Forrest Chat

Interview - Alex Smith - Head of Year

Alex talks about being head of year, what it takes, what it means and how you do it.
My favourite quote of this episode is "And that's one of the interesting things about teaching. You seldom, if ever, know you've made the impact.  But every now and then you get these little moments and they're gold. They're absolute gold. I've had  a number of interactions with students who have graduated, and I had in my classes, you know, sort of 10 years down the track. Last year I actually had a wonderful experience where I bumped into a previous student of mine, and he went out of his way to thank me for how I taught him and how I really resonated with him. And so he gave me some great feedback on the sort of teacher that I was. And, um, yeah, that was, that was amazing. And it's, it's lovely to know that you have had a positive impact on, on the lives of people."
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-smith-506234180

Interview - Michelle Scarrott - Astrologer

Michelle talks about being an astrologer, what it takes, what it means and how to do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "And the thing is that people think that's luck. I don't believe in luck. Luck, it means that you're not connected, that it's random and arbitrary and you didn't deserve it, or you haven't worked towards it, or you haven't made changes in your life to set up. Um, I don't believe in that. I believe that we do or we don't do, but there are consequences in both directions. And so this is, like I said, optimizing what you have. It's kind of cashing in on your experience and on yourself and who you are and what you bring to the table. And also giving yourself an opportunity to heal roadblocks, to recognise what they are, to see where they came from, how did you learn that, and um, get out of your own way."

Interview - Sandi Parsons - Writing a novel

Sandi talks about writiing with and about cystic fibrosis (cf), what it takes, what it means and how you do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "Maybe other children who know kids with CF may get a little bit of an insight into our headspace, of what it's like to live with something where you're constantly worried about being judged and not fitting in and not being normal. Because, we all do that,  we all have something where we don't feel that we're normal. Whether we're not good at sports, whether we're not good at math, there is always something. But maybe, it will be that realisation for them that having CF isn't actually getting special treatment when they got time off to do certain things that they might need to go and do. Maybe."

Interview - Blake Glossop - Football Umpiring

Blake talks about being a football umpire, what it takes, what it means and how to do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "But for me as umpire manager within the Perth District, and umpiring all my junior footy there, now as umpire manager, I'm giving back to all the young umpires that are just starting. And hopefully providing a safe space for them to start their umpiring career. And being able to watch them develop their career and start out and then maturing, and starting their progress down the talent pathways is really rewarding. Which is really nice to see there."

Interview - Natalie Cream - Making cakes

Natalie talks about making cakes, what it takes, what it means and how you do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "It's pretty special for me, knowing that I'm actually making cakes for all sorts of different reasons. And for people that don't want to or can't make it for themselves. For all the different reasons that people want cake. 90th birthdays. 100 birthdays, just because. Just to say thanks. To say thank you for the cancer treatment, and I'm finished. All those lovely, lovely reasons. It fills my heart.  Yep.  It's really nice to be a part of somebody's celebration."

Interview - Alison Kidman - Camino Trail

Alison talks about walking the Camino trail, what it takes, what it means and how to do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "Yes, and you do have plenty of time to contemplate. We didn't set out to particularly, do any sort of deep and meaningful introspection, but you just do as a natural consequence of doing this, this walking. And for me, it definitely taught me to live more simply because, you've just got your backpack, and you just put it on at the start of the day and off you go. And it's that rhythm And I certainly thought, why have I got a house full of stuff at home when I'm living quite comfortably with what I'm carrying on my back? So when we did get home, I went through the house and I had a big clean out. and now, I probably need to do it again, but, yes, it certainly teaches you, or renews what you might've already known, confirms what you might've already known that we, we do carry around too much stuff, really."

Interview - Jaime Bowler - Busselton Jetty Swim ambassador

Jaime talks about what it takes to be an ambassador for Busselton Jetty Swim, what it means and how you do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "I think that, engaging with the swimmers and the families, the participants down there, hopefully providing something positive to them and inspiring and motivating. And not everyone has the swim they wanna have. There are gonna be ups and downs and people who are disappointed about how they went, but it's also, you know what, we don't always have the race and swim we wanna do. So it's like, what are you gonna do with it? Do you know? Do you wanna just leave it there? Well, do we want to use it again? Doesn't mean this defines you. We can just choose more goals, and you learn from it.  Say you got pushed under at the start and you couldn't get your bearing and then you fell off, whether. someone slower beat you. That's okay. That's okay. That's why I think some people get quite upset about that. And that's all part of the learning when we do these swimmings and our challenges. You can't just expect to have highs and good things all the time because otherwise it's not challenging. Yeah, it's not challenging if everything went perfect every time we did it. We need something hard and difficult so it makes you want to come back, makes you want to get fitter and stronger, makes you want to practice in the ocean more for next time. Because you learned the way you did it that way didn't work this year, so I'm going to try something different next year."
Link: busseltonjettyswim.org.au
In 2025 Busselton Jetty Swim is on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th February, that's 10 days after this episode is released. Check https://busseltonjettyswim.org.au for how you can get involved this year or next.

Interview - Shane Sewell - Leading Collie Trail Runners

Shane talks about what it takes to lead Collie Trail Runners, what it means and how to do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "It's also a matter of not distracting the group as well because a lot of them are new to trail running as well. So they are probably watching the runners feet in front of them. So calling out if there's any obstacles, any tree roots or toe grabbers as I call them, because any rocks and tree roots they certainly grab the toes and bring you down. Keeping them aware of any obstacles or anything else they may not be aware of. But in saying that, if there's kangaroos or things out on the track that are worth mentioning, either to have a mini break or whatever, just to point out these wonderful things out on the track."

Interview - Taarna Cam - Swim coaching

Taarna talks about what it takes to be a competitive swimming coach, what it means and how you do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "It's been a long journey, but like over the last five years, I can see how far the club's come. And my swimmers are, they're teenagers now, like when I first become head coach they were like nine. And now they're teenagers and, becoming really good swimmers, really good competitive swimmers. And yeah, to see them growing and how well they're doing, not only at swimming, but, in school and outside and other sports and that. I just know that I'm helping to make and create, successful people."

Interview - Cara Sackett - Home schooling

Cara talks about what it takes to homeschool their son, the benefits they see and how to do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "I've built community through homeschooling. I guess the great thing about meeting other homeschoolers is also learning different ways of teaching. If a child might be having difficulty with something, making suggestions of what maybe you've tried. The curriculum that I'm actually using at the moment was because another homeschooling mum recommended it to me. And then I recommended it to another homeschooling mum who said, this is great because I've been really struggling with my child and she's now really enjoying this curriculum. So in that sense, it's really great. I really appreciate the community that we've found because we don't just talk about homeschooling. We also share many similar values in regards to family and health and lifestyle. So just having those types of conversations with people who share the same values is also really beneficial. We've just met a whole new group of friends, which has been fantastic."