Sattler Christian College Annual Report 2014 Location: 15 Sattler Crescent Bees Creek NT Postal: PO Box 1138 Coolalinga NT 0839 Telephone: 08 8983 1268 Fax: 08 8983 1297 Email: admin.scc@ntschools.net
1 Vision Statement The vision statement of NT Christian Schools is, We desire to be a Christian community, learning together to live life as God intended, offering hope for the world. The vision statement of Sattler Christian College is, Growing in Wisdom; Learning to Love. Principal s Message Sattler Christian College, a campus of NT Christian Schools, is a partnering community striving to live out its vision trusting in a faithful and loving God. 2014 was a year in which much occurred at Sattler that we can praise and thank God for. The year began with a number of new staff members joining the Sattler team and they each have richly blessed our school community. We are very fortunate to have such a committed and talented staff. This was clearly exemplified when Mrs Rebecca Cholmondeley, our Transition teacher, received the 2014 Teacher of the Year Award at the Teacher Excellence Awards for NT Independent Schools. This was the second year in a row that a teacher from Sattler was acknowledged at these awards, highlighting the excellent quality of our staff. Allan Long (Principal 2014) In 2014 the school continued to value its distinctives. These include being a small and nurturing school community where a holistic approach to education is utilized involving strong and intentional pastoral care of all students. The curriculum of the school maintains an emphasis on essential skill acquisition in areas such as literacy, numeracy and information technology, while at the same time providing for diverse learning styles of students including the creative and performing arts, and lots of opportunities for practical hands-on activities. Strong partnership with parents is a foundational principle for the school and this was reflected in the excellent community events throughout the year. It is a great blessing to be a part of such a committed and inclusive educational community.
2 Contents Vision Statement... 1 Principal s Message... 1 Contents... 2 School Profile... 3 Staffing Information... 4 Highlights of the school year... 6 Teaching and Learning... 6 Parents and community... 8 Finance and facilities... 9 School self-assessment... 10 Endorsement... 11
3 School Profile Sattler Christian College is a small school on the outskirts of Darwin NT. In 2014 there were 140 students from Transition to Year 9. Also on the same site is an Early Learning Centre. We are one of eight campuses of NT Christian Schools. In 2014 the class structure for the school involved a straight Transition class and five multi-aged classes. There were five Primary School classes: Transition Two classes of Year 1/2 Year 3/4 Year 4/5 There were also two Middle School classes: Year 6/7 Year 8/9 2014 Student Profile T Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7 Y8 Y9 Total Girls 8 16 7 11 6 8 3 4 2 3 68 Boys 6 7 8 8 9 7 6 13 5 3 72 Totals 14 23 15 19 15 15 9 17 7 6 140 % Indigenous Students 7% 5% 7% 12% 17% 4% Student attendance rate 93.3% * Data from DEEWR Census, August 2014 One of the real advantages of being a small school is that all students can be well known and cared for. Student absences are closely monitored and unexplained absences are followed up by a phone call from the office or the class teacher concerned. In 2014 there were fourteen students with diagnosed disabilities enrolled at the school. They were fully integrated in the school and meaningfully supported by staff including a number of teacher aides. There were no critical incidents in 2014.
4 Staffing Information All teachers have a minimum of four years training and are registered with the NT TRB. 2014 Staffing Profile FTE Qualifications (Teachers)/Role (Non-Teaching Staff) Teaching Staff Allan Long (Principal) Brenton Bartsch Linda Broad Rebecca Cholmondeley Roslyn Elkington Kirsten Leslie Alexandrea McElroy Stephanie Redgment Madia Schatz Anne Sykes Stephanie Tuisuva Non-teaching Staff Yane Damanik Kathleen Higgins Hayley Holliday Dianne Jackson Anita Jones Bismarck Macabuhay Becky Myers Kimberly O Hagan Mary Vaatstra Paul Vaatstra Early Learning Centre Staff Kirsty Boath Leticia De Guzman Kayley Fry Joanne Wright 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.8 Master of Educational Studies Grad Dip of Curriculum Studies Bach of Theology Dip of Teaching (Primary) Dip Conservation & Land Management Grad Dip of Lutheran Education Dip of Teaching (Primary) Bach of Education Bach of Health Science Bach of Education Bach of Arts Dip of Education Bach of Education Dip of Teaching Bach of Commerce Dip of Teaching Bach of Education Bach of Education Dip of Teaching Master of Education Bach of Arts/Education Bach of Education Bach of Teaching Teachers Aide Administration Teachers Aide Chaplain Teachers Aide ICT Teachers Aide Reception Teachers Aide Grounds and Maintenance Officer
5 Staffing Summary Total Total School Staff (excluding Early Learning Centre [ELC]) Full-time equivalent Total School Staff (excluding ELC) Teaching staff Full-time equivalent Teaching Staff % Indigenous 21 15.3 11 9.8 0% Non-teaching staff 10 Full-time equivalent Non-teaching Staff % Indigenous 5.5 0% Teacher Qualifications Summary Total % Post Graduate qualifications Bachelor degree or equivalent Other Qualifications 2 18% 11 100% 2 18% (NB: Totals can extend beyond 100% as some teachers have more than one qualification)
6 Highlights of the school year There were many highlights in 2014. It was very exciting when Mrs Rebecca Cholmondeley, our Transition teacher, received the 2014 Teacher of the Year Award at the Teacher Excellence Awards for NT Independent Schools. This award is given in recognition of the exceptional contributions a teacher makes to their profession and their students. Mrs Rebecca (Bec) Cholmondeley is a much loved teacher at Sattler Christian College. Students, parents and staff all appreciate her greatly and praise her without reservation. As the school s Transition teacher she provides a fantastic introduction to the school for students and parents. Her classroom is a place of love, safety, exploration, challenge and growth. She is a wonderful ambassador for the school, for teaching and learning, and for school community life! Bec is always on the lookout for ideas and resources to enhance the students learning, harness their curiosity and imagination, and create dynamic learning activities. Again the camping program was greatly enjoyed by students and provided a number of rich learning experiences, with destinations including Darwin CBD, Katherine, and the Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. Camps are not easy for most students, in fact they often really challenge students and take them out of their comfort zone. However, the joy in learning comes from facing and overcoming those new challenges, working and sharing together in these learning adventures with peers and teachers, and learning in fresh and real life contexts. A number of our Middle School students competed in the Aurecon bridge-building competition against much larger Darwin schools and to their credit they won the event which was an outstanding achievement. Middle School Students also won a number of awards from the NT Science Teacher Association.
7 Teaching and Learning 2014 saw the appointment of an Early Years trained teacher to take on the role of educational leader at our Early Learning Centre (ELC). She has a made a significant contribution assisting the ELC team to better plan, document and deliver a comprehensive and systematic curriculum. Having an Early Learning Centre attached to our Primary and Middle Schools facilitates a wonderful natural flow for children at Sattler from age 3 through to 15. In 2014 there were a number of curricula developments at the school. LOTE (Indonesian) was introduced across the whole school. The soundwaves literacy programme and the swimming programme were extended from the Primary School into the Middle School. The performing arts area was further enriched with more music across the school, including the commencement of a school choir, and the strengthening of the drama and dance programme especially in the Middle School. Again the end of year drama production, Alice in Wonderland, showcased the fantastic and creative learning opportunities that our students have at Sattler. It is much more than learning how to perform on stage. It is also about developing confidence, self-discipline and perseverance, as well as experiencing the challenges and affirmation of working closely together with others to achieve something wonderful and communal. The Middle School Activities Program continued to diversify with all Middle School students having the opportunity to do Textiles, study Indonesian language and culture, and to undertake conservation tasks as volunteers at the Territory Wildlife Park. The school has continued to benefit from Federal funding that has enabled us to employ a part-time Chaplain at the school. The Chaplain supported students and staff especially in times of difficulty while also running, in a proactive manner, programs that enhanced positive relationships and personal well-being. In addition to the work of the school Chaplain, pastoral care of students continues to be a high priority at the school. All staff take a genuine interest in the students and the teachers in particular, are conscious of their important pastoral role. This is not only true of the Primary School teachers, but also in the Middle School where a home teacher and a home classroom model is implemented. NAPLAN Results For information regarding proportion of students meeting national literacy and numeracy benchmarks for their year at 3, 5, 7 & 9 and for changes in benchmark results from previous year by % point change please see My School Website http://www.myschool.edu.au/.
8 Parents and community From the inception of the school back in 1996, the partnership between families and the school has been fundamental. It was great to see this continue to be expressed in so many ways throughout 2014. One of the distinctives of Sattler is its small but strong community and this has again been well led by a small but strongly committed School Council. They have done this with prayerfulness, faithfulness, vision and servant-heartedness The SCC Council, a group of highly dedicated parents, continued to play a pivotal role in the governance of the school. Apart from their usual council meetings they also held a number of open council meetings which provided a valued forum for other parents to share ideas and ask questions. There were a number of activities involving school families and staff working together. Events such as the Mothers Day and Fathers Day breakfasts were special times for the school community that further fostered the beautiful community spirit and family nature that is part of Sattler. A significant new event was Spotlight on Sattler, which while being essentially an event for our own school community it also served as an excellent opportunity to share our school with others. Parents also regularly attend school assemblies, and come along to support their children and assist at sporting carnivals, excursions and camps. The Primary School Celebration evening and the Middle School production were also wonderful events to finish off the year and they were greatly enjoyed by the school community.
9 Finance and facilities Income received by Sattler Christian College in the 2014 year is listed as follows: Private Income $482,922 Recurrent Government Income $1,524,022 Capital Grants $79,800 The school has a beautiful bush setting and the buildings have been constructed and located in a manner that enhances and compliments the natural environment. In 2014 the main capital improvement was the extension of the Early Learning Centre which is now registered to take an increased number of children. The extension included an additional learning space, an entry foyer, and an office area. The ELC is looking fantastic now and there was also an expansion and development of the ELC playground as part of the project. The other significant capital improvement was the modification of the central area of the Library to create a larger assembly and performance area. There are no major capital works planned for 2015. The general condition of school buildings and facilities is quite good. The oldest buildings are 19 years old but even these are of solid construction and sensible design for the Northern Territory with wide verandahs. Students throughout the school have excellent access to computers with group sets of laptops or ipads in the Primary school, and a 1:1 ipad program in the Middle School. Each classroom in the school also has either an interactive whiteboard or big screen television which maximizes the use of ICT across the school.
10 School self-assessment Each year the school undertakes a cyclic review of its six aspects of school health and functioning using a School Improvement and Renewal Framework (SIRF). The six areas are: 1. Christian Identity 2. Leadership 3. Teaching and Learning 4. Pastoral Care and Wellbeing 5. Community and Culture 6. Finance, Facilities and Resources The school community, staff and parents together, are involved in a process of collecting information, reflecting on the life and direction of the school, and formulating goals for the future in line with the vision of the school. SIRF recommendations for Sattler Christian College (SCC) developed in 2014 were as follows: (Area 2) That the SCC Leadership continue to explore: (i) Possible Involvement of leaders from local churches in the devotional life of the school (ii) Fostering or facilitating parenting programmes (Area 3) That SCC make it a high priority to continue to: (i) Develop and implement curriculum in a Christ-centred way in all curriculum areas (ii) Explore ways to address learning delays in Literacy and Numeracy throughout the school (iii) Explore ways to involve students more in self-assessment, shaping or choosing aspects of the curriculum, and extension opportunities. (Area 4) That SCC continue to: (i) develop and update the documentation of its policies related to this area, (ii) clarify the T to 9 curriculum continuum related to personal development, health and wellbeing, (iii) explore and convey to the school community information about related external services available in this area. (iv) explore restrengthening peer support for students including the Buddies program (v) clarify the place of Kidsmatter in the school and associated training for staff (Area 5) That SCC: (i) update the Student Wellbeing and Discipline Policy, (ii) continue to explore how to develop the school curriculum with culturally rich experiences, (iii) continue to explore how the school might better acknowledge the traditional owners of the land. (Area 6) That SCC: (i) explore and target ways to generally increase enrolments, with a particular focus on strengthening the intake at Transition. (ii) continue to clarify and document a plan for the educational use of ICT at the school. (iii) continue to explore more ways that the school might improve its environmental stewardship.
11 Endorsement This report is endorsed by: Allan Long Principal Sattler Christian College Jolanda Watson Council Chair Sattler Christian College Debra Twartz Chief Executive Officer NT Christian Schools