I’M A PARENT
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
As a parent/carer of a new Year 7 student, we understand there can be many questions that arise about starting secondary school. This mini site has been developed to help answer some of the common queries . If you don’t find your answer here, please feel free to contact us or come on a tour to find out more.
We will start at the beginning of your transition journey and take you right through until the first day of school 2022.
ENROLMENT AND SELECTION
CAN I TAKE A SCHOOL TOUR?
Yes, we encourage all prospective students and parent/guardians to take a school tour with Principal David Rogers. Tours are held each Tuesday & Thursday at 9.15am. Click here to register for a tour.
HOW DO I SELECT MY SECONDARY SCHOOL OF CHOICE FOR 2022?
Each year primary schools distribute hard copies of the Parent/Carer Transition Information Pack, issued by the Department of Education and Training. Please check in with your primary school for advice. You may also visit the DET website
You will be requested to provide your completed placement form back to your primary school by Friday 14th May.
Your primary school will notify you of your placement offer by Wednesday 4th August 2021.
From the Thursday 5th August FHC will contact successful families for 2022 and will begin distribution of enrolment information.
During Term 4 our Transition Team visit our feeder primary schools to meet incoming students. This is a relaxed way of getting to know our new students in the comfortable setting of their primary school.
Toward the end of November, we will hold an information evening for parents/carers and students, called *Connections Evening. It’s an opportunity to meet some of our key leading staff.
Orientation Day is held in early December for all Government Schools and is a fantastic day for students to meet their 2022 cohort. It’s a fun day with lots of activities and experiences in key areas around the school.
ARE YOU A ZONED SCHOOL?
Whilst we adhere to all DET guidelines concerning enrolment, our students come to Forest Hill College from a large geographical area.
We also have a large number of children coming to FHC from independent primary schools and many students who travel from further afield to participate in our Academy Program.
HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED AT FHC?
Forest Hill College has a steadily rising enrolment. We currently have approximately 640 students enrolled at the College.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
HOW WILL YOU LEARN ABOUT MY STUDENT BEFORE THEY BEGIN AT FHC?
During Term 4, the Transition Team attend all feeder primary schools to deliver a short presentation and meet incoming students. We get to know our new Year 7’s (and them us), and answer the many questions students tend to have. It is a great way for students to identify key leaders that will support them in their first year at FHC.
WHAT SUBJECTS DO YOU OFFER IN YEAR 7?
Year 7 has English, Maths, Science and Health & PE all year… as well as term length taster subjects like Art, Music, Coding, Robotics, Positive Education, Drama, Food and Auslan, Chinese, Italian, Japanese. A different subject we have at Year 7 is called The William Barak Project. It is a multidisciplinary subject designed to not only teach the traditional content of Humanities and 21st Century Skills that give students a chance to build their independent and creative learning skills.
DO YOU OFFER AN ACCELERATED LEARNING PROGRAM?
We offer a program called AcE – Academic Enrichment Program. Students placed into the AcE program benefit from extension tasks in all core subjects as well as greater accessibility to critical and creative thinking tasks.
HOW DOES MY STUDENT APPLY FOR THE AcE PROGRAM?
Suitable candidates for the AcE Program are selected by the College based on analysis of student learning data collected through, feedback from primary schools and other assessments including PAT and NAPLAN. Behaviours towards learning are also considered.
DOES MY CHILD NEED A DEVICE FOR YEAR 7?
FHC has a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Program. Students can bring a device of their choosing to use for educational purposes.
Information regarding device specifications is distributed to parents/carers as part of the enrolment process.
WHAT IS THE ACADEMY PROGRAM?
Forest Hill College offers students access to high performance training modules in the areas of basketball, tennis, netball, AFL and soccer whilst participating in a rigorous and comprehensive academic program.
Further to the Sport Academies we offer a wonderful Performing Arts Academy that provides significant opportunities across a broad range of the skills required for success in the visual and performing arts.
The Program does attract an additional fee. Please click here for more information.
HOW DO WE EXPRESS INTEREST IN THE ACADEMY PROGRAM?
All successful enrolments for the following year will be issued an expression of interest link to complete at the time of finalising their enrolment paperwork.
DO YOU OFFER ANY CLUBS/EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES?
Yes. We have several clubs and extracurricular activities including our student led Parliament, Music Program, Leo Club and our Robotics Club. We also support our students in the provision of our Breakfast Club and our after school Homework Club.
TECHNOLOGY, FEES AND UNIFORM
OUR PRIMARY SCHOOL USES A PARENT PORTAL – WHICH PORTAL DOES FHC USE?
We use Compass at FHC.
Compass will enable you:
See your child’s timetable
Manage attendance e.g. enter/explain an absence
Make school payments, pay for excursions, set up payment plans
Communicate with teachers
View and download school reports
Book parent/teacher interviews
Purchase student school photos
If you are already using the Compass Parent Portal at your primary school, you will be provided a new user name and password upon your child enrolling at FHC.
CAN MY CHILD TAKE A MOBILE PHONE TO SCHOOL?
In 2020 Minister Merlino, the Victorian Minister for Education banned the use of mobile devices within school grounds between the hours of 9am and 3.30pm. If your child wants to bring a mobile device to school it must be locked in their locker for the entirety of the day.
DO YOU HAVE A UNIFORM?
Forest Hill College School Council is very proud of the Uniform Policy. Please click here to visit our Uniform List. Forest Hill College has a dedicated Uniform Shop on site.
WHAT ARE THE FEES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL?
The Forest Hill College School Council requests payments or contributions for education items and services from parents and guardians of students enrolled at the College. These education items and services fall into either of the following categories:
Essential Student Learning Items are those items, activities or services that are essential to support student learning of the standard curriculum. These are items that the College considers essential for all students and which students take possession of. Parents may choose to provide the items themselves or buy the items from the College where practical and appropriate.
Optional Items are those items, activities or services that are offered in addition to or support instruction in the standard curriculum program. These are provided on a user-pays basis so that if parents choose to access them for students, they are required to pay for them.
Voluntary Financial Contributions parents can be invited to make a donation to the College for a general or specific purpose, e.g. College grounds projects, library fund or for new equipment. Only some Voluntary Financial Contributions are tax-deductible.
Please refer to the Department of Education and Training Victoria for more detailed information.
