Annual Government Report 2014 Committed to Christian Education
PAGE 2
The College is well-known and respected for its commitment to character development, community service, excellence and a Christ-centred education. The Northside community About us Northside Christian College is a coeducational school offering education from Pre-Preparatory to Year 12, and also provides a fully accredited Out of School Hours and Vacation Care Facility. The College is located on Brisbane s north side at Flockton Street, Everton Park, and is conveniently located 20 minutes from the CBD, and approximately 20 minutes from the Brisbane Airport. Northside provides care for almost 1300 students, servicing families in suburbs ranging from Ashgrove to Carseldine, and Cashmere to Chermside. Northside Christian College is a Christian school and is a member of Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) and Associated Christian Schools (ACS). The College s motto is Character through Christ. The mission statement is To make disciples of Jesus Christ, educated and equipped for any future. The College is well-known and respected for its commitment to character development, community service, excellence and a Christ-centred education. Northside Christian College is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, to the development of the individual as a whole and to the service of God and others. Our motto and aim is to develop Character through Christ, in a caring environment through the cooperation and involvement of staff, students and their families. The educational philosophy of the College is based on the recognition that the skills and attitudes of the students are to be developed and used to honour God, and to serve Him purposefully and creatively. Junior School is a home away from home where students are secure and safe in a place that reflects the same values upheld at home. As a Christian school for Christian families, students spend each day in a community reflecting consistent, caring expectations and support valuing respect, taking responsibility and a gradual development towards independence. Based in a home class room students develop trust relationships with teachers who know them well. Class teachers are supported by specialist teachers and a team of Educational Support staff. This structure is designed to meet the needs of individual students recognising that, as unique individuals, all students have social,emotional, physical, academic and spiritual needs that vary. The partnership between home and school is not only based on shared values but on a rich, rewarding Christian community where families are welcomed, voluntary work within the school activities is appreciated and together we work in the education of children. The Middle School Life Skills Program taskes a thematic approach, with the aim of increasing consistency and improving student interest. A new theme is taught each term. Original programs are taught to students in Years 7 to 9, equipping them with age-appropriate study techniques to enhance their learning experience. Year 8 students also participate in a new Lifeskills Program called The Quest, which aims to develop a strong sense of their identity and purpose. With a strong foundation on Scripture and a Christian Worldview, the topics also address the College values of Faith, Learning, Character, Excellence and Community. In Senior School, there has been a Leadership Program for Year 11 and 12 students for a number of years. Students in Year 10 begin to explore the concept of leadership, receive a leadership journal and their participation in leadership activities is recorded. During Year 11, students identify areas of strength or passion where they can contribute. There are seven leadership groups that students may participate in: Social, Sport, Mission, Arts, Technology, Chapel and Communications. Street Address 151 Flockton Street, Everton Park QLD 4053 Postal Address PO Box 599, Everton Park QLD 4053 Telephone +61 7 3353 1266 Facsimile +61 7 3353 4628 Website www.northside.qld.edu.au ABN 25057964379 Year levels offered Pre-Preparatory to Year 12 School sector Independent Coeducational or single sex Coeducational Junior School enrolments 599 Middle School enrolments 315 Senior School enrolments 354 Total enrolments 1268 CRICOS 01799C PAGE 3
A distinctive curriculum The College values of faith, learning, excellence, character and community are all visible in day to day learning activities. Whilst the Australian Curriculum forms the basis of curriculum content, learning activities promote thinking Christianly, thinking creatively and thinking critically. There is a focus on setting learning goals, helping students of all levels access curriculum, providing feedback to promote intentional, responsive and engaging learning. Character education and the development of empathetic young people who respect and value others is important. All students ranging from Gifted to those with Learning Difficulties or Special Needs benefit from adapted learning opportunities. Learning occurs in the classroom, outdoors and on relevant excursions off campus. Curriculum planning, development and delivery is differentiated with students being offered adapted or modified learning where needed. Alternatively extension and enrichment of curriculum is available. Critical thinking and problem solving make learning relevant, engaging and challenging. Assemblies, Chapels, devotions, Christian Studies and Mission opportunities form part of our discretionary, value-added curriculum. In Middle and Senior School there is an emphasis on excellence through academic rigour. The Australian Curriculum is delivered in the core areas of Science, Math, English, History and Geography throughout the Middle School. Electives are chosen in Year 9 to help inform choice of more specialised Senior School subjects. In the senior years students have the opportunity to select a vocational or OP pathway, depending on their individual strengths and passions. An engaging and interactive curriculum, with the foundation of a Christian worldview, is a priority in all subject areas across the Middle and Senior Schools. The purpose of Middle School s Life Skills program is to provide guiding principles and tools for the development of the whole person, recognising that the individual is comprised of physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual dimensions. In Middle School, the Life Skills program incorporates a curriculum called Happy, Healthy, Harmonious. Happy covers techniques to enhance mood and foster optimism. Healthy explores issues around good health, including protecting sleep and personal hygiene. Harmonious delves into critical social skills and enhances empathy. In Senior School, our Life Skills Program Set for Life is comprised of four themes for each Year Level. In Year 10, topics are presented in a very interactive format; they include Study Skills, Relational Wisdom, Media Smarts and Wellbeing. In Year 11, students look at Leadership in the place of Media Smarts and in Year 12 this unit is replaced by Financial Wisdom in preparation for life after school. Units are continually modified to provide lessons that are engaging and up-to-date. Driven by our College Mission to educate and equip our students for any future, our one-to-one learning program aims to help students to become highly confident and competent in technology-rich workplaces; provide more equitable access to educational resources and learning opportunities; and increase access to rich teaching and learning resources in the classroom. Across the College, technology is being utilised to improve learning outcomes in the areas of differentiation, feedback, engagement, personalisation and collaboration. As students are able to access Moodle anywhere and at anytime, this has led to improved confidence in those students who miss classes due to worklinks, sport or illness. TASS, our online administration system, has allowed staff to communicate more readily with other staff, parents and students. Over the past year, there has been ongoing professional support to improve the types of activities and resources that staff can contribute to the online learning management system (Moodle). Staff professional development over the past year has focused on the pedagogical framework of Marzano s Art and Science of Teaching (ASOT). By engaging in reflective teaching practice through ongoing focused feedback, staff have been better equipped to provide increasing opportunity for improved student outcomes. Parental involvement Parents are warmly welcomed into the life of the College and acknowledged as partners in the education of their children. The parent volunteer and fundraising group coordinate a variety of activities throughout the year. The College s parent volunteer coordinator assists with the management of these events and programs. The Northside Parents Coffee Club group facilitates fundraising stalls that sell gifts for both Mothers Day and Fathers Day. The group also assists with fundraising for College Missions Trips. The College is grateful for the work of its volunteers in areas such as coordinating special Year Level events, working in the College Café and home baking, working in the Uniform Shop, sports coaching, helping with the College Musical and coordinating other major College events. Support-a-reader is a very active program conducted by parent volunteers who are trained by educational support staff. Parent volunteers played a very important part in the running of our Junior School Library, ensuring that students have optimum opening hours. Throughout the College, parents also volunteered for excursions, camps and educational support programs. PAGE 4
Staffing information At Northside, our biggest asset is the quality of our staff. The notion of continuous learning is deeply ingrained into the professional culture of the College and, as such, staff continually undertake professional development opportunities. While all academic staff are fully-trained tertiary-qualified teachers, many are involved in postgraduate studies. A complete list of staff, their titles and qualifications is published annually and issued to all parents in the College Yearbook. Co-curricular activities Northside offers an extensive co-curricular program across the different Year Levels. Our belief is that each individual has talents and abilities that are explored, discovered and developed through the chance to try a diverse, varied offering of extracurricular opportunities. In addition to regular classroom learning, extra opportunities are provided for Junior School students to learn new skills, to experience challenges, to expand knowledge and to broaden horizons. Some activities are offered for one term while others such as vocal and instrumental groups require a commitment for a longer period of time. The available activities can include physical and sporting activities, paper crafts such as origami, engineering skills, robotics, musical and vocal ensembles, chess challenges and more. Many of the activities provide a way for students to learn new social skills as they play board games, be part of a team, work in groups to construct towers or learn the intricate folds of origami. They also help children to learn their real areas of interest and encourage them to pursue them. A camping program commences in Junior School with Years 3-6 going to different venues that focus on building resilience and independence, team-building and participation, fairness and justice, leadership and individual courage. In Middle School and Senior School, students chose to participate in leadership and interest groups in the areas of IT gaming, languages, performing arts, prayer, chaplaincy evangelism, gardening, remote control cars and sports. Students also visited nursing homes and performed roles in chapel services. The music program allowed students to pursue musical interests through the stage band, orchestra, and other music arrangements, including vocal groups. The number of classroom teachers and school leaders who hold the following qualifications is provided below: Masters 14 Graduate Diploma 17 Bachelor 63 Diploma 5 Staff attendance and retention In 2014, Northside permanently employed 103 teachers. The retention rate for permanent teaching staff was 97.6 per cent. The average staff attendance rate for permanent and temporary staff and school leaders was 94.3 per cent. Expenditure on professional development In 2014, Northside s total expenditure on professional learning was $52,163.50. This figure includes related transport and accommodation costs but excludes relief staff costs. This equates to an average expenditure of $506.44 per teacher (FTE). Northside students achieved significant results in sporting competitions, performing individually and as part of a team. Sports included rugby union, rugby league, netball, AFL, basketball, touch football, hockey, cross country, swimming and athletics. PAGE 5
Key student outcomes 2014 NAPLAN results While it is widely acknowledged that it is students, not schools, who achieve results, Northside is very proud of the exceptional results our students have obtained in the National Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 Numeracy and Literacy Tests. Northside has a non-selective academic enrolment policy. Our results are consistently above the State and National averages. Year 3 College Average National Average % at or above National Minimum Standard Numeracy 440 402 97.5 Grammar and Punctuation 500 426 100 Reading 475 419 100 Writing 433 402 97 Spelling 448 412 100 Year 5 College Average National Average % at or above National Minimum Standard Numeracy 517 487 100 Grammar and Punctuation 548 504 99 Reading 551 501 100 Writing 500 468 98 Spelling 502 498 100 Year 7 College Average National Average % at or above National Minimum Standard Numeracy 549 546 98.9 Grammar and Punctuation 560 543 98.9 Reading 554 546 98.9 Writing 534 512 97.7 Spelling 539 545 97.7 Year 9 College Average National Average % at or above National Minimum Standard Numeracy 604 588 99 Grammar and Punctuation 602 574 98.1 Reading 606 580 99 Writing 601 550 95.3 Spelling 601 582 99.1 Northside is very proud of the exceptional results our students have obtained in the NAPLAN Tests. Our results are consistently above the State and National averages. PAGE 6
Average student attendance The table below indicates 2014 enrolments per section of the school and the average attendance rate for each of the school sections. School section Enrolments Average attendance rate Junior School (Prep to Year 6) 599 95.3% Middle School (Years 7 to 9) 315 95.1% Senior School (Years 10 to 12) 354 96.4% Whole College total 1286 95.21% The College has implemented an Absentee Hotline for parents to use 24 hours a day, where they can leave a notification regarding their child s absence. Unexplained absentees are sent an SMS prompting parents to call the school to establish the safety and location of the student concerned. These SMS are sent on the day of absence. Ongoing inappropriate absences are addressed by the Year Level Coordinator and where required, a meeting is held with the parents, and the student placed on a behaviour contract. Year 12 outcomes for 2014 graduates In 2014, Northside Year 12 students achieved the following OP (Overall Position) results: 36 per cent achieved an OP between 1 and 6 83 per cent achieved an OP between 1 and 15 Thirty-six per cent of our students achieved an OP between 1 and 6. Apparent retention rate These rates have been calculated using the nationally agreed methodology which is defined as the number of full-time students in Year 12, expressed as a percentage of their Year 10 cohort group two years previously. Year 10 base 103 students Year 12 107 students Retention rate 103.9% Year 12 student enrolment as a percentage of the Year 10 cohort is 103.9 per cent. Further information For further information on student outcomes, please refer to the My School website, www.myschool.edu.au.
Student welfare Junior School The welfare of Junior School students is firstly the responsibility of the class teacher who has daily contact with the students and is able to establish a good relationship with them. To support that primary role, there are processes and programs in place to support the teacher and to give extra help to the student when needed. In Junior School, the CARE program is used as an underpinning focus to teach vital skills for life. Courtesy, Attitude, Resilience and Excellence are all characteristics that are needed for the healthy development of the whole child. This program aims to help the students to develop these positive life skills, with each of the four areas represented by a character, a slogan, a scripture, a puppet and a song. The puppets and songs are used with the younger children as tools for engagement. There is a comprehensive curriculum to ensure that there is sequential teaching throughout the Junior School years. The Junior School Coordinator/Student Welfare Officer and Early Years Coordinator conduct regular year level sessions with a specific CARE focus to enhance the learning. Assembly talks, class devotions and specific lessons are also used to equip the students with these important life skills. Each term, the Junior School Coordinator distributes a parent newsletter that has the CARE focus for the term and also includes parenting tips and information. This is to encourage the partnership between home and school and to encourage the use of the same language. To further support parents, each College newsletter has a link to a parenting article by well-recognized authorities in the field. Year Five and Six students partner with students in Prep, Year One and Year Two with lunchtime and other activities. This is valuable for both the older and younger students as the older students develop their leadership skills while the younger ones feel supported. The Student Welfare Coordinator is available to assist teachers and students when necessary, especially in times of special need or when extra time is needed. Computers and technology At Northside, we understand that engagement with up-to-date technology is not optional. It forms a vital part of a high quality and relevant education in the 21st century. We believe that students should be able to access digital information, tools and resources anywhere, at any time. The College has one-to-one technology, with students in Years 7 to 12 bringing their ipads to school. The ipad enables students to instantly access the online resources created by our teachers and stored on our learning management system. Connected to the College network, ipads facilitate effective two-way communication and collaboration between teachers and students. Teachers can deliver content to students digitally, and assess learning using assignments and quizzes. Activity modules such as forums, databases and wikis can also be used and feedback can be provided more readily. The College has a total of seven specialist computer laboratories with additional clusters of six to ten computers throughout many other general classrooms. Used in conjunction with approximately 400 student computers are almost 200 netbooks that provide a more mobile option for student classroom use. All teaching staff use a laptop and an ipad for assisting the teaching-learning process. Furthermore, the College has a campus-wide wireless network, multimedia streaming facilities to classrooms using ClickView, LED Screens, film and TV editing software and equipment, and modern Auditorium and Lecture Theatre presentation facilities. The College continues to upgrade its network of high-capacity Xirrus wireless across the campus. This service supports up to 1,200 connected wireless devices every day. A planned upgrade of our internet connection will increase speeds to 300Mbps in the coming months, supplying students and teachers with fast, reliable access to the Internet. The College continues to ensure secure and safe access to the Internet via best-in-class Fortinet security infrastructure. Across Junior School, there is a strong focus on community and relationship seeks to provide security and a sense of well-being for the students. Middle and Senior School Student Welfare in Middle and Senior School performs three main functions: supporting students through counselling and mentoring; creating materials and facilitating education in the areas of emotional and relational intelligence, media knowledge and understanding, and study skills; and fostering a safe, nurturing community. The student support team includes three professionally trained counsellors: Mrs Alison Stegert, Mr Stewart Smith and Mrs Rosemary Jacobitz. The team coordinates the counselling initiatives of the College and, to ensure best practices are maintained, liaises with other counsellors in Christian schools. Counselling undertakes a short-term, strengths-based approach for needs such as stress management, healthy thinking, restorative practice, and relationship difficulties. Students requiring psychometric testing and ongoing, intensive therapy are referred to appropriate outside agencies. Students in Years 7 to 12 have a half-hour Life Skills lesson each week. This time is devoted to developing and honing social, emotional and relational skills. With the introduction of one-to-one learning, the curriculum has expanded its focus to cover media skills as well. In addition, the e-quipped Program comprises the L-Plate program (Year 7 students), the P-Plate program (on Moodle for students in Years 8 to 12), and a website (www.e-quipped.com.au) on cyber-safety for parents and teachers. PAGE 8
Chaplaincy Northside employs a chaplain who facilitates opportunities for students to develop their faith in God and serve others. Students play a significant role in chapel services. In Middle School, three student bands played on a regular basis, with eight singing teams, a choir, and two technical teams. Students also had the opportunity to share testimonials in chapel. In Senior School, student ministry teams led the meetings and prayed for students in need. There were six student bands and many student guest speakers. Satisfaction The satisfaction of our students, parents and staff is reflected in our consistent enrolment numbers, high staff retention rate and low absenteeism. Word-of-mouth recommendations continued to be a significant factor for parents choosing to enrol their children at Northside. College governance Northside wishes to thank and acknowledge the diligent work at governance level by the Board of Directors who has oversight of the College, through the College Council. The College reports on financial matters to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and is responsible to the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC). This report is provided in order to fulfil our statutory reporting requirements under State and Commonwealth legislation, and to provide existing and prospective parents with a succinct and reader-friendly summary of some of the College s main activities for the 2014 period. The College regularly seeks feedback and opportunities for meaningful engagement with families. In 2014, surveys were undertaken which included: Chaplaincy Programs 2014 Graduating Class Families Parent Digital Usage (Years 7 to 11) Student Digital Usage (Years 7 to 11) Staff Digital Usage New to Northside Families School Results Survey The results of these surveys demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with the College. Survey results have demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with the College. PAGE 9
More information The 2014 Northside Christian College Annual Report is available from the College website. Hard copies are available on request, and can be obtained in person from the College Administration. The College website provides a wide range of information about the life of the College. www.northside.qld.edu.au Contact person: Graham Brown, Development Officer +61 7 3353 1266 General enquiries: ncc@northside.qld.edu.au Enrolment enquiries: enrolments@northside.qld.edu.au Phone: +61 7 3353 1266 Fax: +61 7 3353 4628 Website: www.northside.qld.edu.au