From the editor
Leaves NewsletterPrincipal's Report
Term 1 ends on Thursday 1 April 2010, students return for Term 2 Tuesday 20 April 2010.
Daylight savings ends on Sunday 4 April
Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour at 2am on Sunday 4th April.
Annual General Meeting School Council and P & C
Both the School Council and P & C held their AGMs on Wednesday 17th March. I would like to thank all the outgoing officers who worked tirelessly in 2009 to support the school and welcome the newly elected P & C officers and Council representatives. I particularly thank Pam O’Flaherty, who has served as P & C President for a number of years. Pam provided outstanding support to the Senior Executive in my first year as Principal and we have very much appreciated her professionalism and her positive approach. We look forward now to working with the new P& C President, Vivian Glass and returning School Council President, Clive Hawkins.
Year 11 and 12 Examinations
A reminder to Year 12 and Year 11 that they should be studying for their Half-Yearly Exams, which begin Monday 22nd March for Year 12 and Tuesday 20th April for Year 11. It is very important for all Year 11 and12 students to develop a focused study plan not only for these exams, but for assessment tasks. Students will need to allow sufficient time to prepare for their exams. Each student should be averaging three to four hours per night and at least six to seven hours on weekends.
School holiday camps
NSW Sport and Recreation's action-packed kids' holiday camps are run by experienced and well-qualified instructors. Young people learn social living skills, experience challenging activities, develop self-esteem and make new friends. They also have great fun and won’t have a moment to spare! Find out more at www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/kidscamps/index.asp
Eco tip
Did you know? Australian households spend on average, $1,500 on energy bills each year. 90% of that energy comes from fossil fuels such as coal – this creates greenhouse gas pollution and causes global warming and climate change.
What can you do? Reduce greenhouse gas pollution by washing clothes in cold water and avoid using a clothes dryer – let air and sunlight dry them wherever possible. See more information at www.livingthing.net.au
YouTube
Did you know that NSW Public Schools has its own channel on YouTube? You can view it on www.youtube.com/user/NSWPublicSchools. There are some great videos about a range of different topics including dealing with head lice, cyber-safety and explaining the MySchools website. Take a look for yourself!
Video games go live – what parents need to know.
Games consoles like Xbox, Playstation 3 and Wii now let your child access the internet to connect with players from around the world. Whether they’re communicating live via text, speaking to each other through headsets or linking up through webcams, it means gaming now has a social networking element.
It also means that as a parent, there’s a lot more research you need to do before you can plug and play. Read this month’s Click (www.schools.nsw.edu.au/click) to find out about the new gaming environments, and how parent controls can make it a nicer, safer virtual-world to be in.
National Youth Week: 10 - 18 April
NYW is the largest celebration of young people in Australia. Thousands of young people aged 12-25 all across Australia get involved in NYW each year. For more information about how you can get involved, visit www.youthweek.com
Rosemary McDowall
Principal
SHAVE 4 A CURE
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The Forest High School participated in Shave 4 a Cure on Friday 12th March. This fundraising event has been a success over the past few years with both students and staff becoming involved in the activities. At a whole school assembly we presented information about the day and the reasons behind why we as a school supported the Leukaemia Foundation. One of our Year 10 students spoke about the experience of watching her brother go through chemotherapy and his slow recovery back to health. Assisted by one of our wonderful parents, Pam O’Flaherty from Strand 22 Hairdressing, we then got down to the business of shaving heads, spraying hair in multi colours and waxing our Deputy Mr. Molony’s legs. As this was going on we continued to collect money from the school – raising $500.00 in less than an hour. Special mention must be given to one of Year 9 girls who registered early Term 1 as an independent participant. Having already raised over $700.00, the school helped her reach her goal target of $1000.00 by donating the extra $300.00 she needed – this was above the general collection made by the school. “ My name is Leigh, I’m 14 and attend The Forest High. The reason I joined in the World’s Greatest Shave is because both my grandparents passed away from cancer, so I wanted to support them. Other people my family know also have had experience with cancer. A lady came up to me crying and thanked me because her son had died of cancer. It was for families like hers that I wanted to show my support. I raised just over $1000.00, which was my goal. Thank you to all who supported me.” Donations are still been accepted at http://www.worldsgreatestshave.com/ until 31st March. |
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Shave 4 a Cure
Shave 4 a Cure
CANTEEN NEWS
LUNCH BOX OPTION
The Canteen has developed a new option for students/staff to bring their own plastic lunch box (NOT take-away containers) to the canteen for over the counter options (salads, pastas, fried rice etc. options).
These items are usually $3.50, but if you use your own container and be ECO Friendly these items will be reduced to $3 a serve.
Thank you.
Canteen Committee
EASTER EGG DRIVE
The SRC would like to thank all who donated Easter Eggs for our annual drive. Last week we visited Stewart House, Mona Vale Hospital and Manly Far West to deliver your wonderful donations. The eggs bought a smile to many - thank you.
A thank you to Mr Dodds who helped us to deliver the eggs at Stewart House, where we met some of the students and were able to spend recess break playing basketball with them. We were then taken on a tour by the Principal and told all about the great things that Stewart House has to offer. The students visiting this week were from Tamworth and the Fairfield area.
At Mona Vale Hospital we delivered eggs to the Children's ward, Rehabilitation and Surgical, plus the newly opened Dialysis ward - where we were given a rundown what this service offers. We thank Jeanette for showing us around, the friendly staff and patients.
At Royal Far West we visited all the classrooms, even getting to play a memory game with the older Primary students on the smartboard. The students visiting were from all over New South Wales, thousands of kilometers away from Sydney.
Thank you again to all who supported - the eggs were all received with a smile and a thank you.
BAND NEWS
The band program has started well for 2010. A large number of year 7 students have joined the
band and some old members have returned. For the band program to be successful we do need
to further increase the numbers in both the Concert band and Stage band.
If your child has an interest in music and already plays an instrument or would like to learn an instrument they are more than welcome to join the band. The Concert band rehearses every
Monday morning at 7.15am in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) and every Thursday afternoon
from 3.15 – 4.15 in the PAC. The Stage band rehearses every Thursday afternoon at 4.15pm – 5.15pm in the PAC.
The students have a variety of performance opportunities throughout the year including;
ANZAC Day performances, community performances and music competitions. Every year
the students also go on a band tour. Last year the band had a very successful tour to central
western NSW playing to many small country primary schools including, Bilpin, Capertee and Rylstone. It was wonderful watching the students perform at these small country schools,
many of which had never seen or heard a Concert or Stage band before our arrival. The
highlight of the tour was a trip around Dubbo Zoo. Even though the temperature was 35
degrees, all the students decided to ride around the zoo by bike. After such a hot tour of
the zoo the students were very happy to have a swim in the resorts pool, a lovely way to
finish a great tour.
This year the band will be travelling to the Gold Coast, playing to many schools along the
way. I am sure that the highlight this year will be a visit to the theme parks!!
BUS ZONE
Cars were booked on Tuesday morning. All parents please note that you will be booked if you drop your children off in the bus zone in the morning. Please observe all signs as the fine is over $100.00.
Please do not drive through the top carpark as students are getting off buses and walking through each morning.