2018 Bournda Environmental Education Centre Annual Report
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Bournda Environmental Education Centre Annual Report 2018 5679 Page 1 of 14 Bournda Environmental Education Centre 5679 (2018) Printed on: 1 May, 2019 Introduction The Annual Report for 2018 is provided to the community of Bournda Environmental Education Centre (BEEC) as an account of the school's operations and achievements throughout the year. It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities for all students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self–assessment that reflect the impact of key school strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equity funding. Doug Reckord Principal School contact details Bournda Environmental Education Centre Bournda National Park Kalaru, 2550 www.bournda-e.schools.nsw.edu.au [email protected] 6494 5009 Message from the Principal The great satisfaction that our staff derive from their important work has contributed to very few changes in permanent and part–time staff during the 42–year history of the BEEC. In July 2018, after a recruitment process that commenced after Jan Lynch's retirement, Rose Constable was appointed as the BEEC School Administrative Manager (SAM). Rose had been relieving in the position during the transition to SAP Finance and SAP HR and demonstrated leadership in taking on those challenges as a vital member of the BEEC team. One of the key events for BEEC was completion of the external validation process, an important component of a system–wide approach to school excellence. Schools regularly self–assess their improvement efforts using evidence to support their reflections and an external validation panel considers the school's evidence, providing assurance to the school and the system that the process, being made either through the school plan or as part of their ongoing school focus areas, aligns with the standards articulated in the School Excellence Framework. It was very rewarding to see the positive reaction of the expert panel to our evidence and the BEEC staff are proud of the achievements of our centre to support student learning outcomes and wellbeing. In the Executive Summary of our External Validation evidence I wrote: "It is useful to think of Principals of our client schools as our parents and their students as their kids. Do they want their kids to come to our school? The evidence says yes. Do they want their kids to experience our programs, resources and expert teaching? The evidence says yes. Does our school community see us as excellent and responsive with a culture of best practice and high expectations? The evidence says yes. The recognition given to use by school leaders is our greatest source of satisfaction that we are having a positive impact on schools throughout our region. We stand alongside our school colleagues and take great pride in knowing that that they see us making an important contribution to student learning and wellbeing." Message from the school community Student, teacher and principal feedback provides a strong message from our school community. Student comments "The peer support camp at the end of the year was an amazing trip. We spent three days, two nights at Bournda with all the other small schools in the area like Tanja, Candelo, Cobargo and Quamma. Thanks to the camp, I now have an extended range of friends in high school. Some of the activities we took part in were sailing, kayaking and team work building exercises." Page 2 of 14 Bournda Environmental Education Centre 5679 (2018) Printed on: 1 May, 2019 Teacher comments "An invaluable experience for our students." "The students and I loved the day, always a pleasure to come to Bournda, we are so lucky to have such a great resource so close. Thank you!!" "The Bournda EEC staff member was very knowledgeable and great with the students. His explanation and demonstration were great and pitched at the right level for the students." "Always a perfect camp. Love bringing the class to you" "As usual the Bournda staff complement beautifully the school program. Outdoor learning is so important and to have "experts" assist classroom teachers to ensure the students get the most out of the experience is so important." "Many thanks, teachers and students loved it and have booked in for next year already." Principals' comments in their School Plans and Annual School Reports. "The school has a very strong environmental focus and as such is part of the sustainable school's network and has strong links with the Bournda Environmental Education Centre (BEEC)" "Through our continued partnership with the Bournda Environmental Education Centre our students have had the opportunity to engage with environmental science, visual arts and outdoor education programs." "Environmental Education: We continued to monitor our local river system in our Waterbug survey studies conducted in spring." Page 3 of 14 Bournda Environmental Education Centre 5679 (2018) Printed on: 1 May, 2019 School background School vision statement Bournda EEC Vision A highly skilled, vibrant and inclusive Environmental Education Centre, where students are actively engaged in meaningful and challenging learning experiences that build resilience, wellbeing and the capacity to lead rewarding lives as engaged citizens in a complex and dynamic society. NSW Department of Education Environmental and Zoo Education Centres' (EZEC) Vision Leading environmental education to empower learners for a sustainable future. School context Bournda EEC (BEEC) is a Department of Education (DoE) facility located within Bournda National Park, a superb natural setting ideally suited for the delivery of environmental education, sustainability and wellbeing programs across a range of key learning areas. We service a large catchment of K–12 schools across rural south–east NSW. Programs are also offered in schools and at other off–site locations as required. Overnight programs for students are offered, with camping available at the Hobart Beach Camping Ground and the Field Studies Hut. BEEC also delivers professional learning opportunities for teachers, assists schools with environmental audits and provides teaching resources to support student fieldwork activities. BEEC has developed many partnerships to enhance curriculum opportunities for students in our rural communities and plays a key role in the Sapphire Coast Regional Science Hub and Sustainability Education Network. BEEC works with local Aboriginal communities to provide support for schools in the delivery of Aboriginal education. Page 4 of 14 Bournda Environmental Education Centre 5679 (2018) Printed on: 1 May, 2019 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, school achievements and the next steps to be pursued. This year, our school undertook self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework and participated in an external validation. The framework supports public schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading. During the external validation process, an independent panel of peer principals considered our evidence and assessment of the school's progress, aligned with the standards articulated in the School Excellence Framework. The results of this process indicated: Learning – Delivering In the domain of Learning the school's self–assessment is consistent with the evidence presented and is validated using the School Excellence Framework. Teaching – Sustaining and Growing In the domain of Teaching the school's self–assessment is consistent with the evidence presented and is validated using the School Excellence Framework. Leading – Excelling In the domain of Leading the school's self–assessment is consistent with the evidence presented and is validated using the School Excellence Framework. Our self–assessment and the external validation process will assist the school to refine our school plan, leading to further improvements in the delivery of education to our students. For more information about the School Excellence Framework: https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching–and–learning/school–excellence–and–accountability/sef–evidence–guide Page 5 of 14 Bournda Environmental Education Centre 5679 (2018) Printed on: 1 May, 2019 Strategic Direction 1 Empowering students Purpose Every student participating in Bournda EEC programs will be actively engaged in meaningful and challenging learning experiences to achieve and thrive as learners, leaders and responsible citizens. Overall summary of progress BEEC continues to develop resources consistent with the "Digital Schools" model, working as a resource hub closely aligned with our client schools. The range of programs and teaching resources that have resulted from this learning and collaboration are being regularly added to our website. For the first time schools were provided with a comprehensive guide to the Centre's Creative and Talented programs that identified syllabus outcomes and links to STEM, literacy and numeracy, wellbeing, project based learning and community engagement. The program outline was developed in collaboration with Small School Principals and members of the Sapphire Coast Learning Community. Progress towards achieving improvement measures Improvement measures Funds Expended Progress