Dear Parents,

Term three reflection

As I reflect on this past term, it fills me with pride and gratitude for the achievements and growth we have experienced together as a school community. It has been a term of strong progress, engagement, and collaboration that maintains aspirational goals for our students.

We were thrilled to celebrate the outstanding results our students achieved in the NAPLAN assessments. Their dedication to their studies, combined with the unwavering support and guidance of our teachers, has resulted in a level of strong achievement yet again. Our students' accomplishments have not only made us proud but have also set a strong foundation for their future success.

Our dedicated staff members have demonstrated an inspiring commitment to improving their practice. They invested time and effort in professional learning, specifically focused on enhancing their teaching of writing pedagogy and focused attention on improving Numeracy outcomes. This commitment to professional growth directly benefited our students, as evidenced by their exceptional progress in writing, which culminated in the Writers’ Festival.

The involvement of our parents in our programs has been nothing short of incredible. We've seen a significant number of parents supporting initiatives such as reading programs and volunteering their time to beautify our school grounds. Your active participation and enthusiasm have made a meaningful impact on our school's environment, our students succes and the sense of community we cherish.

In addition to these achievements, we made it a priority to incorporate student voice into our programs to promote engagement and empowerment. We firmly believe that giving our students a say in their education helps them feel valued and invested in their learning journey. This approach has led to more enthusiastic and motivated learners within our school. In our recent attitudes to school survey, we have progressed all the key measures in our strategic plan in the last year.

As we look back on this term, we extend our sincere gratitude to all members of our school community—students, parents, teachers, and support staff—for their unwavering dedication, collaboration, and enthusiasm. Together, we have had yet another great term, and we are excited to continue this journey of growth and success in term four.

School Wellbeing/Assistance Dog

We have been investigating getting a school wellbeing/assistance dog this term. I conducted a school tour with a dog trainer and her dog Jedda in August. Jedda is a golden Labrador who may be a good match for our school. The trainer was checking the suitability of the setting for her dog and everything is looking positive at the moment. If the plan goes well, we will have a handler on staff who will work with the dog around the students.

Recognised benefits from working or visiting with a wellbeing/assistance dog include:

• reduced stress and anxiety, including decreased learner anxiety behaviours

• improved physical and emotional wellbeing

• improved self-esteem, empathy and interpersonal skills

• improved relationship building and ability to pick up on social cues

• improved attendance (for disengaged students or students at risk of disengaging).

Examples of activities students may engage in with the wellbeing dog include:

• petting and/or hugging the dog

• speaking and reading to the dog

• giving the dog commands that the dog is trained to respond to.

Jedda, unlike most school wellbeing dogs has been trained as a disability assistance dog. This is a higher level of training than a wellbeing dog, and therefore may been of assistance for specific inclusions roles like attending camps, excursion, and school events to support specific children.

I invite you to come make a time to speak with me or email me if you have any health or safety concerns about the prospective wellbeing/assistance dog. I am committed to consulting with students and parent(s)/carer(s) in relation to any such health or safety concerns so that appropriate arrangements can be made on a case-by-case basis.

Please be reminded that school finishes at 2:30pm this Friday as it is the last day of term, term 4 starts on Monday the 2nd of October.

Kind regards and Sampai jumpa (until next time),

Matt

Forest School