.	Address	PO Box 1683 Mount Isa 4825 Abel Smith Parade Mount Isa 4825
	Phone	47448333
	Fax	47448300
	Email	tmoes3@eq.edu.au
	Website or Contact Person	Tim Moes Principal www.mtisasde.qld.edu.au
School Profile
Mount Isa School of the Air is a government co-educational P-10 school servicing the needs of isolated students in North West Queensland.  Our 179 students (current enrolment) are drawn from a large geographical area which extends from the Gulf to Birdsville and from Richmond in the east to the Territory in the west.  Students are enrolled in one of the following categories:  Geographical isolation  Medical condition  Mobility  Exclusion  Family circumstance  Home based – by choice  Travelling – by choice

Curriculum offerings

We provide our students with their curriculum through paper/web-based materials, through on-air synchronous daily lessons, daily reading lessons and through our field program.  Core learnings are based on the key/core learning outcomes for all strands in all key learning areas as described in syllabus documents developed by the Queensland Studies Authority.

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We also offer many exciting extra-curricular activities such as violin, recorder, Scouts of the Air, Rock Pop Mime, Opti-Minds and Good News Club.

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Social climate

Given that our school community extends across one quarter of Queensland we have a wonderfully supportive, caring and active school community. There is strong cohesion in relationships between staff, parents, governesses and students. This is reflected strongly in our satisfaction surveys

Involving parents in their child’s education.

Our school is not a school of children rather it is a school of families.  A strong network of support has developed within and out of our school community.  There is a strong degree of parent participation in the planning and review processes with strong parent participation on various committees supporting school operations. Parents provide the face-to-face teaching to our students in their home.

Qualifications of all teachers.

Expenditure on and teacher participation in professional development.

· The total funds expended on teacher professional development in 2008 was $35910.

· The major professional development initiatives were development of new curriculum materials, use of Blackboard in an e-learning environment, providing PD for our home tutors and attaining ICT Pedagogical Licences.

· The involvement of the teaching staff in professional development activities during 2008 was 100 %.

Average staff attendance

· For permanent and temporary staff and school leaders the staff attendance rate was 97% in 2008.

Proportion of staff retained from the previous school year.

· From the end of the 2008 school year, 85 % of staff were retained by the school for the entire 2008 school year.

Student attendance

The average attendance rate as a percentage in 2008 was 100%

Key outcomes

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results - our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Domain	Measures			Yr 3	Yr 5	Yr 7	Yr 9
Reading	Average score for the school			382	494	594	587
	Average score for Queensland			371.1	466.1	528.1	568.2
	For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.		2008	82%	89%	100%	75%
Writing	Average score for the school			364	477	449	338
	Average score for Queensland			391.8	468.9	522.7	555.3
	For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.		2008	86%	84%	77%	40%
Spelling	Average score for the school			379	441	517	496
	Average score for Queensland			366.7	462.0	528.0	567.8
	For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.		2008	91%	68%	100%	50%
Grammar and Punctuation	Average score for the school			386	514	554	515
	Average score for Queensland			370.4	476.6	518.0	563.2
	For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.		2008	86%	95%	92%	50%
Numeracy	Average score for the school			400	489	607	581
	Average score for Queensland			367.9	458.2	539.0	570.7
	For the school the percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard.		2008	100%	89%	100%	100%
Results in the Year 2 Diagnostic Net
		Percentage of students not requiring additional support
Reading		62%
Writing		81%
Number		86%

Other Key Outcomes

Value added

We are in the third year of our 3-Year Strategic Plan. For the life of the Strategic Plan, our school is committed to achieving the following outcomes:

Improving the reading ability of students through a structured reading program concentrating on students in the early years and other children identified as poor readers.

To improve the school’s overall performance in spelling to the state average or above.

Staff and families feel competent in using “Blackboard” as an instructional tool.

To implement a revised assessment and reporting system that meets the needs and requirements of our learners, our home tutors, our teachers and Education Queensland.

Continually supporting new families who enrol in our school in order to maximise student learning outcomes.

To ensure that teacher time is used effectively to improve the educational outcomes of students.

To improve basic numeracy skills through an active approach on-air.

Our School’s reading and spelling results have been trending upwards over the past three years as our school has focussed on extra spelling and reading strategies. Strategies have included, focussed lessons, individual lessons, new curriculum materials and a revised supplementary reading program.

Parent, student and teacher satisfaction with the school

Satisfaction levels with the school are high with 100% of parents and 90% of students considering this school to be a good school.

In every measure of staff satisfaction our school results were well above the state average. The measures were physical work environment, relationships, school operations, staff morale, support and training, work roles, work value and recognition