8 minute read
Parent Surveys
we few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
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Headmaster's Introduction
Mr Greg Wain
Headmaster
Welcome to another news-filled edition of Band of Brothers. This edition includes an article highlighting the recent visit of our 2018 Dux, Harrison Chen, and Proxima Accessit to the Dux, Josh Moss. Harrison was excited to let us know that he is off to study Medicine with a direct entry to Melbourne University. Harrison scored an OP1 at the very top end which equated to an ATAR of 99.95, the best ATAR possible. An outstanding result. In New South Wales last year, only 46 students out of 75,000 in Year 12 achieved an ATAR of 99.95.
Josh also scored an OP1 and needed an ATAR score for his university application. His ATAR was 99.75 which would have placed him in the top 230 students in New South Wales out of 75,000. Josh is now studying at the world-renowned London School of Economics. Congratulations to both Harrison and Josh.
Read further into Band of Brothers to find one of our outstanding recent staff recruitments. This man has travelled the world as an integral coach with the likes of the Melbourne Rebels, Queensland Reds, Queensland Cricket, Brisbane Heat, the Australian Cricket Team in their World Cup winning year, the Irish Rugby Union, Munster Rugby Club in Ireland - one of Europe’s biggest rugby clubs - and in his competition days, nearly made the Olympic High Jump Team after missing out by just 1cm. He did jump an impressive 2.18 metres, giving him a ranking on the Athletics Australia All-Time List. I also recently found out that he worked with the Wallabies for six years and was a speed consultant in the 2003 World Cup!
You will also find that our Parent Survey ‘report card’ is included in this edition and we celebrate our steady growth in positive school culture and teacher quality which are now the top two aspects of TSS.
There is also lots of news from our Prep School campus: we are thrilled to announce that the TSS Preschool has again received the difficult to obtain ‘Excellent’ rating no doubt helped by the new ‘beach lifesaver’ themed play area; find out about the Prep Archibald prize exhibition; and meet two boys who are in Reception this year and their Old Boy dads who started at TSS together in Year 1 in 1989! Read also about the game changer for Music with work commencing on the new Music Centre and Annand Theatre. These two mammoth projects have been on the Strategic Plan for over a decade. The Secondary School will soon be able to match the Prep School in having a meeting place, which is key to building community and culture, where every boy will have a seat and be able to see and hear what is happening at our weekly community gatherings. Music Evenings, Speech Day, Orientation Day and Graduation will soar to a new level of ‘stately occasion’ and comfort when the building is completed late next year. Enjoy this edition of Band of Brothers!
“My son was offered a full scholarship to another school. He would not even read the letter. TSS is ‘his school’."
"In two years my son’s grades and self-esteem have gone through the roof! Thank you.”
Parent Surveys Help Keep us on Track
We look on our biennial parent surveys as an invaluable source of critical feedback to help keep us on track, so thank you to over 550 families who took the time to respond to the 2018 Biennial Parent Survey at the end of last year. I have read them all and the results and recurrent themes appear on the next page. In the interest of transparency, every suggested ‘area for improvement’ or ‘parent concern’, mentioned by just three percent (or more) of respondent parents, is listed herein.
All these issues, and our many strengths, have already been presented to the School Council. As always, this valuable information will help inform our planning and resourcing. The staff have also seen the results, and we have talked about ways to improve our service whilst celebrating the great positive results. We are delighted that parents are noting steady growth over many years in both our culture (spirit, camaraderie, community feel) and teaching quality. These are now consistently our two greatest strengths. I note that the boys themselves are key drivers of this culture in terms of academic diligence, anti-drugs, spirit, involvement and care for others. Another key measure I track over time is our value proposition. In terms of the ‘value for money’ of the total TSS package, 76% of parents feel “very positive” or “positive” about their value for money, with 4% of parents feeling “not satisfied” or “very negative”.
We do target the areas of concern raised recurrently by parents and boys, and it is good to see that effort reflected in the survey results over the years showing less parent concern in ‘difficult to fix completely to every ones satisfaction’ areas, such as uniform standards, bullying, and pick-up time traffic.
Every family who felt “not satisfied” or “very negative” in terms of value for money has (anonymously) had their specific reasons conveyed to both the School Council and to the teachers.
Our persistent efforts in ‘value adding’ to your son’s education in terms of TSS leading the way in Boys’ Education initiatives such as; Learning Styles, Academic Diligence emphasis, Thrass phonics and reading programs, Bounce Back, Positive Psychology, Habits of Mind, Habits of Heart, Leadership Programs, Cadets and the like are, pleasingly, also reflected in the survey results and parent comments.
"My son joined TSS and worried if he would fit in or enjoy it. Now about to graduate and he doesn’t want to leave. That’s compelling!”
Best aspects of TSS 1. TSS Culture (62% of respondents noted this aspect) – great spirit, positive, sense of community, camaraderie, sense of belonging – “our boy is encouraged by peers and staff to be the best he can be” … “such a positive culture” … “you can sense the strength of the culture when you visit” 2. Teachers (57%) – “fabulous” … “amazing” … “ dedicated, involved, enthusiastic” … “compassionate and kind” … “they respect the boys and the boys respect them” 3. Facilities and Resources (40%) – “outstanding” 4. Sport (38%) 5. Opportunities (36%) 6. Academics (30%) 7. Location and Grounds (20%) 8. Discipline and Manners (13%) 9. Pastoral Care and Student Welfare (12%) 10. Boarding (11%) 11. Balanced and Wholistic Ethos (9%) 12. Leadership of the School (8%) 13. History and Tradition (8%) 14. House System and Housemasters (8%) 15. Personal Development of the Boys (5%) 16. Values and Morals (5%) 17. Leadership Development of the Boys (5%) 18. Music (5%) 19. Learning Support (4%) 20. Christian/Anglican (3%) 21. Cadets (3%) 22. Old Boys (3%) 23. Wellbeing and Positive Psychology (3%) Aspects in need of improvement 1. Communication (13%) – “about events… too many places to look on the website… tardy email responses from teachers… more proactive notice needed of poor results or problems” 2. No areas for improvement that we can see (8%) – “love all of it… best school in Australia… keep up the good work”. 3. Bullying (7%) – “seems no consequences…too many chances given to bullies… zero tolerance should mean out of the school at first offence” 4. Boarding Food (6%) – “more quantity, too much chicken and rice, more sandwiches, more pasta… has improved this year though” 5. Quality of Teaching (6%) – “most are amazing but some need to improve … don’t yell at the boys… stop device distraction in class… don’t use your phone in class … make sure all the work is in Canvas”. 6. Device Distraction (6%) – “good effort to date, but more restrictions needed to stop gaming, watching YouTube in class… Boarders up too late gaming” 7. Tuckshop Food (5%) – “unhealthy … some improvement since last survey” 8. Troublesome Boys and Repeat Offenders Need to Go (4%) – “some boys are getting away with too much … seems no escalating consequences for repeat offenders … too many chances given” 9. Academic Results (4%) – parents are generally happy with their boys’ results but want us to have higher NAPLAN averages and more top end OPs. 10. More Day and Boarder Interaction (3%) 11. Prep Book and Parent Portal (3%) – “confusing… last minute notices…night before not helpful” 12. Dress Standards (3%) – “waiting for pick-up… crossing Ferry Rd… Boarders at Woollies and Night Owl”. 13. Teacher Turnover/Changes (3%) – “too many changes of teachers and Housemasters during the year due to Long Service Leave and Maternity Leave.” 14. Prep Car Park Pick-up (2%) 15. Coaching Standards of Lower Teams (2%) 16. Sports Scholarships (2%) 17. Secondary Parent Portal (2%) – “needs a user guide”. 18. Learning Support (2%) – “more support for boys with learning difficulties”. 19. Fees Too High (2%) 20. Drugs and Alcohol (2%) – “keep working at it … more drug testing” 21. Secondary Car Park Pick-up Traffic (2%) 22. Theft and Use of Other’s Property (2%) 23. Need a Prep Pool (2%)
