From the editor

Leaves Newsletter

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

My first fortnight at The Forest High School has been an exciting one. I have enjoyed meeting many of the parents and students and getting to know the dedicated and enthusiastic teaching staff.

Our first task as a school community is to develop the next three-year School Plan.  I have already received feedback from the staff and quite a few parents have emailed their responses to me. What has come through very strongly to me is that The Forest works closely with the community and that the school provides strong support for students and their families. I received many very positive comments from parents, staff and students about the things we are doing well. Additionally we have identified some areas in which we can improve our service to the students and the community. Some strong themes are emerging and we will be working together to develop the School Plan soon.  Parents who would like to be included in the school planning process should contact me for the details. 

I have had the opportunity to review the results our students achieved in 2006 - 2008.  Barry Laing, School Development Officer from Northern Sydney Region did a data workshop with the school's Executive Team in which we looked at the students' performance on a number of external exams including NAPLAN, School Certificate and Higher School Certificate. His opening comments were "This is a high performing school". We plan to maintain that tradition and build upon it. We will be setting targets to try to improve upon these very strong results in the next three years and beyond.

Rosemary McDowall - Principal

 

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SCHOOL PLANNING SURVEY

All parents are welcome to fill in the following survey and return it to the school.  Please send your comments to theforest-h.admin@det.nsw.edu.au

School Planning Feedback

What are we doing well?	What do we need to improve?
What should we be doing?	How can we do it?

 

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DEPUTY PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

My first two weeks as the new deputy at The Forest High School has been a very busy and rewarding one. The staff and students have welcomed me with great enthusiasm and warmth and I am sure that I am going to enjoy my time at this wonderful school.

I am no stranger to The Forest High School, having taught in the English/Drama department during the 80’s and 90’s for a period of 12 years. My daughter is also an ‘old girl’ of the school, being vice captain in 1998. I therefore have a soft spot for The Forest and am excited about being part of a wonderful team.

My focus over the past two weeks has been on ensuring that all students begin the school year wearing the correct school uniform. This is a massive task and I need the support of all parents if we are to maintain a high standard of uniform.  I am therefore requesting that all students wear black leather shoes and appropriate socks (not ankle socks) to school. Girls are not allowed to wear ‘ballet’ shoes and the boys must not wear joggers. This is a safety issue and has been mandated to us by the Department of Education. If students persist in not wearing the correct uniform they will be issued with a school detention.

Another focus is attendance.  All students must ensure that they arrive to school on time and that they remain at school for the entire day.  Lateness and truancy will not be tolerated.  If a student is late for any reason, please provide a note explaining the reason for this lateness.  If your child needs to leave the school early they must have a note from home and bring this note, at the beginning of the day, to either deputy in order to receive a leave pass.

Year 11 will be receiving shortly a special privileges note in the mail. This must be completed and handed to me before they are allowed to leave the school. No Year 11 student will be allowed to leave the school until all forms have been returned. We anticipate that this will be in week 5.

Finally, please do not hesitate to contact me at school if you have any concerns about your child.    

Mrs Dean

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YEAR 7 REPORT

It has been a very busy week for our new Year 7 students - after arriving to their first day in their brand new school uniforms and shiny shoes, they were straight into a day full of activity.  Students experienced roll call for the first time and had a peer support session before going to lessons in the afternoon.  I am very proud of the way Year 7 have taken to their new classes and settled down to high school life.  There have been no problems to speak of which is outstanding and really reflects on the maturity of our newest and youngest members of the school community.

I am looking forward to seeing the new Year 7 group get involved in some of our upcoming school events - the swimming carnival on Monday and the Welcome Back Dance on Wednesday.

Don't forget too, that the Year 7 camp is being held Monday March 2 to Wednesday March 4 (week 6) at Morriset.  Students should have received all the information about this.

I look forward to our year together!

S. Combes - Year 7 Adviser

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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

ENGLISH – Setting Goals and Meeting the Challenges of 2009

Each year of secondary school brings new challenges for students and it is now time for them to consider their goals for English in 2009 and how they will achieve them. Year 12 will prepare for the Higher School Certificate; Year 11 will learn the vital skills which form the foundation of the Year 12 course; Year 10 will complete the School Certificate examination; Year 9 will sit for NAPLAN, a national testing of numeracy and literacy; Year 8 will be examined on their achievement of the Outcomes of Stage 4 of the English curriculum and; of course, the urgent challenge for Year 7 is to quickly adapt to a changed school environment and to engage fully in learning. For each student, being organised, attending to English homework and assignments promptly, reading as a daily habit and being fully engaged on task in class are goals the English Faculty views as essential for meeting this year’s new challenges.

The English Curriculum in Years 7 – 10 involves the study of the English language and its various textual forms, including spoken, written and visual texts. In Years 11 – 12, students study the complexity of meaning and form in texts and develop as critical readers who become autonomous, reflective and creative learners. This means that as our students move through the grades they continue to develop literacy skills while meeting with increasingly challenging learning experiences.

Parents, in 2009, you will find more time may be needed by your daughter or son to complete homework or assessment tasks. Novels may be longer and more demanding in ideas. Writing tasks will increase in length. These new demands become challenges. Research shows that at every grade level, students who achieve highly are those who are  organised, motivated and focused on task. It is important for every student is set goals and to work towards them independently, and with their English teacher, to make sure that they achieve highly.

Parents often ask how they can help their daughter or son with their English. There are many ways, but some are very useful.

§  To insist on daily reading for at least thirty minutes is invaluable because reading fiction and non fiction develops both literacy and thinking skills.

§  Talking about the texts and topics being studied at school is also valuable. This encourages students to reflect and express opinions. When parents ask questions about what was learned in class, students need to describe and give details. One of the best ways to learn and enhance thinking skills is to explain and teach someone else.

§  For assessment tasks, parents can help ensure their daughter or son is organised enough to complete the work ahead of time. This allows for editing and reflection which does not happen with rushed work completed the night before it is due.

§  Check homework diaries to keep informed. All students should be writing the dates for homework and assessments in their diaries.

 The following list of assessment dates may assist parents and students in their planning.

Assessment dates for Common Testing, Term 1.

Year 7             Listening Test                                                 Week 5            20%

Year 8             Speaking                                                         Week 6            20%

Year 9             Listening                                                         Week 6            20%

Year 10           Viewing & Representing                                Week 5            30%

Teachers will also set assignments and class tests. Students will be informed of the due dates and these will be written into their diaries.

Year 11Advanced English                  Listening                     Week 7            15%

                                                            Speaking                     Week 10          15%

Year 11 Standard English                   Listening                     Week 7            15%

                                                            Speaking                     Week 10          15%

Year 11English Extension 1               Essay                           Week 10          20%

Year 11 ESL                                       Speaking

                                                            & Representing           Week 7            15%

Year 11 Fundamentals of English      Creative Writing         Week 10          20%

Year 12 Advanced English                 Speaking                     Half-Yearly     15%

                                                            Reading/Writing         Half-Yearly     10%

Year 12 Standard English                   Listening                     Week 7            15%

                                                            Reading/Writing         Half-Yearly     10%

Year 12 ESL                                       Listening                     Week 5            15%

                                                            Reading/Writing         Half-Yearly     15%

Year 12 English Extension 1              Reading/Writing         Half-Yearly     30%

Year 12 English extension 2               Proposal                      Week 2            20%

 

The English Faculty is issuing its own challenge to students. We encourage you to become involved in at least one of the writing and reading competitions on offer. These will be advertised in the Leaves newsletter. We also aim to compete in debating and public speaking and want interested students, experienced and non-experienced, to listen for announcements in the daily notices about meeting times. Finally, we want every single student to turn into a book addict with an insatiable passion for reading, if you’ll excuse the hyperbole.

I have been impressed with the attitude and behaviour of students in these first few days of the academic year, and I am particularly impressed with Year 7, who have shown unexpected maturity in settling into the routine of English.

I wish parents and students success in meeting their challenges.  

Mrs L Town - Head of English

 

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Careers Newsletter

 The Careers Newsletter is now available to view on The Forest High website.

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SPORT ARRANGEMENTS - SESSION 1

 

SPORT	MEETING PLACE (Buses leave at 12.30pm from front of the school
Surfing/Experienced	Bus 1
Surfing/novice at Long Reef Beach	Bus 2
Tennis - Wakehurst Tennis Centre	Bus 3
Fitness First	Bus 4
Mountain Bike Riding	Meet at gym
Power Walking	Meet at gym
Table tennis - school	PAC
Weights	Weights Room
Yoga	Drama Room
Touch football	Oval
Basketball	Basketball courts
Soccer	Oval
Board Games	A5
Rotational Sports	School Gym
Sport Detention (all students who have not handed in a note MUST report to this room	D16

 

 

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CANTEEN NEWS

Our Canteen is open every day selling a huge variety of fresh & homemade food made fresh daily.

We are always happy to have volunteers help out even for just a few hours or to assist in serving.  We have some spare days that we NEED some assistance.

We do not want to have to close the canteen for lack of volunteers so please feel free to drop in have a look or just say Hi.

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UNIFORM SHOP

The uniform shop is open every Monday from 8am to 12pm.

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P & C FUNDRAISING 2009

We are only running 2 fundraisers this year:

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PANASH DESIGN

 

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Count Wealth Accountants

 

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FREE COURSE FOR PARENTS

Northern Beaches College of TAFE is offering the following free course this semester:

19001 Certificate II in Information Technology.

If any parents are interested in doing this course, please contact

Annette Bonnici (Acting Head Teacher of Information Technology).

Tel: 9941 5360

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FOREST RUGBY CLUB

May I introduce our Rugby Club to your school, my name is Paul Davidson and I am the Junior President of the Forest Rugby Club located at 24 Melwood Avenue Forestville next to the RSL Club.

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STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMS

Learn all about student exchange, WEP Australia and the 2009/2010 exchange programs available at one of WEP’s FREE information sessions in Sydney.

18 February, 1 April
7.30 - 9.00pm
Bowlers Club of NSW
95-99 York Street Sydney

Students can choose from over 20 countries to live and study with the support of a host family, school and community. Explore new opportunities beyond the classroom!

WEP Australia is a not-for-profit student exchange organisation registered with the education departments.

Judith Ortmann
Communications & 18+ Programs
World Education Program Australia Limited
Email: judithortmann@wep.org.au
www.wep.org.au
www.volunteerabroad.com.au

A not-for-profit student exchange organisation registered
with the education departments.