2009 Annual School Report
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Percentage of Year 9 students in our school achieving at or above the minimum standard in 2009
Significant programs and initiatives Aboriginal education In 2009 four students of indigenous background were enrolled at Birrong Girls High School. These students assumed responsibility for planning, organising and hosting NAIDOC Week and Reconciliation Week activities. The activities provided the student cohort and staff with an opportunity to celebrate and learn more about aboriginal heritage and contemporary culture. The celebration featured a performance by Western Creation at a full school assembly, where dancers, musicians and story tellers from the Western Desert provided students and staff with an aboriginal perspective on culture, working together, history, reconciliation and the future. 
NAIDOC Week celebration Aboriginal Education Funds allocated to the school have been used to provide tutoring once a week for our students with a tutor of indigenous background to help support and mentor our Year 7 and 8 students in literacy and numeracy. Our tutor, an indigenous university graduate, helped and inspired the students to set high educational goals. This additional funding enabled an indigenous student in Year 11 to access a tutor to assist with preparation for assignment and assessment tasks. With this motivation she graduated from the University of NSW Nura Gili indigenous student program and also from the How Big are Your Dreams program affiliated with the University of Technology Sydney, Tranby Aboriginal College and with the legal firm, Gilbert and Tobin. Mandatory individual learning programs are negotiated with each indigenous student by the end of term one each year. An evaluation of our indigenous students’ academic progress and their personal achievements in extracurricular activities at the end of 2009 recommended that the same program of support continue in 2010 to consolidate both academic achievement and leadership skills.
More than 90% of our students are from a range of cultural backgrounds representing 46 language groups. The majority of families are from Arabic, Vietnamese, Chinese, Turkish and Pacific Islander backgrounds. Given the rich diversity of our student population, the values of understanding, tolerance and inclusion underpins all aspects of teaching and learning. Teaching and learning programs integrate multicultural perspectives to develop the knowledge, skills and understandings required for a culturally diverse society. 2.6 ESL teachers supported students from Language Backgrounds Other than English (LBOTE) through team teaching and targeted programs. Intercultural understanding was fostered through a broad range of successful initiatives. Harmony Day, organised by the Amnesty International group, was held in term one with students celebrating cultural diversity and unity through dance, music and fundraising activities.
Harmony day celebrations In addition, the school library featured cultural celebrations throughout the year which acknowledged the different cultures of the world in multimedia presentations, displays, food tasting and dance. The first year of the Pacific Communities project proved highly successful. A highly qualified and experienced teacher-mentor supported students of Pacific Islander background in achieving their personal best through small group work focusing on goal setting, study techniques, career path planning and examination techniques. Significant outcomes of this project included a marked improvement in attendance of students involved and a more focused approach to learning and the graduation of three students from the Make it Reel program at the University of Technology, Sydney. Respect and responsibility Our school actively promoted the two important values of respect and responsibility as essential components of our school values. These values have been highlighted as a central component of the revised Anti-Bullying Plan and promote responsible citizenship within the context of the school and local and global communities. Initiatives which strongly supported our school values in 2009 included: major fundraising projects for Canteen and for victims of the Black Saturday Bushfires; sponsoring the education of a student at the School of St Jude in Tanzania; drives for educational resources to support the Kanga schools in Sierra Leone; and blood donations through the Red Cross mobile units. In addition student leaders promoted our values at school and year assemblies and student diaries featured summary statements describing the practical application of our values in school life. Our Statement of Values has provided a useful starting point for discussions with students and their families about school expectations, particularly in the context of enrolment interviews and issues associated with student welfare and discipline. Strongly supported by staff, students and parents, our core values demonstrate the school’s commitment to fostering respect and responsibility in a positive, caring environment which responds to individual need and celebrates achievement.
The PSFP staffing supplementation was used to employ two support teachers, providing more individual and intensive instruction for students requiring remediation in literacy and numeracy. The preferred model of implementation for the additional staffing was team teaching with occasional group withdrawal as required. Additional staff were attached to targeted classes in Years 7 and 8, student placement in these classes having been determined by the Learning Support Team who used NAPLAN data as well as teacher recommendations and results from performance in standardised tests. Support was also provided to students in targeted Year 9 mathematics classes where students had been identified as requiring additional remediation in numeracy, particularly in the areas of number and data. While it is too early to evaluate the efficacy of this approach, we are confident that results in National Testing will reflect an improvement in overall literacy and numeracy results. Classroom teachers’ records show improvement in student results and anecdotal evidence suggests that students are more engaged in learning and more confident in risk taking as a result of intensive individual and small group instruction and provision of scaffolded learning activities. Team teaching proved particularly beneficial in that it equipped classroom teachers with a broader range of strategies to better support the learning needs of students requiring remediation. A teacher satisfaction survey evaluated this program highly, finding the level of support very valuable.
PSP funding provided the school with the opportunity to provide systems and structures which could improve the quality of teaching and learning through quality professional learning, improved classroom organisation and stronger community partnerships. This was achieved in the following ways:
Student welfare The student welfare program supports the personal and social development and the wellbeing of our students. A proactive welfare team met weekly though out 2009 to plan welfare programs, respond to individual student needs and to address identified areas of need. The evaluation and update of our Anti Bullying Plan was a DET requirement in 2009. A team of four staff developed the school’s anti bullying plan for implementation in 2010. Student, parent and staff surveys were used to evaluate the existing plan which was last updated in 2008. The revised plan includes a statement of student, parent and teacher responsibilities, strategies to assist in the prevention of bullying, procedures to deal with bullying incidents and a summary of existing school programs which reinforce and promote the school values, Code of Behaviour and respectful relationships. Programs such as performances of “Bully Busters” for Year 7 and “Verbal Combat” for Year 9 were evaluated positively as effective means of addressing issues related to peer pressure and conflict resolution. Similarly the Peer Mediation Program where trained Year 10 and Year 11 students mediate disputes was evaluated as being an effective means of helping junior students to resolve conflicts in a managed environment. This program simultaneously promotes student leadership and contributes to the school culture of understanding, respect and responsibility. A highlight of 2009 was the Year 10 camp, which provided an opportunity for students to participate in workshops and activities designed to build confidence, foster team work, cooperation and leadership. The camp’s success lies in its preparation of students for the responsible self direction and goal setting required of students entering Year 11.
Year 10 Camp Student leadership program Students continue to be involved in school governance through the prefects and the SRC; in public relations including profiles in regional initiatives; in programs such as peer support, peer tutor reading and peer medication; and in a range of committees including the finance committee, the PSFP team, the environment team, Amnesty International team. The prefect body led the school with distinction, working extremely well as a team and showing a great sense of civic responsibility. Significant achievements included a ‘fashion parade with a difference’ which raised $2100 for CanTeen. A joint fundraising project with the SRC proved very successful, raising $3,700 to help victims of the Black Saturday bushfires. In addition, prefects have provided leadership through their promotion of school values, their contribution to the organisation of presentation days and in providing representation for the student body. Year 11 students provided a strong leadership role in promoting our Education Week theme ‘one in a million’ through visual representations and a Pi competition. A team of talented Year 10 students coordinated the publication of two student magazines. Formal training in student leadership was provided through attendance at quality leadership events including the Young Leader’s Conference, the Public Education Ambassadors Program, the Unifem Young Women’s Leadership Academy, the Young Women’s Leadership Seminar and Leadership in the Digital Age Seminar, and the Youth Environmental Network Conference.
2009 Prefects at Unifem International Women’s Day Breakfast Programs for students with additional educational needs The special learning needs of students were met through the Learning Assistance Program. Students with learning difficulties and disabilities were supported by:
Vocational education program In 2009 47% of students in Year 11 and 27% of students completing Year 12 were enrolled in at least one Vocational Education Training, (VET) subject. At the beginning of the year, six teachers in the school held industry qualifications in Business Services, Retail Operations or Hospitality. Each teacher delivering a VET course completed mandatory hours of extra training to maintain currency in the delivery of their framework. Three additional teachers undertook training during the year in order to be able to deliver VET courses in the future, including a new course in Sports Coaching. Students studying VET subjects require specialist learning spaces such as an industry standard kitchen, a retail space for displays with access to a cash register or an office space with access to computers. Continuing upgrades as well as purchase of new equipment and resources during the year ensured that students’ experiences in completing VET subjects were as close as possible to experience in the work place. Work placement allows students to test their understanding of what they have learnt, to consolidate their skills and to experience aspects of the work place which cannot be replicated in the school environment. Students took up positions in a variety of businesses to complete 70 hours of mandatory work placement in each of the three frameworks. One of the greatest advantages for students completing a VET course is the active involvement of students in their own learning. To achieve a competency in a VET subject, students may repeat assessment of a competency until they are able to demonstrate proficiency in it. Attaining the competencies requires students to complete practical tasks. In 2009 some of these tasks were included in the organisation and catering for the annual Business Brunch, which once again was attended by a number of employers who had supported our students during VET work placements and Year 10 work experience in 2009. In an evaluation of the delivery of VET courses at Birrong Girls High School the decision was made that in 2010 the mandatory Work Readiness Program would be run simultaneously for Year 11 students studying Retail Operations, Business Services and Hospitality to ensure that each student had a sound understanding of the expectations of employers when she began her work placement later in the year. In 2010 the VET team will once again encourage students to adopt a rigorous attitude towards achieving their personal best in the HSC, high marks in the non-compulsory written HSC examination and in attaining all the competencies required to work towards their TAFE qualifications. In 2010 an external audit of VET will take place to ensure that delivery of VET courses meet industry standards.
Business Brunch Commonwealth Initiatives This year the school has benefited greatly from a much needed injection of funding from two major initiatives of the Commonwealth Government, namely, the Building the Education Revolution (BER) and the Digital Education Revolution (DER). Under the BER we carried out a number of major maintenance projects including: the replacement of the hall floor; total refurbishment of our 3 main Science laboratories and prep room; painting in 23 learning spaces and new carpet in 20 classrooms. The DER program, in this the first year of its four year life, provided a laptop computer for all 170 students in Year 9, laptop computers for teachers of Year 9, wireless connectivity throughout the school and a Technology Support Officer position to facilitate the successful implementation of the program.
Our achievements include:
Target 2
To improve student satisfaction and engagement and student retention rates from Year 10–12 Our achievements include
Target 3
All teachers familiar with QT framework and utilise QT coding sheets and assessment practices Our achievements include:
Target 4
Teachers and students utilising new technologies effectively to enhance learning Our achievements include:
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 2009 our school carried out evaluations of ESL support and Science. Educational and management practice ESL Evaluation In 2009 an evaluation was conducted to investigate the level of support that ESL students receive for their language development, to ascertain the strategies which best support ESL students as learners and to determine the extent to which explicit English language teaching was evident in mainstream classes with students requiring ESL support. Survey data was collected from eighty-six students in Stage 4 and 5 LBOTE targeted classes. 50% of staff completed the staff survey. Findings and Conclusions Student responses indicated that the team teaching environment proved particularly beneficial in supporting individual students with explanations, vocabulary enrichment, and support in task completion and correction of work. These students identified the individual assistance provided by the team teaching environment as a key element in supporting them in the classroom. The staff survey reinforced the importance of the ESL teacher actively contributing to student learning through the provision of additional explanations of tasks as well as support in editing written responses and in completing tasks. Staff responses also indicated that they valued opportunities for ESL staff to deliver segments of lessons so that the team teaching process operated as a genuine partnership. Overall findings suggest that while students and staff value ESL teaching across the school, improved modes of delivery need to be considered to facilitate greater concentration of resources allowing for improved lesson and task modification, resource development and implementation of literacy learning strategies.
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