A Fortnight at Fahan - Term 2, 26 May 2023

Principal's Report

Term 2 is moving on apace! Preparations and rehearsals for the Year 6 production of Matilda the Musical JR. are at maximum levels and we are all eagerly anticipating this performance next week.

Fahan hosted Junior Interschool Debating on Wednesday and some of our senior students have participated in the SSATIS Cross Country, with much success. Tonight is the first Years 7/8 Social that has been held with Hutchins and Collegiate since 2019 and it is a much-anticipated event. Saturday is the Year 12 Quiz Night and Silent Auction, which promises to be an entertaining night.

In staffing news, we will be farewelling our School Counsellor, Ms Zoe Hannaford, at the beginning of July. Zoe has been a truly wonderful addition to our staff, and we are so grateful the care she has taken with all of our students. She will be much missed by us all and we wish her the very best for the next stage of her career.

I am delighted to inform you that Mrs Maria Conway has been appointed as our new School Counsellor. Maria may already be familiar to many of you, having worked at Fahan prior to the arrival of Zoe.

Ms Anna Williamson will be commencing her maternity leave at the end of this week and we are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of a Fahan staff baby! As a result, Mr John Williamson will be returning to the classroom and we will be welcoming Mrs Miranda Baptist, who will be teaching Business Studies.

In the IT Department Systems and Network Administrator, Mr Andy Conlan, will be leaving us to take up a new position at Tas Ports and we wish him all the very best with this move. We will be welcoming Hamish Dwyer to the position of ICT Systems and Support Technician.

Dr Melanie East will be taking leave in Semester Two to travel to the USA and, in her place, we will welcome Ms India Anderson, who has previously been teaching Mathematics at Hutchins.

Ms Jayne Wheatley has joined us in the Music Department. Jayne has extensive experience teaching at both Collegiate and Hutchins and we are so pleased that she has been able to join us here at Fahan.

Have a wonderful weekend, I will look forward to seeing those who can make it to the Quiz Night on Saturday.

Best wishes
Meg Lawson

Learning about Feelings and Emotions in Pre-Kinder

Our current program has included a focused element about emotions and feelings and how to understand these and express them appropriately.

Educators have used stories at morning meeting to talk and support this discussion, allowing the children to identify what emotions they regularly feel - sad, happy, loved, nervous, scared, angry.

With the children we have looked at individual emotions and what they can look on our faces when we are feeling them and how our facial expressions can impact on others and make them feel.

We then took the opportunity to ask the children's permission to take photos of their faces expressing these emotions. These images are now displayed in the room for regular engagement and reflection with the label of the emotion being displayed attached.

The children have also been asking their families to come and view the images, which has opened further discussions about responses to emotions.

Spontaneously to extend on the emotions that we feel, one of the children bought in a dead bird from home for us to observe in detail. This family also shared some photos of a litter of puppies that their pet dog gave birth to at home. This allowed us to explore the emotions and thoughts that are associated with the death of something or someone special to us and the delight, joy and happiness associated with a birth.

Kind regards

Lisa, Kelly, Moya and Vivienne
Lady Gowrie Fahan Education and Care Team

Learning about Orienteering

On Wednesday 24 May, Year 4 went orienteering at Risdon Brook Dam to practice our map reading. When we arrived there, we were split up into three groups. In our groups we split again into partners. Each pair were handed a map and asked where they thought they were on the map. This is called orientating the map to the ground. We then walked around the lake and asked every now and then where we were. We learnt about contour lines, scale and legends. We then stopped for lunch at the quarry, then moved on. After about twenty minutes of walking, we got split into groups of four and had to learn what the people in your group did over the Easter holidays, their favourite pet and colour.

We all had a great time and enjoyed learning to read maps.  

By Carla Hutchinson and Mila Schramm 

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Learning about the Power of Algebra in Year 8

Year 8 students are currently learning how letters can represent numbers in an expression. A recent challenge was to create formulae, using various sums and the letters a, b and c, to generate large positive numbers. Students used their models to create four Top Trump cards.

Once the cards were completed, a range of positive and negative numbers, large and small, were chosen for a, b and c, generating values for their Top Trump cards.

Students enjoyed playing the game with their peers and some patterns quickly appeared. Interesting discussions regarding the use of even powers, directed numbers, infinity notation and the ability to make a prediction took place as the students were trying to gain cards from each other.

It was interesting to see characters from 'the Outsiders' being chosen for the illustration of some cards. The girls have studied the book in English and have truly connected with the story!

Mrs Virginie von Savageri

Learning about the Science and Engineering Challenge

Last week, a group of Years 9 and 10 students headed along to the UTAS Activities Centre to participate in the annual Science and Engineering Challenge. This event is run by the University of Newcastle in conjunction with UTAS and allows groups of local Years 9 and 10 students to compete against each other in STEM challenges. Some of the challenges this year were: constructing a Mars rover, designing an earthquake resistant tower, sending and receiving coded messages and developing networks to join a series of towns in the most efficient way possible. All students were focused, happy and productive, and at the end of the day, we achieved 3^rd place out of 9 schools. Congratulations to all students involved on their commitment, patience, perseverance, creativity, teamwork, friendliness and courage.

I really liked working with people I don’t usually work with. I thought it was an awesome experience because I was able to learn new skills and future initiatives and problems that can help the world. Highly recommend for Year 9 and 10 next year.  Poppy Leditschke 

This was a really fun and great experience. I loved working with my group and trying to figure out the best plan and solution.  Ivy Dickson

I found building the earthquake proof tower really exciting, but challenging. After trial and error, my group learnt that creating a sturdy base was the key to success.  Ella Baird

I liked trying new things until we got it right. Some problems took longer than expected but it was worth the hard work.  Eleanor de Wit

I loved working with my friends to solve problems and complete challenges.  Alice Bergman

I liked the coding thing with the colours and also liked visiting the University because it was fun.  Caitlin Barnes

This was a really fun experience and I would definitely encourage people to go on this. At first I wasn’t too sure about it but in the end I had a great time.  Tess Lawson

I really enjoyed going to the Uni to represent Fahan in the Science and Engineering Challenge. My favourite challenge was powering electricity throughout a city and my group did very well in it. Although there were a few troubles, I really enjoyed this experience and would definitely recommend it to future year groups.  Zara Marino

Ms Felicity Jacobs

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Learning about Law

This term in Years 11/12 Legal Studies, we are learning about sources of law. We started with our supreme law maker in Australia - parliament.

Students enthusiastically participated in a passing of a bill role play. The theme of the bill presented by Government involved lowering the current defence budget.

Shadow Defence Minister, Louis Smith, passionately warned the Government of decreasing spending, while his counterpart, Nick Jaeger, defended the Government's decision with some hard-hitting facts. The Minister for Housing, Molly Crosby, was brought to tears when describing the housing crisis and the need to move money from defence to housing.

The role play was a great way to see the process, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of parliament as a law maker.

On Thursday this week, Dr Matt Killingsworth (Head of Internal Relations at UTAS), gave our Years 11/12 Legal Studies class an introduction to another important source of law: international law. Students were highly engaged as Dr Killingsworth explained the nuances of international law, the role (and problems) of the UN Security Council, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and disputes in the South China Sea. The students were buzzing after this lesson. 

Ms Ella Kearney

Spirit of National Simultaneous Storytime

The Speedy Sloth

On Wednesday, students from Pre-Kinder to Year 2 gathered on the Junior School Green for this year’s Storytime title, The Speedy Sloth, 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
• provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.

ALIA was excited to announce that last year's record has been broken with over 2,357,960 participants at 22,542 locations taking part in 2023!

In preparation for Storytime, we researched information about sloths. Did you know that sloths spend most of their time either eating or sleeping. In fact, sloths sleep for up to 15 hours every day? Or, that although sloths are slow on land, they are very good swimmers?

Afterwards, Mr Dale officiated running races for all class groups. Some of us were speedy, some of us were slow, but we all had a great day!

I saw my friend from Pre-Kinder at Storytime.  Willow

I liked waving the flag we made.  Olivia

I loved it. So, thank you!  Lizzie

I was very grateful we had Storytime.  Lily

Thank you to Mr Dale for coming and teaching us.  Maggie

I really liked the story.  Mia

I liked being in the race, and Mrs Gath being funny!  Dotti

I liked it because when we got to the finish line, the big girls were holding the finish line sign! Elodie

Mrs Gath as Spike the Sloth was hilarious! Berrima

Mrs Meg Denman

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Spirit of Year 12 - Silent Auction

Spirit of Year 10 Sport

This month in Physical Education, Year 10 students undertook a Sport Ed model on futsal/indoor soccer.  Teams were chosen randomly and the project ran over four weeks.

In the first week the teams were allocated, training sessions started, and the first round was played. All students took on roles such as coach, manager, referee, media person and statistician. This was able to encourage people to step forward and show their leadership skills. Within these four weeks the students participated and enjoyed this new way of learning. 

As the weeks went on, the team spirit grew, as well as their competitiveness. The morale was high during each game and continued to be so each week, as did the skills of players. The students worked well together and were able to bond as a whole grade and learn more about each other in a different environment. 

Within the final week students had the opportunity to organise their grand final. They created banners to run through and chose theme songs. This built up the excitement and eagerness for the final few games. The scores were extremely close after the four week season and congratulations goes to the Bumblebees and Pythons who played off on the 1 v 2 match with the Bumblebees coming out on top after an exciting finish of penalty shots. 

The students are excited to continue these roles when they play netball in their next unit and will have the chance to swap teams and roles. Overall, this was an enjoyable experience for Year 10 students. Although there was only one winning team, everybody took something away from it. We believe this should be continued and shared across grades with a variety of sports. 

The final ladder was displayed on the Year 10 Sports Noticeboard, along with photos, statistics and quotes from the season, some of which are below: 

I love the excitement in here. I love seeing everyone having a go. – Ruby 

I think we are going really well. I’m really proud of our team as we have been working on our accuracy and this is the first game we have scored in. – Hannah, Pythons 

It’s great to be doing something everyone can participate in, and everyone is having fun with some good friendly competition. – Betsy, Shark 

Mrs Peta-Jane Buchan and Mr Bryce Coulson 

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Spirit of Outdoor Education

This term, the Year 12 Outdoor Education students have been developing their kayaking skills and knowledge of this sport across various avenues from flat water to moving water. The students have been working on their strokes to manoeuvre a kayak, effectively exit a boat and the safety aspects of this activity. These skills were put into practice last Thursday when we had the culminating day trip from Judbury to Ranelagh on the Huon River, where the students got to experience a grade 1 –2 river and develop their skills negotiating small rapids.

They all did an incredible job along the 12km stretch of river, showing great camaraderie, leadership and determination.   

Ms Stacey Maley

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Spirit of JATNET Statewide Japanese Poster Competition

This year's theme of the Japanese Teachers' Network of Tasmania (JATNET) Statewide Japanese Poster Competition was 2023 The Year of the Rabbit. 

The judges' feedback was: "The number and quality of entries were high, and the judges had difficulty judging!"

Congratulations to the following students:

Years 7-8
First prize - Selina Tarsesi

Years 9-10
First prize - Adele Laganiere 

Participation - Essie Burke (Year 7), Meral Asad (Year 8)

Entries can be seen on the JATNET website, along with all the results.

Mrs Clare Enright

Spirit - Junior School Sport

Term 2 Sports

Both the Junior Hockey and Junior Netball rosters have started well and the girls have been training hard and competing strongly.  Many thanks to those girls who have been filling in or playing a second game if required, which allows us to have fewer subs and more time on the court/field.

Junior School Cross Country

Thursday’s Junior House Cross Country was unfortunately postponed.  Whilst the forecast suggested the poor weather would pass later in the morning, unfortunately the conditions in the lead up weren’t sufficient to allow the track to be set up.

Below is the rescheduled date, when we are hoping for better weather.

Thursday 1 June –  Fahan Junior House Cross Country

Venue:  Nutgrove Beach

Time:  11.15am to 12.30pm.  Below are some approximate times.

Year 4  - 11.15am
Year 3 – 11.40am
Year 5 – 12.00pm
Year 6 -  12.20pm

Thursday 15 June – JSSATIS Cross Country

Venue:  Rokeby Police Academy

Time: First race 12:00pm, last race 1:30pm.

(top 8 runners from House Carnival long course + 2 reserves)

NB: Race in year groups.

Tuesday 27  June – Primary All Schools Cross Country

Venue:  Symmons Plains

Time: First race 11:25am, last race 1:05pm.

(any interested runner who commits to training.  Bus departs Fahan at 7:45am)

NB:  Race in age groups.

Mr Tim Dale
Junior Sport Coordinator
dalet@fahan.tas.edu.au

Spirit - Senior School Sport

Cross Country

Congratulations to the Fahan Cross Country Team who competed in the SSATIS Cross Country at Soldiers Memorial Oval, Queens Domain, on Wednesday 24 May. It was a wonderful day with the sun shining and mild conditions. The course was challenging, particularly the hill in the last half of the race, but every Fahan competitor ran their best and showed great determination. Everyone should be enormously proud of their efforts.

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

Under 13
Lucy Meikle – 3^rd

Under 14
Ava Mignanelli – 3^rd

Under 15
Pia Abberton - 5^th

Under 16
Hannah Sheen - 6th

Open
Ella Atkins – 5^th
Prue Clarke 9^th

Fahan was 2^nd in the Aggregate Girls Shield.  The Under 15's were 2nd in their pennant. In the Senior Shield, Fahan was 2^nd and in the Junior Shield, 4th. 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 20 June.

Girls selected in the team are expected to attend at least one cross country/fitness training a week. All students, 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 7:00 – 7:50am. Please meet at the Fahan gym.

Sailing

Congratulations to the Fahan Sailing Team (Blue Team) who have been invited to compete in the Australian Teams Sailing Championships. These will be held in Goolwa, South Australia, from Tuesday July 4 to Sunday July 9. Best wishes and we look forward to hearing the results. Many thanks to Amy Potter for coaching and Mr Chris Wood, Sailing Coordinator.

Fahan Blue Sailing Team – Abbey Willcox, Grace Hooper, Anabelle Zeeman, Isabel Willcox, Evie Gray, Sarah Reynolds and Aviya Lincolne-Lomax.

City to Casino Fun Run

Congratulations to all the Fahan runners who competed in the City to Casino Fun Run on Sunday 21 May. This was the 50^th anniversary and we thank everyone who works hard to make this a wonderful event. Fahan had runners in all the distances, and everyone should be commended on their commitment, especially as it was a very chilly start!

Well done and thank you to the sailors as well who were busy cooking and selling egg and bacon rolls at the end of the race!

Term 2 Sports Captains

Congratulations to the following Year 12 students who have been elected as the sports captain for Term Two 1^st Grade sports:

Harriet Badenach – Hockey

Evie Banks-Smith – Australian Rules Football

Olivia Sampson - Waterpolo

Winter Sports Day

Winter Sports Day will be held on Wednesday 5 July. This is always a day filled with fierce Inter House Competition. All Senior School students take part in a variety of sports and games throughout the day, including Volleyball, Australian Rules Football, Flags, Dodgeball, Run the Gauntlet, Netball and Diamond Cricket. The annual Students v Staff Soccer game will be held at lunchtime. This is always an exciting game and this year the students will be looking for a win after the Staff team have won for the two years! The Tug of War at the end of the day is also a much anticipated event.

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 for Term 3 sport sign ups shortly.

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

Community - Ukrainian Guest Speaker

In Week 3, the Amnesty group were visited by Tania – a local Ukrainian woman who has been working tirelessly to help Ukrainians who have recently arrived in Tasmania, as well as supporting those back in the Ukraine. Tania told us a little about her own story – she used to live in Kiev until she immigrated 8 years ago with her young family. She has friends and family still living in Ukraine and told us of some of the hardships currently faced by them, and she spoke about the effect of the war on school children and their learning. We heard about the daily air raid sirens which mean the children need to move to the bomb shelter, and often the electricity gets cut off. It was incredible to hear these stories first-hand. We hear about them often on the news but it brought a whole new perspective to hear them from someone with friends and family going through it.

As Community Chair, Aria Ritz recently organised for the Amnesty Group to hold a cake stall.  We hope to put the money towards buying a generator for a school in the Ukraine. If you would like to help show your support for the recently arrived Ukrainians in Hobart, you can join them on Parliament Lawns where they gather every Saturday morning, and hold a small stall selling knitted goods. You can also donate by visiting their Facebook page (Association of Ukrainians in Tasmania) – there are also other donation options on their Facebook page. If you would like to put money towards our fundraising efforts to buy a generator for a school, watch this space!

Ms Felicity Jacobs

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Community - Invitation to Join the Fahan School Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group

At Fahan, we are committed to fostering a culture of learning, spirit, and community that is inclusive and respectful of all people. One of the ways in which we can continue to work towards this goal is by developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) that will guide us in our efforts to promote reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We believe that developing a RAP is essential to creating an environment that is truly inclusive and welcoming to all. We are committed to creating a RAP that is meaningful, effective, and reflects the values and aspirations of our School Community.

A RAP is a strategic plan outlining actions and targets that an organisation can undertake to help close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It provides a framework for improving relationships, creating meaningful opportunities, and promoting a greater understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

We would be keen to hear from members of our parent community who would be interested in joining our Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group. This Group will be responsible for guiding the development and implementation of our RAP, and will work closely with staff, students, and the wider community to ensure that our efforts are aligned with our values and goals.

If you are interested in joining the Working Group, please let me know via email and I will provide you with more information about the Working Group and its role.

Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to our School Community.

Mrs Tania Gath
gatht@fahan.tas.edu.au

Community - Seeking Rowing Coaches

Fahan Rowing is looking for expressions of interest for rowing coaches for the 2023-2024 rowing season.

 It would be ideal, but not essential to have:

• Experience as a participant in rowing
• Rowing coaching experience
• At least level one rowing coaching qualifications or the intention to obtain
• Current motorboat licence or intention to obtain
• Current Working with Vulnerable Persons certification

Please email Director of Rowing, Stephen Lambert, to express your interest.

Lamberts2@fahan.tas.edu.au

2024 Term Dates

2024 Term Dates have been finalised and are available through the link on the left panel of the newsletters, the School website, Fahan App (under links on the bottom right hand corner) and below.

Community - Student Absence

Notification of student absence as a result of illness should be emailed to absence@fahan.tas.edu.au, advised by telephone on 6225 1064 or submitted through the Fahan App. 

You are reminded that if foreseen absences are unavoidable, such as holidays during term time, a Request for Absence form should be completed and returned to the School.

Community Notices

Fahan School Bus Service

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