Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Term 2 and what a busy start it has been! Our Grade 6 students are currently on camp this week in Hobart and having a wonderful time! Stay up to date on their fun and busy days through our Forest Primary Facebook page. Students will report on their experiences in next times newsletters.

Parent Information Session

Last night we held a Parent Information Session at the school and I would like to thank the families who attended and provided feedback to us. We encourage all of our families and the community to provide feedback and be involved in your childrens educational journey. Within the session we listened to our current Kindergarten teacher Mrs Kellie Bransden share values and beliefs and what to expect in Kindergarten. 

Hi I'm Kellie Bransden, current Kindergarten teacher here at Forest Primary. I graduated at the end of last year with a Bachelor of Education Early Childhood. To begin my teaching career I was lucky enough to teach on a LAT position whilst still at University, Teaching Prep for 6 months and then Kindergarten last year. I am very passionate about Early Childhood Teaching and learning alongside my students.

I value children as capable, creative, imaginative and curious. I believe that all children are unique and learn best in a supportive, engaging and creative environment. My program and environments are influenced by a range of early childhood theories and approches such as Reggio Emilia.

In Kinder it is ok if your child doesn't know colours, numbers or their name (letter chart). We will build on what they already know and use the children's interests to explore Literacy, Numeracy and other curriculum areas. We provide an indoor/outdoor play-based learning program based on the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum. We also consider and plan for children's developmental needs such as fine motor skills, social development and intellectual skills. Kinder classroom time also involves going to the school library each week and we also actively take part in a gross motor program and movement to Music Program.

Please if you have any questions or would like to chat with me about any further information, my door is always open and I'm happy to arrange a suitable time to met.

Little Learners

Little Learners will continue every Monday morning 9 - 10.30am. We have been in discussion and seeking feedback from our families and have made the decision to move our LiL sessions back into our Multipurpose room with access to the Kindergarten playground. Little Learners is facilitated by Fran Joyce and we encourage families to come and join us to have some fun learning and discovering through jumping, running, dancing, talking, singing, listening, colouring, painting, counting, tasting, eating and cooking!

Walk Safely to School Day

Tomorrow Friday the 10^th of May is National Walk Safely to School Day. The purpose of the day is to encourage healthy living and safety awareness.  Students are welcome to meet staff at the Forest General Store at 8:00am to walk together to school. Parents are invited to join us or drop their children at the shop to join us.  

Mothers Day Breakfast

We would love to see as many Mums, Grans or someone special to your heart to come along on Tuesday 14^th and celebrate Mothers Day with us from 8am-9am. Enjoy breakfast and spending time in our classrooms with your children. Please remember to RSVP for catering purposes to the school office.

Goodluck

Goodluck to our students Brooke Russ, Sienna & Ari Korpershoek who will compete tomorrow afternoon at the State Athletics Carnival in Launceston representing the North West.

Cross Country

On Thursday 16th of May, we will be holding the school Cross Country event. Students will finish their race near the wetlands and there will be areas set aside for spectators and classes to watch races. Parents, families, and friends are most welcome to join us for the event. 

Students will be running through water and are encouraged to bring a pair of appropriate sandshoes for this purpose and will need a full change of clothes. Students can come to school in their running gear and get changed back into their school clothes after the event. Students will need to bring plastic bag to put their wet gear in and a towel to dry off. Also, children are encouraged to bring plenty of water.  

We will require additional adult supervision along the course so any assistance would be much appreciated. Any parents who are able to act as marshals on the course will need to be at school by 12:30pm in order to be placed in a position on the track, please let the office know if you can help.

Megan Hills,

Principal

Last week, all Year 5 and 6 students got the chance to go on a super-duper fun excursion to AgFest!

We had to get up super early, and be at school by 7:15 ready to be on the bus. The bus ride was lots of fun, socialising with our friends and having fun together. The bus ride up was full of laughter and excitement, the ride home was much quieter, with lots of snoring.

Liv Ralson described the experience as “It was like stepping into a whole new world filled with amazing things, so many cool shops, good food, cute animals and fun experiences. I had never been before, and I can’t way to go again.”

Dustin Brown described the experience as “Fun, especially the climbing tower, I had never rock climbed before.”

Lahana Horton described the experience as “It was like a whole new world of things I had never seen or knew of before. It was so much fun.”

Some of our favourite things we saw were, motorbikes, tractors, buddys, cars, miniature cattle, donkeys, hand made toys, fishing expeditions, sheep dogs being trained, dog trainers and load of cool, educational stalls.

We also loved the food and drink experiences, some of our favourites were watching the cotton candy getting made, it was “as fluffy as clouds” – Arya Walters. We loved hot spuds, fish and chips, dogwood dogs, ice-cream, lollies and loads more. Charlie Payne said “The milkshakes were delicious, especially with hot chips”

Some of our favourite things:

Tori Courto- The Rock climbing tower (It was challenging but so fun)

Fletcher Kingston- Plushy stall (They had super cute puppy plushys)

Kiara Waddel-Smith – EVERYTHING (Its too hard to pick one thing!!)

Layla Thorp- Cotton candy stall (I got the perfect present here)

Rubee Korpershoek- Craft sheds (There was lots to see and do)

But you know what made our day even more special? The awesome people who came along with us. A big shoutout to Miss Ollington, Miss Pop, Miss C, Angela, Korena, Melinda, Hayley, and Mr. Perry for making this trip extra awesome. You guys rock!

AgFest was like a dream come true. We can't wait to go back next year and do it all over again. Until then, we will be dreaming of cotton candy and miniature cows.

Grade 5 Ollington

Share your thoughts on school attendance

Help us better understand any barriers that may be in the way, and what supports are needed to help with getting to school.

The Department for Education, Children and Young People is doing statewide consultation on school attendance. 3P Advisory is independently running the consultation. Your answers are confidential, and you won’t be identified.

We want to hear from you. You can take part in an online survey, share or vote for suggestions, or join an online drop-in session via the 3P website. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

You can also share your thoughts about what you like or don’t like about our Every school day matters campaign.

As a parent or carer, please have your say. Please encourage your child/ren, too.

Every piece of feedback counts. Thanks for helping shape future DECYP initiatives, school-based engagement strategies and public awareness campaigns.