Our character is what we are like when nobody else is around. It isn’t our best behaviour, or doing what someone else is expecting us to do, but it is what we are really like when we are not under the influence of any other person.

The school’s character education programme is really a values programme. Values may seem to  be old fashion but we believe that  they are never out of date!

Forrest Hill School’s values are demonstrated in the form of a wheel.

The centre of the wheel is DUTY. Duty is doing what you really know you should do. Duty is picking up a small child that you have knocked over as you were running around a corner, and ensuring they are not hurt before you continue your running game. Leading to the outer rim of the character wheel are a set of values. When your value spokes are straight and strong then you are having a lovely smooth ride and life very good. If however, you have a broken spoke because you have done something that you know you should not have done, then your character wheel rim will be  uneven and  you will be having a bit of a bumpy ride and life will not be so good!

It is all about making sensible choices and doing what you know you should do. Our students know the consequences of not doing their duty and so it all comes down to making the right choice at the right time!

Character education underpins the teaching and learning at this school. It is very visual through our programmes, and students are actively involved in thinking and talking about choices they make at school and beyond. We hold parent information evenings about this side of our education for students and many parents have told us that they now also use character education as a key part of their parenting at home

For more information about this programme you are welcome to contact the school: email admin@forresthill.school.nz