Vision
“Building a Future
Together”
The school motto "Building a Future Together" clearly articulates our aspirations. The school has agreed that to foster a purposeful learning culture, the mission for student learning at Forest Street Primary School will essentially be four-fold:
·
Children
will LEARN TO LEARN:
To develop the motivation and
skills to share responsibility for their own learning.
·
Children
will LEARN TO GIVE:
To develop students who care for
each other, build healthy relationships and participate actively in school
life
·
Children
will LEARN TO MAKE DECISIONS:
To build strong
foundations for their behaviour and a code of ethics by which to
live.
·
Children
will LEARN TO STRIVE FOR SUCCESS:
To develop a spirit
of inquiry and adventure, a desire to explore, innovate and
create.
Values
The core values that underpin
all aspects of school life are:
· Respect
· Cooperation
· Tolerance
· Success
Context
Forest Street Primary School is located in
Wendouree on the northern fringe of Ballarat in close proximity to Ballarat
Secondary College – (Wendouree Campus), Rowan View Kindergarten, major sporting
facilities, industrial and retail services. The school opened in 1966 and has a
current enrolment of 444 students. The school enjoys an active and supportive
school community where parent participation is a feature of all aspects of
school life. The school is an active member of the Wendouree Cluster of schools
working together to achieve the best outcomes for our students.
The school profile is almost entirely from
English-speaking background. The proportion of students in receipt of the
Education Maintenance Allowance was 54% in 2004. Single parent families make up
approximately 27% of our school population. The male to female ratio continues
to have a higher percentage of males 54% above females 46%. The Koorie cohort
represents approximately 10% of the school population. The small percentage of
the transient population provide challenges for the school in terms of behaviour
and academic performance. Student
Welfare is a concern of the entire school community as we strive to improve the
learning outcomes of all students recognising the variety of backgrounds, needs
and pressures our students bring to the school setting.
The physical environment of Forest Street
Primary School has been enhanced by the completion of the master plan to upgrade
the school in 2002. The school now has a new gymnasium and music room, canteen,
four additional classrooms and the Ballarat Deaf Facility.
From the beginning of the 2003 school
year, Forest Street Primary School has been the host school for the Deaf
Facility, established following the relocation of Ewing House School for Deaf
Children. The Facility provides
access to primary and secondary education for deaf and hearing-impaired students
and supports a pre-school program in a kindergarten. The school conducts an
After School Care and holiday Program, which provides a valuable service for our
school community.
The professional and dedicated staff at
Forest Street Primary School recognise that their responsibility is to foster a
purposeful learning culture and to continually improve teaching and learning
programs and strategies to ensure students achieve their full potential and
experience success. The school emphasises literacy, numeracy and thinking skills
as essential ingredients to a successful education. The Early Years Literacy and
Middle Years philosophies underpin our educational beliefs and practices to
provide a learning environment which caters for the needs of all students and
improves their learning outcomes.
An Integrated Curriculum Model is adopted
to cover Key Learning Areas of Science, Health, SOSE (Studies of Society and
Environment) and Technology.
Specialist classes are provided in the Arts, Physical Education,
e-Learning and LOTE (Indonesian) to provide a comprehensive education in all
areas of the curriculum. The school has a well-equipped library, as well as
visual and student performing arts areas and a computer
laboratory.
Profile