Week 1 Term 1 2014-Welcome to FHC

Calendar dates

Term 1, 2014

Year 12 Deakin University Study Experience - Monday 3 February - Tuesday 4 February
College Photos - Thursday 13 February
Year 7 Instrumental Music Demonstration Day - Friday 14 February
Year 7 Parent Connections Night - Tuesday 11 February
Year 7 Camp - Wednesday 26 February - Friday 28 February

Some useful links

FHC Website

Compass Parent Portal

FHC Moodle- Student Learning Portal

 

 

Remember you can use Compass to approve absences

 

It seems that the holiday period comes and goes so fast. Before we know it we are back in the gym speaking glowingly about the success of our 2013 Year 12 students and welcoming  a new cohort of Year 7 students.

 

     We welcome back from leave the following staff

 

Heather Pringle

Karly Horton

Marianne Zabukosek

 

We welcome to the College the following teaching staff

 

Ross McKinnon – Maths Teacher

Gary Stone – Accounting/Humanities teacher

Samantha Smith  - Arts replacing BRM when on family leave

Cheryl Roberts – Chinese/ EAL

 Chantal Smith- English

Nicky Buckingham -Leading Teacher

 

 

We welcome the following Education Support staff

 

Ashley Zhu Multicultural Education Aide

Mia Markey Multicultural Education Aide

Helen Farch Library Technician

Nick Sorich  Facilities Hire

Josh Baker  Network & infrastructure manager

 

 

I would like to acknowledge our VCE high achievers

 

 

Congratulations Glen, our 2013 Dux. He has placed within the top 750 students in the State, as measured against 40,000 students who did their VCE last year.

 

 

 

 

 

        In 2013, 60 FHC Year 12 students attempted to secure a Tertiary placement. Of those 60,27 received first round offers of their first preference, 10 their second and 8 their third. The remaining students have now all been placed in a Tertiary course.

       Two of our students have received scholarships that will cover the total cost of their University, worth in excess of $30,000 and a third rejected a scholarship at Monash University to take up his life long ambition to study at Melbourne University.

 

 

The start of a new school year always brings with it a mixture of nerves and anticipation. For many students it is the chance to reacquaint with friends they may not have seen. For some this is a new school, which has both the promise of something new and dreams of success, mixed with concerns about making friends and fitting in. In a matter of hours school begins, routines are established and the nerves subside.

At FHC this year, as we always do, we begin with an immersion into our Learning Culture. The initial sessions for our Year 7-10 students centre around elearning, cybersafety, acceptable;e use of our network and our expectations about effective learning behaviours and uniform/ appearance.
The key messages have been around doing the basics well. We believe that if our students get these right, they will form the foundations of success.
As you will have seen with us last year, we assess students using a grade point average against what we call Effective Learning Behaviours.

 

 

Ms Peterson leading students through Learning Culture Induction

 

These behaviours form the basis of interim report assessment. They are key skills that enable academic success. In no particular order they are:

• Uses class time effectively for learning
• Is organised and meets deadlines
• Makes connections between concepts
• Demonstrates effective problem solving techniques
• Reflects and acts on feedback in order to improve
• Uses ICT tools ethically and responsibly
• Works effectively in teams
• Respects the values and rights of individuals

As students progress through each year level the standard expected of each behaviour increases in complexity and quality. Students were given an immersion into these behaviours so that they have a clear understanding of what they are assessed in and what our expectations are of them.

 

 

We have set a clear tone for the year. This is about finding every possible way to advance every student's learning. As a staff we are enthusiastically embracing this.

On Friday we celebrated Chinese New Year. Below are two images of our new Year 7 students learning about Chinese New Year in LOTE on Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Day of Term 1 2014

 

I would personally like to welcome each and every Year 7 student to Forest Hill College. The first day of school is always exciting, but for our new Year 7 students it was an extra special day, as it began their journey at FHC. The day started with an introductory talk and official welcome to the College. As is custom at FHC, the Year 7 students were welcomed by a warm round of applause from the rest of the College as they were presented to the school by their home groups. They were then sat down as a group and spoken to about the expectations of FHC and all the opportunities that are open to them. There was a lot of information given to students on this day, and they did a remarkable job considering the high temperatures. The day concluded with the well anticipated lock challenge. This involved every student being issued a lock for their locker and attempting to open it as soon as possible. It was a tricky time for some, but a challenge that they all overcame and can now use on their locker.

 

 

I wish all the Year 7s the very best this year and encourage them to get involved in all they can. The more they put in, the more they will get out. Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see each other on Monday.

 

Mr Cutler (Year 7 Level Leader)

 

 

Year 7 Parent Connections Night

 

Forest Hill College would like to invite all Year 7 Parents/Guardians and students to an upcoming information night at Forest Hill College. This night will be dedicated to giving you (and your child) some more information about this school year, our eLearning program, acceptable use agreement, camp and any other questions you may have on the night. This will be a great opportunity to meet other parents and have those nagging questions answered, as well as meeting some of your son/daughter’s teachers. The night will start at 7:00pm on Tuesday 11 February 2014 and is expected to go for about an hour. The location of the meeting is still to be determined and details will be out shortly. I encourage all parents to be there on the night, as we will be giving out some important information.

 

 

 

 

Debate Teams

 

Students from years 8 to 12 can now sign up for interschool debating by emailing Alice Romanis on a.romanis@fhc.vic.edu.au before Thursday 6 February 2014. 

 Debating is an invaluable skill:

• it promotes confidence and effective public presentation
• it encourages logical and critical thinking, social awareness and an interest in current affairs
• It is multi-disciplinary: debating techniques can be used in all subject areas.
• its benefits extend through all aspects of the school curriculum
•  it is well directed to the "Communication" and "Thinking" domains of VELS. More specifically, it addresses the "Speaking and Listening", "Listening, Viewing and Responding", "Presenting", "Reasoning, Process and Inquiry" dimensions of VELS and VCE English

 You can find out more about the inter-school debating competitions at this web site:  http://www.dav.com.au/index.php

 

 

College Library News

 

Open every day from 8.30 the College Library is looking forward to meeting, supporting and working with the 2014 College Community.

Promotions, events and activities will be posted on Compass and the library notice board. Suggestions and feedback on services and / or resources is always welcome.

The current loan period for: fiction and non-fiction items is 2 weeks – including new books, and for magazines 1 week. The Age and Sun Herald newspapers are available daily for reading in the library.