Many year 12 students from Forbes High School have received early admission into various Universities.

It was a year like no other. In January Forbes High School (FHS) started hearing rumours of a Novel Coronavirus, next thing we knew, the World Health Organisation was calling it a pandemic. Scott Morrison was on the television talking about restrictions, and Gladys Berejiklian was telling school students to stay home if possible. And so began remote learning

Learning from home was not always easy, staying motivated and focused was a challenge. Despite this, Year 12 stayed on task and got through the year with the support of staff and families. Luckily, they are a small group and were able to return to face-to-face teaching early into term two, right in time to begin preparing for the trial HSC. Despite the disruptions to their learning, FHS Year 12 students were still able to participate and engage with a wide variety of the regularly scheduled events for Year 12 at FHS.

Despite the challenges associated with physical distancing and restrictions associated with Year 12 final assemblies, FHS ended term three by saluting the class of 2020 with an adjusted ceremony. Year 12 students were delighted to have a recorded ceremony to share with their families, who despite not being in attendance, surprised the students with recorded messages from loved ones and extended family.
Led by their student leadership team,

Captains Jack Cole and Amy Gallagher, and Vice Captains, Connor Greenhalgh and Kaitlin Turner, this cohort of students have challenged the status quo in more ways than one this year. They made it through their final year of school amid a global pandemic, completed the HSC, and celebrated their graduation in a way never experienced before. They have all demonstrated that with perseverance, respect and positivity you can accomplish anything, and they have surely accomplished a lot. Congratulations, Forbes High School Class of 2020.

Forbes Shire Councils’ Youth Action Team have announced their launch of their Adulting 101 program for 2021. The program is aimed at supporting local young people to increase their skills and to help them gain employment.

“The Council received the Youth Opportunities grant from the State Government to deliver this amazing program,” said Forbes Shire Council Mayor, Phyllis Miller OAM. “Adulting can be hard and the courses provided in the program can help up-skill our young people and prepare them for future career pursuits.”

“The program includes things from basic computer skills through to barista training and defensive driving,” Phyllis continued. “These programs are a great way for our young people to develop skills to give them the confidence to take the next step into the world after leaving school, and gain employment.”

The free program begins in February 2021 and runs over ten weeks. The course intake is small with only twenty spaces that are available to Forbes youth.

Weekly sessions will be presented to the children with relevant guest speakers providing essential expertise and knowledge.

“This awesome opportunity is much sought after, so I encourage you to get your applications in,” Phyllis said. “Class sizes are kept small to ensure the kids have that essential one-on-one experience with the instructors.”

“Life skills like this set the youth up to be able to be independent and navigate life, as the saying goes; never stop learning, because life never stops teaching.”

Registration is essential for this program. For more information, please contact Sarah Williams, Forbes Shire Council’s Youth Officer on 6850 2300 for more details.

Draw number five took place last week. Supervised by the lovely staff of Cahills Shoes, a winning ticket came out of the big bin, revealing Harry Gault as the winner of a $500 Why Leave Town Card. There are only two more draws before the major draws take place on Thursday, 24 December 2020.

“We are delighted with the Christmas window decorations, thanks to all of the entrants for this years’ competition,” said Forbes Business Chamber President, Marg Duggan. Voting for the Viewers Choice is underway with everyone in the community being urged to vote using the Forbes Business Chamber Facebook page.

“I would like to thank Matt Hunter and Jay-Lee from Hunter Real Estate in Parkes for their support in allowing us to use empty shops for displays. The displays have certainly been the focus of favourable comments from the public,” said Marg.

Next week the Forbes Business Chamber and Forbes Shire Council will partner to add another exciting activity to the Christmas program, Find The Elf In The Shop, which will encourage children, youth and adults to wander through the CBD and seek out an Elf that is hidden. Forbes Council has provided three $100 Why Leave Town cards for the winners. “This treasure hunt is taking place from 14 to 21 December, the community has to identify 20 stores with an Elf in their front window or in a prominent position that is visible during and after hours,” said Marg.

Clues will be printed on the back of the entry form. When the Elf is found, the details of his whereabouts are to be completed on the entry form. Entry forms can be collected from News On Rankin, Undercover Sleepwear, and Allure on Main from 14 December. Completed forms can be handed into Made Of Fridays by 21 December.

Learner driver Jordan Moody will keep our roads safe with the right advice from supervisors and parents.

Forbes, Parkes, and Lachlan Shire Councils will be hosting another online workshop for parents and other supervisors of local learner drivers, full of practical advice and information about completing the 120 hours of supervised driving.

The free Helping Learner Drivers Become Safer Drivers workshop is scheduled for Thursday, 10 December from 6pm.

Forbes, Parkes, and Lachlan Shire Council’s Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said while the usual face to face workshops weren’t possible due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, the online delivery will hopefully make it more easily accessible for participants to attend.

“We held two of these online workshops back in August and had a great response from across the region. Parents and supervisors of learner drivers have a crucial role to play in making our roads safer. That is why we have teamed up with Transport for NSW and the Councils across the Western Region to hold another one of these workshops via Zoom,” Melanie said.

Participants can attend from the safety and comfort of their own home. The estimated run time is around one hour and 15 minutes.

The workshop covers the licencing system, how to use the Learner Driver Log-book, including the use of digital logbooks, licence conditions for learner and P-plate drivers, the benefits of on-road driving sessions, tips on supervising a learner driver, and much more.

“Parents and supervisors who have attended this workshop in the past have found that it boosted their confidence, helped them better plan driving sessions and allowed them to share their experiences with other parents and supervisors,” Melanie said.

Bookings are essential and can be made online via Eventbrite, through the Councils’ Facebook pages or by calling Melanie Suitor on 02 6861 2364.