From the editor
Leaves NewsletterP&C MEETING
Next meeting of the P&C will be Wednesday 16th September
Principal's Report
MADD Night (Music, Art, Dance and Drama)
Last Wednesday evening I experienced my first MADD night. The Year 12 HSC Artworks were on display and this was followed by music, dance and drama performances. The standard of work produced by our students is outstanding. I was particularly impressed with the performance of our band. The band is set to go on a tour of rural NSW in Term 4 and the practice and preparation they are putting into their performances was obvious. It is always a pleasure to see the students perform and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
International Guest Speaker Years 10 and 11
Recently Year 10 and Year 11 students attended a guest lecture by Azim Khamisa, a renowned author, inspirational speaker and activist committed to halting violence among youth. Azim’s only son, Tariq was killed by a 14 year old gang member in the USA in 1995. Azim was inspired to transform his loss into forgiveness and he founded the Tariq Khamisa Foundation to break the cycle of youth violence.
The students found Azim’s message inspiring and Azim kindly donated his books and DVD for students to learn more about his foundation. He has also committed to visit the school in the future when he comes to Australia next year. Year 10 and 11 teachers are continuing to discuss the issues Azim raised and consider what role individuals can play in raising community awareness.
Helpful links for parent communication
Great parent resources can be found at the newsstand on the Public Schools website. (You will need to copy the link and paste in to your browser to access these sites. www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/
Here you will find:
School Parents ezine www.schools.nsw.edu.au/ezine
Click ezine www.schools.nsw.edu.au/click
K-12TV-vodcasts for parents www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/k12tv/index.php
Parent folder information sheets www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/schooldays/index.php
Starting school information
www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/primary/primaryindex.php
School orientation vodcast www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/ezine/yr2009/issue03/watch/index.php
Starting Year 7
www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/highschool/index.php
High school orientation vodcast
www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/ezine/yr2009/issue04/watch_high/index.php
Fruit and Veg Week 2009
With Fruit and Veg Week being celebrated in schools around Australia from 7-11 September it’s a great opportunity to hit the greengrocer and ensure your child’s lunchbox is full of healthy, fresh and tasty fruit and vegetables. www.schoolcanteens.org.au/category/44/Fruit-n-Veg-Week-09
For great school lunch ideas check out: www.healthy-kids.com.au/category/10/recipes and the School Parents ezine: www.schools.nsw.edu.au/ezine.
Veterans’ scholarships
Children and grandchildren of Vietnam veterans are encouraged to apply for one of 65 Australian Veterans’ Children Assistance Trust (AVCAT) tertiary scholarships for 2010 worth up to $5,000 per year. There is also a special scholarship available to all indigenous students. Call 1800 620 361 to receive an application form. Applications close on 31 October 2009. For more information visit: www.accsoft.com.au/~vvt
Rosemary McDowall
Principal
MATHEMATICS REPORT
All students have been busy learning new mathematical concepts in their classes this term.
Year 12 students are now completing their courses after spending last week reviewing solutions to their Trial HSC exam. All Year 12 students need to remember that they should be spending between one hour and two hours each night, depending on their level, revising previously learned work and completing current course work.
Year 11 classes have nearly completed the Preliminary course and should have started preparations for their Preliminary Yearly Exams in weeks 9 and 10.
Year 10 have their Trial School Certificate exams coming up on Monday14th September and Tuesday 15th September in week 8. They have been preparing for their SC by doing regular practice tests and on-line multiple choice revision. Early in Term 4 all Year 10 will participate in a Preparing for the School Certificate seminar during one of their lessons. More information about this new initiative will be available soon.
Year 9 have been learning about a wide variety of topics including ratio and rates in the 5.1 class to Surface Area and Volume in 5.3.
Year 8 are participating in the World of Maths in school excursion on Tuesday 29th September. This is a compulsory part of the Stage 4 program and will form part of their final assessment. All students must attend. Year 8 students should return their money ($7) and a signed permission slip to their Mathematics teacher by Friday 18th September.
Year 7 have been working on the challenging and practical topics of Fractions and Measurement. They are definitely enthusiastic about their learning.
All Mathematics classes at The Forest High have been using the Mathletics program both at home and school during 2009. A large number of students received Certificates of Achievement at a recent Year meeting in recognition of their high achievement in the program. Congratulations to the following students:
YEAR 7 - Z McSorley, R ruan, K Waller, B Wilson, A Nguyen, C Scheffers, S giang, D Tipper, A Howie, J Vo
YEAR 8 - A Osagie, J Hofbauer-Jonas, E Haak, L French, B White, J Hill, W Jonkers, N Kira, S Gray, J Jutsen, M Kim, M Voltman
YEAR 9 - B Barker, C Bylmakers, A Gamayunov, P Karlin, E Myers, J Simonsen, E Stephens
YEAR 10 - F King, L Kuiper, Kun Dadul, M Sanderson, S Arneaud
Mr D. Sizeland - Head Teacher Mathematics.
TRIVIA NIGHT
Please note that due to ill health, the Trivia Night has been postponed to a date to be advised