From the editor
Leaves NewsletterPRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Trial HSC Examinations - Year 12 will be sitting their Trial HSC Examination shortly and I would like to encourage them to make the most of the time they have to prepare for those exams. They should focus on maximising their study time in the lead up to the exams and additionally they should consider minimising the number of hours they may be working in part-time employment. It is critical for students to get their work/life balance right in preparation for the HSC. I would also stress that attendance will be very important after the trial so that students do not miss out on vital revision and feedback from teachers that will enhance their final results.
Changes to the UAI – Several changes will occur to the UAI in 2009. This is in order to bring all states into a common system with common terminology.
The UAI will be known as ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank).
The top rank of ATAR will be 99.95 (rather than 100 as in the UAI).
The ATAR will indicate a student’s position relative to their Year 7 cohort (rather than their Year 10).
Subject Selections – The Year 10 into 11 Information Evening, Tuesday 11th August at 7:00 pm, will provide students and parents with the necessary information to make informed decisions about which subjects the students will study over the next two years. Parents need to be aware of the balance of subjects required for the students to meet Preliminary and HSC requirements and to obtain an ATAR. I strongly encourage parents to attend with their students so they are aware of Board of Studies requirements when choosing a pattern of study.
School Development Day – The School Development Day on Monday 27th July was an extremely productive and enjoyable day for all the teachers and parents who attended. The first part of the day was devoted to connected learning focusing on use of our new video conferencing facilities and the Connected Classroom. All the schools from the Forest Learning Community attended that session and it provided an excellent opportunity for teachers from all of the schools to share ideas and reflect on the types of collaborative learning we will be able to undertake within our community.
For teachers from The Forest the rest of the day focused on the use of technology. Teachers learned to use ESR Welfare, a program we will be using to collate student welfare and discipline data. This data will be extremely useful to us in our ongoing implementation of PBEL.
The last session was devoted to the Digital Education Revolution and how teachers will utilise the laptops being issued to all Year 9 students across each of the Key Learning Areas. Year 9 teachers are quite excited about the possibilities and opportunities these laptops can provide. Twenty Year 9 teachers already have the laptops and are developing lessons and resources to utilise them.
It was an excellent start to the term.
Rosemary McDowall
Principal
Year 8 Adviser Report
Can you believe we are over half way through the year already? As we begin Term 3, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the students who received outstanding half yearly reports. It was very pleasing to see so many of our Year 8 students doing their best, taking responsibility for their education and respecting the rights of all their fellow students.
At parent teacher night it was a pleasure to talk with so many parents and that many of you brought your children along. The most common question on the night was about homework and exactly how much homework students should be doing. At this level students should expect to be doing a minimum of half an hour of homework a night. Often, however, students will say they don’t have ANY homework today. To handle this issue, it is more about setting some good habits and developing a routine. To help create these good habits we have found that some kind of timetable at home is a good way to move forward. Here is an example;
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To help the students develop the habits now we recommend you place this timetable somewhere highly visible, for example, on the fridge door. That way if they say they don’t have any homework today, you can suggest that they use their time allocated to prepare themselves and their equipment for the day ahead. Being organised with the right equipment is so important and often will lead to them remembering a task or question they didn’t finish from the last lesson or surprisingly, some homework that they forgot they had!!
This method of setting a good routine with a timetable can also allow you to schedule some time to talk to your child about what’s happening at school. Once a week we suggest you allocate 10 to 15 minutes to go through their diary and talk to them about how they are going, what is happening and what assignments they have coming up. Obviously this leads on to lots of other suggestions but ultimately it will help you maintain a regular connection with your kids without them feeling like you are hassling them. Your relationship with them is still vital for their success despite how they may treat you sometimes. Hang in there – they do need you.
Tony Dowling - Year 8 Adviser
SRC MULTICULTURAL DAY
On Thursday the 9th of July the SRC held a Multi Cultural Mini Fete. Everybody jumped at the chance to wear mufti and were happy to donate a gold coin which contributed to the SRC funds, which we plan to put back into the school in way of grounds improvement. The fete was held 3rd period with each SRC year group organizing a stall. There was a vast variety of stalls ranging from lollies and cakes to karaoke and face painting. It also included a French café by the Maths department, a Canadian stall by the HSIE department, a Japanese restaurant by the language department, a tea house and pancake stall by year nine students and an ice-cream eating competition run by the English faculty. There was also a giant inflatable twister mat in the hall where students participated with any one that would challenge them. Students and teachers also had the opportunity to release their inner artistic talent by decorating the wall outside the library with their hand prints. The multicultural mini fete was concluded with a multicultural assembly which was hosted by our vice captains, Brooke Creswell and Alex Nicholls. There were four very entertaining speeches by the enthusiastic Miss Devenish, Fabriza Saccia, an Italian exchange student, Jenny Mai, a Year Twelve student from Vietnam and Mesepa Falealoto spoke about her origins. There was also a belly dancing lesson from ‘Body Language Dance Studios`. Five of our willing students - Steph, Megan, Fran, Ben and Rohin - took part in the lesson. Two of our talented musicians performed as well. Jin Lee played a classical piece on the piano and Rehman Leigh played a drum solo. It was an incredible afternoon and a memorable way to end such a great semester. The SRC raised $800 which went into SRC funds for future events and projects.
By: Georgia Scheffers, Eloise Page and Jennifer Scherer
SYDNEY BUSES - NEW BUS NETWORK
The new bus network for the northern beaches and lower north shore will commence on Sunday 2 August 2009 and introduces changes which allow customers across the whole community to access a greater number of bus transport options.
Whilst School Special routes have not been altered, it is important that students be aware some minor changes to arrival and departure times have been made. Students who use Sydney Buses to travel to schools located on the northern beaches or lower north shore, or students who use a mix of transport options - Sydney Buses, private bus, ferry, train (Chatswood, North Sydney) need to review their school travel plans.
Parents and students can find out about any changes to their timetables by visiting the Transport Infoline www.131500.info. The trip planner option allows you to enter your specific trip requirements and obtain the right information for you to travel to your school. NB Enter 3 August 2009 as the date of travel to ensure the new timetable information is provided.
Further information about the new network is available on www.sydneybuses.info
Human Swine Flu Information Sheet
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
This year it is likely many more people will come down with flu‐like illnesses than in recent flu seasons because few people have immunity to the human swine flu virus.
As the number of cases of flu increases, we all need to take steps to minimise the transmission of the virus in school communities as some staff and students are at greater risk of severe illness from flu.
Staff or students who become unwell should stay away from school until they are well to minimise the transmission of the flu.
Any student who identifies that they are unwell, or is displaying flu‐like symptoms at school will be sent to a sick‐bay area and their parent or carer will be called to take them home.
Please watch carefully for any signs or symptoms of flu‐like illness in your child. If they are unwell please do not send them to school until their symptoms have gone.
These symptoms include fever, cough, tiredness, muscle aches, sore throat, chills or shortness of breath.
Some people are more likely to develop severe illness from both seasonal influenza and swine flu. NSW Health advises that this group includes people who:
· Are pregnant (particularly in the second and third trimester)
· Have chronic lung disease (including asthma)
· Are very obese
· Have chronic heart conditions
· Have chronic kidney disease
· Have chronic liver disease
· Have blood disorders (including sickle cell disease)
· Have neurological disorders
· Have metabolic disorders (such as diabetes)
· Have weakened or suppressed immune systems (which may be caused by cancers, medications or HIV/AIDS)
· Are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background (of any age).
If you or your child is in one of these categories, please seek urgent medical attention as soon as symptoms of flu appear because you may need anti-influenza medication and it works best if given early.
The department has policies in place to support schools this flu season. I can assure you that the department will continue to act on all advice received from NSW Health to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff and students.
Additional health information is available from the H1N1 Influenza 09 section of the NSW Health website at: http://www.emergency.health.nsw.gov.au/swineflu/index.asp
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