A Fortnight at Fahan - Term 4, 17 November 2023

Principal's Report

Today is the final day of examinations for our senior students. This is a time of challenge and growth; the encouragement and understanding of both staff and families has played a crucial role in helping our students navigate this period and I thank you all for your support. I am sure many of us can still recall the palpable feeling of relief once exams are over for another year.

This is a significant chapter in the academic journey of our Year 12s and marks the end of their academic life at Fahan. We are looking forward to celebrating their contributions and achievements at our Final Assembly, Tossing Out (a unique Fahan tradition) and Speech Night in December.

Today I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Nateby Club Christmas function at Derwent Estate. The delight they take in seeing each other again and rekindling friendships is heart-warming. Some of these ladies have been friends for over 60 years! As I reflected with them, our Year 12 students are excited about taking the next steps along their life’s journey, as they should be. It is also hoped they will maintain friendships made at School and will eventually come back to visit at some stage to reconnect with our strong Fahan Community, perhaps at an alumni event.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Best wishes
Meg Lawson

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Staff Gifts

We recognise that sometimes families might like to buy a small gift for their child's teacher in recogntition of their efforts throughout the year.  Whilst your generosity is very much appreciated, please note this is not an expectation, and our policy is a limit of $100 per family.

2024 Back to School Information

Back to School information for 2024 is available on the Fahan School website using this link: https://www.fahan.tas.edu.au/back-to-school.

Information includes:

• Booklists and purchasing details for Years 3-12 in 2024
• Device requirements
• 2024 Term Dates
• Uniform Shop bookings
• Updated School Bus information 

Booklist Ordering

For Years 7–12 in 2024, Fahan School has appointed Box of Books as the supplier of textbooks. Please note Box of Books has advised that texts must be ordered by Friday 8 December 2023 to guarantee delivery in time for Term 1.  There are separate lists for stationery requirements. Requirements for Kinder to Year 2 in 2024 will be provided by the School.

Important Update to Uniform

The Uniform Guidelines have been updated for 2024. Please review these carefully. In addition, we have added some useful photo guides for your reference. Please also note the following changes to uniform in 2024:

• The old PE spray jacket can no longer be worn. The current PE navy soft shell jacket is the only acceptable PE jacket.
• Starting in 2024, Years 1 to 6 will be transitioning to navy fleece track pants for PE. The current striped parachute track pants may be worn in the Junior School for the next two years as we transition all students across to the navy track pants. Photos can be viewed in the Uniform Guidelines.

Back to School Uniform Appointments in 2024

The Uniform Shop will be open by appointment before School resumes so that you can ensure your daughter has the complete and correct uniform. Appointments are available from Monday 29 January to Friday 2 February from 8:30am - 4:30pm where fittings are required. Students in Years 1 to 12 are required to wear brown school shoes and Faull's Shoes has provided the attached voucher for 20% discount.

Office Hours

The School Office hours during the holidays are 9:00am – 3:30pm. Please also note the following:

• Friday 15 December 2023:                                                              CLOSED from 11:30am
• Monday 18 December 2023 to Friday 5 January 2024:       CLOSED
• Monday 8 January 2024 – Office reopens:                              9:00am–3:30pm 

Please contact the School on (03) 6225 1064 or fahanschool@fahan.tas.edu.au if you have any queries.

The Uniform Shop will be closed from 5 December for stocktaking.  

Appointments for Back to School purchases can be made during the last week of the January holidays through this link. 

Learning in Pre-Kinder

Visit to the South Hobart Resource Centre

The end of Term 3 saw us supporting our children’s learning and extending on our sustainability ethos by visiting the South Hobart Tip Shop.

During our daily conversations with the children, we have ensured they understood the concept of picking up rubbish, putting it in the bin and then trucks coming to take it away. However, there was some confusion over where it ended up.

So a trip to the tip was needed!

Twenty excited Pre-Kinder children, and three excited educators, boarded the Fahan School bus for an adventure!

A tour around the yard and the Shop saw the children enthralled by many sights. Our tour guide talked about how the staff salvage and pull apart computers to get all the gold out of them, which is then sold.

Our children all took part in a robot making workshop where they selected a range of items from repurposed materials, screwing on arms, legs and even tiaras!

We are again learning about more ideas we can bring to our program to support the reuse of everyday items.

By providing opportunities for children to revisit their ideas and extend on their thinking, we are supporting inquiry processes including wonder, curiosity, and imagination, and to try new ideas and take on new challenges.

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

Learning about Marine Life in Prep

Learning through inquiry is so much fun! As part of our “Living Things” science unit, the Prep class visited the Marine Discovery Centre at Woodbridge. 

What a day!   Students were very excited to dip their hands in the touch tank and feel all sorts of creatures: squishy sea cucumbers, spiky urchins, slimy seaweed, hermit crabs, sea stars and creepy crabs, to name a few!  They loved feeding the sharks and rays, and were able to observe octopus, salmon, seahorse and lobster.  All the senses were involved!  They even donned headphones connected to a hydrophone on the seafloor.  The sounds of the sea creatures from the depths below were amazing!  

Ms Kim Menadue

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Learning about Gymnastics in Years 3 & 4

Students in Years 3 and 4 have enjoyed their second Gymnastics session at the Kingborough Indoor Sports Centre this week, as part of their Physical Education program. Students have been working in small groups with qualified gymnastics instructors to learn and practise a variety of actions, some on the floor and some involving equipment (balance beams, trampolines, parallel bars, rings, knee boards, to name a few!).

There are so many benefits to participating in these activities, including:

* co-ordination and movement skills
* the value of persistence and effort
* resilience
* patience
* co-operation
* creativity
* courage

Great effort, everyone!

Mrs Nicole Bury and Mr David Hodgman

Learning about Local Governments

On Friday 10 November, Year 4 went on a super-fun excursion to the Hobart City Council Town Hall to learn about local governments.  Lord Mayor, Anna Reynolds, gave us a tour of the Town Hall where we went into the public reading room, the meeting room, her office, the ball room and the Council Chambers. 

In the Council Chambers, we asked some questions and even did a mini council meeting! We debated and voted on our motions, that the Hobart City should have a dog-friendly library, a gym, soccer stadium and a kid-friendly museum. 

We had a lot of fun, and we want to thank Mr Hodgman for making this happen. 

By Frankie Gorringe and Nina Viviers

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Learning about Colonisation

On Tuesday 1 November, Year 5 students spent the entire day at the Female Factory in South Hobart.

The Cascades Female Factory is Australia's most significant historic site associated with female convicts. The girls took part in a tour of the site where they heard about the female convicts who railed against the severe system of punishment at the Cascades Factory. The students also worked with artifacts, created peg dolls, spent time in the museum and worked on activities where they further explored the lives of the women of the Cascades Factory.

On Friday 3 November, to expand the students understanding of the conditions faced by the female convicts, we walked from the docks to the Cascades Female Factory, similar to the original walk made by so many female convicts. We met outside Macq 01 Hotel at the Footsteps to Freedom Monument and then proceeded to walk, following in the female convicts’ footsteps, to the Cascades Female Factory, stopping at various points to look at historical buildings and to share historical facts about the rivulet and life in the early 1800s.

Both excursions complemented our Inquiry base unit of work focusing on early colonisation of Australia and our recent camp at Port Arthur.

Mrs Susan Wright and Mrs Ursula Dalton

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Learning for the Final Time in Year 10 PE

Last week, Year 10 enjoyed their final PE lesson for their time at Fahan. With a beautiful 25 degree day, the Year 10 students spent a fun afternoon at Nutgrove Beach, swimming and playing beach games such as volleyball and soccer. A refreshing swim marked the perfect end to the year, creating a memorable finale for the Year 10 PE journey. 

The year was filled with exciting activities that brought both fun and fitness to our class. Students enjoyed a variety of experiences throughout the year such as surfing at Clifton beach and Spin, Swiss ball, Power bar and Pilates classes at All Aerobics. To finish off the year with a bang, the class enjoyed a social game of mini golf at Putters Adventure Golf. 

Sport Ed became a highlight for the Year 10 students, as students engaged in friendly competition throughout units of futsal, netball, and basketball. The spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship flourished during these matches, making every game a memorable experience. Dodgeball was always a favourite, bringing out students’ competitive sides and provided countless moments of laughter in the gym. 

As we reflect on the year, it's clear that the diverse range of activities not only kept students physically active but also fostered a sense of camaraderie among classmates. The Year 10 PE experience was a perfect blend of adventure, competition, and relaxation, leaving the students with a collection of fond memories to carry into the future. Thank you to our wonderful Year 10 cohort for making this year in PE memorable and enjoyable.

Mr Coulson and Mrs Buchanan

I enjoyed PE this year, as the Sport Ed models were really fun and engaging, with everyone participating and taking up separate roles. There was a good range of sports, with lots of competitive teams, and the grand finals were really intense.  Zara

Our Sport Ed models have been one of my favourites parts of PE in my time at Fahan.  We got to work in teams with people we may not hang out with, and it created a fun and competitive atmosphere in our class.  Lucie

This year in PE I enjoyed the beach day we had at the end of the year. It was a beautiful way to finish off the term and our last lesson.  Ruby

Year 10 PE has definitely been the highlight during Years 7-10 for me. In Term 1, we had 3 surfing sessions at Clifton Beach, which were thoroughly fun and exciting. In Terms 2 and 3 we participated in Sport Ed models that consisted of soccer, basketball and netball. These were a good experience because we were not only players, but also assigned roles such as DJ or coach. We were sorted into different teams for each model, so we got the chance to play with and get to know other people better.  Ava

My highlight from PE this year was taking part in the Sport Ed model as an entire grade. It was really fun collaborating with different people and participating in different roles to display varying strengths and skills that were evident across each team.  Hannah

My favourite part of PE this year has been Sport Ed and seeing everyone participating in all sports and giving everything a go, even if it is something outside of their usual comfort zone. I have also loved that we have been able to have a say in what sports and activities we do, and it being largely student-led.  Poppy

My favourite part of PE this year was the Sport Ed models, especially for netball. However, I have enjoyed many other aspects of PE as well.  Felicity

I really enjoyed European handball.  Charlotte

I really enjoyed the Sport Ed module and participating in different roles as well as dodgeball.  Penny

This year in PE we did lots of different and fun activities. My favourite activity we did was our futsal tournaments, I really loved my team and the sport itself.  Jemima

My favourite unit in PE this year was surfing, I really enjoyed developing my skills and spending time with my friends doing something that I find enjoyable.  Tess

This has been my favourite year of PE due to all the wonderful experiences that we have had. I have loved the out-of-school experiences such as surfing and mini golf. The Sport Ed units have also been very enjoyable and a great way to enjoy the last year of PE for many of us.  Betsy

The most memorable part of P.E. this year was participating in various sports tournaments, my favourite being futsal.  Mia

Year 10 was one of my favourite years of PE as it was competitive, fun and we were all together as a grade. I enjoyed working with people I may not normally worked with and getting to know others in the grade better.  Georgie

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Spirit of Music

Last Thursday, our Year 7 students attended The Hutchins School to participate in a combined Concert Band rehearsal.

The students rehearsed two pieces, Star Wars and Rolling in the Deep, and then performed for the Year 4 Hutchins students.

The students were inspired to improve their playing technique and enjoyed the collaboration, as they were introduced to a wider range of wind and brass instruments.

Congratulations to the students for participating with enthusiasm and sharing their musical knowledge!

Miss Jayne Wheatley

Spirit of Giving

In the Senior School, the Amnesty Group has been running a fundraiser over the past two weeks to guess how many lollies were in a jar.  The results are in, with the average guess being 410!

Although no-one guessed the correct number, there must, of course, be a winner and that person is Mr Coulson!  After the final counting the result was 547, with Mr Coulson’s guess of 550 being the closest. Congratulations, and thank you to everyone who guessed and contributed to the cause towards raising enough money to buy a generator for a school in Ukraine.

The final amount of money raised was $148. We are very happy with the number of people who contributed to this great cause.

We are almost at our goal of $2,300 to buy a generator! Any extra contributions would be gratefully received.

By Poppy Leditschke and Hannah Sheen

Spirit - Junior School Sport

JSSATIS Athletics

Last Thursday, the Fahan Junior Interschool Athletics Team competed at the Domain.  After storms the day prior, the weather cleared up and the girls had a great day out, putting their hard work and practice into action.  I have to remind myself of some of the days where ribbons were extremely hard to come by, to fully appreciate how well the girls did.  Once again, it’s not all about ribbons, a number of reserves were brave enough to take their place in events and that always takes courage.

A big congratulations goes to Milla Gorringe who broke the Year 6 Long Jump record and to the Year 6 Relay Teams, both A and B, who took out their respective races in their last JSSATIS event.

Lastly, many thanks to those parents, students and staff, who assisted on the High Jump for the day. Thanks and appreciation also goes to Mrs Steel and Mrs Gath for managing the many comings and goings at the Fahan Tent.

Below is a summary of the results from the day:

Year 3

Min Luo: 1^st Year 3 Long Jump, 2^nd Year 3 100m Div. B
Amelia Holmes: 2^nd Year 3 Long Jump, 3^rd Year 3 100m Div. A, 3^rd Year 3 200m Div. A
Alexandra Payton: 2^nd Year 3 Vortex
Sophie Boyes: 2^nd Year 3 100m Div. F
Bobbie Tennick: 2^nd Year 3 100m Div. D, 1^st Year 3 200m Div. D

Year 4

Klara Koch: 2^nd Year 4 Vortex, 3^rd Year 4 Long Jump, 1^st Year 4 100m Div. B, 1^st Year 4 200m Div. B, 2^nd Year 4 High Jump
Frankie Gorringe: 3^rd Year 4 400m, 1^st Year 4 Long Jump, 1^st Year 4 100m Div. C, 1^st Year 4 200m Div. C, 1^st Year 4 800m
Nina Viviers: 2^nd Year 4 100m Div. F
Ella O’Connor: 1^st Year 4 100m Div. E
Felicity Sills: 1^st Year 4 100m Div. D, 2^nd Year 4 200m Div. D
Violet Geappen: 2^nd Year 4 800m

Year 5

Bianca Lampkin-Smith: 2^nd Year 5 High Jump, 3^rd Year 5 100m Div. C, 3^rd Year 5 200m Div. C
Lucy Taylor: 1^st Year 5 400m, 3^rd Year 5 100m Div. A, 3^rd Year 5 200m Div. A
Lottie Kingston: 2^nd Year 5 100m Div. G
Scarlett Doherty: 3^rd Year 5 100m Div. F
Catherine Bell: 3^rd Year 5 100m Div. E
Maggie Davies: 2^nd Year 5 100m Div. B, 2^nd Year 5 200m Div. B, 2^nd Year 5 Long Jump
Olivia Robertson: 2^nd Year 5 Vortex

Year 6

Milla Gorringe: 1^st Year 6 400m, 1^st Year 6 100m Div. A, 3^rd Year 6 High Jump, 1^st Year 6 Long Jump (RECORD), 1^st Year 6 200m Div. A
Poppy Tomlin: 3^rd Year 6 100m Div. H
Ruby Pilkington: 2^nd Year 6 100m Div. G
Poppy Davis: 2^nd Year 6 100m Div. F
Poppy Davies: 1^st Year 6 100m Div. E
Hannah Abbott: 3^rd Year 6 100m Div. D, 2^nd Year 6 200m Div. D
Anna McCallum: 1^st Year 6 100m Div. C, 1^st Year 6 200m Div. B, 2^nd Year 6 800m
Evie Essex: 1^st Year 6 100m Div B, 1^st Year 6 200m Div. B, 1^st Year 6 800m
Niamh Hunter: 1^st Year 6 Vortex

RELAYS:

Year 3 – 2^nd
Year 4 – 1^st
Year 5A – 3^rd
Year 5B – 3^rd
Year 6A – 1^st
Year 6B – 1^st

Early Learning Sports Day

The Early Learning Sports Day will be held Tuesday 28 November, from 1:15pm to 2:50pm, on the Fahan School Oval.  This event for Kinder to Year 2 and is a fun afternoon with a variety of running races and team games.

Students will need to bring a hat and drink, and appropriate additional clothing for a ‘late for school’ race  eg. another jumper/polo shirt, track pants – something easy to put on quickly.

Parents are most welcome to attend.

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

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Spirit - Senior School Sport

Equestrian

On Sunday 5 November, the Fahan Equestrian team competed in the Equestrian Inter School Horse Trials at Huntingfield Pony Club. The team consisted of Hannah Hardy, Ruby Smith and Sarah Reynolds. They competed in three disciplines throughout out the day – Dressage, Cross Country and Jumping.

Fahan had excellent results with Ruby coming 2^nd in her Dressage Arena and Hannah coming 4^th in her Arena.  As a team, Fahan placed 4^th in Dressage.

It is wonderful to have a Fahan Equestrian team competing at this event, who rose to the challenge. We were well represented as a school and Hannah, Ruby and Sarah should be proud of their commitment to this.  Congratulations!

Thank you goes to Mrs von Savageri for supporting the team and helping them throughout the day.

Triathlon

51 Senior School students are entered in the All Schools Triathlon to be held on Thursday 30 November at Bellerive Beach. Fahan have 7 individual competitors and 16 teams. This is always a fun and enjoyable event and we wish all our competitiors the very best!

A reminder that all competitors will need to be collected from Bellerive Beach at 2:00pm when the event finishes. A bus will not be transporting competitors back to School. Competitors are required to wear Fahan sports uniform, and swimmers must have Fahan bathers.

Rowing

Best wishes to the Fahan Rowing Team for their first Schools Regatta for the 2023/2024 season. This will be held at Lake Barrington on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 November.

Australian Rules Football

On Thursday 23 November, a team of 17 Fahan Australian Rules Football players will travel to Darwin, NT on the Fahan School AFL and Cultural Tour. This is the first time this tour has been held and we are all very excited.

As part of the tour, we will be visiting the Tiwi Islands and playing football with the local community. We will be training and playing with St Mary’s Football Club and Buffalos Football Club. We are particularly looking forward to visiting the TIO Stadium and having a tour of the Michael Long Centre. We are fortunate to have Michael McLean, an indigenous NT football star, speak to us. Other activities include a crocodile jumping tour, visiting Litchfield National Park and exploring Darwin.

We look forward to sharing our experiences with you on our return.

Athletics

The 2024 Fahan House Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 9 February (Week 1). Please keep this in mind over the summer holidays and be ready for the first Inter House competition for 2024!

Below are the dates for the SSATIS and SATIS Athletics Carnivals:

SSATIS Athletics Carnival – Tuesday 12 March @ Domain Athletics Centre

SATIS Athletics Carnival – Friday 22 March @ Domain Athletics Centre

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

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Student Absence

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.

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. 

Community - The Riawunna wurakara to Higher Education Bursary

Community - Information from Services Australia about Leaving School

The Services Australia website has some great information to support students finishing secondary school, whether they are interested in working, doing an apprenticeship or traineeship, or doing further study.

Youth Allowance for students and apprentices and ABSTUDY are the main payments students may get. There are also other payments for students who need to move away from a regional or remote area.

Find out more at servicesaustralia.gov.au/leavingschool. In particular the interactive school leavers video that can be found on this web page is a fun way to find out about student payments, Medicare and more.

Medicare Benefits

If Year 12s haven’t already, they need to add a bank account to their Medicare account to get Medicare benefits. They need to do this whether they have their own Medicare card or choose to stay on their parents’ card. They can find out more at getting Medicare benefits.

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

Fahan School Bus Service

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