Forestview is absolutely thrilled to unveil our stunning new Bush Tucker Garden – a truly special addition to our outdoor learning environment. Recently, we had the privilege of working with Indigenous Elder Dean Lillyman from Bush Tucker and Earth’s Magic, whose deep cultural knowledge and gentle guidance helped us create a vibrant space featuring 17 species of native bush tucker plants.
This garden is so much more than a beautiful space. It is a living classroom where children will have daily opportunities to explore, discover and connect with plants that have been used for tens of thousands of years by First Nations peoples. As we learn about the traditional and contemporary uses, stories and significance of these plants, we strengthen children’s understanding of the land, sustainability, and the rich cultural knowledge that continues to guide us today.
Embedding Indigenous perspectives into our everyday program is a key part of our commitment to respectful, inclusive and meaningful early childhood education. This garden supports that commitment in the most authentic way—offering hands-on, sensory experiences that nurture curiosity, appreciation and cultural awareness.
We are excited to continue this journey with Dean in 2026 as he works alongside our educators and children, helping us deepen our shared understanding and honour the knowledge of the world’s oldest living cultures. This garden will grow, just as our learning and connections will grow, for many years to come.
For 54 years, the Forestview educational team has shared the weekly washing duties with great care and commitment. Today, that chapter comes to a wonderful end thanks to an incredibly generous donation from Betta Electrical Bundaberg — a brand-new washer/dryer unit for our service. We are absolutely thrilled and deeply grateful. Having this equipment on site will make an enormous difference, helping us maintain the safe, high-quality and hygienic environment our children and families deserve. What an amazing gift to our community.
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone for your incredible generosity and involvement across our 9 fundraising events this year!
🎉 Whether you sold (or enjoyed!) chocolates, bought raffle tickets, devoured pizzas, sizzled sausages (we really did have a food-filled year 😋), filled bus seats, sponsored songs, donated prizes or cash, joined an event, or supported our fundraising posts with a like, comment, or share… We appreciate every single contribution!
🫵💙 It’s been an enormous year, and none of our achievements would have been possible without your ongoing kindness and support.
We truly hope you enjoyed being part of the events throughout the year! 🥳 Bringing our community together has been one of the most rewarding parts of our fundraising journey.
As we wrap up our 2025 fundraising calendar, let’s celebrate how much we’ve accomplished and look forward to another year of exciting opportunities to support Forestview. We are always grateful when past families continue to join in and support Kindy events!
Once you join the Forestview family, you’ll always be part of the Forestview family. 🫶
Building Cultural Connections: Deepening Our Knowledge of Torres Strait Islander Perspectives
As part of our 2025–2026 RAP (Reconciliation Action Plan) goals, our team identified a key focus area — building our knowledge and understanding of Torres Strait Islander (TSI) culture. We recognised this as a gap within our current practice and felt that strengthening this knowledge would enhance our confidence to embed more teachable moments and explicit learning opportunities that reflect both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.
An audit of our service resources, guided by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Resource Assessment Tool, reaffirmed our need to locate and invest in more authentic Torres Strait Islander resources. We saw this as an opportunity to deepen our own professional learning while enriching the experiences offered to children within our program.
Through Kindy Uplift 2025 funding, our team engaged in Connecting the Dots through Culture — a professional learning series perfectly aligned with our RAP and QIP goals. Across 13 tailored sessions, educators explored practical strategies for embedding Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse perspectives into our daily program and environment.
This dynamic series invited us to “be brave enough to step outside the box” and have a go. The sessions explored topics such as:
Baskets of Culture
Visiting the Islands
Meaningful Acknowledgements
Principles – A Closer Look
Flags of Harmony
Culture through Music
Connecting Baby
Mother Earth Gifts
Weaving Cultural Stories
Structures and Shelters
Cultural Motifs
Make and Leave
When Words Inspire
Each session was supported by a comprehensive resource guide and reflective journal, which encouraged educators to consider:
Where we are in our current understanding
What we are most curious about
How we can further explore these curiosities
How new knowledge can be meaningfully applied to our everyday teaching
These professional conversations guided our decisions when selecting new resources — ensuring they were authentic, respectful, and meaningful. We are now proud to have a growing collection of woven mats, storybooks, puzzles, and musical instruments that beautifully capture the essence of Torres Strait Islander culture.
One of the most powerful reflections from our sessions was the reminder that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are learning in two worlds. As educators, we must be mindful of this as we plan and engage in everyday experiences, ensuring that our practices respectfully reflect and honour both worlds.
Another valuable discussion explored how revisiting historical events through a different lens can help us recognise the resilience, adaptability, and strength of Torres Strait Islander peoples — and the ways these experiences have created opportunities to support their communities today.
The Baskets of Culture concept particularly resonated with us. We were inspired by how baskets, in many cultures, are both functional and symbolic — representing connection, heritage, and storytelling. Exploring baskets from around the world helped us see how these artefacts can hold and share culture, evoke memories, and connect people to their ancestors. This concept can be extended to explore many other cultural artefacts — such as drums, musical instruments, or traditional clothing — each serving as a window into cultural identity and belonging.
Through this journey, our team has not only expanded our understanding of Torres Strait Islander culture but also strengthened our shared commitment to embedding meaningful, authentic First Nations perspectives throughout our program — ensuring that culture, connection, and respect are woven into the fabric of every child’s learning experience.
Join us for a fabulous day out with our Sunshine Coast Shopping Bus Trip FUNdraiser! 🛍☀️
✨️ EVENT DETAILS ✨️ 🗓️ Date: Saturday, 8th November 💰 Cost: $80 per person 💵 Deposit: $50 (non-refundable, required to secure your spot) ⏰ Time: Departing around 5:30am, returning by 7:30pm 📍 Destinations: Eumundi Markets & Sunshine Plaza 🚍 Seats Available: 56 only – get in quick!
🎉 ONBOARD FUN 🎉 We’ll be running a “100s Number Board” raffle with amazing prizes (you can purchase your number on the bus)! 🎟🎁 PLUS – every passenger is automatically entered into our Lucky Seat Prize Draw!
🔐 HOW TO BOOK 🔐 Contact Alisa Johnson at 0488 481 787 for bank details to pay your $50 deposit.
Seats are limited and filling fast – book now for a day full of shopping, laughs, and great company with your Forestview friends! We can’t wait to share this adventure with you! 🚌✨💕
🌟 A HUGE THANK YOU FOR OUR LATEST KINDY UPGRADE! 🌟 Check it out—our kindy just got a fabulous facelift! Over the weekend, two brand-new roofs were installed on our outdoor storage sheds, complete with new and additional bakelite panels, flooding these spaces with natural light. Not only does it look amazing, but it’s also a big win for safety and resource protection—no more leaks during rainy days and much better visibility for both educators and children when accessing materials! 💛 A heartfelt thank you to our 2025 Parent Committee for approving the funds for this important upgrade, and to our 2024/2025 Parent Committee and wider parent community for your ongoing fundraising efforts—alongside the support of our incredible Corporate Sponsors. Your generosity means the world to us and helps ensure Forestview remains a safe, inspiring, and high-quality learning environment for every child. We are so grateful. 🙏✨
This week for National Reconciliation Week (NRW), our kindergarten children have been exploring the rich culture of Australia’s First Nation peoples through various activities. These experiences help our young learners begin to understand and appreciate the deep history, connection to Country and vibrant traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. By engaging with First Nations music and movement, children develop respect, empathy and a sense of belonging – foundations for a more inclusive and united future. Reconciliation begins with knowledge and it is never too early to start.
Thank you so much to Learmonths Foodworks for their weekly milk donations. Learmonths have been donating to Forestview for about 12 years and have donated approximately $1200 worth of milk to our Kindy over this time. We are so ever grateful for your generosity.
After many years in the works, our bathroom renovation is finally finished!! Biggest of thanks to the Qld Gambling Community Benefit Fund grant and 2024 Parent Committee/Body who kindly funded this project. We are very happy with the results.
