To challenge and develop the learning and achievement capabilities of each student in a safe, caring and socially just learning environment.

The Eastern School District is committed to providing safe and caring learning environments for its 44,000 students. This goal is supported by a strong team of education professionals who challenge and develop each student to achieve their full potential.

The district’s focus on student achievement is evident in the Eastern School Board’s ongoing strategic planning process, as well as in the goals and objectives set out by individual schools in their school development plans. The Board’s focus on strategic planning will continue into the next school year as it engages with the public on its future goals and directions.

This school report for the 2006/07 school year highlights the activities of your school over the past year in achieving its stated goals. It provides an opportunity to review the challenges, successes and opportunities for your school in providing educational opportunities for students. It also highlights how success can be achieved when teachers, parents and community members work together in a supportive and collaborative manner.

I encourage you to review this school report and contemplate how you can contribute to your school’s success, and to increased educational opportunity for all students.

CEO/Director of Education

This Annual School Development Report outlines our students’ achievements, programs and services and our School Development Plan.

In 2006-07 we successfully met most of our identified targets for student achievement in English language arts and mathematics. Our School Development Plan for 2007-2008 may be slightly restructured. This year we will undergo an internal review process through which we will collect more current data, analyze our findings, and refocus our initiatives to reflect our findings.

We are extremely pleased with the support and direction we have received from our school community. I am particularly grateful to the members of our school development team, our staff and our School Council for their leadership and commitment to our School Development Plan. We look forward to working with them again this year as we look for a new direction and focus.

Glenda Ripley

Assistant Principal

Another school year is over. It is hard to comprehend how fast the school year flies by. As the 2006/7 year concludes, we can look back with a feeling of accomplishment on the positive developments within Newtown Elementary.

This year our recycling program continued to grow by leaps and bounds. It is difficult to believe that this program only began in 2003/4! Through the hard work and dedication of our recycling committee volunteers and the support of all students, teachers, staff and school families, the revenue from recycling at Newtown continues to rise and is approaching the $15,000 mark for a single school year!!

All committees of School Council play an important role in making Newtown the wonderful school it is. Our many volunteers work very hard and have given much of their time.

The fundraising committee has had a successful year. It was the goal for this year to eliminate the chocolate fundraiser from the school and replace it with a more fitting fundraiser. We believe the magazine subscription campaign has the potential to realize revenues equal to the chocolate, while also reinforcing literacy. The fishcake fundraiser was met with much enthusiasm by families and was a tremendous success. From the fundraising money this year, council provided the following financial support:

• $650 for a digital camera, several memory cards, photo printer and photo paper
• $1000 for a multi-media projector
• $1500 for art room equipment and supplies
• $2500 provided to Learning Resource Centre for purchase of print material
• $5000 for the purchase of more computers
• $650 for Physical Education program
• $120 for new flip chart for Kindergarten classroom
• $300 for new "Baggy Books" for Grade 2 classrooms
• $5800 provided to teachers for additional classroom materials ($200 per teacher)
• $1000 provided for the Health Fair
• $2000 provided for Spirit Day
• $250 provided for Prefect Appreciation gifts

I would like to thank everyone who supported our various fundraising initiatives this year and acknowledge all volunteers who coordinated the activities. Your dedication and hard work has provided us with the funds necessary to ensure that Newtown is an excellent school for our students to attend.

The Health and Safety committee continued its mandate to oversee the physical environment at Newtown to ensure the safety of all students, teachers, staff and visitors. The parking lot was re-painted, air quality tests were conducted, carpet was replaced by flooring, as well as various other improvements.

The Communications committee endeavors to improve the flow of information between school and home. The monthly calendars were enhanced to include more important information and the school web site is currently being upgraded.

The School Development Team was busy focusing on achieving high academic standards for Newtown and improving the overall spirit in the school. Newtown was recognized as a "Peaceful School" by Peaceful Schools International. The students spent time discussing the importance of addictions awareness. The DARE (Drug and Alcohol Resistance and Education) Program was once again brought to the Grade 6 Students by the RNC Community Program.

The Spirit Day and Sports Days were memorable days for our students. They look forward to these events each year – these events get bigger and better. Thank you to all the volunteers for your time and efforts.

To achieve such an impressive list of accomplishments in one school year, it takes a strong, dedicated team of volunteers. I would like to thank every individual who volunteered their time, including staff and administration.

I would like to especially thank the other council members who served with me this year:

Nadine Perry - Parent representative

Jerry Rice - Parent representative

John Dinn - Community representative

Jody Saunders - Community representative

Marie McGrath - Teacher representative

Elaine Kufudi - Teacher representative

Ruth Dawe - Principal

All these members were very dedicated to council and offered hours of hard work, insightful ideas, and a true dedication to the school as a whole.

This is the last year of my 3-year term on council. It has been a truly rewarding experience and has given me an opportunity to be involved with my daughter’s school, which is important to me. I leave council knowing that the new council for 2007/8 is ready and willing to look for more ways to improve Newtown. I also look forward to remaining involved at the school in other capacities.

Finally, a special word of thanks and appreciation goes to Ruth Dawe. Ruth will be retiring this year. Newtown is losing a special person whose dedication and commitment to the school is immeasurable. We wish Ruth every happiness in retirement.

Have a safe and happy summer.

Michelle Davis

School Council Chair

The mission of Newtown Elementary School is to provide meaningful learning experiences that support students in their attainment of high academic standards. Through the expertise and support of their teachers, parents and caregivers, students develop their abilities in a respectful, nurturing environment.

Newtown Elementary School is a part of Eastern School District, which has 122 schools with a total of 44,000 students. Our school currently has an enrolment of 454 students and offers grades Kindergarten through Grade six. The average class size is 22 students and 18 percent of our student population is receiving special services support. Our school serves the community of Mount Pearl. Of our total student population, 28 percent are bussed to school.

Newtown Elementary School has a total of 27 full time and 2 part-time educational staff which includes 20 classroom teaching units, 3.5 categorical and non-categorical special education teachers, and specialist teachers in the areas of guidance, music, physical education, technology and learning resources. We also have three student assistants. In addition to staff based at the school, we have itinerant services for speech-language pathology, hearing impairment, visual impairment, education psychology, and band. Secretarial, maintenance, and custodial support services are provided. We also avail of the services of a public health nurse.

Our school offers the entire provincially prescribed curriculum in Kindergarten through grade six. As well, we offer Intensive Core French to one of our three grade six classes. Our school does not currently offer any French Immersion programming. Special education programming provides additional support for students who experience difficulty meeting the outcomes of the prescribed curriculum within the framework of regular classroom instruction. Within the instructional day students may choose to be part of the choir or band programs.

In March of 2007, Newtown Elementary held a Healthy Living Fair. The focus of our healthy living team was to maintain our current programs but also to encourage non- active students to participate in a healthy living lifestyle. In keeping with this goal, presenters from NuBodies, Epileptic Society, non-smoking alliance, AL-ANON, a nutritionist, and a fitness trainer participated in the day. All classes from K-6 were involved in every activity.

Newtown Elementary recognizes the importance of visual arts. We have our own art collection at the school made up of different pieces purchased to recognize retiring teachers. As well, each year a selection committee chooses a piece of work from the art portfolios of grade six students to frame and display at the school. Our school has a rich collection of visual arts as a result. Additionally, student work is often submitted to various art contests. This year one of our grade three students was the winner in a Rogers Cable art contest, and her poster was displayed on the local community channel.

A lunchtime writing club is offered to grades five and six students. While the goal of this program is to allow students to freely express their ideas in writing and to further develop their creative writing skills, their work is often submitted in the Commonwealth Essay Contest. One of our grade six students was honored this year with a Certificate of Distinction for the 2007 competition. The competition’s organizers note that their expectations and standards are high and that winning such an award is "a significant achievement." This year the competition received more than 6 300 essays from 1 300 schools across the Commonwealth. We are pleased that one of our grade six students was successful and congratulate all of our participants on the caliber of their entries.

Each year our school promotes literacy and good nutrition by holding a "Once Upon a Time Breakfast". Once again, this special event took place in February and was a great success as well as the launch of our annual book fair. On our "Once Upon a Time Breakfast" day, all of our students brought a nutritious breakfast to school, choosing items from the food groups in Canada’s Food Guide. While students ate their breakfasts together in class at the start of the school day, a number of literacy activities were occurring simultaneously. Everyone brought along a book to read, and throughout the school there were guest readers, special fun-filled activities based on children’s literature, shared reading, and buddy reading. Many parents and grandparents participated in the sessions and assisted our younger students. One special feature of the day was that students and staff were encouraged to wear pajamas or cozy clothes. Through this event, heightened attention was given to the importance of literacy and having breakfast before coming to school.

The majority of our grade six students have devoted a great deal of their free time at the beginning of the school day, at recess and at lunch times, to helping our younger students in a variety of ways. They have proven themselves to be wonderful role models as they promote safe and friendly interactions on the playground and in the classrooms. They have had a positive impact on student behaviour and school spirit. As well, a number of our elementary students have been trained as peer mediators. Under the leadership of our guidance counselor, they have been available to assist students in resolving conflicts. These initiatives support the practices of our Safe and Caring Schools team.

Our grade five students have been instrumental in caring for our school environment as they work in teams collecting recyclable materials throughout the building for weekly pick-up. They have been guided in their efforts by parent volunteers and their homeroom teachers. As a result, our students are learning at a young age the importance of caring for the environment while reaping monetary benefits for our school by recycling beverage containers.

Newtown Elementary held its annual "Spirit Day" on Friday, May 11, 2007. The day was filled with a variety of informative and interactive sessions. The children learned about such topics as "seizures" and "alcoholism". They participated in many fun activities such as playing the game, "Uh-Oh", watching a magician at work and making a craft with the people from the Anna Templeton Center. The highlight of the day was the trip to the gym to experience the games and foods at the carnival. A day of this magnitude would not be possible without our invaluable volunteers. To recognize their contributions to our school for this event and for all they do throughout the year, a "Café" was set up with many treats and beverages in their honour. The staff at Newtown Elementary had the chance throughout the day to drop in and personally thank all of these wonderful people.

Our school program includes a number of opportunities for arts activities through and beyond the music and art curricula. We have worked with the Anna Templeton Centre to offer art and drama classes during lunch and after school for interested students. The Barbara Ashley School of Dance offers a lunchtime class at our school as well. We partner with the RNC in providing the DARE (Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education) program for our grade six students. Junior Achievement provides instruction to our grade six students in Business Basics. The YMCA-YWCA provides an after school program in our school, giving students an opportunity to participate in a wide variety of further learning opportunities. Our school cooperates with Memorial University of Newfoundland in providing internship and observation opportunities for students studying in the education field. These sessions include physical education, instrumental and choral music, and classroom instruction. Our school supports our students’ participation in activities offered by Mount Pearl Minor Soccer Association and Mount Pearl Minor Basketball Association by sharing facilities, events, and coaches. In November 2006, Rotarians, along with members of the St. John’s Fog Devils hockey team, visited our school to provide reading sessions and donations of books to our school library.

School Development Plans are developed and revised using the most current data available to the school. This section contains a brief summary analysis of the school’s most current data, including both quantitative and qualitative data gathered at the provincial, district, and school level and a report on last year’s school development plan. The data from both are used in two ways: (1) to help determine the level of success in meeting last year’s objectives, and (2) to appropriately revise or develop new objectives for the current year.

A large percentage of students in grades one and two at Newtown Elementary are able to read at or above grade level with adequate comprehension. We performed better than students in the district and province at those same grade levels.

* Only a representative sample of students were selected to complete this portion of the test.

Students at Newtown Elementary did not perform as well as grade three students in the district and province in most aspects of process writing. However, they outperformed students in the district and province in the area of sentence fluency. For example, 80 percent of grade three students at Newtown reached level 3 or greater in the area of sentence fluency. By comparison, only 73.7 percent of students in Eastern School District and 76.7 percent of students in the province achieved level 3 or greater. It should be noted that these results are not necessarily indicative of our entire population. They are reflective of a small sample of students that had been randomly selected by the Department of Education to be included in the testing results for process writing.

* Only a representative sample of students were selected to complete this portion of the test.

Students at Newtown Elementary performed better on all strands of the language arts tests than students in both the district and province except in listening. For example, only 62.8 percent of our grade three students performed at level 3 or greater as compared to 64.7 percent for the district and 64.1 for the province in the area of listening. However, we are generally pleased with the overall performance of our students in reading, demand writing and speaking.

* Only a representative sample of students were selected to complete this portion of the test.

Students at Newtown Elementary performed overall as well as grade six students in the district and province in process writing. They outperformed students in the district and province in the areas of voice, word choice and conventions. For example, 100 percent of grade six students at Newtown reached level 3 or greater in these areas. It should again be noted that these results are not necessarily indicative of our entire population. They are reflective of the small sample of students that had been randomly selected by the Department of Education to be included in the testing results for process writing.

* Only a representative sample of students were selected to complete this portion of the test.

Students at Newtown Elementary performed better than grade six students in the district and province in all areas except speaking. For example, 89.8 percent of our students performed at level 3 or greater on the demand writing portion of the test as compared to 77.2 percent for the district and 76.1 percent for the province. It should be noted that the speaking section of the test was completed by only a representative sample of students. Not all grade six students at Newtown Elementary completed this portion of the test.

Overall, students at Newtown Elementary performed significantly better than their counterparts within the district and province. For example, 90.1 percent of our grade three students achieved level 3 or greater in the area of problem solving as compared to only 51.7 percent for the district and 51.9 percent for the province.

Overall students at Newtown Elementary performed as well as other grade six students in our district and province. They performed significantly better than other grade six students in the district and province in the area of place value. For example, 52 percent of our students achieved level 3 or better in this area while only 32.6 of grade six students in the district reached level 3 or better.

Teachers at all grade levels will work to develop their own practical understanding of the "show, share, and compare" teaching model and the communication standard as described in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) publication Principles and Standards (2000) and apply this standard in their mathematics teaching.

Strategy 1

Teachers will engage in professional reading and sharing of articles related to the "show, share and compare" teaching model, the NCTM communication standard, writing in mathematics and other topics deemed appropriate.

Strategy 2

As a staff we will develop a plan for implementing the lessons learned from our readings across the grades from kindergarten to grade six. In particular, special attention will be given to implementing the "show, share, and compare" teaching strategy at all grade levels.

Strategy 3

All teachers will develop greater facility with using questioning as an instructional strategy.

Strategy 4

Teachers at all grade levels will explore the most appropriate and effective uses for manipulative materials as part of a mathematics classroom in which students are actively engaged in doing math, rather than being taught math.

Strategy 5

Teachers at all grade levels will develop greater facility with making a variety of writing assignments a regular part of mathematics instruction.

Teachers will plan and implement instructional approaches to help students develop and retain procedural knowledge and skills while attaining conceptual understanding within the context of the current mathematics program.

Strategy 1

Teachers at all grade levels will explore the most appropriate and effective uses for manipulative materials as part of a mathematics classroom in which students are actively engaged in doing math, rather than being taught math.

Strategy 2

Teachers at all grade levels will plan for the consistent and regular use of mathematics routines throughout the school year.

Teachers will involve parents/caregivers in supporting our school development goal and objectives for mathematics.

Strategy 1

Parents/caregivers at all grade levels will be provided with opportunities to develop greater understanding of the mathematics program philosophy and outcomes through handouts, meetings, etc.

Strategy 2

At each grade level a variety of mathematics homework assignments that involve problem solving, mathematical investigations, written explanations and reflections, and data collection to model classroom instruction will be given throughout the year. These assignments will be used to help parents/caregivers gain a clearer understanding of the mathematics curriculum and their children’s progress.

Strategy 3

Study guides for mathematics will be used at all grade levels when and where appropriate.

Professional Development

Dr. Rita Janes acted as a consultant and facilitator for work done on this goal throughout the year. She facilitated three professional development sessions for teachers. These were held on January 22, February 12 and March 5, 2007. The objectives related to mathematics teaching and learning were given priority and professional development days for 2006-2007 were organized around them. Further time was devoted to these objectives in grade level, levels and staff meetings as needed.

Financial

In recent years, a considerable amount of money has been devoted to purchasing teaching materials, specifically manipulative materials, for classroom use. As well, activity books and professional resources have also been placed in our Learning Resource Centre. Current use of these resources, and the need for others, was reviewed and a budget made available to make further purchases. Dr. Janes was retained as a paid consultant to Newtown Elementary School staff as we worked on this goal and objectives during 2006-2007. Part of her duties in this regard was to conduct three professional development days with our staff. She was also involved in ongoing monitoring of the plan as it was implemented. She helped with assessing changes in classroom practice and student achievement.

Monitoring Progress and Outcomes

The School Development Team monitored implementation of this plan and throughout the year identified some outcome measures that will become part of our internal review related to this goal. The School Achievement Team monitored student achievement data such as the CRT mathematics results and identified areas requiring further attention.

Objective 1

A Safe and Caring School Team will be established. They will provide leadership for our school community as we develop a school-based Safe and Caring School Policy following current government and district guidelines.

Objective 2

A safe and caring school policy will be written by the team following the Eastern School Districe Safe and Caring School Plan Handbook. As part of this process our current school daily routines and expectations for student behavior will be reviewed and revised as needed and turned into a current code of conduct. Substitute teacher time will be provided for safe school team members to work on this policy. A draft of this policy will be reviewed at a School Council meeting in January.

Objective 3

Application will be made to become part of The League of Peaceful Schools International. A Peace Fair will be held in the spring of 2006 to celebrate this achievement.

Objective 4

A character education program at each grade level will be implemented in the 2006-2007 school year.

Objective 5

Two professional development days will be held in 2006-2007 related to our new policy and its implementation in individual classrooms and as a whole school program.

Objective 6

The policy and activities that result from this goal will be communicated to parents and caregivers through memos and the school web site. The policy will become part of a handbook for students.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The School Development Team will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of this goal. Some of the objectives lend themselves to ready identification of when they are accomplished. The staff, and possibly students in their classes, will be involved in reporting on whether there are improvements in social interactions. The School Development Team may identify specific activities for teachers and students related to judging our school environment.

REPORT ON SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2006-2007

The results contained in the summary tables that describe how our students performed on criterion referenced tests and the school development plan for 2007-2008 are closely linked. In particular, the articulation of our focus on improving teaching and learning in mathematics through a problem solving approach as our first school development goal enabled us to gain clarity about what our intention was in this area and the types of teacher practices we wanted to implement. Each objective and strategy was given attention during 2006-2007 as we worked with Dr. Janes during three professional development days and implemented new teaching strategies arising from them. Sample questions from the previous year’s tests and analysis of how our students performed on particular sections were considered. Teachers were assigned tasks to try with their students at each grade level and invited to share how these lessons went in each professional development session.

Our second goal related to developing a Safe and Caring School Policy was also given considerable attention. A school team was established and several drafts of our policy were written. The latest version was submitted to the program specialist at district office for feedback and we made some revisions. A variety of character education programs continued to be implemented at different grade levels. This goal will continue into 2007-2008 because we still feel we can make improvements in this area. Our aim is to implement our policy and make further additions to it. For example, our team has become involved in healthy living initiatives and we hope to continue to add related activities.

This was the final year of this current School Development Plan for Newtown Elementary. Our previous plan was initiated prior to the implementation of the newer provincial School Development Model. In the 2007-2008 school year we will endeavor to complete an Internal Review and identify goals and strategies consistent with our findings from our review and begin implementation of the new provincial model for School Development. During the 2007-2008 school year we will maintain our two main goals with their accompanying objectives and strategies until such time as we are able to identify the goals resulting from our new data collection. Additionally, we would like to explore school-wide programming options for positive behavioral supports and Roots of Empathy Programming.