Community Engagement

As the school year finishes, we wanted to take the opportunity to thank students, staff and families for their engagement with and support of the School during 2024. In a year of change and welcoming our Principal Esther Hill, we acknowledge the hard work and resilience of students, staff and families.

I would also like to thank our Parent Year Group Reps and volunteers who have helped foster strong connections, disseminate important information and who have supported our community throughout the year.

We recently published the bi-annual Focus magazine, which features wonderful articles by staff and students, highlighting the School's values in action and breadth of activities. The School's Yearbook, Echoes, will be provided to students in the last week of the Term. If school families have not received a hard copy of either publication, you are welcome to obtain one from the Main Reception.

Back to School in 2025 - below are some important links. A full email will be sent in mid-to-late January with further details:

Term Dates and Main Reception Open Dates

School Contact information

School Shop and Uniform Information

Years 7 to 12 Booklist Information

Congratulations to our Year 12 Leavers for their work, support for one another and commitment to the School this year and during their time at Friends'.

Best wishes to you and your family for a peaceful, restful and enjoyable summer break. We look forward to seeing 2024 students and families in the new year.

Harry Driessen, Alex Clarke, Will Plumb, Ellis Swinbourne, Digory McCormack

Senior Wind Group at the End of Year Gathering

50+ Reunion: Robin Wilkinson (1959), David Robbie (1959)

End of Year Gathering: String Ensemble and Years 3-12 Combined Choirs

Alumni Stories

Former student and Tasmanian artist, Marion Abraham (2006) has won the 2024 Henry Jones Art Prize for her painting, Good Girls, a personal piece about her sister and herself. “It’s a very sentimental piece, half still-life, half portraiture. It talks about my sister and my relationship and our work in the community and what our values are as we grow older together”. Congratulations Marion. View the The Mercury article here.

Friends’ School alumni Otto and Bruno Bell (2021) have become expert researchers on weevils and land snails. You can watch this video to learn more about their fascinating work in protecting these small species.

Congratulations to Sam Watson (2018) who has won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. Sam will be focusing his postgraduate studies in sustainability, enterprise and the environment, and public policy and we wish him well on his journey.

In 2021, Friends’ alum and past staff member, Jane Bamford (1982) pioneered a project with invited artists to create 14 ceramic little penguin nesting modules (LPNM) for the Derwent estuary in collaboration with scientists and researchers - which have now had little penguins nesting in them! Now Jane has earned a Special Judges Prize at the 13th International Ceramics Competition MINO, in Japan for her work. To learn more about Jane’s work listen to this recent ABC radio interview here. Stay tuned for a longer article about Jane's work coming soon.

New Alumni Reps Mark Nicholson (1971) and Susie Cretan (2010) presented School pins to the Class of 2029, and, while they were there, shared some great stories about their time at Friends’. The theme was community, and with peer years now included on the School pins they are a special reminder to students of the community they are already part of now, and will remain part of after graduation.

Past-Staff Reunion

What a joy to welcome more than 50 past staff back to Friends’ to tour the campuses and catch up at Boodle Beasley for drinks and nibbles. It was a delightful afternoon, giving some staff the chance to revisit and explore the new buildings, including the new WN Oats Centre, while reconnecting with familiar faces. Standout moments for them included the vibrant Prep Art Exhibition and the outstanding Year 11 IB Extended Essay presentations, where the diversity of topics and high standards were truly appreciated. We were thrilled to reconnect with these valued members of the Friends’ community, and it was wonderful to see their joy in reuniting with one another. Thank you for visiting!

Greg Hill, Vincent Andereson, Silvia Boden

Charlie Parkinson, Mark Nicholson, Peter Jones, Robin McLean

Upcoming Events

50+ Alumni Luncheon, The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania

Bookings for the annual 50+ Luncheon on Sunday 23 February are now open!

Click here to book: www.trybooking.com/CWEIP

Save the Date - 2025 Class Reunions

Have you got a reunion coming up in 2025? Make sure you mark your calendar - invitations will be sent in the new year. To make sure you don’t miss out, update your details here.

Class of 1975, 50 Year Reunion: Saturday 12 April, Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania

Class of 1985, 40 Year Reunion: Saturday 3 May, Boodle Beasley

Class of 1995, 30 Year Reunion: Saturday 3 May, Boodle Beasley

Class of 2005, 20 Year Reunion: Saturday 3 May, venue to be advised

Class of 2015, 10 Year Reunion: Saturday 3 May, venue to be advised

Class of 2020, 5 Year Reunion: Saturday 29 November, Boodle Beasley

Class of 2024, 1 Year Reunion: Thursday 4 December, Boodle Beasley

If you would like to help with your reunion please email Jenny Mitchell.

Co-curricular Reunions

We are working on a number of co-curricular reunions.

Marimba: Save the date for an Alumni Marimba reunion on Sunday 1 June in The Farrall Centre and afterwards at Boodle Beasley. Learn some new pieces, connect with old Marimba friends and perform in a School concert. To register your interest and receive updates, join this Facebook group, or email Jenny Mitchell.

Chess: We are also in the early planning stages of an Alumni Chess ‘friendly’ tournament. To register your interest and receive information going forward please email Jenny Mitchell.

Bill Avery - Director of Community Engagement