Learning Areas
Technology Program
Forest Crescent Primary School is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for all students.
There is a positive attitude to Technology & Enterprise with efforts being made to integrate T & E into other Learning Areas. Students have been engaged in a range of activities across the school including badge making, puppets, boomerangs making, models, terrariums, zoo enclosures as well as PowerPoint presentations and reports.
Use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) resources has increased with regular use of digital cameras to record student Design, Make Appraise activities. Students have more pride in the process and product. Data recorded on SIS indicates that the skills base of both student and teacher has increased.
Progress has been made in the Home/School link with Information Technologies being used to communicate student learning via the use of email/blogs, newsletters, CD’s, DVD’s together with PowerPoint and Slideshows on Open night.
Parent support and value is evident by the purchase of Sports Day badges, positive comments on use of email and Blogs for communication and the Purchase of Electronic Whiteboard by the P & C.
Mathematics
Mathematics continued to be a priority area in 2007 with the Getting it Right Numeracy (GiRN) strategy continuing to be implemented across the school. Focus has also been on addressing the Mathematics Learning Area Outcomes as mandated in the Curriculum Framework. This has enabled teachers to make consistent judgements regarding student achievement and plan for further learning.
2007 was our final year of GiRN. GiRN focussed on implementing First Steps Strategies in the class room. A further priority for 2007 was the Whole School Monitoring of Student Performance using the School Information System (SIS) and linking to Departmental Reports.
The results of the 2007 Attitude Survey show the Year One, Three, Five and Seven cohorts maintaining a 90% average overall positive attitude towards Mathematics.
In 2008, three priorities will be targeted in the Mathematics Learning Area. The first priority will be to develop a Numeracy Profile to track and monitor all students. The second priority will be to improve student performance in using Mental Strategies. The third priority will be to improve student performance in Working Mathematically.
These priorities were identified as areas of weakness across all year levels by staff
Health & Physical Education
Forest Crescent Primary School is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes, for all students, related to a healthier lifestyle within a safe and inclusive environment.
The focus in Health in 2007 was to continue to develop a healthy, safe and inclusive environment for all students. Learning opportunities from Kindergarten to Year 7 have been provided to develop concepts for a healthy life, interpersonal and self-management skills. Some of these programs include P.A.T.H.S, Friendly Kids Friendly Classrooms, Rainbows, Tribes and the A-Team teacher Mentor Program.
The Pastoral Care committee has continued from its inception 2005 to begin formulating ideas for a school banner. The banner will include the schools value statement, poignant logo and specific values that reflect the school community and focus.
Faction tokens have continued with great success in 2007 and have added to the positive motivation and atmosphere to keep the school clean, the students wearing correct uniform, including the wearing of hats in the sun and have created a focus to reward students for good behaviour and positive citizenship.
A survey went out in term 4 of 2007 to review the effectiveness of school based health programs. The results from this survey will determine which programs are effectively being used and the possibility of introducing more up to date inclusive social and emotional programs across the whole school in 2008.
Phys Ed
In 2007 the implementation of the 2 hours minimum physical education policy was implemented. The year 1 and 2 children complete 120 minutes PE each week, consisting of a 50 PE session with the school specialist, and 70 minutes per week with the class teacher. Seven teachers in Junior Primary undertook PE professional development Fundamental Movement skills and two teachers were trained in the Blue Earth program last year. The year 3 to 7 children get taught 50 minutes of Physical Activity, and 50 minutes of sport, supplemented with a 20 minute fitness session.
Science
Two Professional Development sessions were held for teachers during 2007. A half day session introduced teachers to “Primary Connections”, a program that links Science with Literacy. As a result resources were purchased and are now being used in the classroom. The second session concentrated on working mathematically in science and an interesting session of hands on activities was enjoyed and many of these activities have now been carried out in classrooms.
Investigating Scientifically continued to be the major focus during 2007 with children being encouraged to participate in “hands on” activities. The Primary Investigations Program was in use in many classes, along with Primary Connections, with teachers adapting programs to introduce a variety of activities to allow Science to integrate with the classroom themes.
Science Tabloids was held during Science Week with a Water-wise theme being adopted. There were some very innovative and unusual activities happening around the school that week.
Term Four saw the SOS Aussies Incursion introduce the children to our Reptiles and was a well received by all children across the school. Year 4 & 5 again participated in the SciTech survey and the results will be compared to last years when we receive them
Society & Environment
Focus was on the development and implementation of an Aboriginal Education Program linked to special NAIDOC Week activities. Year 6 students visited the Aboriginal Cultural Centre where they participated in activities such as spear throwing, axe making, painting, dance and Noongar language and story telling. School based activities for NAIDOC Week included cross curricular activities in literature and art, the cooking and consumption of bush taker and boomerang making.
A variety of excursions and incursions were conducted throughout the school to enhance Society and Environment learning opportunities including:
- Waterwise
- Mundairing Weir
- Carers and Catchers Hills Education Centre
- Environmental protection – Calm
- Discovering the Past – Maritime Museum Fremantle
- Parliament House and the Electoral Office
- Stories From the Past
- Anti-vandalism – Safe City Program, Gosnells City Council
- Harmony Week activities
- Fire fighter visit and emergency fire drill
LOTE
Students in years 3-7 have progressed well in Italian during 2007. They have showed good progress in comprehension skills and also in the pronunciation of vocabulary. They are able to understand very basic phrases to more complex sentences and have a very good understanding of everyday language.
As well as reading and writing students learned Italian songs and plays. Some of these were performed at the Italian assembly at the end of term 3. Students demonstrated a vast improvement in pronunciation through the practice and performance of these songs and plays.
Overall students enjoy learning Italian and attain high standards in both spoken and written forms
The Arts
Visual
During 2007 an extension programme (TAGS) was offered to children in years 6 and 7. Many of these children have participated in the programme before, but new children were nominated by their classroom teachers to target a wider group.
A specialist visual arts programme targeted the children in years 4 and 5. The aim of this programme was to increase the skills of these children using a wide variety of media, this included painting, drawing and ceramics.
The students in Years 2, 4 and 6 participated in an Arts Attitude Survey. The survey included questions about general attitude towards visual arts, self-confidence, and art content including the role of arts in society.
The results indicate that there is a positive attitude towards the Visual Arts and students demonstrate high self-confidence. An area for improvement is Art Content. On closer analysis the students’ attitude reflected a need for more exposure to the Role of Arts in Society.
Music
The school choir performed very well at the Massed Choir Festival, Let’s Party Festival and at assemblies throughout the year. Students involved with the School of Instrumental Music continued tuition with flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and have given impressive performances at assemblies also. This program has gone from strength to strength as more children come on board with knowledge and application of music skills enabling a greater understanding of dynamics, rhythm, etc. Percussion will be introduced in 2008.
Year one and two students enthusiastically involved themselves in a variety of musical activities and performances. Explicit instruction of the elements of music were integrated into creative, practical and performance based activities. Students have excelled in rhythm and beat and are well prepared to move into more challenging roles in the middle and upper grades.
A great majority of older children can read and perform basic rhythm patterns and simple melodies. Year 4 and 5 students have a solid grounding of the functional understanding of staff notation. 84% of year 4 and 5 students can play recorder compared to 67% last year.
The music programme focuses on interactive, sequential development of practical musicianship and theoretical knowledge with the purpose of providing students with the opportunity to become confident musicians
English
English continued to be a priority area in 2007 with a focus in Speaking and Listening from K-7. This will continue in 2008 with a specific focus on students listening with purpose, understanding and critical awareness in a wide range of situations. In 2007 students were provided with opportunities to listen with purpose through daily reading, presentations, taped stories, auditory games, barrier games, interviews, drama and a range of learning experiences. All students had an opportunity to be involved in workshops in Term 2 with “Illustrators in Residence” who were based at the school site for two weeks. Students from P-7 were provided with workshops and each class had time allocated to work with the illustrators providing an opportunity to promote Reading, Viewing, Speaking & Listening, Writing and The Arts.
Whole school literacy assessment was also a focus area for 2007. Using school based common assessment literacy tasks, data was collected in K-3 on Oral Language, Rhyming Knowledge, Concepts of Print, Phonemic Awareness, Sight Words, Cloze, Miscue Analysis and Schonell Spelling. In Year 4-7 common assessment included Schonell Spelling, Reading Comprehension Passages, Torch Test years 4 and 6 and Neale Analysis for SAER. The following graphs compare the performance of students at Forest Crescent Primary School with the performance of students from schools with a similar socio-economic index to Forest Crescent. Schools are placed in a band that allows comparison of results against similar schools.
The focus of the English plan for 2008 is Speaking and Listening. The purpose for improvement is to continue to build upon the student’s contextual understandings. The students need to interact in different ways depending on the purpose and content. In 2008 the staff will have an opportunity to use the First Steps “Speaking and Listening” modules with a specific focus on students listening with purpose, understanding and critical awareness in a wide range of situations.
In classrooms students will be provided with opportunities to listen with purpose through daily reading, presentations, taped stories, auditory games, barrier games, interviews, drama and a range of learning experiences.
In reading teachers will continue to build and consolidate on students’ ability to read a wide range of texts with purpose, understanding and critical awareness. Teachers currently use a range of reading strategies, which will be consolidated and maintained in 2008. In spelling the school recognises the need to maintain the Spelling Mastery program in Years 2 and Years 3 for SAER. The Spelling Mastery program will also be introduced in Year 6 for SAER and continue in Year 7 with Morphographic Spelling.