CClick here for Rochedale State School's Annual Report [.pdf]

Principal’s foreword

Our School at a Glance

School Profile

Rochedale State School is a coeducational school. Year levels offered: Prep to Year 7 Total student enrolments for this school: Total Enrolment Girls Boys Enrolment Continuity (Feb 2010 – Nov 2010) 840 434 406 95% Characteristics of the Student Body Rochedale State School is a coeducational school that caters for children from many and varied backgrounds, ability levels and cultures.  Situated on Rochedale Road the  school is surrounded by farms and large estates providing a quiet rural setting.    Over 80% of students who attend the school do not live in the immediate catchment area and Rochedale is a school of choice for these families.  The school enrolment has steadily climbed over the past five years and with changes in the zoning of the Rochedale area, it is expected to grow further. The school is currently enrolment managed. Parents engage in a wide range of occupations and have high expectations for student learning and behaviour. Parent interest in and support for the school is very high. Class sizes – Proportion of school classes achieving class size targets in 2009 Phase Average Class Size Percentage of classes in the school On or under target Under Target On Target Over Target Prep – Year 3 23 100% 72% 28% 0% Year 4 – Year 10 27 94% 69% 25% 6% Year 11 – Year 12           All Classes 25 97% 71% 26% 3% School Disciplinary Absences  Disciplinary Absences Count of Incidents Short Suspensions - 1 to 5 days 3 Long Suspensions - 6 to 20 days 0 Exclusions 0 Cancellations of Enrolment 0 Curriculum offerings Our distinctive curriculum offerings Rochedale State School has been authorised to offer the International Baccalaureate Organization’s Primary Years Program that is globally orientated. Our curriculum aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. Each year level offers trans-disciplinary inquiry units built around six organizers; Who We Are; Where We Are in Place and Time; How We Express Ourselves; How the World Works; How We Organize Ourselves; Sharing the Planet.   The Queensland Essential Learnings in the  8 key learning areas of; English, Mathematics, Science; Studies of Society and The Environment, The Arts, Health and Physical Education and Languages Other Than English, are incorporated in the units of inquiry.   Rochedale offers two different languages from Year 2.  Students study either French or Chinese (Mandarin) Extra curricula activities Our students are able to participate in the following extra-curricular activities. External competitions in Mathematics, English and Science. Senior and Junior Choir Instrumental music lessons including, woodwind, brass, percussion and strings. Keyboarding and guitar. Art club. Poetry Club Swimming including – learn to swim; squad training; swimming club. Sporting clubs including netball, AFL, basketball and tennis Camping program – Year 4 and 6 School special events – Chinese New Year; Under 8’s day, School music concerts; School Fete; Walk-a-thon; Rochedale Challenge   How Information and Communication Technologies are used to assist learning -    The school has over 125 computers spread around classrooms and 27 in a specialised computer lab. -    Interactive white boards are used in the Year 4-7 classrooms and several in the lower grades. -    The internet is used extensively for research and learning, with teachers using a multitude of web based learning sites to increase mathematics, reading and spelling skills. -    Many classrooms use emails to communicate with each other and home and several classrooms are using virtual classrooms for homework and communication with families. -    Publishing software; Kids Pix; Word; PowerPoint etc; are extensively used in all classrooms. -    Digital and video cameras are used throughout the school. -   Our school web pages are widely acclaimed.  They provide a snapshot of our school and examples of our children’s work for not only our local community but world wide. Social climate Rochedale State School caters for children from many and varied background, ability levels and cultures.  Our school provides a number of services and strategies to enhance the well being of our student population. Learner Profile – Caring, Knowledgeable, Open Minded, Inquirer, Risk Taker, Balanced, Communicator, Thinker, Principled and Reflective. These attributes of life long learners are embedded in our units of inquiry. School Values – Respect; Responsibility; Co-operation; Consideration; Fairness; Honesty.  These values are well known by the children and used on a daily basis. School Chaplain Kids Hope – World Vision Program offered by local church. Korean parent ambassador to help families with English as a second language. Student Council Support Teacher Literacy and Numeracy Special Education Program Teacher Guidance Officer Visiting specialist teachers to support children with needs in behaviour, hearing, vision and English as a Second Language. Playgroup - birth to pre-prep Before and After school care.  Vacation care. Parent, student and teacher satisfaction with the school Our parent community continues to be a strong support for our school. Education is a home-school partnership and without the support, encouragement and cooperation of our parent community, our achievements would not have been as extensive. That support has been clearly evident as measured by the 2010 Parent Opinion Survey. Performance measure Result 2009 Percentage of parents/caregivers satisfied that their child is getting a good education at school 90% Percentage of students satisfied that they are getting a good education at school 81% Percentage of parents/caregivers satisfied with their child’s school 97% Percentage of school workforce satisfied with access to professional development opportunities that relate to school and systemic initiatives 71% Percentage of staff members satisfied with morale in the school 92% Involving parents in their child’s education Rochedale State School has an “Open Door” policy and welcomes parent involvement with the school and their child’s education.    At the beginning of the year a Parent – Teacher afternoon is held where the teacher gives an overview of the curriculum for the year, the organisation of the class is discussed, procedures explained and parents are informed of excursions etc.  Formal Parent - Teacher interviews are held in term one and term three where academic and social development of students are discussed.  Teachers are happy to meet with parents at other mutually agreed upon times during the year. Other avenues for parent involvement include: P&C Association – Rochedale State School has an active Parents and Citizens Association which always welcomes new members.  Through our P&C we raise much needed funds for equipment, resources and computers and major projects like our annual Fete are big money raisers.  The P&C is consulted on important school decisions and supports the school principal and teachers in building a positive school culture. Tuckshop / Uniform Shop/ Swimming Club are all subcommittees of the P&C and the school is always looking for volunteers to keep these valuables services running. Classroom Helpers – Many parents volunteer their time as classroom helpers, either directly through their child’s teacher or through one of the programs we run to assist children with learning difficulties. Reference Groups – Each school reference group has a parent representative.  Playgroup – Rochedale has birth to pre-prep playgroup where parents are welcome to bring their pre-school children. Celebrations – Parents are always included in our celebration of student learning with many school and classroom special events during the year. Reducing the school’s environmental footprint During 2010 Rochedale State School installed 8 water tanks in the school ground.  On the school administration building solar panels have been installed.  Rochedale is an active participant in the Active School Travel Program and promote Walking, Wheeling, Wednesday to the school community. Year Total Electricity Sewerage Waste Water Gas Other Electricity  KwH WaterKL GasMJ 2010 $62,012 $52,562 $0 $2,852 $3,514 $0 $3,084 292,051 1,441 0 2009 $46,329 $39,424 $0 $0 $1,372 $0 $5,533 251,517 706 0 % change 2009 - 2010 34% 33% N/A N/A 156% N/A -44% 16% 104% N/A   Our Staff Profile Staff composition, including Indigenous Staff Workforce Composition Teaching Staff Non-teaching Staff Indigenous Staff Headcounts 53 19 <5 Full-time equivalents 48 13 <5 Qualifications of all teachers Highest level of attainment Number of classroom teachers and school leaders at the school Doctorate 0 Masters 3 Bachelor Degree 39 Diploma 13 Certificate 1 Expenditure on and teacher participation in professional development The total funds expended on teacher professional development in 2010 was $42 913.00 The major professional development initiatives were as follows: Literacy Reading Writing Inquiry based learning.   The involvement of the teaching staff in professional development activities during 2010 was 90%.   Average staff attendance For permanent and temporary staff and school leaders, the staff attendance rate was 96% in 2010. Proportion of staff retained from the previous school year From the end of the previous school year, 96% of staff were retained by the school for the entire 2010 school year.   Key student outcomes Attendance  Student attendance - 2010 The average attendance rate for the whole school as a percentage in 2010 was 95%.  Student attendance for each year level: Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 94% 95% 95% 95% 94% 94% 94% Description of how non-attendance is managed by the school Non-attendance is managed in state schools in line with the DET policies, SMS-PR-029: Managing Student Absences and SMS-PR-036: Roll Marking in State Schools, which outline processes for managing and recording student attendance and absenteeism. Students attendance is monitored daily and unexplained absences are followed up. At the end of each term parents of children who have noticeable absences are contacted by letter to offer assistance in helping with attendance if needed. Achievement – Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results – our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are available via the MySchool website at hhttp://www.myschool.edu.au/ To access our NAPLAN results, click on the MySchool link above. You will then be taken to the My School website with the following ‘Find  a school’ text box.   Where it says ‘Search by school name’, type in the name of the school whose NAPLAN results you wish to view, and select <GO>. Read and follow the instructions on the next screen; you will be asked to accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before being able to access NAPLAN data. If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a paper copy of our school’s NAPLAN results. Achievement – Closing the Gap The attendance rate for the Indigenous students at Rochedale State School is at 94%, which equates to the non-indigenous students of the school. The academic achievement of Indigenous students  shows the students in years 2, 3 and 4 all received a grade of C or higher in Maths, English and Science. Our retention rate is at 94% for the Indigenous students. The school has established strong links with the Logan Elders who help coordinate significant Indigenous celebrations throughout the year.