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nsw department of education training school code 1266 2010 annual school report boambee public school nsw public schools ­ leading the way

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our school at a glance students students at boambee public school model sound understandings of values which reflect the schools commitment to developing a strong academic cultural and environmentally sustainable learning community the school is a proud member of the bongil bongil community of schools multicultural education multicultural education is embedded in connected outcomes teaching units across all stages of learning special days are held each year to celebrate the cultural diversity of our local community and multicultural nation the theme for the 2010 harmony day was `everyone belongs staff the teaching staff at boambee school is a team of highly experienced professionals each teacher is committed to ongoing training and development and the creation of a quality teaching and learning environment all teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in nsw public schools significant programs and initiatives aboriginal education aboriginal education is an integral part of all learning programs and is embedded in the connected outcomes teaching units across all stages of learning all aboriginal students have personal learning plans that have been collaboratively developed with teachers and parents special celebrations are held each year as part of naidoc week the community festivals for aboriginal education engagement 2010 were held in september four of our students were invited to attend the `deadly days festival held in kempsey this festival was part of the australian government s community festivals for education engagement initiative the festival aimed to increase education employment and training opportunities for young aboriginal and torres strait islander people and also promote positive and healthy lifestyles respect and responsibility boambee public school promotes a strong code of behaviour and has high expectations for all students and staff the school has well established rights and responsibilities that guide management organization and behaviour everyone has the right to learn the right to hear and be heard the right to be respected the right to feel safe secure and happy the right to privacy and personal space the right to be an accepted part of the community all members of the school community take on the responsibilities associated with their rights to ensure a positive and high functioning learning environment is maintained student leadership is fostered through collaborative decision making within the student representative council and peer support programs connected learning boambee school is well on the way to establishing a well-equipped interactive and connected learning st environment to support student learning for the 21 century 1

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by the end of 2010 75 of permanent classrooms had interactive whiteboards in addition a connected classroom has been established with teachers using video conferencing as source of professional learning on a regular basis it is planned to extend the use of this facility in 2011 the school s techno link centre is a hub for whole class ict learning with an upgrade of multimedia computers at the end of 2010 a school audit was completed by the north coast technology team in october 2010 a plan has been developed to upgrade the cabling and switches within the school to the latest advanced standard during 2011 the future of learning is an exciting challenge and the school community is working together to fundraise to ensure all students have daily access to interactive technologies professional learning for teaching and administration staff is critical to the advancement of student outcomes all members of staff are committed to ongoing professional learning improving skills and knowledge to better integrate technology as tools for learning new administration building reading recovery the reading recovery program has now been operating for two years at boambee public school reading recovery is an early intervention program that supports students reading and writing skills in year 1 it aims to accelerate students progress to the average level of their grade so they can function independently in the classroom students identified in the bottom 20 of their class are tested selected students participate in 30 minute daily individualised reading and writing lessons for up to 20 weeks in 2010 ten students were on the reading recovery program with seven students who were discontinued reaching a reading level of 16 or above former reading recovery students are monitored to ensure their level of reading has been maintained or improved suzanne davis reading recovery teacher student achievement in 2010 naplan 2010 assessed aspects of literacy and numeracy for years 3 5 7 and 9 the school had 49 year 3 and 39 year 5 students complete the tests highlights from 2010 naplan include year 5 girls improved by 43 scale scores from the 2009 data in the test aspect of writing year 5 girls are 27 scale scores above the state average in the test aspect of reading year 5 boys are 3 scale scores above the state average growth in the test aspect of reading the growth of matched students from year 5 to year 7 in reading writing and numeracy was well above state for both boys and girls premier s reading challenge in 2010 attracted school asset a significant program completed in 2010 was the construction of a new administration building under the building education revolution the replacement of the heritage school buildings was a community decision this new facility is a wonderful asset to the school and community over 80 students all students received a certificate from the nsw premier 15 students received a special gold certificate for completing the challenge for 4 consecutive years unsw s international competitions and assessments for schools had excellent results with 22 students awarded credit and distinction 2

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messages principal s message boambee public school is one that promotes a strong community spirit the school aims to provide qualitylearning environments and create programs that develop in students a desire for lifelong learning the development of strong literacy and numeracy skills is a priority of the school programs strengthening student leadership and resilience are an integral part of learning for all students supporting students with special needs and the promotion and organization to extend gifted and talented opportunities is a priority within the school the school community is being guided by values which promote self-worth and self-esteem in all students respect honesty equality and the rights of others develop social skills based on cooperation responsibility and teamwork support a desire for lifelong learning and contribute to society and promote care of the environment the school values close working relationships with parents/caregivers and partnerships with agencies in the wider community this collaboration between school home and the community has a positive influence on the education of boambee students the experienced and dedicated staff has worked collaboratively to create a positive happy and safe learning centre for all i certify that the information in this report is the result of a rigorous school self-evaluation process and is a balanced and genuine account of the school s achievements and areas for development kathryn puddey new treasurer at the beginning of 2010 and new president at the end of 2010 the p c committee is supported by a small but dedicated group of people these people dedicate time and effort into supporting the school in a number of ways ­ helping out with fundraising especially the bingo teams working in the canteen helping in the classroom helping at the swimming and athletic carnivals bingo continues to be the main source of revenue for the p c followed by voluntary contributions from the families and carers of the students other activities have included a father s day breakfast and two dads in the canteen days these events are principally held to encourage parental involvement in the school and to strengthen the community and school partnership in 2010 the p&c assisted in funding of interactive whiteboards for classrooms a drum kit for the school band a speaker system for the school hall and providing transport for both the boambee big bash and the end of year student fun day we also provided some financial support for students participating in state sporting events for the coming year 2011 the association will work with the school in improving the outdoor environment by providing seating in the entrance and outdoor meeting area under the tallowood tree and supporting the concept and development of an outdoor learning centre we are committed to support a whole school music program and the upgrade of the schools computer fiber ­ optic cabling this coming year we also hope to hold a mother s day breakfast another event planned for 2011 is the reintroduction of the boambee school fun run david smith p&c president p c and/or school council message 2010 has been a year of big changes at boambee public school firstly we have seen changes in the physical environment with the construction of the new administration building under the building education revolution project change has also taken place within the school staff nicholas croak was appointed as school administration manager and kath puddey as principal both new appointments were a result of merit selection the p&c committee also welcomed a father s day breakfast 3

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student representative s message 2010 was a fun and exciting year at boambee school the student representative council worked with mrs ferguson on fundraising and planning special school days for students blue day was held on friday 4 june as a fundraising day for stewart house students wore blue and brought a gold coin donation the canteen sold blue food on the day crazy hair day was another fundraiser for cystic fibrosis it was a great day and we raised lots of money for this charity peer support and better buddies are two peer support programs run by year 6 students at boambee school the better buddy program helps kindergarten students feel safe and get to know an older friend who they can depend on in the playground the theme for peer support in 2010 was living positively and all students were involved in cross grade peer support activities led by year 6 students on tuesday afternoons th of students have many leadership opportunities at our school our assemblies are run by a different class each week giving everyone the chance to shine and develop confidence when speaking in front of an audience at the end of each term we have a special assembly for the boambee stars these students are selected because they strive for excellence exhibit enthusiasm and participate energetically boambee stars enjoy morning tea with parents and the principal stage 1 had a friendship club that met each week on thursday and friday after lunch they enjoyed a variety of indoor and outdoor activities learnt new games and made new friends everyone loved it year six took on the challenge of the 12 kilometre bongil bongil community of schools big walk from sawtell to mylestom in 2010 all boambee students completed the day s activities without a problem and without complaint it was a great day to share with friends from other schools the 2010 mini fete was a huge success thanks to the hard work of school staff students and parents it was an outstanding team effort and showed what our school community can achieve when we work together the fete raised an amazing $6 660.40 this will go towards the purchase of another interactive whiteboard for a lucky classroom thank you to students teachers and parents for helping to create a great school environment school captains emily crampton and sophie kennedy 4

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student enrolment profile male female 2006 174 167 2007 170 165 2008 150 138 2009 148 138 2010 149 134 school reports in order to provide parents with as much local information as possible the following table shows our class sizes as reported at the 2010 class size audit conducted on wednesday 17 march 2010 enrolments structure of classes roll class kg kd 5/6h 5/6h 4/5f 4/5f 3m 4j 3/4p 3/4p 1b 1m 2g 2l 5/6t 5/6t year k k 5 6 4 5 3 4 3 4 1 1 2 2 5 6 total per year 20 21 14 13 15 12 28 27 22 5 22 21 19 21 15 13 total in class 20 21 27 27 27 27 28 27 27 27 22 21 19 21 28 28 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2006 2007 male students year 2008 2009 2010 female year k 1 2 3 4 5 6 total region k 1 2 3 4 5 6 total state det k 1 2 3 4 5 6 total school 2007 2008 93.9 93.2 93.3 92.8 94.0 94.1 2009 95.3 94.5 93.6 93.4 93.3 93.2 93.1 93.8 92.5 92.3 92.4 92.6 92.6 92.4 92.2 90.1 94.3 93.7 94.0 94.1 94.0 94.0 93.6 92.1 2010 95.1 96.0 95.7 94.0 94.0 95.1 96.8 95.1 93.4 93.2 93.3 93.2 93.3 93.2 92.9 93.2 94.7 94.2 94.4 94.5 94.5 94.4 94.0 94.4 staff information an experienced and dedicated staff ensures that students at boambee school enjoy and thrive in a quality school environment staff establishment position principal assistant principals classroom teachers teacher of reading recovery support teacher learning assistance teacher librarian teacher of rff music counsellor school administrative staff total full time staff number 1 3 9 1 3 days 3 days 3 days 1 day 2 16 student attendance profile management of non-attendance student non-attendance is carefully monitored extended periods of leave from school must be applied for by parents in accordance with the department of education and training guidelines and approved by the principal class sizes in march 2003 the government announced its commitment to publish primary class sizes in annual the national education agreement requires schools to report on indigenous composition of their workforce boambee school does did not have an indigenous member of staff during 2010 5

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teacher qualifications all teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in nsw public schools qualifications degree or diploma postgraduate of staff 86 14 achievements performing arts the school community prepares every second year for the boambee big bash an extravaganza with all elements being developed by staff and students it is a time when the whole community comes together over three nights to celebrate the amazing talents of the students and teachers in 2010 the big bash ­ thank you for the music was a meander through the different ages and styles of music the very clever script written by fran thompson was complimented by a selection of songs and dances that highlighted to the audience the importance and connection people make with music throughout their lives 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 30/11/2010 income balance brought forward global funds tied funds school community sources interest trust receipts canteen total income 126 897.18 150 949.59 157 461.59 98 294.83 8 215.48 8 692.50 0.00 550 511.17 expenditure teaching learning key learning areas excursions extracurricular dissections library training development tied funds casual relief teachers administration office school-operated canteen utilities maintenance trust accounts capital programs total expenditure balance carried forward 13 874.10 24 072.70 55 717.64 8 518.44 387.68 135 646.55 38 022.23 33 688.85 0.00 39 175.53 11 850.72 6 079.40 10 203.30 377 237.14 173 274.03 a full copy of the school s 2010 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meeting of the p&c further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school school performance 2010 boambee public school prides itself on the achievement of high academic performance supporting academic attainment are well developed creative and sporting programs that enable students with a range of talents and interests to shine 6

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music band a number of children receive individual tuition at school on a wide range of instruments from piano guitar and concert band instruments as well as being offered the opportunity to be part of a school band program which reaches out into the further community via natalie kefts hitunez kidz orcheztra children have the opportunity to play in a larger combined school band through workshop activities play with the coffs harbour city orchestra and participate in the junior regional brass band the band students performed as part of the combined schools band which won their section at the coffs harbour eisteddfod in 2010 the opportunity for students to learn music at this level and to play as part of a music group extends all areas of their learning it is planned in 2011 to extend music opportunities for all students by introducing a whole school music program sport pssa sporting events each year boambee school holds very successful sporting carnivals at a school level in cross country swimming and athletics the sporting success of the school is outstanding but more importantly all students are encouraged and supported to participate and learn new skills in a range of sporting activities each year the school participates in a range of primary school sport association pssa events for nsw government schools the school excels across a range of events with students participating at state championships in 2010 luke mallia performed a personal best time at the nsw pssa swimming championships kate murray and james lowe were outstanding in their performance at state cross country congratulations to the following students who represented the school at the north coast region athletics carnival in 2010 senior boys relay adam pickup tom harding jake fitzpatrick and riley gray nicole condie jnr shot put remi ferguson jnr discus josh fitzpatrick 9yrs 100m tom harding 13yrs 100m and riley gray 12yrs 100m public speaking each year the school holds a public speaking competition from kindergarten to year 6 junior classes share poems and rhymes while the senior students are challenged with prepared speeches following the school competition selected students represent the school in the bongil bongil learning community public speaking competition in 2010 our students competed against students from sawtell ps toormina ps william bayldon ps bonville ps and crossmaglen ps clair crampton and kate murray won the kindergarten and stage 1 sections james murray from stage 3 was awarded highly commended our sporting stars also include adam pickup who reached state trials for soccer emily crampton who competed at state level in basketball matthew summerville and riley gray who competed at state level in rugby league and hudson kacsics who competed at state level in tennis gala days students in primary participated in a variety of local community of schools gala days during 2010 these days are a great way for students to meet new friends from other schools and practice sport in a fun and social environment 7

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two wonderful teams participated in the netball gala day and made it to round 3 of the knockout before being beaten by the eventual winners school sport programs the school offers a range of engaging sport opportunities for all students as part of the weekly sport program in 2010 students k-6 were involved in specialist activities including gymnastics soccer and cricket skill days tennis coaching is available every wednesday and friday with up to fifty students participating an ocean safety awareness program is run for year 5 6 students each year students learn the fundamentals of surf safety and rip identification surf rescue surf board riding and basic cpr teams also represented the school in the hockey gala day and played against urunga ps sawtell ps and bellingen ps these days are a fantastic way of encouraging students to try new sports and meet new friends jump rope was a whole school skipping program held in conjunction with the heart foundation the whole school focused on learning new skipping skills and it was a great way to get fit and help prevent heart disease the response was fantastic with $2534.00 raised for heart research boambee school has many rugby league enthusiasts who play on weekends or follow an nrl club passionately so it was no surprise that many hands went up for the rugby league teams to play in the all schools challenge the annual afl paul kelly cup was held during term 2 the school was able to form two very excited and very optimistic afl teams to play in this knockout the teams performed exceptionally well and made it to the semifinals after topping the pool it must be said that in the post carnival presentations at the end of the day boambee school received a special mention and even a round of applause for the sportsmanship and positive spirit shown throughout the day daily fitness and fruito are integral to teaching programs across all stages of learning emphasis on nutrition and making healthy food choices is a priority within the school community and supported by the school s fresh taste canteen k-6 cricket skills david szumowski for milo cricket brought ex pupil trent deirick to teach skills in cricket it was a fun day with many students receiving free cricket balls as incentive to keep having fun by playing this great sport 8

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other environmental education environmental education initiatives were an exciting highlight for students at boambee school in 2010 initiatives include mobile phone recycling ­ most mobile phones contain the rare mineral coltan this mineral is mined in africa which is causing major habitat loss and the poaching of gorillas and other primates for bush meat recycling phones reduces the need for coltan mining and reduces environmental impact an organic vegetable garden was established and cared for by students produce was either used to supplement the canteen salad vegetables or sold to raise money to buy seedlings and garden products increase understanding of local and global sustainability challenges develop the capacity to measure their own eco-footprint and set their own eco-targets develop a personal sustainability vision and action plan in september the planet savers team organised a green day everyone dressed in green clothes raised $131.00 towards plants for our gardens a water tank was installed to supply the vegetable garden thanks to the fundraising efforts of students and mrs townsend bongil bongil gats ecology day was a great experience for emma lowe lachlan harris aimee donaldson and remi ferguson these students worked with others on environmental activities as part of a community of schools initiative boambee school was part of a state wide climate clever initiative the focus was to implement strategies to reduce the amount of energy used in the school as part of the work students designed energy saving posters bought energy monitoring equipment to gauge power use and green power boards for classrooms this work will continue in 2011 planet savers program was a pilot environmental leadership program developed by ozgreen the program aimed to youth environment council yec boambee students joined the mid north coast district yec for the first time in 2010 the aim of the yec is to bring together students from different schools both primary and secondary to share ideas and school initiatives discuss and learn about current environmental issues twenty eight schools are members of the yec from kempsey in the south to hernani in the west to grafton in the north 9

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engquest students in stage 2 participated in a web based program called engquest this is an initiative of engineers australia and provides an exciting way for students to participate in free fun educational engineering activities involving mathematics science and technology engquest is non-competitive with every student recognised for their participation and creative ideas excursions excursions are an integral part of classroom planning and teaching they provide students with the opportunity to learn from a range of environments and experts some of the 2010 excursion highlights were stage 1 ­ timbertown to enhance learning about local places all students in k ­ 2 experienced what life was like `in the olden days at timbertown some highlights were the carriage rides the bullock team the blacksmith and the bushranger causing havoc on his penny farthing community of schools programs the bongil bongil community of schools involves partnerships with bonville ps crossmaglen ps toormina ps sawtell ps william bayldon ps and toormina high school throughout 2010 the schools worked together on a number of projects including gifted and talented programs and transitioning to high school projects stage 2 ­ local environment stage 2 viewed a wetlands art display to learn about the ways to protect our local environment they also visited the local wetlands to learn about the impact of humans on the environment the year 4 science project was part of the transitioning initiatives with students working on science projects with mr brad poidevin a science teacher from toormina high school together they constructed solar cookers a newspaper dome and a straw bridge it was great fun sydney in term 4 2010 forty nine senior students and four adults spent five days in sydney to give students a real life city experience highlights included an unforgettable day spent exploring jenolan caves chess tournament in 2010 boambee students were involved in a regional chess competition congratulations to lachlan charlie luke and james who won the team competition at club coffs 10

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academic 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 yr 3 band 1 lowest to band 6 highest for year 3 yr 5 band 3 lowest to band 8 highest for year 5 literacy ­ naplan year 5 year 5 reading results were very pleasing with 66 of students achieving in the top three bands compared to 55 across the state analysis of data indicates that focus areas for 2012 2015 targets will be writing and spelling percentage of students in bands year 5 reading literacy ­ naplan year 3 percentage of students 35 30 year 3 achieved pleasing reading results with 60 of students in the top three bands spelling showed improvement in 2010 with 32 of students in the top two bands areas for improvement include grammar and punctuation this will be a school target in 2012 percentage of students in bands year 3 reading 25 20 15 10 5 0 30 25 3 4 5 band 6 7 8 percentage of students 20 15 10 5 percentage in band school average 2008 2010 ssg average 2010 state det average 2010 numeracy ­ naplan year 5 year 5 numeracy results reflected an increase in the percentage of students in the top band across all strands 48 of students were in the top three bands for numeracy percentage of students in bands year 5 numeracy 0 1 2 3 band 4 5 6 percentage in band school average 2008 2010 ssg average 2010 state det average 2010 40 35 percentage of students numeracy ­ naplan year 3 the number of boambee school students in band 6 exceeded overall state percentage the school had 51 of students in the top three bands in 2010 percentage of students in bands year 3 numeracy 30 25 20 15 10 5 30 0 25 3 4 5 band 6 7 8 percentage of students 20 percentage in band school average 2008 2010 15 ssg average 2010 state det average 2010 10 progress in literacy 5 0 1 2 3 band 4 5 6 percentage in band school average 2008 2010 ssg average 2010 state det average 2010 in year 5 81 of students were matched with their year 3 bst results while students showed progress in all areas from year 3 the strongest growth was in reading where both boys and girls showed growth just below state average the growth rate for year 5 boys was above state average in reading 11

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year 5 girls have improved by 43 scale scores from the 2009 data in the test aspect of writing and are 27 scale scores above the state average in the test aspect of reading average progress in reading between year 3 and year 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 percentage of year 3 students in our school achieving at or above the minimum standard in 2010 percentage of year 3 students achieving at or above minimum standard reading 89 writing 93 spelling 96 punctuation and grammar 85 numeracy 84 progress percentage of year 5 students in our school achieving at or above the minimum standard in 2010 percentage of year 5 students achieving at or above minimum standard reading 92 writing 95 spelling 97 punctuation and grammar 92 numeracy 97 2006 2008 2007 2009 2008 2010 school ssg state det progress in numeracy all year 5 students demonstrated progress in numeracy with 44 of matched students improving two skill bands or more in numeracy average progress in numeracy between year 3 and year 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2006 2008 2007 2009 2008 2010 school ssg state det progress on 2010 targets a number of innovative strategies were developed and implemented into class programs to enhance student engagement target 1 to increase student engagement strategies to achieve this target included continue the development of a middle school strategy investigate ways to increase student motivation particularly top 25 of students explicitly teach elements of a strengthened behaviour for learning program introduction of special interest days across the bongil bongil community of schools introduce an attendance recognition program minimum standards the commonwealth government sets minimum standards for reading writing grammar and punctuation spelling and numeracy for years 3 5 7 and 9 the performance of the students in our school in the national assessment program ­ literacy and numeracy is compared to these minimum standards the percentages of our students achieving at or above these standards are reported below progress our achievements include sustained naplan results in reading for the top 25 of year 5 students students on review and intervention level of our discipline code reduced by 10 in 2010 percentage of student attendance increased by 5 and recognized as greater than north coast region and state percentages 12

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44 of student survey indicated that they would highly recommend the school to other increased number of students nominating for involvement in bongil bongil community of schools special interest days parent surveys and evaluations were overwhelmingly supportive of the school surveys were returned by a third of the community with 81 stating that they would highly recommend the school to others parents raised the following areas as priorities for future planning improvement of communication between home and school review of behaviour management to decrease incidents of bullying and teacher time spent dealing with disruptive students follow up and future planning and direction in response to these priorities includes whole school commitment to north coast region professional development and training in positive behaviour for learning beginning 2011 design of a new look newsletter inclusive of weekly class and sport reports and photos development of a new website using department of education template student evaluations and comments are highly valued during the school planning processes of the 108 students surveyed from year 4-6 44 rated the school as a great to excellent learning environment one of the overwhelming priorities for future planning will be to ensure that all stakeholders are part of decision making processes and review of the school s vision statement key evaluations it is a requirement for all nsw public schools to conduct at least two annual evaluations ­ one related to educational and management practice and the other related to curriculum in 2010 our school carried out evaluations of planning and mathematics educational and management practice planning background surveys of parents staff and students were completed on school satisfaction and planning with the appointment of a new principal it was important to gain a deep understanding of planning from a range of perspectives focus questions included decision making for all stakeholders targets for improved performance and understanding of the school vision and participation in planning for improved student performance findings and conclusions staff boambee has a very experienced teaching staff all teachers understand the important role of establishing clear school targets to improve student learning outcomes the following are key issues to address in future planning:greater involvement of staff students and parents in decisions about the school purpose the school statement of purpose is clearly defined and guides school activity and professional development curriculum in 2010 boambee school completed a whole school curriculum evaluation of mathematics teachers analysised student data reflected on current practice and resources background in 2009 a whole school mathematics program was introduced go maths is a commercially produced professional learning and teaching resource that is developed on the nsw mathematics syllabus this program was introduced to provide an explicit and systematic teaching structure and to enhance strategies of working mathematically and problem solving the program was evaluated in october 2010 future directions staff meetings and term 4 staff development days were dedicated to effective and strategic whole school planning outcomes and future directions include:whole school evaluations completed and inclusive of teacher student and parent feedback school priorities and targets to improve school performance identified from analysis of student data and school evaluations targets linked to north coast region priorities and professional learning plans for 2011 findings and conclusions key findings from curriculum evaluation include 13

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structure of daily lesson plans was excellent and provided a quality framework for teachers teachers stated that the pre lesson activities provided opportunities for integrating student background knowledge and substantive communication about mathematics the focus and use of metalanguage in all topics improved student knowledge and understanding of mathematical language lessons developed concepts through a focus on `hands on learning the program gave teacher support and direction to integrate interactive technology into lessons assessment strategies were varied and the software package provided teachers with an excellent tool for recording results the use of text books was viewed as being too restrictive and not suitable for all styles and abilities of learning and analysis of 2010 naplan data showed a significant increase in the performance of the top 25 of girls in year 3 year 5 and year 7 the number of girls in the top band for numeracy was well above state level in 2010 the school sought the opinions of parents students and teachers about the school the following are key responses from parent and student surveys:parents continue to recognise the strong sense of community and family atmosphere as a strength of the school 81 of parents praised the quality of learning environment and valued the professional relationships between teaching staff and parents 70 of the parent surveys agreed the school s planning processes are responsive to emerging needs 92 of students stated that they felt proud to be a student at boambee school and 100 of staff stated that boambee school provided many different opportunities in which staff and students can learn professional learning professional learning in 2010 focused around literacy strands of reading comprehension and writing whole staff professional understanding of the go maths program was increased by assistant principals guiding stage teams through professional learning and planning ongoing professional development opportunities for teachers in these areas have resulted in improved student outcomes and consistency of teacher judgment future directions for professional learning in 2011 include:development of professional learning teams and strategic planning to link professional learning with school targets and school plan assistant principals to lead and manage professional learning at stage level and provide feedback to staff through tars process and increased funding to support professional learning across the school future directions go maths teaching program to be maintained to provide consistent structure across the school the use of student text books in 2011 to be replaced by teacher designed activities to better cater for individual learning styles and abilities newman s problem solving strategy to be introduced in 2011 across the school k-6 reflection of teacher strategies to better engage and improve performance of the top 25 of boys a school team to review the school gifted and talented policy and investigate initiatives and opportunities for the top 25 of students parent student and teacher satisfaction school development 2009 ­ 2011 14

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