Fahan School eNewsletter

Principal's Report

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Junior School Cross Country at Sandown. It is always such a delight to see students trying their hardest and encouraging each other, even when the wind on the beach was bitterly cold. Celebrating each other’s success is an important quality for us to foster within our School and I am pleased to say that we see this in many different spheres of School life. In the same vein, many of our Senior School students competed in the SSATIS Cross Country event yesterday with great success, winning the Senior Girls’ Shield for the first time in many years. Hearty congratulations to all competitors.

Today it was my great privilege to attend the National Reconciliation Week Lunchtime Forum where one of our Year 11 students, Aria Ritz, addressed a packed audience. Aria’s commitment to reconciliation is a great example of the confidence we can have in this generation of students as they work towards a better future for First Nations Australians.

You may already be aware that Fahan School is a member of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia (AGSA). This group is a powerful advocate for girls schooling and its many benefits. Recently, this group has announced a merger with the International Coalition of Girls Schools (ICGS), representing 500 girls’ schools across 18 countries. As Megan Murphy, the ICGS Executive Director says, ‘Together we aim to create a platform to raise up girls’ schools in their endeavours to create brave, inquisitive and unapologetic female leaders of the future.’ We look forward to seeing new opportunities for our students as a result of this merger.

In staffing news, I am very pleased to announce that Mrs Clare Enright has been appointed as Head of Franklin House, beginning in Term 3. Mrs Enright’s commitment to pastoral care is evident in all of her interactions with students and we know that Franklin House will be in good hands.

Best wishes
Meg Lawson

Learning about the Junior Library

Each week, Pre-Kinder children visit the TM Library to enjoy selecting and sharing new and well-loved picture books. Australian treasure, Mem Fox, says, 'Research around the world has proved that children who are read to regularly are better able to learn to read easily, happily and quickly. Listening to beloved stories again and again is a step on the road to literacy that cannot be ignored.' https://memfox.com/

The resources in the TM Library perfectly cater to our littlest borrowers.

Mrs Meg Denman

Learning about the Waterworks Reserve

As part of Forest School, Kindergarten and Prep students join together for a series of excursions to the Waterworks Reserve every three weeks. This term we had our very first visit of the year. It was a cold and wet morning but we rugged up and had the most glorious time. We begin with our Acknowledgement to Country followed by Deep Listening. We then go on a mindfulness walk along a bush track before returning for some exploration and morning tea. The School coat, beanie and scarf, as well as the wet weather overalls and gumboots, kept us warm and dry.

Thank you Mr Tinning and My Joyce for driving us to the Waterworks and exploring with us.

Mrs Rebecca Wiggins

Year 3 students have been learning about place value in Maths. They loved building their own ‘Place Value Buildings’ using multi-attribute blocks (ones, tens, hundreds and thousands). After constructing their own building, each student calculated the ‘value’ of their building, by partitioning their blocks into thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. Some regrouping was required. Students then compared their value within a group, ordering from smallest to largest. Maths is SO much fun!

Mrs Nicole Bury

Learning about Science

Year 4 recently conducted an experiment to find out how friction affects the distance a toy car will travel. We did this by rolling a car off a ramp on three different surfaces and measured the distance travelled. The first surface was carpet, it was rough and created lots of friction and slowed it down. It travelled only 60 centimetres. The second surface was lino which was was smooth and created little friction, so it went a lot further than the carpet. The car travelled 90 centimetres. We were able to choose the third surface ourselves so most people chose things like a blazer or Chromebook!

Abbey Lodge

Learning about Kelvedon

In first term, Year 5 spent a memorable three days at Kelvedon. It was their first visit to the site and the weather was magical. They familarised themselves with sleeping in tents and all the other unique intricacies that make Kelvedon an unforgettable experience. Whilst on camp, the students were inquisitive about the history of Kelvedon and intrigued by the Outdoor Education adventures of the older Fahan students. On our return to School, the students decided to create a book that could remain at Kelvedon, a book that would have a brief history of the site but also a place where fellow campers could record their names and thoughts about their experience. With the assistance of Rosie Shield (Art Technician) on her final day at Fahan, the book was created. The 2022 Year 5s and 7s have signed their page, Kelvedon history is recorded at the front and the remaining pages are ready for future Kelvedon groups to create their class page, adding to the history of this fabulous Outdoor Education resource. Thank you to everyone over the years who has contributed to making Kelvedon such a special place for Fahan.

Mrs Susan Wright

Learning about Leadership

On Friday 20 May, a group of enthusiastic Year 6 students participated in the annual IPSHA YLead workshop. Interested students applied to be involved in the day by writing their ideas about how they thought the day would be beneficial to them as leaders and how they could bring skills back to help other students in the School. The following students wrote excellent applications and were chosen to represent Fahan:

Rose Pullinger, Lucy Stoneman, Florence Blackwood, Felicity Morgan, Evie Imberger, Ruby Smith, Mathilda Brown, Taylah East, Bailey Mellefont, Maisey Smith, Lili Stough, Essie Burke, Maya Cubit and Ruby Williamson.

The YLead workshop is designed to teach school student leaders the skills to become “leaders for life”. We joined many other schools from around Tasmania virtually and participated in a range of fun activities and games. Some of the activities were: making the tallest tower out of spaghetti, designing a new uniform ‘gadget’ and memory games. There was also a lot of dancing and laughter as we showed our support enthusiastically for each other and other schools.

By the end of the day, we had learnt about leading with HEART:

H – Helpful – what actions can we take to be helpful in different situations?

E – Energetic - promoting and sharing positive energy.

A - Active and Aware – Being aware of our personal strengths and how we can put them into action as a leader.

R - Respectful Relationships – how can we build lasting connections? This includes having the courage to be yourself, respecting the opinions of others, being worthy of trust, and supporting and encouraging others.

T – Team Player – the importance of working with others.

At the end of the workshop we made some statements about what we will take away with us. Here are some of our Lead with Heart statements:

To Lead with Heart, I will...

listen to, and respect, all group members' opinions and ideas (Rose)
always listen to others, be brave, bold, kind, confident in myself (Lucy)
never give up and help others to keep on trying (Felicity)
listen to everyone and their ideas (Floss)
be a good team player and respect other people’s views (Evie)
be fair and respectful, be myself and tell someone when I think something is wrong (Ruby S)
be respectful, kind, acknowledging, a good role model, and overall a good team player (Mathilda)
be a good team leader (Taylah)
show the element of harmony (Bailey)
not be put down by others, listen to every person and make sure that everyone is respected (Essie)
be the best I possibly can and then try and show the best in other people as well (Lili)
be kind, caring and listen to others and be a good team player (Maisey)

Mrs Kathryn Lumsden-Steel

Learning about the Da Vinci Decathlon

The Da Vinci Decathlon is an Academic Competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students. Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy.

The students achieved impressive results with Year 8 placing 2^nd overall in their division. They placed 1^st in English, Codebreaking, Legacy and Cartography.

Whilst Year 7 didn't place overall in their division, they did achieve 1^st place in Art + Poetry, English, Engineering, and Creative Producers.

Jake Bevan

On Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 April, Years 7 and 8 competed in the Da Vinci Decathlon. The teams consisted of 8 students who all had an interest in some of the topics that were covered in the competition. This year was very different to previous years because it was held online. Everyone who competed had a fun time, and although it was hard and challenging at times, we all helped each other and had a great day.

We would like thank all of the teachers and hosts who helped us throughout the day.

Chloe Atkins and Emily Mazengarb

Learning about Camp

Last week, Year 7 students attended a two-night camp at Kelvedon on the East Coast. They participated in intentional team building and other group activities to prepare them for future camps including:

Orienteering in small groups which provided some friendly competition amongst the Houses.
Building a raft to then paddle on the dam. To do this they learnt how to tie a clove hitch and a square lashing, the rest was up to them!
Mountain bike skills sessions, including bike safety checks, work on cornering and roll downs.
Cooking a meal in pairs on a Trangia (light camp stove)
Camping in tents

It was a valuable learning experience for the students and we are sure they will develop these skills further in the future.

Dr Alison Manson and Ms Jayde Steer

Burn Bright is a program which aims to teach students about leadership, learning and growing alongside their friends. It’s facilitators use a range of rich inclusive activities to guide students towards rewarding reflection and personal growth.

We were fortunate to have this program visit Fahan this week and offer an all-day workshop with Year 10 students. This workshop was quite extraordinary in the way in which it promoted personal and interpersonal success, and also helped build important social skills, relationships and confidence.

The activities encountered in this program involved everything from Dancing to List Making to encouraging evolved thinking and inner conversations. These activities were thoroughly enjoyed by students who spoke of new bonds and care for their peers by the end.

We plan to revisit some of the strategies and learnings again, as part of our Year 10 Pastoral Care Program, as we learnt that when we work together the sky is the limit!

Ms Anna Forward

Learning about Photosynthesis

Over the last few lessons, the Years 11/12 Biology class has been investigating the effect of different factors on the rate of photosynthesis. Some of these factors included: light intensity, wavelength (colour) of light, temperature, and concentration of carbon dioxide. Each group used either algal balls or leaf discs cut from fresh spinach as the photosynthesising cells. As the algal balls increased their rate of photosynthesis, the indicator became less acidic and changed colour, due to the decrease in carbon dioxide in the indicator solution. As the leaf discs increased their rate of photosynthesis, they floated from the bottom to the top of the solution they were kept in, due to the production of oxygen bubbles. The focus was on trying to plan and conduct an experiment that was not only valid – all other factors were kept the same, but also reliable – multiple trials were conducted where possible. It was a great way for the students to see photosynthesis in action, and practice honing their scientific method and lab skills.

It was great to get a visual representation of the photosynthetic processes as they were happening. It turned an abstract concept into something we could visually comprehend. Sarah Hodgman, Matilda Huys and Charlotte Beaumont

We were able to perform our experiment twice, which meant that the results were more reliable. Our results didn’t support our original hypothesis - it was interesting to learn why. Chloe Essex and Kizzy Ball

Ms Felicity Jacobs

The Rostrum Voice of Youth is a national speaking competition which provides an excellent opportunity for secondary school students to gain experience and confidence in expressing their views and communicating a message. The participants have to prepare a speech to present on the day, as well as complete a short notice speech where they only get 15 minutes to prepare for a 3 minute speech.

This year Fahan had five representatives participate in the Junior Division: Pia Abberton, Felicity Barling, Poppy Ledischke, Betsy Ryan and Hannah Sheen.

Congratulations to Poppy who was the winner of the Southern Regional final – an amazing result! She will be travelling to Launceston in June to take part in the State Final. The winner of this will travel interstate for the National Final.

Mrs Lisa Seddon

Spirit - Junior School Sport

Junior Netball

The JSSATIS netball roster has commenced, with Fahan fielding two teams in both the Years 3/4 and 5/6 roster. A big thank you goes to our coaches, Mrs Gath, Mrs Williamson, Denise Costelloe and Mel Hinkley, and the many support staff; Penny Geappen, Isabel Willcox, Zara Marino, Felicity Barling, Mary Marino, Carla East, Chris Page and Simone Scott!

Junior Hockey

This roster is underway with games on Saturday mornings. Good luck to all participants and a big thank you to all our coaches; James Seddon, Michael Robertson, Jane Beaumont, Audrey Bullard and Bridie Perrott.

Rosters can be found at https://www.hockeytasmania.com.au/participate/school-hockey-tasmania/. For cancellations, please monitor Hockey Tasmania's facebook page or any of the local radio stations.

Also, a big congratulations goes to Eloise Perrott in Year 6, who has been selected to represent Tasmania at the 2022 School Sports Australia Under 12 Girls Hockey Championships due to be held in Canberra from 19-26 August 2022.

Junior House Cross Country

I would love to say it was a warm, balmy day at the Junior House Cross Country on Thursday, however the Bridgewater Jerry made for a cold, breezy morning, possibly fuelling the motivation to run – simply to keep warm!

We only ever ask for best efforts and the girls provided this in spades. There were some great races and we now look forward to the Primary All Schools Cross Country and the JSSATIS Interschool Cross Country. A training schedule will be distributed early next week for those interested in the All Schools and selected in the JSSATIS Interschool.

A big thank you goes to staff who braved the chilly conditions and those parents who were able to attend and support the girls. Below is a summary of the results.

	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6
1	Klara Koch	Maggie Davies	Evie Essex	Jemima Geappen
2	Frankie Gorringe	Bianca Lampkin-Smith	Anna McCallum	Felicity Morgan
3	Violet Geappen	Rose Page	Milla Gorringe	Charlotte Lord
4	Felicity Sills	Olive Smith	Grace Lincolne-Lomax	Grace Costelloe
5	Nina Viviers	Lottie Kingston	Clare Stewart	Rosie Nation
6	Claire Costelloe	Madison Horne	Olivia Grubb	Essie Burke
7	Bonnie Pullinger	Gertie Bradford	Poppy Davis	Lucy Stoneman
8	Ella O'Connor	Emilia Landman	Poppy Davies	Alex Smith
9	Sienna Marino	Scarlett Doherty	Ruby Pilkington	Ruby Smith
10	Mila Schramm	Catherine Bell	Skye Hansen	Rose Pullinger

I would also like to mention how proud it makes me to look at the SSATIS results and see the strong number of Fahan competitors at an event that is not everyone’s favourite, and one that is easier to avoid than attend. A quick look at the Open girls will see that Fahan provided 11 of the 37 competitors – quite remarkable from possibly the smallest school. It reflects a culture that has been fostered for many years and the qualities of our girls, something our School community should be very proud of. Congratulations to Jo Banks-Smith and the Senior Cross Country Team.

Junior Cross Country Season

All Schools Cross Country

Date: Tuesday 21 June
Where: Symmons Plains
When: Bus departs Fahan at 7:45am and return approx. 4:15pm

**Open to any girl from Years 3-6 who has committed to Cross Country training in lunchtimes.

JSSATIS Cross Country

Date: Wednesday 29 June
Where: Rokeby Police Academy
When: 12:00pm to 1:30pm

**Only the top 8 runners from the House Cross Country (who have completed the long course) are selected to compete in this event.

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

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

Cross Country

Congratulations to the Fahan Cross Country Team who competed in the SSATIS Cross Country at Soldiers Memorial Oval, Queens Domain on Thursday 26 May. The course was challenging, particularly the hill in the last half of the race, and the chilly weather made it a true cross country event! Every Fahan competitor should be enormously proud of their efforts.

Congratulations to the following students who were placed in the top 10 in their age group –

Under 13

Ava Mignanelli – 5^thRuby Leditschke – 7^th

Under 14

Pia Abberton – 7^th

Under 15

Estella Manson – 10^th

Open

Ella Atkins – 2^ndAbbey Willcox - 6^thCharlotte Jones – 7^thAnnabelle Fry – 9^th

Fahan was 3^rd in the Aggregate Girls Shield. Our Open team won the Senior Shield and we were 5^th in the Junior Girls Shield. We also came 2^nd in the U15 Pennant and 3^rd in the U14 Pennant. These are terrific results!

A team will been selected for the Tasmanian All Schools Cross Country which will be held at Symmons Plains on Tuesday 28 June.

Girls selected in the team are expected to attend at least one cross country/fitness training a week. All girls however, are welcome to attend these sessions.

These trainings will take place every Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime at 12:45pm and every Friday morning from 7:00am - 7:50am. Please meet at the Fahan gym. Additional training sessions can be arranged if required and students can contact me via email if they would like to arrange this.

Cricket

Congratulations to Nellie Cheek who was awarded ‘Best First Year Player’ and ‘Most Improved’ for the UTAS senior women’s cricket team. Well done Nellie.

Term 3 Sport

In Term 3 the sports offered are –

Basketball Years 9 and 10, Years 7 and 8
Aussie Rules Football Years 9/10
Badminton Years 11 and 12
Soccer 1^st and 2^nd Grade
Netball 1^st and 2^nd Grade

An Edsmart notice will be sent to all Senior School students to sign up for Term 3 sport shortly.

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

Community - from the P&F

Dear Fahan Community,

It was fantastic to see so many new faces at our P&F meeting earlier this month and then at the Fair Meeting that followed soon after. We now have a whole committee dedicated to the Fair. As you are aware, the Fair day/date is being determined. You will receive notice shortly as to when it will be, as it has been three years since the last Fahan Fair and I know people are really looking forward to it.

This year, the Fair will include the Taste of Fahan. The Committee would love to hear from you if you have a food or beverage business that you would like to showcase at the Fair with a stall or food van. More information via an EdSmart will be sent next week regarding Expressions of Interest.

Today is my last day as your P&F President, in fact it finishes the moment my daughter Eliza gets outs of the pool for her final water polo game for Fahan, later this evening. Since arriving from Palo Alto, California, three and a half years ago, Eliza has involved herself fully in Fahan life, and we thank all the staff, teachers and Fahan community for looking after her and providing such awesome opportunities. We will both miss Fahan but are excited to be going home and having two summers in a row.

Heartfelt thanks to all my fellow committee members, Meg Lawson and Mary Marino and her team, for all their assistance over the past 18 months.

There is a job vacancy, so if anyone is interested in the Presidency, please come to the next P&F meeting to sign up!

Cheers and happy trails to you all,

Catherine Matterson

Community - National Simultaneous Storytime

On Wednesday, students from Kindergarten to Year 2 gathered in the garden for this year’s Storytime title, Family Tree, read by Head of Junior School, Mrs Tania Gath. Hosted by Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), this annual event aims to:

promote the value of reading and literacy
promote the value and fun of books
promote an Australian writer and publisher
promote storytime activities in libraries and communities around the country; and
provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.

In preparation for Storytime, we read many wonderful titles written and illustrated by Josh Pyke and Ronojoy Ghosh.

Publicist Romi Sharp writes, ‘Family Tree shares the beauty of life through the growth of a tree, one that unites families and communities around the world, spreading joy, love and spirit—and it all starts with one seed.’

Pre Kinder to Year 2 students worked in groups to plant seeds, make gorgeous nature crowns and wreaths, press autumn leaves and sketch special trees in our playground.

Mrs Meg Denman

CONGRATULATIONS TO

BEC O'HALLORAN

WINNER OF A NEW 2022 SUBARU XC 2.0i L CVT HATCH!

Thank you to everyone who purchased a ticket in the raffle in support of the Year 12 chosen charities, The Freya Fund and Sexual Assault Support Service. Our special thanks goes to Subaru Hobart.

Enjoy your new car, Bec!

Community - Alliance of Girls' Schools Australia - Keeping Safe in Cyberspace

Community - Guinea Pig Sitters Needed

Our School guinea pigs, Latte and Toffee, are looking for interested families who would like to take them home and care for them for a weekend. They are very well-behaved and have their own travel carrier for the car and for sleeping in. They also come with their own hay and water container - all they require is some fresh vegetables (cucumber is their favourite), a cardboard box play area, and some love.

If your family is interested, or if you require more information, please email me at jacobsf@fahan.tas.edu.au

Thanks!

Ms Felicity Jacobs

Community - Uniform Reminder

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.

Clothing Pool Form

Community - Fahan Orienteering Map

Orienteering Tasmania has just completed a high-quality orienteering map of the Fahan campus. This will be a good resource for the School’s sporting program and of use in other subject areas. On Saturday 11 June (Queen’s Birthday long weekend), the map will be used by the Tasmanian orienteering community for the first event in the Southern Shenanigans carnival of seven events, spanning the long weekend. Fahan students and their families are invited to participate free of charge in the event. Contact Mike if interested. Details are on the Orienteering Tasmania website

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 2, 27 May 2022