A Fortnight at Fahan - Term 3, 1 September 2023

Principal's Report

Music has the incredible power to bring people together, to uplift spirits, and to create a sense of unity that transcends boundaries. Last week many of us had the pleasure of watching our Senior students compete for the honour of winning the House Music awards for their House and Ensemble performances. This is a vibrant event that not only showcases the talents of our senior students but also highlights their dedication and involvement in creating outstanding performances. The joy of watching House Music is more than just a spectacle; it's a celebration of the hard work, collaboration, and passion that our students pour into every note. Our House Chairs certainly gave it their all.

Last weekend, our School Community came together for the Parents and Friends Spring Soiree, an event that perfectly encapsulated the spirit of unity and celebration. The event was a resounding success, bringing together our community to enjoy an entertaining evening which raised a considerable amount of money for the benefit our students. The event would not have been possible without the hard of work of a dedicated group of volunteers and I would like to thank each and every one of them for their contribution to a wonderful night.

Best wishes
Meg Lawson

Learning about the Post Office and the Beach

We are delighted to share the latest walking excursion our Pre-Kinder children enjoyed last week. A beautiful inspiring adventure into the local community.

With enthusiasm and creativity, children decided to prepare a greeting card for our pen pal Mrs. Murchison, filling it with colourful drawings. We visited the local post office, where we purchased the stamps and affixed them to the envelope. With a deepening understanding of the mailing process, children eagerly placed the card into the mailbox. This hands-on activity not only introduced them to real-world processes but also honed their fine motor skills and cognitive understanding.

The beach adventure offered a range of experiences including rock climbing along the foreshore and connecting with the natural world. With hands covered in sand, they felt the texture, observed the tiny grains, and marvelled at the waves. They discovered hidden treasures and learned about the diversity of marine life that washes ashore. With small branches and twigs as tools, children transformed the beach into their artistic area, constructing intricate sand sculptures and sandcastles. Through exploration and play, they gained a deeper appreciation for the beauty of the world around them.

Nature provides a boundless canvas for the imagination. All these wonderful community connections enrich our program and provide lovely extensions for our children and their interests.

Lady Gowrie Fahan Education and Care Team

Lisa, Kelly, Moya, Vivienne, and Hattie

Learning about Story Walks with Hutchins

During our Book Week Celebrations last week, Fahan School organised a delightful Story Walk in collaboration with The Hutchins School for Kinder to Year 2 students. The children enjoyed a fantastic experience of shared storytelling beneath the willows and throughout the Fahan Gardens. Each story had its designated station, encouraging exploration and play. It was a wonderful day dedicated to the joy of reading together.

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Learning about plaiting

As part of our ongoing Science investigation into everyday materials and how they can change, Year 1 have been learning about the additional strength that comes from twisting certain fibres. 

We used three different coloured strands of wool and attempted to plait them together. For most of the class, it was a pretty tricky task! There were some students who had previous experience with plaiting and were able to plait their own wool and then offer help to their peers (which was wonderful!).

When everyone’s plait was complete, we used them to represent strong rope/cable in our individual artworks and glued them carefully into place. We were really happy with the final results.

Mrs Sarah Parsons

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Learning about Sphero

In Digital Technology, the Year 3 students having been learning some basic computational skills such as working out steps and decisions required to solve simple problems. In this activity, they used basic programming control blocks to change their robotic Sphero’s direction, speed, colour, and sound.  The Hub was ablaze with colours and sounds. Next, they will programme their Sphero to navigate around a maze.  This will test their imagination, positional language, sequencing, estimating, and measuring.  

Mr David Hodgman

Learning about the Great Book Swap

During Book Week, students in the Junior School participated in The Great Book Swap. This event promotes reading and raises funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Families kindly donated one or two used books, in good condition and students made a gold coin donation for each book swapped. At the end of the week, Kindergarten students assisted Mrs Kaz Tonks to count the proceeds. We are excited to announce that we have raised $259.50! Thank you for your support!

Meg Denman & Sue Cole

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Learning about the Town Hall

On Friday 25 August, Year 6 students visited the Hobart Town Hall for a tour with the Lord Mayor. This excursion correlated with our current unit of Government systems of Australia and Local Government from last term. 

Our visit included a discussion of our ideas for the Children Mayor's Program, as well as a bit of history and admiration of the building itself. 

The Town Hall is a magnificent building designed by Henry Hunter. Since 1866, the Hall has hosted many events. We felt rather grand while sitting in the Henry Hunter Reading Room with its lush red and gold carpets, velvet seating and ornate ceiling. We met the Honourable Lord Mayor of Hobart, Anna Reynolds. The Mayor discussed the history of the building and showed us the Grand Hall which was spectacular. 

The council chambers meeting with Mayor Milla was a huge success. With the Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds in attendance, she was impressed by our ideas and decisions. 

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Learning about gymnastics

For the past few weeks, Years 7 and 8 have been taking sessions at the Kingsborough Sports Centre. Our focus was on beam where we challenged ourselves with new skills, taught by our instructor.  These skills included turns, jumps, and holds, and on the last session we showcased the skills to one another. More great memories were made when we had an opportunity to explore other areas of gymnastics including, floor work and bar. This was a great experience for all of us and there was so much positive feedback.  Some comments were, “I really enjoyed the gymnastics excursions; it was a great opportunity to extend our skills in gymnastics and I hope to do it again.” We are very grateful to be able to go on excursions and learn new skills like this, and we all had such an enjoyable time.

Amelia Berry & Camilla Cox

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Learning about women in parliament

On Thursday the 24 August we attended a CWP leadership event at Parliament House. To begin with, we participated in a warmup ‘Kahoot’ testing our parliamentary knowledge. We learnt that Tasmania was the first state to have a majority of female politicians in parliament. Next, we visited the ‘long room’ where we viewed and learnt about ‘the mace’ and a significant statue of suffragettes. Then, we took part in a role play of a House of Assembly debate. We were each assigned a parliamentary role, and formally debated the topic of ‘whether International Women’s Day should become a public holiday’.

Both of us formed part of the opposition, and argued and deflected the opposition's points in order to persuade the crossbenches to take our side (the oppositions) to ensure that the bill would not be passed. We won the debate, and later visited the ‘Salamanca Building’ room, and watched a discussion that had happened in the room recently.  After lunch, we went to watch the legislative council discuss the housing crisis. Then, we took part in a Q & A session with female politicians across all parties in the legislative council and the lower house.

Overall, we found the day thoroughly engaging, inspiring and enjoyable, and owe a huge thank you to the event organisers, Parliament House and Ms Williamson for spending the day with us.

Tiger Somerville and Chloe Groom

Learning about Earth Sciences

Last week, both Year 9 classes attended the University of Tasmania as a final instalment in our studies of tectonic plates and as an introduction to our new ‘Waves’ unit. We were firstly given a talk on the types of Geologists that exist, giving us more information about possible career pathways. Following this, we started to learn more about earthquakes. We watched an amazing animation that has tracked the earthquakes across the world over the last 20 years. We modelled two of the types of waves that transmit energy in an earthquake using a giant slinky – these are called S and P waves (secondary and primary waves). Class 9N participated in a simulation in which they simulated an earthquake and measured the intensity of the resulting waves. We were lucky enough to all be given a beautiful crystal to take home. We were then allowed to check out some of the other rooms in the department, including where rocks are crushed and analysed, and the teaching lab where Geology students learn about the different types of rocks.

Some comments from the students who attended:

“I was interested to see everything however I was particularly interested in the primary and secondary earthquake waves shown with slinkies” (Jemima, 9O)

“I really liked the demonstrations showing the movements of earthquakes using rulers to model how buildings of different heights are affected by earthquakes. I also liked looking at the fossils and rocks.” (Melisse, 9O)

“The year 9 excursion to UTAS to learn more about waves was really cool. We learnt about all the different types of waves and what they did, we also learnt what they study in the geology department. We even had a tour of the building. We also got polished rocks/crystals to remember the day!” (Neve, 9O)

“Our excursion to UTAS was really interesting and engaging for our learning. With more hands-on examples that really made you focus it was an amazing experience. Also, the extra showings at the end were really cool, especially all the different crystals that had been collected.” (Ash, 9O)

“Both year nine classes went on an excursion to UTAS to enhance our learning on the topic of plate tectonics, geology, and earthquakes. This was a great excursion because we learnt about people who are using this knowledge in real life. Thank you, teachers for taking us on this amazing excursion, we really enjoyed it.” (Chloe, 9O)

“I really enjoyed learning about the old seismograph that they have on the campus and identifying P and S waves that were recorded when it was still in use. It was also really interesting to see the hydraulic press, where rocks were crushed.” (Ruby, 9O)

“I had fun learning about S waves and P waves through the demonstrations at UTAS.” (Pia, 9N)

“I really enjoyed looking at the seismograph.” (Aspen, 9N)

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Learning about Maths and Architecture

This week, our Workplace Maths class went on an excursion to Bence Mulcahy Architects in North Hobart. In our unit on Measurement, we are studying building plans, models and scales drawings.

Sophie Bence the owner of the business explained how an architect office manages a project from start to finish. We saw concept notes, sketch drawings, draft plans as well as examples of completed buildings. It was very interesting to find out more about how the team works in the office and the importance of understanding your client’s needs.

Sophie showed us how to use a scale ruler and a digital measuring instrument, as well as the technique for building scale models. In class, we have been learning about the “tiny house” movement and the role of these small dwellings in addressing homelessness and sustainability. We are using Google Sketch-Up to develop our very own tiny house plans. We discovered that Bence Mulcahy also uses the same software and have worked with a building company to develop a bespoke tiny house design in Tasmania.

The excursion was a great opportunity to find out more about studying architecture and a chance to meet people passionate who combining maths and creativity.

Workplace Maths Class

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Spirit - Junior School Sport

Our Term 3 sports are in full swing and I would like to thank the parents assisting with coaching or managing a team. In P.E. lessons, we have started working towards our Junior House Athletics Carnival. If any parents are able to assist at this carnival then please contact me on dalet@fahan.tas.edu.au.

Junior House Athletics

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

2023 Tasmanian All Schools Track and Field Championships

The 2023 Tasmanian All Schools Track and Field Championships will be held at St Leonard's Athletics Centre Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October 2023

This competition is open to all school students in the U14, U16 and U18 Age Groups (as at 31 December 2023) and in 10yrs (born in 2013), 11yrs (born in 2012) and 12yrs (born in 2011) Age Groups. 

For more information https://www.tasathletics.org.au/events/200562/

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 was held today, Friday 1 September at the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre.

Congratulations to all our swimmers. Fahan came 3rd in the U13 Pennant, 5th in the Junior Girls' Shield, 5th in the Senior Girls' Shield, 4th in the Girls' Aggregate Shield.

I would like to acknowledge all the swimmers in the Fahan team. They showed excellent commitment with our highest training numbers in many years. The students in the team showed wonderful School and team spirit. Many swimmers had to step into races at the last minute and their dedication to the team is to be commended.

Following the SSATIS Carnival, a team of a reduced number will be selected for the SATIS Carnival at 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.

Cross Country

Congratulations to Lucy Meikle who competed in the Australian Cross Country Championships in Canberra last weekend. She was the 3^rd Tasmanian runner and did a person best effort in the 1500m relay event.

Term 4 Sport

All students will be sent an EdSmart shortly regarding Term 4 sport sign ups. Students must complete the slip and submit it by Tuesday 26 September. Sport choices are below.

Rowing and sailing will both have separate sign up EdSmarts.

Sport options for Years 9 and 10 for Term 4

• Tennis – Games played on a Monday afternoon. 
• Touch Football – Games played on a Wednesday afternoon. 
• Triathlon – Thursday 30 November

Sport options for Years 7 and 8 for Term 4 

• Tennis – Games played on a Tuesday afternoon. 
• Australian Rules Football – Games played on a Thursday afternoon 
• Touch Football – Games played on a Monday afternoon. 
• Triathlon – Thursday 30 November

Please ensure you are able to commit to playing the sports you choose. You need to commit to ALL training sessions and ALL games.

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

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Community - P&F Spring Soiree

On Saturday 26 August the P&F Committee held the biennial Fahan Parent and Friends' Dinner at the Hobart Function Centre at Elizabeth Street Pier with 140 members of the Fahan community coming together in support of the School.

It was a fabulous night which started with cocktails, was interspersed with fun and humour from our amazing MC’s Em Dorney and Jane Dutton, the fundraising activities were well supported and enjoyed by those attending, and it finished with dancing – what more could we ask for!

The event was the result of the hard work from many people and I would like to thank all committee members and other volunteers who made the night such a success, including the class representatives and all those parents that donated items to either the silent auction or live auction.  I wish to also thank our main sponsors, Knight Frank, Page Seager and Simmons Wolfhagen, as well as the marketing team at the School who provided invaluable support.

The dinner succeeded in not only raising over $30,000, which is a tremendous result, but just as importantly it provided another opportunity to strengthen the bonds within the community and between parents, and to foster the Fahan School spirit which was so clearly in abundance on the night.  

Michael O'Connor
P&F President

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Community - P&F Fathers' Day Raffle

Thank you to Fahan parents, Marcus Pringle-Jones, Belinda Fish and Xavier Doherty who joined me in running a fantastic Father's Day Stall for our Junior School girls this week. We hope you enjoy your special Tamsanian-made treats! We were also delighted to again hold our popular Father’s Day Draw. The School has provided the names of each child’s father, guardian or special person to be automatically included in the draw and we are pleased to announce our three lucky winners are:

1st Prize: Lewis Utting (Dottie, Kinder and Emily, Year 6)– One Bottle of ‘Drop Bear Tasmanian Gin’ + 2 bottles of Tasmanian wine
2nd Prize: Phil Pullinger (Bonnie, Year 4) - One bottle of Tasmanian sparkling wine + $50 Bunnings Voucher
3rd Prize: Stephen Farquer (Emily, Year 11) – One bottle of red wine + a Station Nursery Gift Voucher

We wish all our Fahan Dads and special friends a very Happy Father’s Day on Sunday!

Michael O'Connor
P&F President

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Community - Reading in French

Year 10 student, Sophie Thompson, and her family is currently hosting a French exchange student, Hanna Mandelcwajg, who is attending a range of classes at Fahan across Years 10 and 11.

The Alliance Française Year 5 & 6 poster competition has now concluded and whilst Fahan did not receive a prize we were gifted a French book for our School Library, Martine, le petit rat de l’opéra.  Hanna was kind enough to read the story to the Year 5 French classes.

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.

Community Notices

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Fahan School Bus Service

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