Fahan School eNewsletter

News from Nateby

We have had an action-packed Term 2 here in the Boarding House! Despite the small number of boarders, the girls have really bonded together to become a close-knit community. Following is a week-by-week rundown of what our term has entailed.

Every time one of the tutors does a shift in the Boarding House, they complete a Duty Report. At the beginning of each report, I ask the tutors to reflect on the highlight of their shift. I am going to share a few of these reflections with you for each week of the term as I feel that they provide a real insight into the spirit of the Boarding House.

Ms Fiona Short
Head of Boarding

Week 1

Our first week back was a short one, and definitely the most exciting thing that happened this week was watching Sabina make her debut on MasterChef! The girls, tutors, Aurora and I have been regularly tuning in to watch Sabina throughout the term and as of this week, she is definitely in the Top 8!

One of Brooke’s highlights from Week 1: So much happening with the girls coming back into the House! Stories of holidays, excitement to see each other again and watching MasterChef to see Sabina!

Week 2

This week the Year 2 class came to visit. The girls were learning about the history of the School and were excited to explore the Boarding House as part of their inquiry. One of their favourite things was going upstairs in Nateby House and seeing the balcony. Their teacher, Mrs Sophie Baxter, told the girls how her mother used to sleep on the balcony when she was a boarder! The Year 2s took part in a dining room ‘scavenger hunt’ where they had to answer a number of questions. The girls then came up with their own questions which were displayed in the dining room for the boarders to answer. To finish off their visit, the Year 2s were given some delicious treats to take home with them. They had honey joys and jam drops made by our wonderful Boarding House cook, Maria!

We were delighted to welcome Ula Lagden from Year 6 to the Boarding House this week as a casual boarder. She enjoyed spending time with fellow Year 6 student, Darcy, and also made a lovely effort to get to know Aurora.

This week also saw Year 12 student Chloe turn 18. She requested a Freddo Frog ice cream cake for her birthday which was enjoyed by everyone!

One of Maddie’s highlights from Week Two: Having a chat with Lucy last night after everyone else went to bed.

Week 3

This week, Darcy spoke in the Junior School Assembly about being a boarder. She did a great job giving the girls an insight into boarding!

One of Meg’s highlights from Week 3: Getting to hear the script for Sarah's House Drama last night. Fiona and Sarah worked on polishing it off for the first rehearsal and it sounds amazing and very funny!

Week 4

This week, Sarah consulted with the other girls about the idea of ordering necklaces for this year’s ‘boarding merch’. In previous years the girls have ordered clothing such as t-shirts and hoodies, but this year they went for something a bit different. The necklace reads ‘one family, many hearts’ which is a fitting sentiment for our boarding community.

One of Meg’s highlights from Week 4: Helping Darcy with her Spanish migration assignment - she was having a lot of fun!

Week 5

This week was National Boarders Week across Australia. At Fahan, we celebrated this in many different ways. Activities included:

A special dinner out, followed by ice cream at Mures!
The Year 6 girls touring the Boarding House – led by Darcy
Sarah and Darcy going to talk to the Year 2 girls and answer the questions they had about boarding
The boarders inviting a day school friend to dinner – we were delighted to welcome Aviya (Year 6), Aria (Year 10), Alice (Year 12) and Head Girl, Miranda.
Bella (Fahan’s Community Chair) spending two nights with us to gain an insight into what life in the Boarding House is like!
Heading to Hutchins to have dinner and hang out in the games room playing pool, table tennis and foosball.

One of Maddie’s highlights from Week 5: Having a long chat with with Lucy, Sarah, Chloe and Darcy in the living room after they came in from prep.

The most exciting thing that happened this week was moving into the ‘breakfast room’ in the SBR. The girls no longer eat breakfast in the Nateby dining room. Before making the decision to move, I asked the girls to come up with a list of pros and cons. The pros included:

- Don’t get cold
- When you are late getting up you don’t have to walk far
- Don’t have to walk far or get dressed
- Snacks will always be here

It has turned out to be a great move. The girls have a bit of extra time in the mornings and our new breakfast room is warm and inviting and a lovely way to start the day.

One of Brooke’s highlights from Week 6: Eliza trying on all her different earrings now her holes have healed. Chloe came over and showed her how to change them, as Eliza was struggling, and was very supportive. It was super sweet.

Week 7

Week 7 was Arts Week at Fahan. A major part of Arts Week is the House Drama competition. The theme for this year was ‘Disney Classics’. To get us all in the mood, we took a trip to the cinema to see ‘Cruella’ at the beginning of the week.

Sarah has the role of Franklin House Chair in addition to being Head Boarder. This meant that she wrote and directed the play for Franklin in the competition. Sarah did Franklin proud and it was a really fun night with some outstanding performances!

One of Meg’s highlights from Week 7: Having Darcy in such a funny, high-energy mood! She was making all the other girls laugh last night!

Weeks 8 & 9

These two weeks encompassed a long weekend and the mid-year exam period for our Year 12 students. As a result, the Boarding House was pretty quiet! Ula came to spend another week with us as a casual boarder and it was a pleasure to have her. Towards the end of the fortnight Dark Mofo started and we took the opportunity to head out to MONA to visit Spectra. It was a great night with lights, music, hot chips and ice cream!

One of Meg’s highlights from Week 8: Watching the Little Mermaid with Lucy, Darcy and Mrs Dalton! Darcy choreographed the songs.

One of Brooke’s highlights from Week 9: A balloon tennis tournament between Darcy, Ula and Lucy.

Week 10

Week 10 was a busy week for many people, but none more than Darcy! She was in the Years 5/6 production of Mary Poppins Jr which involved a dress rehearsal on Tuesday, followed by a matinee and an evening show on both Wednesday and Thursday. Casual boarder, Ula, did a wonderful job performing as ‘Jane Banks’. Everyone who saw the production thoroughly enjoyed it. On Friday of this week, Lucy represented Fahan at the Alliance Français Competition – très bien, Lucy!

One of Maddie’s highlights from Week 10: The girls went out onto the back porch of Nateby and watched the fireworks which they really enjoyed.

Week 11

It is currently Week 11 and the last week of term. We have had a very exciting week so far! On Tuesday, Sabina came back to visit the girls. We heard all about her experience on MasterChef and she answered lots of the girls’ questions. It was so lovely to see Sabina – she has promised to come back and run a MasterChef-style competition with the girls next term! Last night we were delighted to be invited to Hutchins to share in a Winter Feast with the Burbury House boys and the boarders from Collegiate. We had delicious food, played games and toasted marshmallows over an awesome fire pit that had been designed and made by one of the Hutchins boarders. This is the third time we have been to Hutchins this year and we look forward to inviting the boys over to our Boarding House in the second half of the year.

There are already many highlights for this week, but I thought I would share this from one of Sabina’s tutor reports from last year: Highlight of the shift - Watching MasterChef with the girls. She wrote this on Monday 19 October, which was less than a week before she flew to Melbourne to audition to be on Masterchef herself!

Past Boarder Update

I’d like to finish this newsletter with an update from our gorgeous Year 12 girls from last year - Bronte, Felicity and Wan Yi. I asked each of the girls to send me a brief summary of what they are up to this year. The current boarders were delighted to read about the girls, and I hope you are too!

Bronte

For the first few months of 2021 I was working on the family farm, as well as competing on my horses almost every weekend. At the end of May, my dog, Diesel, and I made the journey on The Spirit of Tasmania and up to Warialda, where I am currently working on a family property. My job consists of keeping Polo horses fit and strapping at tournaments each weekend during the season. Even though I am missing my family and friends, I am loving the experience and being pushed out of my comfort zone.

Felicity

Since leaving Fahan I’ve been studying a Bachelor of International Relations online at Latrobe University. I had planned to move to Melbourne for semester 2, but recently decided to defer studying for the rest of this year and study a new course next year. It goes to show that not everything goes to plan! I am now just working part-time for the rest of the year and enjoying doing things I love and spending time with friends and family. I am very excited to move to Melbourne next year and experience new things!

Wan Yi

This year I have been studying a Bachelor of Environmental Science and Bachelor of Design at the University of Sydney. Whilst most classes are still online due to COVID-19, it hasn’t stopped me from trying to be part of the uni life by joining various societies such as the Dog Society and Bouldering Club to name a couple. It’s been such an exciting adventure navigating university, making new friends and living independently and, as you can see, my plant obsession has followed me. Next semester I hope to continue exploring the city and I’m excited to see where my studies take me.

I hope you all have a happy and peaceful break with your daughters. A very special welcome (back) to Australia to Eliza’s mum, Catherine, who is currently in quarantine in Sydney.

Aurora and I are heading to Mount Field for a couple of nights during the holidays – I’m hoping she might be able to see snow for the first time!

Warmest regards,

Fiona