Humula Public School
Annual School Report
2011
2188
September. Our last major fundraising for the
year was the orienteering day which was held in
October. I’m pleased to announce that we have
raised over $8053.26 for the year. I would like to
acknowledge the dedicated executive team in the
P & C. These are Vice President Wilga Harvey,
Secretary/Treasurer Teresa Gale, publicity officer,
Mary Nicholls and our Principal Bev Jenkyn. These
people have voluntarily worked tirelessly in an
association that supports our children’s’ school.
Your support is greatly appreciated. I would like
to also thank the many volunteers who have
contributed their time and energy freely to help
make the school a better place whether it is by
participating at meetings or fundraising events. I
would like to thank the school administrative
staff and to all the teachers who contributed so
much of their lives to our children. It is not always
a smooth ride and I appreciate everyone’s
contribution in a spirit of trying to get the best
outcomes for our children.
Our school at a glance
Students
The school’s enrolment in December 2011 was
twelve students consisting of five boys and seven
girls.
Staff
In 2011 we had two teaching staff, one full time
and one temporary employed.
Messages
Principal’s message
At Humula Public School, we are committed to
using all physical, intellectual and human
resources at our disposal, and those allotted
through the Priority Schools Program to increase
the learning outcomes of our students. This will
certify that each student has the opportunity to
perform to the best of their abilities in a
protected, pleasant, inspiring environment where
learning is valued, scholarship is enhanced and
originality is fostered as students and staff are
challenged to do exceptionally well.
I certify that the information in this report is the
result of a rigorous school self-evaluation process
and is a balanced and genuine account of the
school’s
achievements
and
areas
for
development.
Beverley Jenkyn
Kylie Pendrick
P&C
Student representative’s message
2011 has been a terrific year for Humula Public
School, with the P & C contributing extensively to
the school and most importantly to supporting
the students of the school. The P & C brings
together the school community through
initiatives and events and has continued the
momentum of previous years with increasing
numbers of parents getting involved. The P & C
continue to have a strong presence at school
events through raising funds which started in
March with the Redbacks’ Dinner, followed by
our Tumbarumba Stall in April. We then had our
Mother’s Day Raffle in May followed by our
Bunnings barbeque in June. July we held our Cake
stall at the Election Day. Team penning was held
in August followed by Father’s Day raffle in
Throughout 2011 we held fundraising events to
raise money to support Delia, a sponsor child in
Guatemala. This calculates to $444.00 per year.
We participated in Crazy Hair day, collecting
$45.00 for this research organisation.
We have planted numerous vegetables and herbs
in our new garden and use these for cooking in
our new kitchen.
We continue to recycle our paper and food
waste, this has reduced our yearly garbage bill
greatly.
We have continued with a buddy reading and
talking and listening program each afternoon,
where older students are paired up with a
younger student.
1
Zara Carlson
Class sizes
Primary class sizes are included in the annual
school report in order to provide parents with as
much local information as possible. The following
table shows our class sizes as reported at the
2011 Class Size Audit conducted on Monday 21
March 2011.
School context
Student information
It is a requirement that the reporting of
information for all students must be consistent
with privacy and personal information policies.
Roll class
Year
Total per year
Total In class
HUMULA
K
1
12
HUMULA
1
1
12
HUMULA
2
4
12
14
HUMULA
3
1
12
12
HUMULA
4
3
12
10
HUMULA
5
1
12
HUMULA
6
1
12
Student enrolment profile
Students
Enrolments
8
The class slightly altered with a year 2 and year 6
member leaving and a year 5 and kindergarten
entering during the year. Thus numbers were
maintained.
6
4
2
0
2007
2008
Male
2009 2010
Year
Female
Structure of classes
2011
Two days per week primary and infants are split,
to allow more intensive literacy and numeracy
lessons to be delivered. The other three days are
taught with K-6 in the one classroom.
Student attendance profile
Student attendance rates
Staff information
Attendance rate
100
It is a requirement that the reporting of
information for all staff must be consistent with
privacy and personal information policies.
75
The school operates with a teaching principal,
temporary teacher three and a half days per
week, general assistant and a school
administrative manager (SAM) in three days per
week.
50
25
0
2008
School
2009
2010
Year
Region
2011
Staff establishment
State DEC
Position
Principal
Classroom Teachers
Teacher Librarian
School Administrative & Support Staff
Primary General Assistant
Total
Absenteeism has been kept to a minimum
throughout the year.
Management of non-attendance
Parents are regularly reminded via newsletters
about the importance of their children attending
school on a regular basis and the importance this
plays in their child’s academic and social
achievement. Humula Public School maintains
continual contact with the home-school liaison
officer to support this initiative.
Number
1.0
0.916
0.084
0.696
0.2
2.206
The National Education Agreement requires
schools to report on Indigenous composition of
their workforce.
2
The school does not have any Indigenous
composition on the school workforce.
concerning the statement can be obtained by
contacting the school.
Staff retention
School performance 2011
School staff have remained the same throughout
2011.
We are involved in a very active small schools
network that holds overnight camps, sporting
activities and major excursion throughout the
year.
Teacher qualifications
All teaching staff meet the professional
requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.
Qualifications
Degree or Diploma
Postgraduate
Achievements
% of staff
Arts
100%
50%
Every year all students submit entries into the
Tumbarumba Show. They enter a variety of art
and craft items. We received thirteen prizes, a
great outcome, with only twelve students
enrolled.
Financial summary
This summary covers funds for operating costs
and does not involve expenditure areas such as
permanent salaries, building and major
maintenance.
Date of financial summary:
Income
Balance brought forward
Global funds
Tied funds
School & community sources
Interest
Trust receipts
Canteen
Total income
30/11/2011
$
58955.73
53171.22
24561.64
22890.54
0.00
854.00
0.00
160433.13
Expenditure
Teaching & learning
Key l ea rni ng a rea s
Excurs i ons
Extra curri cul a r di s s ecti ons
Library
Training & development
Tied funds
Casual relief teachers
Administration & office
School-operated canteen
Utilities
Maintenance
Trust accounts
Capital programs
Total expenditure
Balance carried forward
8537.18
17239.74
1697.55
591.20
8242.56
32763.17
339.38
30275.56
0.00
6254.39
5534.00
974.82
8745.00
121194.55
39238.58
This year we continued with learning the
glockenspiels. The students are progressing nicely
with this tuned instrument and the parents enjoy
the items that are presented at special
assemblies and presentation evening. We receive
many positive comments about our music
program, especially the percussion items.
A full copy of the school’s 2011 financial
statement is tabled at the annual general
meeting of the parent body. Further details
3
Sport
David Nicholls, Taleika Worldon and Amelia
Jenkyn travelled to Deniliquin this year. All three
students tried their hardest and came away from
the event a lot wiser from the experience.
All students participated in the Kyeamba
Small Schools Athletics carnival held at
Tarcutta this year. It was great to see so
many parents support the day and come and
watch their children compete.
In term one the school fully funded a five week
intensive gymnastics program. Here students
were split into infant and primary groups and
received two hours of tuition a day, in separate
blocks. This program went very well and the
students gained a lot from it. The school will
continue to run the program in 2012.
We then had the Tumbarumba PSSA Athletics
carnival in Tumbarumba. Students from year
two to six attended. The students performed
very well on the day.
Zara Carlson made it to Riverina for discus
and shot put, Amelia Jenkyn made it for long
jump and the relay team. William Matheson,
David Nicholls and Teagan Mangan made up
the remainder of the P6 relay team.
The Tumbarumba PSSA Cross Country was
held at Rosewood, again students from year
two to six attended. All students strived to
achieve their best and put in some great
performances. Three students then made up
the Tumbarumba district team to travel to
Deniliquin in June.
Our tennis lessons in term two continued this
year. Bernadette Ramsay provided high quality
lessons for all students. The students are divided
into primary and infant groups again. All students
are progressing very well.
4
Each year we participate in Clean Up
Australia Day. The students this year
collected rubbish within the school grounds
and the adjoining streets.
Special Assemblies
Special assemblies continue to be very well
supported by parents, grandparents and
community members. The students always
perform an item, whether it is musical,
reciting poetry or sharing PowerPoints of
excursions.
The year two to five students travelled to
Borambola to join the Wagga Small Schools
network at a touch football gala day. The
students had a great day and were winners of
their division. The aim of the day is team work
and building friendship.
The
students
are
presented
with
achievement awards to acknowledge their
efforts and participation at school.
On most occasions we conclude our assembly
with a literacy or numeracy game, this way
we can share with parents what happens in
the classroom to reinforce concepts in an
enjoyable and engaging manner.
Other
We have had a great time this year planting
our vegetables and herbs.
We use this produce for our cooking with
Mrs. Judy Reid, our Primary Health Care
nurse that visits throughout the year to
promote healthy eating and cooking.
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In 2011, one student sat the Literacy NAPLAN
tests. Results cannot be reported due to a small
cohort of students.
Sydney Excursion
In term two, year three to six students combined
again with five other small schools from the
mountain region to take part in a week long
excursion to Sydney to support our Science and
Human Society and its Environment class
program. The students had an unbelievable time
and enjoyed the diversity of activities crammed
into their trip.
Numeracy – NAPLAN Year 5
In 2011, one student sat the Literacy NAPLAN
tests. Results cannot be reported due to a small
cohort of students.
Progress in literacy
In literacy, 16% of students are below, 51% are at
expected level and 33% are above expected level.
Academic
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.
Yr 3: from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest for
Year 3)
Yr 5: from Band 3 (lowest) to Band 8 (highest for
Year 5)
Progress in numeracy
Literacy – NAPLAN Year 3
In mathematics, 8% of students are below
average, 50% are at expected level and 42% of
students are above expected level.
In 2011, one student sat the Literacy NAPLAN
tests. Results cannot be reported due to a small
cohort of students.
We have been involved in a regional mathematics
initiative for the past two years, this has seen a
wider range of strategies being used by the
students in the classroom and many hands-on
activities developed to improve engagement and
to reinforce concepts.
Numeracy – NAPLAN Year 3
In 2011, one student sat the Literacy NAPLAN
tests. Results cannot be reported due to a small
cohort of students.
Literacy – NAPLAN Year 5
6
The integration of stories and reading material
into the kindergarten to year two classroom
further highlighted ways the Aboriginal people
live in Australia and the different plants and
animals they hunted and gathered depending on
the environment in which they lived.
Minimum standards
The Commonwealth Government sets minimum
standards for reading, writing, grammar and
punctuation, spelling and numeracy for Years 3,
5, 7 and 9.
Multicultural education
We participate in a range of activities that raise
cultural awareness within our society and also
abroad.
The performance of the students in our school in
the National Assessment Program – Literacy and
Numeracy is compared to these minimum
standards. The percentages of our students
achieving at or above these standards are
reported below.
French classes are an ongoing inclusion into our
LOTE program; here students build upon their
basic knowledge of the French language, culture
and geography. The students are active
participants and have grown in confidence and
can recall a variety of basic sayings and are
beginning to put simple sentences together.
Humula had one year three student and one year
five student sit the assessments; due to the small
school cohort, results are not allowed to be
published.
Our involvement in the local Country Women’s
Association International country study is an
annual event. This year the students studied
Iceland.
Significant programs and initiatives
Aboriginal education
Aboriginal cultures and beliefs are wellestablished into the classroom program. We
focus particularly upon building and raising
awareness among our students of Aboriginal
history, culture and current Aboriginal Australia.
We held the International Day at school this year
and we had a special visitor from Iceland attend
the day. She spoke about foods, agriculture and
what kind of clothes Icelandic people wear.
Primary students this year studied the discovery
of Australia and looked closely at the first
inhabitants of Australia. This topic culminated in
a major excursion to Sydney, where they
participated and viewed many aspects of what
Australia was like prior to European settlement
and ways the Aboriginal people used the land,
hunted and collected food. They tasted berries
that would be collected from different regions
around Sydney.
The students from kindergarten to year two
researched and created a computer generated
project about Icelandic animals.
The students were very engaged, the speaker
brought along some dried fish for the students to
try. Most students attempted this, but were not
over keen on the dryness or smell.
The students from year three to six researched
and created a poster on Iceland.
Three students had their projects sent away to
Regional Group for further competition.
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Khayne Pendrick and Zara Carlson received
second prize in their division and Amelia Jenkyn
took out first prize. Again, for the third year
running we have come home with places.
making one-to-one correspondence
counters and ordering numbers.
with
The program is very well supported and
upcoming parents are very keen to get onboard.
Bastille Day was celebrated again. Here Mrs.
Donna Wardle went into the history of Bastille
Day and the students tried snails and crumbed
frog legs. Some students loved the opportunity to
try some different foods whilst some students
preferred just to observe and take in the smell.
Environmental Education
Landcare Award
Our school received a Highly Commended in
the Murrumbidgee Regional Landcare
Awards held in Wagga on Wednesday 4th
May. This was second place across the
Murrumbidgee Catchment Area. This is an
enormous achievement and I wish to thank
Tarcutta Valley Landcare Group for
nominating our school for the educational
award.
Other programs
Priority Schools Program (PSP)
We continued to run the Transition program at
Humula throughout 2011. We employ priority
school funding to support early literacy and
numeracy development for the four year olds.
We had one student enrolled in the program
throughout 2011, thus on these days we split the
primary and infant students and the one
transition student came into the main classroom
with the infant children. He came on a fortnightly
basis throughout first semester, then once a
week in term three and twice a week in term
four. He has shown strong growth from the data
that we collected over the year. These images
show Brayden sequencing pictures together,
Respect and Responsibility
8
The students take part in Anzac Day and
Remembrance Day services each year. They are
exposed to and engage in lessons about why
these days are significant to Australia’s past,
present and future. They participate in a variety
of
learning
activities
from
watching
documentaries, creating poppies and completing
comprehension tasks related to the events.
Progress on 2011 targets
2011 is the final year of the implementation of
the 2009-2011 school strategic plan. The
following targets are taken from the plan and are
evaluated annually.
Target 1
95% of students achieve stage based outcomes
in writing and spelling.
We have maintained strong growth in both
writing and spelling, continual work in both these
areas is an ongoing component of our teaching
and learning program
Our achievements include:

92% of students reaching stage based
outcomes in writing;

92% of students reading at or above expected
level;

83% of parents strongly support our
homework program and encourage their
children to complete reading, spelling and
numeracy tasks; and

75% of students reaching stage based
outcomes in spelling.
Healthy Lifestyles
Under the Federal government program; Building
the Education Revolution, Humula received an
upgrade to our administration and kitchen area.
This has provided us with much needed space
and better facilities to continue our healthy
eating program. Here students are involved in
preparing, cooking and eating healthy snacks,
muffins and dinners that can be easily created,
with minimal and healthy ingredients. This
cooking program allows many opportunities for
literacy and numeracy concepts to be
incorporated into the lesson.
Target 2
95% of students achieve stage based outcomes
in numeracy.
Consistent progress has been made in all areas of
mathematics,
especially
in
working
mathematically and students being able to use a
variety of strategies to solve problems.
Our achievements include:
9

92% of students reaching stage based
outcomes in mathematics;

Continual involvement in the regional priority
schools initiative to support students in the
working mathematically strand has shown
excellent results. Students are capable of
using a variety of approaches to complete
problems; and

Intensive numeracy sessions have continued
to be a high priority, an extensive range of
games that reinforce concepts and speed
drills complement our classroom programs.
to organize different fundraising ideas to support
different charities throughout the year as well as
their sponsor child in Guatemala.
Target 3
Explicit technology skills incorporated across all
key learning areas.
Stage three students will continue to take part in
the Impact Leadership conference being held in
Wagga Wagga in 2012.
Technology skills are incorporated into the
majority of our lessons, whether it is online
activities, research based tasks, explicitly teaching
individual software programs or typing skills.
Our achievements include:
Curriculum

All students being able to logon and access
and navigate internet and intranet pages;
English

Stage three students being able to
troubleshoot video conferencing issues and
computer problems;

92% of students able to import pictures or
images correctly into documents after
cropping and compressing image; and

Continued
professional
development
undertaken about latest technologies and
how to incorporate these into the teaching
program.
The evaluation sought staff, parent and student
opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of our
school literacy program. Parents critically
reflected on the teaching and learning of literacy
at school. All students were asked to complete a
survey and to provide comments about the
strengths and weaknesses of our classroom
program.
Background
Findings and conclusions
44% of families completed the survey about the
teaching and learning of English. Of the nine
questions asked all bar three responses were the
highest category of “Agree” for the parent
surveys. The parents were surveyed upon how
their child has improved in all areas of literacy at
school during 2011. The three responses that
received a “Disagree” were about the child’s
improvement in spelling, writing and enjoying
English. Further follow up with parent interviews
did clarify this better for the parent.
Key evaluations
It is a requirement for all NSW public schools to
conduct at least two annual evaluations – one
related to educational and management practice
and the other related to curriculum. In 2011 our
school carried out evaluations of school
leadership, school culture and English.
Educational and management practice
The students overwhelmingly enjoyed reading
and the computer based activities in English.
Areas that received a “Disagree” or “Unsure”
were areas of writing, spelling and completing
textbook based activities.
School leadership
Background
44% of families completed the survey about
School Leadership and the different areas of
school life.
Future directions
The school will look at conducting parent
workshops on the way students engage in literacy
activities, how it is taught in the classroom and
strategies that parents can employ at home to
assist their child in this area.
The parents responded to a SchoolMap survey.
Findings and conclusions
Results of the survey indicate that parents/carers
were very positive about student leaders and the
way all stakeholders are encouraged to be
involved, with 100% of the responses
representing “Almost Always” or “Usually”.
Future directions
In addition, the school will investigate strategies
that can be employed to take away the anxiety
about their progress in writing and spelling and
investigate possible strategies that make this area
more engaging and challenging for the students.
We will continue to encourage the stage two and
three students to take on leading roles and begin
Staff will continue to be involved in professional
development and remain current in this area.
10
consistent with the NSW State Plan and the
Department’s planning documents.
Other evaluations
School Management
School priority 1
Parent, student, and teacher
satisfaction
Outcome for 2012–2014
In 2011 the school sought the opinions of
parents, students and teachers about the school.
Improve student achievement in writing and
spelling
Their responses are presented below.
2012 Targets to achieve this outcome include:
The parents and students responded to a
SchoolMap survey.
All student responses indicated that they enjoy
coming to school each day, participating in school
activities, are confident with school work, feel
happy, and realize the importance school plays in
their life.

Students achieve stage based outcomes for
years K-6 at a minimal personal growth of at
least twelve months; and

Students demonstrate minimum growth in
spelling of twelve months.
Strategies to achieve these targets include:
44% of parents completed the survey about their
satisfaction with the school. Parents rated from
one being the lowest ranking to six being the
highest ranking. 100% of responses answered
either five or six, with the exception of two
questions about fostering arts and having proper
training equipment-these two received a ranking
of four. Parents’ indicated positively about the
small group size, and the one-to-one attention
their children receive at school. They feel
contented to approach the school; hold in high
esteem the teaching strategies used and the
progressive learning environment that is
generated at Humula Public School.

Divide class into early stage one /stage one
and stage two and stage three groupings for
intensive literacy work;

Attune students to self-assess their writing
using NAPLAN rubric throughout the year;
and

Analyse NAPLAN results and student work
samples to identify areas for improvement
against the persuasive marking guide.
School priority 2
Outcome for 2012–2014
Improve student achievement in multi-stepped
problems.
Professional learning
2012 Targets to achieve this outcome include:
Professional learning is a vital component of the
school’s guarantee to continual improvement.
In 2011 the focal point was again numeracy,
literacy, leadership and career development. The
total funds spent were $8102.00. Staff
participated in the Accelerated Literacy program;
Best Start training, the regional priority school
initiative in numeracy, Counting On and
InTENsive. Learning forums, mandatory Principals
training, CPR, Emergency Care and Child
Protection training and the annual SASS
Conference were also attended by staff.

85% of students achieve stage based
outcomes for years 1-6; and

85%
of
students
demonstrate
an
understanding of the multi-stepped problem
solving processes.
Strategies to achieve these targets include:
School planning 2012—2014
The school planning policy provides direction for
the preparation and implementation of school
plans including the identification of priority areas,
intended outcomes and targets that are
11

Develop learning journals from kindergarten
to year six. Students take five minutes from
each lesson to reflect upon what they have
learnt for the day;

Develop rich assessment tasks to highlight
areas that require further development and
continue to monitor progress; and

Introduce “problem of the day” task, thus
each day students required to solve a word
problem and implement different strategies
to solve the task.
About this report
2012 Targets to achieve this outcome include:
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
self-evaluation committee and school planning
committee have determined targets for the
school's future development.

All students communicate on a weekly basis
using teacher initiated research tasks with
alternate demographic and geographic
schools; and
Beverley Jenkyn: Principal
Video conference with like school for HSIE
research programs.
School contact information
School priority 3
Outcome for 2012–2014
Integrate technology into all teaching and
learning programs

Donna-Marie Wardle: Teacher
Kylie Pendrick: P & C President
Humula Public School
Strategies to achieve these targets include:

Develop digital portfolios of student work;

Support collaboration between teachers for
planning, teaching and assessment; and

Increased student usage of the technology
within the classroom-including digital
cameras, importing and editing videos, music,
and still pictures into student work samples.
21 School Street Humula NSW 2652
Ph: 0269289254
Fax: 0269289219
Email: Humula-p.school.nsw.edu.au
School Code: 2188
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:
School priority 4
Outcome for 2012–2014
http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/asr
Improve student engagement and participation in
science based activities.
2012 Targets to achieve this outcome include:

Explore development in national curriculum;
and

Increase student participation in experiments
from year three to six to kindergarten to year
six.
Strategies to achieve these targets include:

Incorporate ICT tasks into design and making
strand;

Provide opportunities for all students to
engage
in hands-on
activities
and
experiments; and

Explore ICT and video conferencing to analyse
the National Curriculum with colleagues and
professionals.
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