2011– 2012

Doctrina Fons Omnium Bonorum

It-Tagħlim Huwa l-Għajn ta’ Kull Ġid

Marsa Primary - Lorenzo Balbi Street

Marsa, MRS 1813

Tel/Fax: 21231832

Email:

Website:

Our school shall strive

To provide a secure and structured environment which promotes positive attitudes towards learning in the parents as well as in the students to ensure the acquisition of knowledge by every child

To meet the educational requirements of the National Minimum Curriculum at a level appropriate to the needs of every student so that each student works to the best of his/her ability

To create a school identity (a) by setting high expectations for attainment and behaviour by the students and (b) by the involvement of the parents

General Aims

The school aims to provide an environment wherein teaching and learning can best take place. Also in this environment parents can work together with the school in its efforts to help students learn to the best of their ability. In its efforts to create the right environment for teaching and learning, the school shall keep in full view the educational requirements of the National Minimum Curriculum and shall see that the levels of attainment are appropriate to the needs of every student.

Finally, the school aims to create its own identity through the setting, on one hand, of high expectations for the students’ attainment and behaviour, and on the other, by seeking means and ways of involving parents in the learning and teaching process that takes place at school.

General Information and Premises

MarsaPrimary School forms part of Saint George Preca College which comprises thirteen schools in all, mostly situated in the Inner Harbour Area of Malta. The College is made up of the primary schools of Valletta, Floriana, Marsa, Pieta`, Hamrun GP, Hamrun SS, Paola A and Paola B. Also forming part of the College are Hamrun Junior Lyceum for boys, Marsa Secondary Boys, Floriana Secondary Boys, Hamrun Girls Secondary (better known as Maria Assumpta Girls’ Secondary) and Guardian Angel Special School, Hamrun.

1

Saint George Preca College Marsa Primary – School Development Plan 2011/2012

The school was built in 1924, with some later additions, including the second floor. It has two main entrances, for originally it was meant to house two schools for boys and girls respectively. At present Marsa Primary occupies the ground and first floor. A lift was installed some years ago to facilitate access to the two upper floors.

Five rooms on the right wing on the ground floor (upper side of the road) have been earmarked to house a Child Care Centre to be administered by the Foundation for Educational Services. These rooms formerly housed the Kindergarten classes.

At the back of the building there is a relatively large open air playing area. As far as other amenities are concerned, there are the school library, a multi-sensory room, a small hall consisting of two joined classes, a multi-purpose room (mostly used for art lessons and class cooking), a PE equipment store, an indoor play area for the kinder classes, a bookstore and a printing room. The main office is found on the ground floor together with a smaller office used for School Council meetings, IEP sessions, counselling and similar uses as the need arises. It functions as a multi-purpose small room.

Pupils’ Profile

At present the school (from kinder to Year 6) has a population of 180 students and 12 classes. The ground floor accommodates the kindergarten classes and Years 1, 2 and 3. The first floor is occupied by Years 4, 5 and 6. Up to twelve years ago these two groupings made up School A and School B respectively.

The catchment area of Marsa Primary consists mostly of the lower classes of the town. Almost all students come from the poorer families with very low incomebecause of poorly paid jobsor because of dependence on state social assistance. Besides, there are a big number of families that have social problems (in addition to poverty) often associated with single-parent families, broken families and so on. As a rule most parents are quite willing to help their children in their educational needs, especially homework, but feel unable to do so because they are illiterate. Unfortunately, illiteracy is unbelievably widespread among parents and also students. On the other hand, in most instances parents seek to co-operate with the school as far as possible.

The school’s main challenges and its positive aspects

No doubt one of the school’s main challenges is the ever increasing number of students with a statement of needs. Another challenge is the problem of unruly behaviour by a few students. A third challenge is the continuous decline in the school population. Ironically, the number of statemented students increases, while the student population declines. Moreover, this decline brings down the academic level of the school cohort as a whole.

As a rule the teaching staff is a very committed one. Great efforts are made to teach in an atmosphere and environment that at best are very difficult and at worst can be literally hostile. The auxiliary staff is also very helpful. Genuine efforts are made to keep the physical environment as good looking and welcoming as possible. The place is well kept. Although the school is situated in an area loaded heavily with traffic, the premises present themselves quite friendly, clean and lively to visitors.

The school ethos

In spite of many odds, the school can pride itself of having quite a number of positive aspects. There has always been a School Council since the inception of School Councils in the late 80s. It works on a regular basis to organize activities such asthosecommonly associated with fund raising and also those of an educational nature, mostly talks for parents. These last two years the school has also had a Students’ Council.

The school prides itself in the publication of a magazine. It is published three times a year and it is in its nineteenth issue. All students and staff get their free copy. Every year the school organizes several extracurricular activities. At the end of the first term, all classes participate in the Christmas Concert. Then a smaller number of classes participate in the Prize Day Programme to which all students and parents are invited. Through the year students attend monthly for the celebration of Holy Mass. On the occasion of the feast of Saint Martin (mid November) all students are given what is known as “borża ta’ San Martin”. About five outings are organized for each respective class (including kindergarten classes). Besides, sports days on a school basis are organized every term. These are complemented by well-assorted PE equipment.

On the whole, meetings and talks for parents organized by the School Council are very well attended. So are the social and educational activities that take place outside the school premises.

Report on S.D.P for 2010 ~ 2011

In order to increase the involvement and participation of the teaching staff in the formulation of the School Development Plan for the coming year, the school administration asked them to make suggestions as to what questions were to feature in the usual audit exercise held in the form of a questionnaire. Each member was handed two sheets containing each of the Development Priorities for the current year with space to be filled with questions of their choice. The response was quite encouraging. Most of the suggested questions were incorporated in the questionnaire that was handed out during the session of Wednesday, 06th April, 2011. Copy of questionnaire may be viewed in Appendix I

Report on S.D.P for 2010 ~ 2011
Priority Area / Target / Review of Progress
Curriculum / a)Literacy Programme
b)Reading approach / a)There is need for more reading material especially (1) in class libraries and (2) for the below average. More CDs and DVDs are needed to improve listening comprehension together with rewards in theform of books. Expert help has to continue to be sought. More involvement by the parents is a must.
b)More progress could have been achieved were it not for the unfortunate absence (for reasons beyond her control) of help from a member of the peripatetic staff. Initiatives at the beginning of the year were not continued, such as, shared and guided reading, acquisition of suitable guided readers and meetings for parents.
Report on S.D.P for 2010 ~ 2011
Priority Area / Target / Review of Progress
School Ethos / a) Healthy living / A healthy living policy was not introduced for the entire school, but teachers were encouraged to adopt healthy living measures in class. More sports activities were organized for the whole school, even for the kinder. The consumption of fruit and vegetables was continually encouraged through the School Fruit Scheme weekly deliveries of fresh food and other activities. The Year 6 classes won the competition for the best School Kitchen Garden. Prohibition of consumption of junk food at school has continued. Not enough preparation of healthy food in class was done, mostly due to time pressures. Consumption of flavoured milk still prevailed over that of white milk.
S.D.P Priorities ~ Overview
Priority / Comments
1 / Curriculum
a) Literacy programme
b) Reading approach / a)Literacy is continually felt to be of utmost importance in our education. The work and effort that have gone into the implementation of our plans of action over a number of years will continue during this year as well to achieve the desired results. More resources will be devoted to increase the number of children who read more, especially with the investment in many more new reading books in English and also Maltese.
b)An important aspect of the literacy programme is the way students approach reading. More needs to be done at school level to induce more students to start reading or to increase the amount they spend on reading. Special importance is to be given to the role of parents in the reading patterns of their children.
2 / School Ethos
a) Healthy eating and living
b) Discipline / a)There is an increasing need for educators to impart more knowledge regarding healthy eating and living. Although teachers on the whole are mindful of the eating and living styles of children under their care, special importance is to be given this year to healthy eating patterns and habits in class, at home and in other places outside school hours. Students need to know more about the effects that their diet and life style have on their lives. The knowledge and practice that they get at school should help them to influence what they eat and how they live to offset the general tendency to over-eat and to lead a sedentary life watching TV or sitting in front of a computer.
b)Still to fill in details about discipline….
S.D.P. Priorities 2011~ 2012 Action Plan

Development Priority No 1a: Curriculum ~ Literacy programme

Objectives: To provide all possible opportunities for the successful implementation of the Literacy Programme

making full use of the reading material made available in the class.

Aims: To empower students to improve their skills of speech, reading, writing and listening in English and

Maltese.

Target / Action Plan / Staff Involvement / Factors Involved
All students from Kindergarten to year 6 have to be provided with ample material to improve their literacy skills both in English and Maltese. Special care to be given to the low achievers in an effort to monitor illiteracy. / The school library will be refurbished with the help of the School Libraries Service.Attractive reading books and other material to encourage students to read will be purchased. Special attention is to be given to young illiteracy. Parent involvement will be encouraged so that they will be able to help students to carry on at home the good practices of the classroom. / Teachers will be involved in the selection of books in an effort to build school and class libraries. Teachers are themselves to make more use of the books in the various reading schemes which are being made available to them. More time is to be devoted to library and reading sessions. The Complementary Education teacher has a major role in the elimination of illiteracy. / More and more books are to be purchased to build class libraries and to increase the readers in our reading schemes along with other material such as Resource Packs and other audio-visual aids. Meetings for parents will be organised to make them more aware of the need for literacy and to empower them to help their children at home. More funds are to be made available.
S.D.P. Priorities 2011~ 2012 Action Plan

Development Priority No 1b: Curriculum ~ Reading approach

Objectives:To increase the amount of reading that takes place both at school and outside and to improve the quality

of reading.

Aims: To provide the best tools that can help students learn to read, love reading and have better value for the

time spent in reading.

Target / Action Plan / Staff Involvement / Factors Involved
To enable students, parents and teachers to cope with thecommon problem of students who are very reluctant to read.Also to enhance the value of reading so that students have more value for the time spent in reading / Supportto staff will be given by the Literacy Support Teacher. She will help in organizing meetings for parents, and in the acquisition of more readers. More emphasis is to be put on class libraries, shared and guided reading. The refurbishment of the school library will help in giving added impetus to reading programmes. / Teachers are to give more importance to reading in its various forms. The Literacy Support Teacher’s role here is vital in co-ordinating teachers’ efforts and in organizing reading sessions for parents. / A good knowledge of all the students under one’s care is very important so that their needs can be catered for. Involvement of parents is important since it is at home that most reading has to take place.
S.D.P. Priorities 2011~ 2012 Action Plan

Development Priority No 2a: School Ethos ~ Healthy Eating and living

Objectives:To provideby words and example teaching that is conducive to the correct choices in the dietary habits

of students in and outside school.

Aims: To ensure that students adopt healthy eating habits which can be shown to result in a healthy lifestyle

and which is sustainable without undue sacrifices on the part of students.

Target / Action Plan / Staff Involvement / Factors Involved
It is highly desirable to have citizens that can lead a normal healthy lifewithout undue risks to their lives and health caused by reckless consumption of junk food and unbalanced diets. A healthy lifestyle can be started right in the kinder classes. / More use is to be made by the class teacher of the HELP Policy. A healthy eating and living(HEAL) policy is to be drawn up and handed to all parents. Teachers and parents are to work together. Meetings for parents are also to be held. Occasional reminders about HEAL tips are also to be sent to parents. HEAL days are to be held in conjunction with sports activities. / The role of the class teacher is of utmost importance.They are in a position to teach by word and example what HEAL means.They are to organize food preparation lessons in line with the HELP booklet. Teachers are to encourage the consumption of fruit and vegetables provided through the School Fruit Scheme. More time is to be devoted to sports activities besides PE. / The success of actions taken depends to a great extent on the cooperation between school and home. More involvement by the School Council is to be sought in order to increase collaboration between school and home. The school will pay for some of the expenses incurred in HEAL days. More will be spent on PE equipment to encourage more studentparticipation in sports activities.
S.D.P. Priorities 2011~ 2012 Action Plan

Development Priority No 2b: School Ethos ~ Discipline

Objectives: Promote good and disciplined behaviour in line with established rules.

Aims: Foster in all students the spirit of discipline and order that will benefit all stake holders

Target / Action Plan / Staff Involvement / Factors Involved
It is important to have a strong sense of discipline and order. These are to feature in class, in the yard, in unsupervised places and during outings. These cab be obtained withthe establishment and enforcement of acceptable behaviour / Teachers are to create their own class code of discipline and maintain it throughout the scholastic year. Although positive action and reward are to be preferred to punishment, the latter is not to be eliminated. Disruptive behaviour is to be tackled even with outside help from the Student Services Department. Special attention is to be given to cases of bullying. / All members of staff are to be on the alert for signs of misbehaviour and lack of discipline. They are to nip trouble in the bud as far as possible. In the case of bullying a zero tolerance attitude is to be adopted. Reward and praise and punishmentand reprimandhave to be used judiciously in support of discipline. / Time is all important since the cases needing intervention by the SMT are many and always on the increase. Assembly time is ideal for reward of individuals and reprimand of groups. Vigilance on the part of all at all times is essential to maintain discipline. Steps are to be taken at once to ensure control of misbehaviour and maintenance of order.

Appendix I: Questionnaire filled in by staff as part of internal audit exercise

San Gorg Preca College Marsa Primary

School Development Plan: Wednesday, 06th April, 2011

Audit Exercise in connection with priorities proposed for 2010 ~ 11

Members of the staff are asked to mark 1 to 4 (1 is the lowest rating)

Development Priority No 1a: Curriculum ~ Literacy Programme 1 2 3 4

1 / One learns if help is readily available at home
2 / Complementary education should extend to Year 6
3 / Reading and writing should start at the kinder level
4 / Differentiated teaching facilitates literacy acquisition
5 / More resources are needed to improve literacy
6 / Class libraries have little effect on literacy improvement
7 / Literacy acquisition is poor because of the wrong home environment
8 / There is not enough time to have conversation lessons
9 / E-learning is helping to improve literacy
10 / Academic level of school is lower than Maltese average
11 / Administration is doing enough to improve literacy
12 / There is parents’ involvement in the implementation of the Literacy Prog.
13 / Teachers are trained to provide their own resources to implement the L P
14 / Slow learners without help at home are doomed to fail
15 / Class libraries contribute to improve literacy attainment

Development Priority No 1b: Curriculum ~ Reading programme