Newsletter Week 8 Term 1 2024
Principal's Message
Dear parents and carers
Congratulations on Acceptance into Instrumental Music Program Extension Ensembles for 2024
Congratulations to Isla Comyns and Flynn Elsworthy (Year 6) and Skye Perry (Year 5) who have been accepted into the Instrumental Music Program (IMP) Extension Ensembles for 2024. Undertaking the audition process and successfully gaining a position in an IMP extension ensemble is a significant achievement and I would like to acknowledge the achievements of these students.
Harmony Day Assembly
Harmony Week is a time to celebrate. Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.
Our Harmony Day Assembly this week was a time to reflect on the importance of respecting each other and our differences.
Did you know?
- Nearly half (49%) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was.
- In Australia we identify with over 300 ancestries.
- Since 1945 more that 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia
- Apart from English the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi
- More than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.
The message of Harmony Week is everyone belongs. The message of respect and belonging can be lived by each of us, every day, not just during Harmony Week.
At Forrest we are so lucky to have such a culturally diverse community.
I hope that not just this week but every day you feel like you belong at Forrest.
At Forrest we work hard to be inclusive and live the message that everyone belongs.
English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) Parent Morning Tea
It was wonderful to see so many parents come along to our first EAL/D parent morning tea this week. Not only was it a chance to meet and connect with teaching staff but it was an opportunity to connect with other parents. We are keen to host another morning tea and many parents expressed that they would like to connect with other families who speak the same home language. If you would like to connect with other families, please fill in the short survey (link below). Also, if you would be willing to come to school and host a language workshop with students, we would love to hear from you.
Carpark Reminders
We understand the school and surrounding streets are busy at pick up time, however we must reiterate the essential need to have polite, respectful driving behaviours in our carparks. We must all do everything we can to keep every child safe. Please remember not to park in the drop off zones. That means you must not leave your car. If you are using the car park on National Circuit, please do not block the driveway or cars that are trying to enter or exit the car parking spaces. For safety reasons we are asking all students to wait inside the black fence until they see their car arrive in the afternoon. Any students still waiting at 3:15 are asked to come and wait at the front of the school to be picked up. Parking inspectors come to the school at random times, so please be cautious as to where you park.
Have a great weekend.
Kind Regards
Laurel
ACT Human Rights Commission Film Launch
On Friday the 8th of March, the Forrest Squad were invited to attend the very special ACT Human Rights Commission film launch. The event was held at the Palace Cinemas and included speeches from Jodie Griffiths-Cook (the Children and Young People Commissioner), Professor Penny Mathew (Human Rights Commissioner) and Tara Cheyne MLA (ACT Minister for Human Rights). Did you know that the ACT was the first place to create a Human Rights Act, in 2004? Did you also know that the ACT is the only jurisdiction to have a Human Rights Minister? We live in a pretty amazing place, with so much support for children and young people.
The film premiere was the culmination of lots of interviews and school visits by Jodie and her team, where they asked students (including our very own Year 6 students from 2023) what human rights meant to them and how they would like information about children’s rights presented to them. After lots of discussion, the animated film, posters and books were created.
Two of our fabulous Forrest Squad students participated in a panel discussion which was led by the Youth Advisor. They answered questions such as, “what would you like the Minister for Human Rights to know?” (Canberra needs more playgrounds) and “why do you think it is important for children your age to know about human rights?” (so that children know about their own rights and they understand what they mean for them). Everyone represented Forrest beautifully and to see the end result, go to https://www.hrc.act.gov.au/childrenyoungpeople.
You may even notice our Forrest uniform on one of the characters... What a coincidence!
Thank you to Jodie and her amazing team for giving our Year 6 students this year, and last year, the opportunity to be involved in such an important discussion and allowing us to be some of the select few to come and watch the film at its premiere. Everyone represented Forrest beautifully and we all really enjoyed the morning.