Our Learning

The Year 7 Connections Program

As we speed towards the end of the year we are already looking towards 2021 when we will welcome new and continuing students back to the School.

For our students starting their High School journey in Year 7 in 2021, we have many ways that we support their transition into secondary learning, including the Year 7 Connections Program. The Connections program is a transdisciplinary program that gives students the opportunity to explore new ways of learning, have some fun and make new friends.

If you have any questions about our Year 7 Program, please contact our Enrolments Office at enrol.office@friends.tas.edu.au 

Year 11 International Baccalaureate "Group 4" Project

While our TCE students and Year 12 IB students were busy with exams, our Year 11 IB students had some fun with science! 

Students were placed in multidisciplinary groups (in each group there were students from the full range of IB science subjects – Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Environmental Systems & Societies, Computer Science) and asked to develop a scientific research project in a remote location. Each group was supplied with a different set of coordinates, revealing their location, and they then spent the morning planning their research project. They needed to showcase their scientific discipline as well as work as part of a team. This is where our science teachers threw a bit of a spanner in the works… 

Check out the full story here

Rostrum Voice of Youth

Thank you to Lily Neyland and Zoe Adams for their report on Rostrum Voice of Youth.

On the 17 October 2020, four Friends’ students competed in the Southern Regional Final of the Rostrum Voice of Youth competition. Rostrum is an organisation that aims to assist its members in developing their public speaking and meeting skills. Each year the Rostrum Voice of Youth competition is run across Australia and aims to foster and develop public speaking skills in young people.

Check out the full report here.

Jean Yeates Writing Prize 

This year’s Jean Yeates Writing Prize engaged with the theme of ‘The Mask’. The winning entry, a short story entitled “Terror” by Year 11 student, Nyah Inglis, approached the theme symbolically through the persona of an Afghani asylum seeker. Preceding Old Scholar Mark Nicholson’s presentation to the Prize Winner at the final Clemes Assembly, this year’s Write -in-Residence, Sam George-Allen spoke about the importance of writing by instilling a sense of the value of  Art and Stories to our humanity and encouraged students to continue telling each other stories as they moved out into the world. We congratulate Nyah Inglis on her achievement which will be recognised on the Jean Yeates honour board at Clemes.

Full story available here.

Lab Rats Solar Car Fun

On Saturday Saturday 21 November, the Lab Rats Cocurricular entered the Solar Car Challenge at Clarence High. There were 40 solar cars entered and about 25 were from local high schools. Our Year 9/10 car made it to second place and our Year 7 team placed fourth. In a normal non-COVID year both cars would have been selected for the mainland competitions.

The Lab Rats are keen to enter again next year!

Quaker Quilting

Our Year 5 students have been inspired by the stories of Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, who believed in the importance of teaching women prisoners skills like sewing, and the “Rajah Quilt”, which was sewn by convicts on board the ship Rajah on its voyage to Van Diemen's Land in 1841.

With support from Jess Lund, Wendy Crow and classroom teachers, students have been using generous donations of fabric, scissors, needles and thread from members of the school community to create their own squares for a class quilt. Each student has drawn a design that represents themselves and their family, incorporating significant animals, plants and/or places. They have used pieces of donated fabric to create that design on their square of fabric and are beginning to add decorative stitching to their work. The squares are being sewn together in strips and the finished quilts will be displayed in Morris next year.

Thank you to the parents who donated items for this project.

Winner of the HEIA 2020 Flavour Forecast Recipe Challenge

Each year the Home Economics Institute of Australia (HEIA) run the Flavour Forecast Recipe Challenge, which challenges students across Australia to create new and exciting dishes. 

Charlotte Fischer (Year 10, 2020) is the Tasmanian state winner of the HEIA McCormack Flavour Forecast Recipe Challenge for her recipe 'Gunpowder spice savoury pancakes with turmeric and lime jackfruit and a herb yogurt dressing’. This was created as part of Year 10 Foods 4 unit this semester.

Charlotte's Submission read: 

"For the McCormack Challenge, I chose the "sauced & spiced" design brief as it appealed to my interest in experimenting with bold flavours and colours. I chose to make Gunpowder Spice Savoury Pancakes with turmeric and lime jackfruit and herb yoghurt dressing because the flavours complemented each other and sounded fresh and enticing. As I am vegetarian, I chose to make my dish vegetarian, making the dish contemporary as vegetarian diets are becoming more popular in the media so my dish applies to this widespread life choice. 

This dish is original as I have made savoury pancakes with a modern twist using the Gunpowder spice and have added jackfruit with turmeric and fresh lime zest and juice to balance out the flavours. Jackfruit is unknown and mostly unused around the world but is a great centre ingredient to add texture, flavour and depth so I included it to enhance and add originality to my dish. To create a nutritious and enticing dish I made sure to incorporate fresh ingredients as well as ingredients to advance flavour and texture. The ingredients I used are readily available for all customers to source in grocery stores and supermarkets. I made this dish appealing to customers with the use of my plating. By adding height from the savoury pancakes and fresh colours and aroma from the ingredients it makes the dish look attractive. My dish incorporates fresh flavours from the lime and Greek yoghurt to balance out the spices and flavours in the savoury pancakes, and with the use of jackfruit, it adds texture and flavour to combine to make a fresh and appealing dish." 

Come Walk With Us Workshop

In late-October, the School's draft Acknowledgment of Country was formally adopted by the Board of Governors.  Thank you to everyone who provided thoughtful discussion and feedback that went into producing this important statement on behalf of The Friends' School.

On Saturday 14 November, over 25 Friends’ staff participated in a valuable workshop, Come Walk With Us.  The workshop was facilitated by Reconciliation Tasmania and is a cultural safety program developed by UTAS under consultation with Tasmanian Aboriginal Advisors and their community members.  Participants gained cross-cultural skills to integrate Aboriginal issues across our school and communities.  The workshop helped further our understanding of Aboriginal history, past and current issues, as we work towards Reconciliation for our Nations First Peoples.

If you would like to know more or be involved in the development of the School’s Reconciliation Action Plan, please contact Bill Avery, Director of Community Engagement.