Organisation: Wyrallah Public School
Job Title: Classroom Teacher
Location: Wyrallah
Approval to teach K-6 with demonstrated ability to design and implement programs that are
aligned with the school plan and engage all students across all curriculum areas
I am a fully qualified teacher and having completed my Bachelor of Education in 2010, have taught
across all year levels on a casual teaching basis during 2010 and in full time year blocks from 2011-
2015. I strive to promote a high quality learning environment for all students and provide learning
opportunities that clearly demonstrate the significance of the content to their everyday lives, thus
ensuring all students are engaged in the learning journey and diversity is embraced.
Having previously taught in rural communities, including Woodenbong (Years 5/6), Robinvale
(Years 3/4), Mungindi (Years K/1/2) and Leeville (Years 2/3/4), across both multi-grade and multi-
stage classes, I am confident that I provide high expectations for achievement and learning
development and success through engaging learning environments.
UNITY
Students thoroughly enjoy my style of teaching and say that I explain things well; I seem to have
the capacity to make learning fun. This has the flow on effect of students enjoying school, wanting
to bring their parents into the school environment and creating a united community in the
process. In addition, across my career I have provided a range of after-hours sporting
opportunities for students, which enables me to connect with the local community.
Within the small school environment, often opportunities are made through collaboration with
other schools, including outside of the classroom activities. In my current role at Leeville Public
School, I have worked closely with a principal at a neighbouring school to complete units towards
Athletics Level C – Coaches Award and addressed the small schools networks on the changes that
we could implement in the running of the Athletics training and carnivals to achieve greater
participation from all students. These suggestions were taken on at the following Athletics Carnival
and the carnival ran more smoothly with students and parents attending the day for longer,
demonstrating the benefits of working together.
QUALITY
As a part of my role as classroom teacher, I continually provide programs that address the learning
needs of all students. I do this by addressing the Quality Teaching Model when planning, teaching
and assessing. I ensure that I gain an understanding of students’ prior knowledge and deliver
content to students in a variety of ways, so they are able to personally experience that knowledge
is ever evolving. I focus entirely on students’ learning. I have really high expectations of student
behaviour and want students to take some responsibility for their own learning. I do this by
providing a classroom environment where children have some choice, where we all celebrate
accomplishment, where we speak respectfully to each other, where learning is fun and the
classroom is safe and healthy.
SUCCESS
Throughout my career, I have taught both multi-grade and multi-stage classrooms, teaching up to
3 grade levels at a time, ensuring differentiated content at all times to cater for individual
student’s needs. Acknowledging the diverse range of abilities in any one classroom is critical
teaching practice. I believe that I have been able to cater more than adequately to each student’s
individual needs, as I empower my teaching by developing an understanding of the resources
available in the local community and the education system. I highly value an open dialogue
between students, parents, staff and community members in regard to student welfare. I regularly
assess students’ knowledge and understanding of content against the continuum. Recording
student’s achievement levels in PLAN in order to chart individual students’ progress, to assist in
the creation of group rotations and identify individual learning needs and plan future learning
accordingly, especially in the subject areas of Maths and English.
I have great interest in the L3 program where I have observed the literacy growth of students in
Kindergarten at Leeville Public and I am keen to attend L3 training. I believe L3 caters for the
individual needs of students in a whole class context, as it delivers explicit instruction in reading
and writing in the students first year of school, therefore providing all students with a solid
foundation in literacy and minimising the need for more intense literacy support in later school
years. Through the continual assessment and data analysis of in-class observations, discussions
and literacy artefacts every 5 weeks (mid and end of term), teaching practices are refined to
inform the next step in learning for each individual student.
I have implemented the TEN program into my year 2/3/4 classroom at Leeville Public School this
year and have seen vast improvements in all students’ Early Arithmetic Strategies. By structuring
small group, short, focused, frequent numeracy activities, I have been able to provide all students
with fun, hands on, student specific learning opportunities, both in class and in everyday school
and class routines.
Each student was initially assessed and placed on the continuum. Through observation,
discussions and work samples, they were reassessed with the results being recorded in PLAN
(every 5 weeks), so groupings and activity focuses reflected student movement across the
Numeracy Continuum. I have also implemented the Thinking While Moving In Maths and the
Maths N Movement programs in my teaching, as they engage students in small group short,
focused, movement lessons. Through the implementation of these programs I have seen a great
improvement in student enjoyment and engagement in lessons, as they are now requesting math
lessons above all other KLAs and are developing their problem solving abilities, as they can identify
arithmetic strategies they can use to solve problems and are making connections between maths
and their everyday lives.
Demonstrated skills and/or experience in teaching and coordinating school sporting and public
speaking and debating programs
SPORT
As a leader of the Restorative Practice and You Can Do It – Social Emotional Learning programs at
St Mary’s Robinvale and St Joseph’s Mungindi and as sport coordinator at Leeville Public School, I
have developed and implemented whole school Personal Development Health and Physical
Education (PDHPE) scope and sequences and jointly constructed whole school behaviour
management policies to ensure student welfare is being addressed by explicitly teaching,
supporting and monitoring students’ in their personal development.
I have demonstrated my skills and experience in teaching and coordinating school sporting
programs through being trained in and facilitating the following programs:
– AUSTSWIM
– Active After School Coaching
– School Sport Athletics Level C Coaches Award
– Live Life Well @ School Coordinator
– Road Safety
During my role at Leeville Public School, I have initiated our involvement in the Premier’s Sporting
Challenge through the coordination and delivery of school sports programs that promote quality
nutrition and physical activity education and experiences to all students. In addition, I have formed
an intrinsic part of the organising committee for Athletics Carnivals, Swimming Carnivals and Cross
Country days and have attended each as team manager for the CLASS Casino small school
network.
As the Sports Coordinator at Leeville, I have also organised NRL programs and event days and have
run after school athletics training sessions, daily soccer competitions, after school coaching
sessions at Robinvale Swimming Club, as well as teaching weekly swimming and PE to all classes. I
have collaborated on the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) initiative to be implemented at
Leeville Public School next year and held discussions and workshops with staff and students to
identify areas of need in the school.
PUBLIC SPEAKING/ DEBATING
As a classroom teacher, I have had the opportunity to instruct students and develop their
knowledge of public speaking requirements through the explicit teaching of content structure and
presentational aspects. The students have had the opportunity to practice public speaking in class
activities and assessments as well as through the CLASS Casino small school public speaking
competition, where we placed equal first in the stage 2 section. I have a great interest in leading
enrichment programs in the area of debating and welcome an opportunity to apply my teaching in
this area.
Proven ability to cater for the needs of gifted and talented students and the ability to use
technology to enhance the learning outcomes of all students
Through my teaching experiences I have further developed an empathy and understanding of
individual students’ cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and the factors that may affect their
learning styles. I have created programs to cater for not only Aboriginal students, but also
students from varying socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, including Vietnamese, Tongan,
Italian, African, Zimbabwean and Filipino. I recognise, support and celebrate cultural
understanding towards all students and community groups.
I feel confident in teaching and supporting individualised programs within the classroom
environment and the broader school community to ensure all students have the opportunity to
achieve personal excellence in all outcomes. I am also aware of the need to be flexible and
incorporate professional advice and suggestions from all stakeholders to assist children to achieve
success on an individual basis.
In a fast passed ever-evolving world that we live in, it is vital that students are provided the
opportunities to develop their concepts of community through purposeful communication.
Students need to focus on their role in the world as well as developing an understanding of global
issues.
I am determined in every school I teach to have students achieve teacher and student identified
goals. Whether they are students who need extension or remediation, my ability to develop,
implement, assess, reflect and change classroom learning programs to improve and further
enhance student learning is typified by student success, as well as the increase of student
participation and motivation at school.
By identifying students’ individual learning requirements through conversations, observations and
the data gathered and recorded in PLAN, I use this to inform my planning to create meaningful
learning opportunities for each individual student. This might include structured goals with
students and visually displaying them so achievements can be tracked and feedback is presented
in a timely manner, or it may include altering planned units of work while teaching to follow
student questions and interests, while ensuring curriculum outcomes are still being met.
By incorporating up to date ICT practices into learning and teaching programs, students have the
opportunity to develop their technological skills and will therefore be enabled to prosper in the
21 st Century. For this reason, I incorporate technology into my classroom in a number of ways,
including creating and managing shared Office 365 files with students to write progressive
narratives and construct debates and through operating the interactive white board daily. I
present Smart Notebook lessons, as a way to engage students through animation and game and
activity elements to assist in the delivery of curriculum content and teach meaningful maths
lessons in length, area and perimeter, through the use of google maps.
Other strategies used in my classroom include the use of Dragon Naturally Speaking Software to
assist students with poor writing skills, to be able to verbalise their thoughts and answers and
have it recorded in writing and the use of programs such as Mathletics, Study Ladder, Reading
Eggs and Rainforest Maths, to support the learning of the mathematics and English curriculum, by
providing support with content orientation, practice and assessments. I often use ClassMaker
software to create multiple choice assessments for students, which also allows for differentiation
through the gradient of questions from easy to hard, allocating set questions to individuals and
allocating set times for individuals.
Lastly, I make use of computers, laptops and iPads in the classroom to allow students to research
topics, create music and dance videos, as well as present and record interviews and news reports.
We also use iPads to link QR codes to workbooks, posters and artworks, in order to record stories,
songs and messages to pieces of work students have created, to show creativity and enhance their
presentations and gather evidence for teacher assessment and parent interviews.
Ability to lead and/or facilitate extracurricular academic and cultural programs and a clearly
demonstrated capacity to engage with students, staff and the community
I have great enthusiasm and passion for seeing students engaged throughout school life, especially
the curriculum outside of the classroom. It is often through these experiences that students gain
an appreciation and love for school in general. Because of this passion, I have facilitated many
creative arts and sports opportunities, at a whole school level.
As female mentor for the Robinvale Euston Amateur Community Theatre, a member of the cast
and crew for the Mungindi Musical and Dramatic Society, art coordinator and choir leader at
Leeville Public School and joint choir leader at St Joseph’s Mungindi and St Mary’s Robinvale, I
have demonstrated my ability to engage students, parents and the community in cultural
programs.
In the communities I have worked within, the relationship between the parents and community
with the school and its teachers is one of utmost importance. As the school is a place community
gathers, I see the community and parents as one of the greatest assets we have, and have utilised
and imbedded this most valuable resource in all we do.
There are a number of strategies I have learnt and used to engage the community, including
acquiring knowledge and understanding of individual family and community situations, through
class open days and my commitment to out of school community involvement. I strive to display
respectfulness and understanding of a variety of family units and living situations, incorporating
cultural beliefs and practices through the presentation of content, openness and flexibility in the
content being taught, the use of culturally inclusive resources and using appropriate methods in
which content is to be delivered and assessed.
Other strategies include the development of personalised learning plans in conjunction with
SLSOs, students and parents, the development of high expectation towards student’s learning
goals and behaviour management and promoting student ownership of learning by providing a
classroom environment that develops choice, accomplishment, positive relationships, enjoyment,
growth and health and safety. I encourage and promote the involvement of parents, caregivers
and community members in the evaluation of educational programs, processes and practices,
through involvement in activities, meetings, phone calls and home visits.
I develop opportunities and structures for substantive communication and community
involvement through curriculum themed classroom and school displays. These displays have
encouraged student participation and ownership of their learning and class pride. Resulting in
higher parental involvement in students’ education, as students are discussing their learning at
home, bringing in things from home to enhance classroom displays and encouraging their parents
to come in to the classroom to look at the display and engage in the school community. These
strategies foster a respectful, stable, organised and enjoyable classroom, thus ensuring all
students feel encouraged to participate in lessons, enhancing all students’ outcomes and raising
their confidence and self-worth.
