Riverside Primary School, in Greenfields
| Details on this primary school | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| |
| |||
| Riverside Primary School is a Level 6 school with approximately 707students enrolled in Kindergarten to Year 7 for 2004. Riverside draws from a wide boundary catchment area. Families of Riverside are from diverse social and economic backgrounds. This makes Riverside unique in that it is catering for most spectrums of society. With this, are the elements of transiency and the growing numbers of students. Both of these factors create their own set of challenges to work through at the school. Parent involvement in the school is encouraged, with a strong emphasis on the P & C Association. The P&C contributes on average $10000 - $15000 to the school's resource base annually, and manages the operations of the canteen and uniform shop. The P & C has enough funds to donate outdoor equipment to the value of $30,000 to our Kindy and Year 2/3 playground in 2004. Riverside Primary School is organised as follows: The school has fourteen purpose built classrooms and fourteen transportable classrooms. It is equipped with a purpose built art room, a dynamic resource centre and music room. *Priorities The focus of teaching, learning and assessment will be in the areas of English and Mathematics. The outcomes associated with the other learning areas will be achieved through Cross Curricular Strategies. *Teaching and Learning Encompasses the CIP and the progression towards implementing outcomes based learning strategies across the school. Particular emphasis is placed on English and Mathematics in relation to developing strategies for reporting to parents in outcomes, and in reviewing pedagogy. *Through cross curricular learning strategies is embedded in the Learning of Technologies and Environmental Studies Programs. *School Organisation The school has developed Learning Teams that empower staff to make decisions within their teams. Staff are committed to a collaborative approach within their team. Teams will be K - Yr 1, Yr 2 - Yr 3, Yr 4 - Yr 5 and Yr 6 - Yr 7. *Ethos The staff at Riverside are committed to providing a welcoming learning environment that enables all children to reach their full potential. The school provides a rich learning program which is delivered by a committed professional staff. This is evident by the achievement levels of our students in statewide testing programs, with all grades performing well above 'like' schools. SPECIAL PROGRAMS *Physical Education This programs covers the explicit teaching of gross motor skills. All children have the opportunity to experience a range of sports and games. The Faction Athletics Carnival is a highlight along with Interschool events, such as theInterschool Swimming Carnival, Interschool Athletics Carnival and Lightning Carnival just to name a few. Interschool competition features strongly in this program with the school being a member of the Peel School Sports Association. *Music All children participate in the music program which focuses on teaching skills in singing and instrumental music. It is a focus for school performances in themes built around culture and the arts. The children have also started to perform at the shopping centre and retirement villages. *LOTE Indonesian is the language taught and all children from Years 2 - 7 participate, it is a focus for the school's multi-cultural programs and Access Asia. *Library The library is a focus for resources in the school and all children participate in a program that includes explicit teaching of library skills in research and borrowing. It is a Technology Centre in which children enhance their knowledge and skills through the use of the electronic catalogue, other software and the Internet. *Students at Educational Risk The school has developed an excellent plan and policy to address this important area. A strong Student Services Team has been developed to assist students, staff and parents. The Commonwealth Literacy and Numeracy Program will continue to involve IEP's, THRASS and Reciprocal Reading programs. *Commonwealth Literacy and Numeracy Project This year funds were available to employ two teacher assistants to work with students in Years 3 & 5. *Environmental Studies During 2004 Riverside Primary School received several awards for its contribution to a number of programs. All classes participated in comprehensive environmental themes which included caring for plants, water conservation, threatened species, life cycles, the 3 R's and wetland rehabilitation. During the year many new environmental projects were continued. These included the frog pond, the recycling centre and wormeries. The school's development of the nature reserve was recognised when Riverside was named the WA Winner of the Relflex Habitat Program in 2003. Partnerships with organisations such as the Peel Men of the Trees have ensured that the success of the Environmental Studies Program will continue for years to come. PASTORAL CARE Staff that assists and supports the BMIS approach has identified a number of programs. Each of the programs reflect aspects of the Lions Skills for Growing program which has been the focus of our Pastoral Care Priority since 2000. The Pastoral Care program continued to be a Priority for 2004 and is made up of the following programs. * The Lions Skills for Growing Program is implemented throughout the school but more specifically in the K-Yr 3 classes. Its philosophy underpins the entire pastoral Care Priority. * The Friendly Schools project is implemented with the Year 4 and 5 classes and is based on the Curtin University Trial. * The Aussie Optimism program is in its second year and this year all Year 6 and seven students completed the module Optimistic Thinking Skills. * The Peer Mediation program involves all Year 7 students who are trained in conflict resolution. The students are then rostered on during recess and lunch breaks where they put their training into practice by helping to solve minor conflicts that may arise. * The Student Council program continued to give many students the opportunity to develop leadership skills and roles within the school and local community. Fundraising for local and international projects are ongoing throughout the year. * The Mentoring Program involves all teaching and non teaching staff informally mentoring a student who has emotional or social issues. This program helps support students within our school environment. * The School Volunteers Program is similar to the Mentor program but we have Senior Volunteers who come in weekly and work with students. The program will continue with all of the above projects for 2005 and as in the past the Riverside Education Support School will be invited to participate in these programs. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY 2004 saw the purchase of 15 new computers which were distributed in Years K-3 and LOTE, as well as a digital video camera and laser colour printer. The focus for the year was to integrate ICT and the inquiry based approach and this was sustained by 0.2 teacher support time, the provision of professional development and training for staff on a needs basis and efficient, ongoing resource management. In addition, the Telco Rollout was completed mid-year, which connected the curriculum and admin networks and provided high speed fibre optic bandwidth for internet and email. Five more staff joined the Notebooks For Teachers program taking the number of participants to nearly 70^20 This has had the effect of increasing staff confidence and competence, which is reflected in enhanced student outcomes, measured in further use of SIS, content of student priority files; and increased use of multimedia and applications and integrations across the curriculum. FUTURE DIRECTIONS At the end of the 2004, after a staff and student survey and much discussion, staff decided that with at least 3 computers in each classroom, it was time to set up a dedicated computer area to teach skills which could then be applied in the classroom. The location of the room is in what used to be the Middle Block Wet Area and it is has been up and running for all classes since Term 1 of 2005. Resourcing will come from existing grants in the school budget and from a healthy computer reserve built up over several years. Staff collaborated to develop a scope and sequence for K-7, a student skills continuum to provide the basis for student self-assessment to further enhance student outcomes. Staff will be strongly encouraged to use notebooks and digital technology (Data Club) to use WALNA data to set school and classroom targets. | ||||
| Map directions To see a travel map, enter your starting address here. It even works with well known land marks - for example, try "Sydney Airport" or "Tullamarine Airport". | ||||
| Reviews | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Rating | The good... | The bad... | And overall... | ||
| 2008-12-22 02:10:23 Added by Anonymous Report abuse
| This school and its teachers are really switched on | nothing i see | very effective P+C | ||
| | |||||
| 2009-02-19 15:59:56 Added by Anonymous Report abuse
| fantabulous teachers!!! left there 5 years ago and i still remember the school. shout out to mrs c williams year 6 & 7 | a couple horrible teachers but they are probably gone now. | great memorable school. great teachers, great facilities. we recommend it. awesomeness | ||
www.thisreview.com.au/Reviews/Education/Public-Primary-Schools/Western-Australia/Riverside-Primary-School-Greenfields-Western-Australia
