Annotation
The annotation is a statement that provides the context for the selected piece or group of evidence. It describes the what, when, how and why to explain the significance of the evidence.
Things to consider
- Does the annotation assist with understanding why this piece of evidence has been selected?
- Does the annotation provide a clear context statement for an external audience?
- Is the evidence and annotation clearly labelled and easily referenced within the submission?
Annotation school samples
Hamilton Public School
School context
Hamilton Public School is an important hub in the local community. The school is committed to continual improvement and is focussed on ensuring that all students believe that they can be high achievers and strive to do their best. Hamilton Public School is a proud member of the Newcastle Local Management Group of schools with a current FOIE of 43. Hamilton Public School has an enrolment of 317 students including 7% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and 6% of students having a language background other than English.
Our school is a place where staff, students and the community strive for excellence. We provide a caring and safe learning community that encourages all students and staff to reach their full potential. Our staff are enthusiastic and dedicated professionals who cater for individual students through quality practices that are underpinned by high expectations.
Hamilton Public School supports the development of the whole child and offers many extra-curricular activities including chess, drumming, dance, band, coding, STEM activities and mindfulness. Our major initiative, Nature Play, has been a great success, resulting in improved wellbeing for all students as it encourages cooperation, inclusion, persistence, resilience, creativity and critical thinking.
We are actively involved with the Children's University Program run by the University of Newcastle and promote the ethos of lifelong learning. The implementation of Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) across the school has also supported student wellbeing.
Areas of strength
The annotation supports a number of artefacts and:
- clearly identifies the significance of each piece of evidence;
- assists with an understanding of why the evidence was selected;
- explains the context of the evidence, and
- is clearly labelled for easy reference.
Link
Download sample (PDF 1.07MB)
Lucas Gardens School
School context
Lucas Gardens School provides educational programs for students with severe and moderate intellectual disabilities. Students range from 4 to 18 years of age. Our school has an exceptional staff with a wealth of knowledge and skills in special education, to support and enhance student learning outcomes. The school currently operates 8 classes with the potential to expand to 12 classes.
Lucas Gardens has a diverse student population from a range of socio economic backgrounds with 68.75% being from language backgrounds other than English. The educational programs are delivered within the Department of Education guidelines.
The school also offers unique learning opportunities through programs including, water familiarisation/swimming in our hydro centre and school based physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. Lucas Gardens School enjoys strong support from service organisations and the wider community resulting in enhanced resources. Our priorities include quality curriculum implementation, best teaching practice as well as a strong focus on wellbeing and adding value to students' learning.
Areas of strength
The annotation:
- supports multiple artefacts;
- provides a clear context statement for an external audience;
- Is clearly labelled with referenced artefacts, and
- is brief and succinct, providing a strong correlation to the school context.
Link
Download sample (PDF 2.47MB)
Miller Technology High School
School context
Miller Technology High School is situated in the south-west of Sydney in a diverse and culturally rich community. The school population is 661, including 81% EAL/D students and 6% Aboriginal students. The school has a low socio-economic status with a strong focus on quality teaching, literacy, numeracy, engagement and connected learning.
An Intensive English Centre (IEC) on site provides English instruction and cultural orientation for new arrivals and refugees, who represent a growing proportion of the local community.
The school also has a Support Unit that comprises of two classes for students with mild/moderate intellectual disabilities and two classes for students with autism.
The school has developed a broad range of curriculum programs that support all learners in their social, intellectual, emotional and behavioural development. We have active partnerships with universities and TAFE NSW Institutes as well as local businesses.
We are actively listening to student voice and working with our students to build a modern eLearning environment that personalises learning for each student.
NOTE: two samples presented from Miller High School.
Areas of strength
The school has presented a set of artefacts with accompanying annotations in a storyboard format. The annotations:
- describe and explain why the evidence was selected
- deepens understanding by providing differentiated evidence
- demonstrates triangulation of the data
- provides a holistic view of the context.
Link
Download sample 1 (PDF 1.014MB)
Download sample 2 (PDF 1.98MB)
Wiripaang Public School
School context
Wiripaang Public School is a K-6 school, situated in the suburb of Gateshead in the city of Lake Macquarie. Of the school?s 210 students in 2019, 33% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Wiripaang Public School has 11 classes, 8 mainstream and 3 within a Support Unit. The Support Unit consists of a Moderate and Severe Intellectual Disability (IO/IS) class, a Mild Intellectual Disability (IM) class and a Multi Categorical (MC) class.
The school services a complex, low socioeconomic community and has a strong focus on high expectations with an ongoing commitment to improving educational outcomes for all of its students and staff. It has a Family Occupation and Education Index (FOEI) of 192, with the state average being 100.
As a Positive Behaviour for Learning school, the expectation of being a Respectful, Responsible Learner underpins the collective vision of all within our learning community. Wiripaang Public School has a Department of Education appointed Aboriginal Education Officer (AEO) and a self-funded Community Liaison Officer (CLO), both staff members foster valuable links between the local and wider community and the school.
NAPLAN data over the past three years reflects complexity with school performance under that of state expectation but more recently our data indicates that we are outperforming statistically similar schools in areas of writing, spelling and numeracy. The school is an Early Action for Success school which provides extra resources for targeted programs and focusing explicitly on improving student outcomes in Literacy and Numeracy K - 2. Consistent collection and analysis of data, early transition programs, Speech Therapy and intervention programs enhancing the opportunities for students to be taught explicitly at point of need and on their personalised learning path. The school offers successful and varied sporting opportunities and a talented creative and performing arts program. Wiripaang Public School is a proud member of the Waiyarang Community of Schools.
Areas of strength
The school has provided a variety of well-chosen artefacts that explicitly support the evidence set. The annotations:
- are clearly labelled, and
- are easily identify what has been done and why the artefacts have been selected.
Link
Download sample (PDF 507KB)
Annotation examples
Artefact 1.3 and 1.4 - Reading comprehension program
Regular monitoring of reading comprehension skills through anecdotal observations were undertaken. These were recorded during weekly sessions using Literacy Pro reading materials. These artefacts are an example of data generated through Literacy Pro software, which is monitored by teachers regularly to review individual students' comprehension levels, and adjust teaching instruction to address emerging learning needs.
Artefact 2.1 - This image demonstrates formative assessment comments written in a proforma for Kindergarten guided reading sessions. This demonstrates that individual learning needs are assessed, monitored and reviewed and that programs reflect embedded formative assessment.
Cluster of artefacts (4.18) demonstrates how the school addressed bullying through community feedback. We reported our progress regularly to the community and also developed Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) lessons to build respectful relationships. A parent code of conduct was also used to support positive behaviour between students and parents.
Artefact 5.5 - Development of enhanced communication with the community. We have launched a new website this term that is more user friendly and attractive. We celebrate learning regularly via Facebook and inform parents with reminders using the Skoolbag app. Our newsletter is also an important form of communication. This aligns with our strategic direction of building positive relationships.
Professional Learning (6.9 and 6.10) illustrates the staff participating in professional learning to enhance creativity and collaboration skills through the use of iPad applications. This professional learning is also monitored against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, teaching standard 2.6: Information and Communication (ICT), Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. Staff used Google Docs as a classroom tool to read, reflect and respond to the professional learning. This is a strategy that teachers are using successfully within the classroom.