FACILITIES
The school has over 4 hectares of land. The spacious grounds are a legacy of the large student numbers in its founding days. There is a football oval, cricket and soccer fields, netball and basketball courts, a hall, a large resource centre, music and drama rooms, a computer room and a class set of laptops. Classrooms have recently been refurbished and all have access to ‘breakout areas’ that are used for learning activities including painting, construction, quiet reading and small group work. There is also a native species forest (Forbes Forest) and a vegetable garden. The school is located close to shops and within close proximity to public transport - bus, train and tram. Some facilities are available for hire and community use. We also make use of local facilities and services including Edwardstown Oval, the local gym centre, public transport and shops.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
STEM Learning design refers collectively to the science, technology and mathematical learning areas, engineering as a process to design, construct and maintain systems, and a cross-disciplinary approach to learning that increases student disposition in STEM related fields and their development of skills in collaborative problem solving, creative thinking and critical analysis.
A STEM Learning approach provides opportunities to investigate science, technology, engineering and mathematical concepts and thinking in a range of contexts and combinations, and the skills, dispositions and processes needed to refine, produce and share ideas.
STEM Learning challenges traditional delivery and assessment methods, exploring new ways of sharing content and identifying evidence of learning.
Nature Play Area
In 2021, the Forbes finished the development of a Nature Play Area.
One of the best lessons children can be taught in their early years is to play outdoors. Children innately reap great benefits as they grow connection and appreciation of the natural environment. In the structured, busy and technologically-advanced world we live in, the role of outdoor play that we experienced as children is being forgotten.
Nature play significantly improves all aspects of child development – physical, cognitive, social and emotional.
Playing outdoors grows resilience, self-confidence, initiative, creativity and more. It encourages the joy of movement; it nurtures wild imaginations, experimentation, friendships, social connections and behaviour.
Interoception Room
At Forbes Primary School our focus is on ‘wellbeing for learning’. We all know that our brains cannot engage in high quality learning if our emotions are dysregulated. Learning to self- regulate is a critical life skill and a key to healthy development in all areas. There are many reasons why children may need additional support and strategies to develop this skill.
This year at Forbes we created a ‘regulation room’. The students have named it the “Calm Down Cave”. This is a very special room where students can go to help regulate their emotions and reset. It aims to get them back on track and ready to learn in class. The room has adults who can co-regulate with them as well as many sensory resources and mindful activities.
This room has been extremely successful and is really helping our students manage their feelings of anxiety, frustration, sadness, anger and sadness.
The other way we are supporting students to self -regulate is by developing their interoceptive awareness. We are doing this in the regulation room and also across classrooms.