SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2011 - 2012


Contents

Page

Chapter 1 ………. Introduction by Head of School 3

Chapter 2 ………. School Mission Statement 6

Chapter 3 ………. Aims of the School 8

Chapter 4 ………. St.TheresaCollege Staff List 10

Chapter 5 ………. MsidaPrimary School Staff List 12

Chapter 6 ………. Evaluation of the second year of the SDP (2011) 14

Chapter 7 ………. School Development Plan 2011-2012 21

  • Issue 1 - Achievement and Learning: ICT across the Curriculum 22
  • Issue 2: Assessment and Evaluation: Assessment for Learning 25
  • Issue 3: Achievement and Learning: Literacy 29
  • Issue 4: Links with parents/agencies outside school: Links with parents 33
  • Issue 5: Ethos: EcoSchool, Students’ Council, disciplineIssue 6 37
  • Issue 6: Ethos: Eco School 41
  • Issue 7: Ethos: Discipline 44
  • Issue 8: Teaching and Learning: Handwriting 48
  • Maintenance targets 51


The Development Plan which operated on a two year-cycle covered during scholastic years 2009-2011 was a shared process and it is because of this culture of shared planning and team work that most aims have been achieved.

Three main issues that the School focused on were Promoting a Healthy lifestyle, Differentiating Teaching and Learning and Numeracy. Two other maintenance projects that the School chose to work on were ICT across the Curriculum and School Ethos.

At the end of last scholastic year a questionnaire re the three main issues of the SDP was given to parents, pupils and staff. From data collected it was concluded that:

children have become very conscious of what they eat and what a healthy lifestyle entails.

teamwork and peer tutoring contributed to more learning and helped to increase social skills, enhance self esteem and reduce behavioural problems

children have become more able to relate mathematical concepts to their everyday life.

It has been noted that ICT has become an essential tool for teachers in all areas of teaching as it brings enormous benefits to the class when used in combination with more traditional teaching techniques. It is a pity that as yet Kindergarten Assistants do not have computers in their classes.

This scholastic year a tremendous amount of work by the Assistant Head has gone into the production of the updated School blog which is useful to parents, children and teachers as well as to outsiders who can obtain further information on a particular aspect of School life at Msida Primary.

Personal and social development is a great strength of our school. Children are caring towards each other and enjoy helping each other. They are encouraged to take pride in everything they do, which extends to their conduct out of school. The Staff worked hard to plan educational outings for children. All classes planned for a wide range of educational visits to further enhance children’s learning.

Music lessons were turned into fun activities and pupils enjoyed themselves playing musical instruments. Many participated during assembly or concerts held for parents, by playing musical instruments such as recorders, guitars, violins, synthesizer they studied after school hours. At times such pupils were accompanied by members of staff who played the piano and flute.

During Circle Time and even after school hours Staff members have reviewed the assessment schedule. Achievement records and examination results were discussed and ameliorated ensuring that results are reported in a systematic and consistent format.

To sum up, members of Staff and Parents agree, and this is evident from data collected from the questionnaires, that improvement has been made in our school and this is attributable to the ceaseless work of all the Staff..

At St Theresa College, Msida Primary staff morale is high and visitors comment on the welcoming positive atmosphere. Staff members take pride in their work and this motivates pupils to do likewise.


The staff of MsidaPrimary School endeavours to provide a pleasant and secure learning environment whereby all pupils are capable of developing their full potential and learn to respect themselves and others.


School Aims

The School aims to enable children to develop in all aspects of life:

morally, spiritually, intellectually, physically, emotionally and socially.

Objectives

  • To offer all pupils, regardless of race, gender, background, ability and disability learning experiences in all areas of study in accordance with the National Minimum Curriculum.
  • To help children develop lively, enquiring minds.
  • To encourage pupils to be cooperative, tolerant and courteous from an early age.
  • To instil respect for moral values and develop habits of self discipline.
  • To help children develop independence and the confidence to make choices and decisions, generally developing personal worth.


St Theresa College Staff

Office of the Principal

St Theresa College Principal:Dr. Frank Fabri

Principal’s Assistant: Ms Magdalen Scerri

Clerical Employees:Ms Edwina Azzopardi

Ms Louise Portelli

Ms Elaine Debattista

College Counsellor:Mr Vittore Stilon

College Trainee Counsellor: Ms Katia Schembri

College Prefect of Discipline:Mr Aaron Borg

Literacy Support Teacher:Ms Jennifer Borg

College INCO:Mr Mario Attard

College Social Worker:Ms Janice Fenech

Career Guidance Teacher:Ms Stephania Cuschieri

College Trainee Career Advisor:Ms Dawn Zammit

Nurture Class Teacher:Ms Jane Caruana

Nurture Class LSA:Ms Anna Saliba

College Learning Support Zone Teacher:Mr James Bernard Agius

College Learning Support Zone LSA:Ms Sylvia Farrugia

College Youth Worker:Ms Pauline Tufigno

College Trainee INCO:Ms Claire Mula Falzon

College Precincts Officer:Mr Victor Galea


Senior Management Team

Head of School Ms. Rosanne Borg Magro

Assistant Head Mr. Paul Aquilina

Assistant Head Ms. Rita Barbara

Teaching Staff

Teacher Year 1 Ms. Christine Muscat

Teacher Year 1 Ms. Stephanie Mary Sultana

Teacher Year2 Ms. Rita Bonett

Teacher Year 2 Ms. Mireille Xuereb

Teacher Year 3 Ms. Karen Agius

Teacher Year3 Ms. Melanie Darmanin

Teacher Year 4 Ms. Romina Fenech

Teacher Year 4 Ms. Giovanna Hili

Teacher Year 5 Mr. Jeffrey Borg

Teacher Year 5 Ms. Maria Lourdes Gauci

Teacher Year 5 Mr. Grazio Grixti

Teacher Year 6 Mr. Darren Bonnici

Teacher Year 6 Mr. Oswald Tanti Rigos

Complimentary Teacher Ms. E. Valletta

Kindergarten Assistant Ms. Maria Dolores Caruana

Kindergarten Assistant Ms. Rose Marie Dimech

Kindergarten Assistant Ms. Josephine Mifsud

Kindergarten Assistant Ms. M’Odette Portelli

Kindergarten Assistant Ms. Samantha Sacco

Kindergarten Assistant Ms. Mary Zahra

Kindergarten Assistant Ms. Maria Dolores Zammit

Learning Support Assistant Ms. Heidi De Carlo

Learning Support Assistant Ms. Anna Degiorgio

Learning Support Assistant Ms. Miriam Micallef

Learning Support Assistant Mr. Erin Portelli

Learning Support Assistant Ms. Charlotte Riolo Licari

Learning Support Assistant Ms. Joyce Romano


On May 26th during the full day seminar the staff gathered to give their comments on this year’s School Development Plan.

The School Development Plan was implemented this year with several Educational Reforms taking place simultaneously. In this light, special emphasis was given to the development of basic skills and the teachers concentrated their attention on differentiating their teaching and learning to meet the targets set in the Core Competences Checklists. This also went hand in hand with the development of strategies to meet challenges children were facing in numeracy, focusing on mental mathematics. Oracy was also prioritized in English and Maltese.

ICT was used as a means by which teachers endeavoured to unleash children’s creativity. In fact the whole school participated in Embed 2011 which is a competition that celebrates the creative use of technology in the classrooms.

The Healthy Lifestyle Campaign, set in motion last year, was continued and is now a school policy with children participating in all sorts of Sports and eating more fruit and vegetables at lunch time. Sugary foods are kept to a minimum and water is the preferred drink. In addition to this, the school is now also participating in EcoSchool thus enhancing the idea that a healthy environment means a healthy body. The eco-committee worked with the students in the school to write a Review to make the School an eco-friendly place.

The teachers have worked to promote creativity through every means. Drama productions enhanced children’s potential to be creative. Drama productions were an integral part of lessons in general. Also, all children are given the opportunity to show off their talent on stage during the numerous productions set up by the school even during Special assembly. As already mentioned children’s creative writing was given an impetus through the use of technology in the classrooms in innovative ways.

However, while every effort is done to promote creativity in all its aspects certain situations may hinder teachers. The number of children in the classroom limits the physical space available and makes moving around a nightmare. There are also restraints that emanate from the vastness of the syllabus. Teachers have to cover this syllabus in a limited period of time.

Issue 1: Healthy Lifestyle

The Healthy Lifestyle Campaign has been sustained this year as well and it has now become a school policy. Children bring water to drink and sugary foods are not tolerated. Only the occasional birthday cake is permitted as a treat. Children bring fruit and vegetables and other healthy foods to school and the teachers draw the parents’ attention if this is not the case.

All the activities carried out in class to promote healthy living have been sustained this year as well. Children have come to see the intrinsic value of healthy living and they are now making what they are learning in class a part of their daily living.

In addition to all this the school gives great importance to Sports Activities. P.E. lessons are given regularly by teachers. Several Field Days are held throughout the scholastic year some in collaboration with B.Ed Students. Our students are exposed to different sports activities – swimming, Yoga, trekking, basketball and football. In the beginning of the Scholastic year children were encouraged to take advantage of the Sports after school organized by the Kunsill Malti għall-isport. We had over a hundred students who applied for the programme.

Furthermore, the school is now participating in EcoSchool. In this project, the children are being taught that a clean environment is a healthy environment. It is the children themselves who are turning the school into a more eco-friendly place. They separate their waste in different bins in class and try to remember to turn off the lights when the classrooms are not being used. The children themselves will be coming up with an Action Plan to make the school a healthier place for all. In the craft lessons the Kindergarten Assistants and teachers use recycled material. Children are taught to think of ways to reuse old cereal boxes and other material to produce beautiful craft. Teachers are making every effort to educate their pupils to respect the world around them and be aware of the impact of their lifestyles on the environment.

However, sometimes the caretakers take the easy way out and put everything in one garbage bag. The main setback here is changing certain attitudes and set ideas about the environment. Teachers feel that everyone has to be onboard.

Issue 2: Differentiated teaching and Learning

This issue has become an integral part of teaching and learning. Through differentiation, the learning deficit of each individual pupil is addressed. This enables and stimulates each pupil to realise his/her potential while allowing each pupil to feel successful. Teamwork and peer tutoring contributed to more learning while pupils helped each other to finish tasks. The Complementary teacher worked closely with class teachers to set activities by task.

However, certain difficulties have been identified. Time is a problem. The syllabus is vast and needs to be covered in a set time leaving little room for incidental learning. The teacher can’t stop on one aspect of a lesson for too long and this means that certain pupils who might need further explanation are left struggling. Also, the number of pupils in a class makes a huge difference. The more children there are the less individual attention can be given. When there are no LSAs, the teacher has to juggle her attention between different groups of children. This can be a daunting task even for the most experienced educators.

Furthermore, work given has to be levelled according to ability and this is very time consuming. Teachers are just about coping and it would be very desirable if they could simply download teaching resources tailor made to the children’s different abilities. But it is the lack of human resources that limits the success of such a strategy of teaching and learning. The teacher alone cannot cope with all the pupils. Teachers feel that they need more suitable resources although they acknowledge that interactive white boards make a lot of difference.

From feedback given by parents it seems that they are noticing a difference in the way their children tackle their homework. They can cope on their own because work in tailor made to their abilities. Also, they noticed that their children are happier at school since they feel they can tackle the tasks they are given with greater confidence. During Parents’ Days several parents commented that their children’s marks had risen, showing that differentiated teaching and learning is showing its benefits.

Issue 3: Numeracy:

With the introduction of the Benchmark Examination came the greater emphasis of mental mathematics. The Simmering Activities of the Abacus system has been given new impetus and teachers have given the warming up part of their lessons a fresh outlook. The teachers try to make mathematics a fun activity. In fact the school is investing in more resources for this subject. Teachers invest a lot of time and energy to make their teaching more appealing to students.

A favourable attitude is encouraged by presenting this subject in an interesting and enjoyable way, allowing pupils to actively participate in the learning process. Parents, too have given positive feedback on this aspect of their children’s education. They claim that children are able to do the set tasks with minimal help and a positive attitude.

However, all teaching staff commented that the Mathematics syllabus is too vast and that as from the very first years, more than one concept has to be covered every day. This often proves to be a setback for slow learners who need constant reinforcement.

As a result of all the work done to consolidate mathematical concepts, facts and techniques, problem solving has become easier. In the early years this is developed through play and games but as the pupils grow older they are able to use investigative approaches, think about what they are doing, question their method and explain their approach. Parents also commented about their children’s logical thinking and how they have become more able to relate mathematical concepts to their everyday life.

To conclude teachers in general considered the following as setbacks hindering effective teaching and learning:-

  • The sudden change of plans of peripatetic teachers disrupts the teacher’s timetable. This should be communicated to members of staff in time.
  • Parents sometimes come to school indecently dressed.
  • Dismissal could be more orderly
  • The drama project is a lot of hassle for the teachers involved. Drama lessons should be given equally to all classes.
  • Music lessons generate too much noise and the use of the Literacy Room was suggested.
  • The Curriculum time in certain classes was taken up by the Literacy Teacher leaving almost no time for planning.
  • A common literacy strategy should be adopted by the whole school.

Teacher also made the following positive observations:

  • There is a very good team of teachers, LSAs and KGAs in our school.
  • The school environment is pleasant and welcoming.
  • Year 1,2 and 3 teachers have teamed up very effectively to work on a coherent literacy strategy.
  • There is effective communication in the school – Calendar of events, emails forwarded to all the staff etc.
  • The introduction of music recorder lessons was a very good innovation.

All teaching staff agreed that in order to keep up with the times, professional development in the following areas is a must.:

  • The use of the interactive whiteboard in the classroom
  • Preparing lessons for use with the interactive whiteboard
  • Updating classroom blogs
  • Math strategies
  • Modifying Math activities for different abilities
  • The LSA in the classroom
  • Producing resources to cater for pupils with special needs
  • Differentiated Teaching
  • Phonics

With the Education Reform well under way now, teachers feel that a lot of things were going on at the same time. They feel that they could not concentrate their energy solely on the School Development Plan but they had, in the meantime, to assimilate new developments in education.