6. Global Citizen - 21C Learners
Artefacts
Overall Annotation
IMPACT OF ALL THIS ON SCHOOL: Chatswood Public School prides itself on being a harmonious and multicultural school. 85% of our students come from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB), and we are proud that our school is both culturally sensitive and responsive to student and community needs. This emphasis on inclusivity, celebrating the differences existing throughout our student population, continues to strengthen our school. The changing world and the increasing interconnectedness and interdependence of it have placed unprecedented demands on schools to educate for 21st century global citizenship. For Chatswood Public School, we value the importance of developing and equipping students with necessary skills and knowledge to face the challenges and demands in the future.
What: In Chatswood Public School, we strive to effectively develop the characteristics of global citizens in students in a range of programs. These include: Student Representative Council (Sustainability and Power Rangers), Global Learning (Sister School relationship), Coonamble Connection, STEM classes, Bilingual Program, Extra Curricular Activities, Confucius Program and Multicultural Festivals.
As the student voice, our Students Representative Council is an important channel for students to present ideas, suggestions and requests for changes in school practice. A major focus of the SRC is Sustainability, where students are encouraged to take responsibility in caring for our environment and resources. Another focus is raising funds for, and awareness of, the disadvantaged. Our school hosts a number of mufti-days each year to support different charities, including Steward House Fete.
Why: Our Global Learning Committee is formed by teacher representatives from each Stage. Members are engaged in planning for global education for students such as Harmony Day. It has been a valuable annual event in celebrating cultural diversity and multiculturalism. Sister school relationships are also a major component of Global Learning. Our school has consistently sent study tours to our Korean sister schools in Seoul, Korea and Nanjing, China for cultural exchange. Both our teachers and students benefit from it immensely as it provide immersion to different cultures, customs and languages. Existing relationships with sister schools in Korea and China were further enhanced through teacher and student exchange programs in the past few years.
When: A relationship with Coonamble Public School was established in order to increase the resources sharing and cultural understanding between two very different schools. 2016 began with a joint leadership training day for the student leaders of both schools in Sydney. Twenty students from Chatswood PS joined a day of celebrations during NAIDOC week at Coonamble PS. Twenty students from Coonamble PS participated in the Chinese Immersion Day at Chatswood PS in September.
Bilingual Program Chatswood Public School successfully started the English/Korean Bilingual program in 2016 on Kindergarten. In 2017 it has increased to two classes of kindergarten and a class of Year 1. This program will continue to run from Kindergarten to Year 6. The program follows the Australian NSW syllabus outcomes, as students learn the technicalities of the language and immerse into the culture throughout their time at Chatswood Public School. Our English/Korean K-6 Bilingual program has been helping to shape creative lifelong learners by delivering the NSW curriculum in both English and Korean.
Our Confucius Program was established since 2014. Our volunteer teachers from the Confucius Institute have been conducting cultural lessons for K-6 students and assisting Chinese language teachers in teaching Mandarin, with a particular focus on Chinese Background Speakers. We have also supported other school by sharing our Confucius Teacher with other primary schools. A Chinese music instrument program has also been an ongoing part of our school music program since the beginning of the establishment of Confucius Classroom. As part of the program, we have organised China Day and Chinese Immersion Day respectively to provide opportunities for stage 3 and stage 2 students to experience Chinese culture through hands on workshops and sampling Chinese food.
How: Using STEM as a prism of teaching across other areas of the curriculum has allowed for an engaging way of teaching skills such as collaboration, creative thinking and problem solving, while at the same time developing high level skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In 2017, 3 STEM classes were established, and this has extending curriculum options and providing new opportunities for STEM-inclined students. In 2017 our term 1 SDD day, STEM class teachers organised professional development for other staff members to share their expertise.
Our school offers a comprehensive and engaging extra–curricular program. In 2017 the number of clubs has increased to 38, and these take place at different times before school, during lunch time and after school. Bands, choirs, an orchestra, recorder ensembles and string ensembles run throughout the school year and perform frequently at multiple events such as Twilight Concert.
The Significant Impact
Multicultural celebrations played a significant part of students’ global education. Our two main cultural celebrations are the Moon festival and the Dragon Boat Festival. Through these festivals, students learn about and recognise the diversity within and between the countries of the Asia region. Our annual Moon Festival involves the whole school community; parents and students from our school set up a variety of stalls on the night including multicultural food stalls and games stalls. A range of entertainment such as Lion dance, Kungfu demonstration and other multicultural dances also take place on the night. These celebrations have served the whole school community by increasing its cultural understanding and appreciation of our diversity.
Analysis
In our self-assessment process the leadership team analysed a range of evidence to support our judgement.The evidence set shows our commitment to engage the whole school community and prepare our students to be Global Citizens.
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SEF Connections
​In regards to Learning Culture, Chatswood Public School is Excelling. This is not only evident in the the in-school STEM program, which teachers frequently collaborate to identify the learning needs of the students and ensure that STEM units are programmed to meet these needs, but it extends beyond class time and beyond our local school area. Outside class time are opportunities to develop student interest in a variety of extra-curricular activities in-school where knowledge and skills in the specific areas are extended. The opportunities to build connections with other schools such as Coonamble PS and our sisters schools in Korea and China have proven to be valuable and significant building blocks for students to able to observe classroom lessons, partake in extra-curricular activities, exchange cultural knowledge and sharing of interests. This is reciprocated when the sister schools students return to visit us. This creates a strong bond between our students and their buddies, preparing our students to be world class and informed citizens ready for the 21st Century. In addition, positive, respectful relationships are evident among students and staff, promoting student wellbeing and ensuring good conditions for student learning.
In regards to Curriculum and Learning, Chatswood Public School is Sustaining and Growing as our whole school, including the Korean Bilingual Program, uses the NSW Syllabus to deliver quality teaching to students. Lessons and activities are engaging, stimulating and promotes cognitive develop when code switching between 2 languages. We have networked with Murray Farm Public School and Campsie Public school to learn and share ideas about the bilingual program. Bilingual teachers collaboratively plan together the content and language integrated learning to continually reviewing and enhancing the program for students to achieve maximum learning outcomes. We have involved parents with their children’s learning through class blogs, Youtube clips, homework, audio files as they progress through the stages of education. Curriculum provision is enhanced by learning alliances with other schools and organisations like the Coonamble Connection Program . Extra-curricular learning opportunities are significant, support student development, and are strongly aligned with the school’s vision, values and priorities.
In regards to Wellbeing, Chatswood Public School is Sustaining and Growing. The Student Representative Council contributes to the wellbeing of others and the wider community by fundraising for various charities including Medecins Sans Frontieres and Taronga Zoo. The Student Representative Council is in charge of ensuring that students have a voice that is heard, whether they are senior or junior students.
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In regards to Effective Classroom Practice, Chatswood Public School is Sustaining and Growing. All bilingual teachers at Chatswood Public School have been trained and are implementing evidence-based teaching strategies when delivering bilingual lessons. Bilingual teachers have attended CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), which combines teaching content from a curriculum area with the explicit teaching of the target language. Teachers are continually using student’s performance data and other students feedback to evaluate and refine our teaching practices. Teachers regularly use student performance data and other student/teacher and parent feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of our own teaching practices. Students receive timely specific feedback to students on how to improve. This data along with parent surveys have helped inform future school direction with the bilingual program.
In regards to the Teaching Elements, Chatswood Public School rate Collaborative Practice as Sustaining and Growing. Chatswood Public School has strived to foster a collaborative culture across the school. Our school forms collaboration within the school, between students - teachers, teacher-parents and teacher-teachers at other schools.The Stewart House Fete organised by the Student Representative Council is a good example of the collaborative involvement of the whole school and all teachers. Parents-teacher collaborations are evident in the organisational of multicultural festivals such as Moon Festival, as not only all staff in CPS but parents of students works collaboratively to improve teaching and learning of multiculturalism. We identifies expertise within our staff; different multicultural backgrounds of our staff has been a particular strength in organising Moon Festival. Chinese dance, Korean dance, Indian dance groups perform at the festival under supervision of our staff members, as well as running a variety of stalls in collaboration with volunteer parents. Finally, our sister school exchanges is clearly a collaboration between the teachers through teaching classes in the sister schools. Ideas and strategies are exchanged, resulting in professional learning on both sides.
In regards to Learning and Development and Professional Standards, Chatswood Public School is Sustaining and Growing. Our staff regularly attend professional development sessions to help them improve their STEM teaching methods. This learning is later shared with the rest of the school through whole school staff development days or stage meetings. We also send teachers from Chatswood to work beyond their classrooms to contribute to broader inter-school programs like Coonamble Connections.
In regards to the Leading Elements, Chatswood Public School rate School Planning, Implementation and Reporting and School Resources as Sustaining and Growing. There is broad understand of school expectations and aspiration for improving student learning in being global citizens across the school community. Global learning and teaching 21st century learns are an integral part of our school’s large multicultural and international student/parent body, which correlates with our strategic directions in the domains of Real World Connections, Quality Teaching and Leadership and shaping creative lifelong learners. It is an important and necessary part of our school plan. This emphasis on inclusivity, celebrating the differences, continues to strengthen our school. Depending on the necessary frequency of meetings, they are held every term for the Student Representative Council (sustainability & Power Rangers), Global Learning (Sister School relationship), Coonamble Connection, STEM classes, Bilingual Program, Extra Curricular Activities, Confucius Program and Multicultural Festivals as we seek to ensure teaching, activities and events planning are on track.
In regards to Management Practices and Processes, Chatswood Public School is Sustaining and Growing. Our school’s Extra-Curricula program is thoroughly reviewed at the end of each year for the following year’s program with consideration of students’ interest and needs. The teachers involved in Extra-Curricula activities are dedicated to catering to the options of clubs that are suited to each age group, according to their areas of their expertise. The timetables for those clubs have also been carefully organised for an effective and smooth operation of the program.
The current programs will be reviewed at the end of the year. Our school leadership team and staff are committed to further develop our students into global citizens and 21st century learners.
Future Direction
To further develop all students to become Global Citizen and 21st Century Learners we will be focusing on Visible Teaching and Learning Global Connection and STEM Challenge in the next 3 years.
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Learning Elements
The need for education that focuses on cultural understanding and fostering harmony across all cultural groups have been a priority in Chatswood Public School. Our Mandarin Program, Korean Bilingual Classes, visitation to sisters school here and overseas, participation in Confucius Classroom activities and multicultural festivals have progressed in the direction of understanding and accepting Global Connection in the Real World. Chatswood Public School will further develop Korean Bilingual classes and the Mandarin Program to continue to meet our needs of the community for bilingualism and multicultural understanding.
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Teaching Elements
The value of global, intercultural and 21st century education will continue in and outside of classrooms. Our extracurricular programs, SRC and cultural festivals will continue to contribute to developing the necessary skills for the future of our students. In 2018, Moon Festival and extracurricular clubs will expand to meet the needs of the rapid growth of our school.
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Leading Elements
We have established 4 STEM Classes this year across Stages 1-3. STEM teaching and learning will be implemented in every class in the next 3 years. Our STEM teachers have been in-servicing the whole school staff in understanding and delivering STEM teaching across Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Our aim is to encourage and assist all students to become proficient in STEM as these are the core skills that are required for 21st Century Global Citizen to utilise and to keep learning throughout their lives. In 2018, through collaborative programing, STEM teachers will continue to share their expertise with other teachers during Staff Development days. This has and will enable teachers to be trained in STEM for successful student learning.