Annual Report 2014

Aspire and Achieve Together

30 Bay View Street Rockingham WA 6168

T: 9527 1802 F: 9592 5488

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ROCKINGHAM BEACH PRIMARY SCHOOL VISION

Our vision is embedded in our motto of ‘Aspire and Achieve Together’. At Rockingham Beach Primary School, we ...

• Believe every child can learn and be successful

• Are committed to the pursuit of excellence through high expectations of student performance, achievement and behaviour

• Develop confident and optimistic individuals who set ambitious goals to achieve their potential

• Nurture the whole child through a focus on positive social and emotional development

• Foster an innovative and collaborative learning community characterised by high quality teaching in every classroom

• Provide a student-centred, engaging and relevant curriculum to extend and challenge students to achieve high standards and their personal best

• Value and nurture positive and respectful partnerships between staff, students, parents and the wider community to work together to build a sustainable future

• Encourage students to be active citizens who make responsible choices and contribute to the development of our society

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PRINCIPAL’S REPORT 2014 was a very busy and successful year at Rockingham Beach PS. We provided programs for 549 students from Kindergarten through to Year 7, across 21 classrooms. The school continues to cater for a highly mobile community. In 2014, the rate of transience amongst students was 28.9%. We celebrated the final year of primary school for both Year Six and Year Seven students as, from 2015, our Year Seven students will move to a Secondary School setting. Our Camp and Graduation was enjoyed by both groups of students ensuring both year levels were recognised as our ‘Leavers’ for 2014.

This year was the first year of implementation of our new Business Plan. Our approach to improvement is described in three key areas: Success for all students, High quality teaching and leadership, and Distinctive schools. Our focus is to become a ‘Visible Learning’ school using the research findings of John Hattie to guide us in maximising our impact on student learning. The leadership team attended professional learning to enable us to provide support and share key practices with teachers that will make a positive impact on student achievement. Several workshops were attended by teachers to develop the skills and strategies to adopt a ‘Visible Learning’ approach in their classrooms. Several other new initiatives were introduced across the school including ‘Waste Wise’. A detailed overview of our achievements across our three key focus areas of the Business Plan is included in this report.

Our Early Childhood team began examining the National Quality Framework (NQF) and Standards to ensure we have a shared and consistent understanding of the expectations of our early childhood programs. The NQF is the result of an agreement between all Australian governments to work together to provide better educational and developmental outcomes for children. It is a national system, designed to provide transparency and accountability. In 2014 and 2015, teachers will familiarise themselves with the NQF and Standards ready to undertake the audit of our Kindy to Year 2 approach in 2016.

The curriculum at Rockingham Beach Primary School focuses on the achievement of student outcomes as described in the Australian Curriculum and the new WA Curriculum & Assessment Outline. As a result, students are receiving an exemplary standard of education that is relevant to the times in which they are living. Teaching and learning in the school is based around the eight core learning areas. Specialist teachers in Visual Arts, Music, Indonesian and Physical Education enrich the school curriculum. This year, teachers have focused on the implementation of the Australian Curriculum in English, Maths, Science and History.

Whole school operational planning ensures that the school uses an evidence-based and data-driven approach to ensure that every student has the opportunity to achieve his or her potential. Curriculum Team Leaders have coordinated operational planning across the phases of learning: Kindy to Year 2, and Years 3 to 7 to focus on effective teaching and learning strategies. English, Mathematics and Science continue to be our priorities.

Co-located on campus is Rockingham Beach Education Support Centre. A positive relationship exists between the two schools based on a common focus on improving the education of all our students. Integration of students between the two schools occurred in a seamless manner enabling tailored programs to be delivered at many different levels.

Teachers engaged in a myriad of professional learning activities to enhance their teaching skills and strategies in these priority areas including Visible Learning, Assessment, Phonics, and Singapore Maths: Bar Model Method. Teachers are committed to the professional learning community at Rockingham Beach PS and our focus on a team approach ensures all are supported in the process of change and growth.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their commitment and hard work in providing an exemplary learning environment for our students. I highly value and appreciate their professionalism and am proud to lead such a wonderful team of educators.

Jacqui O’Donnell Principal

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REVIEW OF OUR IMPROVEMENT TARGETS As part of our whole school planning for improvement, we set targets in both academic and non-academic areas and engage in analysis of both system and school-based assessment data to determine whether we have met those targets. This enables the school to identify strategies that are working well or those that need to be modified or changed.

Targets related to student achievement in the NAPLAN tests for Year 3, 5 and 7 students are described in the table below. The actual percentage of students who achieved the target is indicated in red brackets.

NAPLAN 2014 READING WRITING NUMERACY Year 3 2014 Year 3 2014 Year 3 2014 35% of students will achieve results in band 5 and above

(27%)

32% of students will achieve results in band 5 and above

(16%)

28% of students will achieve results in band 5 and above

(18%) Year 3 - 5 Year 3 - 5 Year 3 - 5 Increase by 8% the number of students in the top three proficiency bands in Year 5 2014 NAPLAN compared to 52% in Year 3 2012 NAPLAN

(47%)

Increase by 12% the number of students in the top three proficiency bands in Year 5 2014 NAPLAN compared to 45% in Year 3 2012 NAPLAN

(13%)

Increase by 5% the number of students in the top three proficiency bands in Year 5 2014 NAPLAN compared to 39% in Year 3 2012 NAPLAN

(27%) Year 5 - 7 Year 5 - 7 Year 5 - 7 Increase by 5% the number of students in the top three proficiency bands in Year 7 2014 NAPLAN compared to 25% in Year 5 2012 NAPLAN

(44%)

Increase by 10% the number of students in the top three proficiency bands in Year 7 2014 NAPLAN compared to 9% in Year 5 2012 NAPLAN

(19%)

Increase by 5% the number of students in the top three proficiency bands in Year 7 2014 NAPLAN compared to 20% in Year 5 2012 NAPLAN

(31%)

Our Year 3 results indicate that our targets were a little ambitious and will require adjusting in 2015. However, it is of concern that in both Writing and Numeracy we had less than 20% of our cohort achieving in the higher bands. Consequently, both of these areas will be a focus of our Operational Planning in the Early Years in 2015 and beyond (see specific data below).

The Year 5 targets describe progress from Year 3 to Year 5 to enable us to reflect on how students have improved between these tests. Unfortunately, the percentage of students achieving in the higher bands in all three areas of NAPLAN decreased compared to the Year 3 results. This is of significant concern and will require a more focused approach in Year 3 to 5 to ensure students’ knowledge and understanding is developed to a higher level. Our Writing results are particularly worrying and specific areas of weakness have been identified from the data to target in teaching and learning programs from Year 1.

Our Year 7 results were more pleasing with all improvement targets being met or exceeded across all three areas.

NAPLAN DATA Our results in the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) are shown below:

Proficiency Band Summary Proficiency Bands describe NAPLAN scores within particular ranges. The higher the band, the higher the score achieved in the test. Colour coding describes achievement related to the National Minimum Standard:

Above National Minimum Standard At National Minimum Standard Below National Minimum Standard

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The percentage of students within each band at RBPS are compared to our ‘Like Schools’ and all WA schools in all tests. ‘Like Schools’ are those schools determined to serve students from statistically similar backgrounds.

The data enables us to make judgements of the achievement of our students compared to other students of the same year level and to identify areas of weakness to target for improvement. Interrogating the Proficiency Band achievement from year to year in each of the tests allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of our teaching and learning programs and determine cohort trends and the progress our students are making.

Average Score This graph compares our Average Score in NAPLAN in Year 3, 5 and 7 to the Average Score in Like Schools. The solid line represents RBPS average and the dotted line is Like Schools average score. It enables us to make judgements of our achievement compared to Like Schools as well as see trends in our achievement. Comparative Performance This graph plots our achievement against expected performance for our school. The ‘O’ dotted line indicates where it is expected that the school achieves in the test. The yellow band indicates + or – one standard deviation from this expected performance. The green bands show better than expected performance by more than one standard deviation. The red bands show lower than expected performance by more than one standard deviation. Our goal is to achieve within the yellow band (preferably the positive yellow) or better ie. the green bands.

The data enables us to monitor our achievement over time in relation to what is expected for the school based on each cohort’s past achievement and the demographics of the school.

READING

Areas to focus on in 2015: • Targeted comprehension & reading plans to

ensure all comprehension strategies are taught (phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary)

• Explicit teaching of reading strategies: predict, connect, create images, infer,

• Focus on making inferences using a wide range of texts including picture books, poetry and more complex texts

• Revised phonics sequence to introduce more complex code earlier

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WRITING

SPELLING

Areas to focus on in 2015: • Exposure to different text types – structured

curriculum plan to ensure broad coverage of genres. Use of First Steps Writing resources to inform planning

• Explicit teaching of paragraphing in Yrs 1-6 and developing ideas in the senior years

• Daily writing – 10 minutes for students to draft different text types – feedback provided to students

• Writing conferences to provide individual feedback

Areas to focus on in 2015: • Revised phonics sequence to introduce some

more complex code earlier

• Phonemic approach to spelling lists in Year 1-6 and using Spelling Journals

• Weekly dictation in spelling/writing

• Spelling scope and sequence across the school

• Daily use of ‘Have A Go’ pad

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GRAMMAR & PUNCTUATION

NUMERACY

Areas to focus on in 2015: • Apostrophes of contraction

• Sentence punctuation

• Run-on sentences – sentence boundaries

• Direct & indirect speech

• Combining sentences

• Pronouns and adverbs

Areas to focus on in 2015: • Collaborative Maths Plans – at lesson by lesson level

for concepts taught each term – sequenced programming

• Implement ‘Singapore Maths’ model drawing method to support development of problem-solving

• Focus on ‘Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract’ sequence for concept development including use of concrete materials in every lesson where appropriate

• Maths Journals – recording of ‘how to’ for different concepts for students to refer to

• Mental Computation Scope & Sequence to ensure all strategies are explicitly taught

• Mathletics for Year 1 to 6

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STUDENT PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENT COMPARED WITH LIKE SCHOOLS

PRE-PRIMARY ON ENTRY PROGRESSION POINTS All Pre-Primary students complete On-Entry testing in reading, writing and numeracy during Weeks 3 to 6 of Term 1. Our targets for each of the areas tested are described in the table below:

TARGET 2014

By the end of the year:

READING 75% of students will achieve expected Progression Point 1.0 or above WRITING 50% of students will achieve expected Progression Point 1.0 or above NUMERACY 95% of students will achieve expected Development Point 1.0 or above

It was decided to test the Pre-Primary students at the start of Year 1 2015 and compare their results to the start of Pre-Primary 2014 to gain a better indication of improvement in achievement. It was felt that due to the interruptions of swimming and other end of year events, the students would be fresher when tested at the start of the year.

Following testing during Weeks 3 to 5 in Term 1 2015, students’ actual results compared to the targets were:

% students at Progression Point 1.0 or above Target Actual

Reading 75% 40.5% Writing 50% 48%

Numeracy 95% 92.5% Our reading results are of concern. We have reviewed our approach to teaching beginning reading skills and have revised our explicit teaching of phonics to reflect higher expectations of what are children can achieve. It is anticipated that this will raise the percentage of students that attain Progression Point 1.0 by the start of 2016.

ATTITUDE, BEHAVIOUR & EFFORT Our target for improvement was to increase the percentage of students who achieve a ‘Consistently’ rating for their attitude, behaviour and effort at the end of each year:

At the end of 2014, 50% of students achieve ‘Consistently’ compared to 46% at the end of 2013.

This graph compares student progress and achievement of our students to Like Schools. It shows that our students made lower progress from Year 3 to 5 and achieved lower than Like Schools in all areas except writing. From Year 5 to 7, our students made higher progress but achieved lower than Like Schools. Our goal is to show higher progress and higher achievement than Like Schools. This will be our focus over the coming years.

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Results were obtained from teacher judgements using data from the end of year reports. 53% of students in Pre-Primary to Year 7 received a “Consistently” rating for their attitude, behaviour and effort.

ATTENDANCE Our target for improvement was to maintain the overall attendance rate above the State Mean each year and to increase the percentage of students who attend school regularly ie. over 90% of available days.

In 2014, increase by 5% the percentage of students who attend regularly compared to 72.5% in 2013

The tables below are extracted from our attendance data available through Schools Online:

It is pleasing to see that our overall attendance rate was 93.1% which is above both Like Schools and all WA Public Schools. Our goal was to increase the percentage of students who attend regularly to 77.5% which was 1.4% short of our actual result of 76.1%.

We made regular attendance a focus of our Parent Newsletters and student assemblies this year. We introduced a ‘100% Attendance Award’ for the year and presented certificates and movie vouchers to students who achieved 100% attendance for 2014.

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT This year, we introduced the EasyMark “Me: Social & Emotional Well-being Survey” to determine our Year 3 to 6 students’ social and emotional wellbeing. Our target for improvement is to decrease the number of students who rate in Stanines 1 and 2, indicating they are below the expected level.

In Term 1 2015, teachers administered the survey to students in years 3 to 6. Results of the survey scored our students lower in the topic ‘security’. The questions about security asked children if they worried about things. This area should be addressed by the teaching of the Friendly Schools Plus unit on self-awareness.

In 2015, we would like to increase student scores in the area of security to above 3.0. In 2014, we had 21 students in Stanines 1 and 2, indicating they were below the expected results, when compared to Normed Averages. In 2015, our target is to have no students in Stanines 1 or 2. KEY FOCUS AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT Following a rigorous analysis of our student achievement data and reflection of the priorities of the Department of Education and the school, three key focus areas for improvement were identified: Success for all students; High Quality Teaching & Leadership; and Distinctive Schools. Outcomes, Strategies and Milestones were described in the school’s Business Plan 2014-16.

At the end of the year, the leadership team and staff engaged in a process of reflection on these key areas and described our achievements in working towards the outcomes. This is outlines in the tables below:

Success for all students Strategies Achievements

• Interrogation of system and school-based data to identify students to target for case management approach especially students At and Below Minimum Standard, students not

• Case Management Plans developed in all year levels from Kindy to Year 7. Students were identified from teacher judgements and NAPLAN.

• Education Assistants and extra teacher time used to

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achieving their potential, Aboriginal and EAL/D students

• Teachers to personalise learning using differentiated teaching based on individual student needs

• Build a culture that promotes learning through a school-wide focus on developing successful learning dispositions or ‘Habits of Mind’

• Provide opportunities for students to engage in activities to enrich learning and problem-solving eg. Have Sum Fun, Science IQ, Murder Under the Microscope, Future Problem Solving, Tournament of Minds, Numero

• Maintain a database of students at risk in order to track their progress as they move through the primary years

• Kindy Orientation Program in Term 4 to assist the early identification of students’ learning needs

• Review and develop a whole school approach to values education using the ‘Friendly Schools Plus’ program

• Establish an active and authentic student leadership model

• Consistent approach to behaviour management is evident across all classes

support the implementation of Case Management Plans • Teachers use various strategies to group students according

to learning needs eg. Guided reading, maths rotation groups

• Introduction to Habits of Mind PL presented to staff. Every class encouraged to display posters and discuss what each Habit looks like in their learning. This needs to develop further in 2015 as it supports our adoption of Visible Learning approach across the school

• All students in Year 4 to 7 are beginning to use Numero in the numeracy block. Selected students in Year 6 and 7 entered the regional Numero competition. Talented maths students were invited to enter MAWA Talent Quest. We received a Distinction and a Credit for two entries. Some students from Year 3 to 7 entered the English, Maths and Science ICAS competitions.

• Database of Students at Risk developed and each teacher received a copy of their class data

• Successful Term 4 Kindy Orientation program took place with students enrolled in 2015. Very positive feedback.

• Fortnightly focus on Values. We are participating in a research project over the next 3 years with Curtin University looking at supporting students who are victims of bullying

• Student Leaders include faction captains, library monitors and ICT monitors. This will continue to develop in 2015

• 1-2-3 Magic Positive Behaviour Model implemented across the school including specialist teachers

High Quality Teaching & Leadership Strategies Achievements

• Develop Curriculum Delivery Documented Plans for teaching the Australian Curriculum content to inform collaborative planning in year level teams

• Utilise John Hattie’s “Visible Learning” research findings to inform and improve teachers’ practice

• Develop a school-wide Professional Learning Plan to target identified system and school priorities

• Implement Professional Learning Teams using a triad approach to promote self-reflection for professional growth

• Support staff in developing effective behaviour management through observation and feedback using “Classroom Management Strategies” (CMS) protocols

• Draw on teachers within the Peron North network to support sharing expertise across schools

• Develop teacher leaders across the school including Literacy and Numeracy Specialist Teachers, Curriculum Leaders, Year Level Team Leaders, and Mentors

• Maths and English Plans have been collaboratively developed in Year Level teams to ensure all content is covered over the course of the year

• Leadership team attended Visible Learning workshops to develop capacity to implement approach across the whole school

• PL in Visible Learning presented to staff • Visible Learning Plan has been drafted and will be

refined early in 2015 using data from Visible Learning Matrix collected in Term 3

• Classroom walkthroughs and observation used to collect data on Visible Learning key aspects: student feedback on learning, learning intentions and success criteria

• Three teams of Professional Learning Teams have engaged in four cycles of Observation & Feedback

• All teachers conducted Observation & Feedback in Term 4 and shared feedback during Performance Review meeting

• Professional Learning Plan to be developed for 2015 • Selected teachers attend PNEN focus groups in English,

Maths, Science and History to enable sharing of ideas and resources

• Leadership team meets once each term to share feedback on achievements and challenges

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Distinctive Schools Strategies Achievements

• Implement the ‘Waste Wise’ initiative to support a whole school sustainability focus

• Develop partnership with Naragebup Environmental Centre to support environmental sustainability program

• Expand and enrich ‘Kids Matter’ approach across the school community

• Partnerships with local senior citizens organisations and churches to develop school volunteer program

• Leadership opportunities for senior students to work in ESC classes to support students

• Expand “Buddy Classes” initiative to include ESC classes

• Continue participation in children’s charity sponsorship and/or fundraising eg. Operation Christmas Child

• Waste Wise committee formed, including parent members, and policy and plan developed

• Waste Audit conducted in Year 4 classes • Application for Waste Wise School submitted and we

will apply for initial grant to establish a sustainable garden

• Kids Matter Action Team met once a term to plan strategies for engaging the community

• Community Expo in Term 2 was very successful in showcasing various community organisations to our school community

• Senior Citizens were invited to Morning Tea and choir/music performance in Term 4

• Buddy classes include ESC classes – meet at least once a term for a shared activity

• Chaplain organises Samaritan’s Purse ‘Operation Christmas Child’ – 30 boxes delivered this year

• World Vision Child sponsorship continued this year • Letters to servicemen and women deployed in South

Sudan were sent

As can be seen from the achievements described, our school is making significant progress towards achieving the outcomes within all three key focus areas. This will continue throughout 2015 and 2016. Many exciting events and activities took place throughout the school in all learning areas in 2014. Our staff are committed to providing a quality learning environment for all students to enable them to develop their talents and interests and achieve beyond their expectations. Each of our teacher leaders has compiled a report on the achievements in their learning area over 2014. EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM Kindergarten In 2014 there were three Kindy classes with children attending for 5 days/fortnight. There was a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy in the Kindy program. Literacy Blocks and Numeracy Blocks enabled the children to be explicitly taught as well as given time to practice skills independently and in small groups and lots of fun and interesting ways were found to explore letters and numbers. The Kindy classes enjoyed a thematic approach which was tied in to Science and Literature. The Kindy children were happy to dress up and participate in Book Character Dress Up Day and Books on Blankets as well as to invite their parents to an Easter Hat Parade. There were some very excited Kindy children when we went to the library to meet Clifford the dog.

The PMH Incursion was a fantastic opportunity for children to become familiar with what happens if they have to go to hospital. The children had the opportunity to play with crutches and wheelchairs, bandage up the dolls, have their blood pressure taken, play with puzzles and dress up.

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The Kindy/PrePrimary Sports Carnival was once again a great success with the children having lots of fun and the parents and families of children supporting from the sidelines. As always the parent races were hotly contested. After the carnival the Early Childhood playground was full of families sharing lunch.

Our Mums and Dads (and some very special people who filled in for these roles) were invited to spend a Mothers Day and a Fathers Day surprise at Kindy. The Mums looked very relaxed and even more beautiful after their beauty spa and the Dads sported a shave and had lots of joint constructions to take home. Every year there is great excitement in Kindy as we prepare for our

Christmas Concert and in 2014 it was no different. The Kindy Bilbies joined Mrs Cuder’s class for the Frozen classic “Let It Go” while Kindy Koalas and Kindy Possums combined with their friends in EC6 for ‘Shake Your Sillies Out’.

In 2014 the school again ran a Kindy Orientation Program. Children who were enrolled for Kindy in 2015 and their parents were given the opportunity to attend five 2 hour sessions once a fortnight. Thanks go to Merilyn Dare (School Nurse), Tracie Pollin (Rockingham City Librarian) and Prue Seawright (Classroom Teacher) for speaking to the adults while the children were familiarising themselves with the Early Childhood setting.

Jenny Olejko Kindergarten Team Leader

Pre-Primary At Rockingham Beach Primary School, the Pre-Primary Program reflects early childhood best practice where children are encouraged to develop cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally by participating in a wide variety of experiences and activities. The program aims to develop students’ independence and love for learning while at the same time challenge and extend them. All Pre-Primary teachers set high expectations for the students while still allowing them to experience success in a positive learning environment.

Teachers used the Australian Curriculum to plan learning programs in English, Mathematics, Science, and Society and Environment. We continued to have a strong commitment to our Literacy and Numeracy blocks. In literacy, we introduced guided reading in Term 2 which allowed students to practise their reading skills in decoding words, recognising high frequency sight words, comprehension of text and knowledge of concepts about print. In Writing, we introduced the ‘Key Links’ program which is designed for beginning writers to help them compose original writing. The children learn to use the writing process of planning what they are going to write, use their plan to say in sentences what they are going to write and then finally to write and review their work. The children also really enjoy sharing their writing with other students. This daily writing has really allowed students to show great improvement across the year level.

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Our emphasis on teaching phonemic awareness and phonics using a structured synthetic phonics program gives students a solid grounding in early reading and spelling. It teaches students to hear and say sounds in words, letters of the alphabet, and common letter patterns. It has produced some fantastic results in Reading and Writing across our Pre-Primary classes.

Numeracy blocks allow for the explicit teaching of important early mathematical skills and the gradual release of responsibility where students are given opportunity to practise these mathematical skills in many hands-on activities and games. We used ‘First Steps’ strategies to support our Literacy and Numeracy blocks.

The On-Entry assessment was administered to each student individually at the beginning of the year. This provided teachers with data on the children’s skills and knowledge in literacy and numeracy and gave them a starting point to develop learning programs to best meet the needs of groups of students as well as identify students at educational risk and put strategies in place to support their learning. Over the course of the year, all Pre-Primary teachers had the opportunity to meet on a regular basis to discuss and review student progress and plan collaboratively so that they could continue to meet the needs of all students in Pre-Primary.

In Science, the Pre-Primary children used ‘Primary Connections’ a program endorsed by the Australian Government Department of Education that links science with literacy. The children explored some early scientific concepts through the following topics: ‘On the Move’, ‘What’s it Made of?’, ‘Weather in my World’ and ‘Staying Alive’. The children also participated in many scientific investigations such as exploring how balls rolled on different surfaces and used the skills of making predictions, observing what happens and recording their observations. One rather exciting investigation was when the children participated in a whole school science challenge on ‘Flight’. The Pre-Primary division was on Parachutes and each class entered their best parachute in the challenge and developed a poster to reflect their scientific learning. It was a lot of fun and we learnt some great science inquiry skills along the way!

Children participated in a Fundamental Movement Skills Program where each week they are taught a specific movement skill and have the opportunity to practice the skill in games, relays and obstacle courses. In Term 3 the children participated in an Early Childhood Sports Carnival. It proved to be a great success with many family members attending and a lot of fun and cheering to be had by all! In Term 4, the Pre-Primary children were able to participate in swimming lessons held at the local swimming pool.

In Health, the children used the program ‘Friendly Schools and Families’, where children learnt to identify their emotions and manage them in an appropriate way. We discussed what ‘friendly behaviour’ looked like and felt like and learnt ways to deal with ‘un-friendly behaviour’. We were also very lucky to have a ‘Hospital Familiarisation’ Incursion where we learnt about what it’s like to go to hospital. We got to look at some real hospital equipment such as a stethoscope and have a turn on a wheelchair and using some crutches. Afterwards we got to do some fun activities such as dressing up as doctors and nurses and looking after some sick dolls.

Throughout the year, we held many special events to build a strong sense of community across our school and to celebrate the love of learning. Some of these included holding a ‘Mother’s day afternoon tea’, participating in an Easter Hat parade, ‘Simultaneous Reading’ of the book ‘Too Many Elephants in this House’, numerous dress up days such as ‘pyjama day’ for a school fundraising event and dressing up as a 100 year old to celebrate the 100th day of school. Perhaps one of the most exciting events of 2014 was ‘Book Week’ to highlight the importance of reading as well as to celebrate books and Australian authors and illustrators. The children had a book character dress up day and invited family members to come and watch them parade around in their costumes. The children also decorated their classroom door to do with a book that they had read in their classroom. They were able to walk around the school to look at all the other ‘Door Decorations’ on other classrooms of the school. The whole school invited family members to come along for ‘Books on Blankets’ where families bought along their own blankets and books to share and read together on our oval. It was such a success that nearly the whole oval was covered in blankets and people of all ages just enjoying books and reading together.

At the end of the year our Pre-Primary classes had another turn in the spotlight when they entertained and delighted us with singing and dancing to Christmas songs for our much anticipated whole school ‘Family Concert’.

Michelle Clow Pre-Primary Team Leader

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ENGLISH In 2014 Literacy continued to be a priority at Rockingham Beach. Literacy Blocks were consolidated and further resources including sets of books were purchased to enhance Guided and Shared reading sessions.

A whole school approach to spelling was implemented along with an extension to the synthetic phonics approach to include years 4-7.

Improving Literacy and Numeracy partnerships funding enabled staff to be released for several sessions of collaborative planning to develop year level English plans that were then implemented in all classrooms. Staff were also able to collaborate on Case management plans to help move students up the NAPLAN band levels.

A Year 5-7 intervention program called “Multilit” was implemented. This program was aimed at developing sight word and word attack skills.

Other English initiatives included: • Home Reading Journals for P-7 • Year level parent Home reading brochures. • Key Links Writing in Pre Primary • K/PP oral retell program • Narrative Retell program Professional Development

presented by Dianna Rigg. • National Simultaneous Read – “ Too Many

Elephants” • Two very successful Book fairs in April and

November • Oral Language Curriculum Newsletter • Book Week parade and Books on Blankets. • Book Week Door Dress Up and related activities. • Letters to our Service men and women.

Leanne Bruijn Deputy Principal: Literacy

MATHEMATICS Mathematics continues to be a major focus at Rockingham Beach Primary School, with teaching staff continually being up skilled. Numeracy blocks are still our priority from Kindy through to Year 6. A numeracy block is a structured method of teaching maths that includes a warm-up for engaging students, explicit teaching of a new concept, student practise and finally ending with a reflection on student learning. This year saw the implementation of a student workbook. As a whole school approach we now use the Australian Curriculum Edition of Maths Plus student books. These books develop students’ skills and knowledge in all content areas of Number & Algebra, Measurement & Geometry and Statistic & Probability. Teachers were provided with teaching guides and interactive digital resources to introduce key mathematical concepts, whilst enhancing the teaching and learning of all students.

Skoolbo was used in many classrooms across the school with excitement. Students were given individual passwords to this free program which allowed them site access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Skoolbo was infectious with students loving the 3D graphics and the ability to create their own avatar. Students engaged in activities at their level that were short and sharp, so they were totally engaged in their own learning the entire time. The curriculum content ensured students received their level of difficulty with the right balance of

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new and revision content. Parents commented on how wonderful it was to see their children and others so engaged and eager to play these educational games, at school and at home.

Professional Development continues with a strong focus of sharing knowledge. Our Kindy to Year 2 teachers enjoyed a session on the Development of Counting Skills, using games developed by Dr Paul Swan. In this session teachers were given time to play these games, becoming experts, to then take back in their classrooms. Teaching staff this year worked closely with the Deputy Principal and Maths Specialist to develop their year level maths plans to assist further with the implementation of the Australian Maths Curriculum. Term tests were given to students to allow for moderation and consistency between year levels and classes. Throughout the year staff attended various presentations that included Money and Financial Mathematics, Maths Warm-ups for all ages and Teaching Problem Solving using the bar model method.

Book Week this year had a change in focus, with the Maths Committee encouraging staff to embrace mathematical literature. A number of classroom doors were decorated with a mathematical theme which saw students being able to look, hold, count and estimate during the weeklong celebration.

The Maths Talent Quest is an annual competition run by the Mathematical Association of Victoria. The focus of the quest is on the process of mathematical investigations, which encourages students to look at real life situations and find mathematics is all around them. Run by Mrs Henning this year, a group of selected students from years 4 to 7 were invited to participate in Maths Club, which operated for an hour per week after school during term 2. The students launched themselves into their chosen mathematical investigations and completed their tasks at home. Once completed, they were judged and submitted. Rockingham Beach Primary School is very proud of the achievements of our students. Liam Chatfield (Yr4) won a distinction award for his BMX track and Kelly Nam (Yr6) won a credit award for her Fibonacci in Fruits investigation.

We were proud to host the Coastal Division of the AFG Interschool Numero Challenge. There were a total of 6 schools from the local area competing in a number of team and individual events. Numero is played regularly throughout the school helping develop student’s numeracy concepts and problem solving skills. Regular practise has significantly boosted students’ mental maths ability and has effectively complemented our numeracy programs throughout the school.

Mathletics was introduced and trialled in classrooms in term 4 with students loving it. Students were given individual passwords to allow them to have access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When using Mathletics students were engaged and motivated in the learning of maths. Students got instant feedback if a question was answered right or wrong, were challenged in speed and accuracy of skills and knew if they were on track or how they could improve at their own pace. Live Mathletics was another exciting area where students could challenge other classmates, including students from all over the world. Mathletics will have a greater whole school focus in 2015.

Having an enthusiastic and proactive Maths Committee has seen many new and exciting resources being purchased for daily use in classrooms. Purchasing mathematical themed books has seen teachers using literature to enhance their mathematical learning and language, whilst the new resources further enhance student differentiation and learning styles within a classroom.

Di Cuder

Mathematics Team Leader ~ 17 ~

SCIENCE Once again Science has been a significant Feature of the Rockingham Beach Primary School 2014 school year. Science programs throughout the school are now fully aligned with the Australian Curriculum, with all students participating in learning activities based on all four strands of Science, being the Biological Sciences, the Chemical Sciences, the Earth and Space Sciences and the Physical Sciences. The Primary Connections program continues to be the cornerstone of Science teaching and learning at RBPS, providing both teachers and students with high quality teaching materials and resources.

2014 Science highlights Scitech – Many classes throughout the year took advantage of the wonderful excursion program offered by Scitech. Students got the opportunity to engage in hands on Science while exploring the many exhibits on offer at Scitech. And as an added bonus, RBPS was very lucky to receive a free excursion for two classes to Scitech in Term1.

Science Club – Science club, an after school extension program for Year 5, 6 &7 students run in conjunction with the CSIRO’s Scientists in Schools program and hosted by myself and Dr Dave Mathews our visiting scientist, was very well attended this year with 20 students regularly attending on Monday afternoons. This year in Science Club students explored magnetism, Scratch computer programming, bottle rockets and used iPads to produce a short claymation video on magnetism. Whole School Science Challenge – This is an annual event at RBPS and is run in conjunction with science week. This year, all classes from Kindy to Year 7 got to compete in the Float and Fly Science Challenge. This hotly contested competition pits year level against year level, classroom against classroom and saw the construction and testing of some very impressive parachutes, paper planes, O-Wing fliers and Kites. Students had the opportunity to design and scientifically test a range of flying machines while exploring scientific concepts related to flight before competing against like class for the title of best flier.

Bob Cuder Science Team Leader

HISTORY This year the staff at RBPS have delved further into the Australian Curriculum History content and understandings in accordance with the school’s 2014 Humanities Operational Plan. Teachers across all year levels programmed educative and relevant learning experiences ranging from personal and family histories in Pre-Primary to the structure and processes of Australian government in Upper Primary. Programs placed focus on Historical Skills; teaching and encouraging students of all ages to locate and analyse sources, identify and explore perspectives and correctly use historical terms. Our resource base was expanded, with globes, maps, flags, magazines, big books and story books added to our growing History collection, and students were involved in a variety of incursions and school-based projects throughout the year.

Year six and seven classes attended a performance demonstrating how a bill is passed in parliament. They also studied the impact that immigrants have had in the shaping of the nation and the diverse cultural influences in our society. Students in years three and four created a display in the school library of their personal Coat of Arms. They researched and collated information on the meaning of different historical symbols and presented a family Coat of Arms and written justification of their choices. Year two students were treated to an incursion from elderly locals who spoke about their experiences in the ‘olden days’. The students eagerly welcomed

Exploring Magnetism in Science Club

Designing O-Wing Fliers for the Science Challenge

Primary Connections Shadow Stick Investigation

~ 18 ~

their guests, and were bursting with questions about technology, transport, food and clothing from in the past. In year one, parents and grandparents were interviewed on their experiences as children and how certain aspects of life have changed over the years. Students were fascinated to hear about their relatives working on family farms, having milk delivered to their doorstep and using chalk boards and ink to complete their school work. In June, the school celebrated NAIDOC week and students were able to take part in diverse, hands-on activities that included making damper, reading Dreamtime stories and attending a year four assembly presentation that expressed an appreciation of Australia’s cultural diversity.

Staff learning and development was also a focus in History this year. Each term History team leaders from across the Peron North Network schools met to moderate tasks, share resources and assist one another in various assessment methods. Inspired and practical ideas were shared and brought back to the school via staff meetings, the Connect community and email communication. The start of Term 3 saw staff taking part in an informative and highly engaging Professional Development course on sustainability run by the One World Centre. Teachers evaluated and built upon their existing ideas of sustainability, and were given practical, innovative ideas for introducing sustainable initiatives to the school and classroom. They were also given the opportunity to borrow from a wide selection of One World Centre books, DVDs and pamphlets and explore an extensive bank of online resources.

2014 has been a productive year in History for both staff and students, with all members of the school community expanding on their current knowledge and striving to implement the Australian Curriculum in creative, educative ways. We look forward to continuing our teaching and learning in this area as we move into 2015.

Danielle Taylor History Team Leader

HEALTH & WELLBEING / PASTORAL CARE Rockingham Beach Primary School prides itself on having an outstanding Student Service Team who supports both students and parents. This team comprises of the school administration, the School Psychologist, the Chaplain, our Aboriginal Indigenous Education Officer and our Defence Force Transition Aide.

In 2014 we successfully applied to become recognised as a KidsMatter School. The KidsMatter recognition process acknowledges schools that use the KidsMatter framework to improve student mental health and wellbeing. To be recognised, we needed to demonstrate that we have a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing in an ongoing cycle of improvement over an extended period of time. As part of our commitment to KidsMatter, teachers use the ‘Friendly Schools Plus’ Program to deliver content and skills about social-emotional learning. We also have a KidsMatter Action Team made up of school staff, parents and student leaders. The Action Team meets at least once a term and organises parent meetings and whole school fundraising events as well as keeping the parent resources available in the library up to date.

Our Promoting Positive Values program rewarded student behaviour, commitment to learning and citizenship with students earning faction tokens and individuals being recognised at assemblies during the faction draw.

2014 saw us introduce faction names. We have used Noongar names of local animals to rename our factions and at our Faction Athletics Carnival students proudly displayed the name and colour of their faction.

Karda – red, lizard Koolbardi – yellow, magpie Kwilena – blue, dolphin Yongka – green, kangaroo

The following programs and activities have added value to our school community: • The KidsMatter Action Team with the introduction of student leaders • School Psychologist supporting teachers and parents

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• KidsMatter 123 Magic parent workshop • Participation in the National Day of Action Against Bullying • New family morning tea each term • Continuation of the Walking Group leaving school Friday mornings • Participation in the Walk to School Day • Fathers’ Day activities • Student Leadership Program including a leadership breakfast and student elections • Breakfast Club open to all students in the school and funded by FoodBank WA • Kindy Orientation Program to ensure the transition to Kindy for 2015 is seamless • Rainbows Program to support students experiencing grief or loss • Friends for Life Program to support our senior students make positive friendships • FISH activities twice a week • Book Week – decorate doors, dress up as a book character

and books on blankets • All school staff trained in 123 Magic for Teachers • Students writing letters to service men and women deployed

overseas at Christmas • Fund raising events such as Operation Christmas Child, Jeans

for Genes Day, Red Shield Appeal and the Family Concert where we raise money to support our World Vision Child.

Sue Magowan Deputy Principal: Pastoral Care

PHYSICAL EDUCATION Rockingham Beach Primary School had another successful and eventful year in Physical Education and Sport.

Junior Primary Program The emphasis was on Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) and the main focus was to provide enjoyable, developmentally appropriate movement experiences so that the students gained both competence and confidence in performing these skills.

The Physical Education program was organised in to five weekly blocks. Sports covered were Cricket, Soccer, Basketball, Tee Ball, Athletics, Dance and Mini Games. The three main skill areas of body management, locomotion and object control were incorporated throughout each sport.

Middle/Senior Program The emphasis was to extend and consolidate FMS using game skills and strategies through the ‘game sense’ approach (eg students develop both skills and understanding of tactics of the game, the teacher encourages modifications to accommodate varying abilities to maximise inclusion and challenge). Sports covered were Cricket,Tee Ball, Soccer, Flagbelt, Sofcrosse, Athletics and Mini Games.

Senior Sport Year 4-7 students were provided with a weekly, one hour session of structured, organised and competitive activities which provided students with a broad range of experiences commensurate with their age and ability.

Interschool Sports Rockingham Beach participated in all RASSA Carnivals throughout the year and were successful in winning shields and pennants in A Division Swimming, Division A and Division B Volleyball, Soccer, Hockey, Division A and Division B Sofcrosse, Flagbelt and Athletics. This year has been our most successful in terms of shields and pennants won, resulting in the school winning the overall Red Division RASSA Shield.

Whole School Carnivals An Early Childhood Athletics Carnival and a Primary School Faction Carnival were both held in Term Three and a Faction Beach Carnival for Yrs 1-7 was held in Term Four.

Stefan Olejko Physical Education Specialist

~ 20 ~

VISUAL ARTS The specialist Visual Arts programme for 2014 was conducted on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The main focus for this year was to raise the profile of visual arts in the school and community.

Focus was placed on displaying student’s works, lunchtime visual arts activities and an after school arts programme for selected students. Student’s art works were framed and displayed in the school office, the breeze way gallery and the office of the local member for parliament. Lunchtime art activities included box sculptures and pavement chalk art. Selected art students completed an after school arts programme on jewellery and ceramics.

All visual arts programmes centred on the students self-expression through exploration of materials, with emphasis on processes, use of tools and an acquisition of skills and habits.

The 2015 visual arts programme will look to further enhance visual arts in the school through art projects, wall murals and sculptures which will be displayed around the school and community.

Ian Bosch Visual Arts Specialist

MUSIC All students in Year 1 – 7 participated in our specialist music programme. To extend students’ musical and performance skills, the music specialist lead a junior and senior choir. During 2014, the junior choir performed at the Rockingham Schools Choir Festival. Both senior and junior choir participated in school assemblies and special events such as the Rockingham Community Fair, ANZAC and Graduation ceremonies.

The School of Instrumental Music ran Classical Guitar, Clarinet and Flute programs for selected Year 6 and 7 students. Through an external provider students from PP-7 were also able to participate in keyboard and guitar lessons.

Selected students were also able to participate in the Western Australian Government School’s Concert. Seniors Week was a big hit for the senior choir and the School of Instrumental Music students who had participated in a school ensemble throughout the year. Rockingham Beach Primary Campus participated in “Count Us In”. The whole school joined in the singing of a song at the same time as the rest of Australia and then joined in to sing some school favourites. The Family Concert was another great musical

activity for the school. It was a great way to finish the year.

Judy Jamieson Music Specialist

INDONESIAN The LOTE program continued to offer students from Year 2 to Year 7 with many exciting opportunities to listen, speak and write in Indonesian.

The Year 7 students enjoyed learning about food. They particularly enjoyed writing their own story books in Indonesian based on the book, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". The Year 5 and Year 6 students have been learning about shopping and money. They enjoyed presenting role-plays in Indonesian on how to buy and bargain in Indonesia. The Year 3 and Year 4 students have been learning the names of common classroom objects and following classroom instructions in Indonesian. They have been practising how to ask to borrow items, respond appropriately and say thank you. The Year 2 classes have been investigating the sounds of the Indonesian alphabet and comparing them to the English sounds. They particularly enjoyed spelling out their names using the Indonesian alphabet.

Marianne Da Cruz Indonesian Specialist Teacher

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PARENT SATISFACTION In 2014, we used the National School Opinion Surveys to gather feedback from our parents and students on various aspects of the school’s operations. 49 responses were received out of a possible 361 families which represents a 14% response rate. Links to the survey were emailed to all families as well as put on the school’s website. Reminders to complete the survey were put on the website, emailed and also alerts sent through our Skoolbag app. Graphs of the data collected are below:

Areas of strength:

• Teachers at this school expect my child to do his or her best • My child feels safe at this school • I can talk to my child’s teachers about my concerns • My child likes being at this school • This school looks for ways to improve • Teachers at this school motivate my child to learn

Areas to focus on:

• Teachers at this school provide my child with useful feedback • This school takes parents’ opinions seriously • My child is making good progress at this school • My child’s learning needs are being met at this school • This school works with me to support me child’s learning

~ 22 ~

STUDENT SATISFACTION A random sample of Year 2 to Year 7 students were selected to complete the Student Survey. The Deputy Principal took students from each year level to the library to complete the survey. Questions were explained to students as required. 78 students out of a possible 320 completed the survey representing 25% of the cohort. The data is shared below:

Areas of strength Areas to improve • My teachers expect me to do my best • I feel safe at my school • I like being at my school • My school looks for ways to improve • My teachers motivate me to learn • My school gives me opportunities to do

interesting things

• Student behaviour is well managed at my school • My teachers provide me with useful feedback

about my school work

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ROCKINGHAM BEACH PRIMARY SCHOOL FINANCIAL SUMMARY 2014

1 11,157.00$ 11,157.05$ 2 66,646.00$ 66,646.33$ 3 -$ -$ 4 740.00$ 740.00$ 5 1,031.00$ 1,031.81$ 6 282,499.00$ 282,498.89$ 7 750.00$ 750.00$ 8 -$ -$ 9 -$ -$

10 63,792.00$ 63,792.17$ 11 57,231.00$ 57,231.00$

483,846.00$ 483,847.25$ 121,728.00$ 121,729.09$ 605,574.00$ 605,576.34$

1,115,000.00$ 1,115,000.00$ 1,720,574.00$ 1,720,576.34$

Locally Gen 79,575.19$ DoE Grants 282,498.89$ Other Govt 750.00$ Other 63,792.17$ Transfers 57,231.00$

483,847.25$

1 12,526.00$ 12,526.12$ 2 33,183.00$ 33,182.44$ 3 76,338.00$ 76,338.06$ 4 41,252.00$ 41,250.95$ 5 57,231.00$ 57,230.56$ 6 46,827.00$ 46,826.36$ 7 147,856.00$ 147,856.31$ 8 25,657.00$ 25,657.11$ 9 -$ -$

10 -$ -$ 11 10,069.00$ 10,068.92$ 12 85,067.00$ 85,067.00$

536,006.00$ 536,003.83$ 1,115,000.00$ 992,068.00$ 1,651,006.00$ 1,528,071.83$

Bank Balance 247,904.81$ Made up of: -$

1 General Fund Balance 69,572.51$ 2 Deductible Gift Funds -$ 3 Trust Funds -$ 4 Asset Replacement Reserves 168,330.28$ 5 Suspense Accounts 7,178.98$ 6 Cash Advances 200.00-$ 7 Tax Position 3,023.04$

247,904.81$

Total Salary AllocationTotal Funds Available

Total Salary Expenditure

Assets and ResourcesEducation ServicesOther Specific Programs

Salary Payments to Central Office

Budget ActualExpenditure

Trading Activities

AdministrationLeasesUtilities

Total Bank Balance

Cash Position as at:

Other Transfers to Reserves

Total Contingencies Expenditure

Total Expenditure

Repairs/Maintenance/GroundsBuilding Fabric and Infrastructure

Actual

Total Contingency Funds Available

Internal Transfers

BudgetRevenue - Cash

Trading ActivitiesOther

Opening Balance

Voluntary ContributionsCharges and FeesGovernment Allowances

Total

P&C Contributions

Commonwealth Govt Grants

Fundraising/Donations/SponsorshipsDoE GrantsOther State Govt Grants

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

$000

Revenue Source

Contingencies Revenue - Budget vs Actual

Budget Actual

Loca lly Generated Revenue

17%

DoE Grants58%

Other Govt Grants0%

Other 13%

Transfers12%

Current Year Actual Contingencies Revenue Sources

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

$000

Expenditure Purpose

Contingencies Expenditure - Budget vs Actual

Budget Actual

10

30

50

70

90

110

130

150

170

$000

Cash Position

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