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At Brookfield State School we value learners. We identify the basis of all we do as teaching children to be lifelong learners. We believe a lifelong learner is:
Emphasis on the importance of the early years is given through professional development support, funding of resources, class size, teacher aide support and use of classroom space. Our Prep Year Programs are of a high standard and lead the way in Early Childhood Education. Brookfield State School provides an educational program based on Education Queensland's eight key learning areas. Departmental syllabus documents are used as the foundation from which school/year level and class programs are developed. Our focus is on maintaining high standards of literacy and numeracy as well as building on each child's strengths and at the same time preparing them to take their place in the world. During the past 6 years all staff at Brookfield SS participated in extensive professional development activities. The main focuses of the professional development programs has been on development of year level units planned to meet the requirements of Outcomes Based Education syllabus documents; spelling; robotics & ICT's, Prep Year, Science and Gifted and Talented Education. An overview of units for all year levels has been developed and outcome level statements mapped throughout the school. A Literacy Committee has developed and implemented a new Spelling Program. This program addresses the developmental stages of spelling and teaches children about word patterns rather than learning lists of words. Implementation has been very successful and inventories have confirmed positive growth in spelling knowledge and skills. Student results in spelling have increased. Staff are very positive about support given in the area of professional development and feel a sense of achievement in many areas of curriculum development. A middle school program was introduced in 2005 with children moving to specific lessons, learning to plan and monitor their own research tasks, participate in leadership groups and be accountable to a number of teaching staff. Feedback from State and Private high schools has commended our Middle School Program on how well it prepares students for the demands of secondary schooling. Music continues as a key area with strong choirs and an instrumental program providing more than ninety children with skills to take part in concert band and string orchestra recitals both locally and throughout the region. Our choirs are open to all children who thoroughly enjoy the experience. Many of our music groups achieve high marks in competitions. Middle and upper school classes compete in national competitions in literacy, mathematics and science. Results of statewide tests show Brookfield above State and Like School benchmarks in literacy and numeracy. Sport plays an important part in the development of the child and teams achieve well in all fields of competition. A third sports house was established during 2003. The name Mackellar was selected in keeping with the theme of Australian authors. Our three sport houses are Paterson, Lawson & Mackellar (green, yellow & blue). A major inter-house sporting event was introduced for each term. Cross Country event term 1; Athletics Carnival term 2; Ball Games Carnival term 3; and Swimming Carnival term 4. The success of these events was significant. Introduction of the Ball Games Carnival received much positive parent feedback as many children were successful as members of a team and received ribbons for their achievement. A Recreation and Leisure Program was introduced in 2003. The aim of the program was to teach children how to use their leisure time as well as be active citizens and able to cope with the demands of their future work lives. Program options include, cricket, beach volleyball, Tae Kwon Do, speech and drama, golf, lawn bowls, jazz ballet mural painting, horse care, paint-a-plate, major games, warhammer scenery and more. In the early years of schooling, profiles of students are developed using statewide continua (the Year 2 Diagnostic Net) and intervention is provided for those students who need support to attain acceptable levels of literacy and numeracy. The major source of school funding is provided through Education Queensland's grant allocation. Our Parents and Citizens' Association also provides the school with a large proportion of money throughout the year through fundraising activities. Parents and Citizens' funds have been used to purchase literacy and numeracy resources for classrooms, data projectors and screen, sport equipment for every classroom for lunchtime use by children, cubby houses, beach volleyball court, computers, musical instruments (Cello and French Horn) and a $20,000 security system for the school. Brookfield Parents and Citizens' Association is extremely proactive and supportive of all aspects of school life. Our school would not be such a wonderful learning place without the tremendous support of our Parents and Citizens' Association. Our P&C Association has air-conditioned the whole school and installed a back-to-base security system. The vision of our school includes meeting the needs of each individual child. Support for children with special needs is provided by our Support Teacher and individual classroom teachers. Additional support staff are brought in as required. High achieving children are supported through extra curricula activities and extension programs within the classroom. Chess Club, Science Club, Tournament of Minds and French Classes and Drama Classes are some of the extra curricula opportunities available for children. Outside School Hours Care offer activities in Art Classes, Tae Kwon Do and other areas. A link with Kenmore State High School has been established to provide Science experiences for children in Years 4-7 through employment of a high school science teacher and some use of Kenmore High School science laboratories. Students at Brookfield SS learn German through the LOTE (Languages Other Than English) Program. Many of our students successfully apply for enrolment in the "German Immersion" program at Kenmore State High School. Kenmore High's ICE Program is also very popular with students using laptop computers for Learning. More information about Kenmore State High School can be found at www.kenmoreshs.eq.edu.au. |
