PO address

14 Gooburrum Rd Gooburrum 4670  

Phone

4159 9296

Fax

4159 9083  

Email

admin@gooburruss.eq.edu.au  

Website or Contact Person

www.gooburruss.eq.edu 

Introduction

This report provides information about Gooburrum State School, its community, student performance, staffing and curriculum offerings. It provides a snapshot of the school’s successes and challenges, as well as information about how the school is perceived within its community.

Future outlook

The school will be reduced to two classes in 2009 and a new teacher will be transferring in; so the aim of the school over the next twelve months will be to consolidate on our existing practices and examine strategies to improve the performances of individual students. Our curriculum plan is due to be completed by the end of 2009. It will need to be flexible by design in order to work successfully with two or three classes. We will be continuing our push into new areas of technology with the trial of an inter-active whiteboard in the upper school.

School Profile

Gooburrum State School is a co-educational facility which catered for the needs of 61 students from Prep to Year 7 in 2008.  It is situated at 14 Gooburrum Rd Gooburrum. We are within the boundaries of the Bundaberg Regional Council, and approximately 8km north of the Central Business District of Bundaberg.  It is situated amongst a rural backdrop of cane fields and a century old forestry plot.  The school services the rural-residential area of Gooburrum and Tantitha.  Our grounds cover a total area of approximately 8 hectares.  The school is served by Wide Bay North District Office situated in Bundaberg.

Curriculum offerings

Our distinctive curriculum offerings

An instrumental music program is offered in addition to the regular curriculum.

Extra curricula activities

Camping program

Choir

Project Club

Inter-School Sport

How computers are used to assist learning

We utilize computers within each of our classrooms in order for them to be seen as an everyday part of day to day schooling, and an integral part of the learning process. We have digital cameras, both still and video, as well as a data projector for classroom use. Funding has been set aside for the introduction of an inter-active whiteboard into the school in 2009.

Social climate

The school has a family feel, and all school functions are well supported. The school is very much a child centred environment. We rely upon families to help with working bees and P&C functions as well as in the classroom. Students run a project club which holds discos and raises funds for student activities. The school opinion survey highlighted that school-community relations have seen improvement over the last 12 months, and that 92% of parents feel their children are both happy and safe at our school.

Involving parents in their child’s education.

Gooburrum School welcomes parents into the life of the school. We celebrate special occasions together. Parents stay after drop off for school parades on a Monday and are involved in fund-raising and our once-a-week tuckshop. Parents are encouraged to participate in classroom programs, particularly in the lower school where the extra assistance is vital. Parents also play a vital role in helping with supervision during interschool sporting activities and on camps.

Expenditure on and teacher participation in professional development.

Total funds expended on teacher professional development in 2008 was $923.91. 

The major professional development initiatives are as follows: Literacy training; Information and communication technologies training; and Leadership

The involvement of teaching staff in professional development activities during 2008 was 90 %.

Average staff attendance

For permanent and temporary staff and school leaders the staff attendance rate was 95% in 2008.

Proportion of staff retained from the previous school year.

From the end of the 2007 school year, 54 % of staff were retained by the school for the entire 2008 school year.

Student attendance

The average attendance rate as a percentage in 2008 was 94%. 

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.

Domain

Measures

Yr 3

Yr 5

Yr 7

Reading

Average score for the school

304.4

433.1

520.4

Average score for Queensland

371.1

466.1

528.1

For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.

2008

70 %

80 %

100 %

Writing

Average score for the school

376.2

439.5

482.1

Average score for Queensland

391.8

468.9

522.7

For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.

2008

87.5 %

80 %

90 %

Spelling

Average score for the school

312.6

413

498.5

Average score for Queensland

366.7

462.0

528.0

For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.

2008

70 %

66.7 %

80 %

Grammar and Punctuation

Average score for the school

289.1

419.6

499.2

Average score for Queensland

370.4

476.6

518.0

For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.

2008

60 %

83.3 %

100 %

Numeracy

Average score for the school

307.4

432.3

540.8

Average score for Queensland

367.9

458.2

539.0

For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.

2008

77.8 %

75 %

100 %

Results in the Year 2 Diagnostic Net

Percentage of students not requiring additional support 

Reading

75%

Writing

75%

Number

100%

Value added

In the second semester of 2008 the school utilised an available staffing allocation to employ an intervention teacher on the basis of one day per week. This time was used in a number of ways. It was used to;

-          identify specific skill deficiencies in the targeted student population,

-          plan intervention programs,

-          manage and coordinate a teacher aide intervention service.

-          provide students with intervention,

-          track improvements in student performance.

Parent, student and teacher satisfaction with the school

As part of our goal of continuous improvement, parents, students and teachers are surveyed annually in order to determine their level of satisfaction with the school’s operations and performance. In 2008;

Our parent opinion survey indicated that parents were more satisfied than last year in the following areas;

-          Curriculum

-          School climate

-          School-community relations and

-          Resourcing

Our student survey demonstrated improvement in satisfaction ratings relating to;

the way they use computer technology for learning,

with how easy it is to access the internet for learning and,

how well their teacher explained work clearly

Staff satisfaction improved across the performance areas of;

-          Physical work environment

-          Relationships

-          School operations

-          Work roles

-          Work value and recognition