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School Organisation

  Background   Aims of the School   School Association   Board of Governors   School Finances

School Facilities   Educational Management   Class Organisation   School Day   General Information

Summary

• Tabubil International School offers education for children from Kindergaten to Grade 7. The school exists primarily to cater for children of employees of Ok Tedi Mining and their contractors.
  

• The diversity of cultures and backgrounds of the children make for a very special school. About 85% of students are PNG citizens and 14% Australians with the remainder from around the world. Each child has a contribution to make to the school which aims to ensure that children are treated as special and distinct individuals.
  

• The school is well resourced with a well equipped library and ample teaching materials. A fully networked computer system with Internet access is provided for student use and computer education.
  

• The school's mission statement is that: Tabubil International School provides a high quality international school education catering to the varied needs of Tabubil's multicultural mining community. The school employs a well motivated and productive staff, with good working conditions and a high degree of community involvement.
  

• The school offers a wide range of extra-curricula activities and capitalises on the skills of teachers, parents and community members to present these programs. Current courses include cooking, computer games and studies, music, drama, chess, art and craft, and a variety of sports.
  

• The town is extremely isolated and surrounded by dense forest. Apart from within the town, the road up to the mine site and to Kiunga there is virtually no road network.
  

• Tabubil is famous for its very high rainfall - about 8 metres per year. It is always warm and understandably quite humid, although the 500 metre altitude helps alleviate this.
  

• School hours commence at 8.15am and finish at 2.15pm. There is a 20 minute morning recess, and a 45 minute lunch break.

Background

The school at Tabubil was first set up by the Bechtel company in temporary buildings in November, 1982, to cater for American children of construction workers. As the project developed, some local children and some from other countries, particularly Australia, were enrolled.

In July, 1983 the primary section of the Bechtel camp school was taken over by the International Education Agency (IEA). The International School system in Papua New Guinea operates independently from the country's Community, High and Senior High School systems. Each IEA School operates as a non-profit establishment, under the auspices of a parent company, the International Education Agency (IEA). The IEA is a non-government body, which is responsible to the Department of Education through a government body, the National Education Board.

OK Tedi Mining Limited undertook to provide the new permanent school building at a site off Spine Road. Basic equipment and furniture were also supplied by OK Tedi Mining Limited. The new school buildings were completed in April 1984.

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Aims of the School

The main aims of the school are:

• To provide for primary students a progressive and well-structured course of study which will have the flexibility to cater for the needs of individual students, and help develop their learning skills.

• To encourage the development of appropriate social attitudes in students, and to facilitate the development of study and research skills.

• To foster good relationships between the school, the home and the community.

• To help prepare each student to cope confidently and successfully with subsequent academic institutions, and with life in general. Learning goes on everywhere, not just in a classroom context.

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School Association 

The School Association is a registered association. The Annual General Meeting of the Association, which is held each year, elects officers for the following twelve months.

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School Board

The Governors are the governing body of the school and work closely with the Principal, who is responsible for the daily running of the school. The Board of Governors generally meets once a month.

Members of the School Board are elected from the parent body, usually at the School Association AGM, and are an important part of the management and governance of the school. Additional Board members are;

• the School Principal

• an elected Teachers’ Representative

• an appointed OTML Representative

• an appointed IEA Representative

• an invited TIS P&W Committee Representative

• the Deputy Principal as an observer

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 School Finances

TIS is a non-profit making organisation. The school depends almost entirely on fees as its only source of income. The school maintains accounts of financial activity.

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School Facilities

The school is housed in three main blocks:

The admin block includes offices, library, computer lab and one classroom.

The classroom block contains five classrooms and student toilet facilities.

The Prep class, music room, canteen, and maths and science lab are housed in an additional block.

Educational Management

As the school is a managed by the International Education Agency (IEA) it employs the IEA Curriculum - see curriculum

The Principal directs the educational operation of the school, involving the staff and the School board of Governors in discussions before making major policy decisions. Regular school staff meetings are held at which organisational and curriculum matters are discussed.

Class Organisation

One full-time teacher is allocated to each class while one teacher ‘floats’ between classes. This gives us favourable student - teacher ratios.

Each class is under the supervision of a teacher who is responsible for the pastoral care of the pupils in the class. Class numbers are kept at an optimum level to be economically viable, whilst providing maximum opportunity for individual attention. Classroom assistants work with teachers to provide clerical and other assistance in the management of the class.

Parent volunteers are welcomed and can be used in a variety of capacities around the school, i.e., swimming, cooking, reading, etc.

It may be necessary to arrange some grades within composite classes due to the number of students in those specific ages and grades.

Students may be grouped within the class for specific subjects or activities. Groups can be formed in one of many ways:

Within these structures there is flexibility to cater for the various ability levels and differing rates of development of each individual student.

Organisation of groups within units may vary according to teaching strategies preferred and specific topics planned by individual teachers.

Other forms of class or teaching arrangements may be used from time to time, these include:

q       CLASS EXCHANGES are encouraged to fully utilize resources and expertise, both staff and student.

q       CROSS-AGE TUTORING is encouraged within the school, as appropriate.

q       PEER-GROUP TUITION is also encouraged, as is the development of confidence and self-esteem coupled with a sense of responsibility to the school community.

The use of merit points, stars, etc. is sanctioned to help develop good work habits. Merit Certificates are presented at school assemblies.