8813 8408 8857 8284

Ms C Spittles
Principal Georges River College (GRC)
GRC is a multi-campus secondary college located in the southern suburbs of Sydney stretching from
Hurstville in the north to Oatley in the south.
College activities are focused around our motto
“Creating Your Future” to ensure we deliver a quality education for all students and achieve excellence in a wide spectrum of achievements in sport, the arts and academic achievement. We use the synergy created by the size of the college to multiply the opportunities available to students and never lose sight of the needs of the individual.
Students
The college has an enrolment of about 3000 students from Years 7 to 12 including those studying in academically gifted streams and special education classes. Students are drawn from a wide geographical area predominantly located within the southern suburbs of Sydney. Many students apply for entry into our gifted streams or through our performing arts programs. A diverse program of extra-curricular activities gives all students opportunities to fully develop their talents.
Staff
The college’s teaching staff is an excellent mix of experienced and early career teachers. This year the National Partnership Program has enabled us to purchase additional staff to focus on resiliency and student wellbeing, quality teaching and support for student learning. We have a substantially appointed College Head Teacher of
Teaching and Learning to enable professional learning around student learning and transition to be facilitated across the college. The staff at GRC are highly skilled and experienced at tailoring learning experiences to meet the needs of all students.
We are continued with the Georges River College
Stage 5 Examination and Certificate. Staff teams from the middle schools prepared and marked the exams in English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography, providing rich data for the middle year’s campuses as well as GRC Oatley Senior
Campus Senior Campus.
At GRC we have improved our delivery of literacy strategies, in particular this year we have an increased focus using the six super strategies. Staff have been trained in their use and have observed their peers and assisted teachers improve their teaching skills in the area of literacy. The college moodle has been utilized to facilitate the exchange of resources.
The college faculty teams meet at least once a term to ensure that staff share resources around curriculum implementation and the integration of technology.
2013 saw the introduction of PBL or Positive
Behaviour for Learning with many staff undertaking training and the development of college expectations of Respect, Responsibility and
Excellence. This approach has meant that consistent expectations for behavior and consequences are applied across the college. The
GRC Way is a simple expression of our school expectations within school settings and out in the community, ensuring that students are well equipped to be effective citizens.
GRC has a strong academic program delivered in a culture of high expectations and strong values.
1

Mrs D Bedwell
Principal GRC Oatley Senior Campus
2013 was an exciting year at GRC Oatley highlighted by continued improvements in academic results, participation in a range of extracurricular and welfare programs, extension of student leadership opportunities and participation in a range of innovative technology driven programs.
We continued our involvement as one of the 229 schools in NSW, piloting the new LMBR (Learning
Management and Business Reform).The LMBR has
3 areas: -Student Well-Being, Student
Management and School Finance. The system allows a full integration of student information and an easy transfer of information from one school to another.
A highlight of the year was our year 12 Graduation at Sydney Town Hall. We are very proud of our year 12 students and the contribution they made to so many areas. One unique feature at GRC
Oatley is the access for all students to obtain prefecture on graduation. Students are given a passport at the beginning of year 11 to record contributions and achievements to gain prefecture
We wish Year 12 all the best in the future.
Our students continued to achieve some outstanding academic results in the HSC where many students achieved top bands across all key learning areas. We are committed to the continued improvement of student learning while enhancing the whole development of our young people preparing to enter further tertiary studies or the workforce.
The expansion of technology was a major focus in
2013 with the installation of interactive projectors in most classrooms and the introduction of the
GRC College moodle. Individual class roll marking was also computerised during Term 4. Technology is seen as a vital tool to enhance teaching and learning.
Our Gifted and Talented Program extended to offering opportunities at both the school level and beyond. A very successful technology program was held with local primary schools in term 4. Students gained outstanding results in a range of national competitions.
The ‘Oatley Way’, that has been part of GRC Oatley since its foundation in 2001, has been modified to the ‘GRC Way’ with common values across the college of respect, responsibility and excellence.
Students are encouraged to be their best every lesson, every day, every week of the term. Our mantra of success is -‘In class, on time and learning.’
As we come to the end of 2013, we reflect on the contribution the outgoing Year 12 made to our school. We wait in anticipation of enrolling the new
Year 11 cohort in 2014 and the excitement of meeting our new students and seeing their transformation into fine, young adults ready to take on the challenges of 21 living. st century learning and
• Britney Trevithic - Featured Artist Schools
Spectacular
• Rebecca Hart - Sutherland Youth Performance
Award
• Rebecca Hart and Claudia Butters - Roger
Woodward Charity Concert
• Rugby League Team - Final 8 in NSW state
• 7's Rugby - State Finalist
• Individual First Place in NSW Chemistry
Titration Competition, Team 5th place
• Julia Spyrou - NSW Finalist in SMH Plain
Speaking Competition
• NSW Representative at Youth Australian
Constitutional Convention 2nd Year
• Bethany Pankhurst - UN Leadership Award
• White Ribbon Group - St George Community
Award
• NSW TAFE Traineeship Award Nursing.
2

Mr M Treacy
Acting Principal GRC Penshurst Girls Campus
2013 has been yet another successful year for GRC
Penshurst Girls Campus with students actively engaged in challenging curriculum study programs which is reflected in a significant improvement in academic performance. Students have been inspired by the numerous extra-curricular opportunities ranging from the multicultural, creative and performing arts, sporting, and leadership initiatives to develop their individual talents and represent GRC Penshurst Girls Campus with pride.
• NAPLAN 2013 indicated impressive results with
Year 7 well above the state mean in writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. Year 9 were also well above the state mean in all aspects of reading writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.
• RoSA 2013 100% of all Year 10 students achieved the credential. Students at Georges
River College also received a Stage 5 Certificate with marks and percentile bands from common tests in the core subjects. These results will further inform student learning in the senior school towards a Higher School Certificate.
• Academic Achievement 2013 we recognised students who have worked diligently and improved their grades from semester 1 and students with outstanding grades in their half yearly and yearly reports.
• 150 Students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 were invited with their parents to the school to
3 celebrate academic excellence of 5 ‘A’s’ or more and 82 students from 7, 8 and 9 were also invited to school to celebrate their improved results.
• 21 st century learning in 2013 online learning was embedded into classroom practice across all subjects in all years. This significant shift in teaching and learning practice enhances the delivery of teaching and learning programs and engages students in collaborative learning. The platform for this online content was Moodle.

Mr N Harries
Acting Principal GRC Peakhurst Campus
2013 has seen our school preparing for some of the biggest curriculum, financial, staffing and system changes in living memory. We have been one of
229 schools across the State taking part in the
Local Schools Local Decisions and Empowering
Local Schools pilot programs to better respond to the needs of the students and the school community. This membership has led to our trialling of the Learning Management and Business
Reform program which will provide teachers with better access to teaching and learning resources, improve administration processes and enhance access to student information and other organisational data.
We have been preparing for the introduction of the
National Curriculum in 2014 and preparations continued for our 50 th Anniversary celebrations in
August of the same year. Construction of our fabulous new hall has been progressing throughout
2013 with its completion set for March 2014.
Our P&C has continued to support the school students and staff through fund-raising, supplying resources, sitting on school committees and selection panels and establishing a second-hand uniform shop. Their time and effort are very much appreciated, as are the efforts of all the families who have supported our students through their education to this point.
Our Creative and Performing Arts programs have once again showcased the enormous range and quality of talent in our school. Peakform reached a new level of professionalism, Peakview extended its range to include “Draw Off” and a “Vivid” outdoor multimedia display and our ever expanding and accomplished sound, lighting and stage crews are constantly in demand for their services.
Our dance and aerobics teams have once again reached State and National Finals and our
“Peakability” dance enrichment program for
Primary students has completed another extremely successful year.
Students have represented in athletics, swimming and cross country and a huge variety of sports.
Countless individual and team achievements were recognised at a dedicated sports award ceremony in December, highlighting the merits of sport and fitness in developing strong bodies and minds.
Students have been integral to the planning and implementation of the Positive Behaviour for
Learning (PBL) Program, with the values of
RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY and EXCELLENCE being collaboratively developed as the foundation of our school culture.
The SRC has been extremely active with fundraising, leadership training, mentoring of younger students, camps and school representative duties. After consultation with staff and students, the SRC executive recently completed a wall mural which included every Year
10 student’s name inscribed as a permanent memento of their time at GRC Peakhurst.
Our Duke of Edinburgh Program has attracted more students this year than ever before as this globally recognised program encourages our students to have a go at something new, different and challenging.
We have excelled in Debating, Science, Maths and
English competitions and the number of extra curricula activities on offer is remarkable.
None of this, of course, can be achieved without the assistance, commitment and enthusiasm of our dedicated staff who spend countless hours outside the classroom providing opportunities for students to excel.
Details of our school’s achievements in 2013 can be found within the following Annual School
Report.
4

Ms L Larcombe
Principal GRC Hurstville Boys Campus
A main focus in 2013 was promoting the school within our community and to attract new students and their families to the school. The $14.91 million major building works over the last couple of years were finally finished and the Official Opening by local MP Mark Coure gave us the opportunity to show off our newly refurbished facilities. A brand new administration building was built and every classroom in existing buildings has been freshly painted and given new furniture, carpets, light fittings, fans and heaters. C block became the
Middle Years or MY Centre and made available for use by Sydney Region to conduct training courses for both staff and students from other schools.
A school promotion team was formed and members of staff underwent regional training in an action learning project ‘Engaging Your Local
Community’. The Sydney Region Promotions
Officer, Ros Bastian, assisted the team by enlisting a professional photographer to take shots of the school and of students engaged in their learning.
New school brochures, banners and a school letterhead were designed to update and improve the quality of school documents and advertise GRC
Hurstville Campus as the school of choice for local boys.
Mr Moore and Mr Inwood worked hard to improve the quality of our school website. The Year 8 selective class was involved in writing articles, taking photos and following up with Head Teachers to provide current information for the new and improved website.
Parent groups from feeder Primary Schools were invited to view our new facilities and see for themselves that GRC Hurstville Boys Campus is a safe, modern, welcoming facility that provides an excellent education for its local community. The
5 parents heard a College presentation, had a tour of the school and visited a Year 8 Italian lesson. At lunch our School Captain Jason Ha and Vice-
Captain Issa Chokr were available to answer questions. This was the highlight of the visit. The boys were very passionate about the quality of education provided by staff at Hurstville Boys
Campus and praised the many opportunities they have been given. They expressed enjoyment at coming to school each day where all the teachers have the students’ very best interests at heart.
This year, the school received a government grant of $105,000.00 to improve either the literacy or numeracy of our students as part of the Improving
Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership . The school chose literacy with a specific focus on improving student reading and comprehension skills with Year 8 students as the Focus Group. All teaching staff undertook training in Reading Across
Secondary Subjects and included the Super Six reading comprehension strategies in their lessons.
Teachers engaged in classroom observations of each other’s teaching practice and although Year 8 was their focus for the purpose of the project, these teaching strategies were utilised across all year groups and across all subject areas. In addition, staff researched the link between improved physical activity/fitness and its impact on concentration and learning. The Year 8 focus group participated in an exercise program each morning and within 8 weeks improved their cardiovascular endurance by an average of 19%. In conjunction with the literacy program Year 8 students demonstrated marked improvement in reading and understanding of all types of text. A specific focus such as these on improved teaching strategies has led to an observable improvement in student engagement and the tone of the school, noted by both school and parent/community members.
Looking forward to 2014 we have employed a
Community Liaison Officer to work with our school community 3 days a week and a Promotions Officer to develop further school promotional material.
2014 will also see the introduction of ‘Positive
Behaviour for Learning’ (PBL) across the Georges
River College, a program that focuses on school core values of Respect, Responsibility and
Excellence.
I would like to thank parents for their support of our school and our student body for continually working towards improvements in their behaviour and learning every day.

GRC Oatley Senior Campus P&C
2013 was the sixth year of operation of the e-P&C model. This year the number of parents who joined the e-E and C was significantly reduced to 47 parents.
Three parent evenings were held during the year on topics including ‘How parents can help students prepare for the HSC’ and ‘Career Options’. GRC
Oatley also worked with Kogarah Council to provide a venue for parent information sessions.
Parents were encouraged to attend Open Night to see the work of the students and the facilities being offered.
The financial contribution of the P&C was vital in contributing to resources to enhance the education provided to students. The P&C provided funds for interactive projectors in classrooms, the school bus, art exhibition, and support for Year 11 and
Year 12 academic and citizenship prizes and the
SMS system to notify parents of absences.
A focus in 2014 will be the further extension of technology through the ‘Teaching with i-Pad
Project.’
The school sincerely thanks the P&C for their support. The additional funds are most appreciated in ensuring we deliver the best educational opportunities to our students. Thank you to:
• Michael Nevin - P&C President,
• Julene Nevin - Secretary and
• Karen Young - Treasurer.
GRC Penshurst Girls Campus P&C
Penshurst Girls Campus P&C has encouraged all parents to become an integral part of this important support group within our school. We encourage Year 7 parents to join us in supporting students’ transition into high school by being involved in the Year 6 Open Evening and also the
Year 7 Welcome Night.
A group of parents took part in our ‘Engaging
Adolescents’ program facilitated by our school counsellor.
This year the P&C have financed iPads for the
Technology Classes and e-Readers for the school library, software for the Language Perfect program, funding for Public Speaking training, a new dishwasher for the TAS Department, major renovations to the school hall consisting of replacing existing curtains, a new audio system, speakers, projectors and amplifiers. The P&C has offered ongoing support to the school’s SRC alignment projects and donated gift cards as thank you gifts for the teachers who volunteer their time at the Homework Centre. The school P&C has endeavoured to open a second-hand uniform shop at school to assist disadvantaged families.
Penshurst Girls Campus also maintains the
Penshurst Girls Union for ex-students and staff.
This organisation continues to assist the school with Year 7 scholarships, supplies book vouchers for the most improved students in academic performance and has successfully opened the
School Museum, a treasure trove of the history of
Penshurst Girls Campus.
Helen James P&C President
6

GRC Peakhurst Campus P&C
2013 has been a remarkable year for our P&C. We have grown in strength and in numbers.
At the end of last year, we requested email addresses from as many parents as possible, so that we could keep them updated with the movements of the P&C, as well as making sure they had the meeting reminders and minutes from each meeting. Furthermore, when we needed assistance, we had their contact details.
We were also very lucky to have some very enthusiastic parents join our team and they have really put in some hard work this year. For example, the uniform shop, the Bunning’s BBQ and even chasing the local businesses to ‘support their local school’.
Great ideas, smart thinking and some good, old- fashioned hard work, has seen our P&C team work together and create great friendships with some of the nicest people in the community.
We have also liaised with the teachers, to find out what the students need and where funds need to be spent. This has helped us bridge another gap and work closer with all staff at the school.
We have
• Funded afternoon snacks for the ‘Homework
Centre’ in the library
• Set up our uniform shop
• Ran the BBQ for the School Open Night/Year 7
‘Meet the Teachers’
• Funded the ‘Positive Behaviour’ and end of term awards
• Purchased more P&C Shirts
• Purchased two foldable plastic tables
• Sent Jean and Kevin to P&C Annual Conference
• New group started, called - South East South
West Sydney Council of P&C – Kevin has attended a few of their meetings and they will help us getting; funding, assistance, advice etc.
• School Zone road signage – survey
• Learnt all about the school Moodle
• Funded the hiring of exhibition partitions for
Peakview and served tea/coffee/ biscuits
• Liaised with the teachers, about how best to spend funds
• Funded a laundry for the PDHPE department
• Purchased headsets and microphones
• Helped fund the upgrading of Robotics
• Purchased books for the PDHPE department to complement their literacy study
• Served tea and coffee at parent teacher nights
Mad Hatters Tea Party
• Helped with the ‘Mad Hatters Tea Party’
• Information evening for parents on – ‘Our kids and the law’
• Supported our State representative - Hamish
• Supported National representatives – Cameron
(for Bocce) and our Aerobics team
• Purchased a new sewing machine for the TAS department
• Ran a BBQ at Bunnings
• Supported Duke of Edinburgh awards – camp stoves – donated by Anaconda
• Attended and received an award at the
Hurstville Council Volunteers Awards night
• Assisted with Selection Panels
• Assisted with Finance Committee meeting
It has been an absolute pleasure to be the
President of the P&C at Peakhurst Campus this year and I thank everyone for their support.
Kevin Manners P&C President
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus P&C
This P&C is a small but highly committed group of parents. In 2014 we will work on strategies to increase participation including the employment of a Community Liaison Officer.
Our target in 2014 is to engage with our P&C to support our “Positive Behaviour for Learning” and
“Use Another Word” strategies to increase harmony and tolerance within the campus.
7

GRC Oatley Senior Campus SRC
The GRC Oatley Student Representative Council continued its role as the peak student representative body in Georges River College.
2013 saw the Oatley SRC involved in a range of leadership activities that were integral in engaging all GRC Oatley students.
The student body had elected an excellent group of student representatives for Year 12 and this was added to with a very capable group of Year 11 representatives. The respective committees had already been formed in Term 4 and had made admirable progress by the start of the calendar year.
The first major event for the SRC was Valentine’s
Day which was highly successful – with the SRC selling, labelling and delivering over 700 lollipops to fellow students. Through this event they raised substantial funds for the Heart Kids Foundation.
This was followed by Oatley’s inaugural SRC Week, a new initiative involving a variety of activities for each day.
Monday was the launch of a week-long trivia competition, Tuesday was mufti-day and
Wednesday was a highly successful Gelato Day.
Thursday was deemed sport day with a Students vs
Teachers Oz Tag game on the oval. Finally, Friday was Cake Day and Tug of War day. An amazing week of activities was coordinated that created a wonderful school spirit and again raised money for charity.
A feature of the year has been the enthusiasm and effort exhibited by the organisers of events and committees. The Year 11 representatives have also been outstanding with their support for key school events, such as the Principal’s Reception, the
8
Selective School’s test and the Subject Selection night. Students have also shown great willingness to represent the school at events such as the
International Women’s Day breakfast,
Environmental Forums and SRC Regional Meetings.
I would like to commend the students involved for the efforts, participation and tenacity to work through the issues and conflicting needs of such a large student cohort. The SRC has again been able to act as a conduit for students to raise issues of concern and have them addressed by the School
Executive.
The Year 12 SRC have provided wonderful role models and set a very high standard, which I expect the incoming Year 12 to emulate.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Year 12 Leadership team (Isabel, Danny, Grace,
Joshua and Lucia) and the SRC representatives for their efforts and support this year. I would also like to congratulate the new Year 12 leadership team of Jacelyn, Steven, Julia, Ali and Brett.
Mrs Narelle Straney – SRC Coordinator

GRC Penshurst Girls Campus SRC
Year 2013 was another busy year for GRC
Penshurst student representative council. The year started with Year 10 girls coming in on the last day of their holidays to help run a welcome barbeque for the new year 7 students. Other barbeques were run throughout the year including the Cross
Country, Japanese visitors and various Year days.
The SRC are always very keen to look after our environment and they were involved in numerous projects along these lines. They ran a Clean Up
Australia Campaign in our school grounds, Tree
Day, organised new garbage bins for the playground, Earth Hour was acknowledged with numerous posters made and hung around the school encouraging students to participate, but the most time was spent on our Climate Clever Project.
This project took the whole year and involved researching energy, looking at how the school uses energy, coming up with ideas of how to reduce energy use, budgeting and submitting our plans to the Climate Clever Committee. We were rewarded with our total proposal being granted adding up to
$1500 and we are currently implementing these plans, e.g. energy efficient washing machine and dryer in the kitchen, reminder signage to turn off the lights and ECO switches for various areas around the school.
The SRC have one major fundraiser each year which is the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea.
This year was a major success and it was around the theme of Willlie Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory. The hall was decked out with stalls and decorations and a film was played on the stage. All the food and lollies were donated by the SRC students and SRC coordinators. Prizes were awarded to the best dressed and raffles were held for those girls who had donated a gold coin for wearing mufti.
The SRC organised a Multicultural Fair where students could hire a stall to sell food from their various cultures. Money raised went towards the
Queensland flood victims and Tasmania bushfire victims.
They also organised the sale of anti-bullying wristbands for anti-bullying day. They were kept busy attending SRC regional meetings, Deputy
General for a Day, GRC Hurstville Boys Campus
Multicultural Day, Youth Eco Summit at Homebush,
GRIP Leadership Conference and SRC camp. They helped out at Parent/Teacher Nights, Presentation
Nights, Year 6 Open Night and Year 7 Orientation
Day.
Kathy Donnelly - SRC Coordinator
GRC Peakhurst Campus SRC
The 2013 SRC has had a productive, busy and rewarding year, organising activities to benefit the whole school, supporting both within and out of school initiatives and developing outstanding leadership skills in its members.
In Term 1, the SRC supported the Leukaemia
Foundation through its participation in Crazy Hair
Day. We were able to donate over $800 to this great cause due to the support and generosity of the entire school community. Special mention to
James Gray, Daniel Crowder and Jesse Donlevy who were sponsored to have their heads shaved and raised hundreds of dollars. Natalia Kuirintinus also donated her lovely ponytail of hair to a wig company. Throughout the year, there have also been many other opportunities for SRC members to develop their leadership skills through the following: School Open Night; Year 7 Meet the teacher night; Year 10 SRC becoming Peer Support
Leaders and assisting at Year 7 camp; Year 10 SRC organising and delivering fun, engaging and educational training sessions on leadership at
Leadership Camp in the National Park; the
Secondary School Leaders Program for School
Captains; chairing formal assemblies and year meetings; running sporting and gaming events. The
SRC was active in actioning and campaigning for events such as Wear It Purple Day, Mufti Days,
Harmony Day and RU Ok? Day. They also represented our campus in the community at occasions such as Remembrance Day, all the while keeping up with their studies and demonstrating their ability to be outstanding role models for our school.
9

Our Vice Captains' and Captains' major projects have included approaching the Executive of the school to allow more playground areas to be open for student use and creation of a Year 10 Mural: a concept that will allow each Year 10 group that graduates from the school to be forever remembered here at GRC Peakhurst. Our Captain
Cara Bancroft has spoken to the whole school, developed a training package and delivered successful training to others in support of The String
Movement, an important anti-bullying initiative that the SRC strongly supports. Our other Year 10 leaders have made many events possible through their planning and running of sport, social, and games events designed to foster ongoing positive relationships between the student body and staff.
Congratulations SRC 2013 for a fantastic year. You have each been outstanding role models for our school.
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus SRC
The Student Representative Council and the
Student Leadership Team of Georges River College
Hurstville Boys Campus have been working closely throughout the year to continue to bring positive changes to our school.
After the Young Leaders Conference in 2013 the SRC committed to hold weekly meetings at lunch times led by the SRC Captain, Vice-Captain and the SRC coordinator. Meetings were well attended and productive and included the planning of fundraisers, responding to reports from district SRC meetings, organising Harmony Day and other student events, and actioning the Year 7 SRC support group.
The Halogen Leadership Conference (above) gave our students - Martin Nguyen, Alex Zhu, Kelvin Liu and Sugam Bhandari the opportunity to enter the
2013 Leadership Competition for SRC candidates.
10
This enabled them to get a head-start on their organisational and leadership skills for 2014.
World Vision is one of the fundraisers that GRC-HBC is proud to support every year. The SRC organises fundraising activities to raise funds to sponsor and support our fourteen year old boy named Tizazu
Berisso from Ethiopia.
The SRC also supports the Cancer Research
Foundation through fundraising for events including
Daffodil Day and Bandana Day.
In 2013 our Principal Mrs Larcombe personally supported cancer research by raising funds for the
Chris O’Brien Lighthouse. Mrs Larcombe was grateful for all the support she received from both staff and students.
At our regular SRC meetings the leadership team led discussions to guide and support our younger students about our school values – RESPECT,
RESPONSIBILITY and EXCELLENCE.
The SRC also played a major role in preparing the
‘MATRIX’ for ‘The GRC Way Expectations’ (code of conduct) that is now included in our diaries.
The newly elected SRC and leadership team of 2014 look forward to working together with teachers and students, to continue to make a positive impact on our school and in our community.
From – Mrs Mavros and Kelvin Liu
Student enrolment profile
GRC Penshurst Girls Campus
Gender 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Female #N/A 678 679 692 710 694 696
1000
500
0
Enrolments
Year
Male Female

GRC Peakhurst Campus
Gender 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Male 433 427 430 422 394 404 406
Female 204 204 231 223 257 215 205
1000
Enrolments
500
0
Male
Year
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus
Gender 200
7
200
8
200
9
201
0
201
1
2012 2013
Male 366 377 349 349 3
5
1
32
4
31
8
Enrolments
400
300
200
100
0
Year
Male Female
GRC Oatley Senior Campus
Gender 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Male 428 437 442 454 473 441 442
Female 435 469 464 432 425 480 461
1000
Enrolments
500
0
Male
Year
11
100.0
Retention to Year 12 (SC to HSC)
50.0
0.0
SC06-HSC08 SC08-HSC10 SC10-HSC12
Note: Retention data for multi-campus colleges is aggregated across all campuses.
State
Retention Rates
Retention to Year 12
SC06-
HSC08
SC07-
HSC09
SC08-
HSC10
SC09-
HSC11
SC10-
HSC12
SC11-
HSC13
School 71.8
SEG 73.7
State 60.3
72.2
74.0
61.0
66.4
73.4
62.7
72.3
79.0
64.4
71.7
77.9
63.4
74.0
78.8
64.5
Management of non-attendance
Regular attendance at school is not only a legal requirement but is essential if students are to maximize their achievement.
Parents and guardians are legally responsible for the regular attendance at school by their children, explaining the absences of their children promptly and taking moves to resolve issues of attendance.

School staff as part of their duty of care, monitor part or whole day absences. They maintain accurate records and follow up unexplained absences through written and verbal communication, implementing programs and practices to address attendance issues when they are a problem. Clear information is given to students and parents regarding attendance and consequences of poor attendance.
Most campuses employ SMS messaging to keep parents informed and request HSLO support to assist individual families.
Staff information
GRC Peakhurst Campus has a staff of 48 teachers and 12 administration and support staff. Our dedicated teaching staff are committed to providing quality teaching in an inspiring, innovative learning environment. We deliver an excellent secondary education with diverse and flexible programs.
Support staff in the classroom are a valued resource for teaching our students with special needs
All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.
At GRC Hurstville Boys Campus , in the English faculty Kimberly Krumins Strauss was appointed to replace Nick Zouroudis who was promoted to Head
Teacher English at Peakhurst Campus. Rae Williams from the PDHPE faculty transferred to Oatley Senior
Campus and was subsequently replaced by Jeff
Moore from Peakhurst Campus. The Careers
Adviser Dennis Dal Santo retired in August with his replacement being appointed early in 2014.
GRC Penshurst Girls Campus has 48 teaching staff and 11 administration and support staff. The staff is an excellent combination of experienced and younger staff, all of whom are dedicated, enthusiastic and caring teachers and support staff.
They combine to provide innovative academic, sporting, community and cultural programs. The school is well known for its longstanding success in student leadership, volunteering, debating, public speaking, academic competitions, sport, music, visual arts, dance and drama. 100% of teaching staff are full qualified and meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.
The Staff at GRC Oatley Senior Campus consists of
72 qualified teachers, 2 student Counsellors, 2
Careers Advisers, 15 school administration staff and support staff and a Community Engagement Officer.
All teaching staff are four year trained/qualified, several with double degrees in their chosen field(s), just on 20% have Masters
Degrees and 25% have Workplace Certificates I-IV.
The school has 1 identified appointed Aboriginal staff member.
Teacher qualifications
All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools .
Qualifications
Degree
% of staff
100
Postgraduate or Diploma 65
Staff retention
Staff numbers remained relatively stable. Staff move to other campuses within Georges River
College and then teach across more than one campus.
Principal
Deputy Principal(s)
Head Teachers
College created Executives
5.0
5.0
37.0
8.0
Classroom Teachers 155.9
Teacher of Intellectual Disabilities 5.0
Teacher of multi-Categorical Class 1.0
Support Teacher Learning
Assistance
6.0
Teacher Librarian 4.0
Teacher of ESL
Counsellor
6.0
3.9
School Administrative & Support 53.0
Total 289.8
12

GEORGES RIVER COLLEGE FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Date of financial summary:
30/11/13
Income
Hurstville Boys
Campus
Penshurst Girls
Campus
Balance brought forward
Global funds
Tied funds
School/Community
Sources
Interest
326,440.98
305,310.78
250,651.35
110,901.06
481,995.85
404,034.62
106,335.50
473,106.72
Trust receipts
Canteen
Total Income
Expenditure
11,324.30
3,493.15
0
681,680.64
15,220.80
44,170.35
0
1,524,863.99
Oatley Senior
Campus
909,651.02
725,122.26
220,249.75
475,633.76
29,983.26
121,663.95
0
1,572,652.98
Peakhurst
Campus
258,580.62
421,896.65
171,487.58
290,991.41
9,100.32
47,922.45
146,942.77
1,088,341.18
Teaching and Learning
Educational Programs 110,771.10 357,616.93 594,809.54
291,122.06 253,809.06 216,967.00
295,988.00
319,359.37 Tied Funds
Administrative Programs
Administration and Office 226,527.34 413,398.63 367,486.28
School-operated canteen 0 0
834,221.41
0 144,862.00
Total Expenditure 628,420.46 1,024,824.62 1,364,200.45 1,128,397.00
Balance carried forward 379,701.16 500,039.22 846,306.05 218,524.80
This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance. A full copy of each school’s 2013 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the P&C’s. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting individual campuses.
13

GRC Concert Band, Stage Band and String
Ensemble
The GRC Concert Band and the GRC Stage Band have performed for a variety of audiences including local primary schools, and schools within the GRC Collegiate and shopping centres, and on tour around Port Stephens. The bands have been involved in Education Week, Harmony Day,
Presentation Days and Nights, and have supported the GRC Peakhurst Campus’ “Peakform”. A special
Band was created as the musical support to the
GRC Hurstville Boys/Penshurst Girls Musical
“Henry”.
Participating in the NSW Bandfest, the GRC
Concert Band won Bronze, while the GRC Stage
Band won Gold. As a reward for the two Bands’ efforts a guest conductor, Quincy Hilliard, was employed for a special workshop held at
Penshurst Girls Campus.
GRC Peakhurst Campus
As always it was a year packed with excitement for the CAPA Faculty at GRC Peakhurst Campus, packed with learning, events and individual achievement.
Tutors Concert was a new innovation started by
Peakhurst Campus. This event saw the school’s music Tutors perform and speak about their work to parents and prospective students as part of an informative and fun night. It was fantastic to see the level of expertise exhibited by the professional musicians, some of whom are well known internationally.
Parents and students were able to meet the tutors, be inspired and sign up to get lessons at school.
Recording Studio Excursion - Year 10 music students were given the opportunity to travel to
‘The Vault’ Recording Studios in Balmain East, to record ‘Try’ written by year 10 students Cara
Bancroft and arranged by the Year 10 music class.
Students in year 9 and 10 spent the day at the studio and worked exceptionally well learning how the recording and production process works and producing a recording which will be available for sale soon.
Peakform for 2013 was an immense success as students from our campus, along with guests from across our College performed. This showcase of music, drama, dance and technical expertise was presented to a large audience of students, parents and guests. A range of performances of different styles was presented on a very professional level and received an incredible amount of positive feedback. A big improvement in the production process for the entire team!
“Peakhurst’s got Talent” - for the second year running, students from across the school were invited to perform in a talent show styled on the popular reality television shows. Guest judges were invited to the event to evaluate and encourage performers who performed in a range of musical and dance acts as soloists and in
14

ensembles. Prizes were given to the top four acts of the show. Some of the performers were well known to the school while others came as a surprise to many of us.
School Spectacular - students in the GRC
Peakhurst vocal ensemble returned for the first time in 7 years to participate in the massed Arena
Choir for the 2013 Schools Spectacular. Students attended very long and intense rehearsal sessions throughout the latter half of the year, before performing at the Sydney Entertainment Centre across the last weekend of November. Everyone enjoyed the experience and enjoyed a fun time and a great opportunity. Students spent countless hours rehearsing and learning their parts, as well as some new languages.
“Mad Hatters” Year 7 Performing Arts Day - for the second year in a row, Peakhurst presented the
Mad Hatters Tea Party, a fun introduction for all the students in Year 7 to drama, dance, song and stage production. Parents and friends attended the show, followed by a lavish tea party. Any Mad
Hatter would be proud to attend. Sincere thanks must go to the large number of parents who helped with catering, props, hair and makeup, setup and pack up, and general moral support.
Open Night was an exciting event at Peakhurst with CAPA students involved in every level.
Wandering minstrels, formal performances and art demonstrations and exhibitions all added lustre to the evening.
Photography students went on an excursion to
Luna Park and created an excellent series of photographs of this iconic venue. Many students entered the Pixel Prize and several were exhibited as finalists. The whole school was invited to exhibit in the prestigious Moran Contemporary
Photography Prize and Fletcher Hall’s work was a finalist.
Peakview continues to expand and innovate, especially in the ‘Vivid’ section of the exhibition, which encompasses digital media projections on buildings and large scale installation works, complete with sound and lighting effects. F Block was transformed into an underwater scene.
Outside trees were covered with foil and lit with lights. The exhibition in the library was of a particularly high standard with every student studying art in the school exhibiting at least one work.
Draw Off - the Draw Off continues to grow, with large numbers of junior and senior students entering the heats, requiring a second final to be run on the night of Peakview to cope with the increased interest. Following the suggestion of
College Principal Carol Spittles last year, this year’s audience members were provided with sketching materials to give them the opportunity to join in the excitement of the Draw off, this was a popular innovation.
15

During 2013 GRC Hurstville Boys Campus Music
Ensembles performed at a number of events including Campus assemblies, Peakform, local community events and during their wonderful three day Band tour to Port Stephens.
The Rock Band performed at Hurstville Westfield and Rockdale Plaza to celebrate Education Week and performed for the primary students at Oatley
Public School.
The Guitar Ensemble and Vocal Ensemble performed at the Harmony Day at Penshurst Public
School and showed off their talents at Oatley
Public School.
The Vocal Ensemble as part of a mass choir were involved in a State-wide choral festival ‘In Concert’ and performed at the Sydney Town Hall with our visiting students from China. They also performed with students from other Sydney regions in the
‘Expanding Horizon Concert’ held at the Sydney
Opera House.
Seven Hurstville Boys students and approximately
50 Penshurst Girls were selected as the cast for our first joint musical production “Henry the Musical”.
Cast and crew performed two matinee and two evening shows. The success of the musical was also reported on the front page of the St George
Leader. Cheng Ma, Issa Chokr, Ben Mich, Doruk
Gul, Alex Chen, Neil Upreti and Luke Nocke represented our school with distinction. Mr
Campbell, Mr Adler, Mr Foote and Mr Inwood made valuable contributions to the success of this production.
GRC Oatley Senior Campus -
• Year 11 Debating Team – Sydney Regional
Finalist
• Julia Spyrou – Finalist in Sydney Morning
Herald Plain Speaking Competition-Topic obstetric Fistulas and the Dr Hamblin
Foundation.
• Bethany Pankhurst and Julia Spyrou Finalists in
Oatley Youth of the Year
• HSC Showcase Nights highlighting works from
Visual Arts, Ceramics, Drama, Dance and Music
• Drama Production – The Laramie Project very emotive play with strong social themes.
• GRC Stage Band – NSW Bandfest – Gold Medal
• Claudia Butters and Rebecca Hart joined talented musicians from Danebank and Trinity in featuring at Roger Woodward Charity
Concert
• Two students in NSW Performing Arts Talented
Development Program and NSW Dept of
Education and Communities Music
Ensembles.
• Rebecca Hart – St George and Sutherland
Music Award in both performance and composition
16

In 2013 GRC Penshurst Girls Campus have enjoyed many achievements.
At the Australian National Maritime Museum in
Sydney, our school was represented by three very distinct and stunning artworks, in the Koori Art
Expressions exhibition “We value the vision:
Yirrkala Bark Petitions 1963”. One of the artworks was recognised as being so appropriate that it was used as the centre piece for the promotional flyer and invitation to participating schools. This project brought together students from both Years 8 and
9.
Further to the school’s involvement in the community, a selection of Year 10 Visual Arts students particpated in a special project “Bay
Views” which was organised by the Observatory
Hill EEC. This initiative was aimed at making students more aware of their local environment, in particular the Barangaroo Headland, Walsh Bay, and Millers Point, and the function of Public Art.
From this experience feedback was given to
Observatory Hill EEC for future school projects in
2014.
Our Dance Ensemble students and Vocal group students participated in the Rotary Performing
Arts Festival at the Hurstville Marana Hall, and our school’s Presentation Night; and the Vocal Group were engaged in being part of the Schools
Spectacular which was held at the Entertainment
Centre in Sydney.
The Vocal Group participated in Harmony Day at
Penshurst Primary School, “In Concert” at the
Sydney Town Hall. They also performed at the
Harmony Festival at Penshurst Primary School and the Rotary Performing Arts Festival. Their final performance for the year was at Presentation
Night.
Nine students from the Social Justice Group participated in the World Vision Leadership
Convention. Students also organised a FUN RUN, held during the school’s Cross Country, and raised
$2391.20. This money was used to purchase clean water for a community through World Vision.
Other projects run by the Social Justice Group included ‘Operation Christmas Child’ which led to a substantial amount of boxes being sent overseas; 40 hour Famine, which raised $2,200; 2 children were sponsored through World Vision.
The Social Justice Group also held a Talent Quest to raise money for their sponsored children.
The School Musical “Henry” involved students from a range of years and included elective Year 9 and 10 Drama students, Year 8 Drama students and members from the Dance Ensemble.
Elective Visual Arts students have enjoyed excursions to the Art Gallery of NSW, the
Australian National Maritime Museum, and the
Observatory Hill EEC and the Barangaroo
Headland (under development).
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GRC Penshurst Girls Campus NAPLAN results in
2013 were outstanding with the 176 students in
Year 9 and 167 students in Year 7 sitting for the
NAPLAN tests achieving improvements above state averages.
In the Year 9 Writing component , 34 students achieved Band 10, 34 students achieved Band 9,
48 students achieved Band 8, while only 8 students achieved Band 5. Over 65% of the Year 9 cohort achieved a Band 10, Band 9 and Band 8.
These results are indicative of the hard work and effort put in by the staff and the students. The number of students in Band 10, Band 9 and Band
8 are well above the state average and show significant improvement compared to NAPLAN
2012. There has also been a vast reduction in the number of students in Band 5 compared to the state average and the results of NAPLAN 2012.
This is a promising outcome highlighting the results of a strong school community working together.
In the Year 9 NAPLAN Numeracy component, the school achieved all the school plan targets for
2013. The Year 9 students increased the number of students in the upper Bands 8, 9 and 10 up to
56.8%, a 2.2% increase compared to 2012, while also reducing the number of students in the lowest bands 5 and 6 by 8.3% compared to 2012.
This included an improvement in the Data,
Measurement, Space and Geometry areas for the
Year 9 cohort by over 12.7 scaled scores compared to 2012 which was also one on the
2013 targets. The overall Year 9 Numeracy results were 14.2 scaled scores above the state average.
This is due to the concerted efforts by staff to identify weaknesses in Year 7 and ensure students are given assistance to improve their learning outcomes.
The Year 7 NAPLAN Numeracy results were 12.6 scaled marks above the state average. In all components of the Year 7 NAPLAN Numeracy, the
GRC Penshurst Girls results were well above state average marks as well as having 62.3% of students in Bands 8/9/10 which is well above the state result.
NAPLAN results at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus in
2013 have always been pleasing with continual improvement from previous years. Students are performing strongly in all areas of the NAPLAN
18 testing, across both Numeracy and Literacy. The students’ performance in the writing component has demonstrated their outstanding achievements with all Year 7 and Year 9 students performing well above the state average. Spelling, grammar and punctuation are areas of strength for students in years 7 and 9. Year 9 writing results have shown improvement from Year 7, which indicates that students are improving their writing skills in the two-year period at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus.
The highlights of NAPLAN Literacy in Year 9 results were:
 All 176 students have improved by 28 scale scores from the 2012 data in the test aspect of
Writing.
 All 176 students are 56 scale scores above the state average in the test aspect of Writing.
 All 176 students are 24 scale scores above the state average Growth in the test aspect of
Writing.
 There is an increase in Band 8/9 in Reading.
 There is an increase in Band 10 in Spelling,
Grammar and Punctuation.
The highlights of NAPLAN Numeracy in Year 9 results were:
 64.2% of students had more than the expected growth in overall Numeracy
 65% of students were in Bands8/9/10 for
Numeracy
 There is a large increase in Bands 9/10 for all components of Numeracy, up 2.2% on 2012
 There is a substantial increase in the means for all components of Numeracy above the state mean; a 14.2 scaled score increase above state
 A large increase in Band 10 Numeracy to 20.1% which is 5.0% above DEC schools
These results also indicate that students are performing better than the state in the top bands in each of the components of the NAPLAN Literacy and Numeracy testing. There is a higher percentage of students achieving results in the top three bands compared to the state.
Overall, NAPLAN results for 2013 have shown that students’ results are improving and explicit, quality teaching is having an excellent impact on students’ overall learning.

19

20

21

GRC Hurstville Boys Campus continued its reputation of fair play and overall sporting achievement.
In 2013 our boys displayed excellent sportsmanship on and off the field; this strong commitment to sport has produced some outstanding sporting achievements in 2013.
Grade Sport – during 2013 GRC Hurstville Boys
Campus participated at a very high standard within St George Zone summer and winter grade sports competitions, fielding over 36 teams with premierships awarded to 13 B Mini Soccer Team,
2 nd Grade Touch Team, 14 years Rugby League
Team, 13 Year Soccer Team and the 2nd Grade
Table Tennis team.
This year GRC Hurstville Boys’ produced some outstanding sporting achievements at our
Swimming, Athletics and Cross Country Carnivals.
Swimming Champions 2013 - 12 Years Anthony
Halteh, 13 Years Joseph Day, 14 Years Sean Callis,
15 Years John Aitoa and 16 Years Mohammed
Hachem.
Cross Country Champions 2013 - 12 Years Basil
Nayef, 13 Years Mahmoud Saleh, 14 Years Sugam
Bhandari, 15 Years Omar Abdel Wahab, 16 Years
Aminullah Noori and 17 Years Dean Stevenson.
Athletics Champions 2013 - 12 Years Micheal Chu,
13 Years Vladimir Lozanovski, 14 Years Andrew
Kapinga, 15 Years John Aitoa and 16 Years Leon Li.
The Dragons Medal was awarded to Omar Abdel
Wahab for his significant contribution to school sport and a key member of the Rugby League,
Touch Football and Cross Country Teams and is one of our 2013 Cross Country champions.
The 2013 Premier’s Sporting Challenge Medal was awarded to Sean Callis for his commitment to fair play and contribution to his school’s weekly sporting program.
The GRC Hurstville Boys Sportsman of the Year was awarded to Omar Abdel Wahab for his participation in both summer and winter grade sport . He represented GRC Hurstville in both touch football and rugby league and was awarded the best and fairest player in both sports.
Omar also represented GRC Hurstville Boys in athletics and cross country and was selected as a member of the St George Zone Athletics and Cross
Country Teams.
He represented Sydney East Region at the CHS
Cross Country Competition and Toured the United
States with the Australian Junior Cross Country
Team .
In 2013 GRC Hurstville Boys competed in the 14
Years Rugby League (Buckley Shield) Competition.
During this knockout competition our boys played with great skill and sportsmanship. Our boys made it quickly through the early rounds defeating,
Cronulla HS, South Sydney HS and Tumut HS. For the finals they travelled to Armidale for a game against Farrar HS. After a hard contested game
Farrar won the game. Our boys should be very proud of their efforts and sportsmanship. Special mention goes to Andrew Kapinga for his on field leadership of the team.
22

GRC Oatley Senior Campus continues to develop a proud sporting culture and the school has enjoyed many sporting successes in 2013. A great deal of credit must go to all three of our junior campuses who continue to nurture the talents of so many outstanding athletes.
There have been many individual and team performances worthy of recognition throughout
2013. Below is a summary of the best of those performances.
Swimming – Kaitlin Ede, Angelique Raffo, Emma
McDonagh, Dale Wood and Jordan Henry won through St George Zone to the Sydney East
Carnival. Dale Wood was the most outstanding performer, progressing to CHS where she reached the final of the 100m butterfly and the 200 m freestyle, and won a bronze medal in the gruelling
400m freestyle. Dale also received a prestigious St
George Zone Blue for swimming.
Cross Country – Dylan Smith, Sonia Widjaja, Ali
Jebeile, Nicolas Shaw, Julia Spyrou and Renee
Button were age champions of 2013, and Renee
Button went on to win in the 16 years at St
George Zone and Sonia Widjaja progressed through to CHS in the 18 years division.
Athletics – An elite band of runners, jumpers and throwers represented the school at St George
Zone and 10 athletes progressed to Sydney East.
They included Renee Button (St George Zone 16 years age champion), Molly Towel, Ali Jebeile,
Houssam Sharafdin, Nicolas Shaw, Dylan Smith,
Anthony Malouf, Taylor Preece, Aveline Chan,
Leroy Henare and Katie Pohahau.
Two athletes won through to CHS: Dylan Smith in the 3000m walk and Taylor Preece in shot put.
GRC Oatley Senior Campus has also participated in a wide range of CHS knockout competitions including basketball, cricket, football, rugby league, rugby union sevens, hockey, tennis, volleyball, netball, touch, AFL and oz-tag.
Once again, it was the Rugby League team who enjoyed greatest success. In the highly competitive School Boys’ Trophy and University
Shield competitions, the boys progressed to the last 16 in NSW, eventually losing to Oak Hill
College and Tumut High respectively. Michael
Roche was awarded the Dragons’ Medal for his contributions to the School’s Rugby League program.
23
Many of these boys also played in the NSW Rugby
Sevens competition. They were crowned champions of Sydney South after defeating
Endeavour High and performed with distinction at the NSW Championships.
Five students were also selected for Sydney East in team sports. They included Montana Mackie and
Grace Puckett (Cricket), Michael Roche and
Michael Kanis-Parker (Touch), Ella Arifaki (Tennis) and Khaled Alfas (Rugby Union).
100 students also participated in the Premier
Sporting Challenge with the highlight being the commitment of our Learning Support Unit. Khaled
Alfas received the PSG medal for his all-round contributions to school sport.
The sportspeople of the year for 2013 were Renee
Button and Nicolas Shaw in recognition of their outstanding commitment in a number of school sporting disciplines. This award also recognised their sense of sportsmanship and respect displayed while representing the school.
Oatley can reflect positively on the achievements of 2013 and look forward to an even more successful 2014 with many outstanding athletes arriving from the junior campuses.

GRC Penshurst Girls Campus
Sport continues to be an essential part of the fabric of GRC Penshurst Girls Campus .
Not only have the girls developed into well-rounded sportswomen who are a competitive force in the
St George Zone and beyond but they are experiencing the positive benefits and enjoyment resulting from being engaged in developing lifelong physical activity habits.
Athletics at Penshurst 2013 - GRC Penshurst Girls
Campus has successfully retained the title of
Champion Girls School for both St George Zone
Swimming and Athletics Carnivals in 2013 and many of our students represented us at Regional and State level.
State Level students were:
• Swimming – Laylaa Martin and Sarah Henry
• Athletics – Chantal Yu and Amy Henry
• Sydney East Tennis – Annelise Stone
• Sydney East Cricket – Jessica Tillack
Laylaa Martin was acknowledged for her outstanding commitment to sport by being awarded the Pierre De Coubertin Award in 2013.
St George Zone Grade Sports Association premierships were won in Winter; 15B Basketball,
15A, 14B and 13A and B Netball, Open Table
Tennis and in Summer 13As Mini-Soccer.
Bianca Nagle and Heavenly Suter should be congratulated on being selected to represent NSW at the Australian Indoor Netball Championships in
December 2013. As a result of her efforts at these championships Heavenly was selected in the
Australian Team for the second consecutive year.
Teresa Li made an outstanding effort throughout the Jump Rope for Heart campaign – raising $700.
The Premier’s Sporting Challenge was hugely successful again with 345 students taking part in the 10 week physical activity challenge. We had 5 students receive a Diamond level, 260 receiving a
Gold award and 80 receiving a Silver award. All were outstanding efforts and this resulted overall in our school achieving a Gold Award. Lara
Hanscombe received the NSW Premier’s Sporting
Challenge Medal.
The newly implemented Year 7 Sports Program was a success with students gaining experience in the basic skills of many traditional sports. The program also offered the opportunity for students to participate in a five week swimming program catering to all levels of ability and a Gymnastics program at the NSW Academy of Gymnastics of 5 weeks duration that was equipped to offer all levels of skill tuition. GAT Year 7 students who represented GRC Penshurst in Grade competitions excelled in their chosen sport and some were instrumental in ensuring Premiership victories.
Overall it was a very successful year in all areas of
Sport, with unprecedented numbers of students actively participating in all our carnivals and weekly sport programs both Grade and
Recreational.
24

Debating students from GRC Oatley Senior
Campus had a tremendous year in 2013. A small group of dedicated students carried the GRC
‘Oatley Way’ well into the Premier’s Debating
Challenge through their hard work and achievements.
The students strived for quality in their debating skills and at the same time applied themselves well throughout the competition to gain the achievements that they received this year. Their achievements within their zone included defeating
St George Girls High and Jannali High. Caringbah
High became the winners for the zone, though acknowledgement should be given to the GRC
Oatley team for coming a close second as a result of their hard work.
Nevertheless the GRC Oatley Campus debating students did very well and because of their dedication, they were able to keep the debating culture at GRC Oatley campus alive and hopefully this will continue with the Year 11 students in
2014.
These students demonstrated the ‘GRC Way’ throughout the Premier’s Debating challenge, showing respect, responsibility and excellence, demonstrated through the results they have gained. The team consisted of:
Bethany Pankhurst, Sanjida Huda, Julia Spyrou,
Kristy Coleman, Lauren Hart, Nathan Wylie, Spiro
Kalavritinos, Lachlan Farrell, Mehak Changani and
Ali Jebeile.
Congratulations to all students involved in the
2013 Debating Program.
Premier’s Debating Challenge
During Terms 2 and 3, the GRC Penshurst Girls
Campus Year 7-10 debating teams participated in the Premier’s Debating Challenge where students had to prepare and present a speech on a certain topic. Penshurst Girls have won most of the rounds and even when they lost, they demonstrated their professionalism and belief of fair play.
The St George Public Speaking Eisteddfod 2013
On Friday 30 August 2013, twelve students from
Years 7-10 participated in the St George
Eisteddfod Public Speaking Competition. This competition was held after school for both public and private schools from Sydney Region. There were quite a few students who came to represent their schools. However, the majority of competitors were evidently representing
Penshurst Girls and with great pride, we can say that out of all the participants from the public and private schools, the 1 st Place was awarded to Una
Altarac, Year 8 and 4th Place was awarded to
Anna Finos, Year 7. The rest of the Penshurst girls received ribbons and certificates for their participation. We’d like to congratulate all students who participated in the St George Public
Speaking Eisteddfod for their outstanding achievements and for being great representatives of GRC Penshurst Girls Campus.
25

GRC Peakhurst Campus
In 2013, a Selected Enrichment Class ran in each of years 7 and 8 for Gifted and Talented students, with 29 students in the Year 7 class and 30 students in the Year 8 class. Selection for the Year
7 class is based on literacy and numeracy testing and other supporting evidence. Placement in the
Year 8 class is based on demonstrated academic achievement in the core subjects of English,
Mathematics, Science and HSIE. Positions in the class are monitored through the year.
A large number of extension and enrichment activities are run throughout the school, both in and out of class. One such extension activity in which the Year 7 Selected Enrichment Class participated was to examine and grow crystals.
The best crystals were entered into the RACI
Crystal Growing Competition for NSW. All the crystals submitted made the final judging. One of the crystals earned a highly commended place and another gained third place. An enrichment activity provided for the Year 7 Selected
Enrichment Class was an introductory robotics program, using kits to build and program robots for a variety of tasks. In addition, the members of the Selected Enrichment Classes are asked to participate in at least four extracurricular activities during the year.
The program is to be extended in 2014, with
Gifted and Talented students in Year 9 being placed in Selected Enrichment Classes in an
English/HSIE stream and/or a
Mathematics/Science stream.
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus
2013 ICAS Science Competition results: Year 7 four credits, Year 8 one credit, Year 9 one distinction and four credits, Year 10 one distinction and seven credits.
Australian Geography Competition - This year our school gained 14 Credits, 8 Distinctions and 5 High
Distinctions. These are outstanding results considering that our students were up against students from academically selective schools and private schools. So congratulations in particular go to these boys who achieved such admirable results.
In the Junior Division: Andy Wu, Mahmoud Safa,
Ali Makki and Joseph Day. In the Intermediate
Division: Raunak Sitoula Muslim Zeiour, Jess
Sakhonphantharak, Shahneel Khan, Kelvin Liu,
Raukawaitui Nuku Ratana, Jimmy Huynh, Hassan
Elbatoory and Sugam Bhandari. In the Senior
Division Leon Li
The highest level that can be achieved is called a
High Distinction. To achieve this you have to be placed within the top 15% Australia wide. The following students were able to do better than this – all achieved in the top 10%!
In the Junior Division: Mehdi Hamdi – achieved in the top 5% Australia wide while Andrew Djamaan
– achieved in the top 8%
In the Intermediate Division – Benjamin Mich –
Ben achieved in the top 8% Australia wide!
Eddison Zhao – Eddison was ranked in the top 4%
Australia wide! Leon Zheng – Leon was ranked in the top 4% Australia wide!
HSIE - Year 10 Commerce students were involved in the ASX Sharemarket game which gave them an opportunity to learn about workings of the
Australian Sharemarket and what was involved in buying and selling shares. This proved to be an invaluable experience for the students in
26

developing their understanding of investing and has been a regular competition which our students have been involved in for a number of years.
The Year 9 and 10 Commerce classes also gained the opportunity to learn about saving and investing through the ‘Startsmart’ program run by the Commonwealth Bank. Our students were able to benefit from a guest speaker from the bank’s educational unit, who conducted interesting and interactive workshops for the classes.
Year 10 Geography students undertook fieldwork activities at Cronulla in relation to their studies of
Coastal Management. This was an opportunity for the students to develop a Research Action Plan or
RAP and study the impacts of coastal development on the environment. Our Year 10
Geography Selective stream students also attended a fieldwork study day in the Rocks area of Sydney and the surrounding foreshores. The urban growth and decline of the area from Darling
Harbour to Circular Quay was examined and this included a ferry trip to view the area from the water. The students were able to gain a great insight into the development of the area.
Our Year 9 History students conducted an ANZAC ceremony during one of our school assemblies to commemorate ‘ANZAC Day’. This commemoration was conducted by Jess Sakhonphantharak and
Zain Khan and supported by 3 students, William
Yu, from the Rockdale Army Cadet Unit and
Nathan Wong and Jordan Ingamells from the
Australian Air League Unit at Riverwood. Jess and
Zain explained the origins and importance of
ANZAC day to the school, which was then followed by the playing of the Last Post and a minute’s silence. All students showed great respect for this important ceremony.
Years 7 and 8 History students were involved in an
Indigenous performance at school, which was linked to their study of 'Colonisation and Contact' in Stage 4 History. This was an interactive performance with the students learning about traditional dancing and instruments. Students were also shown traditional Aboriginal hunting tools and were well entertained throughout the whole performance.
The Gifted and Talented Program at GRC Oatley
Senior Campus continues to enrich and support our high-achieving students. This year, students were involved in community events (Optus Rock
Corps and Clean Up Australia Day); social justice action (Oaktree); media forums (Q&A) and the
Mini Model UN.
Perhaps our most notable success was the annual
GAT Day .
This event is designed to cater for all tastes and talents, with presentations and activities ranging from the serious to the silly. The premise of GAT Day is both to introduce students to their peers and to give junior students a taste of the Senior GAT Program, which involves elements of both pastoral care and learning strategies. To this end, we introduce students to two essential life skills: firstly, ‘mindfulness’ to help students better focus and deal with the inevitable pressure of the HSC; and secondly, critical thinking strategies to simultaneously broaden and refine their approach to problemsolving.
For us, it is crucial that the GAT Program is applicable not only across the KLAs, but beyond the classroom and into the world with its confusing plethora of possibilities that, as young adults, they will only successfully negotiate by making informed, ethical choices.
27

GRC Penshurst Girls Campus
English Report
ICAS English Writing Competition - On 31 July, 31 students from Years 7-10 participated in the ICAS
English for Reading and Writing Competition. This year, we achieved outstanding results with two high distinctions, two distinctions and 14 credits.
Congratulations to the following students for their great achievements:
Una Altarac and Karen Richardson Year 8 received a High Distinction. Frances Cooney Year 10 and
Julia Saab Year 9 received Distinction.
Ivana Vujica Year 9, Chloe Hart, Elyce Cutajar and
Claire Ollivain Year 8 and Jacinta Lu Year 7, received Credits.
• Providing bilingual ESL reports for students where this is deemed beneficial.
ESL
In providing a challenging learning environment, the ESL teachers have worked consistently to build
ESL students’ self-esteem and raise their academic performance through:
English as a Second Language staff at Penshurst
Girls Campus have worked consistently in 2013 to provide a supportive, caring and challenging learning environment for ESL girls. This has been established by successfully implementing whole school organisational practices:
• Working in close liaison and maintaining regular contact with the Intensive Language
Centres and local schools which feed into our school. The result has been a reputation of having a caring program through which
Language Background Other Than English
(LBOTE) students are welcomed and made to feel confident about high school from the first day of their arrival.
• Providing interpreter services to students and their parents whenever required.
• Providing parents of LBOTE students with departmental school materials in their native language.
•
•
•
Incorporating varying teaching methodologies tailored to meet students’ needs and interests such as team-teaching, parallel classes, small groups and one-to-one.
Providing support in most subject areas by providing modified subject materials and tasks which allow ESL students to feel confident about their subjects.
Acknowledging the successful learning outcomes of LBOTE students through the
Awards System .
In 2013, LBOTE students performed very well and achieved exceptional results. All aimed for excellence with most achieving consistently good grades across the curriculum areas and most of them gained places in selective high schools.
Overall, ESL staff at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus continue to provide a supportive learning culture to assist LBOTE students cope with the language and cognitive rigours of academic learning.
The Penshurst Girls Human Society and Its
Environment Faculty and its students were involved throughout the year in numerous activities that extended their skills in the relevant subjects. The Les Gordon History Debate had selected Year 10 students sharpening their public speaking and debating skills. Our Aboriginal students in Year 7 participated in Speak Up, a
Public Speaking competition and Nikita Tasker
Year 10 also contributed to debating together with students from Ashfield Boys High School.
They prepared persuasive arguments for their parliamentary cases as part of the Indigenous
28

Secondary School Debate held at NSW Parliament
House. Further achievements were gained by
Nikita Tasker when she received the Deadly Kid
Award 2013.
Year 9 History Elective also added to the list of achievements with their involvement with
Hurstville City Museum learning how to set up a museum. They were also actively involved in setting up their own display for opening of the
School Museum during Back to School Day 2013.
Year 9 History students should also be commended for the Annual ANZAC assembly and their attendance at the Schools Remember ANZAC
Ceremony at Hyde Park. Our Aboriginal students should also be recognised for their fabulous
NAIDOC Week assembly which featured an address by Auntie Fay and a presentation on the
50 th anniversary of the Yirkalla Bark Petition.
In 2013, 128 students sat for the Australian
Mathematics Competition (AMC), 40% of all participants received certificates of Distinction and Credit. Sophie Sender Year 7, Reem Wehbie
Year 7, Shakeela Martin Year 8, Angel Yang Year 8,
Chelsea Wu Year 9, Anusha Basnet Year 9,
Vanessa Li Year 9, Connie She Year 9, Yalinna Yang
Year 10 and Lisa Shi Year 10 were all recipients of the AMC Distinction Certificates which places them in the top 15% of their year and region.
In 2013, 63 students sat for the International
Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS).
GRC Penshurst results were above the NSW and
ACT average, 13 students received certificates of
Distinction.
GRC Penshurst Campus also participated in the
Sydney Region “Number Cruncher’s” competition organised by Ms Vicky Kuang. The competition involved each of the participating schools selecting their best “number cruncher”. The
29 cluster final was held at GRC Penshurst Girls
Campus and included a Golden Pi and Rubik’s
Cube competition. Our top scorer in the competition was Vicky Xu of class 7K.
To enhance students’ existing mathematical skills all students in Year 7 were involved in the “World of Maths” day at school. All students were involved in a variety of activities involving hands on activities, ICT, Maths Trivia and Problem
Solving. These activities were designed to cater for all student levels and abilities with the emphasis on making Mathematics fun and improving student engagement.
TAS Competitions - In the UNSW Global ICAS
Computer Skills Competition Simran and Natasha from Year 7 received Distinctions and Faith from
Year 10 received a Credit.
Students entered the Wool 4 Skools competition where they were required to design a woollen outfit for a member of the royal family.
TAS Excursions and other initiatives - Students in
TAS were given some real life experiences:
• Year 10 IST class had the opportunity to go to the Microsoft Headquarters in North Ryde.
The students toured the facility and were given lectures about a career in IST. They also had the opportunity to design possible new apps for Microsoft.
• Year 7 Technology visited Luna Park to analyse factors influencing design and to design new uniforms for staff.
• Year 10 visited Sydney Tower Restaurant to experience the food service and catering industry in action.

Some Year 10 students were given the opportunity to develop coffee making skills by undertaking a Barista Course. This helped them to be better prepared for job opportunities in the food industry.
The catering crew continued to develop their skills in food preparation, presentation and service by catering for many school events this year including
Year 7 Welcome Evening, the opening of the
School Museum, Presentation Night and Year 10
Graduation.
The food laboratories were painted and retiled to ensure students were working in safe and hygienic conditions.
Science - Year 7 went to Taronga Zoo for the day to focus on Vertebrate animals and classification as part of the Unit of work entitled “The Zoo”. The students also participated in a hands-on lesson where they were able to handle some of the zoo’s native animals.
Year 8 went to the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife
World in Darling Harbour as part of “Australian
Ecosystems” They focused on different habitats and ecosystems of plants and animals as well as the adaptations required for them to survive.
Year 9 went to the Powerhouse Museum to see an exhibition “Ecologic” which focused on becoming more self-sufficient and to aim for sustainability.
They also went to the IMAX Theatre to watch the
3D movie “Under the Sea” which outlined humans’ effect on the environment.
Year 10 went to the Bstreetsmart Youth Roads
Trauma Forum at Allphones Arena as part of a cross curricular project with PDHPE. This was related to both the unit of work on Physics entitled “The Science of Car Crashes” as well as informing youth about the consequences of taking risks.
Year 8 students sat the ESSA test which was online again this year and the results showed that
Penshurst was almost 5% above the state average in all areas except for Investigations where we were almost 10% above the state average.
The GRIN project has continued as well with nearly 10 primary schools attending our Science
Laboratories to learn the art of the Science
Practical. This was very popular with the students and is one of the reasons why many parents choose to send their students to Penshurst.
17 students sat for the ICAS Science Competition of which 7 received a credit award.
Year 10 students also participated in the Georges
River College Common Science Test for the second year which provided the Senior Campus with much needed pre-information for most of its new student intake. It was also a chance for students across the college to complete the same activity regardless of campus.
30

The MySchool website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and numeracy testing (NAPLAN).
Click on the link http://www.myschool.edu.au and enter the school name in the Find a school section and select GO.
In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10.
The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments.
Year 3: from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest for
Year 3)
Year 5: from Band 3 (lowest) to Band 8 (highest for
Year 5)
Year 7: from Band 4 (lowest) to Band 9 (highest for
Year 7)
Year 9: from Band 5 (lowest) to Band 10 (highest for Year 9)
In the Higher School Certificate the performance of students is reported in performance bands ranging from Performance Band 1 (lowest) to
Performance Band 6 (highest).
Overall, NAPLAN results for 2013 have shown that students’ results are improving and explicit, quality teaching is a having an excellent impact on students’ overall learning.
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus
Year 7 Literacy (Reading) Compared to the trend over the last three years (2010-2012) there has been a decrease in the percentage of students performing in the lowest Bands (Band 4 or below) in Reading.
Numeracy Year 7 students at Hurstville Boys
Campus scored from Band 4 (lowest) to Band 9
(highest) with all students performing at or above national minimum standards in numeracy.
Compared to the trend over the last three years
(2010-2012) there has been a steady decrease in the percentage of students performing in the lowest Bands (Band 4 or below). No students performed below minimum standards, a result which outperforms the Australian schools average.
Year 9 Literacy (Reading) Compared to the trend over the last three years (2011-2013) there has been a significant decrease in the percentage of students performing in the lowest Bands (Band 4 or below) in Reading. Students have shown excellent scaled score growth and performed well above the average growth for all Australian schools in Reading.
Year 9 Numeracy Students at Hurstville Boys
Campus scored from Band 5 (lowest) to Band 10
(highest).
Compared to the trend over the last three years
(2011-2013) there has been a steady increase in the percentage of students performing in the top Band
(Band 10) in numeracy.
Students have shown good scaled score growth performing above the average growth for all
Australian schools in numeracy .
GRC Penshurst Girls Campus
Year 9 Literacy
The highlights of NAPLAN this year go to Year 9 results:
 All 176 students have improved by 28 scale scores from the 2012 data in the test aspect of
Writing.
 All 176 students are 56 scale scores above the state average in the test aspect of Writing.
 All 176 students are 24 scale scores above the state average Growth in the test aspect of
Writing.
 There is an increase in Band 8/9 in Reading.
 There is an increase in Band 10 in Spelling,
Grammar and Punctuation.
Year 9 Numeracy
In Year 9, 35 students achieved Band 10, an increase of 5.4% compared to 2012, 30 students received Band 9, an increase of 1.2% compared to
2012, 34 students received Band 8, 45 students
31

received band 7, 20 students received Band 6 a decrease of 10.6% compared to 2012 and 10 students received Band 5. GRC Penshurst Girls
Campus results were impressive and went way beyond our targets as outlined in our School Plan.
Congratulations must go to all the Maths staff for their commitment and dedication in achieving our goals.
Essential Secondary Science Assessment (ESSA)
ESSA is a statewide Science assessment program based on the NSW Science Years 7-10 Syllabus, which mandates the teaching of science in contexts that assist students to see the relevance of science and to make meaning of scientific knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes.
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus - An overall 3 year upward trend of improved ESSA results continues in all 3 test categories: Knowledge and
Understanding, Communicating Scientifically and
Working Scientifically .
In 2013 students again achieved results above the state average in the Knowledge and
Understanding category and well above the state average in the Communicating Scientifically category.
GRC Penshurst Girls Campus - Science continues to be an area of expertise and high achievement at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus. In 2013, 157 Year
8 students completed the online ESSA task and the results continue to be excellent with 70.7% of students achieving in the top 3 levels which is
9.3% above the state average. For the 3 rd year in a row there were no students in the lowest level and the number of students in Levels 2 and 3 were
8.0% below state, which is also a 6.0% reduction compared to 2012. Students are finding Science interesting and are improving year by year.
RoSA
In 2012 Georges River College moved towards the idea of ‘College exams’ in place of individual yearly exams for Year 10 and also of the traditional
School Certificate exams. A team of teachers representing each campus collaboratively prepared and marked exams in each mandatory subject. Students received an overall mark which could be compared across the junior campuses and used towards determining their overall RoSA grade.
The highest achievement for GRC Hurstville Boys
Campus was five students from the top Maths class being placed in the top ten rankings in Maths across the college: Ezral Belaza ranked 1
John 3 rd , Hussain Fayad 4
Conhaire Hogan 10 th th st overall, Emile
, Suade Piho 6 th and
. Other high achievers were:
Muslim Zeiour who was ranked 3
7 th
HSIE and 14 th rd in Science and
in HSIE overall; Jason Ha who was ranked 2nd in
in English overall; Issa Chokr 7 th in
Science overall and Cheng Li Ma who was ranked 7 th in HSIE overall.
Individual GRC Peakhurst Campus student achievements in these exams included high achievers in the 90-100 percentile band:
English : Daniel Crowder, Stephanie Savidis, Joshua
Glover, Sarah Fleming-Conlon, Matthew Zunic,
Natalia Kuirintinus, Simon Cheah, Jordan Hawkes and Demi Waerea
Mathematics 5.3
: Anirudh Banerjee (3 rd
Glover and Joshua Round
), Joshua
Mathematics 5.2
: Bella Baiq (8 th
(10 th
Walsh
), Guangliang Zhang
), Heleena Psegianakis, Jason Si Liu, Mitchell
Science : Joshua Round (2
Anirudh Banerjee (8
Glover nd ), Daniel Crowder (4 th ), th ) , Benjamin Muffett, Joshua
History : Joshua Round (1 st ), Anirudh Banerjee (6 th
Daniel Crowder (8 th ), Joshua Glover (9 th
(10 th
Sutton, Zane Makie, Amber Griffiths.
),
), Ryan Swift
), Betty Mekonnen, Natalia Kuirintinus, Simon
Cheah, Stefanos Maragkakis, Callum Legge, Holly
Geography : Joshua Glover (1
(4 th ), Jordan Hawkes (5
Anthony Tilocca (7 th th st ), Anirudh Banerjee
), Joshua Round (6
), Betty Mekonnen (10 th ), th ),
Callum Legge, Joanna Rizzov, Robert Henby, Daniel
Crowder, Dana Thomas, Natalia Kuirintinus, Ryan
Swift, Cara Bancroft, Sarah Slattery, Andjela Tepic,
Jordan Lang and Hayden Fish.
32

HSC: Course Summary Table School
2013
Ancient History 70.0
Biology
Business Studies
Chemistry
Community and Family Studies
Dance
Drama
Earth and Environmental Science
Economics
Engineering Studies
English (Standard)
English (Advanced)
English as a Second Language
Food Technology
Geography
Industrial Technology
Information Processes and Technology
Legal Studies
General Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics Extension 1
Mathematics Extension 2
Modern History 73.2
Music 1
Music 2
74.8
79.0
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education 62.6
Physics 69.7
Senior Science
Society and Culture
Textiles and Design
Visual Arts
75.1
81.8
75.0
78.6
70.7
67.7
77.0
79.5
76.3
Chinese Background Speakers
French Beginners
Italian Beginners
Japanese Beginners
Construction Examination
Entertainment Industry Examination
Hospitality Examination
78.6
75.1
65.4
75.2
64.8
69.1
77.0
74.0
72.9
75.0
74.4
75.7
70.6
72.5
70.4
69.9
65.0
75.8
70.1
70.9
69.1
65.2
76.2
State DEC
2013
69.3
72.6
72.8
64.0
76.3
81.4
83.2
72.8
71.2
75.4
71.9
75.0
75.8
73.3
73.8
73.5
63.8
78.5
69.7
68.9
67.6
69.9
73.5
78.7
86.4
68.8
73.3
71.9
77.4
72.4
77.5
81.9
75.2
69.3
71.9
66.9
69.2
74.0
School
Average 2009-
2013
70.7
73.3
71.8
68.1
75.1
79.8
83.0
73.6
72.1
72.5
72.4
72.5
71.5
77.5
67.6
70.6
64.4
77.3
71.5
70.3
70.9
62.1
71.9
75.2
76.7
68.2
71.6
74.2
77.9
75.5
77.0
79.0
70.8
66.7
72.5
61.5
69.3
74.3
SSG
2013
70.8
74.3
71.6
66.1
75.7
80.3
79.7
73.3
70.7
74.8
73.2
76.8
70.7
73.9
65.1
78.1
70.5
70.7
69.0
71.6
73.3
80.9
69.5
71.5
73.0
79.1
73.6
79.2
74.0
33

HSC Top Achievers List
• Rhonda Douroukis - First in the state in
Modern Greek
• Cleo Ioannou - Second in the state in
Modern Greek
• Claudia Saab - First in the state in
Human Services and 18th in state the in
General Mathematics
All Rounders List
Lisa White and Claudia Saab.
HSC Distinguished Achievers List
111 Students were named on this list.
HSC DUX - Lisa White 98.7.
ATARS - 10 above 95 (Schools do not have access to ATARS and rely on information being given by students.)
115 students received TAFE credentials with
6 courses offerred on site at GRC Oatley
157 students Australian Vocational
Framework Qualifications .
Congratulations to our Year 12, 2013 and their teachers for the excellent HSC results
GRC Oatley is proud to be a comprehensive school catering for both academic students seeking university entry and those seeking an alternative curriculum and entry to TAFE and employment.
VET Awards 2013
Significant programs and initiatives
National Partnerships
GRC Peakhurst Campus: Empowering Local
Schools National Partnership
In 2012, the Australian Government committed to funding a program called the ‘Empowering Local
Schools National Partnership’ (ELSNP). The aim of
34 the National Partnership is to “empower participating schools to make decisions at a local level, supporting them to better respond to the needs of students and the school community and provide services designed to assist their students to achieve their best educational outcomes.”
In 2013, GRC Peakhurst was one of the 229 NSW schools involved in the program. We have developed and implemented a number of initiatives to improve student welfare, social and educational outcomes, while strengthening family and community engagement.
A solid foundation of student welfare was seen by our school community as essential to improving educational outcomes, so our major initiatives funded by the ELSNP were a second Deputy
Principal (Mr Scott Wilson), a Welfare Head
Teacher (Miss Michelle Walton) and a Community
Engagement Officer (Mr Fred Sevealii).
The presence of a second Deputy Principal has allowed the school to be proactive in developing welfare and discipline strategies with the main focus being on developing and implementing
‘Positive Behaviour for Learning’ as a major whole
College program to achieve important social and learning outcomes while preventing problem behaviour.
Having a Welfare Head Teacher has been instrumental in dealing with day-to-day issues of student health, wellbeing, resilience and relationships. The Welfare Head Teacher has provided leadership of our Welfare and Learning
Support Teams, maintained important links with health professionals, counsellors, family and community organisations, and initiated a number of programs such as ‘Peer Support’ and ‘Jump
Start’
Our “Community Engagement Officer” is a mentor from the Pacific Islander community who is improving school/family relationships, building community links and providing a role model for students experiencing difficulties with education and identity. The program has been so successful

it has expanded beyond the Pacific Islander community to other cultural and indigenous groups, engaging students, reducing truancy and improving educational and social outcomes.
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus - Improving Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership
The Improving Literacy and Numeracy National
Partnership (ILNNP) is a whole school approach to improving student outcomes in the area of literacy and numeracy.
Our schools focus in 2013 and beyond is the literacy aspect, particularly focusing on reading and comprehension strategies and concentrating on the underlying school culture of continuous improvement to optimise student achievement and to ensure sustainability.
The whole school approach is evidence-based and incorporates research done on how increased physical activity improves student engagement. It is for this reason that, coupled with the literacy strategies, the year 8 cohort engaged in daily morning cardiovascular physical activity.
We used the literacy continuum K-10 to plan teaching strategies and assess, track and monitor student progress through the year. Curriculum based assessments were used in the pre and post testing of student comprehension skills. Pre and post fitness tests were used to assess student cardiovascular endurance.
Professional learning for every staff member focused on reading and comprehension strategies.
Teaching strategies included the explicit use of the
“Super Six” reading and comprehension strategies and the “4 roles of the reader”
Reciprocal observations of staff posing as “critical friends” ensured that our literacy targets identified in our school plan were directly related to classroom practice that improved learning outcomes in all KLA’s. With their “critical friend”, all teachers discussed literacy performance and progress, regularly evaluated how our strategies achieved the schools literacy targets and used this data to further inform school planning and areas for development.
Our school staff shares the responsibility for the literacy learning of all students evidenced in the development of targets and improved learning outcomes. A reflective survey of staff and students indicated a 100% increase by staff in the application of the Super Six strategies in their classrooms and an 82% increase in student understanding of the application of these strategies. Analysis of student pre and post test data revealed a 12% improvement in overall results within the first 6 months of program implementation. Seven students performed
‘above program expectation’. Further improvement is anticipated as the program continues in 2014 during which more data will be accumulated and analysed.
Aphrodite Cox Deputy Principal ATL (NSWIT)
Aboriginal education
We have significant programs across all the
Campuses in the College.
At GRC Oatley Senior Campus a number of initiatives were introduced to assist indigenous students with their learning, and appreciation of their rich culture.
Under the guidance of Ms Alexiou and James
Munroe, our Community Engagement Officer, the
“Camp fire” group was formed where Aboriginal students regularly meet to discuss issues and share ideas. The development of a sense of heritage was developed through a liaison with the
Department of Education and Communities
Aboriginal Education Officer. Support for the program also involved Hurstville Council and St
George Youth Network. Aiming for personal best and consistency of attendance is also an aim of the project.
GRC Oatley was very proud to nominate Katelyn
Farmer for a Deadly Kids Award which Katelyn received in November. Katelyn is a talented artist who works in many different forms of artistic expression. Katelyn’s work has featured in several publications and exhibitions.
The rich history of Australia’s Aboriginal people is incorporated into many areas of the curriculum.
During our NAIDOC Week assembly, $500 was raised to donate to Helping Hands, an organisation that promotes literacy in children in remote areas of Australia.
35

At GRC Penshurst Girls Campus , our Aboriginal students in Year 7 participated in Speak Up, a
Public Speaking competition and Nikita Tasker
Year 10 also contributed to debating together with students from Ashfield Boys High school they prepared persuasive arguments for their parliamentary cases as part of the Indigenous Secondary School Debate held at
NSW Parliament House (Debaters Isabelle Dunne and Talara Tonna Reilly pictured above) Further achievements were gained by Nikita Tasker when she received the Deadly Kids Award 2013. Our
Aboriginal students ran a fabulous NAIDOC Week assembly which featured an address by Auntie Fay and a presentation on the 50
Yirkalla Bark Petition. th anniversary of the
At GRC Peakhurst Campus Peakhurst Campus continues to develop strong community and student partnerships in 2014 with the introduction of regular GRC Aboriginal Education and AECG network meetings, the continued implementation of Personal Learning Plans for our Aboriginal students, the development of a junior AECG, upcoming NAIDOC events and the celebration of
Reconciliation week.
In 2013 students in Year 7 and 8 participated in
Speak Up, a Public Speaking competition held at
NSW Parliament House. Students were involved in a public speaking forum which required them to attend several workshops aimed at developing the student’s confidence in public speaking skills along with the invaluable opportunity to connect and network with other Aboriginal students from across our region. Violet – Craven Miller from year
7 went on to win ‘Speak Up’ in 2013.
Year 9 student Tully Brown was awarded the ‘Two
Ways Together’ Aboriginal Education Scholarship and was also a very proud recipient of the Deadly
Kids Award.
At GRC Hurstville Boys Campus Aboriginal education is embedded across all parts of the GRC
Hurstville Boys Campus curriculum and allows our students to develop a meaningful understanding of Aboriginal culture. Over the past 2 years, our students have complemented their studies of
Australian Indigenous culture by attending an
Indigenous performance from Ryka Ali and his grandmother Cindy. Ryka’s heritage stems from the Wuthathi tribe around Cape York and he is a proud ambassador for Australia’s Indigenous youth. This was a great opportunity for our students to experience aboriginal culture, music and story-telling. It was very much an interactive performance with quite a few students (and some teachers) taking the opportunity to get up on stage and performing traditional dancing as well as being shown how to play the didgeridoo.
Students were also shown traditional aboriginal hunting tools and were well entertained throughout the whole performance. This was a wonderful opportunity for the our students to develop a better understanding of the aboriginal culture and complement the work done in class related to Aboriginal studies. Another performance has been arranged for 2014, as it is seen as an important cultural experience for our students.
36

GRC Oatley Senior Campus worked closely with the local community and agencies to promote an understanding of diverse cultures and their contribution to multicultural Australia.
The employment of Mr James Munroe, our
Community Engagement Officer, fosters strong links between community organisations and the school.
Some of the featured events in 2013 were: -
Performances at two NRL events by the Polynesian group, Hurstville City Council Harmony Day and
Mortdale Community Service Day. Multicultural performances were also incorporated into school assemblies and functions. The campus worked closely with Mortdale Community Service to support several functions highlighting acceptance and understanding of the diverse cultures that make up our community. We hope this extends to further cooperation between the community on developing sections of the school vegetable garden and community cooking lessons Samoan
Independence Day and the Campfires were highlights of the year using produce from our vegetable garden.
At GRC Hurstville Boys Campus there was a
Chinese taster course organised for all Year 8 students at end of 2013, the students learnt some of the Chinese culture and some basic dialogue within their normal language lesson conducted by
Ms Samman. In 2013, we ran a Chinese language class in both Years 9 and 10.
The most significant highlights of the project were undoubtedly the overseas study trip to China for our students and teachers. The trip not only allowed our students and teachers the opportunity to visit places of importance in China but also, to learn more about the country, its people, culture, history and language. The trip also provided students and teachers with the opportunity to establish relationships with a sister school in China
37 and connect with local students and teachers on a personal level to enhance collaboration and communication. We are hoping that these relationships will continue to grow and prosper in the years to come. As a result of the trip, an opportunity will become available for our school to host teachers and students in Australia in the future to repay the favour and share with them exciting things about our education system, language, culture and the Australian way of life.
In July the school hosted 17 Chinese students and
2 teachers from China over a two week period.
The visitors were absorbed into school culture and enjoyed extracurricular activities including an excursion to Cronulla beach as well as participating in lessons at our school. The Happy Travels group expressed their appreciation of the hospitality shown to them by our staff and students.
Community harmony activities
Our biannual Multicultural Day, a school highlight was resurrected following the building works and provided a wonderful opportunity for our school to celebrate the cultures of the 89 nations represented within the school.
Students participated in multicultural performances, a multicultural feast and sporting activities and dances from all over the world.

Antiracism initiatives: “Use Another Word”
This Anti-bullying program is designed to decrease the incidence of disrespectful language and ‘put downs’ used by students towards other individuals.
Hurstville Campus is a very diverse, multicultural school. Disrespectful language can become almost respectful due to its frequent use. Teachers underwent intensive training in the implementation of the program and students have now learnt to “think before they speak”. The school as a whole has embraced the program and reduced disrespectful, anti-social language, leading to a more tolerant school community where students are more engaged and involved in their learning.
The ethos of our College is built upon the development of respectful, responsible and excellent attitudes and behaviour throughout our college community. It is about being the best we can be and is supported through our teaching programs, extra-curricular projects and campus based behaviour and welfare programs which we operate each year. The values and expectations these programs advance are reinforced by our clearly articulated, explicitly taught and consistent code of conduct.
2012 saw the investigation of positive behaviour for learning and the development of a College
Values and Expectations Policy. 2013 saw the implementation of the program leading to the explicit teaching of how students can show respect, responsibility and excellence.
Details of many other programs in operation at our
College which promote respectful, responsible and excellent behaviour are included throughout this report, in particular in the sections included welfare, SRC, multicultural education and aboriginal education.
White Ribbon Day at GRC Oatley Senior Campus
“When I think of my mum, my sisters and the girls I go to school with, I would hate to think of one of them suffering violence or harassment ”.
Oatley student Tapa Paulo, Captain of the Rugby
League team followed some of his NRL idols in becoming an ambassador for ending the silence on violence against women.
Soon thereafter other male students and teachers joined Tapa, with the result being a moving assembly in which our men swore the White
Ribbon Oath and signed a symbolic ribbon.
In 2013 Year 11 students created an event which included heartfelt speeches by young men and an appearance by 10-year ambassador for White
Ribbon, Mario Fenech, who also gave his time for photographs and congratulated those involved in the program.
As part of the Department’s Every Student Every
School (ESES) initiative, we had an increasing number of students with additional learning and support needs enrolled in mainstream classes across the college in Years 7-12 in 2013. The school received funding for some of these students, depending on their learning and support needs.
This enabled the college to employ a number of
School Learning and Support Officers (SLSOs), who worked closely with students in and out of classrooms to assist them with accessing the curriculum and other aspects of schooling more effectively. In addition, some of our teachers also underwent additional professional learning in special education to enable them to assist students in their learning more effectively.
The ESES initiative also led to the successful establishment of a new ‘Multi-categorical’ class at GRC Hurstville Boys Campus . In 2013 the Multicategorical Class was established at Hurstville Boys
Campus. This class caters for students with two or more diagnosed disabilities, intellectual, physical, autism. The program that is offered is based on an individual Life Skills Program where student’s skills
38

are developed through a variety of skill building activities and programs. These school and community based learning experiences have enhanced the opportunities for the students to achieve independently or with support outcomes that can then be applied in real life situations.
The Learning and Support Teacher duties in 2013 included Principal initiated support as the result of return from suspension interviews and parent requests; Deputy initiated support with behaviour management counselling; Head Teacher (Welfare) support with students who are truanting, a student with anxiety disorder and students with autism and
Teacher initiated support in the area of numeracy and literacy and modifying assessments. The LaST also set up and supported a Life Skills program for
Year 9 students. The Merit System was also managed by the LaST and many students were able to participate in the Silver Award excursion during the year to Stanwell Tops Activity Centre, the
Skywalk in Centrepoint Tower, horse riding and
Jamberoo Fun Park.
TAP Project
As part of our commitment to enhancing the leadership skills of our students, we were delighted to be fortunate to once again be invited to take part in the TAP Young Leaders Foundation workshops run by Dr Peter Fuda and his team from the Alignment Partnership.
This training involved three whole day workshops over a 2-3 month period with students from five middle school campuses. Through these workshops, four of our Year 9 students, were taught about personal leadership, leadership of others and leadership in action.
As a final mission, they had the task of identifying, planning and implementing a project of their choice that would enhance and further develop their leadership skills. This initiative had to also be of practical benefit to their school.
After a lot of consultation and the addition of two more team members, the students from GRC
Penshurst Girls Campus decided to investigate ways that would enhance sustainability. The initiative that was finally chosen was the installation of a water bottle filling station. The TAP students decided that by encouraging the filling of empty bottles brought from home, students would be able to reduce the weight of items carried in their backpacks. And as part of the quest for sustainability, be able to cut down the usage of disposable plastic containers.
The water fountain is now installed and has proved to be of great benefit to our students. The young leaders involved have taken their enhanced leadership skills to Oatley Senior Campus.
GRC Oatley Senior Campus
• GRC White Ribbon Team – St George Community
Award presented by Governor Marie Bashir
• U Turn the Wheel – Joint project with Rotary to present Road Safety Program with NSW Police
Ambulance, NRMA and community organisations presented to Year 11.
• GUM Project – Green Urban Magic Joint program with TAFE & Mortdale Community
Centre working on school vegetable garden culminating in students receiving Certificate 1
TAFE credential.
• Climatic Change Student Convention held at GRC
Oatley with students from all over Sydney and
Federal Minister for Environment.
“Ultimate Vision – Monuments to Ourselves” collaboration between Hurstville Council and
Museum of Contemporary Art and GRC Gifted and Talented students.
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GRC Oatley Senior Campus support for students undertaking Year 12
• Gifted and Talented program working both within the school and university links.
• Full time teacher in the Learning Centre to assist students with organisation, research, study skills and preparation for exams and assessment tasks
• Mentor Program, Tutorial program and Learning
Coach program
• Master classes- extra classes offered at lunch times and after school
• Learning Support Team
• Designated Head Teacher Welfare and Deputy
Principal for both year 11 and 12.
• In 2014, the Year 11 Learning Coach program will target gifted and talented students to assist them with the pressure of achieving at a senior level.
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus Welfare Team
At Georges River College all our staff are committed to and play an important role in ensuring student welfare and wellbeing is at the core of everything we do. We are very pleased to say that we had some excellent common student welfare and support programs happening again across our college and also at each of our campuses throughout 2013.
Our staff continued to promote positive mental health and resilience to students through the PDHPE curriculum and also through Year meetings and student camps. Our newly appointed Year Advisers were given the opportunity to learn about the
‘Resilience Doughnut’ program and how they could use this to help them identify student strengths and make them more resilient and more capable of being able to ‘bounce back’ following difficult setbacks they may encounter as individuals or as groups.
The ‘Self Esteem’ program was another excellent initiative that was delivered by Mr Chanaoui to a select group of students at Hurstville Boys Campus in
2013 with the aim of developing student confidence and to help them build better relationships with their peers. The program consisted of a mixture of martial arts training and group discussions about positive thinking. The results were overwhelmingly positive in terms of increasing the attendance and self-esteem for the students involved.
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The college continued to work collectively on planning for the implementation of a new positive behaviour for learning (PBL) initiative, which we simply called the GRC Way . This program is designed to prevent and decrease problem behaviour, as well as promote appropriate behaviour for better classroom learning. With the implementation of the
GRC Way, we are aiming to develop quality learning environments in which all students will feel safe and secure and be able to flourish as individuals. The launch of the GRC Way is planned for early 2014 at each of the campuses.
GRC Peakhurst Campus Welfare Team
Georges River College Peakhurst Campus is committed to the welfare of all students in the school. Providing a positive and nurturing learning environment where all students are valued. Student well-being underpins all teaching and learning programs in an atmosphere of care and concern.
Georges River College Peakhurst Campus not only caters for the academic needs of the child but ensures that its students are given a diverse curriculum and a breadth of extra-curricular opportunities to meet the social and emotional needs of young people. It is our focus to equip students with the important life skills they need to be leaders and responsible participants in a rapidly changing world.

The Welfare Team consists of the Head Teacher
Student Welfare, Year Advisors, Counsellors, Deputy
Principals, SRC, Girls Supervisor and Careers Teacher.
As a group, we meet regularly to discuss issues regarding our students, reviewing ways in which to better support them in all areas.
The Head Teacher Welfare is a member of the school executive and is responsible, along with all members of staff, to ensure that student wellbeing is a high priority. The Head Teacher Welfare is also available to talk to students regarding any personal or schoolbased issues and will often work with the student individually or involve the Year Advisor, the Deputy
Principal, other agencies, parents and the school counsellor, where appropriate, to resolve issues. The
Head Teacher Welfare is also responsible for supporting the Year Advisors through regular meetings and in coordinating a range of preventative welfare programs for all students.
The Student Advisors work tirelessly to provide support to all the students in their year group, by having regular communication with parents and carers. They also organise many activities and workshops for students which are pertinent to their well-being. These have included ‘Anti Bullying’ workshops, ‘Wired’ Production, ‘Verbal Combat’
Production, ‘Cheap Thrills’ Production, guest speakers and community representatives. These activities inform and provide students with a platform of information to assist them in dealing with being a teenager in the 21st Century.
Initiatives and activities in 2013 – In 2013, the GRC
Peakhurst Campus Welfare Team was involved in creating and delivering exciting programs and initiatives that gave students opportunities in leadership, mentoring, public speaking, self-esteem and many other self-awareness activities. These included programs such as:
• Peer Support
• Jump Start Programs
• Anti-Graffiti Program
• Bully Prevention Program
• Junior Jump Start
• Primary Transition Program
• Year 10 Orientation Program
• Senior Jump Start
• PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) Student
Forum
PBL - this year also saw the introduction of PBL
(Positive Behaviour for Learning), which is a systems approach for establishing the social culture and individualised behavioural and academic supports needed for schools, to be effective learning environments for all students. Two teams were formed, one being a teacher’s team and the second a student team. We, as a school, wanted students to be empowered and participate in the decisionmaking process, through being active members in a student forum. We as a school wanted students to support the school’s implementation efforts, through input into: developing and reviewing the school-wide expectations and values. This will continue into 2014, with a PBL launch, due to take place, early in term 1.
Rewards Excursions – during 2013, the Welfare
Team organised two Rewards excursions, celebrating student achievements and the positive movements
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in our Welfare Point System. In Term 2, these students were taken to King Pin Laser Skirmish and
Bowling, in Darling Harbour. In Term 4, our second rewards excursion took them to Jamberoo
Recreation Park.
Rewards Morning Teas – each term, the Welfare team congratulated the achievement of students for doing school service in a variety of ways. Each student received a special letter to take home to their parents and was rewarded for being involved in:
• Peer Support
• Media, light, chair, sound and stage crew
• Aerobics and Dance Teams
• Peer Reading Program
• Bully Prevention student Forum
It gives us great pleasure to reward students for all their successes, whether it is academic, sporting, school citizenship or any other school involvement which allow for students to do their best. We are looking forward to seeing how many more students will be rewarded in 2014.
Year 7 Yap Day in 2013 organised by the GRC
Penshurst Girls Campus Welfare team continued to provide enriching and engaging welfare orientated activities for all students. A primary way in which this was achieved was through the Year Adviser
Program Days (YAP) which explored themes such as goal setting, cyberbullying, drug and alcohol education and being respectful to one another.
These annual YAP days organised and initiated by the Year Advisers have become an integral part of the welfare framework at GRC Penshurst Girls
Campus as they have enabled students to learn new skills and to develop a deeper understanding of issues that relate to their age group.
Year 10 YAP Day 2013 - Respectful Relationship:
Throughout the year students were also encouraged to thoughtfully consider the choices they make and to consider the ramifications of their actions. This was especially highlighted through the Motivational
Media presentation titled Mad for Life.
In this presentation a number of inspiring individuals presented their personal stories about how they had overcome adversity and poor choices to turn their lives around. Students were also challenged to reflect on the friendships that they had formed and to evaluate the level of support that they gave to those around them whilst also examining their own support networks.
Peer Support Leaders 2013
Our Peer Support Coordinators Mr Ng and Mrs
Thomson implemented the successful expansion of our Year 7 Peer Support program which has worked well to support Year 7 students as they make the transition into high school. It also enabled Year 10 students to develop their leadership skills and to strengthen their mentoring capabilities.
In 2014 we look forward to supporting the implementation of the Positive Behaviour for
Learning program (PBL) and to further developing the resiliency and wellbeing of all students.
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GRC Peakhurst Campus Selective Stream Survey
In 2012, GRC Peakhurst established a selective stream class in Year 7 for Gifted and Talented students. This initiative continued and expanded in 2013, with a Year 8 class established as well. A survey of staff and parents was conducted to consider if any modifications were needed to the processes associated with selection, communication, reporting and evaluation of student progress.
Following consultation, the following areas were identified for adjustments and the solutions listed.
• Selection Criteria for access to the selective stream is not widely understood.
Solution: Publish criteria on website and forward a copy to every parent.
• Student progress not regularly reported to parents.
Solution: Report classroom progress to students and parents on a regular basis. A timeline for reporting established and communicated to students and parents. Reporting format developed for these students.
• Assessment tasks/Assignments have a mark or grade but no reference to position in task.
Solution: A Class Average or Rank should appear alongside the raw mark so parents can see students result in relation to the cohort.
• Evaluation of class membership at the conclusion of each semester not transparent.
Solution: Must be transparent and justifiable.
Communicate process and criteria to students and parents. Selection panel briefed on criteria.
• Students who are moved from the class after evaluation of progress are not supported with their learning needs.
Solution: An Individual Learning Plan (ILP) should be developed for each student.
Professional Development is the cornerstone of all change processes within the college. Every campus in GRC has a comprehensive professional learning plan tied to school plan and targets. Across the college staff participated in the following professional activities:
• Staff wellbeing.
• Understanding new developments in the
Australian curriculum.
• Leadership and career development- specialised workshops.
• PBL.
• School development days were focused on: o
Every Student Every School and curriculum differentiation. o
Analysis of data to improve student outcomes and HSC results. o
ALARM strategies to assist Middle Years
Performance. o
Adolescent brain research and its application for teaching and learning. o
Literacy skills- the six super strategies. o
Peer Coaching. o
Resiliency. o
Compliance training in child protection.
Staff have attended various courses run by DEC and
Board of Studies to ensure that they are up to date in providing state of the art classrooms, dynamically geared to improve student learning.
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Target 1: Improved Literacy to Engage Positively
With Learning
• Year 11 students were tested for reading
(Torch Test) at the end of Year 10 and at the end of Year 11 with 13% of students increasing their reading age by one stanine or more. The greatest improvement in reading levels was in the lowest 4 stanines.
• With a significant movement of students from the lower to mid –bands, the number of nonattempts in the HSC Trial (extended response section) decreased from 29 to 18.
• Surveys of the types of reading showed a 35% increase in reading from electronic print and a corresponding decrease in reading from hard copy. 20% of the more proficient readers noted a decrease in their reading for pleasure and said the reason was an increase in curriculum based reading.
• Use of the Learning Centre increased by 30% with a review of the referral process through the Learning Support Team and increased levels of self-referral by students.
Target 2 : Student Engagement
• Improve the attendance of 20% of students identified at risk after STARsearch Term 1.
o
65% of students who were seen to be at risk due to poor attendance in the Term 1
STARsearch data collection improved their attendance. This increased the engagement and behaviour of these students in classes, resulting in fewer STARsearch mentions during Terms 2 and 3.
• To decrease the number of third N-Warning letters generated for students from 15% to
12% in 2013. o
In 2013, the proportion of 3 rd N-Warning
Letters issued to students in both Year 11 and 12 increased to 18%. However, intervention through support structures such as the Learning Centre and the
Community Engagement Officer has enabled many of the students to complete the work required to redeem the Warning
Letters. Thus, only 4.5% of students proceeded to N-Determination.
• To decrease the number of students placed on
Faculty Contracts from 10% to 9% in 2012. o
Improvements in the Year 11 Subject
Selection process have led to students feeling a sense of engagement with their courses.
Thus, in 2013, only 9% of students required behaviour intervention by proceeding to
Faculty Contracts.
• To increase the number of students who feel supported by the school community (as identified in week 5, Term 1 each year) by the end of Term 2 each year. o
Focus groups of students and Exit Plan interviews with Leavers indicated that approximately 90% of students felt supported by GRC Oatley staff and processes. Students are supported to achieve their best academically as well as emotionally and socially. The Tutorial Program was redesigned to increase student engagement, introducing team building activities and group activities.
All students who left school prior to the end of Year 11/Year 12 were connected with employment or further education/training by our Careers and Transition Advisers.
• To improve the examination marks of 50% of students referred to the Learning Centre from
Semester 1 to Semester 2. o
The Learning Centre is being fully utilised by students in both Years 11 and 12. 100% of students who accessed the Centre gained benefits and realised improvements in their learning and understanding of task requirements, study skills and course understanding.
Target 3: Professional Learning
• Staff participation in professional learning increased by 8% from 2012. This fell short of the
10% target but was offset by other gains in other strategies. In addition, School Plan Target #2 was supported with PL opportunities for staff to engage in Quality Teaching PL and increased by
66% from 2012.
• The sharing of professional learning experiences across the school community is a mandatory requirement for approval to attend all professional learning events. Teachers must support their application with a plan for sharing knowledge. Faculty and executive meeting agendas now have a “professional learning feedback” item.
• All TEAMS in 2013 were led by staff members, not by outside guest speakers. This lead to a greater sharing of contextual wisdom.
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• All professional leadership opportunities are advertised to all staff members.
• Staff participation rates in leadership PL increased by 56% from 2012.
School Target 1: Literacy & Numeracy
• 100% at or above minimum standards by 2014:
• Increase the percentage of Year 7 students attaining Bands 8 & 9 in Literacy and Numeracy
(NAPLAN):
• Increase the percentage of Year 9 students attaining Bands 9 & 10 in Literacy and
Numeracy (NAPLAN):
School Target 2: Leadership and Management
• Increase the number of staff in leadership roles beyond the classroom from 33% in 2011 to
100% in 2014:
• Increase total student enrolments to 385 by
2014:
• Enrolments increased to 320 at the end of
2013 with a significant increase in the number of international student enrolments. Projected enrolments for Year 7 2014 are strong.
School Target 3: Curriculum and Assessment
• Increase the number of staff employing the
Quality Teaching Framework and coding the classrooms of colleagues for Quality Teaching principles from 25% to 100% by 2014:
This will be a focus for 2014. The platform has been set for teacher reciprocal observations of classrooms as per the 2013 round of observations of teacher practice in the use of the Super 6
Reading Comprehension strategies (Measuring student engagement as a result of the ILNNP program).
The school executive conference 2013 addressed school Assessment. The executive team reviewed, revised and updated the school’s Assessment
Policy and engaged in teacher professional learning in the consistency of teacher judgement and the value of teacher to student feedback.
School Target 4: Engagement and Attainment.
• Increase the percentage of teachers who collaborate to improve the quality of classroom practice from 50% in 2011 to 100% by 2014.
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School Target 1: Quality Community Partnerships
2014 targets to achieve this outcome include:
• Increase in Primary/Secondary teacher collaboration.
• Increase in resource sharing between GRC
Peakhurst and Partner Primary Schools.
Strategies to achieve these targets include:
• Establish Transition/Primary Links Coordinator at
GRC Peakhurst and in each of our Partner
Primary Schools.
• Secondary and Primary staff meet on a regular basis to discuss Transition/Primary Links opportunities.
• Secondary staff, students and parents provide support to Partner Primary Schools in curriculum, quality teaching, resources and facilities.
School Target 2: Diverse and Engaging Curriculum
2014 targets to achieve this outcome include:
• 80% teachers will regularly use ICT in the classroom.
• Increase of collaborative learning in the classroom.
• One task per subject, per year, will have major
ICT component.
Strategies to achieve these targets include:
• Targeted professional learning for individual staff which is subject specific.
• Peer partnerships developed and peer coaching initiated.

School Target 1: Literacy.
Expected Outcomes
• To improve Year 9 student performances in reading focusing on interpret and applied comprehension.
School Target 2: Numeracy.
Expected Outcomes
• To improve Year 9 student performance in numeracy focusing on Space, Geometry,
Measurement and Number/Fractions and
Decimals.
To improve student engagement in numeracy in a culturally diverse environment through a focus on numerical literacy.
School Target 3: Resilience and wellbeing.
Expected Outcomes
• To enhance the resilience and wellbeing of
Year 8 female students.
School Target 4: Engagement.
Expected Outcomes
• To enhance the engagement in learning for
Year 8 female students.
School Target 5: Curriculum and assessment.
Expected Outcomes
• To implement the Australian Curriculum for
Years 7 to 10 by 2013 in English, Mathematics,
Science and History.
• To embed quality teaching into programs, units of work, assessment tasks and classroom practice, with meaningful feedback to enhance student learning outcomes.
• To promote differentiation in teaching to meet the needs of learner diversity.
In preparing this report, the self-evaluation committee has gathered information from evaluations conducted during the year and analysed other information about the school's practices and student learning outcomes. The selfevaluation committee and school planning committee have determined targets for the school's future development.
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus: Leanne Larcombe,
Principal GRC Oatley Senior College: Deidrei
Bedwell, Principal
GRC Peakhurst Campus: Elise Whiley PDHPE
Teacher/Year Advisor
GRC Penshurst Girls Campus: Mark Harrison DP,
Natalie Anderson HT English and Rosalie Gualtieri
HT TAS
GRC Peakhurst Campus
Samuel and Rona Streets Peakhurst 2210
Ph: 9153 9966
Fax: 9534 6346
Email: Peakhurst-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Web: http://www.peakhurst-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/
School Code: 8408
GRC Penshurst Girls Campus
2 Austral Street Penshurst 2222
Ph: 9580 3141
Fax: 9580 6373
Email: Penshurstg-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Web: http://www.penshurstg-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/
School Code: 8857
GRC Hurstville Boys Campus
Kenwyn Street Hurstville 2220
Ph: 9587 3199
Fax: 9553 8264
Email: hurstvillb-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Web: http://www.hurstvillbh.schools.nsw.edu.au/
School Code: 8813
GRC Oatley Senior Campus
Oatley Avenue and Hurstville Road Oatley 2223
Ph: 8567 3700
Fax: 9570 3622
Email: Oatleysnr-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Web: http://www.oatleysnrh.schools.nsw.edu.au/
School Code: 8284
Parents can find out more information about
Annual School Reports, how to interpret information in the reports and have the opportunity to provide feedback about these reports at: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/asr
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