Week 2, Friday 25 October 2019

Principal's News

Stakeholder Survey

I love being the Principal of Annesley. I am proud to have my own children here as students at this dynamic School. We are a mid-fee independent school, committed to genuine partnership with our families. Our enrolment growth is enabling us to invest significantly in all areas of our school to deliver what is a ‘market leading’ experience for your child. 77 families responded to our recent Stakeholder Survey and as you will see in the results presented, Annesley’s Council and staff team are overwhelmed by the resounding support of our School, it’s direction and offerings. We are grateful for feedback provided and we continue to analyse all that we do at a Council and staff level in order to create the best school experience for your child. Our commitment remains clear and focused on developing your child’s strengths and passions, empowering them to be creative, active, global citizens who have finely tuned foundational skills. This Stakeholder Survey confirms that Annesley is a very happy place where adults and children are respected and fulfilled as individuals and as a collective. Thank you to the large percentage of our families that participated in this important process.

Vision
93.3% of respondents believe we deliver on our vision and mission and 96% have or would recommend Annesley to a family member or friend. This data is reflected in reality, with the vast majority of new families touring and joining our community doing so as they have heard ‘great things’ about our school from someone they know well. Over ¾ of respondents believe we personalise the school experience for their child and provide learning experiences that develop them as global citizens.

Our People
We have significantly increased our investment in our team’s Professional Learning over the past 3 years and 93.3% of respondents believe this is important on an ongoing basis. 98.7% feel welcome in our front office, 97.3% find our team approachable, 98.7% find our Leadership Team approachable and 94.7% feel comfortable being in their child’s learning space. There is positive support for our ELC to retain a similar structure moving into the future. This Survey shows us we have a very progressive parent cohort as the vast majority or respondents support ‘job sharing’ scenarios that enable part-time working options for our staff team.

Learning and Teaching
87.8% of respondents are confident that their child’s teacher knows them well and supports their personal and academic growth. We have a key focus on developing core skills in Numeracy and Literacy in every child and continue to invest in more resources, learning spaces and Professional Learning to benefit this important focus area. 86.5% of respondents believe their child is being well supported in this regard. 79.5% of respondents are in full support of initiatives such as the ‘Annesley Ambassador Program’ where our students collaborate with industry experts such as global academic Distinguished Professor Yong Zhao, Westpac and Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence Australia Alicia Curtis and Dr Kristin Alford, leading Futurist and Director of Australia’s leading future focused museum at UniSA’s MOD. Our French bilingual program continues successfully and the vast majority want us to increase this program across our school.

Wellbeing & Entrepreneurship
89.2% believe our focus on promoting the Christian heritage of our school, as well as instilling Christian values in our community, is delivered in an engaging and positive manner. We have 100% support from respondents to continue our major focus on developing Future Skills in our students. The vast majority also love the fact we have a year long Unit of Inquiry focused on students’ developing skills and having meaningful experiences that lead to a greater sense of personal and collective wellbeing and entrepreneurship.

Ongoing Reporting
78.4% of respondents feel that Student Led Conferences empower students to share their learning in meaningful ways. 84% feel comfortable approaching their child’s teacher for a Partnership Conversation. Partnership Conversations have taken the place of Parent Teacher Interviews this year onwards. We are in the midst of significant change in this area and are committed to ensuring we partner with you in the most effective ways to provide you with timely, useful and meaningful evidence of your child’s progress as a learner. The Survey clearly supports us in moving forward in this direction, with feedback suggesting further education for you as key partners in your child’s learning would be appreciated. We will also action some suggested change in our formal reports this Semester. 77% of respondents would attend a Parent Education Event to be upskilled on Annesley’s approach to Ongoing Reporting. We look forward to facilitating this event early in 2020.

Technology
97.3% are supportive of our philosophical belief that technology should be used only for a purpose and the vast majority support the manner in which we supply technology, such as iPads and 3D tools, to support our program of learning.

Sports & Co Curricular
We continue to grow and develop our competitive sports program and co curricular offerings and this is important to the vast majority of respondents.

The Quest (Experiential Learning Program)
97.3% have a strong desire for their child to connect with nature in a meaningful way and on a regular basis through Annesley programs such as The Quest.

Facilities
We continue our significant investment in the redevelopment of our site and facilities and 97.3% of respondents are in support of this action. The vast majority believe that we offer a wide range of facilities that support their child’s development as a learner.

Communication
In the past 2 years we have made drastic improvements to the manner in which we communicate with families. 66.2% of respondents follow Annesley official Facebook page, over ¾ engage with our online video content on a regular basis, 97.3% believe Seesaw is a valuable tool for gaining regular updates on their child’s ‘journey as a learner’ and 86.5% think School Stream is effective in serving its purpose as our main communication tool. We have improved our billing systems in the past 12 months and are currently investigating the best way to move other payments and ordering systems online. The vast majority of respondents are in full support of this progress. Although much positive feedback has been received regarding our increasing use of video content, a balanced approach to communication between video and written content is supported by respondents and so as Principal, I will vary the modes in which I share ‘our story’ as a School.

The Future
Over ¾ of respondents would consider their child remaining at Annesley into Secondary School. 90.7% of respondents believe we deliver a ‘value for money’ product and experience for their child with 86.7% supporting our ‘one fee’ model for Primary School fees.

Moving Forward
This feedback is vitally important for us. In the coming weeks I will share our exciting plans for 2020, plans that are in alignment with the key stakeholder feedback received in this Survey. In the new year we have exceptional staff joining our dynamic team, we will continue to expand our offerings to benefit your child and we will launch a range of new initiatives and staff roles that will further the already well supported implementation of our core business; developing your child’s strengths, passions and skills.

Grandparents' & Friends' Day 2019

Primary Years' Learning

Reception (Clare) Video News

Play Video

Assembly & Chapel

Term 4, 2019

Date Assembly/Chapel Class Presenting
Thursday 31 October Chapel
Thursday 7 November Year 5/6 Canberra Trip (No Assembly)
Thursday 14 November Assembly Grevillea/Wattle
Thursday 21 November No Assembly/Chapel due to ELC & Primary Christmas Concerts this week
Thursday 28 November Chapel
Thursday 5 December Graduation Assembly Year 5/6
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