When you visit Forest Hill College, the first thing you’ll notice is our fantastic range of facilities. We're surrounded by large sports grounds and conveniently located in Mahoneys Road, Burwood East, ensuring the College is well serviced by public transport.
At Forest Hill College, we believe that education enriches and allows individual growth. As a learning community, we want to provide every student with the challenges and opportunities they need to achieve their full potential. Forest Hill College uses effective structures which nurture our students in a caring and supportive environment, using a curriculum that has been constructed to be intellectually challenging and diverse in order to respond to every student's needs. We aim to extend each individual and to encourage learning excellence. With high expectations of our students' aptitude, we encourage them all to go forward in life as responsible, resourceful young adults.
Forest Hill College creates a high level of student involvement by providing a wide variety of experiences. We are committed to promoting leadership skills in a learning environment based on co-operation, self-discipline and concern for others. Students are encouraged to take on leadership roles which include Home Group Leader IMPACT (SRC) Representatives, Sports Captains and College Captains.
Our Tribe (House) system encourages the development of leadership skills, teamwork and active participation in sport and the arts. Extracurricular activities include instrumental music, associated bands, Screamfest, the Basketball Marathon and the RACV Challenge, as well as camps and excursions.
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.
