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Brookvale Public School Annual Report 1379 2015
Brookvale Public School Annual Report
1379
2015
Introduction
The Annual Report for 2015 is provided to the community of Brookvale Public School as an account of the school’s
operations and achievements throughout the year. It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has
made to provide high quality educational opportunities for all students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the
findings from self-assessment that reflect the impact of key school strategies for improved learning and the benefit
to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equity funding.
Beverley Maunder (Principal)
School contact details:
Brookvale Public School
2-8 Old Pittwater Road
Brookvale 2100
http://brookvale-p.schools.nsw.edu.au
9905 4168
Message from the Principal
2015 has again been a wonderful year at Brookvale PS where we have seen continued growth and improvement
in all areas. For me, the highlight of the year was the celebration of our cultural diversity in ‘Around the World in
a Day’. It was fantastic to see so many parents and families coming together to share their traditions and food.
We are so lucky to have this richness in our community, and it goes a long way towards our aim of raising our
students to be respectful and ethical citizens. Our parent body and P&C executive have been tremendously
supportive and community spirit is a real strength of our school. The dedication and passion of our outstanding
teachers and support staff is evident in the many achievements of our students. Congratulations and thank you
to students, staff and parents on another highly successful year.
Student Leaders’ Report
We have both enjoyed our leadership role at Brookvale Public School this year and we have enjoyed the
opportunities that Brookvale offers. We both remember the day we were
elected, so proud to be recognised as someone that could be trusted with
responsibility. Now when we look back, we can’t believe that it is the end of
our time here. We have to go to high school!
We’ve had a wonderful last year at Brookvale Public School. The teachers are
so supportive of us. We really appreciate all the work that the teachers have
put into helping the school grow. They have helped us in all areas such as
planning assemblies, making sure that we speak at the right tempo and pace,
accompanying us at leadership camp and holding meetings with us.
We especially enjoyed leading the newly introduced Treasure Project as part
of White Ribbon Australia. We met with leaders from other schools and
together we learned how to become great leaders. We also enjoyed
leadership camp, again meeting other school leaders and learning.
We have learned a lot from our role as school leaders, taking on more and
more responsibility and caring for the others around us while they are always
supporting and helping us.
Although we are sad to leave, we know that our successors, William Colton and Vivian Xu, will do an excellent job.
Nathan Cheng and Emma Dunstan (School Captains 2015)
P&C President's Report 2015 was a year with good outcomes achieved by the fantastic efforts of our P & C members, teachers, staff and parent volunteers. In 2015, football parking continued to be the principal fundraising activity for the P&C and its success is evident by the takings for the year being $16,769.70. A sincere warm thank you goes to Brian Geoghegan and all those that volunteered. Another fundraiser was the Family Fun Night held in October which provided an opportunity for families to mingle, play some bingo and trivia and win prizes. It raised approximately $1,000.00 for our school. Our usual Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day stalls were also successful in raising funds.
The P&C has ended the year in a great financial position, with a closing balance of approximately $38,000.00, solely achieved through fundraisers. This year the P&C contributed 25% of the cost for K-4 children to attend swimming lessons at the Aquatic Centre and for Surf/Kayaking lessons for Years 5 & 6. Earlier this year, the P&C gave the school funds as it was taking over the running of the Canteen. These funds were for the school to set the canteen up to run again and for the purchase of a new oven.
In 2016, the P&C is looking to donate substantial funds to the school to assist in the purchase of new interactive televisions as ultimately every Smartboard in the school will need to be replaced. Ten trestle tables and a new BBQ will also be purchased.
Our P&C is involved in a variety of school activities from policy to financial planning as well as charitable fundraising activities and school functions. In 2015 the latter included Autism Awareness Day, World Teachers Day and the recent Ladies’ Night for White Ribbon, organised by Caryn Medak.
The P&C works in partnership with our Principal, Mrs Maunder, and the teaching staff with the aim of achieving the best possible learning environment for our children.
Volunteering in other forms is equally rewarding. Football parking, canteen, class parent roles are some of the ways you can help. By volunteering as little as one hour a month you can gain knowledge and insight into what is happening at school.
It is very exciting to see the number of children enrolling at our school increasing. This is due mainly to the community’s growing awareness of the excellent quality of the school and the education that the teaching staff provide. With this growth, I would like to see an increase in the number of P & C members and parents taking an active interest in the school community.
Karin Shepherd
P&C President
School background
School vision statement
At Brookvale Public School we are committed to providing an outstanding academic environment that
encourages students to become confident, independent and successful learners. We believe that all
students benefit from a learning culture which promotes high standards and achievement and develops
within them a passion for learning. As a school built on a strong foundation of family and community
values, we support and guide all children in the development of important values such as respect,
understanding and responsibility through daily social interactions and specific learning experiences. Being
part of Brookvale Public School is being part of a family. At our school, lifelong friendships are forged,
families connect and the community grows together.
School context
Brookvale Public School has a small school setting with an emphasis on personalised learning designed to
meet the needs of all students in a safe, happy and supportive environment. The school is situated in
the heart of Brookvale and is a member of the Northern Beaches Learning Alliance (NBLA). Our
students and their families come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and we value the diversity
and richness that this adds to our learning community.
The school community works collaboratively to ensure that each child achieves their personal best. Our
highly qualified and talented staff members are committed to ensuring that each student reaches their
academic potential, whilst nurturing and developing the self-esteem, confidence and resilience that is
necessary to succeed in our constantly changing world. This occurs through outstanding student-centred
teaching, strong student wellbeing programs and high expectations. Differentiated teaching and learning
programs cater for all students incorporating the dimensions and elements of the NSW Quality Teaching
Framework.
Our learning support team ensures that successful early intervention measures are implemented for
students experiencing learning difficulties and that extension and enrichment programs are tailored to
the interests and abilities of our gifted and talented students, ensuring that their high potential is fully
realised.
At Brookvale we are proud of our strengths in the important area of student wellbeing. Underpinning
everything we do is a commitment to t h e core values of public education – integrity, excellence,
respect, responsibility, cooperation, participation, care, fairness and democracy.
Self-assessment and school achievements
Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework
This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self-assessment using the School Excellence
Framework, our school achievements and the next steps to be pursued. The Framework supports public
schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice
across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.
During 2015 the executive staff used the School Excellence Framework as a matrix to evaluate our current
performance in the domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading. Our evaluations informed professional
development and directions for improvement linked to the 2015-2017 School Plan.
Learning
The learning culture in our school focuses on addressing student needs at individual and group levels. We
have prioritised Student Performance Measures to ensure that available data is used effectively to facilitate
tracking of progress and programming for learning. All students K-6 are placed on the literacy and learning
continuums and PLAN data is used for programming and reporting to parents. We have analysed NAPLAN
data combining three year cohorts to show trends and growth patterns. The School Excellence data shows
that in this domain we are ‘Sustaining and Growing’.
The Growth Mindset approach, using Carol Dweck’s research, has been implemented across all classes. This
fits well with our PBEL lessons where Personal Best is one of the expectations continually reinforced.
Teaching
Teachers regularly use student performance data and other student feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of their
teaching programs. Units of work are adjusted to ensure that the learning needs of all students are matched to their
achievement levels on the literacy and numeracy continuums. The implementation of new syllabus content has
taken place following high quality professional learning both within the school, and from external providers.
Our Stage-based structure continues to allow a high level of collaboration between teachers. The new Performance
Development Framework led to the introduction of a formalised process of lesson observation and feedback. Formal
mentoring processes are in place for Beginning Teachers, ensuring that their entry into the profession is supported
and their wellbeing is nurtured. Teachers have set group and individual goals to improve aspects of their practice.
There has been, and will continue to be, a focus on improving teaching in literacy and numeracy using research-
based effective teaching strategies, with particular regard to John Hattie’s research. Teachers utilise NBLA networks
to share best practice across schools, building relationships that allow for expertise to be shared.
Leading
Strategic financial management and timetabling has been used to maximise opportunities for teachers to support
each other and develop density of leadership. Feedback from the community is used in the planning process and
there is a high level of transparency. All staff members have leadership responsibilities based on their level of
expertise and areas of interest. Teachers can articulate the directions outlined in the School Plan, having been
involved in the planning process from its inception. All stakeholders in our community understand and support the
strategic directions of the school in aspiring for improving learning and social outcomes for all students.
Strategic Direction 1
Respectful, responsible students, engaged in learning, and intrinsically motivated to succeed academically.
Purpose
To support and develop the cognitive, emotional, social, physical and spiritual wellbeing of all students,
leading to improved individual and group outcomes and promoting 21st century learning capabilities.
Overall summary of progress
There is pleasing evidence that we are on track with this direction. PBEL has become deeply embedded and
is integral to everything that happens at school. Ongoing analysis of NAPLAN data is now showing that
there are clear upward trends. The school is a vibrant, happy place, much-loved by the parent community.
There is a strong sense of belonging and pride in our achievements.
Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)
Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)
Progress achieved this year
Improved outcomes and trends in standardised internal and external testing including NAPLAN.
Improvements in NAPLAN results support the idea that fundamental changes in teaching and learning are having a long-term impact. Analysis is consistent with better teaching and learning. Across the board, there are fewer students in the lower bands and more in the higher bands.
Data evidence of a reduction in negative behaviours.
PBEL data shows reduced incidents. Students and parents are using the language associated with school expectations.
Positive feedback through focus groups, surveys and anecdotal evidence that a tangible sense of welcoming inclusion pervades our school community.
In a recent School Satisfaction Survey, 73% of respondents noted ‘Community Spirit’ as a strength of the school. This is supported by written feedback: ‘We love the school and are so happy we are a part of this wonderful community.’ ‘We are new to Australia from Tibet. We are impressed by the welcome our family has received.’ ‘I would like to see the school remain as small as it can and retain the community spirit that is a key area of success’.
Highly engaged students taking responsibility for their learning goals and achievement.
Visible displays around the school promote a growth mindset. Teacher feedback to students is timely and relevant. Most students can articulate their learning goals and targets for improvement.
Next steps
Teachers, particularly in Stage 2, will focus more explicitly on Year 3 NAPLAN results and teach to address
deficits; this should lead to greater growth in the year 5 results. Further professional development around
growth mindsets and effective research-based teaching strategies will be planned.
Strategic Direction 2
Expert teachers, utilising evidence-based quality teaching strategies and reflective pedagogical practice.
Purpose
To foster collegiality and nurture high expectations of self by providing high quality professional
development in a proud and dynamic educational environment, with a clear understanding of directions
for continued school improvement.
Overall summary of progress
Teachers are familiar with the concept of effect sizes and the relative impact on learning. There is greater collaboration, not just in planning and programming, but in team teaching, observation and the giving and receiving of constructive feedback.
Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)
Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)
Progress achieved this year
Teachers have effective classroom management, students are engaged in learning and there are high expectations of achievement.
Explicit differentiated practice is happening in classrooms across all KLAs with an emphasis on literacy and numeracy. Teachers have acquired a deeper knowledge and understanding of the NSW syllabuses for English and Mathematics.
BPS is a professional learning community with a focus on student learning, collective responsibility and reflective professional inquiry.
There is a tangible increase in incidental professional dialogue around teaching and learning. Teachers reflect and share their experiences confidently. Teachers engaged in the new Professional Development Framework, setting goals for themselves and engaging in coaching and mentoring sessions with colleagues and supervisors.
Aspiring leaders develop their leadership capacity for innovation and best practice in to become dynamic facilitators of student learning.
Early Career Teachers have planned and delivered professional development sessions for staff focusing on Effective Research-based Teaching Strategies, thus deepening their own understanding and sharing it across the whole school. Teachers have joined NBLA networks enabling them to share best practice and expertise.
Next steps
The full PDF cycle will be implemented in 2016. The intention is to introduce Quality Teaching Rounds to
further refine practice. TOWN will continue in Stages 2 and 3 and L3 will continue in Early Stage 1 and Stage
1. All teachers will complete the Certificate of Gifted Education and a focus of professional development
will be meeting the needs of high potential students through Higher Order Thinking Skills. Beginning
Teacher funding will be used to enable Assistant Principals to work closely with their teams.
Strategic Direction 3
Highly transparent, democratic and ethical leadership, building an engaged and collaborative community
with a shared culture of high expectations.
Purpose
To build strong, collaborative and authentic relationships between students, teachers, parents, other
educational institutions and local businesses.
Overall summary of progress
This year we have seen a big increase in parent involvement in the school. There is far greater communication between home and school and parent to parent. The P&C has been active and social activities have emerged such as the parents’ running club and community afternoon teas. Our parents from LBOTE were heavily involved in our multicultural celebration day and that led to increased participation in other areas.
Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)
Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)
Progress achieved this year
The diverse multicultural composition of the school is celebrated, creating a positive school culture of tolerance and respect.
In Public Education Week we held a special event, ‘Around the World in a Day’. This culminated in a community lunch where a very high number of parents from LBOTE were proud to bring in their food to share. It was a highly successful day. A quote from the School Satisfaction Survey: ‘The abundance at the Round the World Day lunch and all the new faces blew me away’.
Families and the school share the responsibility for student learning and wellbeing through building parent capacity to support learning at home, and improve communication.
A greater number of parents are helping in the classrooms, the canteen, at sporting events and excursions. This increased involvement has provided opportunities for parents to see how we teach. Workshops have been offered to Kindergarten parents to familiarise them with reading programs. Parent information evening at the beginning of the year had an increased attendance. We now have a school app and sms system to enable more immediate communication.
Current community partnership are sustained and strengthened over time.
Our Principal held the role of chairperson of the Northern Beaches Learning Alliance (NBLA) and the NBLA coordinator is now based at our school. We again organised the Student Leadership Camp for NBLA schools and initiated a student-led White Ribbon project. Preschool partnerships were further strengthened.
Next steps
In collaboration with the P&C we will organise more social events to encourage parents into the school. A series of parent workshops will be planned on subjects that arise from information gleaned from focus groups and surveys. Time will be allocated to allow more frequent updates to the website.
Next Steps
Next Steps
Key initiatives and other school focus areas
Key initiatives (annual) Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)
Aboriginal background funding
Funding was used to purchase books for the library and to give teachers release time to write Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) for Aboriginal students.
$3,100
English language proficiency funding
These funds supported our EAL/D teacher with training, resources and opportunities to network with other local EAL/D teachers. Time was also allocated for an audit of EAL/D student data.
$15,416
Targeted students support for refugees and new arrivals
No funding received in 2015 $0
Socio-economic funding
Support was given to families in financial difficulty with excursion costs and school uniform. Teachers’ Aides are employed to run individual programs for students.
$11,808
Low level adjustment for disability funding
Three Teachers’ Aides were employed in 2015 to support students with additional learning needs. This funding supplemented the Integration funding received for individual students.
$10,441
Support for beginning teachers
Two beginning teachers were supported in 2015. Funding was used for them to participate in the New Teacher Network (ntn) and for extra release time.
$17,147
Other school focus areas Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)
PBEL The PBEL team attended the final part of the training – Targeted Interventions. This addresses the needs of a minority of students who need different strategies and support.
$1,555
TOWN All teachers in Stages 2 and 3 participated in Taking off with Numeracy (TOWN) training for students who are under-achieving in Mathematics.
$2,179
Focus on Reading Two teachers participated in Year 2 of Focus on Reading training. Funds were also used to purchase manuals.
$2,246
Student information
It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all students be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.
Student enrolment profile
Student attendance profile
Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
K 90.0 92.1 93.3 95.1 95.2 93.9
1 93.5 94.9 95.0 96.6 92.8 95.1
2 90.6 94.1 94.5 96.8 95.1 90.9
3 94.2 93.7 93.6 97.2 93.7 91.5
4 93.8 93.2 92.8 95.8 96.1 93.2
5 92.0 95.2 91.2 96.1 95.3 93.5
6 96.1 93.0 95.2 96.4 93.0 91.5
Total 93.0 93.7 93.7 96.2 94.5 93.1
K 94.7 94.7 94.3 95.0 95.2 94.4
1 94.2 94.2 93.9 94.5 94.7 93.8
2 94.4 94.2 94.2 94.7 94.9 94.0
3 94.5 94.4 94.4 94.8 95.0 94.1
4 94.5 94.3 94.3 94.7 94.9 94.0
5 94.4 94.2 94.2 94.5 94.8 94.0
6 94 93.8 93.8 94.1 94.2 93.5
Total 94.4 94.3 94.2 94.7 94.8 94.0
Workforce information
Workforce composition
Position Number
Principal 1.0
Assistant Principals 2.0
Classroom Teachers 8.0
Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.315
Learning and Support Teacher 0.5
Teacher Librarian 0.6
Teacher of EAL/D 0.6
Community Language Teacher 0.4
School Counsellor 0.2
Itinerant Support Teacher (Hearing) 1.0
School Administrative & Support Staff 2.422
Total 17.037
The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requires schools to report on Aboriginal composition of their workforce.
There are no members of BPS staff who identify as Aboriginal.
Teacher qualifications
All teachers meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.
Qualifications % of staff
Undergraduate degree or diploma 100
Postgraduate degree 36
Professional learning and teacher accreditation
Throughout the year teachers were involved in professional development sessions that led to the initiation of the three year School Plan and evaluation of the school’s performance aligned to the School Excellence Framework.
In accordance with the new Professional Development Framework, all teachers created Professional Development Plans with whole school, team and individual goals.
In-school sessions were held to assist the implementation of the new Mathematics syllabus and there was a strong professional learning focus across the school on Visible Learning, metacognition and Growth versus Fixed Mindset.
In-depth attention was given to evidence-based
effective strategies and effect size; in particular,
explicit learning intentions and effective feedback.
Years 3-6 teachers participated in the second year of
0
50
100
150
200
250
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Stu
den
ts
Year
Enrolments
Male Female
Focus on Reading training and introduced Taking off
with Numeracy (TOWN).
All school staff completed mandatory training in
anaphylaxis, CPR, emergency care and Child
Protection.
Eight teachers are working towards Board of Studies
Teaching and Education Standards (BOSTES)
accreditation and four teachers are maintaining their
accreditation at Proficient level.
Financial information
Financial summary
This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance.
A full copy of the school’s 2015 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the parent and/or community groups. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school.
School performance
NAPLAN
The My School website provides detailed
information and data for national literacy and
numeracy testing. Click on the link My School and
insert the school name in the Find a school and
select GO to access the school data.
Parent/caregiver, student, teacher satisfaction
Each year schools are required to seek the opinions
of parents, students and teachers about the school.
Their responses are presented below.
A survey on school satisfaction asked questions
about the school’s culture and achievements. 46% of
community members responded to the survey.
Key strengths of the school identified were
Community Spirit (73%) and Teaching Staff (92%).
Other valued aspects were Curriculum Focus,
Creative Arts programs and the Learning and
Support Team.
1. Is the school community continually looking
at ways to improve its performance?
96% said Almost Always or Usually.
2. Are the educational needs of all students
met at the school?
92% said Almost Always or Usually.
3. Is the school well-organised?
99% said Almost Always or Usually.
4. Does the school communicate effectively
with parents and carers?
94% said Almost Always or Usually.
5. Is the allocation of money and resources
managed effectively at Brookvale PS?
87% said Almost Always or Usually.
A recurring theme in ‘areas for improvement’ is the
shortage of car parking spaces for parents. This is
something that we will look into.
Date of financial summary 30/11/2015
Income $
Balance brought forward 124,953.06
Global funds 154,051.80
Tied funds 137,911.48
School & community sources 286,515.89
Interest 4,446.09
Trust receipts 4,935.10
Canteen 41,143.60
Total income 753,957.02
Expenditure
Teaching & learning
Key learning areas 60,796.63
Excursions 26,989.13
Extracurricular dissections 104,261.99
Library 5,891.25
Training & development 768.61
Tied funds 130,170.63
Casual relief teachers 26,167.82
Administration & office 90,048.54
School-operated canteen 34,068.81
Utilities 43,231.58
Maintenance 35,865.82
Trust accounts 4,935.10
Capital programs 0.00
Total expenditure 563,195.91
Balance carried forward 190,761.11
blank
Aboriginal education
This year saw the further embedding of Aboriginal
culture and heritage into all aspects of our school
curriculum. We again celebrated NAIDOC week with
many wonderful activities beginning in the art room.
This included studying specific Aboriginal artists both
past and present to gain an appreciation of their
amazing work.
Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) were created for the
Aboriginal students in our school.
The theme of NAIDOC week this year was “Standing
on Sacred Ground”.
The whole school took part in decorating their foot
prints and displaying them in our school garden as a
symbol of our school community working and
learning together.
We were entertained by one of our Aboriginal
students retelling a story that was told to him by his
ancestors. Then we had one of our teachers read us
a dreamtime story.
We were also privileged to have Jed McMinn, from
Stewart House, come to our school and entertain us
with his dancing and storytelling.
Multicultural Education and Anti-racism
Our school has a member of staff designated as the
Anti-Racism Contact Officer (ARCO). Multicultural
perspectives permeate the curriculum at our school.
Our school is fortunate to have students from a wide
range of cultural backgrounds, reflecting the
multicultural diversity of Australia.
This year our school community celebrated Harmony
Day on 21 March. This coincides with the United
Nations International Day for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination. It is a day of cultural respect
for everyone who calls Australia home. Brookvale
students participated in a range of activities which
supported the message that everyone belongs.
On 17 August Brookvale Public School hosted
‘Around the World in a Day'. Students travelled from
country to country (in classrooms) with their
passports to learn about the different cultures
within our school. This culminated in a wonderful
lunch where members of our community provided
food from over 30 different countries.
Other school programs
Sport
2015 saw Brookvale Public School continue its strong
sporting and fitness initiatives that encourage the
children to maintain their health and develop
positive attitudes and skills.
Sporting Schools Grant - This year, we were lucky
enough to secure nearly $4,000 from the
Government Sporting Schools program. Part of this
was used to provide professional coaching for our
PSSA teams. Each team received two, one hour
coaching sessions every week before school. This
began in Term 3 and dramatic improvements were
seen in all the teams involved. We intend to
continue this initiative next year.
Summer PSSA - This year we entered the Summer
PSSA competition for the first time. The boys
entered a junior and senior eagle tag team. The girls’
teams comprised of a junior t-ball team and a senior
softball team. Both boys’ teams made it to the semi-
finals. The girls’ teams made huge improvements
and finished off the season very strongly.
Winter PSSA - We continued with soccer and netball
for our Winter PSSA entries. Both soccer teams
made it to the grand finals. The junior team won
their game in style and picked up a grand final
trophy and a patch for each member of the team.
Premier’s Sporting Challenge - We continued to take
part in the annual Premier’s Sporting Challenge in
which each student’s physical activity is recorded
over a ten week period in order to increase students’
awareness of how healthy they are physically. We
were proudly awarded the Premier’s Diamond
Award again this year.
Swimming Carnival - The swimming carnival was
held at the Manly Boy Charlton swimming pool. Year
3-6 students competed and had a great time. From
the carnival, an elite team of 8 students were sent to
the Zone Swimming Carnival. We were extremely
proud to be able to send two students to the
regional carnival and following this, one student
represented our school at the NSW State Carnival.
Cross-Country Carnival - The annual Cross-Country
Carnival was a very successful event with different
age groups running either 2 or 3 kilometres around
the school grounds. This was used as a fundraiser for
Autism Awareness and a team of 21 runners were
sent to the Zone Cross-Country Carnival in Curl Curl.
Athletics Carnival - At Brookvale we are very lucky to
be able to use Brookvale Oval for our athletics
events. The day was a great success with Years 3-6
students taking part in a wide range of field and
track events. A hand-picked team of forty athletes
went on to represent the school admirably at the
Zone Athletics Carnival at Narrabeen Academy of
Sport.
Flip Sport - Students spent two terms receiving
professional gymnastics and dance tuition from Flip
Sport. In Term 2 our hall was transformed into a
dance studio with the addition of wall to wall mirrors
and a variety of music. All students were exposed to,
and took part in, dance styles including hip-hop,
flamenco, ballet and jazz.
Students were treated to an incredible array of
gymnastics equipment in Term 3. Each week they
honed their gross motor skills and practised new
skills. At the end of the program, each child
performed a gymnastic routine and was presented
with a detailed certificate outlining exactly what
skills the children had mastered.
Surf Education - In Term 4, Stage 3 spent a week in
Manly learning about surf safely, how to surf and
how to Kayak. We had great weather all week and
the surf was perfect for beginners. The children also
tested their bravery amongst a plague of bluebottles
and tested their stamina when they had to kayak
from Manly Wharf to Little Manly against a raging
wind.
TAFE - We continued our established relationship
with our local TAFE by inviting some of their trainee
personal trainers to come to the school in order to
teach the children for several weeks. The children
enjoyed having the new coaches at the school and
taking part in their exciting lessons.
K-2 Sport Report
Students in K-2 participated in a wide variety of
physical activities this year. In Terms 1 and 4 all
students took part in the weekly Fundamental
Movement Skills program for their stage. With the
assistance of parents, we were able to organise
tabloid systems using a range of activities that
targeted specific skills.
In Term 2 we had weekly dance classes run by Flip
Sport. Students were introduced to a number of
different dance styles from Hip Hop to Bollywood.
The use of clothes props added to the excitement.
We also began a running program that saw K-2
students run laps of the oval every morning before
the start of the school day.
The K-6 Athletics Carnival was held in June at
Brookvale Oval. K-2 students ran in age races for fun
and then participated in tabloid activities.
Term 3 saw the Gymnastics strand of the curriculum
covered, again by Flip Sports. The teaching and
progression of skills were closely monitored by the
gymnastics teachers and individual reports for each
student were completed.
The swimming program taught for two weeks in
Term 4 at Warringah Aquatic Centre was well
attended by the majority of students. The excellent
behaviour and enthusiasm of the students was
commented on by all staff at the pool.
Several Year 2 students who turned, or were turning
eight this year also had the opportunity to join 3-6
students in the Swimming Carnival or in the Zone
Cross Country event held at Curl Curl.
Science
Throughout 2015, Brookvale Public School has
continued its professional relationship with David
Morgan-Mar through the CSIRO ‘Scientists in
Schools’ program. David visited the school on three
occasions during the year and presented syllabus-
related content to each class. The year commenced
with a general presentation of ‘What does a scientist
do?’ providing students with an opportunity to ask
various questions connected to their own specific
areas of scientific interest. It also allowed students
to gain an understanding of the diverse range of
career options available in their futures. The second
session, focused on chemical science, with students
observing the different chemical reactions that take
place when specific compounds and elements are
placed together. The third session allowed students
to delve into the world of physics as they learnt
about gravity and the push and pull forces in our
physical world. Students greatly benefit from
exposure to a science mentor and role model for
inspiration, and to view science as a career choice
while learning about the role of science in the
community.
The Science curriculum was also delivered to
students in the form of weekly enrichment classes
for all students across K-6, with a focus on the
technology component of the curriculum. Stages 2
and 3 undertook a project as ‘young da Vinci’s’,
focusing on Leonardo da Vinci the scientist, and took
the opportunity to plan and construct their own
parachutes and bridges. K-2 participated in Design
and Make tasks in which students planned,
designed, built and tested boats made from recycled
and reusable materials.
The weekly Science Club continued to be popular
with students. This year we alternated between
longer projects, designing and making solar showers
and participating in a creative cardboard challenge
based on http://cainesarcade.com/ and shorter
projects which included lots of hands on
experiments which introduced students to chemistry
and physics.
Enrichment Opportunities
This year every student participated in the
Enrichment Program. These were 45 minute lessons
held once a week. The program is designed to enrich
students’ problem solving skills, logical reasoning
and metacognition. Students rotated every 5 weeks
to participate in a wide variety of enrichment
opportunities. These included Creative Maths,
Gardening, Thinking about Thinking, ICT, Cooking,
Science and Technology. Positive feedback was
received from students, teachers and parents.
Visual Arts
This year saw the continuation of the lunchtime art
group which allowed some of our promising artists
to work in the art studio on their own art as well as
to participate in local competitions.
We again took part in the World’s Biggest Classroom
art exhibition which was displayed at Warringah
Mall. The theme this year was “Footprint Free”. We
created our entry on a recycled surfboard which was
displayed for three weeks prior to Christmas.
We took the opportunity in NAIDOC week to explore
and appreciate some of our Aboriginal artists both
past and present, as well as looking at Aboriginal
themes to inspire our own art work.
We worked in many forms such as drawing, painting,
sculpture 3D, ceramics, photography and
printmaking. On Multicultural Day in August we
participated in many arts from around the world
which were on display in classrooms. We also took
part in the Waitangi Day art competition, where the
Tiki was the subject this year, and the children’s art
works will be displayed at the Time and Tide Hotel in
February.
Premier’s Spelling Bee
Brookvale Public School has participated in the
Premier’s Spelling Bee since 2010. Students learn to
spell words from word lists that are distributed by
the NSW Department of Education Arts Unit.
On Friday 11 September, Max Donaghey, Max Dixon,
Sila Sankey and Jack Miao represented Brookvale
Public School at the Regional Finals of the Premier’s
Spelling Bee at Curl Curl North Public School. All
students enjoyed participating in the event and
achieved their personal best at spelling in front of an
audience.
Excursions
A comprehensive program of excursions was
organised for students in all classes. These
excursions were integrated into classroom teaching
and learning programs and provided valuable
educational and social experiences from which
students could build their knowledge and
understanding.
Day excursions were organised for all classes.
Students in K-2 went to Glen Street Theatre to watch
a performance of The Bugalugs Bum Thief. They also
visited Taronga Zoo as part of their HSIE unit of
work. Early Stage 1 students walked around the local
area to observe places and spaces in their
environment. The Stage 1 students walked to Stony
Range and explored the wet and dry environments
there.
Stage 2 students attended Glen Street Theatre to
watch Duffy’s Forest Day Live Animal Show which
complemented their HSIE unit of study. Another
excursion was organised to Bradleys Head for the
State and National Park unit.
Stage 3 students went to Imax theatre at Darling
Harbour to watch a movie about Antarctica. They
also attended CARES Road and Bike Education at St
Ives to learn about road safety. A chance to meet
and listen to authors was presented to the Stage 3
students at The Sydney Writers’ Festival at Walsh
Bay. In December, Year 6 students held their
Graduation Day at the Collaroy Centre. This was
funded by their efforts at the Year 6 School Fair.
Overnight excursions were also organised. Stage 3
students had a two night stay at Bathurst and
participated in a variety of activities linked with their
HSIE unit – Gold. A tour of the Bathurst Gold Fields
included panning, bush cooking and the museum.
Also included was a tour of Jenolan Caves and
Timber Town in Oberon.
For the end of year excursion all students in K-6
were able to attend the Maritime Museum at
Darling Harbour where we were the first school to
experience The Horrible Histories Pirate Exhibition.
Reading Recovery
Reading Recovery is a research-based intervention
program with the prime goals of accelerating literacy
learning and reducing reading and writing difficulties
by targeting students in Year 1. It was developed in
New Zealand by educator and psychologist Dame
Marie Clay in the early 1980s. Clay used evidence
from her intensive research and observation of good
classroom practice to develop Reading Recovery.
The success of Reading Recovery as an early
intervention program in literacy has been carefully
documented since its inception and it has proven to
be extraordinarily successful. Studies in New
Zealand, the United States, Australia, the United
Kingdom and Canada demonstrate that Reading
Recovery enables most students who are
experiencing difficulties in literacy learning to make
the accelerated progress necessary to read at the
grade level of their peers in an average of 15 weeks.
The Reading Recovery program has been
implemented at Brookvale Public School since 1995.
In 2015, eight students participated in the program
for time periods of between eight to twenty weeks.
During this time, each student was provided with an
intensive, individually designed and individually
delivered series of lessons for 30 minutes each day,
which were supplementary to the ongoing literacy
activities in the child’s classroom.
Daily Reading Recovery lessons address the
following aspects of the reading and writing
processes: phonological awareness, visual
perception of letters, word recognition, word
analysis, structural analysis, phrasing in fluent
reading and comprehension.
Library
For 2015 increasing patronage of the library was
reflected in a greater number of books borrowed.
Also many students chose to visit the library at
lunchtimes to play Lego, puzzles and games or to use
the computers to complete Reading Eggs and
Mathletics exercises. In 2015 the library saw the
students participate in many engaging activities such
as Library Lovers’ Day, National Simultaneous Story
Time and the Book Week dress up parade. Popular
events such as these bring the world of books alive
and allow children to walk in the shoes of another
person. All these activities were enormously
successful. Term 2 2016 will see the introduction of
the new Library operating system (Oliver) and
procedures are now being put in place so that this
change will run smoothly.
English as an Additional Language / Dialect (EAL/D)
EAL/D students are learners from language
backgrounds other than English (LBOTE). EAL/D
learners may include overseas and Australian-born
students whose first language is a language other
than English, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students whose first language is an
indigenous language or traditional dialect.
This year we have had an increase in enrolment of
students speaking Mandarin or Portuguese as their
first language and we have continued to maintain
and welcome a high enrolment of LBOTE students
from many other countries.
At BPS there has continued to be provision of an
EAL/D specialist teacher, appointed to our school for
3 days per week to support targeted EAL/D students.
We support equity of access to the Australian
Curriculum for all students at BPS and the EAL/D
program provides extra support for those targeted
students who need assistance in the development of
oral and written English skills across the curriculum.
The EAL/D program also implements the New Arrival
Program (NAP) which provides intensive English
tuition for those students who have arrived for the
first time to an Australian school from their home
country.
This year our New Arrival students have been
happily progressing to the level of English language
competence necessary for each of them to be able
to participate in learning along with their peers in
the classroom.
Mandarin
In 2015 we continued to implement Mandarin
language and culture lessons as part of our
curriculum for all students from Kindergarten to Year
6. Mandarin has been selected because of the ever
increasing business and cultural links between
Australia and China. There has also been an increase
at BPS in the enrolment of students speaking
Mandarin as their first language this year.
These lessons comprise of language and culture
study components. Lessons are delivered explicitly
by Lao Shu Mary Zhang, Principal of the XuaXia
School. Classroom teachers learn alongside students
and provide support in classroom management.
Mandarin lessons include learning about Families in
China, Celebration Days, Greetings, Numbers,
Writing in Chinese and Pets.
Mandarin lessons have been positively embraced by
our students and parent body this year.
Environmental Education
In 2015 we completed the final year of the
Warringah Council Ready Steady Grow Program. This
program is aimed at encouraging and supporting the
creation of sustainable fruit and vegetable gardens
where concepts such as composting, consumption
and recycling are introduced. The program
encourages links to the curriculum through the
garden, which assists with the teaching of resource
management, reduction of waste and healthy eating.
The program also offers a series of workshops
ensuring schools have assistance and advice on how
to start, maintain and/or expand a school food
garden. The program provides funding opportunities
through grants, sponsorship or incentive payments.
Garden Club, open to K-6 students, runs on
Wednesdays. It is led by a teacher and involves the
children in designing a garden, planting, harvesting,
preparing, cooking and selling the produce. The
garden supplies the canteen with fresh herbs,
lettuce, spinach and seasonal vegetables. We added
a new garden bed this year and now have six large
garden beds, a vertical garden, four fruit trees and a
small herb garden near the canteen. One garden bed
is in the shape of a pizza and grows herbs and
vegetables suitable for pizza topping. The other
garden beds grow a variety of herbs and seasonal
vegetables such as parsley, basil, corn, spinach,
tomatoes, eggplant, kale, carrots, and radishes. Each
garden bed now has a compost tower to help
encourage worms and improve the quality of the
soil.
A whole school Enrichment program started this
year and involved children from K-6 spending one
hour a week in the garden. The children were
involved in planting, harvesting and cooking herbs
and vegetables from the garden. The enrichment
groups have given all children in the school the
opportunity to experience and contribute to the
garden. The garden is also used for Science, HSIE,
Maths and Art lessons. We would like to add an
outdoor classroom in the future.
A Gardening Committee consisting of the Principal,
teacher and parents has been formed to help with
the gardens around the school. One group tends to
the aesthetics of the school by planting flowers and
native plants around the school. The other group is
involved in improving and maintaining the vegetable
garden and composting. Our General Assistant also
helps maintain the garden and our compost bins.
The Chicken Wranglers are students from K-6 who
have demonstrated a keen interest and ability to
care for our six chickens. A mobile chicken coop was
purchased this year and has been relocated behind
the library to give the chickens more space. The eggs
collected are being used in the canteen. Chicken
Wranglers collect food scraps, feed the chickens,
collect eggs and clean the chicken coop. The
chickens have been a huge success and all the
students have enjoyed interacting with the chickens
and watching them grow to become healthy egg
layers.
Technology
It has been another exciting year for technology at
Brookvale. At the start of the year, the school had
the aim of improving communication with parents
and the wider community. In January, the school
website was relaunched. A wide range of parents
now access school information, newsletters and
photos by viewing the redesigned website. The
school has also introduced a school app through
School e-news. This has proven to be a popular
method of receiving newsletters and the latest
school news.
As our school has continued to grow, new hardware
has been purchased. Kindergarten classes received 6
laptops, whilst 12 iPad minis were purchased for
Stage 1. New apps for iPads have also been acquired,
as new opportunities for use across the curriculum
arise.
Cyber Safety and E-Safety has been an ongoing area
of focus at Brookvale. In February the school
participated in the worldwide Safer Internet Day.
Students took part in a range of activities that
resulted in increased understanding of how to stay
safe when using technology.
This year also saw the introduction of Enrichment
classes in a number of subjects, one of them being
ICT. Students learnt a range of skills such as word
processing, designing presentations and creating
short films.
Key areas for future staff development have been
identified and teachers have continued to receive
training on the latest developments in ICT.
