Fahan School eNewsletter

Principal's Report

Welcome back to Fahan for 2024! I would particularly like to extend a warm welcome to families who are new to Fahan. I hope that you have all settled into the routine of school and that you have had a positive start to 2024.

Over the holiday break, I read Julia Baird’s book, Bright Shining: How grace changes everything. The book talks about the power of being good to each other, often when no one would expect it. It’s about forgiving others and being kind, but also about being strong, determined, and doing what is right. It’s also about valuing what we have in the world around us and looking after it.

The book made me reflect on this quality and actively look for examples of grace in the people around me and our society. The more I looked, the more I ‘noticed’ it. There were inspirational examples of it in the nominees for Australian of the Year - everyday people doing extraordinary things for the good of others. I also saw it in simple acts of kindness and generosity, through being generous of spirit, helping a friend, sharing time together and being empathetic and truly understanding what someone else was going through.

Grace can be quietly transformative.

So why think about this now? We have commenced a new year with the promise of endless possibilities. I always love this time of year. This moment marks not just the beginning of another academic year, but the commencement of a journey filled with promise, purpose, and growth for us all. It’s always an exciting time.

The quality of grace is hard to define, but I have encouraged our older students to approach this year by being more conscious of their moments of ‘grace’ and noticing it in others. Can they seek opportunities to lift others up, lend a helping hand, and be a beacon of hope? These can also be moments of sheer determination to accept and face a challenge head-on.

A perfect example of these qualities, and a person who has been an integral part of life at Fahan for many years, is Junior School Sports Coordinator and PE teacher, Tim Dale. After 24 years at Fahan, Tim has decided the time is right to take on a new challenge in his own life. Tim will leave us in the next few months to take up a new role as the Junior Technical Director with Kingborough Lions Football Club. Tim has been involved with soccer for a long period of time, and this opportunity allows him to pursue his passion full-time. It isn't easy to quantify Tim’s significant contribution to Fahan. He has the ability to instil confidence in all students to participate in PE and sport, carefully developing skills and encouraging them to ‘have a go’. This has resulted in tremendous participation rates in all sports offered in the Junior School and beyond. This term alone, there are 86 participants in Junior soccer! Tim's calm demeanour and immense wisdom has been appreciated by us all and he will leave a wonderful legacy behind at Fahan. Tim will be greatly missed by us all and there will be further opportunities to farewell him in due course.

I hope that you all have a wonderful year ahead.

Best wishes,

Meg Lawson

Student Absence

Notification of student absence due to illness should be emailed to absence@fahan.tas.edu.au, advised by telephone on 6225 1064 or submitted through the Fahan App. Please do not email teachers to advise of student absence.

You are also 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.

Mobile Phones and Smart Watches in the Junior School

To maximise learning in class and foster positive social interactions, the Junior School has updated its policy on mobile phones to include smart watches. Our policy is that all mobile phones and smart watches must be switched off and kept in student bags during the School day.

Except for the use of a smart watch to monitor a medical condition, smart watches are not to be worn at all in the Junior School.

Children are encouraged to wear a digital or analogue watch at School. If a smart watch is an alternative to a mobile phone for your child, they are to be kept in bags during School hours.

Parents are asked to not call or message students during School hours. All communications during School hours are to be made via email or phone to reception - reception@fahan.tas.edu.au or 6225 1064.

For further information about policies and programs, please refer to the 2024 Junior School Handbook.

Mrs Tania Gath
Head of Junior School

Learning in the Summer Vacation Care Program

Our December/January Vacation Care Program has been filled with diverse experiences where old friendships have been extended and new ones begun. The Program has once again been guided by a strong belief in caring for the natural environment and sustainability.

The children have enjoyed a number of excursions to nearby locations during this time including:

Lambert Park - a bush habitat where uninterrupted play using what nature has provided allowed for managing rocks, logs, listening to birdlife and looking for insects.

Mt Wellington - to visit the Octopus tree walking a track used as far back as twenty thousand years ago by First Nation’s people who today still consider this a place of healing.

Silver Falls - a delightful setting shaded by lush eucalypts and ferns which is around four metres high and flows to Browns River.

South Hobart Rivulet - part of the Derwent catchment, this urban stream in Hobart’s hinterland has lots of natural beauty for the children to explore. They also learned how it flows through and under the city and was a permanent source of drinking water for the early settlers.

Long Beach at Sandy Bay - this serene sandy beach, which is minutes from the city but feels so far away, is beneficial to both our younger and older children as stimulates various senses including touch, sight and smell. While there, educators provided children with the opportunity to build on their knowledge and understanding about tides, sea life and erosion, to name a few.

A heritage walk along Bellerive’s second Bluff - settled in the 1820s and originally called Kangaroo Point until the 1830s, this is a stimulating experience as the track along the foreshore is the habit of bandicoots, wallabies, tiger snakes and a variety of birds life and provides a view across the Derwent of the city, Sandy Bay and Taroona.

We had the pleasure of a visit from Robotics also during these holidays which the children found fascinating. They were each provided a robotic piece of engineering to experiment with and learn about the capabilities. Experiences offered on site were many and varied with children using recycled materials for craft work further developing their creative skills while continuing to foster their environmental awareness.

Cooking with Kate was a highlight for the older children throughout the holidays. With an emphasis on healthy food and new foods, the children were open to trying food which they had helped to prepare.

Gardening, yoga and meditation, lantern making, mobile making and dancing were some of the other experiences included in our Program to encourage engagement.

Our vacation program has engaged children in activities that have further developed their social, cognitive, critical thinking and risky play opportunities to help build essential skills supporting our values.

Lisa, Vivienne, Moya, Hattie, Heena and Sean

Learning about Kindergarten

Welcome to all the new Kindergarten families starting at Fahan!

The first two weeks of Kindergarten has brought with it a wave of excitement and anticipation for our youngest learners. For many, this has been their first step into the world of formal education, a journey filled with wonder, discovery, and boundless opportunities for growth. There have been a mix of emotions – excitement, nervousness, curiosity, and perhaps a hint of apprehension.

Well done to each of our girls who have embraced the wonders of learning, forging friendships, and laying the groundwork for future success. And as they take their first steps into the world of education, they do so with a sense of wonder and possibility that will stay with them for years to come.

Mrs Rebecca Wiggins

Learning in Vertical Groups Kinder -Year 2

On Thursday 15 February, the Kinders to Year 2s started Vertical Groups for the year.

In Gardening Group, we went on a scavenger hunt. We had a colour wheel and needed to find matching colours in the garden. We picked some flowers and made a bouquet. Some of the things we picked were roses and colourful leaves from our beautiful trees in the School gardens.

In Cooking we made Valentine Cookies. They were light brown with a pink heart in the middle. We took them to the Kinder playground where we shared them with other groups. They were delicious.

In Forest School with Mrs Denman, we placed rocks at the top and bottom of the School grounds and followed an old School tradition of 'beating the bounds'.

In STEAM, we built things from Lego, made metal art with magnets, combined marshmallows and oil, and tried to make things that the Big Bad Wolf would not be able to huff and puff and blow down!

We love Vertical Groups!

By Kate Marchant (Year 1), Madeleine Yolland (Year 1), Eve Wyton (Year 2) and Madeleine Smith (Year 2)

Year 3 students have enjoyed a wonderful start to the year! We have loved sharing our holiday experiences with each other and welcoming two new students, Pippa Toohey and Esther Brown.

One of the first activities for the year was to create a ‘Class Agreement’. Students worked in small groups to brainstorm ideas for our class rules. We then combined all our ideas together to create a set of expectations for the year:

We communicate by:

listening and sitting attentively
raising our hand to speak
talking respectfully to others
using eye contact

To learn, we need:

a peaceful, supportive working environment
to feel free to share ideas and work as part of a team
to concentrate and focus
to make sensible choices
to be prepared and organised
to persevere despite challenges
to ‘have a go’ and develop confidence
to consider safety in our everyday decisions
to ask for help
to make mistakes and learn from them

We need to be treated:

kindly
respectfully
thoughtfully
fairly

Mrs Nicole Bury

Learning about Science in Year 4

On Wednesday 14 February, the Year 4 Scientists, wearing lab coats, conducted a hands-on experiment about absorbency and considered what is a fair test. Initially, they made predictions about absorbency of different materials of satin, tissue and plastic, and tested if the materials repelled water, soaked water, or leaked water. Next, they conducted a test of absorbency by dropping water onto the material using a pipette and recording how long it took to pass through the material, if at all. Lastly, they interpreted the results by considering types of uses for the materials.

Mr David Hodgman

Learning about Support in Year 5

Year 5 wish to welcome 12 new students to our Fahan family. All students in Year 5 have made a wonderful start to the term and we are delighted with their enthusiasm and willingness to make our new students feel at ease in their new school.

This week, both classes had a visit from Mrs Maria Conway, our School Counsellor. We even walked down to check out her office in the Nateby building. The students were delighted to find such a welcoming and engaging space, which they all thought would be a calm and happy spot to visit should they need a little extra support.

Thank you to all of our families for the support you have provided in assisting your child prepare for the beginning of term.

Mrs Susan Wright and Mrs Ursula Dalton

Learning about Teamwork, Encouragement and Positivity in Year 6

This week, Year 6 went to Nutgrove for some team building activities. We played tunnel ball and had a scavenger hunt. For the tunnel ball, there were four people in each team and we had to work together to get through the ball through our legs. We learnt that people work better when you give them positive feedback and it doesn’t matter where you come, what is important is that you try your best. With the scavenger hunt, we learnt that it was important to read the instructions carefully and work together as a team to find the items.

We learnt a lot of different skills in the activities and this year we will use these skills to help our classmates and be good leaders and role models for the Junior School.

By Emilia Landman, Chloe Geason and Olivia Robertson

Celebrated every year on 14 February, Library Lovers’ Day honours libraries, librarians, and library lovers, and the valuable roles that libraries play in our lives.

Junior School students read favourite picture books and shared what they love about libraries:

I love borrowing books and reading them with my mum and dad at bed time.

My favourite thing is reading the books again at home.

A library is like a circle of books because they keep being borrowed again and again and they can be borrowed by more than one person.

When you are in a library it is like entering a whole new universe.

Afterwards, students from Kindergarten to Year 6 made a colourful display of love hearts from recycled papers and book pages.

Mrs Meg Denman and Ms Sue Cole

Learning about Year 7 in Orientation Week

Our Year 7 girls enjoyed an array of activities from team building to camp prep as part of their Orientation Week. Each student was given the tools to help them navigate their way through the first week and learn more about the Senior School.

Each day, the students met with their teachers and enjoyed activities together from Library orientation, IT sessions, team building games, piñata fun, playing sports, to learning House chants with the Year 12s. They ended the week with a fascinating history chat with Principal, Mrs Meg Lawson, that included a tour of Nateby House and the Archives.

What a wonderful way to commence life in the Senior School!

Year 7 Pastoral Care Teachers

Le jour de Saint Valentin

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, the Years 11/12 French class learnt some of the unique language used by the French to speak to those they love. For instance, these terms of affection:

Mon petit chou – My little cabbage

Ma petite puce – My little flea

The students translated a poem by Jacques Prévert and were given only five minutes to compose a love poem of their own in groups. Here is the result :

Tes yeux sont aussi beaux que l’océan,

Ton cœur est plein d’amour,

Ton sourire illumine la journée,

Je t’aimerai jusqu’à ce que les étoiles disparaissent.

Your eyes are as beautiful as the ocean,

Your heart is full of love,

Your smile lightens the day,

I will love you until the stars disappear.

Miss Holly Lutzow

Learning in a New Senior School Classroom

On return to School, students were delighted to find a new classroom constructed on the first floor of the Senior School. This new space was converted from a breakout area into a general learning space that allows for flexible teaching and student comfort. As the walls of the room have been covered in vertical non-permanent surfaces, this allows for students to work away from desks in a standing position, promoting collaborative tasks such as gallery walks. This ability to view and critique others thinking promotes the culture of a shared learning through peer review and promotes an active learning environment. These surfaces have also been installed in two other classrooms, much to the delight of the Mathematics department, with senior Maths students shown sharing solutions.

Mrs Natasha Lambert

Learning the Value of Cultural Exchange

At Fahan, we are incredibly fortunate to maintain two enduring and enriching sister school relations with Japanese schools - Aoyama Gakuin Yokohama Eiwa and Tokyo Jogakkan (Primary and Senior School). This year, Fahan Senior School will be once again hosting students from both these schools in Japan. These students are matched with day hosts who accompany them to their regular classes and, along with their homestay families, can foster meaningful connections and cultural exchange.

This hosting experience has been in place at Fahan for the last 24 years and has allowed our Japanese students to immerse themselves in our everyday school and family life during their summer holiday break in July and August.

We are seeking expressions of interest from families willing to open their homes to students during these visits. We will be looking for more families than ever to participate in this enriching experience. Rest assured, the experiences are immersive in nature and students are to experience the ebb and flow of everyday family life, and our visiting students deeply appreciate being welcomed into your homes, regardless of your lifestyle.

The families who generously offered to host last year reported that it was an incredible and enriching experience, exceeding expectations and potentially leading to lifelong connections.

An Edsmart will be sent shortly with further information, but we ask you to please consider registering your interest to become a host family. Your willingness to participate in this cultural exchange program contributes to the vibrant spirit of our School Community and fosters global understanding and friendship. We are seeking:

10 families to host a Aoyama Gakuin Yokohama Eiwa student arriving Saturday 27 July to Sunday 11 August.
6 families to host a student from Jogakkan Senior School arriving Sunday 18 August to Saturday 24 August.

In addition, for the last 19 years, our Year 6 students have hosted students from Tokyo Jogakkan Primary School in what has become an eagerly anticipated annual highlight for Year 6. During their stay, from 24-29 July, which includes being hosted over a weekend, the visiting junior students participate in Fahan school-based activities and share Japanese cultural experiences introduced by the visiting students (such as kimono wearing, calligraphy, traditional games). This invaluable opportunity allows our students to directly engage with their peers from another country, celebrating diversity while recognising our common humanity. The early exposure to international exchange has profound positive impacts on students’ development, fostering open-mindedness and global awareness. Further information will be sent to Year 6 families in Term 2.

I look forward to sharing more information about this wonderful opportunity!

Ms Kate Saliba
Japanese Teacher

Learning about Science in the Senior School

It's been noisy and productive in the Science labs during the first two weeks of term!

The Year 7s have started learning about the branches of science and the Year 8s have been preparing for chemistry by learning about the equipment and safety in the lab. The Year 9s have started studying reproduction. Half of the Year 10s have been learning about the origins of the universe and the other half the Periodic Table in detail. The Science Enrichment class has started some design loop tasks, including building towers. We are lucky enough to have both a Biology 2 class and a Biology 3 class this year. Both classes have started with a re-cap of the scientific method. The Bio 2 students have practiced their inquiry skills by conducting their own experiment to test which substance prevents apples from browning - it looks like lemon juice was the winner! Biology 2 will now start their Ecology unit, whilst Biology 3 will finish revising cells (including looking at cells and protozoans under the microscope), then move onto processes within cells, including photosynthesis and enzymes. The Physical Science class has started looking at chemistry - revising some basics and looking at how gases are tested. The Chemistry class are about to conduct their first lab on oxidation and reduction reactions.

Thanks to all our fabulous Science staff for starting the year with such passion and to our amazing students for their hard work and energy!

Miss Felicity Jacobs

Book Club in the Senior Library started this Friday at lunch. Book Club is an extra-curricular activity run by Senior students that is held each week to promote reading for enjoyment, and the discussion and exploration of books.

If your student is interested, please support them by purchasing their book. Everyone is welcome!

We have two books selected for Term 1:

For Year 7 and Year 8: Hamlet Is Not OK by R.A Spratt

For Year 9 and above: Eleanor Jones Is Not a Murderer by Amy Doak

Miss Cheree Harcourt

Spirit of Year 7N Camp

On Tuesday 12 February, our class, 7N, went camping at Kelvedon near Swansea. We did lots of fun activities over the three days we were there such as: setting up our tents, playing some games, swimming at the beach, cooking on Trangias, going for a sunrise walk, riding mountain bikes, and multiple beach activities. Cooking our dinners was difficult because we hadn’t done it before, but in the end, they were worth it.

Overall, camp was a great few days, except for the bugs! We’d like to thank Ms Maley, Mr Firth, Ms Short and Andy for giving us this amazing experience.

By Eliza Brown and Mia Stoklosa

The Year 7s were asked to choose one word to describe camp. Here are some of their responses:

Camp was exhausting because we did so many activities such as stand up paddle-boarding, raft building, sunset walks, and so much more. Hannah Abbott
My word is exhilarating. Camp was so much fun and educational. Some parts were rather scary for me, like going down a VERY rocky and steep path on the mountain bikes because I wanted to challenge myself. Although I was short of breath, and assuming the absolute worst, it still became a highlight for me. Other highlights include stand up paddle boarding, rafting, spiderweb challenges, Red Faces, trivia, puzzles, games and cooking on Trangias! Overall camp was such a fun and rememberable experience! Ivy Brown
My word is educational. I learnt to do lots of new things like stand up paddle boarding and Trangia cooking. Deeksha Dharmapuri
The word that I would describe camp is INVIGORATING. I chose the word because invigorating means making one feel strong, healthy and full of energy. Camp strengthened me in the sense of making new friends and strengthening other friendships. On camp we did fun and exhilarating activities and ate yummy healthy food. Camp I think made everyone excited and full of energy, and so, invigorating, I feel, is the perfect word for camp. Amelie Dobson
My word is new. I found that camp was an incredible opportunity to meet new people and discover things that we may find fun and that we are good at. For me, I really enjoyed cooking on the Trangia and the early morning walks, which is something 'new' to me, that I loved so much. SUPping (stand up paddle boarding) was also relatively new to me, which was a fear of mine which I faced, and now is something that I will do all the time. I felt like I came home more willing and confident to do things that I maybe wasn't so sure about before, and will be incredibly excited to do at camp for many more years to come. Chloe East
Exhilarating is the word I would choose because at camp we could try new things like stand up paddle boarding. You also didn't know what the next day would bring you, so I was always a bit nervous, but also excited. You also found your heart racing a lot from cooking to bike riding to even finding out your tent. Evie Essex
One word that I would use to describe camp is entertaining, because we were always busy with exciting activities, and entertained ourselves with cards or 15 in our spare time. Skye Hansen
My word is surprising. Camp was very surprising to me because I had no idea what was happening the entire time! I also thought that I was going to get homesick at night, but surprisingly I didn't get homesick at all! Harper Imberger
The word I would use to describe camp would be EXCITING. I chose this word because I got to try lots of new things such as cooking on the Trangias, stand up paddle boarding and raft building. Grace Jones
One word to describe my camp is probably ambivalent, which means it was good, but it was also bad. This is why. I'll start off with the positive. For me, stand up paddle boarding and swimming was amazing, the water was gorgeous and paddling over the rocks was so exciting and fun. But sleeping was annoying and bugs were everywhere! Zora Karacic
One word that I would use to describe camp is entertaining. I chose entertaining because it was so fun and i haven't done some of the activities before. It was a beautiful experience and I enjoyed hanging out around the campfire. Also what made it fun was all the people around me were full of energy. Isabel Leditschke
I would describe camp with the word experiences. Camp was full of new and fun experiences that everyone got a chance to try. Not everyone liked all the things we did, but it was always good to try. Grace Lincoln-Lomax
My word is exciting. Camp was very exciting because we got to try new things and experience activities that I hadn't done before. I really enjoyed camp because it was so exciting and there was always something new to do. Olivia Mainwaring
One word I would use to describe camp is beautiful because of all of the scenery and great views. The sunset on the first night and the sunrise on the last morning were gorgeous and I loved the views on the drive up and down, but my favourite was seeing the stars in the middle of the night. They were breathtaking! Elsie Miller
Camp was such a blast! I loved the beach and I really enjoyed the swimming. I had never cooked on a Trangia before, but it was really enjoyable and Elsie was so much fun to cook with. Sophie Mirowski
One word I would use to describe camp was social, because it threw me into the deep end with lots of people that I was surprised I didn't know more about. I got along well with many new girls and girls originally from Fahan who I wouldn't normally be with. Camp was a wonderful experience, and I formed many new friendships through it. Caroline Senkbeil
The word I would use to describe camp is adventurous. I chose this word because we were always doing exciting and adventurous activities. We also leant lots of activities that can either be a skill, or for fun, and they were all adventurous. Clare Stewart
One word I would use to describe camp would be AMAZING! This is because I got to try lots of new things. My favourite of them was definitely cooking on a Trangia. Mia Stoklosa
My word is interminable (full-on). Camp was amazing, we did so, so many activities so we were on the go all day, starting with a trip to the park and a swim and sandcastle competition at the beach. We continued on to a spiderweb team building activity, and balancing games, along with an incredible mountain biking session. For me, my favourite thing was cooking on the Trangias, frying, chopping and dining on the gourmet meals like Jamie Oliver was highly enjoyable. With chaotic raft building and crazy stand up paddle boarding, camp was super enjoyable! Allegra Yuile

This February, Fahan’s Open rowers are raising awareness for ovarian cancer, the sixth most common cause of cancer death among females in Australia. The Opens’ initiative, to wear teal-coloured socks to all Regattas in February, has garnered huge support and, this weekend, the Schools Regatta 2 at Lake Barrington will be a sea of teal! Our crew, led by Co-Captain of Boats, Olivia Farquer, approached Open rowers from Southern and Northern schools and were overwhelmed by their unanimous support to join our crews in wearing teal socks during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

It is heartening to see one of our School values of Community resonate so clearly with our rowers and we are proud of the work they are doing. All profits from the sale of teal socks will be donated to their chosen charity, SHE Gynaecological Cancer Group, who provide support to Tasmanians and their families who have been diagnosed with gynaecological cancers.

Spirit - Junior School Sport

Junior Soccer

This week saw the start of training for the JSSATIS soccer roster. Girls will train in their teams on Mondays at lunchtime, commencing Monday 19 February.

A big thank you goes to all our coaches and managers for their support. I think this year we have tipped over into new territory, with over 80 girls signed up to play!

A reminder that shin pads are compulsory for all games, with boots (if grounds are not wet) and mouth guard optional.

Games will commence on Thursday 22 February.

Soccer Training

Trainings will be held on Mondays @ 12.45pm

Years 1/2 on the Green
Years 3-6 on the bottom Oval

(shin pads and boots if desired, sandshoes will suffice while the grounds are dry)

NB: Only Years 3/4 will train during Swim and Survive due to timetabling constraints.

Junior Tennis

This roster gets underway on Tuesday 20 February. We currently have 3 girls in this team, which is fine but there is scope for another student to join this team. Many thanks to Mrs Denman, Betsy Ryan and Felicity Barling for looking after this team.

Training: Thursdays @ 12:45pm on the Tennis Courts (starting Thursday 15 February)

Matches to commence Tuesday 20 February.

Junior Orienteering

The Orienteering season has gotten underway this week. Fahan has 9 girls participating, which is great and my thanks goes to Mrs Wiggins for attending the range of venues that Orienteering utilises and helping the girls get started with their timing chips, maps etc.

WHEN WHERE

Wed 14 Feb Lambert Gully Southern Autumn Schools/Twilight Series #1 AL
Wed 21 Feb Kangaroo Bay Southern Autumn Schools/Twilight Series #2 AL
Wed 28 Feb Kingston High Southern Autumn Schools/Twilight Series #3 AL
Wed 6 March Domain Southern Autumn Schools/Twilight Series #4 AL
Wed 13 March Wentworth Park Southern Autumn Schools/Twilight Series #5 AL
Wed 20 March Waterworks Southern Autumn Schools/Twilight Series #6 AL

Junior House Swimming

When: Wednesday 28 February
Where: Clarence Pool
Time: 9:45am to 2:30pm

Swim and Survive

When: Runs from Monday 26 February to Friday 8 March
Where: Collegiate Pool
Years 3 and 4 – 10:30am to 11:10am (Depart 10:05am, Return 11:35am)
Prep – 11:10am to 11:50am (Depart 10:45am, Return 12:15pm)
Years 1 and 2 – 11:50am to 12:30pm (Depart 11:25am, Return 12:55pm)
Year 5 – 12:30pm to 1:10pm (Depart 12:05pm, Return 1:35pm)
Year 6 – 1:10pm to 1:50pm (Depart 12:45pm, Return 2:15pm)

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

Spirit - Senior School Sport

Inter-House Athletics Carnival

The Inter-House Athletics Carnival was held on Friday 9 February at the Domain Athletics Centre. Congratulations to everyone for their participation and efforts. This year we saw our greatest participation rates across all events and the House rivalry and spirit was at it’s best. Along with increased participation, there were excellent efforts with three records broken. Congratulations to the following athletes for setting new Athletics records:

Jemima Geappen – U14 Long Jump and U14 Triple Jump

Lucy Meikle – Under 14 800m

It was a perfect day for athletics and everyone ran, jumped and threw with a smile on their face!

The winning House and age group champions will be announced on Monday 19 February in Notices Assembly.

Thank you to all staff, students, volunteers and parents who helped out on the day. The contribution from everyone who made the Carnival a success was a demonstration of the teamwork, spirit and camaraderie that we have at Fahan.

The SSATIS Athletics will be held on Tuesday 12 March at the Domain Athletics Centre. The SATIS Athletics will be held on Friday 22 March in Hobart this year at the Domain Athletics Centre.

The team will be announced early next week and training will begin on Thursday 22 February, with the training timetable available on the Tree.

Running Group

Running Group has started. We meet at the Fahan Gym at 7:00am every Friday morning. Running Group is open to everyone – we welcome new runners, whatever their level of running!

The Hobart Marathon is on Sunday 7 April. A Fahan Team has been created and it would be great to have lots of Fahan students, parents and friends join our team. Below is the link to enter, and when you join the Fahan team you will receive the team discount.

https://hobartmarathon.com.au

Term 1 Sports

Term 1 Sport rosters all begin next week. Fahan have teams entered in volleyball, cricket, sailing, tennis, soccer and rowing. It is wonderful to see so many students playing sports and representing our School on the soccer pitch, in the water, and on the courts!

A reminder to students ensure they attend all training sessions and games and have the correct sports uniform for their sport.

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

On Thursday 8 February, we warmly welcomed our new parents into the Fahan Community with a special dinner held in the TM Hall.

Hosted by Principal, Mrs Meg Lawson, our staff and P&F members came together with new families to mark the start of their journey at Fahan School.

It was a wonderful evening with Fahan parent and alumna, Lauren Jauncey, sharing some entertaining experiences and heartfelt words of advice which was loved by all. Our Year 12 leaders also excelled as hosts for our newest families!

Community - Relay for Life

For the last 23 years, Fahan students and staff have participated in the Cancer Council’s annual fundraising event, Relay for Life, which raises vital funds for the Cancer Council’s research, prevention and supportive care services.

Taking place from 1:00pm on Saturday 24 February to 9:00am on Sunday 25 February, Year 12 Community Chair, Charlee Hunt, has coordinated an enthusiastic group of Years 11 and 12 students and staff to walk, run, wander and skip their way around the Queens Domain.

The Fahan team has set a target of $4,000. If you would like to support this important cause, click the link below to donate!

https://www.relayforlife.org.au/fundraisers/fahanschool2024

Community - P&F Meeting Tuesday 20 February

The Fahan School Parents and Friends’ Association (P&F) welcome you to a new year at Fahan School. We encourage you to be involved in our vibrant community through participation at events or simply coming along to a P&F meeting as outlined below.

Sunset at The Barn

To celebrate the beginning of a new school year, the P&F invite you to our annual family welcome event, Sunset at The Barn, on Friday 1 March. Please see your invitation attached. Bring your family along for a fun evening that includes a delicious barbecue, drinks, music and our Senior girls providing entertaining games and activities for the children.

Date: Friday 1 March
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Venue: The Barn (on the lower oval)

We have had a fantastic response to our invitation with over 115 RSVPs already! Don't forget to RSVP online here by Monday 24 February for catering purposes.

Join the P&F

All parents of a current student who are interested in being involved in furthering the aims of the Association are entitled and welcomed to become members. Small or large, time donated to the P&F helps to enrich your daughter's school and her experience. The current committee is a group of warm and welcoming people and no formal process is required if you would like to be involved in some way – just come along!

P&F Association Meetings

P&F meetings are usually held on the third Tuesday each month, during Term time, at 7:00pm in the Nateby House Dining Room and usually only run for an hour. Our first meeting of the year will be next Tuesday 20 February, and we welcome any parent who would like to attend – either in person or via Microsoft Teams:

Join the meeting on Tuesday
Meeting ID: 447 629 125 676
Passcode: tbb3vk

An Edsmart will be sent on Monday as a reminder about the meeting. Please do not hesitate to make contact at pandf@fahan.tas.edu.au if you have any questions.

Parent Representative

Thank you to the parents who have put their hands up to be a Class Representatve for 2024. Your involvement as a year level representative will not require a significant amount of your time, but will assist in coordinating parental involvement in our major fundraiser this year, the Fahan Fair in Term 4.

We still have an opening in the following year groups if any parents would like to volunteer through the Edsmart: Kinder, Year 3, Year 8, Year 9 and Year 11

I look forward to sharing more information about the Parent Reps in the next newsletter.

Kind regards,

Michael O’Connor
President
Fahan School Parents and Friends’ Association

Community - eSafety Information

Online safety is a crucial issue for families, with digital devices becoming important platforms for learning and entertainment. The Government's eSafety website offers a broad range of information and resources in this area, covering topics such as cyberbullying, online gaming, social media, and digital reputation.

The site's resources have recently been updated, and features content that is tailored to a broad range of ages. It also offers relevant contacts and actions for people who encounter concerning behaviour online.

Fahan will be using these resources with students at School, and we also encourage parents and carers to have a look at the resources, and discuss cybersafety with their families.

Learn more at the eSafety website: https://www.esafety.gov.au/

Mr Chris Wood