Annual Report 2015 - page 24-25

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Community Care
During 2015, Brindabella Christian College supported and raised funds for many organisations including
World Vision’s 40 Hour Famine , Operation Christmas Child, Soldier On and the Heart Foundation.
Year 10 students completed a service retreat in Jindabyne, completing gardening & maintenance work to
assist the Adventist Alpine Village in preparing for the 2015 ski season.
Year 12 travelled again to Northern NSW to serve at Maclay Vocational College. Students learned about the
local indigenous culture and forged significant cross cultural relationships with staff and students there.
The College also partnered with Life Unlimited Church to provide puddings for Christmas hampers for those in
the Canberra Community who need some support during the festive season.
Service remains a foundational value at the College.
Junior, Middle and Senior School students visited the elderly at the West Belconnen Community Centre and
Sir Leslie Morshead Manor.
A team of students from the Senior School, accompanied by BCC staff members, travelled to Vietnam on the
College’s third Overseas Mission Trip in April. The team worked with orphans and the elderly in Hanoi.
School Survey Results
During 2015 the Board engaged external consultants to undertake a review of the College. The review utilised four key
research instruments. These included:
• A desktop audit of documentation;
• Parent, teacher and non-teaching staff surveys;
• Focus groups; and
• Semi-structured interviews.
There were a number of key findings that emerged from the survey. These included:
• Perceptions of distrust having developed amongst all stakeholders;
• Poor consultation and communication in decision-making processes;
• Governance issues in relation to roles;
• Perceived lack of research and planning in the implementation of curriculum and teaching programs;
• Provision of better, more appropriate and relevant upskilling of teachers where relevant; and
• Breakdown of positive partnerships with parents in some areas of school life.
The review also highlighted positive aspects of the College but focused on areas where improvements could be made.
There were a number of recommendations contained in the report which have been passed onto the new Principal.
These will be looked at carefully, discussed with relevant community members, and where relevant, implemented over
2016.
*National Minimum Standard = Band 2 for year 3 students, Band 4 for year 5 students, Band 5 for year 7 students and
Band 6 for year 9 students
Note: The NAPLAN scales are constructed so that any given score represents the same level of achievement over
time. For example, a score of 700 in reading will have the same meaning in 2015 as in 2010. While the scale for each
domain appears to be similar the results cannot be directly compared across domains. For example, a score of 650 on
a reading test denotes a different achievement than a score of 650 on a numeracy test.
http://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/how-to-interpret/score-equivalence-tables.html
NAPLAN
Brindabella students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participated in NAPLAN Testing in Literacy and Numeracy. BCC results were
higher than the national average in all areas of Literacy and Numeracy the years tested. These are excellent results
and support the strengthening education program at BCC.
The following table represents the percentage of students who performed at/or above, the National Minimum
Standard across all 5 NAPLAN disciplines tested.
% of
students
above NMS
2015
Year 3
School
Year 3
State
Year 5
School
Year 5
State
Year 7
School
Year 7
State
Year 9
School
Year 9
State
Reading 98% 95% 100% 94% 98% 96% 98% 93%
Writing 100% 96% 100% 94% 96% 88% 90% 80%
Spelling 100% 94% 100% 94% 96% 94% 96% 91%
Grammar &
Punctuation
100% 95% 100% 94% 98% 93% 96% 89%
Numeracy 100% 95% 98% 95% 98% 96% 96% 96%