Kendenup Primary School, in Kendenup
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| (As at February 2006)NATURE OF THE CATCHMENT AREA AND THE COMMUNITY Kendenup Primary School is located in the Shire of Plantagenet which describes itself as 'rich and beautiful' and in recent years, this has obviously helped in attracting many people to the community. Kendenup Primary has continued to grow in recent years with the current school enrolments being 150. The reasons are varied as to why people continue to move to Kendenup and many families have moved to experience life in a rural area. Employment opportunities are limited with most people travelling to Mt Barker or Albany or being self-employed and taking on seasonal work. The growth of the viticulture industry and Mt Barker Chickens (the abattoirs are located in Kendenup) has also assisted in providing employment. There are four bus contractors who collect children from the north, south, east and west of Kendenup and some children travel up to 40km to attend the school. Some of these children are from larger farms but in recent years, the subdivisions around the townsite have also impacted on the numbers of children accessing bus services. The increase in new families has certainly changed the dynamics of the school. In years past, the student numbers were made up of mainly farm children whose parents and grandparents had attended the school in the earlier days. The school is now far more diverse and the staff have prided themselves on catering for the varied backgrounds that the children come from.STAFFING Kendenup Primary is serviced by a very experienced, dedicated and professional team of staff. With the majority of staff being people who live in the district, they take extra pride in ensuring that the needs of all students are catered for. The staff consists of the Principal, a teaching Deputy Principal, 9 teaching staff(including full and part time) and 10 non-teaching staff. The teaching staff includes classroom teachers, a SAER Coordinator, Technology and Enterprise Specialist, Art Specialist and Physical Education Specialist. Non-teaching staff includes a Registrar, 3 Education Assistants, 3 Special Needs Assistants, Library Officer, Gardener, Cleaner/Bus Warden.SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE SCHOOL Possibly the most noticeable feature of the school is its setting. It has well kept grounds and is in a semi rural setting. Permanent buildings placed here in 1922 are adequate and will be upgraded as part of the 'Fixing Our Schools' project in the 06/07 financial year. These buildings have been supplemented by the addition of a community built library and undercover area and the addition of two transportable classrooms and a transportable Pre Primary facility. The school has bitumen playing courts, a dry oval, two tennis courts and a number of smaller, shaded grass areas. All classrooms have access to computing facilities and all rooms are networked. Students are able to access the Library database from their classrooms. The school is continuing with the implementation of the School Information System (SIS) for data and financial management and attendance, curriculum planning, assessment and reporting. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT * Parents and Citizens Association: The P & C meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm. * School Council: A Constitution for the Kendenup Primary School Council was ratified in 2001. The Council provides the opportunity for parents and community members to have input into areas such as: * Financial planning * School planning and priorities * School performance * Student's Code of Conduct and Dress Code * Charges and Contributions * The promotion of the school in the community. The School Council meets twice per term. *Early Close: The school operates an early closure every Wednesday to allow staff time to collaborate, plan and develop deeper understandings regarding the Curriculum Improvement Program. MAJOR CHALLENGES * CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS - Significant changes in the make up of the school population over the past 10 years or so have presented the school community with a range of challenges. These include the revision of specific policies such as Behaviour Management, Dress Code, Students At Educational Risk. The staff have also begun to access a variety of additional support services such as School Psychologists and The Centre For Inclusive Schools. * ISOLATION - The location of the school and its distance from Albany and other surrounding schools presents a number of challenges for the school. These include: access to services and support; access to professional learning and collaborative opportunities for staff. The cost factors related to the schools isolation also have a significant impact on the opportunities and experiences that can be offered to the students through incursions and excursions. The P&C however work extremely hard to assist by subsidising many activities. * INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT - Technology continues to provide many challenges however staff readily support each other to overcome difficulties. In 2005 staff were successful in obtaining a grant to enable a member of staff with highly advanced IT skills and knowledge to provide professional learning to their colleagues. This was a very successful project and the benefits are now evident in the various classrooms. * AGE AND PHYSICAL CONDITION OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND SURROUNDS - The school requires major capital works and upgrading in a range of areas to effectively address concerns. The school is currently awaiting on news of the success of our submission to the Federal Governement for funding through the 'Investing In Our Schools' project to improve various aspects of the school grounds and buildings.HISTORY Kendenup Primary has a rich history which relates significantly to the surrounding area and one of it's early settlers. The original school building which is still used was built in 1922 and is a feature of the school environment. Our school grounds is also home to a relocated one teacher school - the Mortigallup School. This building also adds to the historical atmosphere of the school as many of the farming students have family ties associated with this structure. | ||||
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| 2009-04-29 20:49:09 Added by Anonymous Report abuse
| Nice surroundings | Lack of education and a curriculum. All years the children are @ 18 months behind other schools. Lack of teacher/parent support and most often homework. | School has the opinion that the parents should do most of the work with the children at home- however homework is often not given and too much consideration on outcome based learning. I have seen children's work in year 1 - 7 from private school in Perth and they are easlily 2 years ahead of the same children at Kendenup. i will be sending my children to Mt Barker Primary School this year as a result. Many parents have removed their children because of they consider the current principal to be 'weak and without constitution'. The facilities at the school are second rate also. | ||
www.thisreview.com.au/Reviews/Education/Public-Primary-Schools/Western-Australia/Kendenup-Primary-School-Kendenup-Western-Australia
