Term 4, Week 4 already! A very busy term here at Forest Primary with our swimming program happening at the moment, PAT testing, assessments taking place, reporting and communicating, 2025 staffing discussion, annual review, learning plans, spice kid’s performances, excursions, end of year events being planned for, teaching and learning, basketball championships, hockey, soccer, athletics carnival, staff attending professional learning, Pre-Kinder…. Phew – what a list and this is just naming a few! I would also like to recognise my staff here at Forest Primary. Your willingness to go above and beyond never goes unnoticed and I appreciate and value ALL of you.

Student Free Day

Our Teacher Assistants attended Professional Learning in Devonport to complete the DECYP Reading Modules 3 & 4 with other colleagues from along the coast. Teaching staff spent time unpacking the updated Pedagogical Framework and current Data sets.  We then spent the afternoon in at Smithton Primary School to refine the writing of our Learning Plans, which was facilitated by our DECYP Inclusive Practice Coach Diana Cohen. 

Grandparents Day

It was such a special morning spent celebrating Grandparents Day in our school. We are so grateful to each and everyone of you who came along and spent time enjoying some morning tea, a spice kids performance and most importantly time with your children in our classrooms. We appreciate all you do for your children and engaging with our school. It was just a special morning creating lifelong memories!

Basketball Championships

I would like to wish our team all the very best for this weekend as you represent our school at the Basketball Championships held in Devonport. Thankyou so much to our families for supporting your children to play a sport they enjoy. A special thankyou to Wak Walker, Soupy Blizzard and Angela Grey for giving up your time to train and coach this wonderful group of young boys. I appreciate the support you provide to our students to enable them to participate in a tournament and not only build upon their skills but also friendships and sportsmanship. Thankyou so much and Goodluck!!

Christmas Raffle

I would like to thank our Parents and Friends and our Student Council for combining their efforts for a Christmas raffle this year. On Thursday the 21st November our Student Council will be having a free dress day, if families could please bring along one item as a donation towards the raffle prizes. The Student Council will be sending home ticket books soon.

Term 4 Celebrations

Staff and students are working together on a spectacular end of year celebration display. We have our End of Year Celebration Dates approaching fast, lock those dates in your diaries and we cannot wait to celebrate our school with you all.

Megan Hills

Principal

Students will be sitting NAPLAN between 12 and 24 March 2025.

The National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance; however, students and parents may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers.

NAPLAN has been held in March since 2023, having previously taken place in May. This change was made so school systems would have access to results earlier in the school year. These results can then be used to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year.

Why NAPLAN is conducted online

NAPLAN online provides a better assessment and more precise results.

One of the main benefits of NAPLAN online is that it uses tailored (or adaptive) testing. This means that students receive questions better suited to their abilities, so they can show what they know and can do.

Online testing also allows us to provide a wide range of accessibility options to support students with disability to access NAPLAN.

Feedback from students is that they find the online test more engaging.

Please note that students in Year 3 complete the Writing Test on paper.

Parent information brochures and other resources

Your questions answered on NAPLAN and what it means for your child:

NAPLAN information brochure for parents and carers

The link will take you to the official National Assessment Program (NAP) website.

Please contact the school if you have any further queries.

Year 5 Ollington: Budding Authors on Tour!

Our Year 5 Ollington students have embarked on an incredible journey, becoming published authors and Illustrators of their very own picture books. After weeks of hard work, creativity, and dedication, each student proudly held a copy of their unique story, crafted from start to finish. This experience has not only enhanced their narrative writing skills but has also ignited a love for storytelling and sharing ideas with others.

Following our publishing success, we took our books on tour across Circular Head, bringing our stories to life for young audiences. Our first stop was Circular Head Childcare, where we were warmly welcomed by curious toddlers, eager to listen to our tales. Next, we visited Giggles Early Learning, sharing our books and inspiring younger readers to one day create their own stories.

We were lucky enough to enjoy morning tea at Blake's Bites for a hot chocolate and a cookie. We enjoyed the dining out experience together. 

To finish the day with a new experience, we ventured to the Smithton Livestock Sale, where students witnessed a real livestock auction in action. This event was particularly exciting, as many of our students are passionate about animals and farming, and seeing the sale firsthand was an eye-opener into a world they care deeply about.

This excursion was a memorable for Year 5 Ollington, and we couldn't be prouder of these young authors, not only for their achievements but for sharing their work with the community. 

Some comments from the students: 

Liv Ralston: "I found the narrative writing very fun; it allowed me to be creative. I loved sharing it with the daycares, it was very educational"

Dustin Brown: "It was fun, I preferred the writing to the drawing, the excursion was heaps of fun"

Fletcher Kingston: "It was great to experience something like this. Not everyone experiences something like publishing their own book in their life. That makes it even more special" 

Noah House: "It was fun, the excursion was loads of fun, I loved the sale because farming is my passion."

Lahana Horton: "It was challenging but very fun, I loved seeing my own published book and sharing it with others."

As we dive into Term 4, our Prep/1 students are embarking on an exciting Literacy journey. This term, we are focusing on exploring the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts and developing our skills in writing information in sentences. Our investigation begins with the beloved storybook, The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. This beautifully illustrated tale serves as the foundation for our exploration. Students will compare the narrative features of this fiction book with various informational texts about plants. Through this comparison, they will learn to identify key elements to decide if a text is fiction from non-fiction. Building on their understanding, students will then apply their knowledge by learning to write their own non-fiction texts. They will use information they know to write facts in simple sentences. To kick off our investigation, we planted sunflower seeds in our garden bed. Students are taking care of these plants using the science knowledge they learned at the start of the year. Throughout this term, students have learned key vocabulary words such as “carries,” “drift,” and “settle” through movements and word activities to help deepen their comprehension. They have also read information to learn about the seasons and collaborated to create a representational art piece.

We look forward to continuing to add to our understanding as we complete our book investigation. We have our fingers crossed that we will see our sunflowers bloom before the end of the term!