Fahan School eNewsletter

Principal's Report

What an exciting week it has been!

On Wednesday night, a committed group of Senior School students and teachers enjoyed the nail-biting viewing of the Matildas v England’s Lionesses together in the TM Hall.

As the first Australian soccer team to ever make it to the semifinals they have inspired a nation. Whilst the result was not what we hoped for, no matter how the game ended up, as so many people have commented on in the last few days, it has indeed been a win for raising the profile of women’s sport. One only had to see the enthusiasm for the Junior School ‘World Cup’, held today, to see this in action.

At Fahan we have excellent participation rates in our extra-curricular sports program, this is one of the distinct benefits of an all-girls’ school. I am sure the numbers participating in soccer will rise as a direct result of the fabulous role modelling of resilience, athleticism, and competitive spirit by the Matildas. Their leadership, as demonstrated both on and off the field, has been inspirational and they have made a tremendous positive impact on communities around Australia. I hope that it also inspires teenage girls continue to play a sport and be active far into their adult years.

Best wishes
Meg Lawson

Learning about Sustainability

As a part of our winter vacation program, we offered the children the opportunity to contribute to a communal art project using recycled and donated fabric and wool. Discussions around the theme were had with the children and we talked about recreating our outdoor environment at Fahan.

The children wanted to recreate the rivulet area that we play at daily, and we talked as a group about what this would look like. The water, willow trees, flowers animals and man ferns were carefully drawn on to the fabric and then lots of cutting of wool and fabric of all different textures was enjoyed as the children extended on their creativity with the multitude of colours.

All the children have continued this including the Pre-Kinders and the after-school girls. Our children are being offered a wonderful range of art experiences using a broad range of tactile materials.

Early childhood is a time for developing conceptual thinking as it is a platform for the later development of more complex concepts and ideas. Providing opportunities for children to explore and develop a range of learning and thinking skills compliments children’s curiosity and strengthens their learning.

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

Learning about pretzels!

In Science, Year 1 have been looking at different materials and how they can change physically. After investigating materials that stretch, bend and twist we were fortunate enough to incorporate each of these actions into one tasty and practical activity.

Mrs Browning helped us shape dough into pretzels by stretching, bending and twisting it. The students were able to feel the elasticity of the dough as they followed a step by step procedure to create their baked delights.

We also had some very interesting discussion about the impact of both heating and cooling on process. The pretzels were delicious!

Sarah Parsons

Year 1 and 2 have enjoyed Science Week, participating in and observing experiments and learning about different scientists.

We have enjoyed watching balloons inflate by mixing vinegar and bi-carb soda and picking up ice with a piece of thread from a cup of water, using just salt. We learned about Marie Curie, her incredible research and Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer.

Sarah Parsons and Sophie Baxter

This week, as part of our National Science Week celebrations, Year 3 students together with their Prep buddies, participated in a fun and colourful science activity together.

They arranged skittles on a plate in a circular pattern, then slowly added some warm water and observed what happened. The students loved watching the beautiful colours emerge to create a gorgeous pattern (and may have enjoyed eating some skittles afterwards too!)

There was much excitement and discussion about what was happening and possible explanations. Year 3 students remembered what they had learnt in their Science unit last term on 'Heat' and were very good at explaining to their younger buddies how the molecules in warm water are moving more quickly, therefore making the coloured coating on the skittles dissolve and spread through the water!

Science is FUN!

Nicole Bury

On Monday the 7 August, all of Year 5 went to the new Rockit in Derwent Park. The new Rockit is only bouldering so we had no harnesses which was scary because the walls were up to 4.5 meters tall. It was easy to lose your grip and fall off.

When we arrived, we were shown some warm ups to stretch our arms and legs for the climb. We also learnt how to fall off properly so as not to break or sprain anything. Even though there were big landing pads at the bottom we still had to be careful.

Then we got the special bouldering shoes and started to try different types and levels of walls and bouldering. It was great fun and we asked some girls to comment on their experience:

Freya - 'I liked how we were able to go on different levels and how we could challenge ourselves without harnesses.'

Ava - 'The instructors were very kind and explained the space very clearly and thoroughly before we started.'

Dottie -' I liked the feeling of jumping off and knowing you were still safe.'

Molly.J - 'You were very safe and it was good to know how to fall properly.'

Gertie - 'I liked there being some wildcard walls that you didn't know how hard they were.'

Rosie - 'I enjoyed hanging upside-down on the angled walls.'

By Madison Horne and Lottie Kingston, 5D.

On Tuesday the 15 August, Year 4 headed down to the oval to do some cricket with some of the Hobart Hurricanes players. Years 5 and 6 join us later also. firstly, we split up into classes and did some catching drills which became more difficult each time.

Next, we did some catching with a partner. We then went up to the tennis courts and saw the other players. Then we all lined up and had to throw some soft cricket balls at the players. If you went over the white line, then you would have to do 10 push ups and if you went above the waist then you would have to do 20 push ups. If they caught it, then they could throw it back at us. It was pretty hard, but it was still fun. At the end, the Hurricanes players handed out some cool flyers and magnets.

Nina Viviers, Frankie Gorringe and Violet Geappen

To celebrate Science Week, Years 5 and 6 invited three Young Tassie Scientists from University of Tasmania. They brought some valuable insights to the students through hands-on activities.

Zane the Neuroscientist discussed stress reduction techniques and mindfulness activities. He explained how stress affects the brain and how practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress levels. Mindfulness involves being fully present and aware in the moment, which can have positive effects on mental wellbeing.

Tom the Astronomer delved into the characteristics that define a planet. He explained that a planet typically composes of materials like ice, rock or gas. Additionally, he highlighted that planets need to have sufficient mass and gravity to become spherical due to hydrostatic equilibrium. Tom also mentioned that some planets have their own moons, which can provide interesting insights into their formation and dynamics.

Mary the Robotics Coder addressed the common concern about artificial intelligence (AI) taking over the world. She emphasised the role of humans in creating and controlling robots. Mary explained that AI and robots are tools that require programming, which humans provide through binary code. This crushes the notion that AI can function autonomously without human input and oversight.

I enjoyed learning about how stress can affect diseases, how you can code robots to diagnose illnesses quicker, and the interesting facts about each planet in the Milky Way. Freja Boost

I liked learning about the difference between a cold and a flu and what the symptoms mean and it was cool to discover how a robot can discover things. Emily Utting

Learning about the Theatre

It was a pleasure to take our Year 7 students to the Theatre Royal on Thursday. For some, it was the first time they had ever been in the theatre. The play they were seeing was an adaptation of the JUST book series, written by Andy Griffiths and illustrated by Terry Denton. One of our students was asked to write a recount of the excursion:

On Thursday morning Year 7’s went on the bus to see a play called JUST! by Andy Griffiths.

JUST! is now one of the funniest plays I’ve ever seen in the Theatre Royal! It always takes time to write a story! One of the funniest bits was the giant brussels sprout! It made me laugh so hard as the sprout chases Andy! It made me wonder how on earth Andy ate that whole thing! Let’s just say Andy was a bit gassy today, he was farting all the time! I’m amazed at the puppet work of the dog Sooty! I love how the show went and the questions after the show were hilarious! Andy Griffiths came on stage at the end, along with the actors from the play. It’s funny how the actor Andy was offended when the real Andy called him, “Dumb Andy”.

Bailey Mellefont

Learning about the State Library

In the past fortnight, Year 5 classes have visited the State Library of Tasmania. This visit provided an opportunity for students to familiarise themselves with the State Library and its resources. Many students received their first State Library card during these visits.

We were fortunate to have Mrs Kate Headlam, who works at both the State Library and our Senior School Library, to give us a guided tour of the State Library.

Did you know that:

There are over 45 State branches in lutruwita.
The state library has approximately 500,000 books.
You can borrow and return books at any branch in the State.
The State Library of Tasmania, which opened in 1825 was one of Australia’s first libraries.
Tasmania was the first state in Australia to provide library and archive services.
The original State Library building was on the corner of Barrack and Davey Street.
In 2022, 100,000 Tasmanians held a Library card.
In 2022, there were 2.25 million visitors to the State and branch libraries.

We also visited the Allport Museum and were delighted to hear from artist, Jane Giblin about her artwork and inspiration for her new exhibition “Dear Kate: the vision of the Mitchell women" opening 11th August.

Meg Denman & Sue Cole

We were extremely lucky to have Grace Tame visit Fahan to speak with Legal Studies students (9-12) about her role in influencing the law.

Grace spoke about the steps involved in law reform, the importance of public support and drawing on the expertise of lawyers, fellow advocates, researchers and members of the community. Grace spoke with authenticity, generosity and poignancy. Needless to say, the students were truly engaged.

Ella Kearney

Learning about DNA

The Year 10 classes have studied the structure and function of DNA this year in Genetics. We are very familiar now with the double helix (twisted ladder) structure of the molecule, and the pairs of bases that make up the ‘rungs’ of the ladder.

Students were asked to make a 3D model of part of a DNA molecule using everyday items from home, with some excellent results. We also performed DNA extractions from a range of different fruits, including bananas and strawberries. We started by crushing the fruit, then adding a detergent buffer to release the DNA from the cells of the fruit. The DNA then precipitated out of the solution when we added cold ethanol (alcohol). The DNA looked like snot!

We discovered that strawberries yielded the greatest amount of DNA because they are octoploid, meaning that they have eight copies of each type of chromosome!

Felicity Jacobs

The theme for Science Week 2023 is ‘Innovation: Powering Future Industries’. On Monday evening, two senior Science students – Molly Bradfield and Olivia Sampson – accompanied Miss Jacobs to Government House where the Governor, Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC hosted a Science Week reception. We were treated to some delicious canapes and were able to chat informally to other science students from Hobart, as well as scientists researching and working in Hobart.

Back at school on Tuesday, Dr Stewart kicked off Science Week for us with a bang. He demonstrated how water can be split to form hydrogen gas and oxygen gas using a process called electrolysis. We saw how twice as much hydrogen was trapped compared to the oxygen, owing to the water molecule containing twice as many hydrogen atoms as oxygen atoms (H₂O). We trapped some of the hydrogen gas in balloons and then set them alight, causing a big boom! We discussed how generating hydrogen in this way can be used to fuel cars, ship goods, airplanes, and basically anything that uses fuel as energy. In Tasmania, we can split the water to generate hydrogen gas in a renewable way (with hydropower) which releases no greenhouse gases.

Following this demonstration, Years 7-12 played a giant Kahoot game. The winning teams won a delicious prize. There were 18 science-based questions including:

‘Which gas is the most abundant in the Earth’s atmosphere?’; and
‘What shape is a buckminsterfullerene molecules?’ (see answers below).

Year 4 and Class 7N attended the Festival of Bright Ideas at Princes Wharf earlier today, and had a great time exploring some weird and wonderful science ideas.

All week we have been running three different science competitions open to all Year 7-12 students:

The winners of the ‘Crystal Growing Competition’ were Essie Burke (Year 7) who grew some beautiful clear crystals on a rock, and Beatrix Burgoyne (Year 9), who grew some long colourful crystals on wooden sticks.

Equal first place winners of the ‘Lego Model Competition’ were Beatrix Burgoyne (Year 9) who made two models of tectonic plate boundaries, and Hannah Sheen (Year 10 who made a 3D model of an animal cell) and 3^rd place went to Essie Burke (Year 7) who made a labelled model of a cell.

The winners of the ‘Interesting Science Facts Competition’ are as follows:

Winners

There is a type of jellyfish, which can theoretically live forever. Its scientific name is Turritopsis dohrnii, and its common name is the Immortal Jellyfish. It is very small, only 4.5 millimetres wide. When the jellyfish is damaged or starved, it can regress in its age and return to an earlier stage of life. It will then grow into an adult again. This mean that theoretically, it can never die of old age. However, the conditions are not always perfect, or the jellyfish can get preyed on, in which case it will die. (Amelie Rincon-Franco, Year 10)
The Drosophila bifurca fruit fly's sperm, when uncoiled, measures 5.8 cm long, which is over twenty times longer than the average body length of the male. (Hannah Sheen, Year 10)
Instead of just solid, liquid, and gas; there are actually more than two dozen known states of matter, including Bose-Einstein condensates, when atoms are cooled to almost zero and start behaving like waves! (Ruby Squires, Year 9)
A cockroach has the ability to live one week without its head. (Molly Porter, Year 9)

Runners-up

There are more trees on earth than there are stars in the solar system. (Molly Porter, Year 9)
There is no flavour in food without saliva. There are more trees on earth than stars in the galaxy! (Ruby Leditschke, Year 8)
Did you know that a shrimp's heart is in its head, dead bodies decompose faster in water than on land and dead bodies sometimes explode inside the coffin? (Sophie Scott, Year 7)
The human body can digest a razor blade, because the acids in your stomach are so strong. In fact, if you didn't get a new stomach lining every 3-4 days, your stomach would eat itself. (Sarah Berner, Year 8) (Betsy Ryan, Year 10)
Sharks were around before trees existed (Caitlin Barnes, Year 9)
Every six months you grow a new face. This happens because your face sheds its skin cells, so that eventually your face has completely new cells, therefore a new face. (Essie Burke, Year 7)

*Answers to quiz questions: Nitrogen; Soccer ball

After the Matilda’s nail-biting win against France on the weekend, our Year 12 leaders decided to host a Matildas watch party on Wednesday evening in TM Hall. Student's from Years 7-12 were invited and the Year 12s sold sweet snacks will all proceeds going towards their chosen charities, The Freya Fund and S.H.E.

While it wasn't a win for the Matilda's on this occasion, a great time was had by all!

Spirit of Yokohama Eiwa Sister School

For the past two weeks, Fahan have been lucky enough to have a visit from ten students from our Japanese sister school, Aoyama Gakuin Yokohama Eiwa. We each hosted a student in our home for this time so that they could experience a typical Australian lifestyle, while also coming to school with us to experience this as well.

On Tuesday we all went on an excursion with our host sisters to Bonorong Wildlife Park and Richmond. At Bonorong we were able to see many different Australian animals including wombats, echidnas, Tasmanian devils and kookaburras. Additionally, we were able to feed the kangaroos which the Japanese students really enjoyed.

Following this, we travelled up to Richmond where we went to an old model town of Hobart. Here, the girls were able to see what Hobart originally looked like and could compare the city to what they had already seen. After the visit to this model town, we went for lunch to the Richmond Bakery and Lolly Shop, which everyone really enjoyed. Our last stop on this excursion was to visit the Richmond Bridge, where the girls could take some beautiful photos and learn more about Tasmanian history.

We have been so lucky to have this exchange with Aoyama Gakuin Yokohama Eiwa and are excited to go to Japan in September and reconnect with all the students.

Felicity Barling

Hurricanes Clinic

On Tuesday, the Junior School was lucky enough to have a visit from members of the Hurricanes mens and womens programs. The girls were put through their paces and finished with a questions and answer session and some autographs.

Our Junior School World Cup Soccer competition today was met with great enthusiasm from all year levels. I look forward to sharing more about this in the next newsletter! Preparations are beginning for athletics season and below are some important dates for your reference.

Junior House Athletics

When: Thursday, 21st September
Time: 10.30am to 2.30pm
Where: Domain

JSSATIS Athletics

When: Thursday, 9^th November
Time: 10.00am to 2.30pm
Where: Domain

Back up day (Monday 13th Nov)

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

Spirit - Senior School Sport

SSATIS Swimming Carnival

The Southern SATIS Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday 1 September at the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre. A team has been selected and is on the Tree on the Senior Sport page in the Swimming section. Training has begun and a detailed training schedule is also on the Tree.

Following the SSATIS Carnival, a team of a reduced number will be selected for the SATIS Carnival also at the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre, on Wednesday 13 September. The team will be selected based on performances at the Southern Carnival and a team list will be released soon after that event.

Congratulations to Ava Minganelli who has recently returned from New Zealand where she represented Tasmania at the Apollo 2023 New Zealand Short Course Championships. Ava swan exceptionally well and has returned with medals in the 1500m and 800m and also with personal best times. Ava broke the Girls 13 yrs 1500m Short Course record in a time or 17:37.67 – a fantastic effort!

Rowing

There is a Fahan Rowing Working Bee on Saturday 2 September at the Sandy Bay Rowing Club at 9am. It would be wonderful to see as many rowing parents there as possible. The Working Bee will be a wonderful way to get together before the rowing season begins and it will also mean that our rowers can get on to the water in boats with oars that are fully equipped and ready to go.

Running Group

Every Friday morning at 6.00am a group of Fahan students from Year 7 to Year 12 meet at the gym. This group of students come to Running Group for many reasons and it has been wonderful to see more students join the group and improve their running. Running Group is not compulsory and there is not always a competition to train for. It is about getting out and running for enjoyment and doing something active with a group of friends. Everyone can run! You don’t have to be the best runner, you just have to put one foot in front of the other and be prepared to have a go. Improvement comes with perseverance and effort and the spirit and encouragement of the Running Group makes this the best way to start the day. We welcome any students from years 7 – 12 to Running Group. We meet at the Fahan Gym at 6.00am.

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

Community - The Great Book Swap

Students in the Junior School are looking forward to The Great Book Swap. This event promotes reading and raises funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Families have kindly donated one or two used books, in good condition and next week students will be invited to make a gold coin donation for each book swapped. Further information is available at:

https://edu.greatbookswap.org.au/fahangreatbookswap

Meg Denman & Sue Cole

Community - P&F Dinner Tickets Selling Fast!

The P&F Spring Soirée Dinner is fast approaching! Thank you to all the families who have contributed silent and live auction items - the hampers put together by Junior School classes are very impressive and we have some great experiences and other exciting things on offer on the night. Thank you also to the hard-working P&F Committee - many hours have gone into ensuring it will be a fantastic evening and we are lucky to have such a fantastic team of parents involved in our School.

We have had a fantastic response so far with over 130 people currently attending the dinner. There are still some seats available (call out to Years 7 and 8 parents!) so book your ticket today. We look forward to seeing you all there and raising money to benefit our daughters.

Michael O'Connor
P&F President

RSVP to the P&F Dinner here

Community - NASA Scholarship Applications

As many of you are aware, Fahan is sending two groups of students on an international trip to visit NASA in the USA from 7-20 December 2024 as part of the CASE Space School, run by Actura Australia. We have students attending the Senior trip (Years 10-12) and Junior trip (Years 7-9). CASE (California Association for STEAM Education) is offering three Australian student scholarships in 2024. Fahan was invited to nominate one student to apply for the scholarship.

A significant number of students applied for the chance to become Fahan’s nominee. The standard of applications was very high and the decision to choose just one was very difficult. We are delighted to announce that the successful applicant was Ella Baird in Year 9. Her application has been forwarded to Actura Australia, who will choose just three scholarships Australia-wide. We will find out if Ella’s application has been successful on September 11. Congratulations and good luck, Ella!

Felicity Jacobs

Community - Invitation to Parent Information Session about Vaping

Fahan School, in conjunction with The Hutchins School and St Michael’s Collegiate, invite Years 7 to 12 parents/guardians to an informative panel presentation about vaping and supporting our students.

This will be held at 6:00pm on Tuesday 29 August at the Performing Arts Centre in the Senior School Campus of St Michael’s Collegiate.

This is a free event, but we ask that you book tickets using the Trybooking link provided here.

Please find attached an invitation with further details. We hope to see you there.

Mr Chris Summers
Deputy Principal

St.Lukes_Vape_Education_Night_invite_Final.pdf

Community - National Science Quiz

Fun for the whole family!

Do you and your family love a quiz? Of course, you do!

Enter and play along at home with the livestreamed National Science Quiz on Sunday 27 August for the chance to win cash prizes. Hosted by Charlie Pickering, the quiz is always a lot of fun!

Groups of students can enter together as a Fahan team by clicking here.

Families and friends can enter as a general team.

Find more information by clicking here.

If you’d like to see what the practice questions are like or submit a question of your own, click here.

The full event guide can be found by clicking here.

Good luck!

Ms Felicity Jacobs

Important Notes

Second Hand Uniform

The Uniform Shop is no longer accepting second hand uniform items for sale.

School Canteen Contact

As previously advised, Amelia Edwards has taken over from Birgitta Browning as the Food Services Manager and can be contacted at edwardsa2@fahan.tas.edu.au for any Canteen-related queries.

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.

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.

2024_Term_Dates.pdf

Community Notices

The Uniform Shop is open for appointments during the following times:

Tuesdays: 8:30am - 4:00pm
Thursdays: 11:30am -4:00pm

Parents are able to make an appointment via email for a fitting uniformshop@fahan.tas.edu.au. Students may visit the Uniform Shop during recess, at lunch time, or after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Fahan School uniform items can be ordered through the Flexischools website or App (Apple of Google). All uniform orders placed via the Flexischools App will be delivered to Reception for Senior School orders and to the classrooms for Junior School orders on Tuesdays and Thursdays during term time. Please allow two days notice for delivery of orders placed before 4:00pm (three days for orders placed after 4:00pm).

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, 18 August 2023

Principal's Report

Learning about Sustainability

Learning about pretzels!

Learning about Science experiments

Prep and Year 3 Buddies

Learning about Rock Climbing

Learning about Cricket with the Hurricanes

Learning about Young Tassie Scientists