NSW Department of Education & Training

8811

2009 Annual School Report Granville Boys High School

NSW Public Schools Leading the way

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Our school at a glance

Students

Our school enrolment in 2009 was 494 students. Our school serves the Granville/ Auburn area and our student community reflects the diversity of the community it serves. In our multicultural school, the largest proportion of our students is of Arabic speaking background while many other students have Pacific Islander or African backgrounds. We have an increase in the number of students from Afghan and Asian backgrounds.

Staff

All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools. The teaching staff at GBHS are highly qualified in their subject areas. Professional Learning and building staff capacity have been focus areas in 2009.

Significant programs and initiatives

Priority School Funding Program (PSFP)

Priority Action School Program (PAS)

Teacher Mentor Program 2009 10 (incorporating the Beginning and Early Career Teacher program)

Transition to Year 7 Initiative 2009

Positive Behaviour Intervention Strategy

Gifted and Talented Program

University Orientation programs such as UNSW Aspire and UWS Fast Forward

Student Leadership Program

GBHS Interact Club inauguration

School to Work Transition Program

Launch of PBIS Term 3

ICT professional learning focus

Timetabled Faculty Professional Learning periods

Upgrade of school publications- bulletin, banners

Canteen Lease

School performance groups established African Drummers, bands

Establishment of the Learning Support faculty

New school structures- to improve amenable learning, specifically targeting attendance, fractional truancy, lateness

and uniform, Change of period times and day structure

Timeout room established

Relocation of English, Art, Support and HSIE faculties

Major Building refurbishment through the Building the Education Revolution (BER-Commonwealth Government) and Building Better Schools (BBS-NSW State Government)

BER

Refurbishment of Block 2

Refurbishment of Administration Area

New Covered Outdoor Learning Area

Language Laboratory

BBS

Science Lab refurbishment

Commonwealth Governments Digital Education Revolution (DER)

Roll out of Laptops and Wireless

Connected Classroom

New Interactive Whiteboards

New School Bus routes

Purchase of a School Bus

New School Uniform

Student achievement in 2008

Literacy NAPLAN Year 7

Band 6 performance is closest to state /region ( 28% school 30% state- 25% region). 70 % of students scored in the lowest 2 Bands for reading in the NAPLAN. Inferential questions presented the most problems The cohort has received intervention though the Intensive Reading Program and literacy support in classes.

Numeracy NAPLAN Year 7

33% of the cohort scored Band 6 which was above the State and Regional average. Generally literacy presented a problem as word problems were poorly answered, however 18% achieved above the 75th percentile

Literacy NAPLAN Year 9

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While the school achieved the highest value added in writing in the Granville School Group, expected growth in literacy was not as good as it has been in the past. Literacy remains a major target in the school plan.

Numeracy NAPLAN Year 9

Year 9 performance in numeracy is consistent with the like school group in Bands 6 and 7, however their is a larger percentage of students in Band 5. Value adding in numeracy has been better than for literacy.

School Certificate

There was a 19.6% improvement in the percentage of students who received Band 3 and above in the 2009 School Certificate English Literacy as compared to the School Average from 2005-2009. In Mathematics however there was a 3.8% fall in the percentage of students who received Band 3 and above as compared to the School Average from 2005-2009.

Higher School Certificate

There was an improvement in the overall performance of students in the following subjects compared to the performance of the school in the HSC from 2005 to 2009: Biology, Visual Arts, Information Processes and Technology, Information Technology Examination, Construction Examination Design and Technology and Mathematics Extension 1. English Standard, English Advanced and Retail Operations remained the same.

Messages

Principal's message We began 2009 with a new Senior Executive team and a reinvigorated Executive team. Mr Mark Marciniak and Mr Brian Miller began as substantive Deputy Principals while Mr James Mallios became a Deputy Principal Administration funded by the PAS program. At the beginning of Term 2 Mr Nathan Towney became a second PAS Deputy Principal. In March Ms Fiona Cullenward commenced duty as Head Teacher English and Mr Chris Mandarakas as Head Teacher HSIE. Ms Lisa Faddoul joined the staff as the Head Teacher Mentor for a two year program to assist Early Career Teachers. Ms Melinda Adderley became the Head Teacher of the newly created Learning Support Faculty. This position is also funded by the PAS. Our Executive team worked hard to implement many changes in the management of the school. The focus was on building teacher capacity through professional learning and on the

supervision in the learning environment. Our equity funding enabled us to employ extra staff above establishment to facilitate this dual approach. Literacy, numeracy, embedding Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Student Engagement and Retention were the target areas for improvement. A major initiative was the launch of the Positive Behaviour Intervention Strategy. A planning and management team led by Mr Mark Marciniak launched the PBIS at the beginning of Term 3. The staff and students had input in to the Values matrix for PBIS. To gain authentic student voice, student leaders in Year 10 and 11 were trained by Dr Kris Needham and Professor Susan Groundwater Smith to conduct focus groups with all students in Years 7 to 11. Students discussed what comprised a good school and what respect at school meant to them. The PBIS matrix is a reflection of the student voice. The Boys Education Policy at GBHS in 2009 was focused on embedding Information and Communication Technology across the curriculum. This management initiative was led by Deputy Principals Brian Miller and James Mallios. A whole school approach began with professional learning and planning at the Executive Conference that was held in June. From the ICT roadmap developed at the conference, professional learning needs and physical resource needs were outlined. Assessment was a starting point for teaching and learning programs that embedded ICT. Each faculty prepared one assessment task per year group per semester and professional learning was built around the development of teaching and learning programs that were back mapped from the assessment task. ICT resources were purchased from school funds and the facilities at the school were also greatly enhanced by the opening of the connected classroom and the Language Laboratory. The school now has an additional 6 interactive whiteboards and two video conferencing facilities. To improve the learning amenity at the school, the physical environment was greatly improved with the refurbishment of the Science laboratories, the exterior surfaces of Block 2, the Administrative Block and the relocation of faculties. An extension of the awning attached to the School gym provided a Covered Outdoor Learning Area and additional shelter for inclement weather. The refurbishment programs were funded by the NSW and Commonwealth Governments. The move of the English, Creative and Performing Arts and the Support Unit were funded from school resources. A new Staff Common room was created in Block 1 when the existing room in Block 5 became the Connected Classroom. The HSIE faculty was relocated to Room 115. Year 11 Construction students erected new seating in the playground. Playground seating and other plans for

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playground enhancement are overseen by the Environment Group within the PBIS Team. New school uniform was introduced in Term 3 of 2009 and was gradually phased in. All students will be expected to wear the new uniform in 2010. The new school uniform plus the new website, new school banners and school signage have rejuvenated the GBHS image.Two new bus routes were started in Term 2 2009. Both bus routes start at the school in the afternoon. One bus delivers students to points through Granville and the other travels to Auburn. The school purchased a 22 seater bus in Term 4 2009. Student leadership programs engaged students in a range of activities. The Prefects and Student Representative Council represented the student body in the selection of the school uniform and the canteen lessee. They also advocated for students about issues such as school diaries and recreational facilities. Gehad Tuemah was the South West Sydney regional representative to the State SRC camp. Students raised funds for the Molly McDonnell Foundation and participated in Daffodil Day as volunteers. The ABCN GOALS program for Year 9 students was conducted in Terms 2 and 3. Students from Years 9 to 11 participated in University introductory and mentoring programs. A highlight of the year was the inauguration of the GBHS Interact Club sponsored by the Granville Rotary Club. The many changes implemented in 2009 have been aimed at improving the learning amenity at the school and increasing support for the teaching staff. We feel confident that we will se