Georges River College Hurstville Boys Campus

Oatley Senior Campus

Peakhurst Campus

Penshurst Girls Campus

Annual School Report

2012

8813 8408 8857 8284

1

Our school at a glance

Ms C Spittles

Principal Georges River College (GRC) GRC is a multi-campus secondary college located in the southern suburbs of Sydney stretching from Hurstville in the north to Oatley in the south. College activities are focused around our motto “Creating Your Future” to ensure we deliver a quality education for all students and achieve excellence in a wide spectrum of achievements in sport, the arts and academic achievement. We use the synergy created by the size of the college to multiply the opportunities available to students.

Students The college has an enrolment of 2800 students from Years 7 to 12 including those studying in academically gifted streams. Students are drawn from a wide geographical area predominantly located within the southern suburbs of Sydney. Many students apply for entry into our gifted streams or through our performing arts programs. A diverse program of extra-curricular activities gives all students opportunities to fully develop their talents.

Staff The college’s teaching staff is an excellent mix of experienced and early career teachers. This year the (ELS) Empowering Local Schools National Partnership Program has enabled us to purchase staff to focus on resiliency and student wellbeing, quality teaching and support for student learning. We have substantially appointed a College Head Teacher of Teaching and Learning to enable professional learning around student learning and transition to be facilitated across the college. The staff at GRC are highly skilled and experienced at tailoring learning experiences to meet the needs of all students.

Significant programs and initiatives As a college we introduced the Georges River College Stage 5 Examination and Certificate. Staff teams from the middle schools prepared and marked the exams in English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography, providing rich data for the middle years campuses as well as Oatley Senior Campus.

The building at GRC Hurstville Boys Campus formally known as C Block has been transformed and will now be known as the Middle Years Centre or MY centre. It will be utilised by Sydney region to conduct Professional Learning for teachers, specialising in the middle years. Workshops for students in the middle years will also be conducted such as the recent one conducted by psychologist Andrew Fuller. It is still possible that Sydney University will have a base in the MY Centre for teacher training.

At GRC we have improved our delivery of literacy strategies, in particular this year we have an increased focus on vocabulary. Each subject has targeted the vocabulary of their subject to ensure that our students understand what is being asked in examinations and other assessment tasks.

Our participation in the ELS Program allowed the college to continue to align college and campus programs to better support students and teachers in individual campuses. Evaluations of the programs by all involved were overwhelmingly positive. Additional staff employed at the college included additional Deputy Principals, student engagement officers, Head Teachers of Teaching and Learning and Curriculum, additional STLA staff and learning support programs which have allowed staff to be well prepared for the introduction of the National Curriculum.

This teams structure will be built on in 2013 to support the unpacking of the new National Curriculum, and allow campuses to share resources, teaching strategies and assessment.

2012 saw the introduction of PBL or Positive Behaviour for Learning with many staff undertaking training and the development of college expectations of Respect, Responsibility and Excellence. GRC has a strong academic program delivered in a culture of high expectations and strong values.

2

Messages

Mrs D Bedwell

Principal GRC Oatley Senior Campus A school is not the buildings or classrooms but the people who enter it every morning at 8.30. Every year at GRC Oatley Senior Campus we enrol 500 new students and every year the rich tapestry that makes up our school changes.

GRC Oatley Senior Campus is a dynamic school, always changing to meet the needs of students. What doesn’t change is our unrelenting determination and commitment to our values of respect, responsibility, achievement and citizenship.

This year’s 2012 HSC cohort were the first year of the compulsory 17 year leaving age. To meet the needs of students we introduced new courses to further broaden our already extensive curriculum. We also established two new staff positions: a Learning Support teacher in the Learning Centre and a Community Engagement Officer to establish links with local community, agencies and parents.

Our Year 12 Graduation was held at the Sydney Opera House and we were very proud to graduate 435 students.

GRC Oatley Senior Campus was one of the leading schools for blood donations and also contributed to a range of charities including Helping Hands for Indigenous Literacy and the The Mark Gasnier Foundation for Children. One of our outstanding

achievements came through our work with the White Ribbon Foundation to stop violence against women in our society. In so many ways, students looked beyond our school and made a difference to the lives of others.

To perform at their best, students need a strong support team around them. The teachers, their parents and their friends all have a role in encouraging them to do their absolute best. At Oatley we say “YES We Can” but we need the support of all members of the training team working together to ensure that all students are engaged and learning.

Our gifted and talented program gave students many thought-provoking experiences.

The Oatley Way is based on aim high. Be the best you can, every lesson, every day, every month. These are good values to take into life as our young adults become the citizens of the future.

3

Mrs A Ross

Principal GRC Penshurst Girls Campus

At GRC Penshurst Girls Campus we aim to educate our students to become independent thinkers, who have a strong social conscience and personal integrity. We achieve this by encouraging each student to develop their individual talents as they develop themselves as future leaders and responsible citizens.

NAPLAN 2012 indicated overall results above the state mean in Year 7 and Year 9 Literacy; above the state mean in Year 7 Numeracy with outstanding improvement in Year 9 Numeracy. Reading will continue to be an area of focus in 2013.

Last year 100% of all Year 10 students achieved the RoSA credential which replaces the School Certificate. The total number of Grades A or B were 53% whereas the total number of Grades D or E were only 14%. Students at Georges River College also received a Stage 5 Certificate with marks and percentile bands from common tests in the core subjects. These results will further inform student learning in the senior school towards a Higher School Certificate.

Overall there has been a significant shift upwards in academic performance which is the result of quality teaching and improved student engagement in learning.

At the conclusion of last year we recognised students who have worked diligently and achieved their personal best at the Most Improved Academic Performance morning teas for Years 7, 8 and 9. A standout was Year 8 with 45% of students indicating improved academic progress in the second semester.

In addition we also celebrated the achievements of our sportswomen who participated in numerous competitions and carnivals at the annual Sports Award Assembly.

Superior learning experiences outside the classroom in 2012 included:

• GRC Concert and Stage Band – performances at Opera House, Jazz Festival Adelaide and University NSW.

• Japanese Sister school visit from Kojimachi High School.

• Engaging China Project.

• Multicultural Day Assembly and Market.

• Koori Art Expressions - Powerhouse Museum.

• MOSAIC project at University NSW.

• GRC Penshurst Girls Campus excelled at the St George Public Speaking Eisteddfod and Regional Debating competitions.

• The Indigenous Great Debate.

• Burbangana publication of Aboriginal student stories.

• Breaking the Silence White Ribbon art and poetry publication.

• Premier’s Sporting Challenge with gold and silver awards.

• State level Swimming and Athletics.

• Black Opal Awards and Regional School Award for Volunteering.

Finally there were many individual student awards during 2012:

• St George Community Award: Jacelyn Moenting, Molly Towell, Natalie Josevski, Coco Finemore, Julia Spyrou and Jodie Lam.

• St George Young Person of the Year Award: Christina Zoupanits and Tatyana Babic.

• St George Sport Award: Brie Dutton.

• The Stellar Astronomy Scholarship: Vyjayanthi Harishankar.

• Pierre de Coubertin award: Jacelyn Moenting.

• Deadly Kid Doing Well award: Katelyn Farmer.

• Regional Aboriginal Education Program scholarship: Nikita Tasker.

• The NSW Premier’s Medal for Reading: Faith Lin.

• The Long Tan Award for Service: Bethany Pankhurst.

4

Mr R Seretis

Principal GRC Peakhurst Campus 2012 has been yet another successful year for GRC Peakhurst Campus with students actively engaged in curriculum study programs as well as a multitude of extra-curricular opportunities ranging from the creative and performing arts to sporting and leadership initiatives. Our school’s reputation for its “willingness to be involved” also saw students represented at regional events from Mathematical number crunching to dance festivals.

The year also heralded the start of what is shaping up to be a period of significant educational reforms over the next few years and GRC Peakhurst Campus is perfectly placed to meet the challenges these present – beginning with the introduction of the new National Curriculum.

This year, GRC Peakhurst began putting measures into place to assist in the delivery of course content materials, both current and impending, with all four campuses recently committing to the establishment of a college Moodle in which students, staff and parents will have access to a range of educational resources, discussion forums and assessment information to supplement the work being carried out in the classroom.

This step is also quite a timely one as the state begins a rollout of its biggest ever software

solution into schools designed to standardise and streamline the various learning management systems used by schools across the state into a consolidated, consistent package. Our school’s involvement in the ELS National Partnership providing greater flexibility in decision making at a local level to meet the needs of our students, has resulted in our school, along with the other campuses of the college, being one of the first 229 out of 2200 state high schools to be included in this rollout.

Additionally, with the abolition of the NSW School Certificate and introduction of the RoSA, this year’s Year 10 students were the first to experience a new era in credentialing. Supplementing the RoSA, the college introduced a college Stage 5 Certificate which was comprised of a set of common exams. These exams were cooperatively set and marked by teachers from each of the four campuses and added significantly to the depth and richness of our educational programs.

Planning and development commenced on some major changes to the physical landscape of our school with work on the construction of our new hall due to commence in early 2013. If plans run to time, our new hall should be ready for us very early in 2014 at which time we will see the refurbishment of our new combined dance studio and weights room take place in F-Block.

Details of our school’s achievements in 2012 can be found within the following Annual School Report.

5

Ms L Larcombe

Principal GRC Hurstville Boys Campus Welcome to our special guests, parents, staff and students.

The theme of my report is change.

We are living in a time of significant change in education. This year we have seen change with the Department of Education and Communities regarding structures and the way schools operate. We are one of 229 schools across NSW involved in the Empowering Local Schools Partnership moving towards more decisions about our school being made locally. With regard to curriculum, staff across NSW have begun training in the new National Curriculum ready for phase 1 of implementation for Years 7 and 9 in 2014 in English, Mathematics, Science and History.

This year’s Year 10 students have been the first cohort to work toward the award of the new Record of School Achievement or RoSA after the demise of the School Certificate.

I am very pleased to announce that our students as a cohort came first in the Science exam. The most notable performances being Moussa Mourad and Hassan Fakih who were placed equal third out of 410 students. Congratulations to the Science faculty – Mr Adams (HT), Mrs Mavros and Mrs Bassilious for their dedication and quality teaching.

At GRC Hurstville Campus we have conducted student and staff surveys on bullying via Survey Monkey as well as the analysis of data from our welfare and discipline database to provide

evidence to guide future planning. During Term 1, 2013 we will launch the “Use Another Word” strategy to improve interactions between students and staff and students.

At GRC Hurstville Boys Campus there have been many changes in many different aspects of the school. Firstly, with Mr Worsley’s promotion to College Principal at Northern Beaches Secondary College there was a change in leadership with my promotion to Principal and Mrs Cox being appointed as Deputy Principal.

The most obvious changes are to the physical appearance of the school. We have recently moved into our new administration block. The refurbishment of classrooms and buildings is almost complete. Over the holidays the Bini will receive an internal makeover with fresh paint and the Art rooms will be refurbished. This will mean that all of the school, with the exception of the Human Performance Laboratory will have been renovated, therefore creating fresh, modern learning spaces for our students. It is a very different place to the one I entered almost four years ago when I began as relieving Deputy Principal. I would like to acknowledge the many hours of planning and negotiating by Mr Worsley to make this all possible.

It is hoped that the work on the grounds will be completed by the end of Term 1 2013 leaving us with two new carparks, two new basketball courts, a COLA and new gardens.

As a result of the physical changes we have made changes to our timetable including providing homerooms for Year 7 students. Year 7 have taken up residence in the top of A block. These classrooms are used for DEAR, English, Mathematics, History, Geography and PDHPE theory lessons with the teachers travelling to the boys to aid their transition from Primary to Secondary School.

I would like to acknowledge our P&C. This dedicated group meets every third Thursday of the month and they would like to see many more parents there. The P&C have sponsored our new digital newsletter which has been issued this month.

Our students were issued with their new look reports. Mr Adler, Mrs Lake and Mr Inwood have worked tirelessly to develop a very professional looking report.

6

P&C Messages

Oatley Senior Campus P&C 2012 was the fifth year of operation of the e-P &C (electronic P&C). This year 63 parents were members of the e-P&C.

Four parent events were held during the year: a parent introduction in Term 1, information sessions on the ‘How Parents Can Help Students with the HSC’ and ‘Career Options’ in Terms 2 and 3 and Presentation Day Morning Tea in Term 4.

The P&C supported funds to install interactive projectors in classrooms, ambulance cover for the students, purchase of Year 12 artwork and framing, support of students attending NSW state carnivals, support of Year 12 Graduation and Year 11 Presentation Day, purchase of student seating in the cafeteria area, contribution to the Support Unit Annual Camp, ground improvements and parent SMS notification system.

A focus in 2013 will be installation of interactive projectors in all teaching spaces.

The school thanks the P&C members for their support. The additional funds are vital in supporting the delivery of educational opportunities. We thank Deb McEvoy-Herbert for her contribution as P&C President for the past three years.

Penshurst Girls Campus P&C The dedicated Penshurst Girls Campus P&C has encouraged Year 7 parents to be an integral part of this important support group within our school. The P&C supported student transition into high school by being involved in our Year 6 Open Evening and the Year 7 Welcome Evening.

Numerous parents undertook the ‘Engaging Adolescents’ program facilitated by our school counsellor and district guidance officer.

This year the P&C have financed data projectors and screens for classrooms, language program, blazers for our student leaders to borrow, chickens and their new enclosure, the Year 10 graduation cake and a donation for the Year 9 TAP ‘Sustainability’ project with a water fountain.

Penshurst Girls Campus also maintains a Penshurst Girls Union for ex students and staff. This organisation continues to assist the school

with Year 7 scholarships and book vouchers for the most improved students in academic performance. This association enhances the history and cultural traditions of our campus. This year a volunteer group painted the old flat and worked with archives to begin setting up a School Museum.

Peakhurst Campus P&C GRC Peakhurst Campus P&C believes that together, parents can support teachers and provide extra for all students.

In 2012, the Peakhurst Campus P&C assisted the school by providing afternoon snacks for the Homework Centre in the library, assisted with the acquisition of a new sound system for the dome, iPads for the support unit, and a photographic organisational chart, which hangs in the front office. They also financially contributed to affiliation and insurance costs and aided with staff selection panels and finance meetings.

Hurstville Boys Campus P&C This P&C is a small but highly committed group of parents.

The building and renovation program at our campus is near completion and the P&C played an important and supportive advocacy role. This has resulted in impressive improvements to the educational facilities available to the students at Hurstville Boys Campus. The P&C were instrumental in assisting with funding so as our school newsletter is now presented to the school community electronically. This has provided wider access and assists in meeting the school’s sustainability goals.

Our target in 2013 is to engage with our P&C to support our “Positive Behaviour for Learning” and “Use Another Word” strategies to increase harmony and tolerance within the campus.

7

Student representative’s message

Oatley Senior Campus SRC 2012 saw the GRC Oatley Student Representative Council continue to focus on ensuring that the SRC leadership reflected realigned procedures and supported the college culture. The goal remains to develop the leadership potential of our students and the SRC selection process continues to ensure that the campus has a very capable group of student leaders.

The SRC worked on improving the school’s sense of community and spirit by organising a range of fundraising and student participation activities. Throughout the year, the SRC was able to raise substantial sums of money to support charities including HeartKids NSW and the Mark Gasnier Foundation.

The SRC also continued a number of excellent campus traditions to enhance the College’s sense of spirit and culture. This included supporting the Red Cross Blood Service’s Vampire Shield, with our school making over 130 blood donations this year. They also reinstituted a previous campus tradition of celebrating Valentine’s Day with a range of fundraising activities.

The SRC worked with Councils of other College Campuses on cross-campus meetings, assisting with College initiatives. They have also very capably provided support within the school for many events integral to our school calendar. Our representatives attended Zone meetings to both share and gather information on leadership activities and GRC Oatley again hosted the Regional SRC Conference in December.

Year 11 SRC member Amina Cohodarevic represented us at the NSW Schools Constitutional Convention. Her intelligent and enthusiastic contribution saw her selected to represent the State at the national convention. She was the only public school student chosen from the group in which she worked.

We have farewelled an excellent group of student leaders from the 2012 cohort - ably led by Captains Nicholas Sandars and Georgia Farrar and the SRC President, Jason Lecce. The student leadership team for 2013 - led by Danny Ly and Isabel Byrnes and SRC President, Lucia Fong - are also showing great energy and leadership skills for an exciting 2013 SRC program.

Penshurst Girls Campus SRC The GRC Penshurst Campus SRC meets every day in DEAR to discuss, organise and plan leadership events which will benefit the community and the school. During 2012 all SRC students attended Zone, Region or State SRC meetings and youth forums where they heard and discussed many issues and leadership programs in the state.

The SRC has been busy providing barbeques for the cross country, the Year 7 Welcome and end of year celebrations. They ran Mufti Days and helped with the Multicultural Day and Big Day Out.

The Year 7 and Year 8 SRC representatives have been busy trying to reduce the litter in the school. In 2012, Year 7 started a proposal concerning replacing the old rubbish bins while Year 8 designed and installed a plastic bag mural in the Year 9/10 playground to motivate students to use the bins.

The Year 9 and Year 10 SRC representatives were involved in the Young Leaders Foundation Project. This project involved the girls choosing an area of the school to improve and then organised the design, costing, and function of the space. Year 10 decided to totally refurbish an area of the school not being used to its potential into a Flexible Learning Space and it was opened in Term 3. This project has enhanced their leadership and organisation skills and has provided a wonderful learning space for the school and community.

Year 9 started their journey with their project focusing on enhancing the canteen area of the school and this will continue into 2013.

The Year 8 SRC representatives attended the Australian Premier Student Impact Leadership Conference in November and used the knowledge gained from this experience to present to the rest of the SRC girls in their annual SRC leadership/planning camp held at Stanwell Tops in December.

Peakhurst Campus SRC The 2012 Peakhurst Campus SRC had a productive and rewarding year, organising activities to benefit the whole school, supporting both in and out of school initiatives and developing the leadership skills of its members.

8

In Term 1, the SRC supported the Leukemia Foundation through Crazy Hair Day. As a school, our goal was to raise $1000 for this great cause. Due to the support and generosity of many people, we were able to surpass this goal.

Throughout the year, there have also been many opportunities for SRC members to develop their leadership skills through the following:

• The Opening of the School Year.

• School Open Night and Year 7 Meet the Teacher Night.

• Year 10 SRC members assisting teachers and students at Year 7 Camp.

• Three day Leadership Camp at Collaroy.

• Secondary School Leaders program for School Captains.

• The Alignment Partnership’s Young Leader’s Foundation program.

• School Education Director for a day program.

• Chairing formal assemblies and year meetings.

The School and Vice Captains along with many of the Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 SRC members represented our campus at various SRC Zone Interschool Meetings and Regional Conference Meetings. A Year 9 SRC member was elected to represent Sydney Region at the four day SRC State Conference at Vision Valley. This is an outstanding achievement.

Moreover, four Year 9 students contributed to The Alignment Partnership’s Young Leader’s Foundation in 2012. These four students were outstanding representatives for GRC Peakhurst Campus. Their initiative to have large outdoor clocks installed around the school to improve overall student efficiency and increase school spirit is a work in progress.

Our 2012 School Captain was selected from hundreds of students across the state to participate in the School Education Director for a day. She shadowed the School Education Director for Woronora River Network, Ms Sue Cran, for a whole day and gained an insight into the roles and responsibilities of a SED.

Hurstville Boys Campus SRC Our student leaders have also been responsible for change. This year’s School Captain Steven

Prasaad and Vice Captain Ali Jebeile have led a dedicated group of prefects who should be proud of their efforts in their leadership roles. Both Steven and Ali have been recognised within Sydney Region with Ali being selected to represent Sydney Region at the State SRC conference and Steven was named as a reserve. Steven and Ali were also involved in The Alignment Partnership (TAP) conducted by the Young Leaders Foundation in 2011 with their project being finalised this year. They felt that the signage to direct the public to our school needed to be improved. Thanks to their efforts we now have a new sign at the entrance to Kenwyn Street. This year four Year 9 students also took part in the TAP project. Liam Tonks, Ali Atoui, Ibrahim Mustafa and Anogrhra Noer felt that they would like to improve the facilities within the playground so that students would be better occupied at recess and lunch. They conducted surveys and research to support this. As a result of their project we now have two large chessboards painted on the playground, six new handball courts and circles for hacky sack games. The second part of their project to be completed in 2013 is a “walk of fame” to honour former students who have been very successful eg Sir Jack Brabham – former world racing car champion and recently named “Australian Living Treasure”. The group will be seeking sponsorship to help fund this project.

9

School context

Student information Student enrolment profile

Oatley Senior Campus

Gender 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Male 437 442 454 473 441

Female 469 464 432 425 480

Penshurst Girls Campus

Gender 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Male 0 0 0 0 0

Female 678 679 692 710 694

Peakhurst Campus

Gender 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Male 427 430 422 394 404

Female 204 231 223 257 215

Hurstville Boys Campus

Gender 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Male 377 349 349 351 324

Female 0 0 0 0 0

Student attendance profile

College

Note: Retention data for multi-campus colleges is aggregated across all campuses.

Retention to Year 12

SC06-HSC08

SC07-HSC09

SC08-HSC1

0 SC09-HSC11

SC10-HSC1

2 School 71.8 72.2 66.4 72.3 71.7 SEG 73.7 74.0 73.4 79.0 77.9 State 60.3 61.0 62.7 64.4 63.4

0

500

1000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Stud

ents

Year

Enrolments

Male Female

0

500

1000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Stud

ents

Year

Enrolments

Male Female

0

500

1000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Stud

ents

Year

Enrolments

Male Female

0

200

400

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Stud

ents

Year

Enrolments

Male Female

0

25

50

75

100

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Atte

ndan

ce ra

te

Year

Student attendance rates

School Region State DEC

10

0.0

50.0

100.0

SC06-HSC08 SC08-HSC10 SC10-HSC12

Retention to Year 12 (SC to HSC)

School SEG State

1

2

3

4

5

6

8% F/T Employment

8% P/T Employment

3% Apprenticeships

6% Private Provider

7% TAFE

We were unable to contact all students. This graph is based on contacted students only

67% University

DESTINATION SURVEY - 2012 HSC STUDENTS

Retention Rates

Management of non-attendance

Regular attendance at school is not only a legal requirement but is essential if students are to maximize their achievement.

Parents and guardians are legally responsible for the regular attendance at school by their children, explaining the absences of their children promptly and taking moves to resolve issues of attendance.

School staff, as part of their duty of care, monitor part or whole day absences. They maintain accurate records and follow up unexplained absences through written and verbal communication, implementing programs and practices to address attendance issues when they are a problem. Clear information is given to students and parents regarding attendance and consequences of poor attendance.

Most campuses employ SMS messaging to keep parents informed and request HSLO support to assist individual families.

Staff information At GRC Hurstville Boys Campus Leanne Larcombe began in the role of Principal at the beginning of 2012.

Aphrodite Cox was subsequently appointed on merit to position of Deputy Principal.

The Head Teacher English retired and was substantively replaced by Cally Dixon.

John Moore and Magda Bassilious were substantively appointed on merit selection to the PDHPE and Mathematics/Science faculties respectively. Susan Saffery was appointed as our Learning and Support Teacher. Nick Zouroudis was successful in being promoted to Head Teacher English at GRC Peakhurst Campus.

GRC Peakhurst Campus has a staff of 48 teachers and 12 administration and support staff. Our dedicated teaching staff are committed to providing quality teaching in an environment where every student has the opportunity to achieve their potential. Support staff in the classroom are a valued resource for teaching our students with special needs.

All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.

11

GRC Staff establishment

Position Number Principal 5.0 Deputy Principal(s) 6.0 Head Teachers 37.0 College created Executives 5.0 Classroom Teachers 155.9 Teacher of Mild Intellectual Disabilities 5.0 Support Teacher Learning Assistance 5.0 Teacher Librarian 4.0 Teacher of ESL 5.0 Counsellor 3.9 School Administrative & Support Staff 53.0 Total 284.8

The school has no identified appointed Aboriginal staff.

Staff retention

Staff numbers at GRC Peakhurst Campus remained relatively stable. Four staff moved to other campuses within Georges River College.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.

Qualifications % of staff Degree or Diploma 100

Postgraduate or Diploma 75

Financial summary This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance.

Date of financial summary: 30/11/12

GRC Hurstville

Boys Campus

GRC Penshurst

Girls Campus

GRC Oatley Senior

Campus

GRC Peakhurst

Campus

Income

Balance brought forward

228,292.40 484,696.65 813,681.78 290,519.83

Global funds 291,280.42 362,386.91 843,945.62 394,561.38

Tied funds 235,975.41 159,788.99 247,326.45 145,161.67

School and Community Sources

163,078.03 499,182.99 462,727.62 318,604.14

Interest 13,758.27 23,161.95 40,245.60 15,205.98

Trust receipts

28,039.05 46,286.13 160,192.86 89,173.51

Canteen 0 0 0 159,011.37

Total Income 960,423.58 1,575,503.62 2,568,119.93 1,412,237.88

Expenditure

Teaching and Learning

Key Learning Areas

47,041.65 191,457.48 155,522 131,409.22

Excursions 44,071.63 117,514.68 26,133.24 61,157.81

Extracurricular dissections 40,131.09 128,421.36 37,264.20 121,259.65

Library 7,282.49 19,271.01 29,421.77 8,222.98

Training and Development

353.68 3,106.85 1,903 1,466.22

Tied Funds 198,371.70 135,511.32 220,337.29 138,071.02

Casual Relief Teachers

91,179.26 145,412.63 158,418.48 129,958.89

Administration and Office 71,931.74 172,788.48 397,064.27 122,347.71

School-operated canteen

0 0 0 153,120.50

Utilities 78,354.53 92,540.20 267,387.49 119,824.33

Maintenance 25,162.88 51,648.57 108,889.04 53,148.76

Trust accounts

30,101.95 35,835.19 172,799.91 104,137.79

Capital Programs

0 0 83,329.19 9,532.38

Total Expenditure

633,982.60 1,093,507.77 1,658,468.91 1,153,657.26

Balance carried forward 326,440.98 481,995.85 909,651.02 258,580.62

A full copy of each school’s 2012 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the P&C’s. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting individual campuses.

12

School performance 2012

Achievements Arts

Peakhurst’s Got Talent was an innovation promoting the Performing Arts. Students showed their talents to the guest judges. This in-house event was greatly enjoyed by students and showcased our students’ amazing talent.

Once again Peakform was a huge success. Held for the second year in a row at Bankstown Sports Club, it featured the best of our singers and groups, our award-winning dance and aerobic teams, “Peakability” and drama students and guest spots by other groups from across Georges River College, including the GRC Concert and Stage Bands.

As part of our school’s focus on identifying and strengthening the links between Primary and Secondary school settings, as well as our commitment to Gifted and Talented Programs, GRC Peakhurst Campus has established a dance enrichment program entitled Peakability. This program aims to identify talented dancers from our local Primary schools to create a combined Primary Talented Dance Ensemble within our local area - delivering an enriched dance program, whilst at the same time exposing students to experiences within a Secondary setting.

The Mad Hatters Tea Party was another new initiative from the CAPA Department. The aim of this initiative was to encourage performance in Year 7, especially in drama and dance. All students in Year 7 acted, made props, and danced in their Performing Arts classes. This culminated in a day of performance and partying in a safe and fun environment whilst trying out new skills.

PeakView - Peakhurst’s visual arts night goes from strength to strength. In 2012 PeakView was celebrated with an outdoor sculpture and later in the evening a spectacular light display.

The heart of the night, as always, the exhibition in the library, containing work by each and every Creative Arts student in the school.

In addition to the opening night for the public, the students view the exhibition and study the works, answering questions in their booklets.

Draw Off was an initiative to get art out into school “public space”. It was a dynamic art competition that the whole school was able to watch at lunch time.

During 2012 the students at GRC Hurstville Boys Campus performed at a number of events. These include campus assemblies, “Peakform” and local community festivals. The Rock Band performed during Education Week at Hurstville Westfield and Rockdale Plaza. The Guitar Ensemble performed on Harmony Day at a local Public School. The Vocal Ensemble performed in the ‘In Concert’, as part of a mass choir at the Sydney Town Hall.

The GRC College Concert Band, Stage Band and String Ensemble performed at a number of school functions, such as campus assemblies, end of year concerts, Graduation Ceremonies, HSC accompaniments, Open Nights, Peakform and Presentation Days. They also performed in a number of events, such as combined performances with local Primary schools, Education Week, Harmony Day and NSW Bandfest. All the Ensembles enjoyed three days intensive fun Music training at the Tops Conference Centre.

The GRC College Concert Band received the Silver Award in the NSW Bandfest.

The GRC College Stage Band had a wonderful six days Jazz experience in Mt Gambier in South Australia.

GRC Oatley Senior Campus - Britney Trevithik was a featured artist in Schools Spectacular. Rebecca Hart was also in the core choir. Both students underwent a rigorous audition process to be selected. 16 students were also in the combined choir for Schools Spectacular.

Congratulations to Holly Jones, Year 12, whose HSC visual Arts Body of Work was selected for exhibition in the Artrules exhibition in Hazelhurst Regional Gallery.

Artrules is a prestigious exhibition, displaying the excellent standards of Visual Arts by Year 12 students across the Shire. Congratulations also, to Yiannis Chambers, who won first prize at the Annual Exhibition, sponsored by S&S Wholesale, and Jack Hicking, who won the 'People's Choice' prize.

At GRC Penshurst Girls Campus CAPA students have enjoyed many achievements.

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At the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, our school was represented by five very stunning artworks, in the Koori Art Expressions - 40 years of the Tent Embassy art exhibition. The exhibition was of such an impressive quality that there was a suggestion for the exhibition to tour Old Parliament House in Canberra, and possibly Dubbo Regional Art Gallery.

Further to our school’s involvement in community exhibitions, Year 9 Visual Arts students participated in The White Ribbon Art and Poetry exhibition, Breaking the Silence, Not Silent, Not Violent. The works range in form with paintings and sculptural pieces included.

Our dance students have participated in the Rotary Performing Arts Festival, and have also performed at the school’s Presentation Night.

The Vocal Group were involved in “In Performance” a state-wide choral festival at the Sydney Town Hall. They also performed at the Harmony Festival at Penshurst Primary School and the Rotary Performing Arts Festival. Their final performance for the year was at Presentation Night.

Sport

GRC Hurstville Boys Campus has a strong reputation of fair play and overall sporting achievement.

As always our boys have displayed excellent sportsmanship on and off the field, this commitment to sport has produced some outstanding sporting achievements in 2012.

Grade Sport - traditionally GRC Hurstville Boys Campus participates very well within St George Zone summer and winter grade sports competitions. 2012 was no exception fielding over 33 teams with premierships awarded to 15C basketball team, 13 rugby league team, 13 soccer team and the second grade soccer team.

Of the hundreds of athletes who participated at zone and regional level in sport this year, 16 of our students from GRC Hurstville Boys Campus were selected for a representative level in their chosen sports.

Swimming - Joseph Day second in 12 Years 200m freestyle, John Day second in 15 Years 200m freestyle, 16 years 50m Freestyle team came second including Ali Jebeile, Lachlan Richardson, Khalid Nayef, John Day.

Cross Country - 2012 was the year that GRC Hurstville Boys Campus put themselves back on the leaderboard at the Zone Cross Country Carnival. A team of over 40 students performed strongly and ranked third overall within the Championship Schools.

St George Zone Representatives - 14 Years: Omar Abdel Wahab, 15 Years: Houssam Sharafdin and 16 Years: Ali Jebeile.

Sydney East Representative at CHS Cross Country - Omar Abdel Wahab.

Athletics - St George Zone Representatives: Omar Abdel Wahab 800m, 3000m; Sugam Bandari 400m, 800m; Ismail Hamdy 800m, 1500m; Ali Jebeile 800m, 1500m; Conharie Hogan shot put; Andrew Kapinga 100m, discus; Kailash Karki shot put and Antonio Kingi high jump.

GRC Oatley Senior Campus continues to excel in sport with the junior campuses nurturing outstanding athletes through to the senior campus. The college is developing a proud sporting reputation throughout CHS sport.

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There have been many outstanding individual and team performances throughout 2012. Below is a summary of the best performances.

Swimming – 18 students attended the St George Zone swimming carnival. Dale Wood was the open girls swimming champion and Emma McDonagh was the 16 years girls swimming runner-up.

It was also pleasing to see past GRC students Sean Russo and Michael Auprince represented Australia at the London 2012 Paralympics, with Michael winning a gold medal in the 4 x 100m freestyle event.

Cross Country – this team showed for the second consecutive year that the college has fantastic depth in distance running. The wonderful “ladies of long distance” cross-country team covered themselves in glory over the lung busting course at Eastern Creek at the NSW All Schools Cross Country Carnival. The team finished second in NSW and included Laura Henry, Leah Steiger and Sidney Widjaja. Individually, Ali Najem finished fourth in the open boys event and Jordan Natoli finished 21st in the 17 years division. Ali Najem also showed his propensity for distance running in the Sutherland to Surf, winning his age group and finishing 16th overall.

Athletics - the success in athletic pursuits transferred to the track at Sylvania for the Sydney East Championships. The whole team represented with pride and determination and special mention must go to the following athletes who progressed to the elite CHS carnival: Laura Henry – first 3000m walk; Yannis Shaw – first 800m; Ali Najem – second 800m; Jordan Natoli – third javelin; Leah Steiger – second 3000m and Jack Hicking – third long jump. Jack Hicking also continued his success in pole vault at the NSW All Schools Track and Field Championships, and won the Gold medal for the 17s age group.

Rugby League – on the back of last year’s achievements, the first XIII enjoyed even greater success. The prestigious School Boys’ Trophy has produced some of Australia’s finest league players and the GRC team progressed through to the last four in the Australia-wide competition with a tremendous win over Hallam College from Victoria. Unfortunately, they were gallant in defeat against a very formidable Eaglevale High in the semi-final, but can look forward to 2013 with 12 players remaining in the squad.

Rugby Union – a new venture for 2012 was the introduction of Rugby 7s to the college. The team proved highly successful in winning the Southern Sydney section of the competition and participating with pride at the NSW championships. Many thanks must go to Alex Suter for coaching the boys in the finer points of this difficult new challenge. Individually, Khaled Alfas was selected as a prop for the Sydney East rugby team and Tayma Terita was selected for the ARU talent identification squad in preparation for the introduction of Rugby 7s at the 2016 Olympics.

Premier Sporting Challenge – 44 students received awards through their consistent levels of sporting participation. Two teams received diamond awards, three teams received gold awards and one team received a silver award.

Pierre De Coubertin Award – Jack Hicking received this prestigious award. This is a joint initiative of the NSW Department of Education and Training and the Australian Olympic Committee. The award recognises Jack’s sporting achievements and the demonstration of those endeavours consistent with the aims of the Olympic movement.

CHS knockout participation – GRC Oatley also enjoyed success in a variety of CHS knockout sports for boys and girls, including baseball, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, tennis, volleyball, netball, touch and Oz-tag.

Sport continues to be an essential part of the fabric of GRC Penshurst Girls Campus. Not only have the girls developed into well-rounded sports women proving they can be a competitive force in the St George Zone and beyond, they are experiencing the positive benefits and enjoyment resulting from being engaged in developing lifelong physical activity habits.

Cycling – Brie Dutton in November 2012 won two gold medals as part of the winning team in the Teams Sprint and Teams Pursuit events at the State Championships. As a result of her efforts at the State Championships she was selected in the NSW Cycling Team to compete in the Teams Pursuit, Scratch Race and Point Score events at Nationals in January 2013. Brie Dutton was also the winner of the Jessica Abbott Award at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus for an Elite Sportswoman.

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Baton Twirling – Chantelle Orlando travelled in February 2012 to Orlando in the USA to represent Australia at the International Baton Twirling Competition, Twirl Mania. Chantelle was awarded first place in her 12 years age group.

Grace Puckett and Montana Mackie were selected to represent Sydney East Region at the NSWCHSSA State Championships.

The following students ably represented GRC Penshurst Girls through to State level in 2012: Swimming - Shakeela Martin and Laylaa Martin; Cross Country – Sarah Henry, Renee Button, Ruby Clarke and Grace Puckett; Athletics – Georgia Phillips and Anna Shilson-Josling.

Jackie Moenting was acknowledged for her outstanding commitment to sport by being awarded the Pierre De Coubertin Award.

St George Zone Sports Association premierships were won in open basketball, 14 years netball, 15 years mini-soccer, open and 14 years Oz-tag and 14 years table tennis with ten other teams coming runners up in their respective competitions.

The Premier’s Sporting Challenge was hugely successful with an unprecedented 382 students taking part in the ten week physical activity challenge. Overall GRC Penshurst Girls Campus achieved a Silver Award. Lunch times and after school were filled with loud Latin music and up to 60 active students in each session keen to take part in a new Zumba initiative.

2012 has been a triumphant year for sport at GRC Peakhurst Campus, as athletes have pursued new goals and achieved new heights as the GRC Peakhurst sport program has grown and flourished. Our students have been presented with a variety of sporting opportunities that have enabled both individual and team success across local, state and national competitions.

In 2012, GRC Peakhurst Campus ranked eighth in the NSW All Schools Triathlon with our competitors participating in the teams categories. Our senior Aerobics team received two placings at the National School Aerobics Finals in Sydney and the FISAF National Championships in Adelaide. Our Gymnastics team saw three students place in the top three and qualify for the NSW Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships and our Futsal team were runners up in the NSW Futsal Knockout finals. Our gifted

and talented Netball squad displayed success at both the Sydney East under 15 and open knockout competitions, and with the introduction of a cross college netball team, Peakhurst’s talented netballers were selected amongst the older Oatley students to compete in Sydney East competitions. Our GRC Peakhurst Campus Rugby League team ranked first in the St George District Rugby League Carnival, progressing to the State Championships. GRC Peakhurst Campus entered many open teams in regional competitions in the following sports: cricket, rugby league, netball and touch football which provided opportunities for our best athletes to represent our school against the best of the schools in our Region.

Year 7 participated in a specialised sport development program that aimed to improve fundamental movement skills of all students at various levels, increasing spatial awareness and kinesthetic sense, hand-eye coordination, confidence and endurance in aquatic environments and game sense in the sports. Students rotated through the following sports throughout the program: softball, Australian football, cricket, flag grid iron, rugby league, gymnastics and aquatics.

Grade sport is an important part of school life as it showcases our talented athletes in a range of team sports. Competing in this format allows for personal development, skill enhancement, social and emotional interactions. Our success in Grade Sport creates pride in our school and envy amongst others. In 2012 we fielded over 40 teams in the St George Zone Summer and Winter Grade Sport Competition where 18 schools contested for premiership.

In 2012, GRC Peakhurst Campus excelled in many sports, taking home Premiership trophies in sports, including: U15 boys rugby league, U14 girls Oz-tag, U15 girls winter volleyball, U15 girls soccer, U15 girls summer volleyball, U15 boys cricket, U14 boys mini soccer, U14 boys soccer, U14 boys touch football and U15 boys mini soccer. Through participation in our representative teams, individuals gained selection in regional representative and state teams, competing throughout Australia. Four students were selected to represent Sydney East Region and competed in the NSWCHS carnival in their chosen sports.

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Debating

GRC Oatley Senior Campus debating included: Grace Yuen who won the Lion’s Lugarno Public Speaking Competition, Year 11 and Year 12 debating team successfully won the Sydney Zone, and for the Sydney Regional contest, battled against Fort Street High School in a very narrow defeat and participated in the SMH Plain Speaking Competition.

At GRC Penshurst Girls Campus teams were entered from Years 7-10 for the Premier’s Debating Challenge. The teams performed very well with the Year 10 team narrowly missing out on advancing to the regional final after losing to Sydney Girls’ High School. Debating continues to be a popular and enriching activity with students learning life-long skills.

Public Speaking

On Friday 24 August thirteen students from GRC Penshurst Girls Campus participated in the St George Eisteddfod Public Speaking Competition. This competition was held after school and involved both public and private schools from Sydney region. The competition was very strong and the girls achieved excellent results.

Results for the night were:

12 years: first place Shakeela Martin and second place Kristina Nedanoski. Highly commended: Safaa Al Haj Hussein, Alice Clarke and Nidhee Patankar.

13 years: second place Ivana Vujica.

15 years: second place Susanna Hill. Highly commended: Bethany Pankhurst.

16 years: second place: Julia Spyrou.

Gifted and Talented

The GRC Hurstville Boys Campus has been successfully implementing a Gifted and Talented Policy since 2005. We have sought to provide developmentally appropriate opportunities in order to enable gifted students to achieve the potential of which they are capable.

Gifted students are those whose potential is distinctly above average and this places these individuals at least amongst the top 10% of age peers.

The school has therefore developed a selective stream program for the KLA’s to ensure an

effective, equitable and appropriate means to fully realise and develop the qualities which these students possess.

The curriculum differentiation which is being implemented here provides appropriate learning opportunities which are not available in the regular classroom setting of many other schools.

Enrolment at GRC Hurstville Boys Campus therefore ensures students are able to participate in a series of outstanding enriched courses which provide enormous benefit for future success. Indeed the benefit of the selective stream program is reflected in the highly successful results achieved in Year 10 and eventually in the Higher School Certificate.

Students in the Selective Stream gain entry based on test results conducted at the school and information provided from primary schools as well as parent information. Selective Stream classes operate in all core subjects (English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography) and students maintain relationships with their wider year group by being in unstreamed classes for other subjects.

Gifted and Talented programs at GRC Oatley Senior Campus included:

• Amina Cohodarevic was selected to participate in the NSW State Schools Constitutional Convention held on 5 November at the NSW Parliament.

• From her engagement at this conference, she was selected to attend the National Consitutional Convention in Canberra running for three days in Februrary 2013.

• A group of our Gifted and Talented students were part of the Q&A audience.

• Students were involved in a partnership with Hurstville Council and the MCA – Ultimate Visions.

• Gifted and Talented Leadership Conference - students were involved in a two day leadership conference where they developed their creative and critical skills and then applied these skills by leading the Year 10 gifted students from our junior campuses and those that have applied from other schools. This was a very successful day with all students realising their varied and numerous talents.

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• Our gifted and talented students have been involved in teaching computer gaming software to Year 10 Hurstville Boys. This has been very successful for both the gifted students and the Year 10 boys.

Nine students competed at the National level of the titration competition and 24 for the State level.

Australian National Chemical Analysis Competition - GRC Oatley Senior Campus had three teams from Year 12 invited to compete in the finals of this competition at the National level in 2012. This was more than any other NSW school. Two of our teams scored in the excellent range, earning a plaque for our school - Andrea Chen, Jade Daly, Hyolie Cheung, Simon Syn Tek Wong, Bryan Bartolome and Amrit Sethi.

Our other competing team included Nicholas Borovski, Rushik Chauhan and Martin Dinh.

Bridgette Fox has come to the attention of the Principal of the prestigious William Blue School of Hospitality and Hotel Management. She did not receive the $35,000 scholarship but is one of only ten students in the state who is having a special interview with the college management panel to discuss her future with them. They recognize her achievements, talents and skills in Hospitality.

Other

GRC Hurstville Boys Campus – 52 students from Years 7 to 10 were entered into the 2012 National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition. Traditionally our students have performed well in this competition. In 2012, the competition attracted about 80,000 students from 774 schools all over Australia. In 2012, our school gained 11 Credits, 7 Distinctions and 4 High Distinctions. The students who gained High Distinctions were Alex Zhu, Muslim Zeiour, Salah Zayied and Ali Jebeile, all of whom were ranked in the top 10% across Australia.

The ASX Sharemarket game which involved students from our Year 10 Commerce classes learning about and participating in an Australia- wide sharemarket game over a period of 10 weeks.

Year 10 Cronulla fieldwork related to studies of Coastal Management. This was an opportunity for the students to develop a research action plan

or RAP and study the impacts of coastal development on the environment.

Year 9 History Elective excursion to the Jewish Museum as part of their studies on ‘Heroes and Villains’ and the Holocaust.

Year 9 and 10 Commerce classes gained the opportunity to learn about saving and investing through the Startsmart program run by the Commonwealth Bank.

Years 7 and 8 History were involved in an Indigenous performance at school which was linked to their study of ‘Colonisation and Contact’ in Stage 4 History.

2012 GRC Hurstville Boys Campus Year 10 Stage 5 Certificate for History/Geography. The end of the School Certificate in 2011 and the introduction of the RoSA for 2012 provided the opportunity for Georges River College to move towards the idea of ‘College exams’ in place of individual yearly exams for Year 10 and also of the traditional School Certificate exams. This proved successful as all four schools within the college were involved in discussing, preparing and finalising both the History and Geography papers. Marking of these college papers also involved a team of teachers representing each campus and ended with students receiving an overall mark which could be compared across the junior campuses and used towards determining their overall RoSA grade. Spiro Kalavritinos from the Peakhurst Campus was placed first overall in both History and Geography. Highest achievers from the Hurstville Campus were Hassan Fakih who was ranked tenth in Geography overall and Hassan Fakih and Mohamed Salame who were ranked equal tenth in History overall.

At GRC Penshurst Girls Campus in Science we started with Year 7 learning about ‘Being a Scientist’ by discovering laboratory equipment, safety and earning our Bunsen Burner Licence. In ‘The Water Planet’ we learned that water is precious and discovered ways in which we could stop wasting it. We were able to get up close and personal to the animals on our trip to Taronga Zoo. In ‘Sports Science’ we worked in groups to produce a presentation on body systems. We all made toy models or musical instruments and explained their energy forms in ‘The Science of Toys’. Some of us grew plants from seed in ‘Food for a Nation’ and then we all got ‘Lost in Space’ among our planetary models.

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In Year 8 we began by playing with magnets and static electricity in ‘Amber to Stone’. We all visited the Wildlife World and Sydney Aquarium as part of our work on ‘Australian Ecosystems’. Some of us had a lively time engaging in ‘Murder Under the Microscope’, where we missed the villain by “that ….. much”. We got rocked big time in ‘The Changing Face of OZ’. We created an informative brochure on the advantages and disadvantages of mining in ‘Metals’ and finished the year by growing germs in ‘The Black Plague’.

Year 9 began by revising and making a model of a disease in ‘Getting Your Act Together’ and then we learned the usefulness of acids and bases in our home. We discovered that making an ice-cream cake was a serious affair in ‘Investigations’. We had lots of fun on our excursion to the IMAX Theatre and the Powerhouse Museum where we learned about human impact on our planet. The ground shook for us in ‘Dynamic Earth’ and we finished by having a shocking time with electricity in ‘AC/DC’.

Year 10 started out with lots of hands-on practical experiences in ‘Kitchen Chemistry’ followed by studying the physics of motion in ‘The Science of car crashes’. We became CSI Sleuths in ‘The DNA Model’. We learnt about new methods of assisted reproduction in ‘Reproductive Technologies’ and had fun learning about light, sound and electromagnetic waves in ‘The Disco’. We had a very interesting day out at the Youth Roads Trauma Forum, where we learned about the consequences of choices when driving and finished off the year by gazing into the skies for ‘The Universe’ and we all realised that Science IS FUN!!

At GRC Penshurst Girls Campus, the Human Society and Its Environment Faculty and its students were involved throughout the year in numerous activities that extended their skills in the relevant subjects. The Les Gordon History Debate, Student Parliament and the Climate Change Forum with Greg Combet had selected Year 10 students sharpening their public speaking and debating skills. Our Aboriginal students in Years 9 and 10 also contributed to debating when, together with students from GRC Peakhurst Campus and Gymea Technology High School, they prepared winning, persuasive arguments for their parliamentary cases as part of the Indigenous Secondary School Debate held at NSW Parliament House. Further achievements

were gained by Katelyn Farmer when she won the Deadly Kid Award 2012 for our school as an outstanding role model for her cultural heritage and Nikita Tasker when she received a scholarship from the Regional Aboriginal Education Programs for dedication to her studies. A successful year for these students was completed with the launch of Burbangana, a book that included their stories, achievements and aspirations for the future.

Year 9 Commerce elective students were involved in the Money Stuff Challenge organised by the NSW Department of Fair Trading. In this competition the students used the commercial skills they had learnt in their course. Year 9 History Elective also added to the list of achievements by being involved with Hurstville City Museum learning about how to set up a museum. The students added to the School Museum Oral History collection with their interviews of past students during Back to School Day. The School Museum is an ongoing project with the History Elective group. Year 9 History students should also be commended for the Annual ANZAC assembly and their attendance at the Schools Remember ANZAC Ceremony at Hyde Park. Our Aboriginal students should also be recognised for their fabulous NAIDOC Week assembly which featured a moving address by Auntie Fay and a presentation on the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.

In 2012 at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus, 163 students sat for the NAPLAN test in Year 9, 24 students achieved Band 10, 26 students achieved Band 9, 39 achieved Band 8, 33 students achieved Band 7, 36 students achieved Band 6 and 5 students Band 5.The number of Band 10, Band 8 and Band 6 were above the state average and have improved compared to NAPLAN 2011. To the staff’s credit, the number of band 5’s have reduced when compared to NAPLAN 2011. GRC Penshurst Campus NAPLAN results in 2012 were impressive.

In 2012, 87 students sat for the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC), 43% students received certificates of Distinction and Credit. Rachael Chiddy, Peiling Wu, Yu Cheng Nin Wu, Louise Fan, Susanna Hill and Wenya Xu were all recipients of the AMC Distinction Certificates which places them in the top of the candidature.

In 2012, 93 students sat for the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS).

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GRC Penshurst results were above the NSW and ACT average, 13 students received Certificates of Distinction. Angel Yang, Christy Tan, Kimberly Chan, Vanessa Li, Vinsie Wang, Crystal Yang, Peiling Wu, Sarasvathy Widjaja, Dongni Connie She, Jessica Peterson, Runhan Zhu, Sim Yang and Wenyu Xu were all recipients of the ICAS Distinction Certificates.

GRC Penshurst Girls Campus also participated in the Sydney Region “Number Cruncher’s” competition. The competition involved each of the participating schools choosing their best ‘Year 7 number cruncher’ as their representative in the Sydney Region’s grand final held at the Powerhouse Museum. GRC Penshurst Girls Campus was represented by Year 7 student Kitty Du.

To enhance students existing mathematical skills all students in Year 7 were involved in Problem Solving activities and ICT in the ‘World of Maths’ day. Students had the opportunity to engage in a variety of hands-on activities. These activities were designed to cater for all student levels and abilities with the emphasis on making Mathematics fun.

At GRC Penshurst Girls Campus, a wool dress created by Natalie Josevski was paraded on the catwalk at Australian Wool Awards, held annually in Armidale.

2012 saw the introduction of a new school initiative, the Digital Citizenship course. The course for Year 8 assists students to recognise their responsibility when using digital technology and addresses issues such as cybersafety. The Honourable Julia Gillard and Minister Peter Garrett commented on the value of the course during their visit to the school. Food Technology students had the opportunity to prepare and present food for our special guests on the day of the visit.

Academic

The My School website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and numeracy testing (NAPLAN).

Click on the link http://www.myschool.edu.au and enter the school name in the Find a school section and select GO.

In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and

numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10.

The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments.

Year 3: from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest for Year 3)

Year 5: from Band 3 (lowest) to Band 8 (highest for Year 5)

Year 7: from Band 4 (lowest) to Band 9 (highest for Year 7)

Year 9: from Band 5 (lowest) to Band 10 (highest for Year 9)

In the Higher School Certificate the performance of students is reported in performance bands ranging from Performance Band 1 (lowest) to Performance Band 6 (highest).

NAPLAN results at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus in 2012 have continued to show steady improvement. Students are performing strongly in all areas of the NAPLAN testing with all areas achieving average scores much higher than the state average. Spelling, grammar and punctuation are areas of strength for students in both Years 7 and 9 however; our writing results are significantly higher than the rest of the state. It is pleasing to note that Year 9 writing results have shown improvement from Year 7 which indicates that students are improving their writing in the two year period. Numeracy results have also shown a marked improvement over the past few years with average scores being well above the state average.

Results also indicate that students are performing better than the state in the top three bands in each of the components of the NAPLAN testing. There is a higher percentage of students achieving results in the top three bands than the state. Similarly, students at GRC Penshurst Girls are well below the state in the percentage of students who are achieving in the bottom three bands in each area.

Overall, NAPLAN results for 2012 have shown that students’ results are improving and explicit, quality teaching is a having an excellent impact on students’ overall learning.

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Higher School Certificate

HSC: Course Summary Table

Course School 2012

School Average 2008-

2012

SSG 2012

State DEC 2012

Ancient History 65.3 70.6 66.5 66.6

Biology 72.6 73.6 71.2 71.0

Business Studies 72.4 70.9 71.2 71.3

Chemistry 70.5 72.8 74.4 75.0

Chinese Background Speakers 79.1 79.3 82.0

Community and Family Studies 72.1 72.6 74.1 72.5

Construction Examination 59.9 59.9 65.7

Drama 70.8 71.3 77.6 75.6

Earth and Environmental Science 78.4 78.7 75.3 73.5

Economics 65.8 67.6 71.3 74.4

Engineering Studies 69.4 70.4 74.9 74.7

English (Advanced) 77.2 77.4 78.1 79.0

English (Standard) 67.1 63.8 67.5 66.4

English as a Second Language 69.4 72.4 69.8 71.2

Entertainment Industry Examination 69.8 69.6 67.6

Food Technology 73.1 71.3 73.5 71.8

General Mathematics 67.0 67.9 67.9 66.2

Geography 65.1 72.3 72.7 69.4

Hospitality Examination 72.2 73.5 74.1 73.9

Industrial Technology 61.3 62.0 71.6 69.9

Information Processes and Technology 74.9 73.4 67.5 69.4

Information Technology Examination 70.6 75.0 70.6 70.8

Japanese Beginners 68.9 70.1 72.3

Legal Studies 69.7 72.6 71.2 72.2

Mathematics 74.9 74.5 76.7 76.6

Mathematics Extension 1 79.7 80.2 81.4 82.2

Mathematics Extension 2 84.3 85.7 81.0 83.4

Modern Greek Beginners 82.6 80.1 80.6

Modern History 68.7 71.9 72.4 73.1

Music 1 75.3 75.2 80.2 78.6

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education 69.1 69.0 71.6 70.4

Physics 71.6 71.9 72.2 73.2

Senior Science 75.1 73.6 75.1 73.2

Society and Culture 74.2 75.2 77.3 75.6

Software Design and Development 74.4 72.3 70.4

Textiles and Design 79.4 76.5 78.6 75.7

Visual Arts 75.4 77.4 77.7 77.7

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Significant programs and initiatives In 2012 GRC Peakhurst Campus continued to focus on welfare initiatives by funding a second Deputy Principal and a Welfare Head Teacher with our Empowering Local Schools National Partnership (ELSNP) funding. Important community partnerships to improve the welfare and social growth of our students included Jumpstart, with the POLE Depot targeting disengaged Year 9 and 10 students, MTC Youth Connections, Riverwood Youth Centre and Reconnect for families.

New initiatives included ALARM, identifying and understanding verbs used in assessment task questions to improve extended responses, the GRC Certificate which replaced the School Certificate and the use of our Learning and Support Teachers (LaST) in a coordinated program to improve literacy skills for students below benchmark in NAPLAN.

Resilience and Wellbeing of girls at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus was a focus in our School Plan in 2012 and our developments centred on student welfare encompassed all aspects of the school community – students, staff and parents.

The Year Advisers initiated the Year Advisers’ Program Days for all year groups. These days were totally engaging for students and supported them with health and beauty advice, further study paths and career options, safety and security strategies, drug and alcohol education, building relationships and friendship issues. The aims of our YAP Days are to promote confidence and enhance self-esteem in girls.

The GRC Penshurst Girls Welfare Team attended our annual Welfare Conference in Term 4. The focus areas of the conference were The Accidental Counsellor, Managing Angry Adolescents Differently, An Introduction to PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) and Welfare Planning for 2013. This was a great opportunity to foster important conversations around student welfare and for Year Advisers and Learning Support staff to learn many new skills to assist them in enhancing the wellbeing of our girls.

Our school counsellor Elizabeth Finn and District Guidance Officer Robyn Watkins presented Engaging Adolescents, a three week program (eight hours) for parents. Throughout this program parents were provided with strategies in fostering positive relationships with their teens,

understanding the normal behaviours of adolescents and recognising serious behaviours that need addressing by parents.

Throughout the year, staff attended numerous professional learning opportunities aiming to develop a deeper understanding of girls’ behaviour and how this behaviour can affect their learning. Many staff attended Maggie Hamilton’s presentation ‘What’s Happening to Our Girls?’ Staff were also lucky enough to be part of a half day seminar with Michelle Mitchell, author of the book ‘What Teenage Girls Don’t Tell their Parents’.

Aboriginal education

We have significant programs across all the Campuses in the College.

At GRC Penshurst Girls Campus, apart from our Aboriginal students involvement in the Annual Indigenous Secondary School Debate held at NSW Parliament House they were also recognised in other areas of endeavour. Nikita Tasker was involved in a numeracy enrichment program 2012 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students Observatory Hill EEC. This program was conducted over two days and included a non-Aboriginal student Amy Kerrigan being invited by Nikita to attend.

Our ‘Deadly Kid’ was a great example to the other Aboriginal students. Her involvement in school, Year group and cultural assemblies, Koori Art Expressions and the Indigenous Secondary School Debate meant that the she was a worthy recipient of her award and mentor for the other students.

Multicultural education

In 2012 Georges River College Hurstville Boys Campus received a federal grant to conduct a whole-school project through the Languages faculty under the Becoming Asia Literate Grant in Schools program. The aims of the project were to:

• Develop and deliver innovative high quality teaching and learning programs that have the potential to extend beyond the boundary of the school.

• Support flexible approaches to delivering continuous and sequential programs, which could include the use of information communication technologies.

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• Build teacher confidence and expertise in the teaching of Chinese and/or studies of China.

• Build student demand for Chinese and/or studies of China, through programs which involve contact with schools and students in China, such as virtual linkages or in-country study experiences.

As a result of implementing this project, the following indicators were achieved:

• Increased the number of students undertaking Chinese in Years 9 and 10, including those students who are from a non-Chinese heritage;

• Enhanced school-community connections by establishing an educational relationship with a sister school in China;

• Encouraged students to continue studying Chinese in Years 11 and 12 at our Oatley senior campus;

• Raised the profile and improved the quality of language teaching and learning at our school;

• Enhanced the teacher's knowledge of modern language teaching methodologies and capacity to deliver high quality lessons, through engagement in short courses and other professional development opportunities;

• Purchased new language teaching resources, such as texts, CDs and computer software to increase student engagement; and

• Provided an opportunity for students to be immersed in the Chinese language and culture by organising an overseas study trip in 2012 (this was definitely the highlight).

Project summary/highlights - there were many highlights for our school as a result of implementing the BALGS project.

We formed an additional Chinese language class to allow more students to undertake Chinese as an elective in Year 9, in addition to our already established Year 10 class. This encouraged more students (including non-Chinese background students) to study Chinese. In 2013, we will run a Chinese language class in Years 9 and 10.

We purchased a range of resources, including texts and audio-visual material, as well as some iPads and laptop computers to increase the teacher confidence in using technology. Our

teachers also became more aware of online resources to aid language teaching.

Our teachers participated in professional development activities and enhanced their knowledge and skills in delivering quality language lessons. They attended language specific professional learning workshops, as well as language specific networks, where they were able to, collaborate, communicate and connect with other teachers in the region to share ideas and resources.

We have been able to review our teaching programs across our school, and took the opportunity to include an ‘Asian context’ across all Key Learning Areas to promote cultures, languages and political alliances with our Asian neighbours. The new teaching and learning programs included references to our Asian neighbours in terms of languages, cultures and political alliance.

The most significant highlight of the project was undoubtedly the overseas study trip to China for our students and teachers. The trip not only allowed our students and teachers the opportunity to visit places of importance in China but it also served as an avenue for our school to establish relationships with a sister school in China which we are hoping to consolidate and expand even further in 2013 and beyond. As a result of the trip, an opportunity will become available for our school to host teachers and students in Australia in the future to repay the favour and share with them exciting things about our education system, language, culture and the Australian way of life.

Our students were able to travel with their teachers to visit China and learn more about the country, its people, culture, history and language, as well as other aspects. The trip also provided students and teachers with the opportunity to establish relationships with a sister school in China and connect with local students and teachers on a personal level to enhance collaboration and communication. We are hoping that these relationships will continue to grow and prosper in the years to come.

As well as the overseas study trip, we were also able to conduct Chinese cultural lessons. We conducted an excursion to Sydney’s Chinatown, mixing with people and learning about the history of early Chinese settlers in Sydney and Australia.

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This was followed by a fascinating dine-in experience at a Chinese restaurant, where we went on a journey of food-tasting in authentic Chinese cuisine. This activity was particularly beneficial for our students and teachers of non-Chinese heritage.

Future - Chinese holds particular significance to our school and community. We have a multicultural student population at our school (90% NESB). Our aim is to tap into the community on a more personal level to attract more students to study Chinese.

The school will continue to look at ways to better engage students in language learning by holding regular excursions and doing exciting things to motivate and increase the learning.

The Cross-Cultural project at GRC Peakhurst Campus is a Year 9 welfare program which aimed to promote social inclusion and a deeper understanding of the different cultures at GRC Peakhurst. After several weeks of learning about other cultures, the project culminated in a celebration of diversity and understanding. This included a multicultural trivia competition, a luncheon with foods from diverse cultures and an outstanding presentation of group research projects into different cultures. Student not only improved their understanding of cultural diversity, but also improved their teamwork, research and presentation skills.

MOSAIC project

MOSAIC is a project that takes place between the NSW Department of Education and Communities, Sydney Region and the University of NSW. It is about sharing the thoughts and feelings of Australia’s culturally diverse young people in Sydney. It is about young people who want to be heard; young people who have messages about tolerance and understanding to share with the wider community.

Throughout terms two and three, Mrs Sender and Mrs Gabra together with sixteen students from GRC Penshurst Girls Campus Year 9, participated in the MOSAIC program for 2012. They attended workshops which were organised by student mentors from ARC (UNSW Student Union), where they shared their thoughts and feelings on cultural diversity and multiculturalism in our society.

Following the workshops the students from our school worked together in two teams to explore their place in our multicultural society. They created two projects: one titled, Everybody’s Unique and the other The Tree of Life, which were then showcased and launched at the Roundhouse, UNSW on Tuesday 23 October. Our students were acknowledged for their work and were presented with certificates by Dr Phil Lambert, Regional Director, Sydney Region.

Respect, Responsibility and Excellence

The ethos of our College is built upon the development of respectful, responsible and excellent attitudes and behaviour throughout our college community. It is about being the best we can be and is supported through our teaching programs, extra-curricular projects and campus based behaviour and welfare programs which we operate each year. The values and expectations these programs advance are reinforced by our clearly articulated, explicitly taught and consistent code of conduct.

2012 saw the investigation of positive behaviour for learning and the development of a College Values and Expectations Policy. 2013 will see the implementation of the program leading to the explicit teaching of how students can show respect, responsibility and excellence.

Details of many other programs in operation at our College which promote respectful, responsible and excellent behaviour are included throughout this report, in particular in the sections included welfare, SRC, multicultural education and aboriginal education.

Disability Programs

This year, students in the GRC Peakhurst Campus Support Unit participated in a two-day Disability Dance Workshop. The workshop provided students with the opportunity to explore movement and dance whilst socialising with students from many schools around Sydney. Due to the enthusiasm and fantastic dance skills our students demonstrated over the two days, we were offered four places in the 2012 Schools Spectacular.

The students involved showed dedication in attending fortnightly dance and dress rehearsals in the lead up to the big event, held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 23-24 November 2012.

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They were eager to perform and loved being on stage in the spotlight.

TAP Project

In 2012 the GRC Penshurst Girls Campus TAP 1 leadership students completed the Flexible Learning Space project. This culmination of an intense leadership course, allowed the girls to put their improved leadership skills into practical action. The result has been an innovative and vibrant classroom that is able to be used in a wide variety of ways. The furniture is colourful, comfortable and able to be rearranged in numerous configurations. The popular beanbags, short throw data projector, television and wet area have allowed multiple usages of this area. The beautiful artworks completed by the students, have enhanced the ambiance of this welcoming space. Input by generous volunteers, members of community organisations, designers, businesses and teachers helped to make their dream a reality.

So inspiring was the precedent set by these remarkable young leaders, that we have had a second wave of TAP leadership students. After undergoing leadership training they have come up with their own unique project. This revolves around sustainability. In the preliminary stages they have envisaged the provision of a water fountain that will allow students to fill their drink bottles with cold filtered water at school. It is hoped that later stages of this project will involve upgrading areas of the canteen.

National partnership programs

GRC Hurstville Boys Campus was involved in the 47 schools pilot project. This project provided our campus with the opportunity to have our General Assistant work full time. This was invaluable as the building and refurbishment of the school continued. Extra office staff, to assist in the office procedures and setting up the new administration office. Extra staffing enabled us to conduct a Primary Links Program to promote our school to local schools and their students as well as provide a valuable transition program for students moving from Year 6 to 7.

Homework tutors were also provided for our Homework Centre two afternoons per week.

Our school then moved into the Empowering Local Schools program as well as becoming a pilot school for the new LMBR project.

Other programs

GRC Oatley Senior Campus had three visits from the mobile blood donation service in 2012 and about 40 donations each time.

In 2012, 30 students from GRC Peakhurst Campus Year 9 and 10 took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. The Award is an enjoyable and challenging program which allows participants to engage in a number of activities over a set length of time.

Students who took part in Duke of Edinburgh had to complete several different components to achieve the Bronze Certificate, including:

• Physical Recreation: at least one hour per week of physical activity. This activity had to contribute to their overall physical development

• Skill: undertake at least an hour per week of a regular activity which develops or improves a desired skill.

• Volunteering: at least 60 hours of volunteering work within school and/or externally to develop their sense of initiative and responsibility

• Adventurous journey: taking part in two 2-day expeditions through the Royal National Park to Bundeena. These expeditions are aimed at developing skills in planning, endurance, leadership, environmental awareness and teamwork.

These components had to be organised, run and logged by each participant in order to encourage personal responsibility, initiative and organisation.

Volunteering is about being selfless, doing things to help others and being an active part of your community. 25 Year 7 and 8 students were awarded a NSW Premier’s Student Volunteering Award for the work they completed. Students engaged in a range of activities, including the Wrap with Love knitting program, where students gave up their time to knit woollen squares to be made into quilts or wraps for people less fortunate than themselves. In addition, students also worked on various projects around the school to improve and beautify our teaching and learning environment, including mulching and maintaining gardens around the school.

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GRC Peakhurst Campus is committed to the welfare of all students in the school. Providing a positive and nurturing learning environment where all students are valued. Student wellbeing underpins all teaching and learning programs in an atmosphere of care and concern.

GRC Peakhurst Campus not only caters for the academic needs of the child but ensures that its students are given a diverse curriculum and a breadth of extra-curricular opportunities to meet the social and emotional needs of young people. It is our focus to equip students with the important life skills they need to be leaders and responsible participants in a rapidly changing world.

The Welfare Team consists of the Head Teacher Student Welfare, Year Advisers, Counsellors, HSLO, Deputy Principals, SRC Coordinator, Girls Supervisor and Careers Teacher. As a group, we meet regularly to discuss issues regarding our students, reviewing ways in which to better support them in all areas.

The Head Teacher Welfare is a member of the school executive and is responsible, along with all members of staff, to ensure that student well-being is a high priority. The Head Teacher Welfare is also available to talk to students regarding any personal or school-based issues and will often work with a student individually or involve the Year Adviser, the Deputy Principal, other agencies, parents and the school counsellor, where appropriate, to resolve issues. The Head Teacher Welfare is also responsible for supporting the Year Advisers through regular meetings and in coordinating a range of preventative welfare programs for all students. The Student Advisers work tirelessly to provide support to all the students in their year group, by having constant communication with parents and carers. They also organise many activities and workshops for the students to attend and often involve current issues that are pertinent to their wellbeing. These have included ‘Anti Bullying’ workshops, ‘Wired’ Production, ‘Cheap Thrills’ Production, guest speakers and community representatives. These activities inform and provide students with a platform of information to assist them in dealing with being a teenager in the 21st Century.

Initiatives and activities in 2012 - In 2012, the GRC Peakhurst Welfare Team was involved in creating and delivering exciting programs and

initiatives that gave students opportunities in leadership, mentoring, public speaking, self-esteem and many other self-awareness activities. These included programs such as:

• Peer Support

• Peer Mediation

• Jump Start Program

• Primary Transition Program

• Year 10 Orientation Program

• Student Empowerment workshops

Rewards Excursions - during 2012, the Welfare Team organised two rewards excursions, celebrating student achievements and the positive movements up our Welfare Point System. In Term 2 these students were taken to King Pin Laser Skirmish and Bowling in Darling Harbour. In Term 4 a second rewards excursion took them to Jamberoo Recreation Park. This was an exciting day with students enjoying the sun and rides. It gives the school great pleasure to reward students for all their success, whether it be academic, sporting, school citizenship or other school involvements which allow for students to be their best.

Progress on 2012 targets In 2012 GRC reported against the agreed College Targets. In 2013 each campus will report against campus developed targets.

Target 1

To refresh, review and reform College teams to ensure a better transition pathway from Years 10-11

• The teams structure was evaluated at the end of 2012 with 83% of staff who completed the survey responding positively. This is up from 61% in 2011.

• Core faculties developed common assessment tasks, units and/or examinations. Staff are committed to continuing this approach.

• Draft plans are in place for each of the College faculty teams, due for finalisation March 2013. These plans include how to increase use of ICT in the classroom and sharing of technology based lessons.

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Future Directions

At GRC the development of these professional learning teams will continue into 2013, and will assist with the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. The College Management Group see their ongoing collaborative partnerships as a vehicle for development of quality challenging pedagogy.

Target 2

We reached our target of 100% with partner public schools participating in at least one transition program.

Future Directions

• College transition team still in formation stages.

• Establish transition review team to evaluate our middle schooling and transition from 6 to 7 strategies.

School evaluation At GRC we began data analysis to assist us with our implementation of PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning).

PBL is a process not a program. It aims to build a positive school culture that celebrates achievement and positive behaviour.

The first stage of the process concentrates on the establishment of whole school behaviour expectations, the gathering of data and establishment of appropriate management and school systems.

The PBL teams in each Campus have begun a school evaluation using (SET) school wide evaluation, to see how well the the schools’ values and expectations are known by staff and students. Each campus has collated their data to set PBL targets during 2013 for implementation in 2013-14.

• All staff have undertaken initial PBL training – the present are classroom or micro behavioural classroom skills.

• In 2013 classroom behaviour expectation signs will be included in all rooms.

• School documents will repeat our PBL values of Respect, Responsibility and Excellence.

• We will examine how to implement and review positive behaviours and achievement.

• PBL programs will be explicitly taught.

As part of evaluation we also completed an evaluation of our GRC Stage 5 examination and certificate by surveying all staff involved and the Senior Executive of each campus.

1%

Areas of improvement identified by staff included:

• More timely development of exam 60%

• Corporate marking to be introduced or continued 85%

• Post exam units to be developed 70%

• Data analysis produced and distributed 35%

This data will be used to improve implementation of GRC examination and certificate in 2013.

Parent, student, and teacher satisfaction As part of looking at our school satisfaction each Campus undertook surveys around the welfare and discipline system and our development of Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL). Some were distributed through focus groups, organisations or class groups.

The aggregated data of a few key questions is listed below:

Yes No Unsure

Can you list our five most important school rules? 67% 12% 20% Can you list our three main expectations? 54% 20% 20%

99% 99% of all staff who completed the survey felt

satisfied with the examination and

result.

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Yes No Unsure

Is the welfare system supporting your needs? 73% 10% 17% Do you understand our discipline system? 67% 25% 8%

Is our discipline system fair? 90% 10% 0%

This data allowed us to develop our implementation plans for PBL, highlighting the need to explain our values, expectations and procedures in a clear and consistent manner.

Professional learning Every campus in GRC has a comprehensive professional learning plan tied to school plan and targets. Across the college staff participated in the following professional activities:

• Use of IOCT for teaching and learning

• Understanding developments in the Australian curriculum

• Leadership and career development

• Student wellbeing and PBL

School development days were focused on:

• Classroom management

• Software to engage students

• Analysis of data to improve student outcomes and HSC results

• Looking at Assessment for learning

• ALARM strategies to assist HSC performance

• Differentiating the curriculum

• Adolescent brain research and its application for teaching and learning

• WH&S policies

• Literacy skills

• Inservice in web design and moodle

• Environmental education

• Resiliency

• Compliance training in child protection

• Examination of RoSA and Stage 5 certification

Staff have attended various courses run by DEC and Board of Studies to ensure that they are up

to date in providing state of the art classrooms, dynamically geared to improve student learning.

In particular, at GRC Hurstville Boys Campus, the final two development days focused on a new direction the school will be taking in 2014 and beyond. Positive behaviour for learning is a focus on the explicit teaching of positive behaviours and social skills. Staff were also introduced to a set of Microskills to assist them in the management of their classes and form part of regular scheduled reciprocal observations of teaching that will begin in 2014. Part of our learning also focused on an anti-Bullying strategy that was introduced to staff called Use Another Word.

With a national curriculum being taught in 2014, staff were also updated on the changes that will occur in the areas of English, Mathematics, Science and HSIE along with updates of anti-discrimination legislation and Emergency care.

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School planning 2012—2014

GRC Oatley Senior Campus

School priority 1 Improved literacy to engage positively with learning.

Expected Outcomes

• To raise Torch Test results (reading) by 10% from Term 1 to Term 4 – Year 11.

o 60% of students identified as poor readers and 24% of students identified as strong readers improved their reading ability.

• To increase HSC subject means by 2 points from 2008-12 subject average.

o 16 subjects achieved a 2012 HSC average above the 2008-12 school subject average.

o 21 subjects had a 2012 average below the 2008-12 level.

o The 2012 cohort was identified by NAPLAN results to have a much higher than usual percentage of students below national benchmarks of literacy and numeracy.

• To reduce non attempts in extended response questions by 10%.

o Non attempts in Trial HSC decreased from 42 in 2011 to 29 in 2012, a reduction of 31%.

• To raise student reading by 10% from Term 1 to Term 4 Reading Survey – Year 11.

o 68% of students reported a change in their reading patterns in 2012.

o 18% reported an increase in accessing on-line media, 50% an increase in reading textbooks and 70% an increase in internet research.

o 10% noted an increase in reading novels while 25% noted a decrease in reading for pleasure.

School priority 2 Student Engagement.

Expected Outcomes

• Improved attendance of 20% of students identified at risk after Starsearch Term 1.

o Starsearch Term 1 identified 37 students in Year 11 with an attendance rate below 80%. This decreased to 27 in Term 2, but it should be noted 6 students identified left school during this time.

• To decrease the number of third ‘N’ Warning letters generated from 15% to 12%.

o Third ‘N’ Warning letters generated for students decreased to 9%. This was seen to be directly attributable to the support given by the Learning Centre and Community Engagement Officer contact with families.

• To decrease the number of students placed on faculty contracts from 10% to 9%.

o The percentage of students needing behaviour intervention on faculty contracts increased from 10% to 12%. This increase was seen to reflect the 17 leaving age and a greater number of students staying at school who previously would have sought alternatives to schooling.

• To increase the number of students who feel supported by the school community from Term 1 to Term 4 – year 11

o Focus groups were conducted of both college and non- college students. From a survey completed week 5 Year 11, there was a significant difference between how college and non- college students settled into senior schooling. This difference was negligible by term 4. Individual course counselling for non- college students and a greater emphasis on attendance at Orientation Days is hoped to reduce the difference noted in Term 1.

• To improve the examination marks of 50% of students referred to the Learning Centre from Semester 1 to Semester 2.

o The opening of the Learning Centre from three to four days per week significantly increased student access. The involvement of the Learning Centre Co-ordinator in G&T programs saw a wider range of student abilities access the centre.

o 100% of students who accessed the Centre felt the input had a positive impact on their learning.

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School priority 3 Professional learning and Leadership development. • Increase staff participation rates in

professional learning opportunities beyond that offered by the school.

o 146 external professional learning opportunities were accessed in 2011 and 165 in 2012. This was a 15% increase on 2011.

• Sharing of professional learning outcomes and experiences between staff members.

o The Professional Learning Request Application Form was modified to include a mandatory section on how information gained from Professional Learning would be shared. This was done through faculties for subject specific activities and Teams.

o Meetings for whole school activities.

o A focus of 2011 was Student Welfare professional learning with an increase from 31 (2011) to 45 (2012) welfare related courses. This increase was due to training for the introduction of PBL in 2013.

• Increase leadership opportunities by 100%.

o 100% of leadership opportunities for short term relieving in higher duties positions were advertised giving access to all staff.

o 14 staff were given the opportunity to relieve in higher positions, including executive and student adviser.

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GRC Hurstville Boys Campus

School priority 1 Literacy and Numeracy.

Expected Outcomes

Increase the percentage of overall literacy and numeracy achievement for all students at or above NSW minimum standards to 100% by 2014

Increase the percentage of Year 7 students achieving bands 8 and 9 in literacy and numeracy aspects Increase the percentage of Year 9 students achieving bands 9 and 10 in literacy and numeracy aspects

School priority 2 Leadership and Management.

Expected Outcomes

Increase the percentage of teachers who have opportunities to develop leadership capacity beyond their own classroom from 33% in 2011 to 100% by 2014.

Increase total enrolments to 385 by 2014

School priority 3 Curriculum and Assessment

Expected Outcomes

Increase the percentage of teachers who are confident in the use of Quality Teaching and coding lessons in QT from 25% to 100% in 2014

All staff successfully differentiate the curriculum to meet the diverse learning needs of students.

School priority 4 Engagement and Attainment.

Expected Outcomes

Increase the percentage of teachers who collaborate to improve the quality of classroom practice from 50% in 2011 to 100% by 2012.

Improved overall student engagement through quality transition programs.

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GRC Peakhurst Campus

School priority 1 Literacy.

Expected Outcomes

2013 Targets to achieve this outcome include:

• Increase in students achieving proficiency (Bands 9 and 10) in Year 9 Reading.

• Development and implementation of IEP’s for all students below minimum NAPLAN results.

Strategies to achieve these targets include:

• Engage parents by publishing and explaining the key literacy areas.

• Identify students below National benchmarks and develop Individual Learning Plans.

• Extend the home reading scheme.

• Daily Dose Literacy Program maintained in Year 7 and 8 and extended to Year 9 and 10.

School priority 2 Student Welfare and Inclusive Practice.

2013 Targets to achieve this outcome include:

• Increased community partnerships

• Maintain retention rates to the Senior Campus.

Strategies to achieve these targets include:

• Year 10 Transition Program to Oatley Campus.

• Strengthen partnerships with local Primary Schools through transition programs.

• Combine Welfare and Learning Support Teams to provide consistency in identifying and assisting student welfare and learning needs.

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GRC Penshurst Girls Campus

School priority 1 Literacy.

Expected Outcomes

To improve Year 9 student performance in reading focusing on interpretative and applied comprehension.

School priority 2 Numeracy.

Expected Outcomes

To improve Year 9 student performance in numeracy focusing on Space, Geometry, Measurement and Number/Fractions and Decimals. To improve student engagement in numeracy in a culturally diverse environment through a focus on numerical literacy.

School priority 3 Resilience and wellbeing.

Expected Outcomes

To enhance the resilience and wellbeing of Year 8 female students.

School priority 4 Engagement.

Expected Outcomes

To enhance the engagement in learning for Year 8 female students.

School priority 5 Curriculum and assessment.

Expected Outcomes

To implement the Australian Curriculum for Years 7 to 10 by 2013 in English, Mathematics, Science and History.

To embed quality teaching into programs, units of work, assessment tasks and classroom practice, with meaningful feedback to enhance student learning outcomes.

To promote differentiation in teaching to meet the needs of learner diversity.

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About this report In preparing this report, the self-evaluation committee has gathered information from evaluations conducted during the year and analysed other information about the school's practices and student learning outcomes. The self-evaluation committee and school planning committee have determined targets for the school's future development.

GRC Hurstville Boys Campus: Hilal Chanaoui HT Welfare

GRC Oatley Senior College: Jennifer Henderson HT Teaching and Learning

GRC Peakhurst Campus: Elise Whiley HT PDHPE Relieving

GRC Penshurst Girls Campus: Karen Burke DP, Natalie Anderson HT English and Rosalie Gualtieri HT TAS

School contact information GRC Peakhurst Campus Rona Street Peakhurst 2210. Ph: 9153 9966 Fax: 9534 6346 Email: Peakhurst-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Web: http://www.peakhurst-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/ School Code: 8408 GRC Penshurst Girls Campus 2 Austral Street Penshurst 2222 Ph: 9580 3141 Fax: 9580 6373 Email: Penshurstg-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Web: http://www.penshurstg-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/ School Code: 8857 GRC Hurstville Boys Campus Kenwyn Street Hurstville 2220 Ph: 9587 3199 Fax: 9553 8264 Email: hurstvillb-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Web: http://www.hurstvillb-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/ School Code: 8813 GRC Oatley Senior Campus Oatley Avenue and Hurstville Road Oatley 2223 Ph: 8567 3700 Fax: 9570 3622 Email: oatleysnr-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au Web: http://www.oatleysnr-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/ School Code: 8284

Parents can find out more information about Annual School Reports, how to interpret information in the reports and have the opportunity to provide feedback about these reports at:

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/asr