD has
included information on multiple intelligences. |
The recognition of different
learning styles needs to be developed further. |
| Emphasise goal setting and time
management. |
Year 7 Home Group program and Year
12 Support Groups focus on time management and
personal goals. The VCE Support groups have included
Year 11 students in 1997.
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The VCE and Year 7 programs have run
very successfully, but there is concern about the
lack of pastoral care programs for students in
Middle School. |
GOAL 2 CURRICULUM
Interpreting Data
The allocation of staff
has continued to expand the time available to Special
Programs. The appointment of a Level 2 position and the
additional position of Extension and Enrichment
Co-ordinator has formalised the support available to
students who need recovery programs in both literacy and
numeracy.
The number of students
applying for places in accelerated and VCE classes has
grown steadily. Sometimes Middle School students cannot
access their choices as there may not be enough spaces
available.
Making Judgements
Whilst there is clear
evidence that the numbers of students involved in these
specialist programs has increased over the Charter
period, there is insufficient data to establish the
effectiveness of some aspects of the programs.
Recommendations
To continue to develop
Special Programs and Extension and Enrichment
Programs including a program of data collection that
is more rigorous and which can effectively track
student participation rates and achievement.
To develop pastoral
care programs across all Year levels and to ensure
that they incorporate goal setting, motivation,
organisational skills and time management.
GOAL 3 CURRICULUM
To acknowledge, value,
promote and reinforce quality classroom teaching.
Implementation Strategies
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Achievement Measures /
Progress
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Further Action /
Comments
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Use and continue to explore a range
of strategies - formal and informal, public and
private - to acknowledge and support classroom
teaching.
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Whole school professional
development days and expert guest presenters have
provided PD on teaching strategies (Dr. Peter Hill, Pam
Burton).
Shared PD with our
four feeder primary schools resulted in the
publication of a book of teaching strategies for
the eight Learning Areas.
Sharing of
strategies between Levels 4 and 5 has helped to
bridge understanding of teaching between Upper
Primary and Lower Secondary.
Many staff have
worked with a critical friend for their teacher
appraisal, and have visited other classrooms and
other schools.
Supported PD for
groups and individuals to enrich their teaching
strategies.
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As more research is published about
the way in which students learn, and the use of
technologies to support learning increases, we
need to ensure that these important aspects of
student learning are incorporated into our
classroom teaching. |
Make the sharing of teaching
strategies accessible to all staff through
classroom access and/or shared classes.
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Two PEEL groups have been
established to allow staff to share teaching
strategies and focus on expanding their teaching
skills. PD
days which have focused on the implementation of
the CSF allowed Faculties to share strategies and
plan for assessment of learning styles.
The Parent Opinion
survey for "Teaching Quality" reflected
a high regard for the teaching students received
in both 1995 & 1996. (see survey results).
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Whilst the overall survey results
were very complimentary for teaching, parents did
note some individual differences, and these
variations in the quality of teaching should be
addressed. |
| Develop Professional Development
(PD) approaches which provide for: - teaching/learning
approaches to cater for different learning
styles.
- mixed ability
classes
- faculty-based
PD, and sharing of ideas between faculties
- whole school PD
involving expert presenters
- reinforcement of
decisive discipline strategies
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PD has operated at three levels
during the Charter period a. Whole School
b. Faculty
c. Individual
Whole school PD
included mixed ability teaching strategies and
development of strategies to meet the CSF
learning outcomes.
Staff have
provided for mixed ability classes by developing
multi-level assignment work to enable all
students to achieve success.
Faculties have
developed CSF curriculum in 1996-7. Some
faculties have attended PD sessions as a group to
increase their teaching strategies.
Bill Rogers, Dr.
Peter Hill, Pam Burton, George Betts have
addressed our staff. Also staff awarded the PD
School Council Scholarship have reported to staff
and School Council.
The School Diary
is used to reinforce rights and responsibilities
of all students.
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PD approaches need to be multi-level
to accommodate the needs of staff. Now that the CSF is
implemented (fully by the end of 1997), we need
to reassess our priorities in the provision of
quality classroom teaching.
There is a wealth
of research now available about how students
learn. It is time to explore the implications of
this research for our teaching.
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| Publication of teacher participation
in PD activities |
Each year in the Charter period all
staff who have participated in PD activities have
been awarded a PD Certificate signed by the
Principal and the PD co-ordinator. |
Staff feel this certificate is a
recognition of their efforts, and some have used
it as part of their Annual Review. |
| Maintenance of staff PD profiles and
staff PD notice-board. |
A PD register is kept which includes
PD inservices attended by each staff member and
student teacher supervision. A computerised data bank is
maintained of all costs of in-services and
associated CRT costs.
The staff PD
noticeboard is one method of informing staff of
PD activities.
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The necessity of maintaining
accurate records and accounts for all inservices
is essential. |
| Increase staff participation in PD
activities and formally acknowledge this. |
The Staff PD goals sheets and
teacher appraisal have made this task easy. Some
staff have participated in school-based PD -
either with a laptop or classroom/career
emphasis. Such PD is effective in encouraging
staff who would otherwise not be as willing to
attend. During
the Charter period four teachers travelled
overseas under the School Council PD Fellowship
which was introduced in 1994.
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Staff PD goals and the
implementation of the Peninsula
"Gourmet" PD network should assist more
staff to participate in PD. Our Principal, Ken Rowe,
will travel to the USA in July as the 1997
recipient.
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GOAL 3 CURRICULUM
Interpreting Data
It is clear that staff
have taken on many challenges in their classroom
teaching. As a school we have addressed mixed ability
teaching, strategies for decisive discipline, changes in
teaching methods to meet the implementation of the CSF, a
steep learning curve for teachers acquiring computer
skills to teach in the laptop program and the impact of
computer technologies for student learning eg. CD Rom and
Internet.
Making Judgements
There is clear data which
supports a high staff participation rate in a wide range
of PD activities which have impacted on classroom
teaching. Publication of the teaching strategies book and
the development of CSF curriculum demonstrates the
commitment staff have to quality classroom teaching.
The School Council PD
Fellowship has allowed our teaching staff to travel
overseas to study world best practice.
Recommendations
To continue to support
and encourage staff in the development of high
quality classroom teaching practices which allow all
students to achieve personal excellence.
To include as a
priority in the next Charter specific directions in
which quality classroom teaching might be enhanced.
Two suggestions are:
- the development
of quality classroom teaching which takes account
of different learning styles.
- the
incorporation of computer technologies in student
learning.
Environment Goals
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