Newsletter Week 5 Term 1 2019

Welcome Back It has been a good start to the term with a number of important events, such as the Staff

Development Day, Welcome Back Dance, Swimming Carnival, the Graduate Assembly and the Year 11 Camp

occurring in the first few weeks. Students and staff have returned with enthusiasm, ready for the year ahead.

2018 Graduates’ High Achievers Assembly On Tuesday 12th February we celebrated the achievements of

the graduating class of 2018. Overall Year 12 students achieved 29 Band 6 results and 102 Band 5 results. Over

20 students received early offers for 2019 from Macquarie University, Australian Catholic University, University

of Wollongong, University of Canberra, Conservatorium of Music and Western Sydney University. In UAC

Rounds 1 and 2, Year 12 students received 57 offers. That may have increased since with further rounds.

2018 VALID Results The Validation of Assessment for Learning and Individual Development (VALID) program

provides online end-of-stage assessments for the science key learning area. The assessments assist schools to

monitor student achievement and inform planning, programming and assessment practice. The program

assesses critical thinking, problem-solving and application of ideas from one situation to another. VALID is

mandatory for all Department of Education students in Year 8 and is an opt in program for schools for Year 10

students.

The 2018 Results were released recently and sent home with the students.

Principal’s Report

Year 8 VALID results were well above state average and SSSG with strong growth occurring over the

last three years: 2016 Average School Score – 88.57; 2018 Average School Score – 90.42.

Year 10 VALID results were well above state average and SSSG with strong growth occurring over

the last three years: 2016 Average School Score – 86.37; 2018 Average School Score – 96.04.

Research is suggesting that VALID results are a good indicator of students’ potential to succeed in

post school tertiary settings.

Best Start Year 7 Assessment Program The Best Start Year 7 is an optional online literacy and numeracy

assessment completed by Year 7 students in participating schools within the first five weeks of Term 1, 2019

(1st February to 8th March 2019). The Forest High School is enrolled in the Best Start Program. We will have

access to an Assessment resource folder that includes guidelines, templates and handouts to prepare and

administer the assessment. Feedback from the Best Start Assessment will be available to the school. It is linked

to syllabus outcomes and the National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions. This will help teachers

identify year group and individual literacy and numeracy learning needs and target teaching accordingly.

Professional learning and support is being provided to the schools participating in Best Start. Initial feedback

from the teachers administering the program is very positive.

Sydney North Schools Sports Association Annual Awards Presentation On 12th February Ms Thompson

and I attended the Sydney North Schools Sports Association Annual Awards Presentation at Asquith Golf Club

to see Roderick Dixon receive a Blues Award for Australian Football. We congratulate Roddy on achieving this

prestigious award. You can read more about Roddy's award in the PDHPE report later on in this newsletter.

CODE4FUN’s Resume Challenge Congratulations to Cooper Heriot in Year 10 who was one of three major

award winners of CODE4FUN challenge. Cooper took out first prize in a challenge that saw more than 280

students from 43 schools compete. Students were judged on their creativity, originality, coding, design and

animation skills. Cooper was one of three first place winners to take home an ASUS laptop. The top 45 students

were invited to visit the Microsoft Reactor in the Sydney Start-up Hub. They met with Annie Parker, Microsoft’s

Global Head of Start-ups. Photo and article below courtesy of the Manly Daily.

University of Sydney’s First Robotics Competition Aditya Sriram in Year 10 is one of the students in the

University of Sydney’s First Robotics (FRC) team. The FRC is a world-wide competition for high school students.

Students work during their holidays and through February to design and build a 70kg robot from scratch, and

then compete against other teams and their robots from around the world. The team has qualified to compete in

three international events – the first two in Sydney and the third in Calgary, Canada. You can read more about

Adi's achievement in the Year 10 Report in this newsletter.

Pear Tree Gifting Ceremony Thank you to the Environment Captains, Sineada Duval and Riley Eavis and to

Tara Mapstone, Maddi Davies, Ben Myer and Aiyana Forrest who attended the Pear Tree Gifting Ceremony on

Friday 15th February. Mayor Michael Regan, Northern Beaches Council, Richard Mitchell, President of the

Manly Warringah Historical Society and Melissa Dunn from RMS led the ceremony. The pear tree was grafted

from one of the original trees from the Holland Orchard. There is a small orchard of trees on our school oval that

were grafted from the original trees. The last original tree was removed to make way for the works on Warringah

Road. Should our school be moved we will be able to take the pear tree with us to a new site. I thank Alyssa

Bowers for photographing the event.

Open Night Thank you to the SRC for visiting our local primary schools to promote our Open Night and for their

superb organisation of that event. Open Night is next week on 6th March from 5:30pm to 8:00 pm. It is a very

significant event for the school and is widely attended by the community.

Rosemary McDowall, Principal

A busy start

It has been a busy start to 2019.

Elevate has spoken to our students about study skills for high performance.

The English faculty is running EaLD tutoring on Monday afternoons and targeted writing workshops

for Year 12 students.

Year 11 has been out on camp.

The SRC has been visiting local primary schools.

Students have been participating in the sports scramble, swimming carnival, and knockout sports.

We have had careers counselling, motivational workshops, and art excursions.

Year 12 is nearly half way through the new HSC. Year 7 is half way to their first camp.

And it is only week 5!

Schools are busy places. With so much happening, it is important to remind our children that they have many

opportunities in high school, but that they need to seize these opportunities.

Uniform

I am pleased to see an improvement in our uniform across the school. Our presentation at school reflects our

readiness to learn. However, we still need to improve our uniform in a number of areas.

Black leather shoes are mandatory. Students who do not wear plain black leather shoes to school will be refused

access to practical subjects. This is a WHS requirement. Failure to wear the right shoes is the same as failing to

bring the right equipment. Sneakers should only be worn for PDHPE and sport.

To support the correct wearing of uniform we have a pool of second-hand shirts. We have a limited supply of

shorts and skirts. If you have pants, shorts, skirts or ties, could you please donate to the office.

Mathew Finley, Deputy Principal

28 February 2019 Year 7 Parent Evening & Relationships Australia 6.30pm

1 March 2019 Schools Clean Up Australia Day

6 March 2019 Open Night 5.30pm-8.00pm

7 March 2019 School Photographs

8 March 2019 Zone Swimming

9 March 2019 GATS Testing

11 March 2019 GATS Testing Makeup

12 March 2019 Year 7 & 12 Parent Teacher Interviews 3.45pm-7.30pm

18-20 March 2019 Year 7 Camp Meet the Principal 9.00am

21 March 2019 Harmony Day

25-29 March 2019 Kindness Week

27 March 2019 School Council – 6.00pm P&C Meeting – 7.00pm

4 April 2019 Year 9 & 11 Parent Teacher Interviews 3.45pm-7.30pm

Deputy Principal’s Report

Term 1 2019 Events

I would like to welcome all of our new Year 7 students and their families to The Forest High School community.

The students have done a fantastic job of learning the ropes and adjusting to their new environment.

Positive Behaviour for Learning The Forest High School has high expectations in place for all our students.

We want all students to aspire to achieve their very best. We have three core values we ask students to commit

to: Respect, Responsibility and Personal Best. Each week, classroom teachers nominate a student from their

class who has demonstrated these values. Congratulations to: Jessica Greenhalgh, Mindy Mulders, Isabella

Wiggens, Xavier Guzzo, Charlie Crawford, Bailey Seatter, Jet Moon, Nathan Turner, Cameron Paull, Bianca

Battista, Kevin Yuen and Austin Magno who received nominations. Students receive individual and house points.

Year 7 House Champions will be crowned at the end of Term 4.

Peer Support Program Year 7 students participate in a Peer Support Program which is led by trained Year 10

Peer Support Leaders. This program involves weekly sessions designed to help build friendships and support

students as they enter high school.

Swimming Carnival In Week 3 we had the excitement of the school Swimming Carnival at Warringah Aquatic

Centre. It was great to see so many students participating in this event and congratulations to students who

made it to the Zone Carnival.

Sports Scramble This week students have the opportunity to participate in the Sports Scramble. It is a house v

house competition where students compete in Touch Football, Basketball and Futsal. Teams are a mix of boys

and girls and also seniors and juniors. I was in the crowd today and the competition was fierce!

Year 7 Camp In Week 8 all Year 7 students will be heading away to The Great Aussie Bush Camp at

Kincumber for three fun-filled days of activities. The camp will run from Monday 18th to Wednesday 20th March

8 April 2019 Year 7 Vaccinations

12 April 2019 Cross Country Last day of Term 1

29 April 2019 School Development Day – Staff Only

30 April 2019 Students Return Anzac Day Assembly

TFHS Extras Do you know that there are so many clubs and activities on offer at The Forest High School?

Beyond the Bell lunchtime Homework Club

Concert Band – Monday and Wednesday mornings at 7.15am

Wind Ensemble – Tuesday morning at 7.15am Jazz Orchestra – Wednesday afternoon at 3pm

Choir - Thursdays at lunch in D1010 Our choir is open to everyone from all years so come along and have a sing with us!

Interact Club – meets on Thursdays at lunchtime (fortnightly)

Maths Helpdesk - Friday lunchtime in E1006 - free - all welcome

Dance Ensemble – Tuesday lunchtime and Friday at 7.30am in the PAC

Our PDHPE Faculty also run lunchtime sessions in the gym each day

Full details of what’s on offer are on the school website

Year 7 Report

2019 and it is a great opportunity for students to build new friendships and challenge themselves. Students have

already been given their permission notes for this so I am excited to see these flying back to me. A kit list is

provided with the camp note to help you know exactly what to pack.

Year 7 Parent Evening As well as welcoming our new Year 7 students we would also like to welcome all our

new parents and carers to The Forest High School. On Thursday 28th February we are holding a Year 7 Parent

Evening. This event will consist of a meet and greet session with Year 7 teachers followed by a presentation

from Relationships Australia. This event will be held in the School Library from 6.30pm onwards.

Erin McWhirter, Year 7 Adviser

Welcome back Year 8! Thank you for a smooth start to the year and for your positive approach to returning to

school. It has been brilliant to already see so many students engaged and involved in classroom and

extracurricular activities and demonstrating the School value of personal best. I look forward to seeing your

academic, sporting and personal progress as the year goes on. Keep up the excellent work!

New students It is wonderful to see several new students beginning Year 8 at The Forest this year. We would

like to welcome you and your families to the school. Please feel free to contact me via email or phone if you

have any questions or concerns.

Achievement Awards I am pleased to report an impressive number of green slip merit awards have been

earned already this term. Teachers award students green slips for demonstrating the school values of Respect,

Responsibility and Personal Best. After receiving ten green slips, a Certificate of Achievement is awarded;

after five Certificate of Achievements a Forest Silver is awarded. As students progress though their schooling

years they should strive for the Forest Gold Award, which is attained after five Forest Silvers have been

awarded. Congratulations to those students who have already been awarded Certificates of Achievement this

year.

School Diaries A gentle reminder that Year 8 students should be using their school diaries to help them stay

organised. Diaries should be used to record homework and assessment tasks, as well as any extra-curricular

activities in which students may be involved. Please remember to utilise this valuable resource to ensure you are

staying in control of your study and submitting tasks on time.

Swimming Carnival The Year 8 cohort enjoyed the Swimming Carnival in Week 3 and it was great to see so

many students participating in events and cheering on their House from the stands. Their excitement and

enthusiasm made for a great day for everyone!

Year 8 Report

Pictured below are some of our Year 8 students in an interactive English lesson learning about poetic devices.

Kate Board, Year 8 Adviser

Year 9 have had a great start to the year and are excited to be starting their elective subjects. There have been

a few subject changes as students learn what exactly they have chosen and now everyone should be settled

into their routines.

Wet 'n' Wild We have secured a date to return to Wet 'n' Wild after the end of year trip at the end of last term

was disappointing due to the weather. We will be attending with other schools on Friday 5th April. The students

who paid for entry last time will only need to pay for transport this time. Students who were not able to attend last

time are most welcome and will need to pay for entry into the park as well.

Year 9 Camp The Year 9 camp will be early next term on 8th-10th May which is Week 2 – this should be

before the weather gets too cold. The permission note is available on Sentral and should be returned as soon as

possible to assist with planning. Students attending must also return an additional medical form from the camp

itself, which can be obtained from Ms Yam. There is a quick survey to determine the most popular activities

which we will do at camp. More information will be available towards the end of this term.

Georgia Yam, Year 9 Adviser

Year 9 Report

Robotics Championship Congratulations to Adi Sriram who is currently preparing to attend

the First League Robotics Championships with Sydney University Robotics Club in Calgary at

the end of this term. To reach this goal, he and his team (and their parents!) have put in many

hours of testing and experimenting to come up with their final design. We wish his team

The Dropbears all the best for the competition and look forward to hearing about the

experience. I asked Adi to tell us more about this achievement:

'Being a part of a High school robotics team was a goal I always wanted in my school life. Fortunately, I found

my way to one of the best team in Sydney - the Dropbears. The Dropbears is a an exceptional, high school

robotics team working under Sydney University, striving to achieve the best in the First Robotics Competitions.

The team has challenging 6-week build sessions over which we as a team have been hands-on in every aspect

of a large robot world like design, planning, real-world building with larger tools, coding and even video editing.

Our robot model designed to take up missions in a simulated deep world scenario is to be unveiled on 3rd March

2019. Our competition session will begin in March, so wish us some luck.'

Premiers Reading Challenge Two of our Year 10 students have successfully

completed the full program of the Premier's Reading Challenge! Congratulations to Max

Arens and John Richards who have received the final award for the program – the

Premier's Reading Challenge Medal. This medal is only awarded to students who have

successfully completed the challenge every year from Year 3 to Year 9 (inclusive). Well

done Max and John!

Baristas Each year Mrs Diggins makes the difficult selection of 10 Year 10 students to

become the team of Baristas who will assist Mrs Diggins in running the Café de

Forest. Last week Mr Millar accompanied out newly appointed Baristas to their first training session at Vittoria

(Thank you Mr Millar!), where they learned the essentials in the art of coffee making. Once they complete their

final training sessions at school with Mrs Diggins this week, they will begin their service experience which will

occur each Friday at recess where the staff are able to purchase beverages made by the team. This is

a valuable program that provides great skills and experience for our students. The staff very much enjoy the

Café and are looking forward to it being up and running with our 2019 Baristas. Thank you Mrs Diggins for

providing the experience.

Students on Exchange Eloise Pamp has returned to us this year after her 6 months on exchange in the U.S.

This has been a great experience for Ellie and I am sure has provided her with many lifelong memories.

Welcome back Ellie! Maddison Williams has successfully proceeded through the selection process to also travel

to the U.S. later this year on exchange. Congratulations Maddi. We wish you all the best, and hope you have a

fantastic time.

2019 Assessment Booklets Last week we issued the 2019 Assessment Booklets to Year 10. This is an

important document for the students to read and understand, and we encourage parents and caregivers to

please assist the students in doing this. Term by term calendars are available for students to collect in the

library, and they have been encouraged to use these, or something similar, to record all assessments so they

can adequately plan their time. Any questions regarding specific subject assessments can be directed to the

Year 10 Report

class teacher, or general assessment questions can be forwarded to me. Students who did not receive a

booklet should collect, and sign for, their booklet from Ms Walsh in the TAS staffroom.

Motivation Day In Week 3 Year 10 enjoyed a seminar and workshop delivered by Nathan Hulls. Nathan is a

motivational speaker who regularly presents to students across Australia about motivation and goal-setting. The

students were very receptive and eagerly participated in discussions with Nathan during the workshop. Some

key messages we took away from the session are shown below. I encourage the students to remember and

apply these!

Amanda Walsh, Year 10 Adviser

Our wonderful Year 11 students have had a huge start to the year!

Jerseys Now that camp has come and gone, it is jersey time! Notes will go out over the next week or so, so we

can order these soon and have them ready for the cooler weather. Keep an eye out for these permission notes.

Year 11 Camp A huge big thank you to the Year 11 students who came to camp last week, and of course the

parents and guardians who helped this happen. I want to thank Mr Floriano, Miss Heap, Mr Pitt and the lovely

Ms Murray for coming and experiencing this as well. We received some fantastic compliments about the year

group as a whole from the camp leaders and hope the students had a great experience. The screams from

some of the students (and teachers) when dropping down on the giant swing are something that will be

engrained in my brain forever.

Year 11 Report

Year 11 Assessment Policy Booklets All students should now have a Year 11 Assessment Policy Booklet.

These booklets are full of the dates for the upcoming assessments throughout the year, for all subjects, and also

include information on the students’ responsibilities, VET information and processes such as N Determinations.

It is an important document to keep close and I suggest you start writing up when your assessments are, either

in your diary or on your calendar. If you do not have one of these, please see Miss Page as soon as possible.

We look forward to watching you all continue to grow into amazing young adults.

Hilary Page, Year 11 Adviser

The Year 12 students have settled back into the routine of their workday very nicely, the timetable has been

smoothed out and TAFE courses have also begun. Thank you to Mr Mansell and Ms Williams, our school

Careers Advisers, for assisting our students to find opportunities to engage them in meaningful learning

opportunities. In preparation for assessment tasks, it is important (and also a NESA requirement) that the

students are attending lessons on a regular basis. Please notify the school in the event of your child being

absent and remind him/her that they have the responsibility of catching up with the work they have missed. In

most instances, absence the day before a scheduled assessment task requires a doctor’s certificate to support

the misadventure form required. Students should also be aware that if they have a class scheduled for Period 1,

they are expected to be in roll call in the gymnasium at 8.35am. Rolls are also marked in early morning classes

or band rehearsal.

Term 1 Events Congratulations to the SRC and members of the year group who attended the welcome back

dance. It was a great night of fun and the younger students really enjoy seeing the senior students participating

in a whole school event. The level of positive banter, fun and competition among the year group at the

swimming carnival last week was also pleasing to see, I really enjoy seeing the year group balancing the hard

requirements for their subjects with enthusiastic whole school activity participation. This week, Ms Nixon and the

PDHPE staff have organised a Sports Scramble, the round robin competition is being played at lunchtime with

the senior games scheduled for second half of lunch. Thanks to all the students and teachers who have put

their name down to participate in this initiative to continue to build school spirit.

Year 12 Report

School Library sessions A gentle reminder that on Monday afternoons, the school library is available for

students who would like extra assistance with homework or assessment tasks. Next week, Ms May is running a

tutorial session to assist Year 12 students to prepare for the English assessment task due in Week 6. I

encourage students to take advantage of these sessions.

Building school spirit, Open Night is fast approaching and I encourage all the senior students to participate in

welcoming the wider community into our school. On the workload front, assessment tasks for most subjects are

fast approaching - students should have familiarised themselves with the Assessment Booklet and have each

date written down. Putting a timeline on the fridge is often suggested to assist in managing time and stress.

Clare Diggins, Year 12 Adviser

re are some lovely examples of our students' recent work in English with comments from Ms Peachman, Head Teacher English

Jessica Greenhalgh, Year 7

English Report

Jessica Greenhalgh, Year 7

The clouds, storm and sea came together, causing a catastrophic mess. This was the best of the hazy weather.

The vast, almost pitch black, waves crashed brutally against the gloomy shore. The monstrous sea was lifeless. Not a living thing in sight.

Lightning rammed into the sea angrily. As it hit the water it sounded like a whip.

Ms Peachman says…

Jess has a beautiful grasp of how to use sentence structure to achieve impact, with some

powerful short sentences creating strong imagery. I also love the simile on the last line.

Jai Jacobs, Year 7

The sea was completely overcast The violent lightning struck the waves

Glooming clouds were not moving The lightening was on rapid fire

The water was dejected The sky gods were furious The place was saddening

The waves were angry All the clouds were moody

It was so foggy you couldn’t see your hands The mist covered all the waves

The water looked like a navy boat The sea was uncheerful

The lightning was petrifying Then all of a sudden, the silence was eerie

Ms Peachman says…

Jai has used some wonderful vocabulary and personification to bring his poem to life. I

particularly like the creepy, ominous feeling of the last line.

Mark in Love – extract by Pietro Provenza, Year 11

This is the story of Mark, one little boy without friends for his attitude. Mark is a guy of 16 years old who likes make bad joke in his high school to everyone. He is a fat boy, with a redhead, brown eyes and a few

tattoos on his body, he have also one piercing. Everyone in his school try to stay away from him. He lives in a little city in Sicily, this city is Siracusa, it’s an old city, with a few greek, spanish and baroque buildings. It’s a city famous for his history but with the pass of the years she doesn’t get old. The buildings

in the historical centre have a look which is clean, and with the air of sea it’s a paradise on the earth.

The story of Mark starts one saturday night, he was going out of his house for get some sandwich for him and his family, but that night he was also mad because he had an argument with his parents about his school report. Before getting the sandwich he decided to do a little walk for smoke a cigarette and think about the argument. During this walk he met accidentally a beautiful girl who asked him a cigarette. In that moment he was shy, never happened that to him, he was Lost I her eyes beautiful like the sky in a

summer's night. He was Lost in her voice who was like the most beautiful song of the most good singer of the angels. He feel the love in him, he feel dominated by his feelings and then he didn't answer her for a

few questions and he started to run away from her. He run for go home, but when he arrived there everyone in the house ask him what’s going on with him, why he runned, why he was spook. he didn’t answer and went straight in his room and between one dream with the open eyes and another one he

was sleeping.

Ms Peachman says... Pietro has written a story with beautiful figurative language. As anESL student, Pietro has done a

wonderful job of creating imagery and a strong sense of place; his setting description is particularly lovely.

EAL/D Report This term we have commenced an additional tutoring program and afternoon tea for EAL/D

(English as an additional Language or Dialect) students on Monday afternoons to support their literacy and

pronunciation skills. This has involved members of the English faculty as well as volunteers from the University

of Sydney undertaking Masters of Teaching. The program has been also supported by newly appointed bilingual

SLSO, Sonam (School Learning Support Officer) who speaks both Tibetan and Chinese. Tom Golanoski and I

are continuing to provide one-on-one assistance to students in the classroom and it has been pleasing to see

the confidence and self-esteem grow among many being supported. We now have over 50 students with an

EAL/D background who have integrated successfully into the school and there will be more innovative

opportunities to support them into the future. Below are photos from one of the tutoring days.

Cameron Rowland, English Teacher

Swimming Carnival It was a sensational day at the pool on Monday 11th February when we held our annual

Swimming Carnival. Special congratulations go to all our record breaking students - James Brown (Year 7),

Toby Jacobs (Year 8), Katelynn Doyle (Year 9), Kimberley Doyle (Year 9), Rowan Bartlett (Year 9), Keith Allen

(Year 10) and Sophie Dickson (Year 10). It was great to see everyone either participating or supporting from the

stands. Our Year 12 students got into the spirit with dress-up and it was a close run in the teachers -v- students’

race with a controversial win to the staff.

Baseball Selection Luke Brown in Year 11 has gained selection in the Sydney North

Open’s Baseball team. He will compete in early March in the New South Wales CHS

State Competition where he will compete against the rest of the State. Well Done Luke!

PDHPE Report

Cole Classic success Congratulations to two of our Year 9 students Kimberley and Katelynn Doyle and their

older sister Emily who won the top three places in the women's 1km Cole Classic swim last Sunday. The

swimmers started at Shelly Beach and finished at the southern end of Manly Beach. Kimberley and Emily

finished first and second overall with Kimberley winning in an impressive time of 11 minutes 8 seconds. In the

2km swim Emily was placed first and Kimberley came third. We are extremely proud of the girls' achievement.

Almost $200,000 was raised for charity at the event and other participants included Olympic champions Susie

O'Neill, Cate and Bronte Campbell. Katelynn, Emily and Kimberley are pictured (L-R) - (photo courtesy of The

Sydney Morning Herald).

Blues Award Congratulations to Roddy Dixon in Year 10 who was presented with a Sydney North Schools

Sports Association Blues award on Tuesday at Asquith Golf Club. This is the highest award for sporting

excellence within the Association, given to recipients who have performed with distinction in their chosen sport

and exhibited exemplary sportsmanship, leadership, team commitment and behaviour both on and off the

sporting field. Roddy was recognised for his achievements in AFL - last year he successfully trialled for the

Northern NSW Regional AFL team and narrowly missed out on being selected for the NSW State team. He is

currently a member of the Sydney Swans Academy U16s squad. Roddy was presented his award by Sarah

Laman, a women's National Rugby representative, currently a member of the Warringah Rats Rugby Club, and

an ex-Forest High School student.

Fitness Leader Year 9 has settled in well into their new electives in the PDHPE faculty. In the first practical

activity lesson of the year Mr Neely and Mrs Trout's classes travelled to Collaroy beach for their first surfing

lesson. The students were given a choice of Body Boarding or Surfing under the instruction of Manly Surf

School. Students thoroughly enjoyed themselves, racing each other on the waves and dodging each other. We

look forward to three more surfing sessions at Long Reef beach.

Sports Scramble Week This week is Sports Scramble Week at The Forest High which has been organised by

our PDHPE faculty staff. Our school houses Zeus, Athena, Poseidon and Ares are competing against each other

in a variety of sports around the school and the competition will continue for the rest of the week.

Welcome back to the new year in which measles outbreaks and extreme weather globally again reinforce the

need and importance of scientific minds to help shape our future. This term in Science we are covering the

following topics:

Year 7 - Water fit for drinking

A chemistry-based topic which explores the unique properties of water while building students' observation and

experimental skills. Focus then flows on to how chemical processes allow water to continually cycle through our

globe. This means that the water you drank today was once in a dinosaur and a tree and is much older than you

may think!

Assessment task: Water use investigation (Week 8)

Year 8 - Rock, paper, Scissors

A chemistry-based topic that focuses on how different materials can have different physical and chemical

properties. Students learn how to classify matter into elements, compounds and mixtures and explore a range of

substances in our everyday life. Students then go on to learn the key differences between chemical and physical

change from what they can observe down to how the molecules change and rearrange.

Assessment task: Modelling task: Chemical vs. physical change (Week 9)

Year 9 - Ecosystems and change

In this biology-focused topic students learn how many parts of nature are complex systems that are interlinked

by first focusing on the human body as a system to then further looking at how ecosystems have many factors

that are dependent on each other. Later in the topic students focus in on the human body to explore how it

reacts to changes, in particular an invasion. Students learn how diseases can enter the body and how the body’s

lines of defence create a plan of attack including how vaccinations can support fighting diseases.

Assessment task: Depth Study: Diseases (Week 9-11)

Year 10 - Heredity and Evolution

A biology-focused topic in which students explore how traits are passed from one generation to the next and use

genetics to predict the probability of offspring having a range of conditions or traits. Students then explore how

the Theory of Evolution was developed over time looking at the key pieces of evidence that support the theory.

Assessment task: Extended response: Biotechnology (Week 7)

Homework in Science Year 7-10

All students Year 7-10 use an online learning platform called Stile. This can be accessed through the

website: https://stileapp.com/au/TFHS_NSW-1872 . Students each have an individual password and are given

work from their class teacher to complete on this system. It is expected that all students are spending time at

home each week completing Stile tasks. If all tasks are complete students are to use their time to review the

work done in class and make notes to help consolidate their learning. Support notes for each topic can also be

found in Stile in the individual year group assessment folder e.g. "Y7 Assessment Folder 2019" for Year 7. In this

is a sub-folder called KISS (Keeping it Simple Science) information notes. If any student has lost their log on or

does not have access to their assessment folder they need to let their class teacher know as soon as possible.

For any student who has completed their Stile work and their study notes we encourage students to undertake

wider reading on a range of scientific topics that interest them. The website Science Alert

Science Report

(https://www.sciencealert.com) provides short articles on a range of recent discoveries which are highly

interesting and even better, is updated daily with the latest information and findings! . Furthermore, watching a

range of documentaries and visiting museums is great to feed the curious mind. If you are a Netflix fan why not

check out this article on "21 best science movies and shows streaming on Netflix that will make you smarter!" to

help fuel some interesting and different family conversations (https://ind.pn/2GJ40me) - as always please check

the rating of any film or show to help you decide if it is appropriate for your whole family.

Lucy Sturley, Relieving Head Teacher Science

Engineering Studies Year 12 Engineering Studies students have been studying force systems in civil

structures. They calculated the forces in each member of their truss in order to predict where their bridges may

fail first. Here they are using non-destructive and destructive tests to assess the strength of their designs, and to

test their predictions.

Below is a collage of the Robotics project that Year 10 IST (Information, Software & Technology) students

completed in Week 2

TAS Report

Welcome Back Dance Our students had a great night at our Welcome Back Dance last Wednesday 6th

February. Once again our DJ Elliott kept us dancing for the whole night. Everyone excelled with the Dynamic

Duo theme with some very creative outfits. Thank you to all who supported the night and special thanks to the

wonderful teachers who came to supervise.

SRC

School Photography 7th March 2019

This year School Photography will take place on the 7th March 2019. The make-up day will be the following

Tuesday 12th March.

Envelopes have been distributed in roll call. Envelopes are also available in the Mathematics staff room.

If students choose to purchase their photograph using the envelope they should hand it to the Advanced Life

staff on the day of photography. Alternatively photographs can be purchased online from the advanced life

website.

The online order code is GNR Z77 9NB. Students who would like a sibling photograph can collect the

envelope for the Mathematics staff room.

Students are required to wear school uniform. This includes a tie for the boys and if the girls are going to wear

jewellery it must follow the school guidelines.

Valentine's Day at The Forest High School started with a heart shaped pancake for those fast enough to take

advantage of the complimentary breakfast. We have learnt that at the next pancake brekkie we must double our

mixture! Roses were delivered to many and we changed our bells to love songs for the day. At lunchtime we had

the traditional photo booth plus the Entertainment Crew pumped out the music for us to enjoy. The SRC thank all

who supported both this and the Welcome Back Dance and we look forward to many more events throughout

the year.

NSW SCHOOL VACCINATION PROGRAM

Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program. In 2019 the following vaccines will be offered:

YEARS VACCINE NUMBER OF DOSES

Year 7 Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine 2-doses at least 6 mths apart

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine Single dose

Year 10 Meningococcal ACWY vaccine Single dose

Parent Information Kits that include an information sheet, consent form and privacy statement will be sent home to parents/guardians. To consent to the vaccination of their child, parents/guardians are advised to:

read all the information provided

complete the consent form, including signing their name next to the vaccine/s they would like their child to receive

return the completed consent form to their child’s school

ensure that their child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic

Please note that students who commence HPV vaccination in school clinics in Year 7 but do not complete the course during the school year may be offered catch-up doses at school in Year 8. Students who have any HPV doses at their GP will be advised to complete the course with their GP.

Extra-Curricular

Parents/guardians who wish to withdraw their consent for any reason may do so by writing to the school Principal or phoning the school. The Procedure for Withdrawal of Consent is available on the NSW Health website at: www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation To improve vaccination completion, students will be opportunistically offered any missed doses throughout the year where possible. A Record of Vaccination card will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic. Parents/guardians should ensure that this record is kept for future reference and should not assume that their child has been vaccinated if they do not receive this Record of Vaccination. Frequently asked questions:

My child received the Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine when they were aged 4. Do they need this one? Yes this is a booster dose that all adolescents in year 7 require.

My child received the Meningococcal vaccine when they were an infant. Is this the same vaccine? The

Australian childhood immunisation schedule included Meningococcal C vaccine. This vaccine contains four strains offering additional protection against Meningococcal ACWY.

Visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation for further information and translated copies of the Vaccination Information Kits

P&C Meeting Dates 2019

Held on 4th

Wednesday of each month

7pm in the School Library

27th February

27th March (AGM)

22nd May

26th June

31st July

28th August

6th November

4th December

Uniform Shop - opening hours

Monday - 8.00am to 9.30am

Thursday - 2.00pm to 3.30pm

Are you on Facebook and would you like to stay up to date with the latest Forest High P&C news and updates? Please visit our

P&C Facebook book page by cutting and pasting the following URL in your browser:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1894258124123121/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

The P&C Committee updates this page as an informative and useful destination for all parents of The Forest High School

community. If you would like specific information to be added to this Facebook page, please contact either Myrna Van Pelt or

Clodia Heffernan via the P&C Committee.

The Forest High School P&C

Community Notices

Copyright @ 2017 The Forest High School All rights reserved

You are receiving this email because you are a part of The Forest High School Community

135 Frenchs Forest Road

Frenchs Forest NSW 2086

T: 02 9451 5111

F: 02 9975 3293

E: theforest-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au