ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL

ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY St Mary s Primary School Yarram 2015 REGISTERED SCHOOL NUMBER: 1058 Primary School

Contents Contact Details... 2 Minimum Standards Attestation... 2 Our School Vision... 3 School Overview... 4 Principal s Report... 5 Education in Faith... 6 Learning & Teaching... 8 School Community & Student Wellbeing... 10 Leadership & Stewardship... 12 Financial Performance... 14 Future Directions... 15 VRQA Compliance Data... 16 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 1

Contact Details ADDRESS Buckley St Yarram, VIC 3971 PRINCIPAL PARISH PRIEST SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR Mrs. Jodie Ware Fr. Bernard Buckley Mrs. Helen Barlow TELEPHONE (03) 51825659 EMAIL WEBSITE principal@stmyarram.catholic.edu.au www.stmyarram.catholic.edu.au Minimum Standards Attestation I, Jodie Ware attest that St Mary s Primary, 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 Victorian Regulation and Qualifications Authority (VRQA). Australian Government accountability requirements related to the 2015 school year under the Australian Education Act 2013 (Cth) and the Australian Education Regulations 2013 (Cth). 20 May 2016 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 2

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. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 3

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 (ICT) 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 Languages other than English (LOTE) subject. Specialist subjects offered at St. Mary s include Physical Education and Art. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 4

Principal s Report At St Mary s Yarram we continually aspire to provide quality learning environments and effective teaching and learning strategies which will empower our students to become successful lifelong learners. As a school community we are continually challenged to change and improve the education delivered to our students and improve their learning outcomes. I congratulate the staff for their dedication to the children, for their support of each other and for their willingness to trial new ideas. St Mary s is blessed with a very supportive and committed group of parents. The staff are extremely grateful for this assistance. The contribution of parents on our committees; the School Advisory, Social club and the support given by parents to fundraising and social events indicates a healthy community spirit. I thank the parents for their trust in allowing us to partner with them in the education of their children. I thank them also for their assistance over the last 12 months in the classrooms, in fundraising in the myriad of ways that they have supported the school in 2015. On behalf of the staff I would like to thank the priests that worked with the school community last year, Father Bernard, Father James and Father Prassana; they are always interested and encouraging of what is happening in the school. I would also like to thank the School Advisory Board for all the assistance that they gave to the school in 2015 and I can assure them that I look forward to continuing the educational partnership that has been developed in the past. I congratulate and thank the children for all their efforts in learning and play, for their respect for others, for openness and cheerfulness that augers towards them becoming responsible adults. St Mary's is blessed with a hardworking, committed and dedicated school community. I look forward to 2016 as we reflect on the past and set new goals for the coming four years as a part of the school renewal process. It is a privilege to work at St Mary s. Jodie Ware 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 5

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 2015 greater connections with the parish continued. This was especially evident during the Sacramental Programs and fundraising activities such as Sock it to Poverty which became a whole parish focus. A Parish celebration of the Centenary of the Church was well supported by the school community and included an invitation to parishioners and visitors to view the school. New altar servers were trained by Father James and began to serve at school, Sunday and Sacramental Masses. Senior school students began training younger students on how to operate the PowerPoint during school Masses. Teaching Masses were introduced for each classroom and these have been a great success. Church displays for Sacraments and Advent have begun, further strengthening the connection between the Parish Community and the School Community. Students were given the opportunity to visit the Church and explore its traditions and reflect on their favourite part or symbol as a part of the centenary celebrations. Classroom teacher s planned Religious Education (RE) units to reflect contemporary learning, allowing students to make connections between their faith and their life. RE units were coordinated across the grades to allow for continuity and shared language. Displays of understanding continued to feature on the whole school learning wall and conversations regarding this learning was included and linked to Scripture. Staff attended professional learning about the Holy Spirit and Christian Meditation. Christian Meditation has begun to be introduced into the classrooms and meetings. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 6

VALUE ADDED Continued support was evident from the local community in many ways throughout the year. School and Community members attended and assisted with Shrove Tuesday Activities. Parishioners continued to support Masses and Sacraments and wrote letters to Sacramental Candidates. Our combined School Choir continued to grow and support continued from parishioners to prepare them for Masses and community performances. Performance at the Yarram Eisteddfod was once again rewarded with winning the prestigious Bird Family Choir Award. Our senior students continued to participate in community events such as ANZAC Day March and Remembrance Day. Increased involvement by Parish Priests in students Faith education was evident through teaching Masses, Altar Server Training and visits to classrooms by Father James to speak with children and allow them to ask questions about the Church, its teachings and traditions. Mary Mackillop s Feast Day was celebrated with the whole school completing activities that helped students make connections with her life and the beginnings of Catholic Schools. Her qualities were displayed and referred to throughout the year. At the Graduation Mass a Mary Mackillop Award was presented to a senior student who displays qualities of St. Mary of the Cross. Sacramental Programs for Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation were run in conjunction with Traralgon Parish. Parental involvement was high and participation was enthusiastic. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 7

Learning and Teaching Goals & Intended Outcomes St. Mary s is a place where the culture of learning is evident across the school community. The students are engaged in learning. The students are encouraged to be independent and confident learners. Assessment data is used to guide student learning. The staff will build on their understanding of learning. Contemporary curriculum and pedagogies are used to guide student and staff learning. Achievements Throughout 2015 St. Mary s Primary celebrated learning by displaying classroom work on the corridor display boards. Staff and students worked collaboratively to create a learning wall which incorporated current units of work and areas of study from across the curriculum. This display created a talking point for the school community and was a visual display for staff, students and parents showcasing our focus of teaching and learning at St. Mary s. Some of the displays included Religious themes about the Rosary and Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation (VCOP) progression explaining the Big Write. Students learning was celebrated via the newsletter and social media networks across the school community. This included students work, photos of class activities and celebrations. The parents were able to visit classrooms with their children during our learning showcase afternoon which gave the parents an opportunity to discuss students work and current teaching and learning in the classroom. The staff reviewed and audited assessment procedures used across the school curriculum and in the process developed a focus board which led to staff collaboratively planning and up leveling their skills. Staff shared resources via technology and were introduced to Google Apps. We shared teaching skills via Master Classes such as laptop and IPad use in the classroom, Religious Education planning, Numeracy and Literacy assessment and data use via the Student Performance Analyzer (SPA) and whole school planning using the new Victorian Curriculum. Staff, students and parents across the school community continually work in partnership to create better outcomes and quality learning. Furthermore, encouraging students to become independent and confident learners who are willing to challenge themselves to improve. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 8

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES The NAPLAN results indicate that 100% of our children in Year 3 perform at the benchmark level in all areas assessed through NAPLAN. Our Year 5 students achieved at the benchmark level in all areas except numeracy. Over the past twelve months there had been an increase in spelling in year 3 and writing in year 5. The school is strongly focused on further improving and developing the students skills in literacy and numeracy. As a school we continue to explore the data as this enables us to view trends which we use to identify areas for future improvement. This data is cross-referenced with other school report data as well as school based literacy and numeracy data to help inform future directions. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 9

School Community and Student Wellbeing Goals & Intended Outcomes 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. Communication will be effective and timely. Achievements At St. Mary s we continued using the core values and meaning of the Bounceback program whilst introducing the Healthy Together Achievement Program in 2015. Student and Parent surveys were completed to ascertain what areas of wellbeing were the most important to families and how we could plan to incorporate them into our classrooms. We introduced the school mission statement to the students and in the classroom teachers were able to discuss what this meant to the students. We then established a learning wall to showcase this understanding and the pride we take in the achievements of the students. Partnerships between home and school have been highlighted with many activities being run within the school, such as movie nights, mother and father s day breakfasts, family fun nights, the swimming program and the school fun run. Student leadership has been a focus this year in the Grade 5/6 class with the Student Representative Committee hosting many fundraising activities such as class cake stalls, icy pole sales and hot Milo and biscuits. These leadership qualities have filtered down into the junior school with many students wanting to help raise money for the less privileged by making and selling necklaces and wrist bands. Staff have completed professional learning seminars to ensure that the students of St. Mary s are receiving the best education and health and wellbeing opportunities possible and this will continue in 2016. STUDENT NON-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. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 10

VALUE ADDED The school's sports program continued to develop under the direction of Heather Flynn. The school competed in a variety of sports including swimming, athletics, netball, basketball, cross country, soccer, football and cricket. We had children go on to division and regional finals which was a great achievement. During 2015 the school performing arts program experienced success with the choir program doing exceptionally well at the Yarram Eisteddfod, winning both the junior and senior choir awards. Individual student recitations and the grade 5/6 play were also a highlight. Whilst some children won awards, others faced their fears and completed their first recitation, we applaud all of them. The end of the school year was celebrated by the school community with a Christmas concert in the Mary Mac Killop hall. The theme was the nativity play and there was standing room only in the hall! Our camps program continues to be a highlight of the year with the grade 5/6 children heading off to Canberra for four days and the grade 3/4 children off to Phillip Island. I would like to thank the teachers and parent volunteers who left their families to take the children because without their willingness to plan, organise and attend, our camps program would not be possible. STUDENT SATISFACTION Through the Insight SRC data students expressed their satisfaction saying they feel connected to the school and they have a strong sense that they belong. Student results show they feel motivated to achieve and learn; they get on well with other students and have friends who care about them. They feel safe at school and know that issues such as bullying will be addressed respectfully by the teachers. They are happy with how the teachers encourage their learning. PARENT SATISFACTION From the Insight SRC Data it can be seen that parents feel that their children are in a safe and secure learning environment. They indicated that the teachers are welcoming and approachable and that partnerships between the school and parents are strong. They feel that the teachers are professional and there is a strong focus on learning within the school. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 11

Leadership and Stewardship Goals & Intended Outcomes 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. Achievements Our staff are continually upgrading their educational knowledge and qualifications through professional learning opportunities. Staff members attended a variety of professional development activities across all key learning areas. Staff members would then bring back their knowledge and experiences and work with others on the staff. Examples of these included Big Write (VCOP) two day training, Christian meditation and the Google Apps for Education (GAFE) boot camp. We also had two staff present at the Learning Expo at St Thomas Sale which was extremely well attended by teachers and leaders working in Catholic Education in the Sale Diocese. Sr. Rose Duffy and Jim Quillinan also conducted the third in a series of spiritual development days for all staff. Student leadership was a focus during 2015 with opportunities for leadership being available through the Techsperts program, student representative council (SRC) and formal leadership roles of school and house captains. School captains took over responsibility for running the whole school assemblies each week and did a wonderful job. There continued to be a variety of projects undertaken to ensure that school continued to maintain its attractive appearance and provide the necessary environment to assist the teaching and learning process. Some of the projects undertaken included: Purchase of a new set of high desks and stools for Year 5/6. Upgrade of the server for GAFE. Purchase of laptops for all teaching staff for GAFE. Purchase of the Levelled Literacy Intervention program. Gardening working bee to place tan bark onto the senior adventure playground and put new sand in the sandpit. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 12

EXPENDITURE AND TEACHER PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING (PL) DESCRIPTION OF PL UNDERTAKEN IN 2015 Teachers continued to develop their skills throughout 2015 by participating in: Professional Development in Mandatory Reporting Level 2 First Aid National Consistent Collection of Data Yarram District Health Services Achievement Program CELF4 screening VCOP/ Big Write Change2 Religious Meditation Google Apps For Education Bike Education training Auswim update Sue Larkey Autism workshop Moving with the Spirit spirituality day Pat Maths and MAI SPA platform training NUMBER OF TEACHERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN PL 13 AVERAGE EXPENDITURE PER TEACHER FOR PL $ 1,215 TEACHER SATISFACTION From the Insight SRC Data it can be seen that the staff at St Mary s are very happy to be at the school, they feel supported in their positions, work well as a team and feel they contribute well to the school community. They felt that the school leadership was supportive and approachable, and understood the challenges that staff face. Staff indicated that job satisfaction was high with realistic work demands being placed upon them. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 13

Financial Performance REPORTING FRAMEWORK Recurrent income MODIFIED CASH $ Tuition School fees 4,701 Other fee income 27,551 Private income 11,918 State Government recurrent grants 295,219 Australian Government recurrent grants 939,375 Total recurrent income 1,278,765 Recurrent Expenditure Tuition Salaries; allowances and related expenses 842,907 Non-salary expenses 129,739 Total recurrent expenditure 972,646 Capital income and expenditure Tuition Government capital grants 0 Capital fees and levies 32,183 Other capital income 4,175 Total capital income 36,358 Total capital expenditure 17,308 Loans (includes refundable enrolment deposits and recurrent, capital and bridging loans) Total opening balance 54,000 Total closing balance 42,000 The information provided above does not include system levies charged to individual schools, intra-systemic transfers and, for primary schools, the Diocesan Supplementary Capital Fund supporting primary schools capital borrowings. The information provided in this VRQA template is not comparable with other educational sectors or to ACARA school-level income reports displayed on the MySchool website. ACARA school level reporting requires system level income from Government grants and some private income to be allocated to each school resulting in a small adjustment to the total level of school resources. Currently, recurrent income from Government sources, school generated income and capital expenditure are reported by schools. When assessing the private income of the school, both recurrent and capital school fees are included. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 14

Future Directions St Mary s School continues to improve. It has wonderful students, a dedicated and talented staff group, a highly committed parent body and processes in place for future development. A new leadership structure has been developed for 2016. With positions of leadership being filled for the following areas: Religious Education ICON/GAFE Learning adjustment Curriculum There are a number of priority areas for 2016. We believe that these are achievable goals as our school community works together towards positive results. Some of these are listed below: To ensure that the students make connections between their faith and life and develop a clear understanding of what Social Justice means. To continue to improve our students outcomes in both literacy and numeracy. Join a collective of four schools with the focus on improving student learning outcomes in reading. Become a part of the Diocesan Learning and Teaching network. Paint the administration area and replace the guttering in the student building. Purchase new computers for senior area. During 2016 we will also be undergoing Catholic School Renewal. During this process we will be identifying long term goals for the coming four years which will further develop the needs of our school community. We will use student data from all areas of the curriculum as an ongoing process of gathering, analysing and reflecting on evidence to make informed and consistent judgments. 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 15

VRQA Compliance Data E4012 St Mary's School, Yarram PROPORTION OF STUDENTS MEETING THE MININUM STANDARDS NAPLAN TESTS 2013 % 2014 % 2013 2014 Changes % 2015 % 2014 2015 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 100.0 94.4-5.6 100.0 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 100.0 91.7-8.3 100.0 8.3 YR 05 Spelling 100.0 100.0 0.0 100.0 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 87.5-12.5 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 16

AVERAGE STUDENT ATTENDANCE RATE BY YEAR LEVEL % Y01 86.12 Y02 91.86 Y03 88.30 Y04 91.87 Y05 91.86 Y06 91.08 Overall average attendance 90.18 TEACHING STAFF ATTENDANCE RATE Teaching Staff Attendance Rate 84.11% 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 17

STAFF RETENTION RATE Staff Retention Rate 90.91% TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS Doctorate 0.00% Masters 14.29% Graduate 57.14% Certificate Graduate 14.29% Degree Bachelor 71.43% Diploma Advanced 14.29% No Qualifications Listed 0.00% STAFF COMPOSITION Principal Class 1 Teaching Staff (Head Count) 10 FTE Teaching Staff 6.200 Non-Teaching Staff (Head Count) 6 FTE Non-Teaching Staff 4.605 Indigenous Teaching Staff 0 2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 18