Staff members at St John’s are committed to achieving excellence in teaching and
learning. All our staff undertake regular professional development to keep abreast of
current educational trends including the implementation of the Australian Curriculum.
Our targeted professional development in data literacy has attained exceptional student improvement to date and promises to further promote St John’s as a school of academic achievement. All teaching and support staff work to ensure that we have a collaborative approach to teaching, learning and assessment that is up-front and explicit.
Programs are created with the understanding that children develop and learn differently and with an awareness of multiple intelligence and different learning styles.
The curriculum taught at St John’s School encompasses all Learning Areas (LAs), with an emphasis placed on English, Mathematics and Religious Education. Other LAs include Science, Studies of Society and the
Environment (SOSE), Health and Physical Education (HPE), The Arts (Music, Art, Drama), Technology, Language Other Than English (LOTE) – Chinese (Senior Students).
Curriculum initiatives include Social and Emotional Learning, Information Communication and Technology, Speech and Drama, and Music Tuition.
Private music tuition for piano and keyboard with a qualified teacher is offered during school hours. Speech and Drama is taught by an experienced and qualified teacher to all students from Prep to Year 6 in preparation for eisteddfod work. Private tuition is also available.
At St John’s, we value Sport and Health education and are affiliated with the Southern Cluster District Sports Zone. Students have school, interschool and representative sporting opportunities in a variety of team and individual sports which include: Soccer/Netball, Softball/T-Ball, Athletics, Cross Country, Kanga Cricket, Swimming, Tennis, Touch Football and Rugby League. Students also participate in our school-based Health & PE program.
My daughter has blossomed socially, academically and emotionally in St John’s small class cohorts. I love teaching here because as a small school, teachers and students have wonderful opportunities to engage in teaching and learning experiences that are unique. Our teachers tailor lessons to suit the specific needs of our students and ensure that all children reach their full potential. Our teachers place high importance on assessment to inform their subsequent planning. The analysis of NAPLAN results informs our whole school curriculum focus.
The generous amount of professional development staff receive at St John’s enables me to remain up-to-date and well prepared to teach students the required content of the Australian Curriculum, utilising our wonderful ICT resources.
Mrs Debbie Daly
Parent, class teacher and curriculum support teacher
Homework
At St John’s School, we believe that homework is a worthwhile educational activity. Homework is given to help consolidate, reinforce and revise student’s skills, knowledge and understanding of class work. Home study does not consist of written work only. Spelling, basic facts are a regular revision task given to all primary students for homework.
Reading each night is essential for students from Prep to Year 6.
It is suggested that parents provide a suitable area at home (away from distractions such as TV, computer games, radio, etc) and allocate time for homework. Parents are requested to oversee homework tasks, and are encouraged to assist where possible. Homework is however, the responsibility of students and needs to be returned to school on the due date.
Consequences for incomplete, unsubmitted or untidy homework are implemented by classroom teachers. If parents have any questions regarding a child’s homework, please make contact with the class teacher as soon as possible either by phone or in writing.
The school is committed to a variety of assessment and reporting procedures that demonstrate student achievement and success at their respective level of development.
Assessment and Reporting
Parent Meetings
At the start of each school year Parent Information meetings are held by classroom teachers to outline class routines, practices and curriculum focus areas. Additional parent meetings are conducted from time to time. Preschool parents are encouraged to make weekly contact with their child’s teacher. The regular involvement of parents with their child’s preschool year will provide continuous information about their child’s progress and development.
Three Way Conferences
Both term one and three culminate in a Three Way Conference in which student, parent and teacher celebrate aspects of the students learning journey and set goals for the following term or semester. Student portfolios consisting of work samples, annotations and evaluations are presented to parents at the Three Way Conference at the end of term three.
Written Reports
St John’s also publishes a student report card at the completion of both semester one and two. Reports include a standardized scale of A-E.
These varied forms of reporting provide parents with a detailed account of a students’ overall achievement across all aspects of school life.
Formal Government Testing
St John’s participates in the following Government tests:
- Year 2 Diagnostic Net
- Year 3 and Year 5 National Literacy and Numeracy Test (NAPLAN)
- Year 4 and 6 QCATs (Queensland Comparable Assessment Tasks)
These Government Tests support teachers’ assessment practices and help achieve the best outcomes for the students.
Results
School Reporting
Each year we gather data and feedback from the students, staff and parents about their level of satisfaction with the school. A full report can be viewed at the Catholic Education Website website and this is a summary from that full report.
Parent Satisfaction
Overall parents indicated satisfaction with most aspects of the school. 100% of them strongly agreed that there was a high level of commitment and enthusiasm displayed by the teachers.
Staff Satisfaction
Staff agree that St John’s is a school which is a place of learning in a Christian environment. The Religious Education Program is values based and meets student needs. Staff agree that there is a consistent approach to Behaviour Management.
Student Satisfaction
Students strongly agreed that their teachers care about them and help them with their work. Students at St John’s feel safe and believe that they are treated fairly.
Principal Annual Report to the Community
Each year an annual report is prepared for the community with a summary of the major highlights and achievements. For the latest report click here.
