Fahan School eNewsletter

Principal's Report

At Fahan, we are very pleased to provide the drop off and pick up arrangements at Nateby House each morning and afternoon. Our staff and Year 12 students enjoy greeting and farewelling your daughters at the beginning and end of each school day – it is always happy time in the day. We thank all parents who use this service for their cooperation each day, and overwhelmingly the systems we have in place work extremely well.

However, we are routinely witnessing poor driver behaviour that could place our staff and students at risk.

I ask all users of this service to adhere to the reminders below that will help to ensure that the processes we have in place continue to keep our students and staff safe:

The strict speed limit on the campus of Fahan School is 10km/h. Please limit your speed to this at all times when driving on the campus. To assist drivers, we will have a radar board (smiley/sad face) on the campus next week.

Please leave a safe distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front when driving, and again when pulling up to stop to let your daughter/s out of the car.

Where possible, please have your daughter/s (and their bags) seated on the left-hand side of the car to allow easy access for our team of supervisors.

Please wait until the supervisor or student is well away from your vehicle with your daughter before driving off.

Thank you for taking note of these reminders above – the safety and wellbeing of all on the campus at Fahan is of paramount importance and your assistance is appreciated. Should these reminders not change the poor driver behaviour we are seeing, changes will have to be considered about how this service is provided.

On another note, there are many things to celebrate at Fahan in the last fortnight and my sincere congratulations go to all girls who participated in the Tournament of Minds last weekend. The girls worked so hard under the guidance of Meg McTaggart with one of our teams placing second and receiving honours in their division. Congratualtions also go to all the girls who competed in the Southern SATIS Athletics Carnival on Tuesday this week. Fahan placed second in the Aggregate Shield, third in the Junior Shield and 4^th in the Senior Shield. Our U13 girls were third in their age group pennant and the U14s placed second. We took a committed and passionate group of young athletes to this carnival, and they were beautifully supported by Jo Banks-Smith, Mel East, Sophie Walch, Gemma Wright and Gabby Steele. Well done to all!

With every best wish,
Penny Curran-Peters

Learning about Tournament of Minds

On Saturday 4 September, two Fahan teams participated in the Tournament of Minds competition.

Team 1 (Social Sciences) consisted of Year 6 students, Verity, Sophie and Molly, Year 5 students, Rose and Kiera and Year 4 students, Deeksha and Caroline.

Team 2 (Language Literature) consisted of Year 5 students, Evie, Alex and Essie and Year 4 students, Sahaja, Harper, Sacha and Charlotte.

Both teams spent the last six weeks working tirelessly on both their long term and spontaneous challenges. During these sessions, the teams worked to come up with a solution to the challenge presented to them, write a script, make props and costumes and finally perform their script.

The teams started the day with Spontaneous Challenge. This challenge requires rapid interchange of ideas, the ability to think creatively and well developed group cooperation skills. They were asked "If we could no longer see the colour red, what would be three big changes? Choose one main priority and how would the world overcome that?" They had five minutes to work out an answer to the problem and share it with the judges.

Following the Spontaneous, the girls then went into a room and performed their Long Term Challenge.

Both groups did such an incredible job.

The Social Sciences group overcame a huge last minute change with one member too sick to attend. They showed such resilience, great team work and support of each other and overcame this challenge beautifully - well done girls!

Congratulations also go to the Language Literature group for placing 2^nd, with honours, in their category.

Following are comments from some of the girls:

I really enjoyed it because it was a great experience to work with other people that we haven’t really worked with before across the different grade levels. - Alex

The whole experience was tough because there were things that we had to overcome like all agreeing on different parts of the challenge. Becoming a team and working in the true TOM spirit was a journey but, in the end, it was all worth the hard work. - Essie

I liked doing TOM because we didn’t need to rely on adults to help us but we relied on each other to get the challenge completed. It meant we got to know each other really well. - Verity

My favourite part about TOM was making the sets and props because I love to be creative and paint the settings. - Sophie

Ms Meg McTaggart

Learning about Poster Art

Year 6 students have been exploring Poster Art during their studio time in Hedgelands.

Students looked at the importance, as global citizens, to have a voice and feel free to stand tall on issues which are close to their hearts.

Students explored political and environmental campaign posters during the first stage of the project. The journey into poster illustration covered the last 100 years and ranged from Chinese communist posters to modern day political campaign posters. The historical context was important for our young minds in order for students to dig deep and discover what is meaningful to each of them. The issues which were covered ranged widely.

The threat of artificial intelligence, racial equality, blood donations, production of palm oil, fish farming and the pollution of our oceans and waterways were just a few areas students were focussing on.

Well done Year 6. The results speak for themselves (that was the general idea actually!).

Mr Nic Goodwolf

Learning about Digital Manufacturing

This is the second year we have run Digital Manufacturing as part of the Year 8 Design and Technology course. The girls developed laser cut light boxes inspired by technology or nature while learning about Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), its advantages and disadvantages.

The girls learned to design in Adobe Illustrator and worked with tools to engrave, cut and score their light boxes using lasers. They then learned about Python as a coding language, and used BBC Microbits, designed LED light sequences for the inside of their final designs. The detail in their light boxes is exceptional and it was wonderful to see them carefully considering the code needed to light these boxes in creative and colourful ways.

Using the offcut spaces in our laser files, the girls also designed jewellery, broaches, and hanging mobiles. It is wonderful to see the tangible products after a semester of hard work on the computer! The girls produced some exceptional designs and should be very proud of their achievements.

Mr Chris Summers

Last week, Year 6 were lucky to showcase their incredibly hard work on the UTAS Science competition with their peers and parents. During the day, students from Years 3-6 came to view their experiment boards and the girls were fantastic in the way they shared their findings and pictures with the younger girls. After School on Tuesday, the girls had their parents join them to view the final products.

It was so wonderful to see the Year 6 girls clearly articulate everything from their hypothesis through to their discussions and findings with others. They spoke confidently and with great enthusiasm.

On 15 September we will be heading to UTAS to share our work with others outside the School.

Ms Meg McTaggart

Year 5 visited the Fahan Archives and had a great time trying on different outfits and learning about all the important people and pets.

We started by looking at all the different high achievers that have passed through Fahan’s hallways. We learnt remarkably interesting facts. Did you know that Fahan used to be at Mount Carmel's grounds and that Miss Travers had a school dog named, Nemo? Up until 2000, the uniform and House colours were green, brown, and yellow. Despite this, seven people said that sports clothes in 1970-1990 were extremely comfortable and around three said they did not like any of them. We saw a lot of distinct items such as The Gong that was used for the bell we have today. We also saw a lot of photos, one of them being Mrs Banks-Smith gonging the gong when she was in Year 1.

During Miss Travers and Miss Morphett's Principalship, they introduced a lot of sports and drama productions that girls were not necessary allowed to do during 1935. This is why we have a lot of drama productions to this very day. During this period, wars were happening throughout various parts of the world so just to ensure safety for all Fahan students they were sent to a huge lake between Launceston and Hobart. They stayed there for a year or so before moving back.

We also watched videos based around when we were in Years 1 and 2. It was fun to see how the Fahan community and our friends had changed so much over time. We really enjoyed going to the Archives and loved learning about Fahan’s history.

By Felicity Morgan,

Sophie Scott and Ruby Smith

On Wednesday 8 September, Year 5 went rock climbing at Guilford Young College. We had lots of fun experiencing back up belaying and rock climbing. There was one hard wall, one medium wall and two easy walls. We had a lot of adults helping us find our way up the wall. We were very grateful for the support of our class teachers, the Fahan Outdoor Education staff and the staff from Guilford Young College. We had such a blast at rock climbing and we hope to do it again one day.

By Florence Blackwood and Lucy Stoneman

Learning about Staying Safe in the Sun

This week we had the pleasure of welcoming Fahan parent and founder of Skin Cancer Tasmania, Di Mason, and cancer survivor Darryn, to share with the Senior School how we can look after ourselves in the sun. The session was very informative and we learnt about how the UV affects our skin and how we can protect ourselves. Di and Darryn also shared very personal stories about how their families have been affected by melanoma. Some of the key take away messages were that we need to start being vigilant when we are young, as much of the damage done through exposure to UV rays in our teens can have an affect on our skin health later in life. When the UV hits three or more on the index we need to be careful to apply sunscreen, cover up and wear a hat. This is timely as the UV index begins to climb from three to around 10 between the months of September and April. And finally, the cheapest and most effective skin cream to prevent ageing is SUNSCREEN!

Jack Machin
Deputy Principal

Learning About Safe Driving

On Wednesday 8 September, Year 10 students attended the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness day (RYDA) at the Hobart Showgrounds.

RYDA is designed for 16-17 year olds as they begin to drive or ride in cars driven by their peers. The workshop, which supports classroom learning as part of a broader program, provides students with the tools, habits and motivation to take action and stay safe on our roads, throughout their lives, as both drivers and passengers.

This is the perfect time in students’ lives to engage in this program as it addresses, in a real and practical way, the many dangers and challenges young people face on our roads. In small groups, students worked with facilitators to develop and practise personalised strategies and life skills which will help them make positive choices, both as drivers and highly influential passengers. The workshop combined personal stories, demonstrations and interactive activities and was an engaging and informative day for all.

Mrs Meg Lawson

Spirit - Q&A with Mrs Liana Hayes, Head of House - Freycinet, Teacher

What made you choose your career?

The amazing teachings of John Williamson and Gill Wyatt! I was more than halfway through my Clinical Psychology degree and decided to put it on hold and undertake the Bachelor of Teaching degree. After my first year, I still was not convinced I wanted to be a teacher. That all changed when I completed my nine-week internship at Fahan School. I was placed under the supervision of John for these nine weeks and was in awe. John and Gill are the teachers that we would have all loved to have had in our schooling careers. After nine weeks, I was convinced that teaching was the path I wanted to take for a brief period and then return to finish my Clinical Psychology degree. 18 years later and I am still teaching!

Of what are you most proud?

My two children. We love travelling as a family and there are a few things more magical than experiencing holidays or adventures through the eyes of children. Being a witness to their wonder, excitement and understanding is one of the best parts of parenting.

What do you enjoy most about working at Fahan?

Of course my wonderful work colleagues, some I have shared this journey with for the past 18 years. The girls; never is any year the same when working with teenagers. I love that we, as staff and students, share a special bond at Fahan like no other. And the amazing grounds; we are lucky to experience our own Botanical Garden every single day. I also love watching the garden change with the seasons.

How would you describe yourself in one sentence?

According to my preference of coffee (do not speak to me until I have had my first coffee), flat white drinkers are no-nonsense; coffee is fuel, not always a treat.

Spirit of Year 10 HPE

As part of the Year 10 HPE program students are given the opportunity to connect to sport and recreational activities within the local community. The purpose of these physical taster sessions is to give the students exposure to a variety of activities outside the school setting.

As students transition into their senior years of schooling, HPE is no longer a part of their weekly schedule. As most would be aware, it’s important to ensure that some type of regular physical activity stays in the mix to support health, wellbeing and academic performance. For some, that might be a continuation of involvement in formal sporting teams, for others it may simply be a regular walk with the family dog. The key is finding something enjoyable and the key to finding something enjoyable is to try different things!

Students have recently enjoyed attending a variety of sessions at local fitness centres, Ninja Warrior, Rock It and taking a mindful walk up the picturesque Pipeline Track. We look forward to offering a couple more taster sessions for students over the coming months.

Mrs Allison Williamson

Spirit - House Meetings

Much laughter was heard echoing throughout the halls of the Senior School on Tuesday 1 September as Freycinet, Franklin and Fenton met in their House groups for a fun lunch hour of board games. This activity provided a friendly and cohesive social environment. That sense of camaraderie and identity is part of what the Heads of House and House Chairs are fostering in Years 7-12.

Mrs Liana Hayes

Last week, the two Year 9/10 Outdoor Adventure Skills classes went on camp to the Arm River in NW Tasmania. All activities were based on either the Arm or Mersey Rivers. They had perfect spring weather and the girls had an opportunity to raft and learn about swift water. The girls also had the opportunity to guide smaller inflatable kayaks in small groups. After rafting, they practised their swift water skills in the Arm Falls. Below are some comments from the girls:

My favourite parts about the Arm River camp were rafting both days, hanging out with friends, the food, the views and the scenery. - Emma Thompson

I loved jumping into the waterfall, rafting, and hanging out with friends. - Annabelle Fry

My favourite thing about camp was the river itself. Just floating down the river was so peaceful and pretty. It felt like I was in a movie. - Coco Butler

Going down the slalom course in the two-person inflatable kayaks was brilliant (and rescuing Téa when she fell out!). - Julia Benyon

My favourite part of the Arm River camp was rafting down the slalom course in the two-person rafts with Sienna although we messed up at the end it was really fun to put the skills we learnt on the bug rafts into use. - Charlotte Jones

I really loved the rafting. We were hitting the rocks and going down the rapids! - Abbey Willcox

Camp at Arm River was amazing, I loved getting knocked off the raft and doing the quiz at the end of the camp to see what cleaning job we got. - Emily Bushby

Welcome Spring

On Tuesday 31 August we welcomed Spring into the Boarding House with a magnificent feast. We invited some special guests to join us and the dining room was buzzing! A huge thank you to the terrific team of Birgitta Browning and Maria Marino for all their hard work in making our night so amazing.

Jane Franklin Hall

I was delighted to accompany Head Boarder, Sarah Toose, to Jane Franklin Hall earlier this week. We received an invitation to one of their ‘formal’ dinners, which are held every fortnight. The Principal at Jane Franklin Hall, Joanna Rosewell, is the aunt of Hannah Cuthbert (Year 12) so we had a nice Fahan connection! One of our boarders from last year, Wan Yi Steilberg-Liu, also joined us and we had a wonderful night. The girls had a tour of the Jane campus after dinner and enjoyed chatting with the residents.

Ms Fiona Short

Term 4 Sport Choices

Term 4 sporting options are listed below. Trainings will be conducted during School lunchtimes and an Edsmart has been sent for sign ups.

Years 3-6 Cricket – This roster will be conducted on Monday afternoons at the Domain, commencing 18 October. All games are played at the Domain Crossroads, commencing at 4:00pm.

Years 3 / 4 Mixed Teeball – This roster will be conducted on Tuesday afternoons with games played at the grounds of the respective schools involved and begins on 19 October, commencing at 4:00pm. Girls will require a mouthguard and shin pads.

Years 5/6 Touch Football – This roster will be conducted on Wednesday afternoons at the grounds of the respective schools involved and begins on 20 October, commencing at 4:00pm.

Junior Athletics

The Junior House Athletics is just around the corner and we have our finger crossed for some nice weather. The girls are continuing to work hard in PE on activities such as sprinting, vortex and long jump in the lead up to the House Carnival on 16 September.

A EdSmart notice has been issued regarding this event. Some key dates are listed below:

Junior House Athletics

Where: Domain Athletics Centre
When: Thursday 16 September
Time: 10:30am to 2:50pm

JSSATIS Athletics

Where: Domain Athletics Centre
When: Thursday 11 November

Mr Tim Dale
Junior Sport Co-ordinator
dalet@fahan.tas.edu.au

Spirit - Senior School Sport

SSATIS Athletics Carnival

The Southern SATIS Athletics Carnival was held on Tuesday 7 September at the Domain Athletics Centre. Fahan competed with spirit and determination. There were many personal best efforts and it was great to see girls return from an event with a smile on their face!

Congratulations to Ella Atkins who broke the U16 1500m record.

Thank you to all our competitors for their efforts, willingness and team spirit. Fahan is always proud of the way our girls represent their School and support each other. A special thank you goes to those team members who stepped in at the last minute to compete in an event. Our reserves play a vital role in the team and come to the Carnival and don’t always get to run, throw or jump. Many of our reserves train and are prepared to step up when needed.

Congratulations to the following place getters:

Laura Cooper – 1^st Open 400m, 3^rd Open 800m
Daisy Maning – 3rd Open 100m
Lily Bushby – 3^rd Open High Jump
Ella Atkins – 1^st U16 1500m (record), 1^st U16 800m
Charlotte Crawford – 2^nd U15 400m, 3^rd U15 200m, 3^rd Open shot put
Georgie Hansen – 2^nd U15 javelin
Nell Terry – 1^st U14 100m, 1^st U14 200m
Maggie Steele – 1^st U14 400m, 1^st U14 Long Jump, 2^nd U14 200m
Penelope Geappen – 2^nd U14 High Jump, 3^rd U14 Long Jump
Amelia Steedman – 3^rd U13 200m, 3^rd U13 Long Jump
Charlotte Palmer – 1^st U13 High Jump

Congratulations to all the relay teams who also performed exceptionally well.

U13 – 1^stU14 – 1^stU15 – 4^thU16 – 2^ndOpen – 3^rd

Overall Fahan finished 2^nd in the Aggregate Shield and 3^rd in the U13 Pennant and 2^nd in the U14 Pennant. Our Senior team were 4^th in the Girls Pennant and the Junior girls were 3^rd.

Thank you to everyone who assisted with coaching the team.

The SATIS Athletics Carnival will be held on Saturday 18 September at the Domain Athletics Centre in Hobart. The team is listed on the Tree and we are again looking forward to a day of action and excitement!

Term 4 Sport

An EdSmart notice regarding Term 4 sport has been sent to all students. Girls are asked to complete the slip to indicate which sports they would like to participate in (please note, the response is required from students not the parents). Teams will be entered to SSATIS in Week 10 so it is important to have an idea of how many teams Fahan can enter into the rosters.

Tennis
Years 7/8 – games played on a Tuesday afternoon, commencing 19 October
Years 9/10 - games played on a Monday afternoon, commencing 18 October

Touch Football
Years 7/8 – games played on a Monday afternoon
Years 9/10 - games played on a Wednesday afternoon

All Touch Football games are played at Wentworth Park. Details on game days and rosters will be available on the Tree.

Rowing and Sailing are also offered in Term 4. A separate EdSmart notice for sailing will be sent shortly.

Mrs Jo Banks-Smith
Senior Sport Co-ordinator
bankssmithj@fahan.tas.edu.au
0428 031 012

Community - Years 5 and 6 thank the P&F

We would like to say an official thank you to the wonderful Parents and Friends Association for the selection of new games that we have recieved for the Year 5/6 classrooms. The money raised from the P&F Dinner has meant we have so many new games including: Bananagrams, Maki Stacki, Uno, Dominoes, Pop ‘n’ Hop, Zonkers, Chomp, Pairzi, Sequence, Tenzi, Rubik's Race, Spot It, Greed, and Buildzi. These games have helped entertain us and sustain our love of learning and we look forward to sharing them throughout the Junior School!

by Lauren Stanelos and Myla Philp

Community - Term 4 Changeover to Summer Uniform

A reminder that students are required to wear Summer uniform from the start of Term 4 and that the Uniform Shop will not be open during the school holidays.

Uniform items are ordered online through the Flexischools website. You can also download the Flexischools App for Apple or Android.

If your daughter is in the Junior School, any items purchased will be delivered to the classroom. If your daughter is in the Senior School, uniform items will be available for her to collect from the table in Reception. Please allow two days for the processing of your order. If a uniform fitting is required, please email uniformshop@fahan.tas.edu.au.

Returns/exchanges are accepted only for uniforms in new condition, with tags attached. Items that have been worn cannot be returned.

Mrs Birgitta Browning
Food and Retail Services Manager

Community Notices

Fahan School Uniform Purchases

Fahan School uniform items can be ordered through the Flexischools website or App (Apple of Google). If a uniform fitting is required, please email Mrs Birgitta Browning at uniformshop@fahan.tas.edu.au

Canteen online orders are taken before school through the Flexischools website or App. A variety of foods are offered and healthy, nutritional choices are encouraged. Parents can also load money onto a student's ID card through the Flexischools App so that students from Year 3 may use their student card to purchase items from the canteen.

Flexischools Website

Fahan School Bus Service

For more information on the Fahan Bus Service, please click here.

A Fortnight at Fahan - Term 3, 10 September 2021

Principal's Report

Learning about Tournament of Minds

Learning about Poster Art

Learning about Digital Manufacturing

Learning about UTAS Science Competition

Learning about the Fahan Archives

Learning about Rock Climbing