P.O. Box 150, Andrew Street, Esperance W.A. 6450

A.B.N. 96 937 363 161

P.O. Box 150, Andrew Street, Esperance W.A. 6450

Telephone (08) 9071 2199 or 9071 2084, Fax: (08) 9071 1884

www.esperanceprimarvschool.com.au

Mr David Ford

President

Esperance Bay Rotary Club

PO Box 616

ESPERANCE WA 6450

Dear David

RE: UPDATE ON ESPERANCE PRIMARY SCHOOL LITERACY AND NUMERACY PROGRAM

In recognition of the funding provided by Rotary, I would like to strengthen our accountability to your club through providing further information about the progress of Esperance Primary School's targeted program in Literacy and Numeracy for some of our at risk students in Year 4. Rotary's approval of $10 000 funding for each of three years (2009 - 2011) to help support the literacy and numeracy performance of students in our school has continued to make a difference in resourcing.

As outlined in the paper presented in 2008, the intent is to maximise the $10 000 through targeting students in Year 4, especially those who did not attain the minimum standards in national testing as Year 3 students in 2008 (2009 funding), as Year 3 students in2009 (2010 funding) and as Year 3 students in 2010 (2011 funding).

2010 National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) - 2011Funding

Year Level / Enrolment / Students who have not met minimum standard or require an Individual Education Plan (IEP) in a least one of the 4 areas (Reading, Writing, Spelling, Numeracy)
4 / 53 / 8 Below Minimum Standard, 14 IEP

Unfortunately, the cost per day of employing a teacher increased to $410 per day (previously $310 in 2008, $335 in 2009 and $360 in 2010). This amount enabled the school to employ a person for 25 days ($410 x 25 : $10 250). I was privileged to engage the expertise of Miss Ashleigh Wills to implement the program three mornings a week for almost 3 terms.

Please find attached an update from Ashleigh on the progress and learning outcomes for 2011.

Given the program is now in its third year, I am able to provide statistical evidence of learning outcomes for the students who engaged in the program in 2009 and then participated in NAPLAN in 2010 as Year 5 students and students who engaged in the program in 2010 and then participated in NAPLAN in 2011 as Year 5 students.

Comparative Performance of 2009 Rotary Students in 2010 NAPLAN

Students who did not meet minimum standard in at least one of the 4 areas (Reading, Writing, Spelling, Numeracy) / Number of Students who participated in Rotary Program in 2009 and also did 2010 NAPLAN as a Year 5 (remove transience) / Number of Students who participated in Rotary Program in 2009 and also did 2010 NAPLAN as a Year 5 and are now at or above minimum standard in at least one area they were below on in 2008. / Number of Students who participated in Rotary Program in 2009 and also did 2010 NAPLAN as a Year 5 and are now at or above minimum standard in all areas
19 / 16 / 16 / 8

Comparative Performance of 2010 Rotary Students in 20ll NAPLAN

Students who did not meet minimum standard in at least one of the 4 areas (Reading, Writing, Spelling, Numeracy) / Number of Students who participated in Rotary Program in 2010 and also did 2011 NAPLAN as a Year 5 (remove transience) / Number of Students who participated in Rotary Program in 2010 and also did 2011 NAPLAN as a Year 5 and are now at or above minimum standard in at least one area they were below on in 2009 / Number of Students who participated in Rotary Program in 2010 and also did 2011 NAPLAN as a Year 5 and are now at or above minimum standard in all areas
2I / 18 / 17 / 10

I'm sure you share in our delight at such strong learning gains, as being at or above minimum standard means the students have acquired functional literacy and numeracy skills that provide a greater chance of future success in schooling and life.

Unfortunately, the cost per day of employing a teacher has increased over the three years of the Rotary Project - from 3 0 days in 2009 to 25 in 201| . Whilst disappointed at the erosion of the number of days we can provide students, your funding certainly supports the learning programs we offer and has enabled more specialised support. It certainly is making a difference.

On behalf of our school community, and especially the students who benefited from the Rotary Program in the past three years, I sincerely thank your organisation for its generosity. I am passionate about helping every child become literate and numerate and it is the learning program offered to a failing student before aged ten that has proven to make a difference in so much research.

At the risk of appearing bold, it would be awesome for the program to continue. If this is a possibility, I would welcome the conversation.

Should you require any further information or please contact me on 90712199 or .

Again, thank you so much for your club's strong and valuable support.

Kind regards.

Lisa Helenius

28 November 2011

18th November 2011

To the members of the Esperance Bay Rotary Club,

Another school year is coming to its end and I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on our second semester in Year Four Literacy Support for 2011. Your support has made a meaningful contribution to the progress and success of the Year Four students involved. It has been a very rewarding experience to see the achievements of the students, as well as witness their confidence increase as they approach their reading, writing and spelling.

Room A:

Throughout the duration of our second semester I have continued the Alpha to Omega program with the group of 7 students from Room A. We also had a new students join our sessions, who settled into the routine very quickly. These sessions have focused on a new spelling pattern and list of words each week.

These students were also able to practise and apply their new spelling knowledge through using WORDSHARK at different times throughout the semester. WORDSHARK is a spelling program accessed on the computer, which allows learners to spell and manipulate their current list words in an interactive, game type manner. On the occasions students were able to use WORDSHARK it enabled additional opportunity for independent practice of the teaching and learning that had taken place.

I am pleased to report that on retesting the students this term, each learner demonstrated significant increases in results. The Alpha to Omega program suggests that to progress into stage two, students should achieve a mark of 56 or over. Four of the students not only improved their personal scores, they scored well enough to begin the next level of learning.

During the second session spent with this group, we continued our exploration and [earning of decoding and reading strategies. This session was increasingly enhanced by the Alpha to Omega program, as students continued to build up their bank of known words for spelling as well as reading. Similarly to first semester, we shared the reading of a mixture of informational and fiction texts. As time progressed, I found I was able to select slightly more advanced texts, as the students showed more interest in reading something new to challenge themselves.

During reading, students engaged in and discussed a variety of decoding strategies to enhance their reading, fluency and understanding. Some of these strategies included sounding out, chunking, reading around and reading on. We then participated in group discussions about the text content as well as how it was constructed.

As increasing understanding was one of the main objectives of this session, students then completed activities based on First Steps Reading resource books. It was great to see students being patient and supporting each other through the shared readings; and the overall attitude toward the task improve.

Room B:

Through terms three and four I have continued working with the whole class in Room B, on reading comprehension strategies. The objective of implementing this program was to provide students with a range of skills and strategies they could use when reading, to increase their level of understanding, and in turn, enjoyment. I feel this has been successful as the students are now able to readily identify and describe more strategies to assist their reading and apply these skills in a range of contexts.

This semester we have covered: similarities and differences; concluding; summarising; inferring; cause and effect; fact or opinion and point of view and purpose.

Most weeks a new strategy was introduced, however, as the students explored skills that required deeper thinking, such as inferring, learning was consolidated over two or more weeks. In our weekly sessions, students were periodically tested after three comprehension strategies. This testing was used to monitor students' progress and understandings.

As well as exploring comprehension strategies we have performed shared readings a class, at small group and partner levels and independently. This has helped encourage all students to be accountable for the reading and increase their opportunities to practise.

Room C:

My role in Room C this semester has involved a number of different elements. Throughout Term 3 I continued working with the classroom teacher to investigate reading strategies with the students. ln these sessions we both worked with 2 groups of students. Similarly to Room B, this process allowed students to learn more about various comprehension strategies, helping to increase their understanding of texts.

At the beginning of term 4 I recommenced PM Reader testing, to track particular students' reading progress. It was rewarding to see those retested moving up a level in their reading and demonstrating greater fluency and comprehension of the content.

I have also been working with a small group of students from Room C, focusing on spelling and decoding strategies. It is a great opportunity to be able to work with these students more intensely on the skills they require.

This group of students had shown a noticeable change in their approach to reading. Attitudes have made a positive shift from being overwhelmed and apprehensive and it is great to see these learners engaging with the texts they are reading and being motivated to discuss topics and ideas with their peers.

It has been a very busy year working with this fantastic group of Year Fours at Esperance Primary School. I have seen great progress, both in working at a whole class level, as well as with small groups and individuals. The students have had the opportunity to explore a variety of texts and learn about the different ways they can overcome any difficulties they encounter. The increase in confidence I have seen in students, regarding literacy, has the potential to direct their learning in the years to come. lt is through your support that the opportunity for this difference has come about. On behalf of the students and Esperance Primary school, I would tike to thank you again for your generosity. You have made a profound difference.

Yours sincerely,

Ashleigh Wills