Annual Report Hurstville Adventist School

36 Pages·2016·1.77 MB·English

Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational
Standards

Annual Report
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year

Hurstville Adventist School

Owned and Operated by

Seventh-day Adventist Schools
(Greater Sydney) Ltd
ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

1 A message from key school bodies
1.1 Principal’s Message
Hurstville Adventist School (HAS) has provided the local community with quality Christian Education
for 77 years. It is a Pre-Kindy to Year 6 Christian School, which provides a nurturing environment for
students to learn and grow.
Parents elect to enrol their children at Hurstville Adventist School because of our small size, our ability
to offer individualised learning, our Christian emphasis and our academic achievements. Staff, parents
and students can be proud of their school, their facilities, their accomplishments and the positive
Christian programs that are run each year.
The family atmosphere that pervaded the school and the small size of the school is what makes our
school unique.
During the course of 2015, the school implemented and/or introduced new initiatives across the
grades in Maths and English. In Maths, more emphasis was placed on the number knowledge of the
students and daily activities were done to reinforce number concepts. We introduced the no-textbook
initiative and hands-on learning experiences are used. In English, our focus has been Reading and we
continued to use Synthetic Phonics with the infants. Our major initiative was the introduction of a
more intense comprehension program.
Tours are conducted every Wednesday morning between 9:00am and 12:00noon. We are
more than happy to organise tours at other times if you are unable to visit us on a
Wednesday morning Management Committee
The Management Committee meets on a regular basis – six times per year. The members are
appointed by the Board of Directors and representation comes from the feeder churches in the area. A
Conference representative is always in attendance. These meetings are well attended by the elected
members. A copy of the minutes for each meeting is filed in the Principal’s Office.
The Management Committee’s role is to support the Principal in the running of the school. A Quality
Adventist Schools Rolling School Improvement Plan is developed and can cover any of the four
domains: 1. Adventist Identity; 2. Learning and Teaching; 3. Leading School Improvement and 4.
Community Partnerships. Within each of these domains there are 20 Components that will be
reviewed over a five-year cycle. In 2015, these components were focuses on:
Domains Component
Adventist Identity Pastoral Care
Learning and Teaching Professional Learning
Leading School Improvement Leading the Learning & Improvement Culture
Improvement Processes and Planning
The Committee receives regular Work Health and Safety Reports and has acted on the areas identified
as needing attention. Any Conflict of Interest is disclosed at every meeting.
Other reports received by the Management Committee at each meeting are the Principal’s Report and
a Financial Report. The Chaplain gives a report every term.
1.2 Student Representative Council
The Student Representative Council (SRC) is made up of the School Captains and two student elected
representatives from each of Years 1 – 6. A staff member, Mrs Cherry, the Year 3 & 4 teacher, is
appointed to be a representative on the SRC and her role is to encourage us in our roles, help facilitate

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ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

actions put forward and to liaise between the SRC members and staff. We hold our meetings once or
twice a term at lunchtime.
Each SRC member has an outline of their responsibility as an SRC member and a description of the
duties that we need to perform. Some of our duties are as follows:
• Assist teachers with the organisation and preparation for fundraising events;
• Planning and organising a ‘fun day’ for the whole school to raise funds for our Year 6
Farewell.
• Assisting teachers in bus lines and eat-lunch duty
• Monitoring playing around the amenities blocks
• Welcoming students and their parents at the front gate each morning
• Assisting the School Captains in their role when the need arises (older members)
Members are elected using certain criteria:
• Being a good example at all times,
• Displaying the values of the school - eg. Responsibility, integrity, honesty and self-control.
To help us to understand our roles as School Captains and SRC Representatives (Year 5 &6), we were
participants in a GRIP Leadership Course on March 4, 2015.
2 Contextual Information about the School
At Hurstville Adventist School, we are committed to making quality Christian Education accessible to
everyone and welcome students from all religious and cultural backgrounds. Our vision - Nurture for
Today, Learning for Tomorrow, Character for Eternity, drives us to provide a quality Christian
education in a caring and supportive environment where we develop the whole student and encourage
each to reach their full potential. The school has a positive student welfare program that encourages
cooperation, respect, acceptance of others and wise decision-making. Through our Better Buddies
Program, we are able to teach the older students skills necessary to nurture the younger students. We
are committed to providing a comprehensive education in all the Key Learning Areas with a strong
focus on Literacy and Numeracy. We also recognise the importance of developing not just the
academics but also the physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspect of each student's life. We have a
committed and professional team of teachers and support staff that work together to achieve the very
best for our students. We are involved in the Active After School Sport program, contribute to
charities, run an After School Care program, have After School Chinese classes twice a week and run an
extremely successful Pre-Kindy class.
Hurstville Adventist School is a Pre-Kindy – Year 6 School. We had a total of 137 students from Kindy –
Year 6 in 2015. The average class size was 26. We have a very high population of students who come
from non-English speaking backgrounds. The school has six full time teachers; therefore we have
classes across stages. We employ a specialist teacher who delivers PreLit, MiniLit and MultiLit. Our
staff ranges in experience from 1 year – 20 plus years.
Each year we have students who sit the Selective High School and Year 5 Opportunity Class tests. In
2015 we had 4 out of 7 students that sat the test, accepted into selective high schools. In 2015 we had
2 out of 4 students accepted into opportunity class. For a small school, we always do well in these
external examinations.
Hurstville Adventist School was invited to be a part of the NSW Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan
program that is funded by the NSW Government for a four-year period. Funding has been allocated to
us to drive improvement in our teaching and the students’ learning in Literacy and Numeracy. By
receiving this funding we have been able to hold parent information nights with a focus on literacy and
numeracy, purchase resources, implement new learning programs and attend professional learning in
the areas of Literacy and Numeracy, which have all led to improved outcomes for our students. The
new programs and the numerous professional learning that has taken place have improved the quality
of our teaching in both content and delivery.

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ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

3 Student performance in National and State-wide tests and examinations
3.1 Student outcomes in standardised national literacy and numeracy testing
Literacy
Language Conventions includes Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation.
Reading
% below national % at national % above national
Year
minimum standard minimum standard minimum standard
Year 3 0% 12.5% 87.5%
Year 5 0% 25% 75%
Writing
% below national % at national % above national
Year
minimum standard minimum standard minimum standard
Year 3 0% 6.3% 93.7%
Year 5 0% 25% 75%
Spelling
% below national % at national % above national
Year
minimum standard minimum standard minimum standard
Year 3 0% 12.5% 87.5%
Year 5 0% 25% 75%
Grammar and Punctuation
% below national % at national % above national
Year
minimum standard minimum standard minimum standard
Year 3 6.3% 6.3% 93.7%
Year 5 0% 25% 75%
Interpretative Comments:
The school has had an emphasis on improving Literacy and this is seen in the results above. It is
encouraging to see that we have a greater percentage of students in the above national average which
reflects on the direct instruction initiatives that we have introduced in the school over the past 2 years,
thanks to the Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan of the State Government.
There was 1 child exempt from doing all the tests in Year 5.
Due to the small class sizes student gain cannot be commented on as it is below the reporting
threshold.

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ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

Numeracy
Numeracy incorporates Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and
Probability.
% below national % at national % above national
Year
minimum standard minimum standard minimum standard
Year 3 0% 12.5% 87.5%
Year 5 8.3% 16.6% 75%

Interpretative Comments:
The school has had an emphasis on improving Numeracy and this is seen in the results above.
Due to the small class sizes student gain cannot be commented on as it is below the reporting
threshold.
5 Professional learning and teacher standards
5.1 Professional Learning
Teachers
Areas of professional learning
(number or group)
First Aid 9
CPR & Anaphylaxis 10
Get Reading Right Demonstrations (teachers’ teaching) Justin observing and 9
Professional Dialogue with Justin.
Numeracy Workshop - Resources audit – Anita Chin 9
Literacy & Numeracy Continua Workshop 2
Assessing for learning with the NSW Syllabus- 2 days 9
Cyclic Review Training Days x 2 1
Number Worlds Observations – Lynelle AIS 7
The AISNSW Primary Conference: Igniting Learning, Illuminating Minds – 2 days 1
7 Keys to Reading – Comprehension 2
Dibels Next Training Workshop – 3 days 2
Time Management 9
Situational Analysis and Action Planning x2 days 2
PAT Maths Training 1
MultiLit Training 2

Total Staff PD experiences: 75
Average cost per teacher for
$672.00
professional learning:

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ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

5.2 Teacher standards
Numbers of
Categories of Teacher Standards Qualifications
teachers
(i) teachers who have teaching qualifications from a Education
higher education institution within Australia or as qualification
recognised within the National Office of Overseas Skills Doctorate
Recognition (AEI-NOOSR) guidelines, or Masters degree 10
Graduate Diploma
Bachelors degree
Diploma
(ii) teachers who have qualifications as a graduate from a Doctorate
higher education institution within Australia or one Masters degree
recognised within the AEI-NOOSR guidelines but lack Graduate Diploma 0
formal teacher education qualifications, or Bachelors degree
Diploma
(iii) teachers who do not have qualifications as described These teachers
in (i) and (ii) but have relevant successful teaching work under the
experience or appropriate knowledge relevant to the direction of another
teaching context. Such teachers must have been teacher and are
employed registered as
0
transition scheme
a. to 'teach' in NSW before 1 October 2004 (either on
teachers with the
a permanent, casual or temporary basis) and
NSW Institute of
b. as a 'teacher' during the last five (5) years in a
Teachers unless
permanent, casual or temporary capacity
he/she is a LOTE
teacher
Total number of
10
teachers in school

6 Workforce composition
We have 5 full time and 4 part time teaching staff, including the Principal, a Literacy Coordinator and 3
teacher assistants. Of those, there are 11 female and one male on staff, the Principal being female. We
also have a chaplain three days a week who is funded for two of those days by the Federal Government
Chaplaincy Scheme.
The backgrounds of our full-time and part-time teaching staff and Teachers’ Aids are: Danish - 1,
American - 1, New Zealander - 1, Brazilian - 1, Austrian – 1, Samoan – 1, Indian – 1, Cook Islander -
1 and Australian - 5. Our Teacher Release Teacher is female and has a Brazilian background. Our
chaplain is male and from an Australian background. We employ an Administrative Secretary of Syrian
background, an office assistant of Mauritian background, a cleaner who is Mauritian and 4 bus drivers
with backgrounds from Australia, Indonesia, Germany and Macedonia. Currently, we do not employ
any indigenous staff.

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ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

7 Student attendance rate and non-attendance
7.1 Average Year Level Attendance
Average Attendance
Year Level
(%)
Kindergarten 91%
Year 1 92%
Year 2 90%
Year 3 93%
Year 4 94%
Year 5 95%
Year 6 95%
Total school attendance average 92%

7.2 Management of non-attendance
We have an attendance roll that goes to each class every day. The secretary then calls the parents of
absent students. Parents are then required to complete an absence note explaining the reason or sends
in a medical certificate, if applicable. If a student is absent for an extended period of time, contact is
always made with the family. The parents are reminded of and given a copy of the Attendance
Guidelines.
When a child has an unacceptable record of attendance, the following steps are taken:
• Class teachers’ are instructed to inform the office once a student’s attendance falls below
85%.
• A letter of explanation is then sent to the parents outlining the steps that will need to be
taken if non-attendance is not addressed.
• A parent interview is arranged and a plan formulated to ensure the student attends school
regularly.
• In the case that the plan is not adhered to, the Principal will report the matter to Community
Services and organise a Director General case conference.

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ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

9 Enrolment Policies and characteristics of the student body
9.1 Enrolment Policy
Student Enrolment/Attendance Policy
Rationale
It is the law that all children seventeen years and younger be in attendance at a registered school. As
school staff, we have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that attendance of students at school is
monitored and records are kept.
Aims
To ensure that records of enrolments and daily attendances for all students are kept on permanent
record.
Implementation
Hurstville Adventist School will abide by the legislation (Education Act 1990) pertinent to student
attendance. This includes:
A register of enrolments that includes: name, age and address of student, the name and contact
telephone of parent/guardian, the date of enrolment and the date of de-registration including the
student’s destination, the previous school (if applicable) for children over 6 years old.
Where a student 17 years and younger leaves the school and their destination is unknown, a home-
school liaison officer from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations has
been notified with all relevant details.
A set of protocols to monitor attendances/absences from school, identify absences from school and
from individual classes, follow up unexplained absences, notify parents/guardians of attendance
trends, keep unsatisfactory attendances records on file.
A register of daily attendances which includes: daily attendance, absences, reasons for absences,
documentation to support absences.
The permanent archiving of the register of enrolments after a period of 5 years and the retention of
the attendance records for a period of 7 years.
Hurstville Adventist School will attach to this policy guidelines that may include but are not limited to:
• Enrolments
• Record Keeping
1 ENROLMENT
Hurstville Adventist School is a member of the system of Seventh-day Adventist Schools providing
quality education in a caring Christian environment.
Hurstville Adventist School is operated primarily for the benefit of the members of the Seventh-day
Adventist community but is open to students without regard to their ethnic background, sex, or
national origin. While no religious test is applied, all students are expected to live in harmony with the
school’s standards and regulations, show respect for the Word of God and to attend the regular
religious classes and activities of the school. Every effort is made to provide opportunity for both girls
and boys to participate in all activities and, as far as possible, the school attempts to accommodate
disadvantaged students.
All applications for admission are processed by the Principal and approved by the Management
Committee. Students accepted into Hurstville Adventist School are required to apply for re-enrolment
each year.

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ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

ENROLMENT PROCEDURES
The Board of Directors has determined that, as a general rule, pupils should have turned five years of
age before commencing Kindergarten and six for Year 1 and pro rata for subsequent years. At
Hurstville Adventist School we accept students into kindergarten who turn five years of age by the
31st July and Pre-Kindy students turning four by July 31. Students are accepted only on the condition
they are the correct age when starting kindergarten the following year.
If class sizes are around the maximum set in the “Education Handbook” or the size recommended by
Head Office, then careful consideration needs to be given as to the advisability of taking on extra
pupils. This should generally be done in consultation with the teacher concerned and with the
Principal. The teacher’s experience and expertise, the special needs of the class and the ease with
which the teacher is handling the current load should be considered.
The school endeavours to enrol all children from Adventist families in the serviced area of the
community.
Procedure:
When parents contact the school about a new admission, they should generally be referred to the
Principal.
The Principal will:
• Answer questions
• Invite parents to come in for an interview
• Discern whether they are Adventists or not.
• Check if any court orders apply, when parents are separated or divorced.
• Sight and copy reports from previous schools, educational or medical specialists.
• Make a copy of their Birth Certificate.
• Arrange a guided tour of the school and introduce them to the appropriate teacher.
• Discuss transportation needs of the student to and from the School.
• Inform them of the appropriate fee structure.
• Offer them a Handbook and prospectus to read/complete.
• Show them the appropriate uniform for their child
• Send a letter of acceptance once the name has been passed by the Management Committee
• If the child is accepted, explain transport, canteen and routine procedures.
• Place name in Admission Register and Class Roll when they commence.
For Kindergarten only:-
Arrange for them to come in for an Orientation Days in October to:
• assess the child’s readiness for school on the first day
• orientate the parents to Hurstville Adventist School routines and allow new students to
spend a morning in the classroom with their teacher.
• Make a copy of their Birth Certificate and their Immunisation records.
Organise the students to attend a previously arranged appointment for the teacher to assess the child.
This will take place on the first week of school in the New Year. Kindergarten classes will not formally
start until these assessments have been completed. Dates will be advised.

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ANNUAL REPORT Hurstville Adventist School
Reporting on the 2015 Calendar Year Seventh-day Adventist Schools (GS) Ltd

STUDENT WITHDRAWALS
When a parent or guardian decides to withdraw a student from the Hurstville Adventist School, it is
necessary for the parent or guardian of the student to officially inform the Principal of the decision and
of the last day that the student will be attending the School
A Deregistration Form is issued from the School Office.
If a student has previously withdrawn or had their enrolment terminated by the School, re-entry may
be considered by the School’s Administration providing the following are in place:
• New application is completed.
• Positive school report from school now attending.
• Recommendation from previous school’s administration if an Adventist School.
• Discussion with Teachers and the Management Committee.
The final decision on enrolment is processed by the Management Committee.
All students will need to complete the registration process each New Year. To complete registration
for the New Year, each student will need to:
• complete or update registration form
• organise payment of school fees
• complete Bus Transport Form if required
• update medical forms including anaphylaxis and asthma action plans

2 RECORD KEEPING
These items are to be kept permanently in the school:
• Electronic Class rolls
• Absence letters from parent
• Register of admittance
Items kept for shorter periods:
• Re-enrolment forms 1 year
• Applications for Enrolment 2 years
Class Rolls
All records of attendance need to be kept in the fireproof room as a permanent record of the student’s
attendance at the school. All electronic copies, as of 2015, are to be saved to the server on a yearly
basis. As these are a legal document, all of the regulations need to be adhered to.
It is the schools responsibility to follow-up on any student who has an unsatisfactory attendance
record. This will involve requesting an adequate explanation from parents for absences. All
correspondence and records relating to the schools engagement with the family on a students non-
attendance will be transferred to the student’s files.
The Principal has the authority to grant leave for a student but the following guidelines need to be
followed:

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