Forest Primary School
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RA 422 Mengha Road
Forest TAS 7330
Subscribe: https://forestps.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: forest.primary@decyp.tas.gov.au
Phone: 03 6458 3141
Fax: 03 6458 3395

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Principal's Message

CONGRATULATIONS 

Congratulations to all of our students who represented our school at the recent CHSSSA carnival.  It was fantastic to see our students competing, having fun and trying their best!  I wish all of our students, who have been selected to represent Circular Head at the Northwest Carnival in Penguin, all the very best and I look forward to accompanying the 3/4 team next Wednesday. A special shout out to Ryan Nibbs and Smithton Primary School for organising and coordinating a wonderful event for our students to be involved in. 

PARENTS’ CODE OF CONDUCT FOR SPORTING EVENTS

  • Encourage participation by your child
  • Provide a model of good sportsmanship for your child to copy
  • Be respectful in your communication
  • Encourage honest effort, skilled performance and team loyalty
  • Make any new parents feel welcome on all occasions
  • Do not interfere with the conduct of any championships
  • Adhere to School Sport Australia’s policy of a smoke and alcohol free environment

Rationale:  

  1. Safeguarding: Prohibiting parent photography and videography ensures the safety and privacy of all students and prevents unauthorised circulation of images. 
  2. Respect for Privacy: We respect the privacy of students, families and staff, creating a comfortable and inclusive space for learning. 
  3. Equal Opportunities: Staff members will capture photos and videos, ensuring reasonable opportunities for all students to have their achievements documented and shared. 

Policy Guidelines:  

  1. Parental Consent: Parents/guardians provide consent for staff to capture and share visual content of their child. 
  2. Staff Training: Staff members receive appropriate training on photography/videography techniques, privacy considerations, and secure handling of visual content. 
  3. Secure Storage and Sharing: Visual content is securely stored and shared through approved platforms. 
  4. Parental Access: Parents/guardians have access to their child's visual content through secure online platforms or designated sharing sessions. 
  5. Exceptions: Parental photography may be allowed with prior approval for specific activities, but not for public sharing without consent. 

School Improvement 2025 – We need your feedback!

On Monday 3rd of March at 9am Mrs Hills has provided an opportunity for any parents/care givers to join her in the library for a ‘cuppa’ and cake as she would like to seek feedback on Forest PS school improvement journey for 2025.

THANKYOU

A huge thank you to each and everyone who attended our welcome back BBQ and meet the teacher classroom meetings last night.  It was a wonderful opportunity for you to familiarise yourselves with the ‘way we do things’ at Forest Primary School. A special shout out again to William Payne for helping out with the BBQ.

Communicating Learning Progress with Families 

Parent Teacher communication has been happening this term.  It has been lovely to see so many of you come into our school and engage in conversations regarding your child’s learning journey at school. Teaching staff have been, and will be, making phone calls to discuss how your child has settled into the new school year.  This is a good opportunity to discuss any questions, concerns or positive feedback you may have to share with us. 

NAPLAN

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.

Literacy

We are thrilled to share the fantastic progress in our Literacy space as we advance our Lifting Literacy - Reading Priority initiative. In the first four weeks of this term, many of our staff have participated in professional learning to ensure we are employing the best practices and techniques in Word Recognition to support all learners in our classrooms.

This commitment has led to the introduction of a focused 30-minute session at the start of each literacy block, dedicated to reading and spelling. Our Prep to Year 2 students are continuing their explicit phonics lessons, while our Year 3 to 6 students are exploring the fascinating realms of morphology and etymology.

In 2025, we are excited to expand our collective knowledge and practices with the latest research on building students' reading fluency. Fluency is the crucial bridge between recognizing words and comprehending text. You can support this effort at home with nightly reading, and it's wonderful to see so many students already started. We look forward to celebrating our nights of reading milestones together soon!

WHOLE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY 

Please come along on 10th of April for our whole school assembly that will be held in our Multipurpose room.  We encourage all of our Forest community to attend.  Your child will be creating a personalised invitation – inviting you to come along.  

Student Leadership at Forest Primary School

Congratulations to the below students who have been elected onto the Student Council for Term 1 and 2. Last Frieday they received their badges during morning assembly. Congratulations also to our Daily PE Leaders.

House Captains

Our 2025 house captains will be voted in by their house team on Friday the 28th of February. The captains will be announced once all votes are counted.

Thank you,

Megan Hills.