Fahan School eNewsletter

Principal's Report

Last week we celebrated International Women's Day. This day is observed annually on 8 March and is a global celebration honouring the achievements of women and promoting gender equality. It's a day to recognise the incredible contributions women have made to society, and to reflect on the ongoing journey towards gender parity.

At Fahan, we believe in empowering all our students to reach their full potential. International Women's Day provides a wonderful opportunity to reinforce this commitment and to educate our students about the importance of gender equality.

Here are a few reasons why celebrating International Women's Day is significant:

Inspiration and Role Models: International Women's Day highlights the achievements of women in various fields, from science and technology to politics and the arts. By showcasing these accomplishments, we provide our students with role models to inspire their own aspirations and goals.
Promoting Gender Equality: Gender equality is essential for creating a fair and just society. By celebrating International Women's Day, we emphasize the importance of treating everyone with respect and dignity, regardless of gender. This helps create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all students.
Educational Opportunities: International Women's Day offers valuable opportunities for education and discussion. Through classroom activities, discussions, and guest speakers, we can raise awareness about issues such as gender stereotypes, women's rights, and the importance of diversity and inclusion.
Empowering Tomorrow's Leaders: By instilling values of equality and empowerment in our students, we help prepare them to become leaders who will advocate for a more just and equitable world. International Women's Day encourages students to challenge stereotypes, break barriers, and strive for excellence in all aspects of their lives.

As part of our celebrations, student leaders from Fahan, Hutchins and Collegiate came together to organise a dinner and quiz night, but the real highlight was the address by Fahan Alumna, Zehra Naqvi. Zehra has had a successful career as an actress in the UK and as a voice-over artist, which she is able to do worldwide from here. Zehra spoke of some of the challenges she faced in her life and about the importance of inclusion and feeling like you belong. Her message was inspirational and well-received by an appreciative and receptive audience.

Tomorrow is the much-anticipated Head of the River rowing event at Lake Barrington. All our rowers have trained so hard, and we wish them all the very best for a successful day. Go Fahan!

Best wishes,

Meg Lawson

Learning in Pre-Kinder

The Pre-Kinders have enjoyed a wonderful excursion to the Hobart Rivulet to meet Rob who was there to teach us all about the platypus.

We have been looking at videos about the platypus and how they live in this environment. Rob talked to the children about the habitat, the way the platypus survives and how they eat and dig tunnels to make nests to lay their eggs in. The children replicated this by crawling up a tunnel and collecting leaves to make a nest.

A stuffed platypus provided great interest to us all and the children asked very thoughtful questions. We did not see a real platypus this time, but we will return to have another look. We heard many different types of birds and looked at different insects and fauna. Discussions with the children about how this links into our investigations in our very own rivulet have extended on the children’s interest and learning.

The children are developing a sense of belonging to communities and learning about the impact they have on the environment.

We continue to extend on their learning by connecting to nature.

Lisa, Vivienne, Moya, Hattie, Heena and Sean

Learning about NITA

On Tuesday 12 March, students from Kinder through to Year 6 welcomed the day with a Smoking Ceremony, with Trish from NITA Education.

Each class gathered around the Fire Pit as they learnt about the original custodians of the land on which we learn, and the traditions that have been passed on from one generation to the next. Following the smoking ceremonies, classes enjoyed palawa cultural activities, including stories and creating clay sculptures with Trish. Mrs Rebecca Wiggins

It was an awesome experience with Trish. It was so lovely to see the Kinder and Prep students so tangibly building a relationship with Trish and palawa culture. Ms Kim Menadue

It was such a powerful learning experience for our Junior School students. I am very grateful to Trish and NITA Education for so generously sharing knowledge of palawa culture. Mrs Meg Denman

Trish told us stories about how to make fire. Imogen (Year 1)

Trish told us a story about how a black cockatoo flew to the sun to make fire. Evie (Year 2)

I liked Trish's possum cloak. Sylvie (Prep)

I liked making the clay animals. Dottie (Prep)

I loved how Trish helped us make the clay animals. Delilah (Prep)

I wondered how long Aboriginal people had been on earth for. Heidi (Prep)

I liked meeting Trish. Willow (Prep)

I was excited to meet Trish. I made a little possum. Elodie (Prep)

In Weeks 4 and 5 this term, Years 1 and 2 have been learning about swimming and safety at the Collegiate Pool. We went there on the bus. In free time we could play! Sophie, Grace and Dylan were some of teacher's names. In our swimming bag we had to pack a cap, goggles, towel, bathers, snack, hair brush and some clothes. Our favourite parts were free time, doing jumps in the deep end, jumping jellybeans, collecting sinkies from the deep end, blowing bubbles and doing freestyle to the deep end. We learnt how to do breaststroke and backstroke in the deep end and did tricks underwater back in the shallow end.
Thank you, Mr Dale for organising it for us.

Maggie Woolley, Misha Gogia and Kate Marchant

Year 3 students had a fabulous time this week on their first Outdoor Education experience for the year at the Waterworks Reserve!

Mr Firth took us on a fabulous bushwalk, explaining the history of the Waterworks Reserve along the way. We also learnt about map-reading and taking care of our natural resources. Ranger Rob, from Hobart City Council Bush Adventures, showed us how to collect and identify water bugs. We discovered that the water there is very clean. It was a wonderful day of fun and learning!

Mrs Nicole Bury

On Friday 15 March, the Year 4 students undertook a surf life saving morning, which complimented the Swim and Survive program.

The students learnt about coastal and surf hazards, how to identify a rip, what to do if caught in one, and about designated surfing areas and surf signals.  

When not enjoying the tropical waters of Long Beach, they were warming up playing Flags and building mermaids. 
 
Mr David Hodgman

In the lead up to ANZAC Day, Year 5 borrowed a Memorial Box from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG).

The Memorial Box explores the Australian experience of the First World War. It includes objects that explore the ANZAC experience, and the involvement of over 416,000 Australian soldiers, sailors, airmen, and nurses – as well as those on the home front – during a defining period of our nation's history.

The real and replica First World War items are on display in the Years 5/6 foyer and are accessible for all classes until Friday 5 April.

Mrs Susan Wright

Year 7 students began the term illustrating their names to form the covers of their Art journals. We then explored the medium of gouache painting and they experimented with colour mixing and pattern to form the background of their journal covers. These journals will be utilised throughout the year to document technical notes, planning, ideas, experiments and artist references.

Year 8 students collaged imagery for their new art journals and used photocopies and collage to form the basis of the final journal covers. Using African masks as inspiration, students recently experimented with drawing, using charcoal and conte crayon.

Years 9 and 10 students were lucky to have a series of workshops by visiting Tasmanian artist, Dr Meg Walch. Dr Walch led the first two workshops focusing on drawing and using ‘line as language’. She worked through a series of exercises designed to expand the students’ visual vocabulary, experimenting with a variety of mark making techniques and creativity-boosting exercises. The two-hour workshop engaged with the medium of drawing from different perspectives to provide students with a toolkit to strengthen their creativity and art practice. During the second workshop, Dr Walch introduced the basics of colour theory and oil painting, and students painted their own colour triangle, mixing primary colour to create secondary and tertiary colours, and variations of complex grey tones derived from the primary colours.

It was fantastic to have such a fabulous (and knowledgeable) artist working with the students, helping them build strong foundations for their art practice.

Ms Alex Pitt

Year 7

On Wednesday 12 March, Year 7O conducted an experiment in the Science lab.

For some, this was their first experiment, so it was extremely exciting. The task was to test our measurement capabilities and to achieve a rainbow display over six test tubes. Once we completed our experiment we updated our results onto Stile. The aim was to end up with 10ml in each test tub.

It was very enjoyable. Indira Leary

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sophia Stanojevic

Overall, the whole class had a lot of fun!

By Audrey Cox

This week the Year 11s and 12s in the Biology 3 class have been planning and conducting their own experiments in small groups to investigate the factors that affect the rate photosynthesis. They chose one of three different types of experiments – using algal balls, using pond weed or using spinach leaf discs, and have spent the week testing, refining their method and collecting data. They will now start to write up their investigations as a scientific report.

Ms Felicity Jacobs

Mount Wellington Classroom

On Thursday this week, the Biology 2 students went on an excursion to Mount Wellington. We have been learning about ecology in our classes for the past few weeks, and this excursion was a more interactive approach to our learning, as we discovered how abiotic factors affect certain environments. We travelled up the mountain and stopped at three different areas, each increasing in altitude. We measured abiotic factors that affect the growth of vegetation such as: wind speed, temperature, UV radiation and the moisture of the soil. We learnt how to use the equipment to measure those factors, and how to certain plants and trees using Treeflip and Eucaflip field guides. It was interesting to note that as we increased in height above sea level, the vegetation became smaller in size, and at the summit, the plants were small and compact to withstand the wind. Now we can also identify some of the plant species including Tasmanian blanketbush and dogwood. We all thoroughly enjoyed this excursion and learnt a lot.
Jemima Baker and Eadie Davidson

Our excursion to Mount Wellington was a really great way to see the things we had been learning in the classroom and apply them to real life. We travelled to different points on the mountain -it was so interesting to see how the vegetation changed as we ascended. We learnt how to identify different plants using guides and how different weather conditions affect plant adaptations. Thank you to Miss Jacobs and Dr Stewart!
Lucie Tomlin

Biology 2

Biology 3

Learning about Outdoor Adventure Skills

Over the past few weeks, the Outdoor Adventure Skills class have been developing our skills in various water-based activities. The students have been working on their skills in snorkeling, and surfing. All these skills are aimed to increase their understanding of the water-based activities available to them in the Hobart region and have the confidence and skills to pursue these activities further in their own time.

The classes have also been researching marine life in the Derwent River and looking at ways to preserve the environment by leaving no trace with all these activities.

Mrs Stacey Maley

In 2024 we again have at-home access to over 200 books on Story Box Library available for Junior School students.

What is Story Box Library?
Imagine the best stories being read aloud to you by our favourite storytellers – well that's Story Box Library! We get kids excited about reading, inspire their imaginations and let them have fun with stories, improving their language and literacy skills along the way.

With an ever-growing library, suitable for preschool and primary aged children, it really is Storytime. Anytime!

The StoryBox App is also available for mobiles and tablets from both the Apple and Google Play stores.

https://storyboxlibrary.com.au/
Username: tmlibrary
Password: june2024

Spirit of Sailing

Fahan School's sailing team is making waves competing in the Schools Team Sailing Series at Sandy Bay. Their adaptability in mixed conditions stands out as they prepare for the State Titles.

Training with coach, Amy Potter, is intensifying, focusing on both teamwork and individual skills. With determination and expert guidance, they're primed to sail to their best ability.

The State Titles is a two day event of high level team sailing, and Fahan School's Team is ready to give it their all.

Mr Chris Wood

Behind the Scenes

Performance Club is a new extra-curricular activity offered to students in Years 7 to 11. There are 22 students that meet every Wednesday lunchtime and Thursday after School to work together to bring forward the art of performance to Fahan. Under the exceptional guidance of Ms Best, we gather in the TM Hall to practice a variety of musicals and plays, and not without the incorporation of various fun games that get everyone in the room grinning from ear to ear. Everyone is included and given a role, and the atmosphere is charged with excitement as the magic of performance unfolds.

The Performance Club is in the course of preparing for a show in June, which will be something truly wonderful. Developments made throughout the months will be showcased in the newsletter, and we look forward to performing for you next term!

By Shavenya Jayanetti

The Junior Sport rosters are well and truly underway. Our Tennis girls are going very well with Mrs Denman, and Mrs Wiggins is enjoying the Orienteering on Wednesdays!

Now that Swim and Survive has finished, soccer training will get back underway for all teams on Monday. Please remember the need for shin pads, so that tackling can occur safely, and games can be played.

JSSATIS Swimming

The JSSATIS Swimming Carnival will be held on the Monday 25 March. The team is now finalised and have had two training sessions, with two further sessions on Tuesday and Thursday of next week. A program will be distributed early next week.

Junior Hockey

Sign up information for Junior Hockey will be sent out next week. This roster commences in Term 2 (4 May to 29 June) and is played on Saturday mornings at Cornelian Bay.

Junior Netball

Sign up information for Junior Netball will be sent out shortly. This roster also commences in Term 2, with games played on Wednesday afternoons for Years 3/4 (8 May start) and Thursday afternoons for Years 5/6 (9 May start).

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

Spirit - Senior School Sport

Rowing

Congratulations to Matilda Cocker who has been selected to represent Tasmania in the Women’s Youth 8.

Congratulations also to the Fahan Rowing Team who competed in the Tasmanian All Schools Rowing Championships on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March at Lake Barrington.

We now send our best wishes to them for the Head of the River which will be held on Saturday 16 March. This will be the final regatta for the Fahan Rowing Team for the 2023/2024 season and is the culmination of many, many hours of training and hard work and we look forward to hearing the results.

I would like to mention the Year 12 students from the Open squad who will row for Fahan for the last time. Olivia Farquer, Olivia Wilson, Keala Hayes, Annabelle Lumsden-Steel, Sophie Bury and Prue Clarke have dedicated many hours to Fahan Rowing. Throughout their time as rowers they have shown tremendous spirit, grit and dedication. Their commitment to the sport has remained strong and I congratulate them on their efforts. Rowing is a team sport and I know that the friendships and relationships they made through rowing will remain. The memories they have made will always be something they look back on fondly.

At Fahan we are very fortunate to have committed and passionate coaches and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the rowing coaches. Not only do they give a huge amount of their time to coach rowing, they also become mentors, counsellors and friends to the rowers they work with. To Chris Parnham, Jane McGann, John Withers, Sara Gates-Matthews, Warwick Dobson and Andrea Brown - THANK YOU for all you do.

A huge thank you also goes to Director of Fahan Rowing, Steve Lambert, Teacher in Charge of Rowing, Sophie Baxter.

Thank you also to all the volunteers who do a variety of tasks to help.

Athletics

On Tuesday 12 March, the Fahan SSATIS Athletics team competed in the SSATIS Athletics Carnival at the Domain Athletics Centre. This team is to be commended on their efforts and excellent results. Every team member contributed and it was wonderful to see them helping and supporting each other in every way.

Fahan won the Girls Under 13 and Under 14 Pennant and were 3^rd in the Under 16 Pennant. We came 2^nd in the Girls Senior Shield and 3^rd in the Girls Junior Shield.

On the day, we were awarded the Girls Aggregate Shield. Unfortunately there was an error in the scoring system and we have been notified that Fahan is now 2^nd in the Aggregate Shield behind St Mary’s. We congratulate St Mary’s.

We now look forward to the SATIS Athletics Carnival on Friday 22 March. We have been training hard and I feel confident we can continue with our excellent team efforts and performances.

Individual placings from the SSATIS Carnival are:

Charlotte Cutrale - 1^st Open Triple Jump, 2^nd Open 200m, 2^nd Open 100m, 3^rd Open Long Jump

Jemima Geappen – 1^st Under 15 Triple Jump, 1^st Under 14 200m, 1^st Under 14 100m, 1^st Under 14 Long Jump,

Milla Gorringe – 1^st Under 13 200m, 1^st Under 13 100m, 2^nd Under 13 400m, 1^st Under 13 Long Jump

Emily Hughes – 2^nd Under 14 Discus

Nell Terry – 3^rd Open 200m, 1^st Open 100m, 3^rd Open 400m

Charlotte Crawford – 3^rd Open High Jump

Lucy Meikle – 3^rd Under 14 800m, 1^st Under 14 400m, 1^st Under 14 1500m

Prue Clarke – 2^nd Open 800m

Penny Geappen – 2^nd Open 400m

Amelia Steedman – 2^nd Under 16 Triple Jump, 3^rd Under 16 100m, 1^st Under 16 Long Jump

Maya Cubit – 2^nd Under 14 Shot Put

Essie Burke – 1^st Under 14 Javelin

Under 13 Relay – Evie Essex, Poppy Davies, Hannah Abbott and Milla Gorringe – 1^st

Under 14 Relay – Emily Hughes, Felicity Morgan, Lucy Meikle and Jemima Geappen – 1^st

Open Relay – Charlotte Cutrale, Prue Clarke, Penny Geappen and Nell Terry – 1st

A special mention goes to Jemima Geappen who broke the record in the Under 14 200m in a time of 26.30s.

The squad for the SATIS Athletics has been selected and training times will be put on the News on the Tree.

In the last newsletter, the individual champions from the Inter House Carnival were published. Unforrunately there was a mistake in these and below are the individual champions for 2024:

Junior Track Champion – Milla Gorringe Runner Up – Evie Essex

Junior Field Champion – Milla Gorringe Runner Up – Evie Essex

Intermediate Track Champion – Lucy Meikle Runner Up – Tara Sciberras

Intermediate Field Champion – Jemima Geappen Runner Up – Aviya Lincolne-Lomax

Senior Track Champion – Jaden Goodey Runner up – Pia Abberton

Senior Field Champion – Charlotte Cutrale Runner up – Chloe Groom

Congratulations to our Athletics Captains for 2024 – Prue Clarke and Charlotte Cutrale.

Sailing

Congratulations to Isabel Willcox who has been elected as the Saling Captain for 2024.

The Fahan Sailing Team has been competing every Wednesday afternoon this term and training every Monday afternoon. We have two teams in the competition and our thanks go to Amy Potter for coaching and Mr Chris Wood as the Teacher in Charge of Sailing. The Tasmanian Schools Team Racing Championships will take place on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 April.

Equestrian

Congratulations to Hannah Hardy who qualified to ride in the Tasmanian Pony Club State Trials, which were held over the long weekend. Hannah came 5th in the State in the Grade 3, Junior Rider section against 35 other competitors.

Hannah competed in dressage on day 1, cross country on day 2 and showjumping on day 3 on her horse, called Queens Park Alexandra.

Hannah was a member of the Grade 3 team for Huntingfield Pony Club, who came 1st.
This was a particularly difficult course and Hannah should feel very proud of her efforts.

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

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.

Community - Helen Wright Exhibitions

Fahan Artist in Residence, Helen Wright, will be having a solo survey exhibition at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, in July 2024. Helen has also been included in a group exhibition at Heidi Museum of Modern Art in Melbourne, entitled 'Hair Pieces', running from 4 May to 6 October 2024. Both these exhibitions are very exciting career opportunities to showcase both Helen's past and current artworks.

Community - Mousetrap at the Theatre Royal

Fahan Alumna and Australian icon of the stage and screen, Robyn Nevin, is returning to Hobart to direct Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap.

In an arcticle published in the Mercury last weekend, Robyn spoke fondly of her time at Fahan.

Nevin credits her success to Miss Morphett, the Fahan headmistress with a love of the arts, who nurtured some sort of “innate” acting ability within Nevin. “I loved the school, the school gave me a career,’’ Nevin says.

I still remember the day in assembly when a dark green NIDA prospectus was held up by either Miss Morphett or Miss (Isobel) Travers (the School’s founders). They said ‘if anyone is interested in applying to go to this drama school, please come and see me’. I got a copy of that prospectus, and I carried it around for months until I did the audition – I did it on the stage at the Theatre Royal and I got in.’’
In 1959 she was accepted as part of the first intake of students at the newly established performing arts school – she was 16 when she auditioned and had just turned 17 when she left Tasmania bound for Sydney to start her studies.

“While I left school early, it was with the blessing of Miss Morphett and Miss Travers,’’ Nevin says. “It was the right decision – I have no regrets. The influence of that woman on me, Miss Morphett, was quite profound. She instilled in me a belief, a very profound understanding, that whatever I did, I had to do it at a high level, that I had to take it very seriously and I had to do it very well. That was something I carried with me. I was always very serious about my craft, possibly even earnest. I was not the immediate image of a young actress … I was very serious. I was always just wanting to improve and be better.’’

The Mousetrap is showing at the Theatre Royal from 11-22 June. Ticket link here: The Mousetrap | Theatre Royal

Community Notices

Fahan School Bus Service

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

Autism Tasmania is excited to announce the 2024 Parent & Carer Workshops

These sessions aim to share autistic insight and experiences so parents can support their children to grow into self-confident and empowered adults.

Autism Tasmania provides a range of workshops to help support individuals and parents, families and carers to gain autistic insight and knowledge to better understand autistic experiences.

Our workshops provide a safe place to:

Ask questions
Connect with others in the autism community
Share understanding and experiences
Learn something new

The cost of our workshops are $10 online or $15 in person. Exemptions are available, please contact us as we strive to ensure our workshops are accessible for those who need them.

Registration is essential. We tailor our workshops to the individual needs of our participants in order to provide the most relevant information and resources. All of our workshops are designed to be interactive for our participants including our online sessions.

You can find events near you or online by visiting our calendar using the below button.

If you’re looking for Professional Development workshops, please head to our Professional Learning & Development webpage here.

Get in touch via learning@autismtas.org.au for further information.

Register for 2024 Workshop Dates here

A Fortnight at Fahan - Term 1, 15 March 2024

Principal's Report

Learning in Pre-Kinder

Learning about NITA

Learning in Swim and Survive

Learning in the Outdoors

Learning about Surf Life Saving

Learning about ANZAC Day

Learning in Art

Year 7

Year 8

Years 9 and 10

Learning about Measurement in Science

Learning about Biology