Students, staff and the community of Crystal Brook Primary School strive to

become confident, self motivated learners who share the responsibility

for their learning through positive relationships and wellbeing.

We have welcomed seven new families to our school and sixteen brand new reception students and their families to our school. During 2013. Crystal Brook Primary School is one of the few country schools in our area which is keeping their numbers fairly constant, so our future looks bright. The year began with a Leaders Retreat at Bowman Park with students from rooms seven and eight, teachers Jenny Stringer and Tracey Burns , Davina Bellman our School Counsellor, Bill Clarke our Christian pastoral Support Worker and I taking part. We had fun exploring the values of respect, cooperation, creativity and what makes a good leader, this was done through reflection, team building games, roles plays about doing it the right way, the master chef challenge and the Ultimate Challenge. This was a great and rewarding day which set the scene for great development of strong leaders in our school. There have been numerous sporting events including Swimming lessons for all classes, a swimming carnival and swimming and athletics events for our older students, these are part of the transition program to Gladstone High School, numerous SAPSASA events in which many of our students have excelled. We had a brilliant Sports Day at the end of Term 3 in which students from all levels of the school participated in. Our student body (Student Representative Council) is a strong group with regular meetings being held with real decision making being made. The SRC Executive has lead by example and has initiated a revamped recycling system which is working well. They also present reports at Governing Council once a term. The parent bodies: Governing Council and Parent Club are both strong in our school with both being a vital part of our school. Governing Council is involved with the decision making, finance and policies and Parent Club has a strong role in wellbeing of students and fundraising which is always appreciated by students and teachers. This year the Parent Club have bought the Shortlisted Books for Book Week, sunscreen, five i-pads for student use in learning and a new Interactive Whiteboard for the Health and PE Room. A highlight of the year for many of us was learning in classes about the Anzac tradition, the Anzac Day Assembly held at the end of Term 1 and over fifty of our students attending and taking part in the local Dawn Service at Adelaide Square. Davina Bellman with support from teachers went over and above in her work and organisation for this learning and the events – congratulations Davina! Our school was awarded the South Australian Primary School Anzac Award for 2013, a great honour which was celebrated at a special Assembly where Senator Gallacher presented us with a plaque and the $2,000 cheque. I would like to acknowledge and thank the magnificent staff that we have a Crystal Brook Primary School; they are dedicated to improving themselves so that they can in turn be expert teachers of our students. I am constantly astounded at the levels of commitment to learning, the coverage of the learning areas which occurs in our school and the wonderful celebrations of learning which occur at the regular Assemblies. A highlight for me was the work done by the whole team in preparing for “Validation” of our school in Term 3; the panel which came to our site was glowing with their comments about our school and the improvement journeys of our students and staff. It is a pleasure to be in such an amazing school. Anne Franks Principal

Our students enjoyed a wide range of learning experiences in addition to their daily subject based learning including: EXTRA CURRICULA ACTIVITIES SAPSASA—football, netball, soccer, tennis, cricket, swimming, athletics and cross-

country Choir—performances at the Keith Michell Theatre, Willochra and the Hospital Instrumental Music & Private Music tuition Model Club—making and painting a range of plastic

models after school on Wednesdays Gladstone High School swimming carnival Y6/7 MNSEC athletics carnival Joining the community for ANZAC and Remembrance Day

services ENRICHING LEARNING EXPERIENCES Special Education Program and Intervention — additional support for students with

learning needs Camps/Excursions—to Adelaide, Pt. Hughes, Bowman Park, Crystal Brook Community Kadina,, Pirie Tourism and Arts Centre, Port Augusta Aquatics, Road Safety Centre, Port Pirie Gymnastics CPSW—supporting the wellbeing of individual students Introduction of models by our Christian Pastoral Support

Workers has proved to be popular and a great way to form relationships

Performances— Films at the Keith Michell Theatre, Splash Theatre, Brainstorm and Aboriginal Technology, Music is Fun

Youth Theatre production End of Year Concert—dance lessons in Term 4 Swimming Lessons and Yr. 3-7 Swimming Carnival Sports Day Librarian/Counsellor run activities including: SRC, Book Week and Book Fair, Harmony

and Reconciliation Day, Recycling NSW University curriculum competitions— Maths, Writing, Science and English SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS Continuation of Breakfast Club by School Pastoral Support Workers has continued in

the Hall kitchen area and has helped students to have a good start to the school day. An Electronic Whiteboards was purchased for HPE Room and Hallett Cove donated

another which is being installed in Room 3 Blinds were installed to shelter and shade Room 4 verandah Parent Club purchased another ten i-Pads were purchased to improve student learning Thirty new computers and a Dual ISP have been installed in the Computer Room and

on the Server which has greatly improved the speed of our computers and access to the internet

The Administration area received a face lift with an injection of funds from a State Government Grant Scheme with additional funds coming from the school

SRC has put a new recycling scheme into place to ensure our waste is recycled, including paper, cans, and packaging

An edible native garden has been planted with SRC and Aboriginal Students and buddies all being part of the redevelopment of the old Activity Room site.

Staff Rm 1 Yr. R/1— Julie Gambling (Reading Support Teacher/ Intervention) /

Gabrielle Crouch Rm.2 Yr. R/1 — Jodie Zwar/ Megan Smart Rm. 4 Yr. 1/2 — Annette Boughen /Ingrid Combe Rm. 5 Yr. 3/4 — Amanda Bowman / Beck Nicholson Rm. 10 Yr. 4/5 — Chris Stroud / Hilary Ferguson Rm. 7 Yr. 5/6 — Tracey Burns/ Ingrid Combe Rm. 8 Yr. 6/7 — Jenny Stringer P.E. /Health / Technology Teacher—Tim Lundie /Afzal Rana / Paul Fogarty Special Education Program Co-ordinator —Davina Bellman Counsellor — Davina Bellman Classroom Support SSO — Olga Smart, Margaret Brice, Ange Gum, Helen

Webb, Emma Grossman, Alice Avery, Kerry Wade, Hannah Young, Lisa Steele, Kylie Heinrich, Jordan Gum

Individual Student Support — Ange Gum, Alice Avery, Jordan Gum, Kylie Heinrich, Kerry Wade

Aboriginal Community Education Officer — Helen Webb Admin S.S.O. — Jacqui Head Finance Officer — Caroline Lloyd Christian Pastoral Support Worker — Alison and Bill Clarke Grounds — Tony Muirhead Parents We have 110 families in our school. There is ongoing strong parental involvement in the work of the school as shown by: strong attendance at assemblies, listening to students read, helping at Sports Day and Swimming Carnival, assisting with supervision on camps and excursions and supporting the educational work of the school. Governing Council — 14 members and 3 sub-committees-Education, Finance, Grounds. This provides governance of the school, including broad directions for the school, updating of policies, monitoring the progress the Site Improvement Plan and the budget. Parent Club — is an active body with many members and has raised $26,663.81 to benefit the learning and wellbeing of our students. Interactive White Boards, ten i-pads, blinds, books for the library have been purchased through their efforts. Volunteers — helping with listening to students read, on excursions, Nit Busters, supporting special activities such as Assemblies, Sports Day and Swimming Carnival and visiting charity groups.

Enrolments beginning 2013 175

R-2 71

3-7 105

Males 41%

Females 59%

School Card 21%

Special Needs 7%

Aboriginal students 2.3%

STUDENTS

Student Representative Council (SRC) Report 2013 What a year for the SRC!! I have thoroughly enjoyed working with a range of students from all classes. We have brought about change in many ways including our new recycling system, fundraising for many different charities and holding events that the students have loved! I want to congratulate my 4 wonderful SRC Leaders for all their hard work this year, they have been a pleasure to work with and have demonstrated abilities beyond their age- independence, initiative, public speaking, courage, confidence, kindness and they are fantastic role models. Crystal Brook Primary School Student Representative Council is made up of two representatives (1 mate and 1 female) from each class, who are voted in by their peers to represent their class for Term One and Two. Then two more reps are voted in for Term Three and Four. We have had an exceptional combination of representatives from Reception to Year 7 this year. Also four Year Seven SRC Leaders are voted in by all the students in the school to be the SRC executive; the team includes a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The students who would like to apply for a SRC Leadership position complete a written application and then present a speech to the entire school before students have their opportunity to vote. The SRC Leaders role includes running SRC meetings, leading and organising events, running assemblies, MC’s at End of Year Concert, fundraising, supporting their peers and many other jobs. Throughout the year students held SRC meetings every fortnight on Friday afternoon and also ran assemblies every fortnight with support of the SRC coordinator, Mrs. Bellman. This year the SRC have brought about change through the new and improve recycling system and raised vital funds for charities and school projects, which are reported about below by the SRC Leaders. CBPS Leadership Day At Bowman Park On Friday, the 1st February, students from our two upper primary classes were invited to attend a Leadership Day at Bowman Park. 53 student’s were involved in a range of activities organised by Upper Primary teachers, the school counsellor and Principal at Crystal Brook P.S, This included inspirational local guest speakers, team games, cooking, challenges and group discussions based around the idea of building leadership qualities, good values, team work and role modelling skills. .

“We were successful at supporting students to build a better understanding of what it means to be a good leader, to work positively within their school community and ultimately what is means to be and how to be a valued person where ever they go in life. The students had a wonderful day and the school has received a large amount of positive feedback from students, parents and member of the community. “On Friday, the first of February we went to Bowman Park for a leadership day because we are about to become leaders for the school, SRC and team captains. When we got there our first activity was to listen to Maggie Rutjens and the local police officer, Steve Garden. They talked to us about leadership. Our group activity was to make cakes, we had a talk with Mrs Bellman and Mrs Stringer and then moved on to Mrs Franks. Then we had lunch or should I say Master Chef for lunch and then we did the ultimate challenge. We did lots of activities and it was really fun! “

Georgina Grossman

Students enjoying Leadership Day – L to R – Bree, Brodie, Nathan, Sam and Madi SRC Representation at Governing Council A new initiative this year involved a SRC Leader attending Governing Council each term in Week 8 to present a SRC Report written by the SRC Leaders. The leaders took in turns to attend the meeting with Mrs. Bellman and their reports are now an official part of the Governing Council meetings. The reports were welcomed by the Governing Council and all members thought the initiative was a fantastic idea. This will continue in 2014.

GRIP Leadership Day Both Upper Primary classes – Mrs Stringers Year 6/7 and Ms Burns/Mrs Combe Year 5/6 classes travelled to Port Augusta on Wednesday (29th May 2013) to attend the GRIP Leadership Day. The Student Leadership Conference is unique in that it concentrates specifically on training student leaders for their role as school leaders. The style, topics, and content of this conference all focus on what the students can do right now. Their goal is that your student leaders would leave our conference with a clear vision, a solid understanding and dozens of ideas for their time as a leader. The students thoroughly enjoyed the day, learning a lot about leadership and ideas they could bring back to the school. Moosies - Ice blocks called Moosies were sold every fortnight during the year to raise money for SRC projects around the school. In Term 4 SRC wanted a change from the Moosies so we did some research and decided to start selling Juicies instead, which were popular at Gladstone High School and more cost effective. The juicies seem to be building in popularity and the SRC Leaders did a fabulous job selling them from the hall kitchen window each fortnight. 2013 ANZAC Day Schools’ Awards – CBPS State Winners All students, staff, parents and community members were invited to a special assembly, which was held on Friday 16th August to celebrate Crystal Brook Primary School for being the South Australian winner in the primary school category of the 2013 ANZAC Day Schools’ Awards. Hon Warren Snowdon, MP, Minister for Veteran Affairs who informed us of our wonderful achievement, wrote “Your school’s entry demonstrated a strong commitment to honouring the memory of men and women who have served Australia in times of war. Students from all years were involved in reading, learning and creating commemorative items about Australia’s wartime experiences. The judges were impressed with the effort of all classes to remember the service and sacrifice of service personnel and how the Year 5’6’s remembered the sacrifice of the Australian soldiers killed on active service in Afghanistan since 2002. I would also like to congratulate Mrs Davina Bellman on her hard work in organising and coordinating your schools’ entry.” At our assembly Senator Alex Gallacher was our special guest, who awarded us with a special plaque, award and prize of $2000. Other members of the community were invited including the RSL Committee, local members of parliament, Regional Council representatives and DECD Regional Office Leaders— Regional Director & Assistant Director. The SRC Leaders presented a fabulous PowerPoint presentation of the Journey to winning the ANZAC Day Award! The event also featured on our local Southern Cross News and in local newspapers. Thank you to everyone that supported us on this journey, including teachers, staff and those parents who attend the Dawn Service and special assemblies with their children! Congratulations to Crystal Brook Primary School, what an achievement!

Davina Bellman, SRC Coordinator Term 3 & 4

SRC Leaders with the official party after receiving our State

Award! Very proud moment for

the school and the community.

SRC Events, fundraisers and projects in 2013 – written by the SRC Leaders Term One Easter Raffle—World Vision fundraiser The Easter raffle was a great success again this year. The SRC Leaders enjoyed going to Port Pirie to buy all the supplies we needed for the raffle, while wearing pink bunny ears. In the SRC spare time we wrapped all the 11 baskets, filled with chocolate and decorations. At a short assembly all the SRC went on stage to pick a ticket out of the box and announce a lucky winner. Mrs Franks also helped us draw the winners. Special thanks to Salon 22 for their kind donations and all the people who sold and bought tickets. Thank you! By Alice Jackson - Vice President SRC Super Cycle Fundraiser The Super cycle team were a group of people riding 1000kms around South Australia to raise money for accommodation for regional cancer sufferers. The SRC leaders and reps made delicious burgers that received a lot of positive feedback and we raised $150 to give to this great cause. The burgers were really fun to make. The SRC leaders also made fruit platters for the riders who seemed to enjoy the lovely fresh fruit. The Year 3-7’s got a chance to ride with the team before they proceeded to Gladstone. They rode down Mais Terrace and back to school down Mitchell Street. All of the SRC had a great time preparing the burgers and the students seemed to have a great time too. By Sian Philips - Treasurer ANZAC Day Assembly On Friday the 12th of April, the last day of term the SRC Leaders held an ANZAC Day assembly with the assistance of the SRC reps. Our special guest speaker was Matt Gulin. Mr Gulin spoke a bit about what ANZAC Day means to him and why we commemorate ANZAC Day. Mr Gulin also assisted in conducting the official part of the service, reciting ‘The Ode’. Room 7 held a tribute to the 40 fallen soldiers of the Afghanistan Operations since 2001, including a PowerPoint presentation and lighting 40 candles, one for each soldier that lost their life protecting our country. Students also showed some fantastic work about ANZAC Day that they had been working on. By Ellie Combe – Secretary Term Two Recycling at Crystal Brook Primary School SRC leaders and reps have got the new Crystal Brook P.S recycling system up and running. We would like to mention that the money raised by the SRC was used to purchase new recycling bins, buckets and tubs which are found around the school. Students are doing a fantastic job at remembering to separate paper and cardboard from everyday waste and recycle their cans and bottles. Term Three ANZAC Day Award On the 16th of August, we held a special assembly to celebrate being the South Australian Winner in the Primary School category of the 2013 ANZAC Day Schools’ Award. At the assembly the SRC leaders talked about what ANZAC Day meant to them and what they have learnt over the experience. Mrs Bellman put together a slide show, which we presented about our journey to ANZAC Day. Some of the assembly's guests included; Mr Ivan Venning, Ms Terry Sizer, Senator Alex Gallacher, local RSL members, Southern Cross News and many more. The SRC leaders and Ms Franks were interviewed by the Southern Cross news and we were on the news the following Monday. We have decided to purchase a school banner to use at events with some of our prize money. By Grace Heaslip - President

Disco Term 3 is a really busy term due to camps, excursions, validation and many other events. Therefore we have been finding it hard to find an appropriate time to have our fundraising events. We have decided as an SRC to have our Disco in Week 10, Friday the 27th of September. We plan to hold the Disco during school hours and will be running lots of games with great music. By Ellie Combe Bush Tucker Garden On August the 28th we started the bush tucker garden out the back of the school, with all the SRC leaders and the Aboriginal students. We began by digging the bark chips so we could get down to the weed mesh to dig holes for the plants to go. We had the bigger kids helping the little kids with their plants. Once we had finished with the plants we began on digging the bark chips up so we can in the future have gravel there and a table which we will buy from money we have fundraised through the year. We all had lots of fun getting down and dirty and we cant wait for the end result. By Alice Jackson – Vice President Term Four – By Ellie Combe - Secretary Remembrance Day Assembly On Monday the 11th of November, the SRC Leaders ran a simple service to commemorate Remembrance Day. Mrs Franks was invited to lay the wreaths on behalf of the school and community. All students demonstrated excellent audience skills throughout the service, especially during the minute silence. Two students from each class were chosen by their teachers to receive Special Remembrance Day awards for demonstrating great mateship, courage and Aussie Spirit. Later that day the SRC Leaders, Davina and Mrs Franks attended the Crystal Brook Service and Grace read the ‘Words Of Remembrance.’ I’m glad we got to represent the school. Crazy Hair Day On Friday the 29th November the SRC held a Crazy Hair Day to fundraise for the RSPCA. At lunch, the SRC Leaders were available to do crazy styles to people’s hair for a small charge of $2. We used Coloured Hairspray, elastic ties and bands, hair mousse, hair clips and hair chalk. We all had lots of fun and we raised $200 to send to the RSPCA. Both students and staff were happy to wear their hair crazy for a great cause. This was our final SRC event for 2013. SRC Leaders and 2014 - A letter was sent to the SRC during the year asking there to be a gender balance amongst the four SRC leaders voted in at the beginning of the year. Staff and SRC have discussed this and believe that gender balance will be considered as of 2014 but each year will depend on numbers and the gender balance in each individual Year 7 group, each year. SRC Leaders will apply to be a part of the leadership team, in general instead of applying for individual positions e.g. President, treasurer, secretary and vice president. Positions will be allocated once the four leaders have been voted in by the leaders themselves and SRC supervising adult. A message from our leaders of 2013…… “I really enjoyed working with Grace, Ellie, Sian and Mrs Bellman. I mostly learnt how to speak in front of an audience clearly and slowly. We also had a lot of fundraisers which was really, really fun and we raised a lot of money from the whole year. The whole year just flew, it was loads of fun and a great experience; I would definitely do it again.“ By Alice Jackson “This year I have really enjoyed being the secretary of the SRC. Its been really good fundraising and organising events such as assemblies, the disco, crazy hair day, Supercycle and lots of other events. Being one of the SRC leaders has also helped me become more comfortable speaking in public and has allowed me to build on my teamwork skills. It has also given me confidence in organizing and running events without too \much adult supervision. Overall I have benefited in many way, being an SRC leader.”

“This year I have really enjoyed being the secretary of the SRC. Its been really good fundraising and organising events such as assemblies, the disco, crazy hair day, Supercycle and lots of other events. Being one of the SRC leaders has also helped me become more comfortable speaking in public and has allowed me to build on my teamwork skills. It has also given me confidence in organizing and running events without too \much adult supervision. Overall I have benefited in many way, being an SRC leader.” -Ellie Combe “This year I have really enjoyed being President of the SRC. One of the highlights of this year was winning the 2013 ANZAC Day School Award, although I wasn’t there for the event I was the for the award ceremony a term later. This year we’ve done lots of fun events to raise money the SRC and more recently, crazy hair day. The thing I've learnt the most out of this experience was how to be a good leader. I've also gained a lot of confidence speaking in public and running events without too much adult supervision. I've enjoyed this year and its definitely something I would love to do again. I would highly recommend the Year 7’s next year to run for SRC Leadership.” Grace Heaslip “I really enjoyed being one of the four SRC Leaders because we got to make a difference in the school, we got to do things that most people don't usually get to do. We got to do really fun fundraisers.” By Sian Philips

School Wellbeing – students, staff and parents “A variety of visitors on many occasions have commented to the front office staff on their arrival or departure on the calmness, positive vibe and environment we have here at Crystal Brook Primary School. “ Jacqui Head, Admin SSO Cultural Events: The Importance of Attending Cultural Events Understanding the culture of a nation, people, or group—the arts, beliefs, customs, practices, values, and social behaviours—is an essential part of a well-rounded education. By attending cultural events, students experience firsthand the diverse offerings of culture and artistic expression found in a community. Through attendance at events in 2013, students have broadened their horizons and gained unique insights into their own community as well as a broader global perspective of our world’s diverse cultures. At Crystal Brook Primary School we commit to celebrating/commemorating the following events annually: Harmony Day, Reconciliation & Sorry Day in accordance with NAIDOC Week, Remembrance Day, ANZAC Day, exposure to drama, performances, films & music and school camps, which include many cultural experiences i.e. SA Museum & SA Art Gallery. Harmony Day in Room 4 2013

Community Involvement Our school, parents, families and the community work together to promote the health, wellbeing, and learning of all students, which is a priority at C.B.P.S. Family and community involvement have fostered partnerships amongst school, individuals, family and community groups in our area and have continued to blossom throughout 2013. These partnerships result in sharing and maximising resources and they help children develop healthy behaviours and promote healthy families. Ways C.B.P.S continue to build community partnerships in 2013: Parent Volunteers – LAP Program, listening to students read on a regular basis,

camps/excursions, sport/SAPSASA (coaching, umpiring, transport) and much more.

Parent Club – fundraisers, food days – e.g. hotdog day, catering/stalls at Sports Day, run the local OP SHOP to fundraiser for the school, ‘tears & tissues’ morning tea for transition parents.

Involvement in learning – parents are invited to assemblies where sharing learning is a high priority, class presentations and kept informed on term by term learning through class newsletters, interviews, communication books and reports.

Transition – vital relationships with our Kindy and high schools to support families with transition.

Informative newsletters – photos, details, information Utilising community resources – staff plan excursions and activities to

promote learning in our community e.g. excursion to local business to further learning & camps to Bowman Park.

Willochra Aged Care in Crystal Brook – Students visit the local Aged Care facilities to share learning, stories and put back into the community, e.g. Students from Year 4/5 put on a concert for the residents and took work to show them.

ANZAC DAY/Remembrance Day – our school and the local RSL have recently created a close relationship to ensure the younger generation are involved in local events and have a better understanding of the sacrifices men and women from not only around Australia but our own families from the area.

Local Clubs – C.B.P.S allows clubs to use facilities after school, e.g. NET-SET-GO for beginning netballs is held each week after school during netball season & model club.

Students performing in the ‘Story of Christmas’ at the Community Carols in the

Park, which was held in the school hall this year.

Anti-bullying - At Crystal Brook P.S. we take pride in knowing that we have a low-level of bullying incidents that occur. The research states (Bullying No Way) that due to many of the students at Crystal Brook P.S “feeling connected to school, having positive learning experiences and leadership skills, emotional stability, empathy, resilience and competent conflict resolution skills that we are more likely to not deal with as many bullying incidents.” Bullying Audit- we measure and analyse parent and student attitudes and perceptions of bullying using a range of tools including our bullying audit. These findings are reported back to the governing council and parents through the newsletter twice a year. Davina Bellman attended Governing Council twice this year to present the bullying audit results and targets in 2013. We are trialling a new audit this year as we found the previous audit to be difficult for the younger students to understand and the upper primary needed a more detailed audit to allow them more voice. The new audit will be used in 2014. Overall Summary The new anti-bullying policy clearly states the processes used at Crystal Brook P.S

to follow-up incidents. At staff meeting teachers had the opportunity to review the policy and discuss content; this should ensure a consistent approach towards bullying.

In the past year leadership have established a clear process for documenting, reporting and communicating incidents of bullying after recognising this was an area that required improvement.

A very high percentage of students from R-7 believe the teacher will do something to help them.

We need to continue to educate young students on the difference between bullying and teasing/harassment to avoid confusion between by utilising the Child Protection Curriculum and social skill lessons. Junior Primary students have on-going support from teachers and staff on how to appropriately deal with issues, who to report it to and when. Younger students tend to report issues that occur at playtime afterwards in class. We encourage students to talk to the yard duty teacher to deal with the issues as soon as it happens.

Bullying Audit Results - Student Survey

Collated Year 4-7 Term 3 & 4, 2013

*Responses 79

Results show clearly that most students at CBPS believe it is a

caring and friendly school.

We are pleased to report nearly all students would be able to find a

teacher who would quickly act and help them with a bullying issue.

Counsellor – Student Support My role involves: Counselling Services – Mediation & conflict resolution Establish effective working relationships with staff, students, parents, DECD service providers, agencies and community groups. Positive Behaviour/Learning Programs - I have developed and effectively implemented different programs with Students At Risk. One proving very successful was the ‘You can do it’ booklet I developed, which required teachers to comment on the allocated students’ day on their individual negotiated goals/aims. At the end of the week the student meets with me to discuss their week, revise aims/goals. The booklet is then sent home for parents to discuss their achievements/aims. These have been successfully used with particular students in 2013. Working closely with the Principal - Student Behaviour Support (SBS), parent meetings and interventions, decision making, leadership meetings and bringing about change. Class room support - By supporting staff with particular needs, through modelling sessions and collaborative planning in the area of social skills and wellbeing. E.g. In 2013 I worked with the Year 4/5 class on social skills using ‘Play is the Way’ program and ‘What is the Buzz?”. Overall we have had a very successful year and I have thoroughly enjoyed my roles.

Davina Bellman –School Counsellor

Christian Pastoral Support Worker (C.P.S.W) “In our role as a Christian Pastoral Support Workers, we seek to build up the self-esteem of many students by devoting our time either one-on-one or in small groups. Our role helps to provide some community cohesion by being seen as an extension or representative of our faith community, that is, our local churches. One niche seems to have become model building (reasonably simple and inexpensive peg and pop stick designs). For a number of students, we also assist with academics. One student is helped with cooking and social skills. Others, on occasion, are introduced to the sport/hobby of Geocaching. Activities such as grounds work and board games are also good vehicles for relationship building. We are also responsible for the school choir and, along with an assigned teacher, have opportunities to sing at various venues.” Current C.P.S.W. – Bill Clarke and Alison Clarke

Governing Council Report for 2013 

The Governing Council continues to provide oversight and support to the school, particularly in regards to major policy and financial decisions. This is carried out through meetings twice a term and various sub-committees of the Council. This year has seen continued work behind the scenes of many of these commit-tees. Finance Committee has a very serious responsibility to monitor the school’s finances and has continued to work effectively with the Principal and school fi-nance officer to enable the funds to be directed where needed most. Education committee continues to review and write the school’s policies and procedures as well as receive updates on the Site Improvement Plan. Parent Club does an amazing job each year to raise thousands of dollars for the school and this year has been no exception. The countless hours of work put in by all involved is greatly appreciated by all of us in the school community. The school’s grounds and buildings are looking the wonderful and Grounds committee continues to provide support and resources to enable this. The Governing Council also has a good relationship to the Kindy, in no small part to the role played by the Kindy representative on Governing Council. The Bus Committee was formally disbanded at the start of the year, meaning Bus issues would be sorted out at Governing Council level. This has seemed to work well. We have also greatly enjoyed Student Representative Council presenting at Gov-erning Council meetings this year. This has been a very positive initiative and we hope it will continue. I would like to thank all members of Governing Council for their work this year and to thank all members of the school community who contribute to making Crystal Brook Primary School such a great school. Sean Taylor Governing Council Chairperson.

Members of Governing Council: Sean Taylor, Anne Crouch, Brooke Hodgson, Stephen Duffield, Jacqui Merkel (Parent Club), Bill Clarke, Monica Jackson, Steve Garden , Megan Smart, Emma Grossman, Julie Rackham (Kindy), Anne Franks, Staff Representative on a rotating roster.

School Improvement is based on student academic achievement and perception data gathered from students, staff and the wider community. Crystal Brook Primary School Perception Data is gathered from the DECD online surveys for Year 4—7 students, staff and parents randomly selected by DECD. The information provided is collated by DEDS and returned to the school in summary form with graphs. Internal perception data is gathered from staff: feelings/learning achievements and challenges each term Crystal Brook Primary School Student Achievement Data is gathered during the course of the year as part of the whole school data collection process. Including: NAPLAN for students in Years 3, 5 and 7 PAT—Reading Comprehension rest is used to monitor growth and to inform teachers

as to which areas of comprehension need specific teaching from years 3 to 7. Running Records for students in Years 1 and 2 collected in Terms 1 and 3 to meet

DECD requirements and we collect Running Record data 5 weekly in Reception, and Years 1-3 to ensure regular monitoring of progress is occurring

The Observation Survey is a literacy screen it is administered to check on growth of year 1 students at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, this information is used to inform teaching during the year and for the teacher when they move into year 2

PAT-Maths—testing also takes place to measure growth and inform teaching from years 3 to 7.

Teachers use other testing as necessary to measure growth and to inform teaching Improvement Strategies Acting on data gathered during 2013 and recommendation made in the 2012 Annual Report the following major strategies were put into place during 2013. Staff have a clear understanding of their role within the Site Improvement Plan by

being part of the development of the Action Plan which will be reviewed regularly during the year

All staff use the Sheena Cameron publication “Teaching Reading Comprehension” when teaching Reading comprehension across all curriculum areas and have access to training and development in literacy

Review of reading comprehension resources and investigation of new resources which maybe used on the Interactive White Boards

Targeted students are supported through R-2 and year 3-7 intervention groups and the Oral Reading program continues to be funded

Discussions and review of the teaching of Spelling, resources and assessment strategies R-7 occurs

Continuation of the implementation of the Australian Curriculum with particular focus on English and History in 2013 with the South Australian teaching and learning framework being used to deliver it. History will be reported on in 2013.

Site Agreements on programs, assessments and resources used across the school will be formalised

Resources which use different formats to be used to improve students understanding of what questions are asking of them

.

Validation Process 2013 In 2013 a team lead by Assistant Regional Director Joann Weckert, a peer Principals June Goode and Mat Charleston and a Regional Curriculum Consultant Rebecca Jamieson visited our School for Validation. A team comprising the Principal Anne Franks, Band 1 Coordinator Davina Bellman and class teacher / maths coordinator Jodie Zwar presented our sites learning journey. The school viewed it as a celebration of who we are and the journey we have been on. The Panel listened to and viewed a presentation, they visited classrooms, spoke with students, parents, teachers and support workers. This feed-back has been used to inform our Site Improvement Plan.

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority Opinion Surveys We participated in the Online Surveys for parents, students and staff. Opinions were sought from all three groups in the following areas: Quality of Teaching and Learning, Support of Learning, Relationships and Communication and Leadership and Communication. The overall picture indicates in general that a very positive perceptions of the school are held by all groups. Parent Opinion Survey

Our parent group have a positive to very positive view of their school in all areas. We would like to improve the perception of “teachers providing useful feedback to students about their school work”, as this is part of our focus as educators in the Site Improvement Plan. We are continuing the process of informing parents when there are behaviour issues at school, all parties families are contacted when there is an incident.

Student Opinion Survey

Our students know that their teachers expect them to do their best, that they will motivate them to learn and that the school looks for ways to improve. The Site Improvement Plan ‘s main focus is to develop expert learners, we would expect that students talking to teachers about concerns and taking students’ opinion seriously would develop as teachers work with TfEL strategies. The continuing development of transparent expectations and consequences which are communicated to the home should improve perception of behaviour being managed fairly and well.

Staff opinion Survey Quality of teaching and learning

The strong focus on teaching and learning show in the data, the continued focus on developing expert learners and consistent site strategies will improve the two areas which are slightly lower in strongly agree.

Leadership and Decision-making

An area to work on is parent participation in decisions on their child’s education, ways in which meaningful dialogue can take place to be explored. One area for me as Principal is to ensure quality formal feedback on staff performance is a priority.

Numeracy Data CBPS NAPLAN data Mean = National Average for 2013, in previous years we have compared against the State mean.

CBPS Student Achievement Data - PAT M We have been a part of a regional trial using PAT-R (Reading) and PAT Maths. This data will be used to inform learning programmes in our school. We have also used this data to inform our new Site Improvement Plan. CBPS Student Perception Data Reception - Year 2 Within in the Junior Primary our students have a positive perception of Maths and their learning. They are willing to attempt new tasks and orally discuss their learning.

In NAPLAN, the Year 3 the data is showing that students have improved significantly, they match the national mean.

Recommendations: Continuation of explicit

teaching of processes to bring students to a level of automaticity and understanding of language within questions.

Use of Ann Baker and Maths for All strategies when teaching Maths

In NAPLAN, the Year 5 the data is showing that students match the national mean.

Recommendations: Continue to use explicit

teaching of understanding language of questions.

Use of Ann Baker and Maths for All strategies when teach-ing Maths

In NAPLAN, the Year 7 the data is showing our students average is 26 points higher than the national mean.

Recommendations: Continuation of explicit

teaching of understanding language of questions

Use of Ann Baker and Maths for All strategies when teaching Maths

300

350

400

450

2010 2011 2012 2013 Mean

'13

Numeracy Year 3

Numeracy

450

500

550

2010 2011 2012 2013 mean2013

Numeracy Year 5

Numeracy

450

500

550

600

2010 2011 2012 2013 mean2013

Numeracy Year 7

Numeracy

Literacy Data Crystal Brook Primary School NAPLAN data The graphs illustrate data collated over 2010-2013 and also include the National mean (average) for 2013 in previous years we have compared to the State mean.

Year 3 NAPLAN Literacy results show that we are below the mean in all areas, except reading this year. The gap has

closed in spelling Recommendations

Explicit teaching of writing strategies for specific

genres from “The Writing Book” to be implemented. Continuation of targeted Teacher intervention in

2014.

Year 5 NAPLAN Literacy results were

lower than expected in all areas except for reading

which we close to the National mean.

Recommendations Explicit teaching of writing

strategies for specific genres from “The Writing Book” to be implemented.

A focus on all literacy areas is required.

A continuation of targeted teacher intervention in 2014.

Year 7 NAPLAN Reading, and writing results

show that students are working above the mean,

they have closed the gap in grammar and spelling.

Recommendations Continuing work on the four

aspects of spelling.. continuation of work in

grammar. Continue explicit teaching in

writing and reading.

Year 3 Literacy Mean Scores

0100200300400500

2010 2011 2012 2013 mean'13

Year

Sco

res

Reading

Writing

Grammar

Spelling

Year 5 Literacy Mean Scores

420440460480500520

2010 2011 2012 2013 mean'13

Year

Sco

re

Reading

Writing

Grammar

Spelling

Year 7 Literacy Mean Scores

480500520540560580

2010 2011 2012 2013 mean'13

Year

Sco

re

Reading

Writing

Grammar

Spelling

Literacy Data CBPS Running Record data The graphs illustrate data collated at the beginning and end of 2013.

Year 1 Running Records All Year 1 students have

progressed at a steady rate and we have a group of

students who have received direct intervention, they have made gains but will continue

to receive intensive support in 2014

Expected reading range at the end of year 1 is 15-21.

Year 2 Running Records The majority of Year 2 students are reading above level 27. Those

not achieving at expect range will receive

intensive support in 2014 Expected reading range at the end of year 2 is

21-26.

Year 2 Running Records 2013

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Levels1-5

Levels6-10

Levels11-15

levels16-20

Levels21-26

Levels27+

Term 1

Term 4

Year 1 Running Records 2013

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Levels1-5

Levels6-10

Levels11-15

levels16-20

Levels21-26

Levels27+

Term 1

Term 4

Junior Primary Intervention Our Intervention teacher uses the data provided by the Observation Survey and Running Records to set up small groups, these groups have then had regular targeted teaching to develop their early literacy skills. This includes developing automaticity in knowing and recognising the names, sounds as well as forming letters correctly, recognising sight words automatically, and understanding the difference between letters and words. Early reading behaviours are also explicitly taught and students read regularly to the teacher. Good pro-gress has been seen with improvement in Reading levels of those targeted students. Junior Primary Team The team has develop consistent approaches to the teaching of literacy, using consistent language and check lists to ensure that all the early concepts have been covered and revised regularly. They have also developed and use a checklist of early writing behaviours and expectations of when we should be seeing students using them, these are shared with the students next teacher to ensure continual development of these skills and understandings.

Student Growth Data: Mean = Estimated student growth for 2013 This can only be done for Year 5 and 7.

NAPLAN School Growth: Year 3-5

There was pleasing growth from Year 3 to Year 5 in Numeracy with only 4.3% being in the lower growth, 69.6% in middle growth and 26.1% in upper growth. A continuation of school wide programs and teaching of numeracy strategies which will include training with Ann Baker CLuster Project will occur.

Reading growth was disappointing with 39.1% being in lower growth, 43.5% in middle growth and only 17.4% in upper. The school is implementing consistent teaching strategies in this area of the school to ensure direct instruction is used to improve the strategies and skills of those students in this area of the school.

NAPLAN School Growth: Year 5-7

In Numeracy there were a larger than expected group—33.3% in the lower growth area and a larger group in the upper growth—38.9%, work will be required to target low growth students in 2014 to ensure improvement. In Reading it was pleasing to note that we had 33.3% of our students in the upper growth area compared to National figures of 25% with 22.2% in the lower growth which is lower the National figures. A continuation of developing reading skills with school wide strategies will occur, including the oral reading program and emphasis on Running Records in the lower part of the school and where necessary in the higher year levels.

Priority —To further improve student understanding of how language works to improve interacting with texts in all areas of the curriculum

Overview The focus was to continue the teaching of literacy in a structured and explicit manner R-7 across the curriculum, using a wide range of resources and programs .The use of an Intervention teacher and SSOs support school wide strategy that enabled more of an individualised approach. The Oral Reading Program has provided support for many students who needed extra reading practise to improve their reading skills. The Reading Support Teacher has supported Junior Primary Staff and presented a comprehensive intervention program, ensuring students have a solid literacy foundation and for teachers to understand the reading range and skill set students require at this level Actions R-2 Guided Reading continued using a wide range of learning resources Explicit teaching of spelling, editing and grammar and punctuation Use of personal checklists, charts and organisers to ensure clarity of tasks A wide range of text types used to further broaden students knowledge of how texts work Targeted intervention and Oral Reading Support Program for students not achieving in their Running

Records range or low in Clay Literacy Screen Staff learning with Sheena Cameron: Reading Comprehension Strategies materials and Training and

Development Use of Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar to further improve early literacy learning Continuation of the Reading Support teacher role to support teachers R-2 Introduction of “The Writing Book” to have a consistent school wide approach to develop students

strategies and skills in different writing genres. Site Improvement Plan Targets for 2013 All year 5 students will be or above Band 4 83% achieved this in Writing, 96% achieved this in

Grammar, 93% achieved this in Spelling as measured by the NAPLAN Proficiency Bands—83% achieved this target

All year 7 students will be in or above Band 5 in 89% achieved this in Writing, 94% achieved this in Spelling and 84% achieved this in Grammar as measured by NAPLAN Proficiency Band.

During 2013 all year 3 students will be in or above Band 2—100% achieved this in Writing 89% achieved this in grammar, 100% achieved this in Spelling as measured by NAPLAN Proficiency Bands

That every child achieves their chronological age or above in Running Records Years 1 and 2- 71.4% in Year 1 have achieved this target 83.3% in Year 2 have achieved this target.

That every Year 1 student reaches stanines 4-6 in the Observation Survey— in 2013 all students reached 85% or better in each screen except the BURT Reading test which they scored 74% or better

Recommendation - Actions for 2014 Staff understand their role and responsibilities within the 2013-2015 Site Improvement Plan and

are able to show how they are implementing and supporting this within their practice through Performance Development meetings

All staff working using and sharing Sheena Cameron Reading Comprehension strategies Staff to be using the Sheena Cameron and Louise Dempsey “The Writing Book “ to support student

understanding and writing skills by giving them a framework from which to work Targeted students are supported through R-2 and year 3-7 teacher directed intervention groups Classes supported through the Oral Reading Program Sharing of Spelling teaching and learning strategies, student learning resources and assessment

strategies R—7 Familiarisation in Geography and The Arts in 2014 with teachers using the South Australian. Teaching

and Learning Framework (TfEL) - the pedagogy—how we teach to develop expert learners Site agreements on programs, assessments and resources used across the school Occasional use of NAPLAN style resources to improve students understanding of what questions are

asking them A consistent approach to the teaching of mathematics is adopted school wide, use of Ann and Johnny

Baker and “Maths for All” teaching strategies and vocabulary Reception to Year 7 Teachers taking part in Ann Baker Training with Upper Mid North and Flinders Clusters

Financial Summary and information required by government agencies

Finance Summary The sound financial position that the school is in enabled us to fund a range of

successful learning programs and resources and to contribute to the grounds and building improvements. The Oral Reading Program, targeted intervention with Special Needs Coordinator and teacher, Literacy Blocks supported with SSO staff

The school’s operating budget for the year was $1.688m—used to fund salaries, learning resources, utilities, maintenance and running expenses.

Government grants supported the redevelopment of the Administration area. Donations from Parent Club funded laptops to be used with the Interactive

White Boards, ten i-pads, blinds for Room 4 verandah area.

Financial Statements are available from the Front Office. Teacher Qualifications All 14 teaching staff have Registration with the Teachers Registration Board. Teachers have a variety of qualifications, including: Diploma of Teaching , Bachelor of Teaching, Bachelor of Education and Post Graduate Degrees –some teachers have more than one qualification, in total there are 24 qualifications and several staff members are engaged in further academic study. Expenditure and teacher participation in professional learning All staff have participated in a range of professional learning during the year. This included a minimum of 37.5 hours per fulltime teacher outside of school time. Focus areas have included: Australian Curriculum, Science, Maths , English, History and the South Australian Teaching and learning Framework. Sharing of successful teaching and learning strategies has been a highlight as was the learning and application of learning from Sheena Cameron Reading Comprehension Strategies day which some staff participated in, all staff have her resources to inform teaching. The majority of the teaching staff attended the Big 6 of Reading Training and Development during the Term 1 holiday break. Staff meetings also have a component of professional learning related to teaching and learning. Student Free Days were also used to up-skill in the Australian Curriculum, TfEL, using data to inform teaching.

Funding Source Amount

1 Grants: State $16,105.00

2 Grants: Commonwealth -

3 Parent Contributions $68,773.15

Financial Summary and information required by government agencies Responses to National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan Aboriginal students were supported by an Aboriginal Education Teacher and an Aboriginal Community Education Officer during 2013The roles involved working closely with the Aboriginal students, parents/carers and community. All Aboriginal students had an Individual Learning Plan developed by teachers in collaboration with students, parents and specialist DECD staff. Intervention and support for targeted learners Students in need of intervention programmes are targeted through classroom assessments, testing and evaluation by class teachers. Recognised concerns are raised with the Special Education Coordinator who supervises the referral process, obtains relevant consents and collaborates with the Regional Office in organising further assessments to identify specific needs. School Services Officers are allocated time to work with small groups or individuals to assist their learning in the areas of concern that is identified through this process. This time is directed by the class teacher and overseen by the Special Education Co-ordinator. During 2013 we have had regular targeted intervention groups with a Junior Primary Teacher and the Special Needs Coordinator with students who are below the target range in Literacy (in Junior Primary and Primary) and in Numeracy—understanding what the question is asking and improving strategies and skills (Primary). Students have made significant growth with this support, improving reading levels and PAT-R and PAT Maths scores. Workforce Composition This report is a profile of staff located in our site as at August 2013. Teaching staff are those who spend the majority of their time in contact with students, i.e. support students either by direct class contact or on an individual basis, and have teaching duties, ie are engaged to impart the school curriculum (includes leadership positions). Non teaching staff include student counsellors, school service officers, Aboriginal Education Workers, grounds-persons, building operations, general maintenance, etc.

Intended Destination

Workforce Composition Teaching Staff

Indigenous Non Indigenous Indigenous Non Indigenous

Full-time Equivalents 0.00 10.5 0.65 4.89

Persons 0 14 1 7

Non-Teaching Staff

Leave Reason 2012 School Region Index DECD No % % % %

Employment 3.3% 4.7% 2.9%

Interstate/Overseas 4 13.8% 7.0% 7.7% 9.1%

Other 1.4% 1.0% 2.3%

Seeking Employment 4.8% 5.2% 3.3%

Tertiary/TAFE/Training 4.3% 5.6% 4.2%

Transfer to Non-Govt. Schl. 2 6.9% 10.1% 8.1% 9.8%

Transfer to SA Gov. Schl 22 75.9% 46.6% 46.7% 48.0%

Unknown 1 3.4% 22.6% 20.9% 20.4%

Student Attendance

Attendance at CBPS is a little lower in 2013 than 2012. The need for good attendance is promoted by teachers and through the Newsletter. Non attendance is followed up by teachers, Student Counsellor and the Principal through a rigorous process that involves: recording individual student lateness and absences, contacting parents, informing parents about each absence, requiring notes for absences, requiring late students to report to the Office and liaising with DECD where attendance issues cannot be resolved. In 2014 a system of SMS messages will be implemented, we believe this will improve the number of unexplained absences. The CBPS Attendance Improvement Policy was reviewed by the Education Committee during 2010 to ensure that we are doing everything possible to have students attending, we continue to promote these goals, with leadership, teachers and families working together to improve our attendance and decreasing unexplained absences All children attend every day on time A decrease in unexplained absence In 2013 the number of unexplained absences has dropped significantly, several classes have had no unexplained absences at the end of terms. The teachers have diligently followed up when children are absent and have gone through the school process to ensure they are explained. The target set by DECD in 2014 is 94% attendance rate, we will be working with staff, students, parents and caregivers to meet this target in 2014. CLOSING COMMENTS We commend this Report to the community as a means by which we can gauge the work of the school over the year using a range of data and other information. The Report identifies areas of strength as well as areas that may need to be reviewed or changed, both of which provide opportunities to focus on improvement so that CBPS provides the best possible standard of education for students and families. Anne Franks (Principal) Anne Crouch for Dr Sean Taylor (Chairperson CBPS of Governing Council)

Attendance by Year Level % Attendance

2011 2012 2013

Reception 93.8 93.2 90.1

Year 1 94.3 94.6 92.2

Year 2 93.5 94.6 94.9

Year 3 93.6 91.3 91.7

Year 4 90.7 92.7 92.9

Year 5 94.3 94.0 92.0

Year 6 94.1 94.9 94.4

Year 7 94.0 95.0 93.8

Total All Year Levels 93.4 93.7 92.6

Total ACARA 1 TO 10 93.4 93.8 93.1