A Fortnight at Fahan - Term 1, 1 April 2022

Principal's Report

One of Fahan’s central values, along with Learning and Spirit, is Community. Care, connection and belonging empowers every individual to flourish at Fahan. This fortnight has seen an abundance of opportunities to connect with our local community.

Last weekend was the Head of the River at Lake Barrington, and it was a beautiful day with outstanding commitment and performance by all rowers. They are to be commended for their efforts and it is clear this is a strong community with many connections throughout the state.

The SATIS Swimming Carnival and Science and Engineering Challenge at UTAS presented other opportunities for our students to engage with the community and we are proud of the efforts of all students involved.

Community participation was also abundant in the Relay for Life, held last weekend. The amount raised for cancer research was outstanding and required the support and organisation of many people to make the event a success. As well as this, a cake stall was held to raise money for the people of Ukraine with excellent support from the Senior School.  It has been said that societies fall apart when good people do nothing. It is very clear to me that Fahan students are exceptionally good people, and they are definitely not “doing nothing”.

At the end of this term, we will farewell Rosanagh Shield who has been a wonderful member of our staff as Art Technician. Rosie is moving to the Northwest Coast and we wish her all the very best. We will welcome Amy Poprawski as our new Art Technician from Term 2. I am also pleased to announce that Sarah Mirowski has been appointed as Communications Coordinator and she will bring a wealth of experience in communications and design to the Marketing team. 

In other staffing news, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Holly Lutzow as the new Head of Fenton House from Term 2. I would like to thank Sharon Johns for so capably filling this role in Term 1.  In addition, Allison Williamson has been appointed as the Coordinator of HPE and will take on this additional responsibility from the beginning of Term 2.

I wish you all a wonderful fortnight; the last one has certainly been busy here at Fahan.

Best wishes
Meg Lawson

Learning about Measurement in Year 3

Students in Year 3 have been enjoying learning about measurement in Maths. We have learnt that:

There are 10 millimetres (mm) in 1 centimetre (cm). - Mahveen

There are 100 centimetres (cm) in 1 metre (m). - Charlotte

There are 1000 metres (m) in a kilometre (km). – Sofia

We considered which units would be useful for measuring different things:

You could measure an ant in millimetres. - Mischa

You could measure a leaf in centimetres. - Sienna

I would measure a pool or our oval in metres. - Nina

You would measure a drive to Launceston in kilometres. - Amelie

We had lots of fun estimating the length of objects in our classroom, and then checking their actual length using a ruler or measuring tape. Some of our estimates were very, very close!

Mrs Nicole Bury

Learning about Poisson d’avril

In French class this week the Year 5 students learnt about April Fools’ Day in France.  In a tradition that dates back to the 1500s, French children today stick a paper fish on someone’s back and call out Poisson d’avril! (April Fish!).  Legend has it that the French king changed New Years' Day from 1 April to 1 January, causing those who embraced the new calendar to mock those who still observed the old date.  And so began the tradition of playing tricks.  Coinciding with the end of lent, it is no surprise fish featured in this custom.  As you can see from these photos, the students in 5W and 5D enjoyed decorating their own poissons in anticipation of tricking their classmates and teachers! 

Ms Holly Lutzow

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Learning about Sailing

On a grey and drizzly Monday afternoon, a group of Years 5 and 6 students braved the weather and enjoyed an introduction to sailing at the Sandy Bay Sailing Club. After changing into wetsuits and life jackets, the students were taught about safety on the water. They then had some land-based training, learning about the different parts of an Optimist boat and how to steer using the tiller. When it was time to head out on the water, their boats were tied to the motor boat and towed around the river. They then had the opportunity to sail in a larger boat helmed by 2020 Fahan Alumna, Amy Potter.  All agreed it was a very fun introduction! 

Mrs Kathryn Lumsden-Steel

Learning about Forests

The Year 9 Science classes participated in an excursion to two local forest types in Hobart in recently. We travelled firstly to Ridgeway to learn about the dry forest, dominated by the narrow-leaved peppermint Eucalyptus. We surveyed the area, rated the canopy coverage, made soil smears and leaf litter assessments, recorded the aspect and slope, the temperature and elevation, looked for signs of human impacts and fire, and made a drawing of the site. We then travelled to Fern Tree to learn about the wet forest and to contrast it with the Ridgeway forest. At the end of the excursion, we learnt about an inventory that had been carried out at Warra in Tasmania, in which all of the species had been documented. We unrolled the species list and it was long!!! Insects were the most biodiverse, with a whopping 1687 species in the Warra area, followed by fungi (1135 species), vascular plants (276 species) and 27 mammal species.  Our thanks goes to Kate Battishall from the Forest Education Foundation for running the excursion for us and to our bus drivers for getting us there safely.

Ms Felicity Jacobs

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Learning about Science and Engineering

Earlier this week, 24 Year 10 students spent the day competing in the annual Science and Engineering Challenge, hosted by UTAS and the University of Newcastle. The students travelled to the UTAS Activities Centre, accompanied by Mr Bevan and Dr Stewart. The students worked in groups of 2-4, completing one or two activities to earn points for Fahan. The activities undertaken included building a bridge, designing and testing a Mars rover, making a turbine, distributing electricity to a ‘city’, designing fingers for a ‘bionic’ hand, creating an earthquake-proof tower, designing a high-speed rail network for a city and designing efficient codes to send messages along fibre optic rods using only pulses of coloured light. The students worked efficiently in their teams and really enjoyed the challenges. The day culminated in an exciting bridge test. The Fahan bridge was not only the strongest, withstanding the famous ‘Bridge Buster’ weight, but it was also the lightest, earning important points for our team. Fahan also won the ‘Stringways’ challenge and as a result, won the Tas Water Award – great work Fahan!  In the end, Fahan placed third out of the seven schools, just pipped at the post by Calvin Christian School (1^st) and Hutchins (2^nd). The other competing schools on the day were Friends, Woodbridge School, Dominic College and St Marys College.

Thank you to all the students for their focus and hard work on the day, and to Mr Bevan and Dr Stewart for supporting them at the challenge.

Ms Felicity Jacobs

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Learning about Bebras Computational Thinking

Last week 40 students from Years 7-12 participated in the Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. This is a fun 45min challenge that is about solving puzzles using computational thinking strategies. I was so thrilled to see so many interested students this year, and we competed together in a fun lunchtime event!  

Each of the students participated alone or in teams and we will receive the results of this Challenge in the coming weeks.

Started in 2004 by Professor Valentina Dagiene from the University of Vilnius, 'Bebras' is Lithuanian for beaver.  This refers to their collaborative nature and strong work ethic.

Bebras Australia began in 2014 and is now administered through CSIRO Digital Careers. In Australia, the Bebras Challenge takes place in March and August-September each year. As of 2020, different challenges are offered for each round!

The International Bebras Committee meets annually to assess potential questions and share resources. The Bebras international community has now grown to include 60 countries with over 2.9 million students participating worldwide!

Attached are a few of last year's puzzles completed by the Years 7/8 students. I look forward to sharing the results later in the year.

Mr Chris Summers

Learning about Measurement Planning in Years 11/12

This term the Year 11/12 Workplace Maths class is studying measurement. This is a very hands-on course and as part of their assessment, the students are planning a garden with an irrigation system next to Clarke House. The project has involved measuring out the area and determining how many plants will be needed to create a hedge along the boundary fences. In addition, the class studied various methods of irrigation and have put together an irrigation plan for the area, including the type of tubing, connectors, jet sprays and flow rates required to help the plants thrive. The class has enjoyed being outside and making use of the School grounds. The maintenance staff (Rod and Nick) have been particularly helpful answering questions!

Dr Mel Fitzpatrick

Spirit - Students of the World

Fahan School has recently re-established our relationship with the exchange organisation Students of the World.  If any Fahan families are interested in hosting a student from France, Spain, Italy or Germany for anywhere between 6 and 12 weeks from July this year, they are encouraged to contact me at lutzowh@fahan.tas.edu.au

Ms Holly Lutzow

Spirit - Junior School Sport

Junior Orienteering

This season has now come to a conclusion.  A big thank you goes to Mrs Wiggins for looking after this sport.  A reminder for those that love their Orienteering, this sport is run by Orienteering Tasmania all year round, and whilst Mrs Wiggins won’t be there all year round, information is readily available on the Orienteering Tasmania website, if you wish to continue participating.

Junior Netball

Information for Junior Netball sign ups has now gone out via EdSmart.  The JSSATIS Netball season will commence in Term 2, with games beginning Wednesday 11 May (Years 3 and 4) and Thursday 12 May (Years 5 and 6).  Games will be played in school gymnasiums where possible, starting at 4:00pm. The roster will run until the end of Term 2 and trainings will be conducted during lunchtimes.

Junior Hockey

Information for Junior Hockey sign ups has now gone out via EdSmart.

Please find details regarding the Junior Hockey season for 2022.  These rosters are administered by Hockey Tasmania.

Primary School Hockey Winter Series

Cornelian Bay (grass)  – Saturday Mornings
Term 2 – 8 week roster (7 May – 2 July)

All rosters will have 9:00am, 10:00am and 11:00am timeslots. Trainings will be conducted at Fahan during lunchtimes. The girls will need a hockey stick, shin pads and mouthguard.  The mouthguard and shin pads are compulsory for training and match day.

This roster is comprised of 3 levels of competition:

Years 1/2 – Quarter Field Hockey (5 a side)
Years 3/4 – Half Field Hockey (7 a side)
Years 5/6 – Full Field Hockey (11 a side)

Junior Sailing

Intro to Tackers has been conducted over the last two Mondays at the Sandy Bay Sailing Club.  Many thanks to Mr Hodgman and Mrs Lumsden-Steel for supervising this activity and to Fahan Alumna, Amy Potter, from the Sandy Bay Sailing Club for coordinating this experience for the girls. 

This is, of course, an introductory experience for the girls to see if they have an interest in sailing and, if they do, touching base with a club like Sandy Bay will seek out further opportunities.

Club Sport

It is getting to the stage of the year when many of the club sports are getting up and running.  Sometimes it is difficult to know where to start or who to contact.  Below are a list of clubs and contacts for a range of club sports that will be in full swing over the winter months.

Soccer

Hobart City Beachside FC (based at Sandown Oval, Sandy Bay) https://hobartcitybeachsidefc.com/
Kingborough Lions United Football Club (based at Lightwood Park, Kingston) https://klufc.com.au/
Taroona Soccer Club ( based at Taroona) https://www.taroonafc.org/
South Hobart Football Club (based at Wellesley Park, Wentworth St, South Hobart) https://www.southhobartfc.com/
Clarence Zebras (based at Wentworth Park, Howrah) https://www.clarencezebrasfc.com/news

AFL

Sandy Bay Junior Footbal Club (based at Queenborough Oval) https://www.sandybayfc.com.au/

Hockey

https://www.hockeytasmania.com.au/participate/find-a-club/

Netball

https://www.stna.org.au/club-details

Basketball

https://www.basketballtasmania.com.au/where-can-i-play

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

Spirit - Senior School Sport

Swimming

The SATIS Swimming Carnival was held on Tuesday 22 March at the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre.

There were many impressive individual and relay swims and the Fahan team finished 8^th in the Girls Aggregate Shield. Fahan finished 5^th in the Girls Senior Shield and 10^th in the Girls Junior Shield.

Congratulations to Ava Mignanelli who came 2^nd in the Under 13 50m Freestyle. Ava competed in 7 events at the Carnival and is to be congratulated on her positive approach and attitude. She returned from every race with a smile on her face and gave her best effort in all races.

Rowing

The Head of the River Regatta was held last weekend on Saturday 26 March. All girls rowed well and Fahan had some very pleasing results which are on the Tree on the Sport Online page. 

Congratulations to the following Division 1 place getters in:

1^st - Open SG 4+ - Laura Cooper, Hannah Riches, Molly Crosby, Annabelle Fry and Sophie Rolls (cox)

1^st - U15 1X – Matilda Cocker

2^nd – U16 SG 2X – Prue Clarke and Keala Hayes

3^rd – U16 SG 4+ - Prue Clarke, Olivia Wilson, Sophie Bury, Keala Hayes and Olivia Farquer (cox)

3^rd – U16 SG 8+ - Prue Clarke, Natalie Leary, Layla Wing, Olivia Wilson, Sophie Lang, Annabelle Lumsden-Steel, Sophie Bury, Keala Hayes and Olivia Farquer (cox)

3^rd – Open SG 4+ - Molly Crosby, Lilly Evans-Gregg, Evie Banks-Smith, Julia Benyon and Mia Reardon (cox)

3^rd – Open SG 8+ - Laura Cooper, Hannah Riches, Molly Crosby, Annabelle Fry, Olivia Sampson, Charlotte Jones, Edie Jordan, Sarah Leary and Sophie Rolls (cox)

I would like to mention the Year 12 girls from the Open squad who rowed for Fahan for the final time. Laura Cooper, Hannah Riches, Edie Jordan, Sarah Leary and Amelie Lumsden-Steel have dedicated many hours to Fahan Rowing and they should all be very proud of their efforts and I commend them on their commitment. They remained focussed, motivated and strong throughout their time rowing for Fahan.

Thank you to the parents and supporters for making the trip to Lake Barrington to support the rowing team.

On Wednesday 27 March the Open 1^st Four travelled to Victoria, Lake Nagambi to compete in the Australian National Championships. They have competed in the Women’s Under 19 Coxed Four and also in the Under 19 Pair. On the weekend they compete in the Schoolgirls Coxed Four and the Schoolgirls Pair. We congratulate them on their performance so far and wish them all the very best for the weekend.

Their efforts are to be commended and it impressive to see Fahan compete and be competitive at a national level. Congratulations to Sophie Rolls, Hannah Riches, Laura Cooper, Annabelle Fry and Molly Crosby. Congratulations also to Sam Manson and Chris Parnham who have coached these girls throughout the 2021/2022 season.

Athletics

On Friday 8 April the Fahan Senior School House Athletics Carnival will be held at the Domain Athletics Centre.  All students from Year 7 to Year 12 are to attend the Carnival and are expected to compete. Students unable to compete on the day are to give a letter from their parents to their Pastoral Care Teacher. Non-competitors are expected to attend and will be required to assist with the running of the Carnival. 

The SSATIS and SATIS Athletics Carnivals will held in September and a Fahan Athletics Squad for these competitions will be announced in Term 2.  

T-Ball

On Tuesday 29 March, Year 7 and Year 8 students participated in an Inter House T-ball Competition. It was a perfect day for t-ball with the sun shining and everyone in great spirits. For some it was the first time they had played t-ball, and with the House Chairs helping and supporting them, it became a fierce competition. At this stage Franklin are leading. On Tuesday 5 April the Years 9 - 12 students will play against each other in their Houses and Freycinet and Fenton will have a chance to catch the leading House. Good luck to everyone!

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

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Community - Junior School Class Representatives

Each year the Parents and Friends’ Association send out a request asking for volunteers to be the P&F Class Representatives. These fabulous volunteers act as a liaison between the parents of the class, the P&F and the class teacher.

Thank you to the members of our Fahan family, who have put up their hand to take on the Class Representative role in 2022.

Kindergarten          Sarah Yolland

Prep                             Rose Pilkington

Year 1                          Emma-Kate Reynolds

Year 2                          Anna Chui

Year 3                          Claire Crowell and Isabelle Bartkowiak

Year 4                          Fiona Briggs and Bridget Sowell

Year 5D                       Alicia Hansen

Year 5W                      Anna Hunter and Amy Senkbeil

Year 6H                      Madeleine Barton

Year 6S                        TBC

Mrs Susan Wright
Acting Head of Junior School

Community - Raising Funds for Ukraine Refugees

Last week, the Amnesty Group, consisting of a fabulous and kind bunch of Year 8s, 9s, 11s and 12s, baked up a storm, all to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees who have just arrived in Tasmania. We sold chocolate chip cookies, kiss cookies, brownies, banana bread, cinnamon scrolls, cupcakes, honey joys, chocolate crackles, meringues and more! Each goodie had a blue and yellow touch to signify the Ukrainian link. All up, we raised $700 which will buy much needed supermarket vouchers for our Ukrainian friends, some of whom have arrived with very little. Thanks to our incredible Year 12 Community Chair, Lucia Hunt, and the Amnesty students for their commitment (and baking skills). Lastly, thanks to all that supported our cake stall – we hope you enjoyed your treats!

Ms Felicity Jacobs

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Community - Relay for Life

Over the weekend, an assortment of Fahan students, parents and teachers participated in the Relay for Life at the Domain Athletics track. We set up our Fahan tents and decorated them with a yellow theme and began walking from there! Because it was a relay, there needed to be a Fahan representative on the track at all times. We were lucky enough to have a beautiful mascot called Rosie the teddy bear to act as our ‘baton’. Big thanks must go to Mrs Heather’s mother-in-law, Pauline Heather, for sewing the amazing backpack for Rosie to travel in during the relay. The backpack was made from an old Fahan rugby top. In total, we raised a whopping $7,331. Our top five fundraisers were Lucia Hunt ($1,406), Grace Bottomley ($768), Molly Bradfield ($552), Megan Viljoen ($483) and Lara Milford ($405). A big thank you goes to all of the amazing students, staff and parents who walked for our team – it was a big effort, and especially hard during the early hours of the morning. Another big thank you goes to Mr and Mrs Seddon and Ms Williamson, Mr Machin and Munro, Mr Hodgman, Ms Jacobs, Mr Summers and Mrs Lawson for help with setting up or packing up. A massive thanks to the wider Fahan community for supporting us in our fundraising efforts and helping us exceed our goal!

By Lucia Hunt (Community Chair) and Grace Bottomley (Community Committee)

Community - Dance Production

Drama teacher Christine Best is working as a Dramaturg for Great Southern Dance on their production of Huma Ba La La that opens at the studio space at the Theatre Royal on April 2.

Working in contemporary dance I enjoy the creative mixing of choreography, lights, music score, film and dancer, as they are all equal participants in the storytelling process. The audience engages in an artistic encounter that encourages and provokes a visceral reading and response to the work, rather than an intellectual evaluation of the ideas presented.
Ms Christine Best

Community - Uniform Reminder

You are reminded of the changeover from Summer to Winter uniform from the commencement of Term 2.

Online ordering will close on Thursday 14 April and will recommence on Sunday 1 May, with orders available for collection from Tuesday 3 May (first day of Term 2).

Clothing Pool

Fahan is now accepting clean, current uniform items in good condition for sale in the Clothing Pool.  Items can be left at the School Office and must be accompanied by a completed Clothing Pool form, available from the School Office or on the website. 

Community - Student Absence

Parents are asked to notify the School of student absence by 9:00am by email to absence@fahan.tas.edu.au, or by phone on 6225 1064. Once maintenance on the Fahan School App has been completed, this is also another option for informing the School of a student absence.

Students taking holidays during term time can impact on the ability of teachers, and more importantly other students, to complete programs of work effectively. If foreseen absences are unavoidable, permission should be sought from the Principal by downloading and completing the Request for Absence form available here.

Community - Lady Gowrie Term 1 Vacation Care Program

Community Notices

Fahan School Bus Service

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