Michelle Hunt

Graham Dowie 1

Kongorong Primary School is situated in the area of , approximately 455 km south of , 29 km from and 15 km from the coast. The school has dairy farms on two sides, the Kongorong Sportsmans’ Club along one boundary, and the Kongorong township just around the corner. Students are drawn from the township, local farms and from the coastal fishing communities of , Pelican Point and Blackfellows Caves.

Kongorong has a primary school population of 49 children and an average Child Parent Centre enrolment of 6 children. Kongorong Primary School & CPC has five teaching staff (4.4 full-time equivalents). The school runs three classes, R/1/; 2/3/4/; and 5/6/7. There are five ancillary staff, who provide in-class support, support small groups of children, and provide finance and clerical assistance. We also have an I.T. support staff member. The CPC has one teaching staff member (0.5 FTE) and negotiated ancillary staff allocation on a term-by-term basis. Kongorong is a category 6 school. There are 9% School Card students, 2% students with disabilities and no NESB students. We currently have no Aboriginal Students enrolled. Kongorong has an Index of Disadvantage of 6. At Kongorong Primary School we aim to provide a high quality education where all children in the community can achieve their goals in a safe, nurturing and intellectually creative environment. We encourage a love of learning, a strong sense of self, respect for others, and the desire to become good global citizens. We promote independence and responsibility as we guide our students towards a positive future.

2019 has been another year of celebrations and highlights. The new look Canberra Camp was held this year with 2 camps offered and splitting the schools in half due to the high number of Year 6/7 students from the other schools. We were fortunate enough to attend Canberra at the end of Term 1 with Yahl Primary School and Moorak Primary School. We were not only blessed with the weather but our students once again exceeded exemplary behaviour which is not only a credit to the students but o their parents. It was another action packed camp filled with wonderful learning opportunities visiting the Mint, Parliament House, The War Memorial, (where Bam in honour of our fallen was fortunate to lay a beautiful poppy wreath at a moving ceremony on behalf of the three schools), AIS, Questacon. A highlight was also visiting the Governor General’s House where we met Sir Peter Cosgrove and the next morning the election was called. Canberra was a- buzz with this news. Thanks to the students, Mrs Galloway, their parents, staff, and the whole school community for the tireless fundraising for our students to attend this wonderful opportunity. Our whole school participated in Move It, choreographed and taught by Jedda Glynn, taking us on a journey through the 21st century technological world, exploring “Emotions through Emojis”. I was very proud of our students and how they displayed our school values of working together, respect, striving for success, honesty and tolerance. It was great to see their faces light up on stage, their big smiles, grooving to the music and having so much fun. I would like to sincerely thank Jedda, the students, staff, bus drivers and students. The Australian Ballet also visited Kongorong Primary school, this was an unbelievable workshop and experience for our students. The students were involved in the STEAMDANCE education program. This is an innovative and creative initiative to support student’s learning in science, technology, engineering and maths through the arts. The students met two elite ballet dancers, Jasmin and Alex. The students were put through their paces with a 20 minute vigorous warm up and learnt about posture and breathing techniques to assist in all sports. They explored body language through dance and movement, facial expressions and a variety of ballet positions and choreographed small dance routines. Jacob Gordon was selected to participate in the School Sport SA interstate 12 years and under track and field team to compete in Darwin. Jacob competed in the discus and shot put. Jacob came 8th in the final discus and threw a PB and came 10th for the shot put. This is an incredible achievement for Jacob competing at such a high level to achieve these outstanding results. We are so proud of you and congratulations. Kongorong Primary School & CPC continue to broaden their connection with the community through programs such as Cows Create Careers, Future Pathways, Lions’ Mad Minute, Natural Resources, History Society. Other highlights of the year have been Kongorong Primary School & CPC Sports day, District Sports Day, excursions, especially the one to the saleyards, Book Week, and SRC events. 2

With 2019 being my 10th year on Governing Council it feels the years are going quicker as there is so much happening and its scary that to think that we are now preparing for the end of yet another school year and the impending occasions such as Christmas and the summer holidays. Something I am sure is welcomed by all. This year the Governing Council has welcomed some new faces in Alisha Angelino, Tash Vickers, Sarah Lucas and Wendy Miller. I would like to thank them along with Brett Gordon and Nicky Cordy for their time and effort. Thanks also must go to Mrs Hunt and Mrs Telford for all the preparation leading into each meeting. As always, we would welcome some more fresh faces in our Governing Council and with only 2 meetings each term isn’t a big commitment but is very rewarding in being able to get a greater understanding of how the school operates and having input into a variety of different topics. An exciting new initiative for Governing Council in 2019 was the welcome addition of guest speakers at each meeting. We got to hear regular school updates from School Captains in Bryce VonStanke-Dowie and Kyla Gordon, classroom updates and workings from Mrs Galloway, Miss Clarke, Mrs Jordan and Ms Facey. We were also lucky enough to welcome local, state and federal members for parliament into the meetings with visits from Mr Tony Pasin Federal member for Barker, Mr Troy Bell member for Mount Gambier, Mr Barry Kuhl Councillor for District Council of Grant and Adam Box Education Director. To be able to hear firsthand on different programs, developments and projects along with members of our Governing Council being able to speak candidly with them on different topics was very rewarding. I would like to thank each and everyone for taking the time to visit our school and meet with the Governing Council. 2019 saw our Year 6’s and 7’s head off to Canberra. From all reports it was an amazing trip with Mrs Hunt & Mrs Galloway singing the praises of how well our students behaved on the trip. I am sure it will not be forgotten by the students for a very long time. Once again, a huge effort by all who played a role in fundraising for the trip. Thank you to all who worked tirelessly to make this happen. Another busy year for the staffing team as they all undertook countless training and development days to ensure they are providing the best outcome for our students. I know Mrs Hunt works tirelessly to ensure the students are receiving every opportunity to achieve the best outcomes. This comes both in the classroom and extracurricular activities. This would be in sports days, farm tours, Cows Create Careers, netball carnival, tennis carnival the list is endless. The effort by the entire team doesn’t go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated by both students and families alike.

Sadly, this year we will farewell a couple of families that have been at Kongorong PS & CPC for many years. This will be the last year at the school for the Bisnov’s, Smith’s with both Jaxon, Crystal off to high school next year and after a short time at the school the Cordell’s with Zac off to high school as well. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all families all the best for the future. It is also time to bid farewell to our year 7’s who are heading off to High School next year. Bryce VS-D, Crystal Smith, Jaxon Bisnov, Kyla Gordon and Zac Cordell. I would like to wish these students all the best for their future schooling. After what I know has been an overly successful year, congratulations has to go to Mrs Hunt, Mrs Galloway, Miss Clark, Mrs Jordan, Ms Facey and the entire team at Kongorong Primary & CPC for all the hard work and enjoyment they bring to the school. With the sun setting on 2019, it is once again my pleasure to wish all families a happy, safe and enjoyable Christmas, plenty of fun in the sun over summer and I look forward to welcoming all the old and new students to Kongorong in 2020. 3

Our improvement priority for 2019: "For children to demonstrate increased learning progress in literacy and numeracy." The challenge of practice is if we develop high quality intentional interactions between educator/child using playful pedagogies then we will see children demonstrate learning progress in literacy progress in literacy and numeracy. During a self review process with staff, it was evident what we achieved and improved upon throughout 2019 and this gives a brief outline. QUALITY AREA 1: EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND PRACTICE At Kongorong Preschool we strive to deliver a high quality preschool program that supports children’s creative and critical thinking so they become powerful, resilient and connected learners. Our play based educational program is inclusive and varied, responding to and extending children’s strengths, ideas and interests. Children are also extended by staff’s professional knowledge through their professional development and readings, community interests, current practices and pedagogy. The Early Years Learning Framework, Belong, Being and Becoming underpin our work where the practices and principles are delivered through our daily preschool program. Our daily routines assist children to transition into the preschool day safely and provide them with opportunities for teacher lead group activities and uninterrupted play time. The preschool routines established for children are mat time, fruit and lunch eating, cleaning up, motor skills, library visits and the 5 l’s, which provide them with opportunities to make independent decisions about their learning. Children are able to access food and drink as required, have extended periods of uninterrupted play, small group experiences, solitary play, moving through and around the environments, confidently and safely. The daily routine is flexible to allow staff and children to alter the program due to engagement and interest levels and through children communicating their ideas. The daily routine is reflected upon termly so it can be adjusted to cater for the needs of individual children. An essential element of our preschool is to communicate with families about the program and children’s learning to establish a positive partnership between families and preschool. Before beginning preschool families are taken on a tour with the leader and school captains. The families then receive an information pack. Once children are enrolled the families go through the paperwork with the leader and have an opportunity to ask questions about the preschool program. This is the beginning of developing an ongoing and positive relationship with families who access the preschool. We encourage all our families to participate in playgroup and due to small numbers we offer a number of come and play sessions as part of the transition process. 4

Priority 1: Improve Student Outcomes in Mathematics - Continue to implement the Big Ideas in Number by Di Siemon. - Provide PAT-M Maths Assessments to our data schedule to provide a more intensive diagnostic maths assessment. - Focus on developing rich assessment tasks to inform teaching and learning programs. - Implement learning sprints into teacher pedagogy.

Achievements: - Staff to use Simon Breakspear's learning sprints resources and tools to assist students increase learning outcomes - The PAT-M Assessment was purchased and added to the data schedule to provide additional mathematics information that is standardised. Standardised assessments provide useful information about student progress as small cohorts of students can lead to a false impression of student achievement levels. Recommendations: - Use Pat-Maths and NAPLAN data to identify students at risk in developing mathematics. - Develop a whole school Numeracy Agreement. - To implement Too Smart and Quick Smart for students to improve and meet the National Standards. - Implement structured processes for collaborative planning, moderation of assessment tasks and feedback for teachers on effectiveness of mathematics teaching.

Priority 2: Improve Student Outcomes in Literacy Strategies: - Continue Minilit as a targeted intervention program for Junior Primary children who are not developing early literacy skills at the expected rate. - Focus on developing rich assessment tasks to inform teaching and learning programs. - Focus on using TfElL as a lens to ensure rich pedagogy in classes and high engagement levels of students. Achievements: - The Minilit program was continued during 2019 with a group of three year 1 children who were identified as not progressing with their reading and writing development as expected. All children made significant progress with their reading and writing. The children involved all had increased confidence and competence in their writing development, are now writing independently and able to talk about sound digraphs and blends and their chunking process as they phonetically break down words. - Staff have embedded the Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar Program. Students responded positively to this program by increasing their literacy skills. Recommendations: - Continue to use Jolly Phonics/Jolly Grammar programs in Reception to Year 4 as a planned and structured approach to improve student results in Spelling. - Implement the Sound Wave Program for Years 4 - 7. - Collaboratively create a Whole School Literacy Agreement - Plan for the school-wide implementation and focus on common identified text genres during 2018. Include genre text, language and grammatical features in staff meeting professional learning. Include cross-school moderation of work samples against the achievement samples in staff meeting schedules. - Continue to implement Minilit for students in Year 1 and 2 not reaching Limestone Coast Reading standards. - Continue to implement Multilit for primary students not reaching Limestone Coast Reading Standards. - Provide resourcing and a structured approach for all staff to be involved in targeted observation (using the TfEL observation tool) collaborative planning, moderation of work samples and development of assessment tasks against achievement standards. 5 6 7

As a school that often has fewer than 20 students eligible to sit NAPLAN in each year level, small changes in the number of our students Improvement Planning Outcomes can cause large changes in the percentages shown in the previous graphs. This makes it more difficult to use those percentages to draw reliable conclusions about changes in performance from year to year.

Running Records In term 3, the Year 1 students were reading between levels 3 to 17. We have a higher proportion of students reading at levels 4-12 when compared to the State Distribution. There was 1 year 1 Kongorong students reading at a level lower than 6 in Term 3. These students are supported by the Minilit program and are continuing to develop their reading progress with this support.

In term 3, all Year 2 students were reading between levels 12 and 25. There were 2 year 2 students reading below the State Distribution. The one student has completed the literacy intervention programs and the other student has a NEP.

In Terms 3 and 4 we had a whole site focus on daily reading, with students reading daily to teachers and parents.

Pat Pat - R and Pat - M data collected in 2019 was used to identify students at risk in developing mathematical and literacy proficiencies. Mini-Lit , Multi-Lit, Spell-It programs, Sound waves, Too Smart and Quicksmart continue to assist these students. 8

In 2019 Kongorong Primary School continued to focus on attendance, the target was 95% of students attending school on a regular basis in 2019. We achieved an overall attendance rate of 93.5% increasing by 0.4%. To achieve this target we continue to collect daily the roll books, entered data on EDSAS, daily phone calls or text messages to follow up absences and recorded, a target board, graph and tally boards was displayed in front office and classes of daily absences and attendance, text messages were sent home if we had 100% attendance, articles and graphs about attendance were published in the newsletter, attendance data was shared at assemblies, letters of the sentence 100% attendance was collected by classes and data was shared termly with all stakeholders. The Year 1,4 and 6 student data was lower. The year attendance is affected by illness, family events and holidays. 9

6

During 2019,we are capped at 1:10. Due to the nature of the farming industries we have a lot of transient families, moving to where they can get work seeing a drop in numbers to our centre. Our enrolments for 2019 were children whose siblings attended Kongorong School Based Preschool and new families.

Our families send their children to the CPC on a regular basis throughout the year. We have had a focus on improving numbers at playgroup and offering a 3 year Old Program, due to numbers being low and irregular. Playgroup now runs fortnightly on an even week with 10-15 children attending in Terms 1 and 4, in Terms 2 and 3 we have 5 to 7 children attending, this is due to seasonal farming duties and colder weather. The 3 Year Old Program runs on a Monday and Wednesday for half a day and depending on enrolments a full day will be offered in Terms 3 and 4.

There were 3 threatened or perpetrated violence incidents, 8 Threatened, order, 7 threatened safety and well being , 6 consequences of Suspension recorded for 2019. The school works closely with families of students experiencing difficulty managing their behaviour to support their children to be successfully engaged in their learning at school. The staff continue being pro-active filling out DECD incident forms.

The school in 2019, continues to focus on restorative practices and implement individual behaviour plans that will be negotiated with parents. We have 2 behaviour plans in place.

The school continues to focus on well-being and growth mindset as an important foundation in learning. 10

Kongorong Primary School and CPC continue to work with families to support children's educational outcomes. Collaboratively we work with all stakeholders, surveying, discussing, meeting to decide on improvements and progression on the school. Parents strongly agree with the management and policies of the school and CPC. 11 12

Kongorong Primary School and CPC children continue to enrol on site. Kongorong Primary School feeds to Mount Gambier High School and Grant High School for their secondary education. The preschool children also feed to Area School and if families work in town they will occasionally feed to the Mount Gambier Preschools. The Preschool and Junior Primary class has developed a strong collaborative relationship, focussing on transition, the Child Protection Curriculum and continued learning.

The safety and well-being of our students at Kongorong Primary School and CPC is paramount. All teaching, ancillary staff and volunteers hold approved DCSI Criminal History Clearances. The site follows the DECD and internal processes to ensure these are up to date. We submit all facilities work through the Asset Support Centre and our Facilities Manager to ensure that all contractors engaged meet the relevant history screening requirements.

Parents who intend to participate in school activities during the year are encouraged to complete the DECD screening. 13

900.00 13734.54 10784.75

2196.00 udn o mrvdotoefrnmrc n ieaywsalctdt rfsinldevelopment professional to allocated for was texts literacy professional cycle. and of planning numeracy purchasing site's for development, the outcome and of improved training elements for of on Funding attendance work the to including teachers staff, for for days release additional and staff, for support additional did implement however to children Services 3 Support with Integrated identified DECD was by Speech supported is site program. The support preschool the under children requirements. DECD meet not