Araluen Christian College Annual Report 2013

Araluen Christian College Annual Report 2013 Location: Alice Springs Postal: 10 Blain Street Telephone:08 8955 0121 Fax: 08 8955 0060 Email:admin.acc@ntschools.net

NT Christian Schools Vision Statement 1 NT Christian Schools 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. Araluen Christian College Vision Statement: Araluen Christian College partners with families guiding each child s journey of living and learning, providing hope, in Christ, for their future. Principal s Message Araluen Christian College is strong and exciting community to be part of and I am privileged to be able to interact and learn with the students, staff and families daily as we share learning and life together. We do this through engaging and positive educational and relational experiences, actively seeking to become peace makers who are valued agents of change in our college, the wider Alice Springs community and beyond. Our dedicated staff team continually set high expectations for our students both academically and in their character development to assist our students to become well rounded people. The staff team work collaboratively to ensure our knowledge of students and the way we meet their needs and abilities are biblically grounded, academically rigorous and socially responsible. Quality teaching and learning are key priorities at the college. We intentionally engage and partner with our families. We also enjoy many opportunities to celebrate and come together as community, creating ways to strengthen our relationships. We are seeking to be a peacemaking community. Student numbers continued to increase throughout 2013. The on-going role of the Chaplain at our college has consolidated our leadership development for the students, provided another listening ear to students who are now familiar with the chaplain as a member of the staff team. The chaplain is an asset to the college in the area of morale building and encouraging everyone to have a voice with regards to our moral ownership of Araluen Christian College. A huge highlight in 2013 was taking our entire Middle School to Sydney and Canberra. Our participation in the Alice Springs Bangtail Muster is an example of our community involvement. I would like to thank our entire school community for your continued participation, support and investment in the life and learning at Araluen Christian College. Cate Garwood Principal

<Contents 2 Contents NT Christian Schools Vision Statement... 1 Araluen Christian College Vision Statement... 1 Principal s Message... 1 Contents... 2 School Profile... 3 Staffing Information... 5 Highlights of the Araluen Christian College Year... 6 Teaching and Learning... 8 Parents and community... 10 Finance and facilities... 11 School self-assessment... 12 Endorsement... 13

School Profile 3 School Profile 2013 saw the number of students increase to an enrolment of 230 from an enrolment of 207 in 2012. Enrolment numbers were 172 in the Primary and 58 in the Middle Years. The average attendance was 91.5% in the Primary area and 90.6% in the Middle Years. The overall average attendance at the College was 90.4% Enrolment 172 200 150 100 58 Enrolment 50 0 Primary Middle Enrolment Student Enrolment and average attendance profile for 2013 Araluen Christian College has consistently high rates of attendance. There were no non-attendance issues in 2013. There was one significant critical incident in 2013. This was a fire in June 2013, resulting in the closure of the College for one day as the electrical safety of the school was secured and fire and police investigations were continued. Significant disruptions to college life continued for some months following the fire as the Year 5 classroom and sports shed were refurbished. The Year 5 class was located in the library for more than a term. Other works were completed on another classroom and the canteen. This resulted in further disruption to other classes as they were relocated for the period of works. NT Christian Schools, the College Council and Executive thank the College community for their support during this disruption to learning programs. The support and generosity of our community and the town community was wonderful and the camaraderie and team spirit was tremendous. This was most evident at the college Open Day for 2013 that took place only a couple of weeks after the fire.

School Profile 4 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Male Female Indigenous Non Indigenous 20% 10% 0% 2013 Gender, Indigenous and Non-indigenous Students Profile for 2013. 25 20 15 10 5 0 Age 5 Age 6 Age 7 Age 8 Age 9 Age 10 Age 11 Age 12 Age 13 Age 14 Age 15 Axis Title Student Ages by Year Level Profile 2013

Staffing Information 5 Staffing Information All teachers have a minimum of four years training and are registered with the NT Teacher Registration Board. There was a small staff turnover in 2013, for a variety of reasons, including the movement of families form Alice Springs to other locations. We continue to have a multicultural staff at the college. Staff employed at Araluen Christian College in 2013: Primary Teachers Qualifications FTE Rosemary Lindsay Dip Tch, Grad Dip SpEd 1.00 Beverley Ashdale B.Ed, Grad Dip Ed 1.00 Brittany Diaz B. Elementary Ed 1.00 Catherine Conradie Dip Tch, Higher Ed. Dip 1.00 Nicholas Harder B.Arch, Grad Dip Ed. Pri 1.00 Fleurette Moreng Dip Ed, B. Ed, Hons 1.00 Annette Uldrich B. Learn Mang. Prim 1.00 Rupert Croutz Dip Th, B.Ed 1.00 Middle School Teachers Qualifications FTE Jennifer McAllan Dip Tch. Sec, Dip Min, B. Tch & Learning 1.00 Mandla Khumalo B.A., Dip Ed 1.00 Eunice De Kock B.Sc, B.Ed Hons, M.Ed 1.00 Other Teachers Qualifications FTE Catherine Garwood Dip Tch, B.Ed 1.00 Lorne Scott-Wilson BA Hons Th, MTh, Grad Dip Tching Benjamin O Connor Dip Tch 0.2 Other Staff FTE David Clark Chaplain/Learning Support Assistant 0.2/0.2 Margaret Healy Office Administrator 1.00 Alida van Vuuren Office Admin Assistant 1.00 Shereen Crowe Learning Support Assistant 1.00 Dianne Jones Learning Support Assistant 0.7

Highlights of the Araluen Christian College Year 6 Highlights of the Araluen Christian College Year At Araluen Christian College 2013 was a year of consolidation and continued growth to a new all time high in student numbers. An extensive excursion and camping program is in place for students from Year 5 to Year 9 The ACC Camping programs are a significant annual highlight for our students. During 2013 Years 5 & 6 enjoyed their time at Hamilton Downs Youth camp locally. Our entire middle school of Year 7, 8 & 9 students went on a great adventure to Sydney & Canberra. After visiting many interesting and educational destinations in the capital the week was concluded with a trip to the snow a first for many of our students who live in Central Australia. Primary & Middle School Programs. Learn to Swim Whole College Cross Country competition. Whole School Athletics Carnival. Extra-curricular sporting programs including primary school and middle school after school competitions in touch rugby and hockey. The Active After School Sport Program continued to be successful as both an outlet for physical exercise and skills training for our primary students. For our Middle School students it is a service and leadership opportunity as they help within the AASC program. Inter school sports competitions in athletics, soccer, basketball, swimming, tennis, touch football and rotational sports galas. Other sporting opportunities including; squash, volleyball, tennis, rock climbing. Leadership development programs including College Leaders program and Peer Leadership Program that assists in the development of resilience, cooperation and strengthens well-being. Weekly and Yearly Academic and Character Acknowledgment. Whole College Code of Conduct framework in place and a shared understanding of the Code across the college Special celebration days: Odd Sock Day to acknowledge that everyone has challenges or hard days at times and that it is ok to talk about things when times are challenging in life.

Highlights of the Araluen Christian College Year 7 Also Super hero Day Supporting many charities like the Royal Flying Doctor Service through our Crazy Hair Day. Bibles for Africa through our cross country event called Run for Bibles. Araluen Christian College continued our involvement with the wider Alice Springs community. We held our largest and most well attended ANZAC service at the College in 2013. Our captains and vice-captains attended the Alice Springs Dawn Service on ANZAC day. Once again we proudly took part in the Bangtail Muster parade. The college was also featured online in the Kidsmatter newsletter The Araulen Christian College Junior Choir and recorder groups featured at various events during 2013. These included the ANZAC and Easter Services, the ACC Open Day and the International Dinner & Talent Show later in the year. The Junior Choir, also opened our annual celebration evening at the end of the school year.

Teaching and Learning 8 Teaching and Learning At Araluen Christian College Teaching and Learning throughout 2013 continued to produce excellent holistic achievement for our students. Engagement with the Australian Curriculum was one of the highest priorities for staff development and in turn the development of teaching and learning programs. The NT Christian Schools Curriculum coordinator worked with staff in on-going Curriculum development. Curriculum teams met regularly to review and enhance programming. National School Chaplaincy Program supporting the on-going employment of a chaplain. This also enabled us to further develop pastoral care and well-being programs at Araluen Christian College. Encouraging team development among staff to support and encourage excellence was a focus of the leadership. The Mind Matters Program which develops Peer Support and resilience in the Middle School was initiated in 2013 with staff training to prepare for the roll out of the program to students in 2014. Our ICT enriched environment increased in resources during 2013. The area of improvement was in the Primary area with the replacement of 28 laptops.

Teaching and Learning 9 Percentage of students reaching national benchmarks and changes in benchmark results from previous year The students at the College in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 participated in the annual NAPLAN testing in May 2013. Some analysis of results are included below. Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 7 Yr 9 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 Reading Writing 100% 96% 87% 96% 100% 100% 100% 83% -4% +9% 0% -17% 100% 88% 92% 81% 100% 93% 81% 65% -12% -11% -7% -16% Numeracy 100% 96% 92% 96% 100% 100% 100% 83% -4% +4% 0% 17% The proportion of students meeting national literacy and numeracy benchmarks for their year at 3, 5, 7 & 9 in 2012 and 2013. It is important to note that all students who attend Araluen Christian College sit the NAPLAN tests including those identified as having special needs. The collaborative work of the staff to meet the needs of our students along with access to quality incursion and excursion experiences for our students allows us to provide high quality teaching and learning at Araluen Christian College. Year 9 is the final year for students at our College. Year 9 students did not participate in standardized tests other than NAPLAN.

Parents and community 10 Parents and community Parents & carers partner with us at Araluen Christian College. The opportunities to develop these partnerships are many and varied and have continued at our college. 2013 began with a parent information and get to know you evening including a family barbeque and games. Later in Term 1 we had our first Knowing Me/Knowing You evening where parents and teachers could compare notes about the children in their classes. This is not just something for the beginning of the year, parents also joined us for student led conferences and attended class and school excursions. Parents & carers are encouraged to share their vocational and professional skills and talents within our community. Parents volunteer in our canteen and assist with College events and fundraising. Families are warmly welcomed to celebrate with the students and staff every week for assemblies and on many other occasions when we get together. We appreciate our parents who not only continue to partner with us in their child/ren s journeys of living and learning but also share their positive experiences of Araluen Christian College with the wider community. This is evident by the way many new families join Araluen Christian College through word of mouth.

Finance and facilities 11 Finance and facilities 2013 audited financials list all amounts of income received in the relevant school year Private $658,816 Recurrent $2,193,065 Capital $105,000 There were no planned capital improvements undertaken at Araluen Christian College in 2013. However, due to the fire in June 2013 capital improvements were made in the form of the refurbishment of the Year 5 classroom, re-ceiling of the Canteen & Year 6 classrooms. Reverse Cycle airconditioning to Year 5 & 6. The sports shed was refitted and enclosed. IT cabling was replaced following the fire. There are significant capital improvements planned for the College in the coming 12 months beginning in 2014. It is expected that facilities and equipment will continue to be enhanced in the coming year. It is hoped that a new Middle School development will be undertaken in 2014. The College will be 30 years of age in 2014 and with that comes increased maintenance costs for older parts of the buildings. Significant maintenance repairs were carried out in 2013 especially in the plumbing area. Once again extensive work on the grounds was carried out to ensure we had a magnificent oval for our students to enjoy for the entire college year. The development of permanent bike stands to accommodate the growing number of students who choose this healthy form of exercise to and from school. To enhance security for the college, materials were purchased in 2013 for lockable gates for the undercover area and installed early in 2014.

School self-assessment 12 School self-assessment During 2013 Araluen Christian College undertook our five-year Routine School Assessment. This was conducted by a multi-sector panel on behalf of the Northern Territory Government. Araluen Christian College fully satisfies the registration requirements for a non-government school and will be re-assessed within five years. The assessing panel made note of and were impressed by the positive atmosphere evident throughout the college and in particular the caring nature of the staff. They indicated that students were happy and enthusiastically involved in learning. Rising enrolment numbers in 2013 testify to the growing confidence being placed in the school and its management. The College used the School Improvement and Renewal Framework to investigate Leadership. The SIRF program includes surveying community members, parents, students and staff. The College executive also completed a self-reflective report card. The data collected is then analyzed at a Parent Forum and recommendations are made to the College Council. The Council then uses the recommendations to amend the College Strategic Plan. SIRF commendations in the area of Leadership: That Araluen Christian College build on the strength of the instructional leadership taking place at the college by all leaders and teams. The communication of the college vision, mission and strategic goals become more clearly communicated for all stakeholders That the Parent Council of Araluen Christian College increase their involvement and active participation in the life and work of the college. The Principal will approach interested people and continue to provide monthly reports to the council. A particular goal for the Parent council is engagement in the on-going self-assessment process and further development of the ACC strategic plan. Future priorities for the Self Improvement Renewal Framework will be Christian Identity and Community & Culture in 2014.

Endorsement 13 Endorsement This Report is endorsed by: Cate Garwood Principal Araluen Christian College Barby Rothwell Chair Araluen Christian College Council Geoff Bateman Chief Executive Officer NT Christian Schools