Principal's Welcome
Forest Hill College is a supportive and productive learning environment where students needs, backgrounds and interests are catered for in the teaching and learning program. There are four main focus areas through which this occurs: strong leadership; curriculum planning; catering for differentiated needs through the curriculum; and rigorous accountability for improvement.
In continuing to develop its curriculum, Forest Hill College will audit and use the Victorian Essential Learning Standards, Victorian Certificate of Education, Vocational Education and Training and the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning to provide challenging, engaging and relevant curriculum programs that are supported by the timetable.
The organisation of the school is based on working and learning together, an initiave delivered by teams of teachers responsible for levels within the College. The focus is on designing organisational arrangements to challenge and engage students at all levels.
Technology makes a significant impact on the way students learn and is a key component of curriculum planning. Students will have on-line access and feedback to students and parents will be given on a regular basis. Teachers are constantly striving to increase their skills in the use of learning technologies in order to guide students through the maze of technologies available to them.
Learning and teaching programs may be based in classrooms but are not confined to them. Multi-purpose areas and spaces, including outdoor areas, are in constant use for large and small group activities.
Learning and teaching programs at the College cater for differentiated learning needs. Longer class times allow for more sustained and intensive teaching seesions, as well proving the time to allow for investigation and examination of ideas.
Learning experiences are challenging, engaging and involve practical “hands-on” activities wherever possible, providing sequential and integrated study through all program areas. Both extension and intervention opportunities are provided to all students based on need. Support is provided to students through pastoral opportunities and organisation of extra activities and leadership opportunities.
Teachers acknowledge students' progress and scaffold learning based on developmental need with a belief that all students have the right (and ability) to learn and progress.
Teachers draw upon the expertise of others as they work in teams to plan and deliver teaching and learning programs for cohorts of students. They constantly reflect, review and analyse results, content, resources and teaching techniques. Working with the community is encouraged, as it allows us to broaden our viewpoint and to provide relevance to teaching and learning activities. All teachers enage in active involvement in personal and school-wide professional learning with an aim to continuously improve the skills of their teams and themselves.
The school provides parents with written reports and is always searching for ways to involving parents proactively in students' learning and progress.
Students at the College are encouraged to develop individual learning goals with progress towards these being reviewed and reflected upon to inform future learning and continuous improvement. Teachers include a variety of assessment strategies in their programs to provide multiple sources of data about student achievement.
