St James Catholic College
Sacred Heart Catholic School
Local Activity Plan – Investing in Focus Schools Project
Priorities
- Engagement and Connections of Students
- Attendance
- Literacy & Numeracy
- Partnerships with Families and Communities
1. Engagement and Connections of Students
Aim:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will be engaged in and benefiting from their schooling experience.
Targets:
- Increased number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students involved in personalised learning.
Activities & Strategies:
- develop personalised learning strategies for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
- continued focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Priority in the Australian Curriculum
- build on current work on explicitly valuing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and cultures
- develop a plan to facilitate smooth transition into senior secondary from St James to Guilford Young College through a shared culture of understanding of the needs of Aboriginal students and of best practice in Aboriginal Education.
- employ Dare to Lead to assist in the development of shared guidelines to underpin the schools; programs to address the Goals of the National Action Plan.
2. Attendance
Aim:
- To improve the attendance rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Targets:
- All compulsory school-aged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are enrolled. – I don’t think this is a realistic target
- Attendance rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are equivalent to non-Indigenous student attendance rates.
Activities and Strategies
- Provide appropriate support for ATSI children in the pre-Kindergarten Program.
- Continue to work in partnership with SETAC – the local Aboriginal Centre
- Promote the Catholic ethos and school offerings in the wider community
- Explore strategies to engage and support parents with their children’s learning.
- Ensure our curriculum and pedagogy is embedded with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural perspectives
3. Literacy and Numeracy
Aim:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ literacy and numeracy levels continue to improve.
Targets:
- reduce the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievement between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and non-Indigenous students;
- continue to improve results of ATSI students no matter where they are on the learning continuum;
Activities & Strategies
- employ a coach to work with all primary teams from St James and Sacred Heart. using the Co-Coaching model to work collaboratively with teaching staff within the teams, including one full day each term with secondary teachers;
- coach to work closely with the teams to lift the performance all students, particularly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students;
- coach would assist with planning, assessment, moderation and implementation of the curriculum;
- coach would visit classrooms regularly and provide support and feedback;
- use student data to inform and guide the teachers’ planning – NAPLAN, PAT Testing, PIPS, Numeracy growth points, etc..
- involve parents in the learning and teaching programs;
- build authentic networks between St James and Sacred Heart and the wider community;
- provide professional learning opportunities for staff that will continue to build their capacity as educators and leaders;
4. Partnerships with Families and Communities
Aim:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will be empowered through promotion of their identity, culture and Leadership in community partnerships.
Targets:
- Active school – community partnership agreements in place.
- involvement of Principals, leaders and staff in cultural and community activities will increase;
- authentic relationships with local Aboriginal community members will be developed;
Strategies and Activities:
- formation of Community Steering groups to guide the planning and implementation of the project. Included in the committee will be the nucleus of the Lagrah Mabbyle [working together] committee
- continued involvement between SETAC and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden project and the VET certificate I in Horticulture;
- participation in a ‘cultural experience’ on Bruny Island for ATSI students and their families;
- an Aboriginal (Artist, Author, Musician, etc) in residence program will be established;
- Aboriginal people in the school communities will be involved at all levels of educational decision-making.