Newsletter Week 6 Term 4 2024
Message from the Principal
2025 classes
Thank you to those parents who sent in their preferences by the deadline. We have worked diligently through these requests and are reasonably confident we have provided one friend with each child- please understand a lot of work and thought goes into this but I cannot guarantee we haven’t overlooked something. Children will attend their move-up classes on Thursday 12th December. Teachers for each year group will be announced in the next newsletter.
Belinda Kowalski
Our amazing librarian, Bel Kowalski, has been recognised with the Paul Harris Fellow Award by the Weston Creek Rotarians. Bel was acknowledged for the tireless work she has put in as our EarlyAct coordinator,
supporting the children who support so many wonderful causes across our local, national and overseas communities. She is thoroughly deserving of this award, which is usually given to Rotarians but, due to Bel’s efforts, they made an exception! I know you will join with me in congratulating Bel. If you would like to know more about the award, please see the link below:
Tables for your garage or shed
Our amazing P&C have been fundraising for some furniture for the Paul Henryon building shared space. We have surveyed the children, and they have voted for beanbags, floor desks, wobble stools, ottomans and whiteboards they can work on or with to think and discuss their learning. Our goal is to place the order early next year and have this equipment ready for the start of term two or before. This means we are in the position to remove some of our older, obsolete furniture. We are placing some student desks outside Patrick’s area by the canteen on National Circuit. These desks are old but are seemingly indestructible (!) and might suit your garage or shed. If you would like one or more, just drive by and take it. We’ll be placing other furniture there over the coming weeks which is all free to a good home. Anything left there by the end of term will be put in landfill which we are trying to avoid. The tables are 1200 wide, 600 deep and 700 high and look like this:
Prayer Room
We have had a couple of requests for a prayer room to be setup. We hope to achieve this over the next week or so, certainly by the start of the new year. Although the buildings cover a large area, we don’t have many suitable places. As a staff we are looking at the options and will let you know as soon as possible.
The value of an IB education
With half of today's core skills projected to change, the World Economic Forum ranks critical thinking among the top 10 skills essential for the future, highlighting its value in a changing economy. As policymakers around the world work to equip students with relevant skills, fostering critical thinking in education has become crucial.
This is why the International Baccalaureate (IB) places inquiry-based learning at the heart of its programmes. Designed to nurture students to stay curious, hone personal strengths and instil lifelong critical thinking skills, this approach encourages exploration, questioning, and deep engagement with knowledge. Through inquiry, students develop essential skills, such as making interdisciplinary connections, analysing diverse perspectives, and applying reasoned judgment—the foundations of critical thinking for lifelong success.
While all attributes of the IB Learner Profile reflect critical thinking, there are three that exemplify the principles of critical thinking:
- Thinkers demonstrate applying critical and creative thinking skills to recognize and solve complex problems rationally and ethically.
- Open-minded individuals value their perspectives and those of others, actively seeking to understand and grow from diverse viewpoints.
- Reflective individuals consider their own strengths and areas for growth, striving for self-awareness to enhance their learning and personal development.
As a historian, I genuinely worry about the historical parallels between the state of the world now and how it was in the years leading up to the first and second world wars. The rhetoric of too many leaders, or lack of it in certain circles, worries me. The ideals of the IB and the 10 learner profile attributes can act as a buffer against these trends I believe. We just need more people across our democracies to share them. What can you do about this? Talk to your child about the attributes of the learner profile and the importance of these in developing balanced people with empathy and insight. Oh, and don’t forget, give them hugs and remind them of how much you love them and are proud of them! Then, send them to bed so they get a good rest over the last few weeks of term…
Have a lovely weekend,
Chris
Library News!
Reader’s Cup
On Friday the 25th of October a group of twelve students from Year 5 and 6 attended the Reader’s Cup competition at St Monica’s Primary School. Our three teams had a lot of fun answering the questions on the five set book titles that they had spent six weeks reading. The titles were: Bindi, Pie In The Sky, August and Jones, Cop & Robber, and Rabbit, Solider, Angel, Thief. The students all enjoyed reading the books as some of them were genres that they would not normally borrow from the library.
On the day, the three teams worked together to answer the questions, with Forrest Team 1 coming in the top three out of forty-three teams from primary schools across the ACT in one of the rounds!
Forrest Team 1 was Liv, Mimi, Linda, Mia and Zoe (with one team member alternating to join Team 3).
Team 2 was our year 5 students, Alina, Ayana, Lucy and Sadhana.
Team 3 was Nate, Flynn and Aakash.
After five gruelling rounds of ten questions each, the final results were Forrest 1 in 9th place, Forrest 2 in 37th place and Forrest 3 in 11th place.
We look forward to next year’s event!
The Book Fair
Well, the Buy One, Get One Free Book Fair was a HUGE success, with basically every book being sold!!! I hope Scholastic doesn’t mind us sending back empty shelves...
Thank you to everyone in the community who came to purchase books. We had some very happy students, though some were disappointed that the book they wanted had already sold out when they came to visit.
The Book Club
We will be having our last Book Club of the year being sent out next week with the closing date for all orders Monday the 2nd of December by 3pm. This should ensure that books are delivered by the end of week 9 or beginning of week 10.
Returning Books
The library has now ceased all borrowing. Please attempt to return all library books as soon as possible. Reminders of overdue books will go home in week 8 so that library book hunts can happen in houses!! If you are unable to locate any borrowed books, please email Belinda.kowalski@ed.act.edu.au. Families are welcome to provide a replacement book to the library in these cases. It does not have to be the exact book, but something similar to fill the gap that the missing book leaves would be appreciated.
Netball Gala Day
On Thursday the 21st of November, 4 teams of year 5 and 6 students attended the Southside Netball Gala Day. Forrest had 2 teams of year 5 students and 2 teams of year 6 students who competed against teams from Theodore and St Jude’s.
Everyone had a fabulous time competing, with some players on teams who had never played netball before! Teams had big wins, hard losses and some tight finishes, with all students exhibiting the Forrest values at all times during the day.
Thank you to the parents who came to watch and cheer on our teams, especially Matt who grabbed a whistle and umpired a game when asked!
Thanks to Miss Kenyon who came to her very first gala day to support the students and to Mr Jones who popped in to say hi and wish us all luck.
Donations Tree
