Catholic co-educational primary school Diocese of Toowoomba

Catholic co-educational primary school Diocese of Toowoomba Address PO Box 609 Balonne Street Phone number 07 4625 3058 St George QLD 4487 email stgeorge@twb.catholic.edu.au Principal Brendan Redinger Year levels Prep-Year 6 Enrolment 180 Co-educational or single sex Boarders no Outside hours school care Contact person for information about the school and school policies no Brendan Redinger co-educational Vacation care no Our Vision With knowledge we grow, With courage we flourish, With faith we succeed. Our Mission In the spirit of Mary MacKillop, our school s foundation is built on the premise of a lifelong education accessible to everyone. St Patrick s School fosters a welcoming community, based on faith, trust and mutual respect. As educators we are committed to our students, staff, families and the wider community. Through unity and strength we encourage students to unlock their full potential by developing curiousity and a thirst for knowledge and achievement. Page 1 of 6

Learning and teaching in English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Social Science is based on the ACARA documents. Religious Education is based on the Toowoomba Religion Curriculum as per Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office guidelines; a curriculum with the twin dimensions of Religious Education and the Religious Life of the School. The Arts, Health and Physical Education and Technology is based on the curriculum documents provided by QCAA. The development of literacy and numeracy underpins the delivery of all curriculum areas. Sporting opportunities are provided through involvement in the Balonne District School Sports and South West School Sports Board. Development Officers from various sporting bodies are welcomed to the school. The Learning Support Unit, staffed by a teacher and several school officers, provides additional assistance to students with learning needs, in conjunction with visiting psychologists, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists and learning support officers from outside agencies as well as the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office. Information Communication Technology the network extends across the whole school via cable and wireless with up to date technology ie desktop and laptop computers and mobile devices such as e-readers, ipods, ipads cameras, surround sound equipment and interactive white boards. The school swimming program operates in Term 4 and Athletics in Term 3. Behaviour Education and Management Plan B.A.I.T. establishes positive behaviour expectations and choices for students. religious celebrations St Patrick s Day, Holy Week, Sacramental program, Catholic Education Week, Easter community service including participation in NAIDOC Week, Meals on Wheels, visits to Warrawee Aged Care facility, Friendship Group, Fundraising for Cancer, Missions, Caritas and Shiloh Ministries ANZAC day march Balonne community Kids Fun Day Prep Open Day ICAS testing Year 6 trip to Canberra Book Week celebrations Sports training (lunch time and after school) district sport Development Officers for various sports Goondiwindi Eisteddfod safety education provided through the Emergency Services and personnel from Queensland Health school choir robotics workshop transition days at high school and Year 6 classroom instrumental music Page 2 of 6

St Patrick's School is very much a family orientated school. There is a strong sense of belonging for children and their families. All families are encouraged to be an integral part of the school and to help make it the best learning and developing environment possible for their children. We aim to create a safe, caring and inclusive learning environment, where everyone is valued and can reach their full potential. St Patrick's Primary School endeavours to promote the health and wellbeing of our students. We promote Christian Values to teach students to love and care for one another. A buddy system is in place, which gives younger children confidence and acceptance, while creating opportunities for older children to experience being a positive role model. In 2017, we continued with the Behaviour education and management program B.A.I.T. This program is aimed at instilling Catholic values and the Values for Australian Schooling in our students as well as equipping them with the skills, strategies and confidence to be active participants in our world. Through the implementation of our buddy system and behaviour program, incidents of bullying have been reduced. These programs are sufficiently flexible to respond to emerging issues. During 2017, these issues included student support with behavioural expectations and respectful personal relationships. is a Catholic primary school with a 53% male student population and 47% female student population. In 2017, 180 boys and girls are enrolled at St Patrick s, with 8 classes consisting of two composite classes, Year 2/3 and Year 4/5. The school community consists of students from across socio-economic, cultural and religious backgrounds, enriching the inclusive nature of the school. According to the 2017 My School website, the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) value for the school is 1005 (1000 is the ) taken from student background information. The distribution of students in the top quartile of social advantage is 22%, the bottom quartile is 20% with 27% and 31% in other two quartiles. St Patrick s Primary values the cultural diversity within the student population and the breakdown is as follows. 50% of children are Catholic 32.42% of children are other Christian affiliation 17.58% of children have no religious affiliation 13% Indigenous 0.5% language other than English Parents are acknowledged as the primary educators of their children. St Patrick s School aims to provide educational opportunities that acknowledge the partnership between, parents, school and students. Parents and members of the wider community are encouraged to participate fully in the life of the school. The School Board, consisting of parents and community members, meets monthly, using a shared wisdom model for decision-making within the school. The Chair of the School Board is always willing to discuss aspects of the Board s work with parents. The Parents & Friends (P&F) Association also meets monthly to look for ways in which they can enhance the school. Thanks to their support with fundraising, the P&F have afforded the students Page 3 of 6

resources that would otherwise not been available. At the same time, they have provided fun, social opportunities for our school and town community. The President of the P&F brings concerns and commendations raised by parents to the meetings for broader discussion. Parents are invited and encouraged to help in the classroom with any area of the curriculum. We rely on parents to help run the tuckshop and to help at the occasional working bee. Some parents are called upon to share their areas of expertise with classes. Others are visited in their workplaces or properties on excursions. Regular parental communication with their child's teacher is encouraged. The staff is always happy to assist parents in any way they can. A fortnightly school newsletter keeps parents informed of what is happening in and around the school. School income reported by the financial year accounting cycle using standardised national methodologies and broken down by funding source is available via the MySchool website at www.myschool.edu.au. Workforce composition Total teaching staff Total non-teaching staff Headcount 14 12 1 Full-time equivalents 11.9 8.5 0.7 Teacher qualifications Indigenous staff Qualification % of teaching Doctoral / Post-Doctoral 0 Masters 7 Bachelor Degree 72 Diploma 21 Certificate 0 Average staff attendance 95% Staff retention 85% Professional Development (participation and expenditure) 2017 School Budget Allocation: $10,000 Page 4 of 6

The following information is an overview of staff participation in professional development at St Patrick s for 2017. Looking Beyond Behaviours Colin Sloper Effective Professional Learning Communities Reading Improvement Strategy Non-violent intervention Loretta McGill Code of Conduct Student Protection Mindframes Ken Avenell Religious Education Angela Travers Spelling and Reading Pat Edgar Literacy Coach Average whole of school student attendance rate (expressed as %) 75% Student attendance for each year level (expressed as %) Prep Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Average student attendance rate 74.80% 74.66% 74.83% 75.99% 76.19% 75.33% 75.58% 75.42% Description of how non-attendance of students is managed by the school Class rolls are marked manually twice a day and then entered electronically into our School Administration System by our Administration Officers. Parents are required to notify the school of any absences, either by phone, fax, email or written note. All families of unexplained absent students are contacted via SMS for an explanation. Repeated absenteeism or unexplained absence is followed up with a phone call from the principal. For any student who is absent for an extended period, parents are contacted and requested to attend an interview with the principal. Year 3 test results Focus Our school State National Reading 388 425 431 86% Writing 375 402 413 100% Spelling 366 408 416 87% Grammar and Punctuation 423 437 439 90% Numeracy 388 402 409 97% Percentage of students at or above the national benchmark Page 5 of 6

Year 5 test results Focus Our school State National Reading 488 502 505 93% Writing 462 461 472 90% Spelling 461 496 500 97% Grammar and Punctuation 469 496 499 87% Numeracy 473 490 493 97% Percentage of students at or above the national benchmark Overview of procedures In 2017 St Patrick s became the first school to engage with Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic School s School Renewal and Improvement Procedure (SRIP). SRIP involves the implementation of the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools School Renewal and Improvement Framework. It has strong connections with the previously existing Excellence in Catholic Education (EiCE) School Improvement procedure that has been in place in Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic schools since 2012. SRIP involves the school reflecting on its effectiveness in four domains (Mission and Identity; Teaching and Learning; Continual Renewal; Sustainable Resourcing and Stewardship). Each domain has two or three components. Every four years, a more focused review of the school s effectiveness occurs with a three-day visit by members of the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office. Such a quadrennial visit was conducted in October 2017. The Non-State Schools Accreditation review process took place in 2017 as part of the cyclical review every five years. Our school successfully demonstrated the essential requirements as stated under the Act. In 2017, the EiCE components on which our school focused were: Financial Management, ICT Resourcing, Stewardship, Use of Resources, Facilities and the Learning Environment. Parent, staff and student satisfaction Each year St Patrick s engages in data gathering from parents, staff and students to assist it in evaluating the effectiveness of its educational program. Materials provided by Research Australia Development & Innovation Institute (RADII) are used. Part of the RADII process is the collection of data regarding the overall satisfaction of parents, staff and students. Overall satisfaction responses for 2017 are shown below. Parents 90% of parents satisfied with children s educational progress at the school. 92% of parents satisfied that school s educational program enable children to learn. Staff 100% of staff satisfied overall with educational progress of students. 100% of staff satisfied that school s educational programs enable students to learn. Students 94% of Years 5-6 students satisfied with their learning at this school. Page 6 of 6