Staying Connected
Alena Swinbourne, Stakeholder And School Relations Coordinator
Our exciting new branding and key messages for the school have now been shared with you all. Thank you again to those families that provided permission for their children to be involved, they have really made our campaign come to life!
At the start of this term, all students were provided with a new FMS branded tote bag (perfect timing for you to now take to the shops!) and a couple of car bumper stickers. Thank you to those families using these materials, helping to spread the word about FMS.
You may have also noticed we have some new promotional material at reception - A5 information cards and pull up banners on each program available. These will be used to promote our school and programs to prospective families when they arrive for their observation tours.
In addition, we have also placed some large vinyl outdoor banners on Brown Street and Warringah Road, with the intention to connect with drivers and local residents as they make their way past our school each day.
Lastly, you may have noticed that we have ramped up activity on social media – both Instagram and Facebook, encouraging people to visit our new website to find our more and book in an observation tour. We would appreciate it if you could all connect with FMS on social media – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. In addition to seeing what is happening in your child’s classroom each day via our informative and visual posts, your support helps us to reach new prospective families.
We are so excited to see how the new campaign performs, all of these activities are aimed at spreading the word far and wide, sharing
the secret that is Forestville Montessori School.
National Tree Day
On Friday 27thJuly we celebrated National Tree Day. Steve Willis, our resident horticulturist and gardening coach, worked
with our 5 year old children in our Pre-Primary 3-6 Program, explaining the benefits of trees and working with them to plant two
new avocado trees. A big thank you to Steve and his little helpers, we look forward to sharing some delicious avocados with you
all!
FMS Art Auction Night
On August 18th we had our Annual Art Auction Night, the theme was 80s fun. A lot of effort went into the costumes on the
night (well done everyone!) and the room looked fantastic, thank you to the Community Team for all their work organising the night.
All the original artworks made by the children were auctioned on the night, it is fantastic to see such creativity, we hope those
whose bids were successful are enjoying the beautiful pieces in their homes. A total of $12,193.78 was raised on the night, thank
you again to all those that attended.
Father's Day Get Together
On Wednesday 29thAugust the children at FMS hosted a Father’s Day Get Together. It was lovely seeing so many father’s, grandads,
uncles and special carers attend on the day – despite being a very cold morning! To keep everyone warm, we had freshly made croissants
made by Little Evie – the café owned by Sabrina Domenis, as well as hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Following a special treat,
everyone headed upstairs to the Media Room where Denice formally welcomed all who attended, then Jade Mantica, Ria Aung-Thein,
Gabrielle Kletzmayr and Nishabel Rehn from our Upper Primary 9-12 Program provided a short presentation on their experiences at
FMS. A few emotional moments were shared when a short video was played showing what the children loved the most about their dads
– thank you the all the children that participated. Everyone was then invited to spend some precious time in their child’s classroom,
seeing what they are working on, and left the celebration with an extra special hand-made treat from their children.
- Mairi’s Birth–3 children made tasty Anzac biscuits (actually made by the children!) with hand made cards.
- Christine’s 3-6 class decorated puzzles - hearts and maps of Australia were provided.
- Natasha’s 3-6 class created personalised canvas artworks for each dad with a photo of their child.
- Pippa’s 3-6 class provided hand-made, decorated coasters with special cards.
- Anthony & Xarifa’s 6-9 class baked delicious choc-chip cookies.
- Datevig’s 9-12 class cooked up some spinach, kale and ricotta triangles, using fresh ingredients from our garden at school.
Following the event there was some lovely feedback, we are so pleased that everyone that attended had a great time – here is some of
that feedback:
“The Father's Day Get Together was a successful event. Congratulations to the staff involved and the children that participated! Dimitri enjoyed catching with other fathers at the school, as they don't always get the opportunity to chat at school pick up / drop off. I had lots of parents contact me & pass on positive feedback from the event! (The croissants & coffee were a hit!)The favourite part of the event was the time spent in the class room with the children. We look forward to many more get togethers at FMS.” Sabrina Domenis
Thank you to all those that attended.
Dr Maria Montessori's Birthday
On Friday 31stAugust we celebrated Dr Maria Montessori’s birthday, she really was a woman ahead of her times. We were very proud to join together with Montessori schools around the world to reflect on the amazing woman that she was. We are so grateful for her educational philosophy that we explore every day at Forestville Montessori School. To acknowledge this special day, Anthony provided students with a brief presentation on Dr Maria Montessori and all students were given a bookmark to take home.
Thank you to all of those that have come in to share ideas with me on how we can promote our school, I really appreciate your time. If you have any questions or ideas to share, please feel free to pop in and visit me anytime.