2016 Orara Upper Public School Annual Report · 22. €Four Year 6 students completed their...

Orara Upper Public SchoolAnnual Report

2016

2814

Printed on: 30 April, 2017 of 16 Orara Upper Public School 2814 (2016)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2016 is provided to the community of Upper Orara Public School as an account of the school'soperations and achievements throughout the year. It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made toprovide high quality educational opportunities for all students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the finding fromself–assessment that reflects the impact of key school strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all studentsfrom the expenditure of resources, including equity funding.Leonie SmithPrincipal

School contact details

Orara Upper Public SchoolOrara RdUpper Orara, 2450www.oraraupper-p.schools.nsw.edu.auoraraupper-p.School@det.nsw.edu.au6653 8255

Message from the Principal

As the principal of Upper Orara I am very proud to lead our school community in preparing our students for the future.Collectively we provide opportunities for every student to do their best academically and socially in a vibrant and secureenvironment. We cater for individual student needs and all students benefit from one–on–one teaching time, anabundance of learning resources and the use of modern technological equipment in a high– quality learningenvironment. Students are encouraged to be responsible for their learning, be creative, have high expectations, workcooperatively and learn to lead and contribute to our society, locally, nationally and globally.

Parents elect to enrol their children at Upper Orara Public School because of its sound educational programs and itsrecord for achieving quality outcomes for all students both academically and socially. Our students often perform abovetheir stage level in a variety of curriculum areas and they continue their success into our local high schools. Many of ourstudents have achieved leadership roles as High School Captains.

Our school library is an excellent learning hub. We welcome our local pre–school, The Orara Valley Pre–school andother members of the local community to utilize and explore the resources that engage and support us in reading andbecoming lifelong learners. Our local pre–school visits us to join in the fun activities, our learning journey and to celebrateour achievements. Our Kindergarten orientation days make it an easy transition for our younger students when it’s timefor BIG School.

Our staff are dedicated and experienced and enjoy teaching in a very caring learning community. In Term 1 Mrs Peartwho has a range of teaching experiences and many talents to engage our students in learning and achieving greatoutcomes taught K–2. In term 2, Miss Ashley Esposito who is a very enthusiastic and talented teacher taught the K–2class for the rest of the 2016. She provided engaging lessons and designed individual learning plans to support studentslearning and to assist them in setting and achieving their own goals. Mrs Jill Lllwelyn–Smith has enjoyed teaching K–6 increative arts, history and sustainability. This included an excursion down to the local river to catch and record bugsfound. Mrs Jill Lllwelyn–Smith also led the school in preparing for our 125 Year Anniversary and collecting items for thenew Time Capsule that was placed beside the original capsule on Presentation Day.

Mrs Chris Long is our Learning and Support Teacher (LaST) and she loves that every student in our school wants tolearn to read and do their best. She is always excited about the progress the students make and enjoys discussing withour teachers and parents the best way to support their children in learning to read.Mrs Reynolds is our ComputerCoordinator and Release Teacher who offers amazing technology lessons where students use many different forms oftechnology as learning tools. Lessons for Years 3 to 6 include working with iPad apps, new computer software, designing3D printing objects and coding. Many of our students are very creative in design and love smashing apps to present theirlearning in a more creative way using the latest technology.

The Orara Valley Learning Community of Schools works collaboratively to engage students in challenging educationalexperiences with students from other Orara Valley schools. This includes excursions, sporting activities, debating, choir,cultural events and stage based enrichment activities in mathematics, art and crafts and science and technology. Thestudents enjoy making new friends and engaging in activities with students of similar ability and interests. Staff also workwith the Orara Valley Learning Community of Schools to engage in professional learning and sharing teaching ideas andresources to achieve the best possible learning outcomes for all students.


The Department of Education Funding, Community grants and Premier’s challenges enabled extra valuable learningactivities for our students, catering for our students’ different abilities, learning styles and interests. Activities included anextra swimming program, gymnastic, fishing, keyboard and tennis.

2016 has been another very productive year and it has been a pleasure to work with the community and a team ofexperienced and committed staff who have continued to work hard to make Upper Orara Public School an even betterplace to learn. I would like to acknowledge Chris Johnson, our School Administration Manager, for her dedicated work inthe administration area and library. Our newsletters are always well prepared and presented and are also uploaded ontoour school website. Families and the local community love learning about what the students have achieved and sharingthe photos that are great examples of the diverse learning experiences that we provide at Upper Orara Public School.This year we have redesigned our school website and ordered school bags with our new logo design. We also have aFacebook page to view great learning events and to send messages to our learning community.

Our thanks also goes to the P&C and community members who have continued to support the school by helping withreading, running a canteen for special cultural and sporting events. They have also supported school themes, providedtransport for students, covered many library books and undertaken innovative fundraising activities. Funds have assistedus to continue to provide engaging learning activities, beautify our playground and subsidise school excursions.

I certify that the information in this report is the result of a rigorous school self–evaluation process and is a balanced andgenuine account of the school’s achievements and areas for development.

LeonieSmith

Principal


School background

School vision statement

Upper Orara Public School is the first and last choice for families looking for the best education option for their children.Our school is a place where everyone regardless of background or ability is a successful learner and they do the bestthat they can as an individual and as a member of our team. Together we strive to meet the student’s learning needs.

Upper Orara Public School is a learning community with high expectations of students that support them in learning tothe best of their abilities. We ensure that what students learn and how they learn is relevant to their lives andaspirations.

School context

Upper Orara Public School is a country school surrounded by a beautiful peaceful mountain setting on the westernoutskirts of Coffs Harbour in the Orara Valley. A strong partnership has developed between parents, communitymembers and staff. The whole school community enjoy working together to provide a fun, safe educational setting forthe students to achieve the best possible educational outcomes for all students.

For the last two years there has been an over establishment of staff, enabling the school to run two classes. (K to 2 and3 to 6). The school is now staffed according to the school’s enrolments. The school is able to continue to run 2 classeswith the new entitlements. The school’s enrolment growth fluctuates: 2012=33, 2013=19, 2014 = 15 and increased to22. Four Year 6 students completed their schooling in 2014. 25 students were enrolled for 2016 and increased to 31.One Year 6 student left the school in 2016. Anticipated Enrolment for 2017 is 34.

Upper Orara Public School has a Family Occupation and Education Index (FOEI) of 110 with a state average of 100.54% of NSW government schools have higher FOEI values (are more disadvantaged) than our school.

Self-assessment and school achievement

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework,our school achievements and the next steps to be pursued. The Framework supports public schools throughout NSW inthe pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning,Teaching and Leading.

This year, our school undertook self–assessment using the elements of the School Excellence Framework.

Upper Orara Public School has discussed the SEF and its implications for forming, monitoring and validating our journeyof excellence. Time was dedicated at our School Development Days in Term 3 and 4 to examine the School Plan todetermine elements of the SEF that the school plan addressed. The staff reflected on the progress being made at schoolas a whole, based on expectations identified in the SEF. Information, ideas and progress was also discussed in P&Cmeetings to map out future plans.

In the domain of learning our efforts have continued to focus on learning culture. We want students to take responsibilityfor their ongoing learning and we are committed to strengthen and deliver on the school learning priorities and addressand monitor student learning needs. The results have been evident in the way students are engaging in learning, settingtheir own individual learning goals and making progress towards achieving their goals. Student Reports contain detailed,information about individual students learning achievements and areas for growth. The reports also provide a basis fordiscussion with parents and students in teacher parent interviews. The staff and students reflect on report’s feedback toplan future learning. The school community is providing a learning environment that supports students’ needs as alearner.

In the domain of teaching, teachers are collaborating and have been provided opportunities to plan, teach and grow as ateam. They have participated in professional learning targeting school priorities. Importantly staff are developing theirown evidence base practice through their reflections and evaluations of their collective work. The school is working withthe Orara Valley Community of Schools to ensure the new curriculum is implemented and that it is differentiated as wellas ensuring consistent teacher judgement. There is a particular focus on improved teaching methods in Literacy andNumeracy. The staff are exploring and developing ways of providing explicit, specific and timely informative feedback tostudents on how to improve.


In the domain of leading, our priorities have been to build leadership capacity and across the whole school community tobe seen as the best school. Teachers are leading in their area of expertise to create a dynamic school learning culture.The school’s parent body has doubled in number and encourage the local community to become involved with their localschool. They are providing extra–curricular learning opportunities and events to support learning, to attract newenrolments and improve and beautify our school. Our 2016 presentation evening was attended by a record number offamilies and members of the local community. The school also celebrated its 125 Year Anniversary where a recordnumber attended. Special guests included Denise Knight the Coffs Harbour Mayor, Andrew Fraser the State MP, MarkFlanders an Aboriginal Elder and Jenny Murray our School Director. School principals, teachers, students and localfamilies and business from the past and present also attended this wonderful celebration.

Our self–assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School plan leading tofurther improvements in the delivery of education to our students.

http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about–the–department/our–reforms/school–excellence–framework


Strategic Direction 1

Curricula will be designed to develop successful learners

Purpose

Upper Orara Public School believes students need to be literate, numerate, confident, creative, and cooperative withknowledge of our digital world to be productive contributors in our 21st century society.

Curricula needs to be designed to develop successful learners. Students need to take ownership of their learning andunderstand the purpose of becoming a life–long learner.

Overall summary of progress

Students with special needs have detailed Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) developed in consultation with all staff andparents. All students have continued to be mapped along the learning continuum by all staff and lessons reflect theneeds of individual students. A teacher has been designated the role and provided time to monitor PLPs and all students’progress as well as working one–on–one with students who are working below stage level.

All staff supported students in setting personal goals. Less than 2% of students surveyed reported they didn't like settinggoals. 37% of students answered positively to all questions in the survey. 98% of students reported they believed settingand reflecting on goals improved their learning. They believe setting goals improved their learning and liked the feedback teachers provided. All students can set goals.

In Literacy and Numeracy 75% Kindergarten students have achieved stage level . Overall, K–2 In Literacy and Numeracy, 71% have reached stage level . In Years 3–6 Literacy, 60 % of students have reached stage level in literacy and in Numeracy 67% of students have reached stage level.

Our students performed very well overall in NAPLAN, especially in reading and writing. Teachers will continue to useNAPLAN data to plan for individual students.

Kinder 75% have reached stage level in spelling ,Year 1 43% have reached stage level ,Year 2 57% have reachedstage level. Year 3 50%,Year 4 67%,Year 5 50% and Year 6 100%

Our students performed well in external assessments. 33% of the 3–6 class attempted an assessment. A Year 4 studentachieved a Credit in the NSW Global Australia Educational Assessments for Writing, placing her in the top 36% inAustralia. The same student achieved a Credit for spelling. She also improved her placing in the Premier’s Spelling BeeRegional Final. 2 students in year 4 achieved a Distinction in the NSW Global Australia Educational Assessments forDigital Technologies.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year Funds Expended(Resources)

Personalised Learning Plans(PLPs) for all students developedin consultation with staff, studentsand carers will show an increasedproportion exceeding specifiedbenchmarks in Literacy andNumeracy.

Our students performed very well overall inNAPLAN, especially in Reading and Writing.Teachers will continue to use NAPLAN data to planfor individual students. Our spelling and grammarteaching and learning programs will be reviewed in2017 to employ strategies to move more studentsinto the higher bands and maintain the performanceof students already in those bands.

Resources were schoolbased funded in mostprojects. In addition, RAMEquity was used to assistlearning and support plansfor students and additionalsupport staff to improvestudent learning.

Improved average NAPLANperformance: more students inthe top bands.

On average, NAPLAN data indicated growth orsteady progress in numbers of students achievingin the top three bands.

Staff PDPs demonstrate growthin knowledge.

100% of staff developed a PerformanceDevelopment Plan based on the department policy.Staff developed an understanding of how to bestdrive their own plans while actively seekingfeedback and mentoring as an important part oftheir development.





100% participation at ParentTeacher Interviews andassemblies that celebrate studentlearning.

Parent, teacher and student meetings wereimplemented to discuss student progress andlearning goals. The student reports sent homecontained detailed information about individualstudent areas for growth, which provided the basisfor discussion with parents.

Increased parental attendance at whole schoolassemblies.

Next Steps

• Continue to write detailed PLPs for special needs students and design PLPs for students who are progressingslowly along the learning continuum

• Continue to track all students along the continuum and design lessons to cater for students’ individual needsincluding gifted and talented

• Continue to provide extra teaching time to plan students learning, teach individuals one –on–one who need extrasupport and track progress

• Continue to support students in setting personal goals. • Our spelling and grammar teaching and programs will be reviewed in 2017 to employ strategies to move more

students into the higher bands and maintain the performance of students already in those bands.



Build a culture of high expectations

Purpose

High expectations enable students to achieve the best possible outcomes in their academic achievement and for theirwellbeing.

Quality teachers have the capacity to transform the lives of students and to inspire and nurture their development aslearners, individuals and citizens.

Teachers want to build their capacity to provide engaging tasks of high interest to meet the needs of a diverse range oflearners. Teachers will seek out best practice and adapt teaching to the needs of Upper Orara Public School students.

Upper Orara Public School will facilitate high–quality learning and teaching for students and teachers.


Parent, staff and student surveys indicate that they are extremely happy with the learning opportunities provided andalthough we have a busy timetable, parents would like activities to continue. Parents continue to want a focus on studentliteracy and numeracy skills.

Student engagement, evaluations and participation in the learning opportunities also reflects our success in catering fordifferent interests, needs and learning styles.




Increased visibility in teachingprograms which explicitly targetindividual learning needs andinterests.

Staff have continued to attended meetings withcolleagues in the Orara Valley and participated intraining in the new curriculum, assessment anddifferentiation within the classroom.

Resources were SchoolBase Funded in mostprojects.

School Syllabus implementationsatisfy internal and externalreviews.

Our teachers have had opportunities forprofessional development relating to the newsyllabus and they are working together to designand record learning programs and evaluations.

Timetables show evidence ofincreased curriculum opportunity.

Parent, staff and student surveys indicate that theyare extremely happy with the learning opportunitiesprovided and although we have a busy timetable,parents would like activities to continue. Parentscontinue to want a focus on student literacy andnumeracy skills.

Next Steps

• The Principal will continue to look for more opportunities to provide extra–curriculum programs. This will involvesourcing funding grants, working with other small schools, community competitions and sourcing resources

• Continue professional development in the new curriculum and differentiation. • Set a weekly staff meeting time to share experiences, ideas and student progress. • Continue to employ extra staff who specialise in areas such as music and sport.



The school and community will work together to share responsibility for student education and promote the school’scapabilities

Purpose

Parents and the broader community play a vital role in supporting successful learning. Partnerships between students,parents, carers and families, the broader community and business bring mutual benefits and maximises studentengagement and achievement.

Together, the Upper Orara Public school community will work together to share responsibility for student education andinstil attitudes and values that will contribute to the community.


P&C raised funds to provided family days and canteen twice a term. They also published events and promoted theschool through local papers and magazines.

The school organised the 125 year anniversary for our school. Our school choir also performed.

The school also invites parents to attend a formal assembly each term to celebrate the students’ achievements. The newpositive award system is well liked.

Our school run its own sporting events, including a Swimming Carnival Fun Day at Nana Glen pool.

The Orara Valley Pre–school is also invited to attend assemblies and visiting speakers and performers when appropriatefor pre–school childrens’ ages and interests. This also helps us promote our wonderful school to possible future families.

The teachers from the Orara Valley Small Schools attend a meeting at least once a term for professional developmentand for pooling resources and ideas.

Principals also meet once a term to organise shared events. Each member has been designated a particular role toreport on each term to keep everyone informed on department policies, learning opportunities and changes.

The school also takes part in community events and competitions when invited. Events include Education Weekperformances, Orara Valley Fair, Carols, Eisteddfods, NAIDOC , Writing and Art Competitions and Harmony DayCelebrations.

Aerial photographs were taken of the school and are displayed in the front office along with a television that presentsshots of school events and school activities. New trophies were also purchased to be displayed.




Increased number ofopportunities for activeinvolvement in school by familiesand the community.

The school organized 125 year anniversary for ourschool. Our school choir also performed.

The school also invites parents to attend a formalassembly each term to celebrate the students’achievements.

Our school ran its own sporting events, including aSwimming Carnival Fun Day at Nana Glen pool.

Resources were SchoolBase Funded in mostprojects.

Staff contribute to professionalnetworks across the Orara ValleySmall Schools and buildproductive links with the widercommunity to improve teachingand learning.

The teachers from the Orara Valley Small Schoolsattend a meeting at least once a term forprofessional development and for pooling resourcesand ideas. Principals also meet once a term toorganise shared events. Each member has beendesignated a particular role to report on each termto keep everyone informed on department policies,





Staff contribute to professionalnetworks across the Orara ValleySmall Schools and buildproductive links with the widercommunity to improve teachingand learning.

learning opportunities and changes. The schoolalso takes part in community events andcompetitions when invited. Events includeEducation Week performances, Orara Valley Fair,Carols, Eisteddfods, NAIDOC , Writing and ArtCompetitions and Harmony day Celebrations.Wehad aerial shots taken of the school and aredisplayed in the front office along with a TV thatpresents shots of school events and schoolactivities.

Positive feedback from thecommunity

Parent/Carers have formed a PromotionsCommittee that reports and works with thestudent/parent body. They set goals and map outthe year’s fundraising, working bees and communityevents. P&C raised funds to provided family daysand canteen twice a term. They also publishedevents and promoted the school through localpapers and magazines.

Next Steps

• Continue to promote our school through local media. • Promotions committee to continue to think creatively about fund raising, promotional events as well as source

support and resources from the local community . • Plan to open canteen twice a term and invite parents for picnic lunches using produce from kitchen garden. • The Orara Valley Small Schools continue to attend meetings at least once a term for professional development

and pooling resources and ideas.


Key Initiatives Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Low level adjustment for disability Students were assisted to set and achievelearning goals and achieve progress alongthe Literacy and Numeracy continuumallowing students access to a variety oflearning experiences both socially andacademically.

$1648.00

Socio–economic background The school recognises a commitment toequity and high expectations for learning foreach student. A classroom teacher wasemployed to develop ILP’s for students.

$3537.82


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2013 2014 2015 2016

Boys 8 5 9 12

Girls 12 11 15 18

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

K 97.2 92.8 91 93.3

1 93.8 100 85.7 96.5

2 95.6 98.3 89 95.7

3 93.8 96.7 89 94.9

4 94.6 97.8 92.3 91.8

5 94.6 98.5

6 93.4 96.8

All Years 94.7 96.3 89.9 94.8

State DoE

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

K 95 95.2 94.4 94.4

1 94.5 94.7 93.8 93.9

2 94.7 94.9 94 94.1

3 94.8 95 94.1 94.2

4 94.7 94.9 94 93.9

5 94.8 93.9

6 93.5 93.4

All Years 94.7 94.8 94 94

Management of non-attendance

Attendance rates in 2016 were slightly higher than thestate average.

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Classroom Teacher(s) 0.13

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.1

Teacher Librarian 0.08

School Administration & SupportStaff

0.7

Other Positions 0.55

*Full Time Equivalent

The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requiresschools to report on Aboriginal composition of theirworkforce.

There are no Aboriginal identified staff members atUpper Orara Public School.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirementsfor teaching in NSW public schools.

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 100

Postgraduate degree 0

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

All staff have completed mandatory training schedulesincluding Child Protection, Anaphylaxis, E–EmergencyCare, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and WorkHealth and Safety Induction.

Other courses include: • engaging with the new English, Maths and

Science Curriculum • L3 English • Numeracy in Sport • Musica Viva training via videoconferencing • Technology training in the use of iPad apps • Technology training in coding and 3D Printing • Physical Exercise and Personal Development • Healthy Eating • Mixed Abilities Differentiation • Kids Matter Wellbeing


Financial information (for schoolsusing OASIS for the whole year)

Financial information

This summary financial information covers funds foroperating costs to 30th November 2016 and does notinvolve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries,building and major maintenance.

Income $

Balance brought forward 139 181.29

Global funds 52 588.96

Tied funds 69 133.67

School & community sources 19 230.03

Interest 2 747.98

Trust receipts 0.00

Canteen 0.00

Total income 282 881.93

Expenditure

Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 5 582.15

Excursions 1 786.20

Extracurricular dissections 12 951.41

Library 3 154.06

Training & development 473.98

Tied funds 61 489.77

Short term relief 7 042.61

Administration & office 26 849.57

School-operated canteen 0.00

Utilities 8 939.10

Maintenance 5 965.07

Trust accounts 0.00

Capital programs 0.00

Total expenditure 134 233.92

Balance carried forward 148 648.01

A full copy of the school’s financial statement is tabledat the annual general meetings of the parent and/orcommunity groups. Further details concerning thestatement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results acrossthe Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy andnumeracy assessments are reported on a scale fromBand 1 to Band 10. The achievement scalerepresents increasing levels of skillsand understandings demonstrated in theseassessments.

The My School website provides detailedinformation and data for national literacy and numeracytesting. Click on the link http://www.myschool.edu.auand insert the school name in the Find a school andselect GO to access the school data.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

There were no Aboriginal students enrolled in 2016.

Aboriginal perspectives are an integral part of all unitsof work across each stage within the school. Aboriginaleducation and training incorporates the delivery ofquality learning activities to all students. Our schoolcontinues to provide programs designed to educate allstudents about Aboriginal history, culture andcontemporary Aboriginal Australia.

NAIDOC

Lowanna Public School hosted the 2016 NAIDOCcelebrations for local small schools Ulong Public Schoolalso attended. We celebrated NAIDOC Week together.Activities included story telling, Aboriginal language,dancing, art appreciation both modern and traditional,and storytelling.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

Upper Orara Public School has a small group ofstudents with an ethnic background. The staff at UpperOrara Public School remains committed to ensuringthat all students are aware of the diverse, multiculturalnature of our modern Australian society and that thestudents show empathy and understanding towardothers.

Units of work with a multicultural focus are delivered toall students as part of the Human Society & ItsEnvironment(HSIE) area of study.

This year a parent who has a Phillipeno backgroundhas shared with us how her family lives, includingcelebrations. The students loved her cooking lessonsand ask her many questions.


Other school programs

The primary focus areas for Upper Orara Public Schoolare Literacy and Numeracy. Other programs andinitiatives include:

• Best Start / Literacy and Numeracy Continuum K–10(PLAN)

• Technology (Connected Learning)

• Music

• Student Welfare & Peer Support

• Intensive Swimming

• Live Life Well @ School Program

• Jump Rope for Heart

• Crunch and Sip program

• Road Safety program

• Pet Safety

• Environmental Sustainability

• Hooked on Fishing

• Orara Valley Learning Community program

• Orara Valley Enrichment Program

• Orara Valley Debating program

• Orara Valley Excursion program.

• Gymnastics program

• Golf program

• Tennis program

• Scope IT program

Sport

Sporting programs at Upper Orara Public Schoolcontinued to be focused on involvement,skillsdevelopment and enjoyment. A wide range ofopportunities are provided to students. This year theschool continued the Live Life Well @ School program,a joint initiative between the NSW Department ofEducation and Communities and NSW Health. Thisprovided extra funding for sports programs and alsotraining for staff in teaching fundamental movementskills promoting a healthy lifestyle and involving allstudents in physical activities.

The program provides funding to assist schools inproviding varied sporting opportunities that encouragestudents to be active and take part in local sports. Theprogram also provides sporting equipment and this yearwe purchased another very modern basketball

backboard and hoop. Gymnastics was the mostfavoured sport and many of the students now attendthe gymnastics programs in their own time. Learningactivities included fishing, tennis, t–ball, soccer, surfsafety and cricket.

Our students also have continued to enjoy our physicaleducation program where we all participate in 20minutes of fun vigorous exercise with our friends everymorning before classroom lessons.

Our Upper Orara students have had a wonderful yearof showcasing our amazing sports talents to the widercommunity. In Cross Country Jordi, Hudson, Tahlia,Indiana, and Haylee represented our school at theDistrict Cross Country at Woolgoolga and they allmanaged to improve their placing from last year.Haylee reached Mid North Coast level.

Upper Orara also won the Small schools Handicaptrophy in Cross Country again.

The students participated in the athletics carnival heldby Ulong and Lowanna to prepare the students for theOrara Valley Small School carnival. Many students K–6won a ribbon and Haylee and Hudson won the Junior Champion trophy. Students who performed wellcontinued on to the Orara Valley Small Schools’ andDistrict carnivals. Haylee continued onto state level inrunning.

Swimming

All students attended the extra Learn to Swim andWater Confidence Program at the beginning of theschool year at the Coffs Harbour Memorial pool. Staffand parents want to continue this extra swimmingprogram to assist in keeping students safe aroundwater and developingswimming skills. Many familieshave also enrolled their children in private learn to swimlessons. There has been an overall improvement inswimming skills. Students K to 6 also attended theDepartment of Education Intensive Swimming programat the end of the year. The Intensive Swimmingprogram was held at Nana Glen Pool and travel wasfunded by the Crowe family.

Upper Orara Public School ran its own swimmingcarnival for the second time at Nana Glen Pool in thefirst week of Term 1. Lowanna and Ulong attended forthe first time and really enjoyed combining with us andpreparing students for the next level. They haverequested they attend next year as well. It was a funway for families, teachers, staff and students to catchup and meet new families. Lyn Connell from NSWSwimming assisted in the running of the carnival. Shealso coached the students in diving, tumble turn andstroke correction, and increased their confidence toparticipate in the Orara Valley Small School’sswimming carnival.

Fishing

The Department of Primary Industries organised agreatday out fishing at Boambee Creek Reserve. Thestudents learnt how to prepare aline, fishing skills andthe importance of taking care of our fish supply andour


waterways. The excursion was part of our Hooked OnFishing LearningProgram. This year Billy and Tahliacaught a fish!

Creative and Practical Arts

All of our students enjoyed producing and entering anartwork for the Glenreagh Memorial ArtCompetition. Laya received first prize in her agesection and Arabella and Billy received second prize.Haylee and Masey achieved a Highly Commendedaward.

The whole school contributed to the Coffs HarbourPlaza art recycling project exhibition. The students didan amazing job and were proud of their art work. Theschool received $1000 worth of recycling resources. Tahlia and Masey were interviewed on the radio on thedesign process and teamwork that was used toproduce our sculpture.

Upper Orara students all contributed to the CoffsHarbour Show School Art Exhibition and received 2ndprize in the School Fruit and Vegetable Box section. The senior students designed a display using recycledmaterial and our garden produce. This was a veryproud moment for our school community who have allcontributed in some way in our very successfulSustainability and Garden program.

Choir

Upper Orara students competed in the Coffs HarbourEisteddfod. The students performed two songs andreceived an ovation and many of our families came toencourage us and enjoy the performance. Our schooloffers keyboard, drumming and percussion lessons.Our choir also performed in Education week with theOrara Valley Small Schools at the Palm Centre.

Dance

Our dance program has continued to provide studentswith opportunities for learning traditional andcontemporary dance. Dance develops the ability ofstudents to communicate and express themselvesthrough movement.

The older children often select music and dance styles,and teach younger students some great moves andappreciation of modern music.

The students performed two Christmas songs withactions on Presentation night and performed two songsfor a very large audience at the 125th Year AnniversaryCelebration.

Enrichment Programs

Our students have many opportunities intheirclassrooms to extend their skills in areas where theyhave gifts and talents. There is also a range ofopportunities offered throughout the year.

• The Orara Valley Public School’s K–2 Enrichmentprogram

• The Orara Valley Public School’s DebatingCompetition

• The Orara Valley Public School’s Science EnrichmentDay

• The Orara valley Public Schools MathematicsEnrichment Day.

• The Orara valley Public Schools Soccer Gala Day

UNSW International Academic Competitions

Two Year 4 students achieved a Distinction in the NSWGlobal Australia Educational Assessments for DigitalTechnologies placing them in the top 6% in Australia.One of the students also achieved a Credit for writingand spelling.

Upper Orara primary students entered the local writingcompetition held by the Book Ware House

Ashlee, Haylee, Maynard and Arabella. … studentswon. Check newsletter

A congratulations letter was sent to the school praisingour talents and thanking us for entering such highquality work.

The Premier’s Spelling Bee Competition

Tahlia and Masey represented our school in the Premier’s Spelling Bee Regional Final. The Premier’sSpelling Bee is a fun and educational wayfor primaryschool students to engage in spelling. The programincludesactivities to encourage all students to engagewith spelling and to promoteimproved literacy incombination with the English K–6 Syllabus.

The Premier Sporting Challenge

The whole schoolachieved a Diamond Award – thehighest award possible.

The NSW Premier's Primary School Sport Challengeaims to engageyoung people in sport and physicalactivity and encourages them to lead healthy,activelifestyles.

The Premier's Primary School Sport Challenge involvesclassesparticipating in a 10 week sport and physicalactivity challenge. A class may accumulate time spentin a broad range of sports and recreationalpursuitsduring lunchtime, in school sport programs, class time,after schoolor in weekend physical activity.

The Premier Reading Challenge

All students successfully completed the Challenge. Thiscomplemented our Home Reading Program andfantastic library resources. The Challenge aims toencourage a love ofreading for leisure and pleasure instudents, and to enable them toexperience qualityliterature. It is not a competition but a challenge toeachstudent to read, to read more and to read morewidely.


Cascade Excursion

All primary students 3 to 6 participated in a 3 – dayexcursion to Cascade Environmental Centre. They allenjoyed learning to be more independent, theimportance of taking care of our rainforests andlearning about the history of the local area.

Sustainability Programs

This year the school was successful again in applyingfor a Coffs Harbour City Green Grant. The studentsdesigned a worm farm after study about the life of aworm, the importance of worms in our environment,and worm’s habitat. The worm farm was built from anold bathtub, bricks, newspaper and our garden mulch.

Students have also been involved in the beautificationand maintenance of our school through gardening, dailycomposting and recycling of school rubbish.

Healthy Life Style Education

Upper Orara Public School is a Crunch and Sip School.The Crunch and Sip program continues to have apositive impact on students by:

• Creating an enjoyable daily routine that increases fruitand vegetables intake.

• Promoting a positive attitude towards fruit, vegetablesand water.

• Incorporating nutrition education into key learningareas of the curriculum.

This year students continued to learn about andproduce organic vegetables and herbs. All produce hasbeen enjoyed by all the families. The students learntabout companion gardening and enjoyed selecting andplanting vegetables and fruits to plant that areappropriate for the season and that they have nottasted.

Joy Joy one of our wonderful parents assisted us withthe Kitchen Garden program by providing cookinglessons using the foods from the garden. The wholeschool enjoyed tasting their creations.

We also trialled a package free day Thursdays whichwe would like to continue and celebrated the FunkyVegetable Day by dressing up as our favouritevegetable.

Student Leadership

The 2016 Upper Orara School Captains were veryproud of their roles and enjoyed contributing to theeveryday operations of Upper Orara Public School.

The captaincy has increased student engagement andconnectedness, enhanced leadership and activestudent voice, and increased positive school behaviour.The captains have led teams in anti–bullying programsand assisted in peer tutoring. Students have hadopportunities to experience speaking on formaloccasions to larger audiences. Our newly elected

captains are looking forward to leading our school in2017.


2016 Orara Upper Public School Annual Report · 22. €Four Year 6 students completed their...

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Transcript of 2016 Orara Upper Public School Annual Report · 22. €Four Year 6 students completed their...