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AUSTRALIAN ISLAMIC COLLEGE

(PERTH) INC

Annual School Performance Report

2010

Thornlie

PO BOX 252 Cloverdale Western Australia 6985 Tel: (618) 9362-5340 Fax: (618) 9355-2988

Website: www.aic.wa.edu.au Email: info@aic.wa.edu.au

Dianella College: 81 Cleveland St. Dianella Tel: (618) 9375 9770 Thornlie College: 17 Tonbridge Way, Thornlie Tel: (618) 9493 2718

Kewdale College: 139 President Street, Kewdale Tel: (618) 9362 2100

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1. INTRODUCTION -THE COLLEGE

a) Background

Until 1994 The Australian Islamic College (AIC) was the only Muslim School in the State of Western Australia. Founded in February 1986, it started with 50 children and 2 teachers in a rented location at 151 Brisbane St, North Perth. From its humble beginnings it has steadily expanded to over 2480 students in 2009 (across the three colleges). We now have a body of teaching and supporting staff of over 300. Students from Kindergarten to Year 12 study at the college. The year 1990, marked a very significant event in the history of our school - the official opening of the school at its premises at 17 Tonbridge Way, Thornlie by the then Minister of Education, Dr. Geoff Gallop. A second College opened at 20 Surrey Rd, Rivervale in 1992. Dianella Primary school was purchased in January 1996 to form a new College called Australian Islamic College (North of the River). The students at Rivervale were transferred to Dianella during 1996. In 2000 we acquired the Kewdale Senior High School site to accommodate the increasing number of students and established our Ladies and Boys Colleges. AIC provides both segregated and co-education facilities. The college implements the curriculums of the Department of Education in addition to Islamic studies, Arabic and the integration of Islamic morals and values in all facets of college life. In 2010, the Thornlie College had 550 students and 61 staff members.

YEAR COLLEGE

1986 Started Brisbane Street Muslim Community School

1990 Thornlie College Opened

1994 AIC Intensive English Language Centre Opened

1996 Dianella College Opened

2000 Kewdale College Opened

2003 Dianella Teach Building

2004 Development of New Kindy Building

2005 Development of New Pre Primary building

2007 Opening of the New Primary

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2. VALUES ETHOS & PHILOSOPHY

a) College Philosophy

Students and teachers, whether Muslim or not, are encouraged to derive maximum personal and professional benefit from their experience at AIC. The College seeks to provide an enriching academic environment, under the umbrella of Islam integrating all aspects of day to day life. The AIC provides guidance for religious, cultural, vocational and recreational matters. The college further seeks to ensure that all associated with AIC realise their full potential, spiritually, intellectually, socially and emotionally.

The College Mission Statement is to assist students to: “Achieve success in this life and in the hereafter”. AIC aims to help develop the individual through obedience to God (Creator of the heavens and the earth) and by encouraging a positive attitude and familiarity with three facets:

• The ability to think in a logical manner within a God related values framework

• To be familiar and up to date with technological skills, and

• To obtain confidence and understanding in the spiritual, personal and community aspects of development.

As a consequence the aim of the colleges is to create a school environment which instills in its students love and obedience to Allah (swt) (Creator of the Heavens and the Earth) and Islamic morals and values in accordance with the practice of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), and to enable them to benefit from the teachings of the Holy Quran in their daily life. The Australian Islamic College strives to provide the highest Islamic moral guidance along with quality education to prepare students for further education and equip them to succeed in the ‘real world’ and also be of benefit to broader society.

b) College Goals

1. To develop a new generation that is God loving and God fearing and will, be successful in this life and the hereafter.

2. To provide quality education following Australian and West Australian curricula and sound Islamic teachings.

3. To develop a good Islamic moral outlook amongst all students.

4. To give Muslim children the opportunity to learn and to practice their faith in a school environment.

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5. To help students grow a respect and appreciation for their own culture and the culture of others.

6. To encourage harmony, unity and mutual understanding between parents and students, teachers and the community.

7. To develop balanced and pleasant personalities of students.

8. To select qualified teachers. Each teacher must inculcate moral and scholastic growth in each student and endeavour to promote a classroom environment in which the children can learn to know, love and serve Allah (swt) and our country, Australia as practicing Muslims.

c) College Policies

To provide an environment based upon the principles of Islamic society and education. Islamic society and education are based on the principles of Islam, Iman (faith) and Tawhid (oneness of God) - to draw one closer to Allah (Creator of the Heavens and the Earth) and to be productive Australian citizens. 1. To provide programs and courses that primarily emphasise proficiency in English (the language of instruction) as well as the applied sciences of mathematics, science and computing.

2. To provide a current and challenging curriculum of studies in line with the Department of Education requirements.

3. To broaden the curriculum by integrating it with Islamic morals and values. 4. To meet moral, religious, philosophical and academic requirements according to Islamic beliefs and values.

5. To provide opportunities to engage in activities that promote physical well being; and to develop interest, abilities and positive attitudes.

6. To integrate actively into the Australian community as a whole by interschool relations (visiting and inviting other schools) and participating in community activities and events.

3. PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Assalamu Alaikum It is my pleasure to present Thornlie school’s 2010 report. 2010 was a challenging year in many respects:

• School registration was due in November

• Moving forward with the BER and fencing project

• Resolving the Prayer Hall issue with the local council

• Dealing with the fees issue as the majority of parents were not paying school fees.

• Restructuring the school

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We tried our best to restructure Thornlie School in a way that better serves the purposes of the school. The following positions were created:

• Head of Primary: to ensure a smooth daily running of the school.

• Behaviour Coordinator: to address issues related to the wellbeing of the students

• Curriculum Coordinator to improve students’ academic achievement in Numeracy

and Literacy

• Also a Curriculum Committee was formed to assist the curriculum coordinator in

improving the literacy and numeracy levels.

• A parent – teacher Association was formed to involve the parents in the school’s

activities and to play a role in the running of the school. Parents’ support is a must

for our school’s success.

Islamic Studies Department was also restructured and more emphasis is now on Quraanic Arabic to enable our students to fluently read the Quraan which is a demand by all parents. Our programs to teach Quraanic Arabic are based on Iqra’a books 1-6. New Islamic textbooks for the three schools are adopted together with their teaching programs; hoping that those programs will be adopted by all Australian Muslim schools nationwide. As for Arabic language, we introduced new textbooks “Madina Readers” levels 1 -4 for Grades 7 – 10. We are still in the process of selecting new Arabic textbooks for Grades K-6. We purchased sample primary Arabic textbooks “I love Arabic Language K - Yr6”. They have been tried by our teachers in the three schools and hopefully will be adopted in the second semester of 2011 if we receive positive feedback from all our Arabic teachers. Special attention was paid to issues that used to undermine our staff confidence. Our teaching staff are the backbone of the school and therefore, our top priority was to build a positive and productive work environment for everyone. We are proud of our teachers and supporting staff who are committed to achieve academic excellence to enable our students achieve the best for themselves and their community at large. All 2010 Thornlie school’s activities and achievements are included in this report. Inshallah, we will continue working with the community, parents, teachers and our students to achieve our goals and objectives. Dr Mahmoud Eid, Principal

4. STAFFING

a) Professional Development Policy

All staff at the Australian Islamic College (AIC) are encouraged to apply for any professional development/professional learning (PD/PL) that is appropriate to their teaching duties and their current level of professional or personal development. Staff are encouraged to support any initiatives undertaken by the Curriculum Council (CC) or Independent Schools of Western Australia (AISWA) that will further their personal or professional development and benefit either directly or indirectly the College.

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In most cases AIC staff attend PD/PLs that are provided either by the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia (AISWA) or the CC however, under some circumstances, some staff attended courses offered by the Catholic Education Office of WA (CEOWA). Where and when a need arises AIC will provide PD/PL from internal and external sources.

Each Tuesday afternoon one hour is set aside for PD/PL. The fortnightly Wednesday afternoon sessions consist of departmental meetings, religious awareness activities, and briefings on current or upcoming significant issues. Whenever staff undertake a PD/PL that is relevant to either their department or a wider staff group they are expected to run an in-service session where they provide feed-back on their course. The Principal and the Head of Primary administers the College’s PD/PL Programme. They are responsible for publicising future events seeking out staff whom they feel should attend particular events and receives requests from staff who wish to attend a particular in-service session.

Procedures

(1) Applications for a PD/PL activity are given to the Principal’s office (2) The Principal or the Head of Primary: -Evaluates whether the request is appropriate. -Checks current bookings to determine staffing needs for the particular time slot. -If the request is declined he either meets with the staff member concerned and justifies the decision or notifies the person concerned in writing giving an indication that further discussion is possible if appropriate. -If approved he updates the running sheet, which he maintains, for PD/PL which is a current list of all staff intentions in regard to PD/PL. -An update copy is forwarded to school office for documentation. -Confirmation is given to staff members and they are reminded of their obligation to provide feed-back to appropriate colleagues.

2010 Overview Whole school staff professional development occurs on a weekly basis for a one-hour period (40 hours). In addition all teachers participate in professional development opportunities at system and school level during staff development days and staff meetings. There were many Professional Development events attended by members of staff in 2010. Courses in 2010 were facilitated by the following organizations; JAISWA JThe Catholic Education Office

JSt John’s Ambulance

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Staff Profile – Thornlie

Australian Islamic College Thornlie - Staff Profile

Occupational full time % part-time % total employees %

Category female male female female male female female male female

Principal 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Vice-Principal, Deputy Principal 1 100 0 0 0 1 0 100

Other Managers, Administrators 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Senior Teachers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other Teachers 23 7 77 4 0 100 27 7 79

Other Professionals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Maintenance or Support Staff 12 6 67 6 1 86 18 7 72

TOTAL 36 14

10 1

47 14

Indigenous Workforce: 0

b) Staff Qualifications

A list of teaching staff qualifications is provided below. All teachers are WACOT registered and hold Working with Children Check clearance.

NUMBER POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

1 PRINCIPAL

PH.D IN EDUC. M.A. LINGUISTICS AND TRANSLATION, DIP IN TESOL, BAC. IN ENGLISH LANG.

2 KINDY A BAC.OF ARTS - INDIA, BAC. OF EDUC - INDIA

3 KINDY B B.A HUMANITIES, LON COMM CERT ADMIN, POST GRA CERT, TEACHING ESL

4 PP A SENIOR CERT DEP OF INTERNAL AFF. DIP OF EDUC. DIP ED JNR PRIMARY

5 PP B JNR PRI TEACHING DIPLOMA, DIP COMP LIT. BAC OF EDUC DEGREE.

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6 YEAR 1 A

DIP INFOR EARLY C/HOOD, BAC OF EDUC.CERT OF CHILDCARE, STUDY FOR MASTER

7 YEAR 1 B

BAC OF EDUC, PATHWAY TO EMPLOYMENT, ADV EDUC, ADELAIDE COLL

8 YEAR 1 C BAC OF EDUC. (INDONESIA)

9 YEAR 2 A

BAC OF BAC OF SOCIAL & POLITICAL/CERT IN SOCIAL WEL STUD, MAS OF SCIENCE

10 YEAR 2 B BAC OF SOSE STUD, MASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, GRAD OF DIPLOMA

11 YEAR 3 A DIP OF EDUC, MASTER OF ARTS, BAC OF ARTS, DIP OF COMP APP

12 YEAR 3 B B.A HON. DIPLOMA OF EDUCATION.

13 YEAR 3 C B OF ARTS MASS, MINOR IN INDONESIA, GRA DIP IN EDUC.

14 YEAR 4 A B IN EDUC

15 YEAR 4 B B. OF BUSINESS, , GRA DIP IN EDUC.

16 YEAR 4 C B OF EDUC, BAC IN COMM, MAS IN COMM, PRI TEACHER EDUC, SENIOR SEC

17 YEAR 5 A B.OF EDUC, BAC OF EDUC PRIMARY.

18 YEAR 5 B B. OF ECONOMICS, BAC OF EDUC PRIMARY)

19 YEAR 6 A MAS OF EDUC.BAC.OF EDUC, BAC OF ARTS, DIP IN ANGLO INDIA TEACH

20 YEAR 6 B B. SCIENCE, MAS SCIENCE,SNR SCI EDUC, JNR & INTER SCI EDUC. PRI EDUC

21 YEAR 7 ENG YEAR 9 - 10 MATHS

BAC OF SCIENCE, DIP OF EDUC, DIP IN SYSTEM ANALYSIS, MAS IN INFOR TECH

22 YEAR 7 DIP OF EDUCATION & BAC. OF EDUC - EARLY CHILDHOOD.

23 YEAR 7 - 8 SOSE

B.A IN ECONOMIC. M.A. IN PUBLIC POLICY, PH.D IN VALUES EDUCATION (PENDING)

24 YEAR 7 - 10 SCIENCE B. OF SCIENCE, DIP IN EDUCATION.

25

YEAR 9, 10 ENG & SOSE YEAR 8 ENG B OF EDUCATION - MONASH UNIVERSITY

26 RELIGION TEACHER MADRASAH TALIM ULQURAN, TEE(HSC) BAC. COM

27 COMP REM YR 1 - 7 B.OF COMMERCE DEGREE IN ACCOUNTANCY.AUS BAC. DEGREE

28 IT TEACHER YEAR 8 MATHS

BSC KNUST, GHANA, MSC UEL, UK, GRAD. DIP EDUC AUSTRALIA

29 IT TEACHER YR 1 - 7 BAC OF EDUC & ARTS, CERTIFICATE WORK PLACE ASS.

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30 REL TEA YR 1 & YR 4

ISLAMIC STUDIES, QURAAN, HIFZ, ARABIC. SECRETARIAL & EXECUTIVE CERT. IN ISLAMIC STUDIES.

31 ARABIC YR 3 - 7 MASTER OF SCIENCE, TEACHING RUSSIAN FOREIGN LANG.

32 REL TEA YR 3 & 5 DIP OF ISLAMIC STUD, DIP CERT ISLAMIC STUDIES, DEGREE ISLAMIC STUDIES

33 ARABIC KINDY TO YR 2

B.A HADITH & ISLAMIC STUDIES & ARABIC MINOR

34 REL TEA YR 2, 6 & 7 DIP OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES, MADRASAH ATTENDANCE CERTIFICATE

35 REL TEA KINDY, PP

MADRASAH SOUTH AFRICA, SHARIYAH COURSE, CERT TEACHER ASSISTANT, E.C.U. UNIVERSITY

36 ARABIC HIGH SCHOOL

CERT. OF COMMUNITY SERVICE, CERT CERT. IN YOUTH WORK

5. STUDENTS

a) Student Attendance

Attendance Policy

See Appendix 1 on page 15

b) 2010 NAPLAN Results –AIC

AUSTRALIAN ISLAMIC COLLEGE , NAPLAN TEST RESULTS 2010

YEAR

ASSESSMENT

AREA

NATIONAL

MEAN WA MEAN

SCHOOL

MEAN

AIC

KEWDALE

AIC

THORNLIE

AIC

DIANELLA

Yr 3 READING 414 399 377 472 414 453

WRITING 419 401 400 424 419 421

SPELLING 399 382 407 495 399 455

GRAMMAR 417 399 390 486 417 454

NUMERACY 395 383 366 487 395 435

Yr 5 READING 487 478 476 461 487 505

WRITING 485 474 490 460 485 472

SPELLING 487 477 523 483 487 537

Student

Attendance

2010

Kindy Pre-

Primary

Year

1

Year

2

Year

3

Year

4

Year

5

Year

6

Year

7

Year

8

Year

9

Year

10

91% 88% 88% 89% 91% 91% 92% 93% 91% 96% 89% 92% 92%

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GRAMMAR 500 486 512 474 500 502

NUMERACY 489 477 480 471 489 508

Yr 7 READING 546 545 534 499 546 550

WRITING 533 533 535 506 533 541

SPELLING 545 540 563 561 545 597

GRAMMAR 535 531 496 515 535 553

NUMERACY 548 546 554 659 548 602

Yr 9 READING 574 566 589 552 574 573

WRITING 568 563 613 530 568 609

SPELLING 578 571 627 590 578 582

GRAMMAR 579 571 566 566 579 590

NUMERACY 585 578 591 588 585 625

6. INCOME

Income Statement

INCOME BROKEN DOWN BY FUNDING SOURCE

(3 Colleges of the Australian Islamic College Perth)

KEWDALE THORNLIEDIANELLAALL COLLEGES

$ $ $ $

INCOME 2010 2010 2010 2010

Gross Tuition Fees 627,000 347,581 446,936 1,421,517

Other School Fees & Contributions 131,385 40,780 6,177 178,342

Fully Paid Overseas Student Fees 448,774 0 18000 466,774

State Government Grants 2,753,215 1,070,953 1,465,113 5,289,281

Commonwealth Government Grants 8,098,091 2,911,543 4,509,135 15,518,769

Sponsorships & Donations 1,310 0 0 1,310

Interest Received 136,294 14,473 1,649 152,416

Profit on Sale of Non-current Assets1,272,526 0 0 1,272,526

Inter-School Management Fee 663,308 0 0 663,308

Other Sundry Income 69,928 5407 10142 85,477

Rental Income 43,125 14,700 0 57,825

TOTAL INCOME 14,244,956 4,405,437 6,457,152 25,107,545

SOURCE : 2010 Audited Accounts

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7. VALUE ADDED

In addition to the excellent academic results, the Australian Islamic College places great emphasis on the holistic development of our students. Morals and values training and spiritual development are incorporated into the college ethos. Students engage in many inter-school programs (sports, beliefs and values education) and events. The college is an active participant in Harmony Day and students regularly participated in Public Speaking competitions, Leadership Training and National Writing Competitions. Students also engage in fund-raising for war-stricken and disaster stricken areas.

a. Events in Thornlie 2010:

� School Open Day � AFL Multicultural Carnival � Weekly Footy Clinics for Year 7 � Lapathon Week � Staff Breakfast � Harmony Day � Eid Celebrations – Whole School Event � Literacy and Numeracy Week – Poetry Reading � Book Week Parade – Stage Presentations � Science Week � Excursion to Kings Park � Excursion to Kid’s Paradise � Excursion to Marapana Wild Life Park � Excursion Perth Zoo � Excursion to Scitech � Excursion to the Perth Mint � Excursion to Fremantle Prison � Excursion to the Constitutional Centre of WA � Incursion – Constable Care � Incursion – Power Down Resources � National Partnership – Kath White (AISWA Consultant) weekly visit to Years 2 and 3 classes.

� Kindergarten/Pre Primary Graduation � Year 7 Graduation � Year 10 Farewell � Quran Reading Competition � New South Wales Tests Competition � Community Evening � Staff Dinner � End of Year Function – Students’ Annual Awards Night

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b. Parents, Students and Teacher satisfaction

Parent, student and teacher satisfaction has been gauged through the receipt of positive correspondence, word of mouth and parent-teacher interaction at the college. Parent meetings are regularly held for significant events for each year level including

transition programs etc. Parent Information Evenings are held for all year levels

throughout the year and parents seem very satisfied with the school’s programs.

Parents show strong satisfaction with the school by supporting with strong attendance school events including school fetes, award ceremonies and openings. Staff satisfaction is ascertained by the strong sense of commitment demonstrated by the staff towards the college and the students. The regular weekly staff meetings allow the opportunity for teaching staff to discuss and pass on matters regarding the performance of the schools. Feedback from a Parent

Dear Dr Eid,

My husband and I would like to recognize the significant and positive changes that we

believe have taken place at the Australian Islamic College, Thornlie campus, since your

appointment as Principal.

I have observed an increased effort by students to adhere to the uniform code, the

restructuring of class time tables in order to make the day run smoothly and more

efficiently and the heightened overall morale of students and teachers alike.

I feel that the enthusiasm of teachers at the school has been reinvigorated and that it has

now become easier for staff to attend to matters of concern given the increased support

and communication. I have noticed that teachers have also been delegated co-ordinated

roles in various learning areas so as to elevate the academic standard of the school while

also fostering the spirit of team building and team work.

We appreciate the constant communication from the school to parents, either by notes

sent home or by email, to keep us up to date with the general running of the campus.

Your dedication, interest and commitment to the school and its students are positively

contributing to improving all areas of our beloved college.

We are confident that with time, under your guidance, the college will continue to

improve and move from strength to strength.

We thank you again for all your efforts and professionalism.

Mrs Aisha Zeedan

Parent/Board Member

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Feedback from Mr Chris Tallentire; Member for Gosnells

AUSTRALIAN ISLAMIC COLLEGE — EID CELEBRATION

I had the honour of attending the Eid celebrations at the Australian Islamic College in

Thornlie. The event was an excellent presentation of the fine values that are at the core of

the Islamic faith and make Islam one of the world’s great religions. I was especially

impressed by the way AIC students, parents, teachers and administrators are so keen to

contribute to our Western Australian community and how the AIC is opening itself to the

broader community. I was delighted that year 7 students from nearby Thornlie Primary

School were guests at the Eid celebration. Helping young Western Australians to enjoy

and appreciate the beauty of other cultures and faiths is essential to making Australia a

strong participant in our increasingly internationalised world. I especially want to

acknowledge the excellent work being done at the AIC by Dr Hamza Amira, chairman of

the AIC board; Dr Mahmoud Eid, new principal of the AIC; and Mrs Enda Hayes of the

AIC.

In the past there have been some serious problems with the financial administration of

the AIC, but I am very pleased to report that the school community has emerged from

difficult times stronger than before. The excellent behaviour of the children, their

academic performance, their love of their country and their desire to be strong

contributors are exemplary. The latest challenge facing the AIC is getting the City of

Gosnells to approve two separate projects. One is approval for projects funded through

the federal government’s Building the Education Revolution program and the other is

approval for the use of a prayer hall. I hope that these problems can be resolved in the

very near future. I am very proud to have the AIC in Gosnells in my electorate. I

congratulate the college on its good work.

8. BUILDING EDUCATION REVOLUTION PROJECTS- Update

As at December 2010 the City of Gosnells had approved an amended DA for which the architect had to prepare adjusted design and documentation. The project included in its first submission a Library, GLAs (combined $3.0M) and additional car parking to facilitate the use of the existing hall for external purposes. This last use had been rejected by the City and this matter is subject to a separate ongoing appeal process. In consultation with AIC GRA developed a program for the completion of all design and documentation to allow the issue of tender in early 2011 to establish a September 2011 completion.

9. CONSTITITUION

The Constitution for Australian Islamic College (Perth) Incorporated is being re-written to simplify it and to meet the requirements of the Department of Education Services arising from the School’s Registration Report. The new constitution will provide for this body to be the legal owner of the three colleges (Thornlie, Dianella and Kewdale) although the three colleges will continue to run as separate institutions and produce

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special purpose financial statements on their operations each year as required by the Department of Education Services and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Once the constitution is finalized, the assets of the Australian Islamic College (Kewdale) Inc and the Australian Islamic College (North of the River) Inc will be transferred to AIC (Perth) Inc and then Kewdale and North of the River will be wound down. A reconstituted Board was established during the year now comprising five members nominated by the Australian Islamic College Foundation Trust, three parent representatives nominated by the Parents and Friends, two former students also nominated by the Parents and Friends and two independent members appointed because of their special expertise. The members of the Board from 20 May 2010 were :

1. Dr Hamza Amira (Chair)

2. Mrs Mona Amira (Vice-Chair)

3. Mr Shaheer Tarin L (Secretary)

4. Mr Abdul Rahman Butler (Treasurer)

5. Mrs Heather Yeates

6. Mrs Aisha Zeedan

7. Mrs Musaika Magar

8. Mrs Manal Oz

9. Dr Mona Hegazi

10. Mr Mohamad Yousof Hourani

11. Mr Wseem Eltoukhi

12. Mr Ragaei El-Gamil (Mr Oussama Magar retired in October 2010 and was

replaced by Mr Regaei El Gamil)

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APPENDIX 1

Attendance Policy & Procedure 2010

Postal Address: PO Box 252 Cloverdale Western Australia 6985

Tel: (618) 9362 5340 Fax: (618) 9355 2988 Email: info@aic.wa.edu.au Website: www.aic.wa.edu.au

Thornlie College: 17 Tonbridge Way, Thornlie Tel: 9493-2718

Dianella College: 81 Cleveland St, Dianella Tel: 9375-9770

Kewdale College: 139 President St, Kewdale Tel: 9362-2100

Attendance Policy & Procedure

2010

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AIC ATTENDANCE POLICY 2010

The School Education Act 1999 and School Education Regulations 2000 requires compulsory aged students to attend school, or participate in an educational program of a school, on the days on which the school is open for instruction, unless a written arrangement has been entered into for the student. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of the Act and is detrimental to the student’s learning outcomes and future participation in society. The Australian Islamic College endeavours to provide a safe Islamic environment conducive and supportive of the educational process for students to develop academically, spiritually and socially. Students that are regularly absent from school run the risk of: 1. Dropping out of school early 2. Becoming long term unemployed 3. Becoming welfare dependent 4. Becoming involved in the justice system 5. Becoming socially isolated 6. Being undereducated and unable to access self improvement programmes.

Everyone has a part to play in ensuring that a student is attending regularly and making the most of their learning opportunities here at the College. These stakeholders include but are not limited to:

1. Parents/Guardians 2. The Student themselves 3. The Principal 4. Heads of Learning Areas 5. Year Co-ordinators 6. Teachers 7. Absentees officer 8. Other administration staff 9. Peers 10. Members of our community

Accurate reporting of absences and rigorous follow up should improve the student’s attendance percentage, however there are students and families who cannot or will not comply. There are many reasons for this and some of them include:

1. Disengagement with the learning environment. 2. Family issues 3. Cultural difference 4. Health reasons 5. Substance abuse problems 6. Bullying 7. Extra-curricular activities.

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The College uses an electronic data collection system to collate and report on absences. This information is then used to intervene at the earliest possible opportunity to truancy using SMS, phone calls, letters, meetings and home visits. Stringent adherence to absentees procedures is critical to providing the best educational outcomes for students at the AIC.

1.2 Attendance Percentage

If a student’s attendance percentage drops below 90% attempts must be made to restore regular attendance. 1. Identify which students are not regularly attending. This is done by entering into

the Student Absentees in the AIC Info System . There is a list of students with the highest number of absent days. Check their number of absent days as a percentage against the number of instruction days and calculate the percentage. This should be done on a weekly basis.

2. Make an excel spreadsheet of all students with attendance levels lower than 90% and start a plan to restore attendance.

3. Make a copy of this list and give to the Principal. 4. Inform the student’s year Co-ordinator. The co-ordinator should talk to the student

and impress upon the student the need for them to be responsible for their own learning.

5. Send letters to the students Parents/Guardian outlining their responsibility for the student’s attendance.

6. Telephone Parents/Guardian to follow up. These steps should improve the student’s attendance percentage, however there are students and families who cannot or will not comply. There are many reasons for this and some of them include: 1. Disengagement with the learning environment. 2. Family issues 3. Cultural difference 4. Health reasons 5. Substance abuse problems 6. Bullying 7. Extra-curricular activities.

Where a student’s attendance is not improving the following steps must be taken: 1. Fill out and update regularly an Attendance Intervention Record. It records the

times you have made contact with the stakeholders. 2. Fill out and update regularly an Attendance Intervention Checklist. It records the

steps you have taken to ensure the student’s attendance compliance. 3. If all reasonable steps have been taken to ensure compliance have not resulted in

improved attendance, refer the student to the College’s School Attendance Panel. Refer to the School Attendance panel in this file.

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ABSENTEES PROCEDURE

1. Absentees

The absentees are entered using the AIC Info System. The system should be updated daily by all class teachers for every period that they teach. Relief teachers should enter their absences too if they can. If for any reason there is a problem with entering the absentees, please bring your student list to Central Office so that it can be entered and the problem rectified. The deadline for entering the absentees for Periods 1- 3 is 12.30pm each day. Failure to enter absentees in a timely fashion or to submit absentees to Central Office will be followed up first by a memo and then by negative points. It is essential that the school is up to date and accurate in the recording of absentees, as it is a government requirement for registration. Failure to attend to this can result in de-registration and even prosecution.

� Absentees should be entered under the ‘Daily Absentees’ button. � Any students that are late can be marked as late. Students should provide a note that they have obtained from Central Office. This note should be marked with the reason for being late. This reason should be entered against the student in the reason column. All students that are late without a note, should be sent to the Central office with a Intra-Campus Student Movement Permission Slip.

� Points accrue for lateness or wagging. The later a student is, the more points they accrue. Teachers should be accurate in their recording of how late a student is. “Going easy” on a student will not reinforce punctuality. There is no need to enter negative points for a late student as the system does it automatically if you enter them as late.

� Lates are also checked from the late sign-in book from Central Office. If a student is so late that they have missed a period this counts as a missed period and gets picked up by the system.

� Parent notified absents and sick bay attendees are also entered by the Central Office so that there is an accurate record of which student is where. If a teacher sends a student to sick bay or the student is leaving to go home or going off the school grounds, the teacher should enter that student as absent for that period. The teacher should also put the reason in the reason column, and if necessary, make a note in the teacher’s notes column. Some students say that they are going to sick bay or home when they are really wagging. Proper record keeping allows the school to keep track of that student’s movements.

� Students going on a holiday for any duration must inform the Central Office. If they inform a teacher, the teacher must tell Central office.

� Teachers who are running excursions should leave a list of all attendees with Central Office. The teacher responsible for this is the teacher that has

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organised the excursion. If a student does not turn up for the excursion, Central Office must be notified. The deadline for this list is the day of the excursion.

� If a student is sent to B5 for in-school detention, the sending teacher is responsible for entering these details into the system. If a student is going to B5 or in-school detention for more than one period, or is in school detention all day, the teacher responsible for entering the absentees is the initiating teacher. If a student needs to be out of class during class time for any purpose, they must be accompanied by a Intra-Campus Student Movement Permission Slip. These slips are available from Central Office. Teachers are to pick them up themselves to avoid possible forging by students.

1.1 Assembly Absentees Lists of students from each year and each gender are available from the Central Office every Monday for Co-ordinators to pick up. The Co-ordinator marks the absentees on this list and returns it to Central Office for entering into the AIC Info System. It is then picked up every day and the same process followed. 1.2 SMS notification to parents Parents are notified of their child’s absences via SMS after period 3 has ended. All parents of children that are away for the first three periods are contacted using the SMS Broadcast Website. A copy of the Absentees for the day is converted into a Coma Delimited File (CSV) and merged and uploaded to the SMS website for bulk SMS delivery. After the messages are sent out a print out is generated and kept for record purposes. This process is undertaken by the Central Office staff. A report of SMS replies is also downloaded and printed out. The information in the report is put into the absentee system via the “Absentees Report” button under “Daily Followup”. 1.3 Negative points for lateness Students are automatically given negative points by the system for their lateness to class and a weekly tally of students’ negatives are pinned up on the notice boards outside the Central office. The data is exported from AIC Info into excel format and the students ID number, and the accrued negatives are displayed. Entering Absentees As previously mentioned, absentees are entered under the ‘Daily Absentees’ button in the AIC Info System. All teachers will submit their absentees online even if they are relief for a class.

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1.4 Follow-up with parents if a student has left AIC Every so often a student appears to have left the school. The parents of these students should be informed by a letter that their child has been absent from school and asked to account for their child’s whereabouts. This is to be preceded and followed by a phone call. If no correspondence is forthcoming the student is to be removed from the register at the Principal’s discretion, according to Department of Education guidelines. If a teacher is told that a student is left or on holiday, they must inform Central Office. 1.5 Forms If a student is going to be late or absent for any reason the school needs to be informed in writing. Forms for absences can be picked up from the Central Office or a parent/guardian can write a note with the name of the student, ID number of student, duration of absence and signature of parent or guardian. 1.7 Registry Books The registry books are updated every holiday at this time, although they will be phased out in future. Until then Co-ordinators are required to sign the registry books before each term ends. 1.8 Unknown Student Movement Report After a student appears to have left the school, all attempts must be made to follow up on the student’s whereabouts by trying to get transfer notes or something in writing. If this is not successful the student is place into a spreadsheet entitled Unknown Student Movement Report. This is then authorised by the Principal and sent to the Department of Education and Training with a Referral to School Attendance Officer form attached.

LAST UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 2010 TO BE REVIEWED: SEPTEMBER 2012