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All children to be fully conversant in the English Language Children to be able to understand and speak good English Children to be able to write good English creatively
Children to develop a
LOVE for reading through developing
individual reading
Teachers to promote
school – based enquiry into the most
effective teaching
Children to
become as autonomous as possible through Students are learning efficiently in a secure and happy atmosphere
Students are eager to
participate in activities carried out at
school, home and Students enjoy meeting new people and making new friends Students are gradually becoming more autonomous Parents are happy and feel participants in their children’s learning process Staff gets fulfilment
Students from the main
stream integrate with those fromSpecial Unit “Helen
Formative
Assessment : To help give a holistic picture of the
Parents are more informed on child’s progress and feel partners
in their Students feel more motivated and owners of their portfolios Exam / Test bias and unhealthy competition is considerably reduced
All students work is
recognised and assessed (Portfolios).
On-going feedback
Teachers are always
assessing their instructional practice to
make their
Ensuring the
smooth running of the school so as to provide On-site staff development for ALL teachers To ensure discipline, parental information and communication To get to know as many pupils as possible Resources regularly used Monitoring of classes Providing innovative and challenging teaching Teaching sessions by Head of School Teachers on-site professional development Ensuring discipline, parental information and communication
Teachers to feel valued as individuals Innovative and challenging teaching Staff working together as a team
Staff learning with
each other; from each other; on behalf of
each other Working smarter together rather than harder alone
To see relevance
in life to what is being taught through a rich Pupils see relevance of what is being taught Subjects are fully integrated so as to provide a holistic education ICT fully used as a tool for Global Educational Partnership Internet put to good use
To utilise the skills and
expertise of the staff by means of a system of The professional development of all members of the staff is ensured Staff feels accountable for responsibilities delegated to them Staff work together as a network Staff work together as teacher-researchers
To develop an understanding of
the school as an institution
School to work towards Global Partnership - Comenius
Partnership (3rd year),
Parents to take part in
the life of the school. Parents informed
through
Utilisation of the
school for the benefit of the local community
(Ganutel and
To
establish a favourable working environment reflecting the
The school environment
ought to reflect the ethos and the philosophy of the General layout ought to provide a hint as to what comes next Children and staff feel happy on coming to school
Diamond 9 – Networking Activity. Nine
ways to build into the way Establishing a positive climate Putting people at the centre and not neglecting emotions Listening, especially to students Cultivating development – friendly norms Challenging low expectations as part of our learning vision
Becoming learning
experts: modelling, promoting and supporting professional
Broadening leadership.
Promoting collective responsibility: developing a Seeking connectedness Giving inquiry and reflection pride of place The Levels of Learning Activity – A Networking Activity Pupils need to work more with teachers to generate ideas about improving lessons Staff in our schools need to visit more often other schools in our network Staff in our school need to identify more excellent practice in other schools in our network Staff in our school need to work more with other schools in our network so as, as a result be able to teach differentely Changes in our school need to benefit more other schools in our network
(National College for
School Leadership)
1. Establish a positive climate Develop trust and openness, celebrate successes and use humour positively.
2. Put people at the centre: don’t neglect emotions Change is an intensely personal experience and leaders need to communicate to people they are aware of their abilities, worth and responsibilities. Leaders need to take these into account when managing change.
3. Listen, especially to students Students’ voices have an essential role to play within the process of improving a school because it is the improvement of their learning which is the ultimate aim.
4. Cultivate development – friendly norms Change the culture of the school so that there is commitment to values such as continuous improvement, life long learning and risk taking.
5. Challenge low expectations as part of your learning vision This learning vision must be focused on learning at all levels: students, teachers and the school as an organisation. It needs to be made clear to all that everyone can and must learn.
6. Become learning experts: model promote and support professional learning and change structures when necessary Provide a range of opportunities for teachers to become more expert in student learning and to share the responsibility for organising learning experiences and adapt timetables, create new policies, amend roles and responsibilities to help facilitate and co-ordinate the improvement process.
7. Broaden leadership and promote collective responsibility: develop school-based professional community Co-ordinating and sustaining change requires a broad range of individuals to take on leadership roles. Others in the school need to be empowered to lead. This means developing a sense of responsibility and accountability for change and improvement amongst everyone in the school.
8. Seek connectedness There is a need to develop a widespread understanding of the school as a dynamic whole in which no one action or intervention is discreet.
9. Give inquiry and reflection pride of place It is vital that a school evaluates what they
value and generate their own knowledge of how to develop what is
worthwhile.
PRIORITIES 2005/2006
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SCHOOL AUDIT 2005
A. Priorities 2004/05Introduction of big books in years 1 – 3. Emphasis on English The Oxford Reading Tree Big Books have been successfully introduced in Years 1 to 3 with the help of the NCC. Books are being well made use of by the three classes concerned. Books are also being used by the Kinder classes for story-telling purposes. Our emphasis on the use L2 has proved successful. Most pupils have improved their standards of English and are no longer afraid to speak in L2. Notable improvement by pupils in Year 1.
Consolidation of Story-Making strand in Year 4. Introduction of story-making in Year 3. Story-making has been successfully implemented in both years 3 and 4. Year 4 have been involved in a lot of journaling and creative writing activities. The three stages involved in story-making viz imitation, innovation and invention have been successfully tackled. Story-making was dramatized. Outcomes were produced on a DVD which was launched during the “Excel” National Conference held here in Malta. A number of teachers, parents and Heads of School have been interviewed with respect to the project. Networking Project/Comenius Project to be emphasised Both projects were successfully tackled. The Networking Project was a huge success as can be seen from the outcomes i.c.w. the National Conference. The Comenius Project is coming to its end. We had foreign visitors at school. The culmination of the project is the production of “The Canine Kalevala”, a famous Finnish epic for the forthcoming Prize Day.
IEP formulation/monitoring of special educational needs programmes. Case conferences. All pupils with special needs have had IEPs produced for implementation. Discussions with parents proved very useful. We still have not found a way out of the problem existing when a facilitator is absent and consequently some special need pupils have to be sent home. Unfortunately nobody seems to be able to help, not even the Division. Solutions still seem out of sight! A considerable number of special need resources have been produced. Complementary teacher is working collegially with class teachers in helping academically low achievers.
Emphasis on science/PE. Full use of resources. Resources are being made good use of. A resource room has been put up. Resource register proved a good idea and is being used successfully. However, I am still not pleased with the emphasis on science and physical education. Science ought to involve hands-on activities and group work. Physical education is a right of the child but unfortunately is not being made use as often as one wishes. Most of the time class teachers wait for the lessons produced by our PE teacher. This may be a result of constraint of time. A solution has to be found. ICT. Consolidation as a tool across the curriculum. More emphasis has to be made with respect to the above consolidation. ICT was very successfully used in some classes but unfortunately not so in others. Teachers have voluntarily applied for ICT courses in order to train themselves professionally. Good use was made of the internet in some classes. The “Excel” site provided a sound opportunity for our networking link teacher. Our new eTwinning venture ought to help in spreading the use of ICT across all the other classes. Next year we will be having a one-to-one peripatetic ICT teacher assigned to school for a particular period.
Emphasis on discipline and behaviour at school No particular problems exist in this regard . All teachers have a School Discipline Policy. Pupils have been given an abridged version of it. However, all pupils must be made well aware of its contents. Punishments have decreased considerably except in one particular class.
Building of teaching resources Teaching resources have been increased considerably and are being well used throughout the school. The furnishing of a resource room for the purpose has proved very successful.
B. Diamond-9. Nine things to build into the way we work at school. This is a Networking initiative and is being successfully implemented at school. The following nine things have been chosen by the staff after a Professional Staff Development session held at school: Establish a positive climate Put people at the centre: do not neglect emotions Listen, especially to pupils Cultivate development-friendly norms Challenge low expectations as part of your learning vision Become learning experts: model , promote and support professional learning and change structures when necessary Broaden leadership and promote collective responsibility: develop a school-based professional community Seek connectedness Give enquiry and reflection pride of place
C. The levels of learning activity – a networking activity In a networked learning community the six levels of learning are used to frame activity within a network. The six levels are: Pupil Learning Adult learning Leadership learning School-wide learning School-to-school learning Network-to-network learning After the audit workshops the staff came out with these five needs:
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DIAMOND 9