THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
A FRENSHAM SCHOOLS MAGAZINE EDITION #18 TERM 2 – JUNE 2026
Birthday Edition
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IN THIS EDITION
Choosing Collaboration Over Conflict
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FS Birthday: Frensham Schools Mosaic
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Birthday Celebrations: Service & Lunch
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Birthday Lunch: A Place to Belong
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Birthday Play: ‘Little Women’
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Birthday Lunch: Year 12 Reflections
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Birthday Games
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Dr Sarah Farrell (Madigan, 2006) Bio
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Frensham Birthday Address: Excellence, Service, and Love
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Birthday Weekend Reflection
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Why does Frensham sing 40 Years On?
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FJS: STEM in Action at Frensham Junior School
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FJS: The National Science and Engineering Challenge
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South Coast Public Speaking Competition
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Michelle Friedrich: Understanding Maths
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When will I ever use this in life?
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Brodie van Egmond: A story of grit, gratitude and good humour
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Winifred West Schools Foundation Livestock Enterprise
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70 Years On Reunion (Class of 1956)
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Fellowship Event Calendar
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Head’s Tour 2026 & Junior Production: Fantastic Mr Fox
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THE IRIS
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“Our task is not to prepare students for a single, predictable future, but to equip them to navigate complexity with confidence and integrity. The knowledge they acquire matters, but so too do the qualities they develop along the way: the ability to think clearly, to collaborate with others, and to approach uncertainty with a sense of purpose rather than hesitation.” – Geoff Marsh –
THE IRIS A Frensham Schools Magazine Edition #18 – Term 2 No 2 June 2026 Event photography: Sabine Madden
FROM THE HEAD
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Choosing Collaboration Over Conflict
R
ecently, I have found myself quietly absorbed in humanity’s return to space through the Artemis mission, sending astronauts around the far side of the Moon.
There is something inherently hopeful in this. Human beings travelling into darkness, beyond what can be seen, and returning safely home. It reflects humanity at our best, marked by curiosity, courage and a willingness to work together in pursuit of something larger than ourselves. The Artemis mission is, of course, a remarkable scientific and technological achievement. It draws on decades of accumulated knowledge and the expertise of thousands of individuals across nations and disciplines. It is also a reminder that the most complex challenges are rarely solved in isolation. They require patience, trust and a shared sense of purpose.
There is also, I think, a deeper symbolism in the journey itself. To travel into darkness without complete certainty, to rely on the preparation of others, and to return safely, is not unlike many of the experiences that shape a life. It requires judgement, resilience and a capacity to act with care even when the path ahead is unclear. This brings us back to the work of schools. Every act of problem-solving that makes a mission like Artemis possible begins much earlier, often in a classroom where habits of thought are first formed. Curiosity is encouraged. Questions are taken seriously. Persistence is required. Our task is not to prepare students for a single, predictable future, but to equip them to navigate complexity with confidence and integrity. The knowledge they acquire matters, but so too do the qualities they develop along the way: the ability to think clearly, to collaborate with others, and to approach uncertainty with a sense of purpose rather than hesitation. In this sense, achievements such as Artemis do not sit apart from education. They are an extension of it. They show what can happen when learning is sustained over time and directed towards something beyond the individual.
At a time when much of the world feels unsettled, there is something steadying in that idea. Progress is not always immediate, nor is it without disagreement, but it is still possible when people commit themselves to a common goal. Artemis offers a quiet counterpoint to the noise of division, suggesting that cooperation remains not only possible, but necessary.
It is easy to see space exploration as distant from our daily lives. Yet it is, in many ways, a reflection of them. It asks what we value, how we work together, and what we are prepared to invest in for the future. These are questions worth holding onto, both in our classrooms and beyond them. Geoff Marsh Head of Frensham Head of Frensham Schools
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BIRTHDAY MESSAGE - FRIDAY SERVICE
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Frensham Schools Mosaic
aving attended 31 of our Birthday Services during my time as a teacher across our schools, I have gathered a few thoughts, memories and experiences to share! My memories are like a mosaic, some are fleeting fragments while others remain vivid, colourful and bright. Looking back to when I first taught at Gib Gate (now Frensham Junior School) in 1995, we didn’t celebrate the birthday as Frensham Schools. In those olden days, we were quite separate. The Gib Gate birthday was celebrated on a Sunday in August right here in Clubbe Hall, but with our own independent service. And we used to perform both a Junior and Senior musical on that same day as the Service—it was a lot! Ms Gillick soon arrived as Head, and she unified us so that we have the cohesive schools and celebrations that we continue to enjoy today. This annual Birthday Service is a beautiful way to pause, remember our origins, and celebrate another year together. For us teachers from the Junior School, it is particularly moving to watch all of you Frensham students process into the hall. We love to catch the eye of former students looking so grown up, yet we can still see the little 3, 4, or 5-year-olds you were when you first started with us. The birthday cake cutting—with our youngest Kindergarten students joining with the Year 12 leaders & longest attending students, is always a highlight too. It perfectly captures that bridge between those just beginning their
journey at school and those about to head out into the world. For me, a personal highlight is conducting John Rutter’s version of the Junior School hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth. I introduced this version of our school hymn when I first started at Gib Gate. It is especially heartwarming when the Senior Choir sings out in the third verse, and I see students I taught so many years ago, it always gets me right in the heart. So I started considering, why are these moments so important to acknowledge? I believe it is about the connection, the belonging, and the relationships. It is that “special something” that links us across all the generations. Having experienced this continuity firsthand, I’m enjoying teaching the grandchildren of parents I knew decades ago. We see it in the eyes of Old Girls who return for their 20, 30, or 40-year on, holding their mosaic of school memories with such fierce passion. Some of my own “mosaic” of memories include: • Celebrating our 60th birthday with a sit down hot lunch in the Hall, just like the original Gib Gate boarders did. • Maintaining our connection with Japan with all the school trips and when our sister school, Hokuriku Gakuin, comes to visit us. • Conducting so many concerts, including my original Christmas concerts that were held on the Junior School field with actual animals taking part.
‘Belonging’, Year 6
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BIRTHDAY MESSAGE - FRIDAY SERVICE
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Frensham Schools Mosaic • And, of course, the musicals—so, so many of them! The joyous three cheers at the end of each evening performance and we have some full circle as my first musical was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where Mrs Clem Allan, our current Chair of the Board of Governors, played a lead role when she was in Year 6!
Our school is truly unique, as we continue to strive for excellence, living out our founding values in a contemporary world. We still see the spirit of our founding sisters in our outdoor classrooms, our connection with animals, our love of music, reading and art, and our commitment to remaining humble and to make a difference in the world - our Frensham character. Our founder, Winifred West, said: “Life is made up of significant pieces of coloured marble or stone - so arranged that a wonderful pattern may result. The complete beauty of the whole depends on the perfection of each part and its relation to the other parts. Each piece needs the surrounding pieces to show off its full beauty.”
Frensham Schools Combined Orchestra
‘One Voice’
‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’
So, as we celebrate today, let us appreciate that wonderful mosaic of Frensham Schools. Let’s all cherish the joy of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hope for tomorrow. Frensham celebrates 113 years, Sturt 85 years and Frensham Junior School 72 years of history that we all carry forward together. Happy Birthday to us all. Anne Graham Deputy Head Frensham Junior School
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BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
Frensham’s 113th Birthday Service
Birthday Address by Dr Sarah Farrell (Madigan, 2006)
Birthday Gift from Year 12 2026
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rensham celebrated our birthday with a Peter Rabbit themed birthday lunch. Thank you to Keeley Devery, Events Coordinator, and Brendan Carroll, Head of Catering, for organising the lunch!
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
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BIRTHDAY LUNCH ADDRESS
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A Place to Belong
hank you for inviting me to speak today as part of these birthday celebrations. It is an absolute privilege to stand before you as we mark Frensham’s 113th birthday and celebrate the Class of 2026. Frensham is a magical place. Its legacy lives in its people, its customs and traditions, and its beautiful natural surroundings. Even its buildings keep us grounded and connected. It is a place of storytelling and history, woven into a landscape like no other. My very first experience of Frensham captures that sense of magic. In 2006, I watched the Madrigals, dressed in their church dresses, perform on the stage of Clubbe Hall alongside the vibrant a cappella group, The Idea of North. There was something extraordinary in that moment—the blend of voices, tradition, and artistry—that has stayed with me ever since. It was my first glimpse of what this community could be: connected, expressive, and deeply alive. In the theatre, Konstantin Stanislavski said, “There are no small parts, only small actors.” It reminds us that every person matters— that every voice, every effort, every quiet contribution shapes the whole. Because we are—whether on stage or in a school—not individuals standing alone. We are many voices, but one story. In a community like ours, belonging isn’t about being the loudest, or the lead role, or the one in the spotlight or being in the 1sts at Sport. It’s about showing up. It’s about listening. It’s about recognising that what you bring—even if it feels small—changes the entire experience. And the truth is, no one stands alone when the story is shared. We succeed together. We struggle together. We grow together. Just like an ensemble—where timing, trust, and connection create something extraordinary— our school becomes stronger when we lift each other up and recognise that every role matters.
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This idea continues to shape the life of the school. At the 2021 Birthday Service, when this Year 12 cohort was in Year 7, Ms McGarry reflected: “In joining our voices together… we recognise the part every single one of us plays in the ensemble of our school.” That is what it means to belong here—to contribute to something larger than ourselves. Year 12, today we celebrate you as part of that story. For some of you, I have known you since birth; others since you were three years old at Gib Gate Preschool. Many of you I first met as wide-eyed Year 7s on your very first day at Frensham. For some, I had the joy of getting to know you more deeply on the French trip in 2024; for others, our connection has been more recent. Yet no matter how long your journey has been, what stands out is how you have grown into a cohort that truly supports and celebrates one another. In Drama, you first trod the boards in the Year 7 Concert—7 Purple performing The Runaway Hug, and 7 Green performing Words and Your Heart. And who could forget your collective percussion piece, Nothing Ever Good Was Done Without Enthusiasm! These moments introduced you to traditions and shared experiences that fostered a strong sense of belonging, capturing a time of joy
BIRTHDAY LUNCH ADDRESS
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
A Place to Belong and connection that carried you through the challenges ahead. Your beginning was not typical. There were restrictions in boarding houses. Prayers moved outdoors. Learning shifted online. Masks became everyday wear. COVID tests were routine. Hand sanitiser was never far away. The Junior Production and End-ofYear Musical were cancelled, and Jamieson Week Prayers moved to the amphitheatre. It was also a time of farewell, as we said goodbye to Mr Marsh… though he couldn’t resist coming back. Yet even then, you remained connected. And when you could gather again, those moments of togetherness mattered even more. You have come to understand something important: community is not simply about being in the same place—it is about how we show up for one another. It is love in action. That idea lives at the heart of the Frensham motto: “In love serve one another.” - To act with care. - To support with generosity. - To choose connection. Through tears of joy and moments of laughter, you embody what it means to be a Frensham student—meeting each experience with grit, gratitude, and good humour. As both a teacher and a parent here, I feel an immense sense of gratitude. It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child—and I feel that truth deeply at Frensham. This is a community where students are known, supported, and surrounded by people who care.
There is something profoundly reassuring in that—for families, and for those of us privileged to teach here. And for me, that sense of belonging is most deeply felt in song. I love to sing whenever I can. There is something incredibly powerful about singing together each day. When we join our voices in the daily hymns, individual voices blend into one collective sound, and in that moment, we are connected—not just to those beside us, but to the whole community. The Birthday Wish and the singing of One Voice during the School’s Birthday celebrations are profoundly moving, as they give voice to these enduring ideals. It is in those moments that I feel most strongly what it means to belong at Frensham—to be part of a shared voice, a shared story. Year 12, as your time at Frensham Schools draws to a close and you walk out those green gates one last time, for some, after 15 years, remember the words etched in the Esther Tuckey Library, written by Frensham’s founder, Winifred West, in 1945: “Each generation has its dreams of what the world might be. You are needed, your integrity is needed, your vitality is needed, and your dreams are needed.” - Each of you is needed. - Each voice matters. - And together, you shape what Frensham is—and what it will become. Because ultimately, no one stands alone when the story is shared. This is our story that AI can’t replace. And through connection, care, and community, we make it something extraordinary. Happy 113th Birthday, Frensham! Sally Hannah Head of Drama
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BIRTHDAY PLAY – ‘LITTLE WOMEN’
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‘Little Women’
his year’s Birthday Play, Little Women, was a wonderful success, with 500 people attending the two performances. Through the journeys of the March sisters, the production highlighted qualities of courage, integrity, compassion, resilience, and ambition, reflecting the many ways our students contribute to the life of our community. The enthusiasm, dedication, and collaboration demonstrated by the cast, crew, and staff brought these timeless themes to life. It was a celebration of creativity, character, and the unique strengths of every young person, reminding us that there is no single path to making a meaningful contribution to the world.
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BIRTHDAY PLAY – ‘LITTLE WOMEN’
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
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BIRTHDAY LUNCH – REFLECTIONS
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Happy 113th Birthday, Frensham!
f you were to look at the map of the school, you’d get a glimpse of the amazing grounds we have here, from Topp Gates, past the Library, past the Dining Room and all the way down to the Holt. But something would be missing. MAGGIE: You wouldn’t see girls racing to get to Hymn practice on time, skipping past Glenn or waking up at dawn to trudge down to the pool. Although we hear Ms Tynan say it at the start of every term, Frensham’s spirit and atmosphere are truly shaped by all of us. MIA: Let’s start from the beginning. The weather drops about 10 degrees as you enter those green gates and say goodbye to your parents for the first time. Your school dress reaching down to your ankles, drowning in your blazer, shoes unscathed, and your name etched in whiteout across your schoolbag. MAGGIE: Soon, you’re scrambling to get to your year line on time before being told to run faster and last-minute using the sap from leaves or lip balm to shine your shoes. In awe, you witness a Girdle or Iris for the first time in Clubbe Hall, and the uproar of students allows the importance of spirit and the celebration of others to become clear. You also observe your first ‘finish the lyric Friday’ as Anna boldly attempts to hit the high note of The Man in the Mirror. MIA: If you continue working your way through the school and across the map, you’ll come across Glenn. The home of countless pop concert auditions, singing lessons and violins’ humming where music is always filling the air. Next is Cooper Hall, holding so many of our favourite memories, like in true Frensham spirit, when we got a little too carried away in war cries, leaving a hole in the 113-yearold hardwood floor, proving those allegations right that Frensham Girls truly do love their chocolates. MAGGIE: We have not been allowed war cries in Cooper Hall ever since. Friday night activities, from catwalks dressed in newspaper or a full
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disco turned rave, which gets everyone from Year 7 to 12 up and dancing. And of course, our favourite morning of the week - hymn practice. MIA: The collective voice of the school coming together to belt out songs with questionable enthusiasm, the famous phrase “if Year 8 sings well, the school sings well,” and “books up, sing up”. However, at the end of hymn practice, each girl leaves feeling a little lighter than before. MAGGIE: Now we move along past the Deer Pond, and through the north west building, an area filled with the sound of girls laughing and talking, walking outside classrooms or in some cases running to them when morning tea was just a little bit too good that day. MIA: As you continue through the school, you will soon be engulfed in a huge stream of girls walking down from class, passing White Cottage, where every day, girls sneak a glance at the parcel list, hoping for a letter from home or a recent purchase. MAGGIE: Stanley Street, where every year without fail, girls are driven off to camp, with braids so tight they feel like they might pull out all your hair and the signature RM Williams shirt and leggings combo. From the Games Field to New Zealand, camp never fails to be a bonding experience with shiny shiny and a lot of singing. Camp is where you form some friendships you otherwise never would have had and create memories that last a lifetime.
BIRTHDAY LUNCH – REFLECTIONS
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Happy 113th Birthday, Frensham! MIA: At the other end of the school, we have the Holt. The place Mr Marsh often encourages people to go to do exercise in the morning. So far, he has only encouraged walks and runs. We don’t think he’ll be recommending his own personal choice of exercise, mountain biking, anytime soon, having been thrown off his bike the other day. Hopefully, that’s a midlife crisis averted.
MIA: Playing spoons until it turns into a wrestling match.
MAGGIE: It’s home to many Frensham adventures, making TPs and treehouses, swimming in the weir, and playing some very intense games of 44 Homes. Although Holting is often a dreaded activity during Jamieson Week, the beauty of the space cannot be ignored: the birds chirping on an early morning run, or catching a glowing sunset at the end of sports training. The Holt is a place that, once experienced, stays with you long after you’ve left the grounds.
MAGGIE: Then we come back up to where we are standing today. The Dining Room.
MIA: Then we come to the boarding houses. The place where little lights flicker through the rooms during memorable late-night chats.
MIA: The enthusiasm each girl brings to every place around the school, the joy, the echoes of laughter and the memories can be perfectly encapsulated by these boots.
MAGGIE: Your first dorm, which will stay with you, even 6 years later. MIA: Being the first one ever sent to the duty room, which I can officially claim was me, although too embarrassed to admit it at the time and told everyone I was just collecting my swimming goggles. MAGGIE: Getting up bright and early to make birthday hats.
MAGGIE: Searching for the ice machine, only to find it’s been moved once again. MIA: Stacking mattresses like dominoes for when the war cry fairies come knocking them down. And then redoing it all over the following term.
MIA: The conversations at dinner with new faces. The birthday morning rituals, from waffles to ribbons. MAGGIE: The chicken schnitzel eating competitions. Friday night activities from riff-offs to trivia. Christmas lunches and, of course, what we are here celebrating today. Frensham’s Birthday.
MAGGIE: You may be thinking, “I’ve never seen those” or “What’s so important about them?” MIA: Well, first of all, they were donated by Ms Tynan to the dress-up box. I’m not sure where you planned to wear them, Ms Tynan, but we would love to see some photographic evidence. But secondly, they represent the Frensham spirit in each girl.
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BIRTHDAY LUNCH – REFLECTION
Happy 113th Birthday, Frensham! MAGGIE: Walking all over the campus on 18ths or being stomped on at Friday night discos. The boots have seen every building, every path, and every outdoor area that forms part of the map of Frensham. MIA: But no matter the distance, they are still just as sparkly. They show us that the spirit of the school is formed by more than just its campus. It’s in the people who walk through it, the traditions they uphold and leave behind and the memories they make, even in something as simple as a pair of boots. And somehow these boots always return to the dress-up box, ready for the next girl to come and wear them. MAGGIE: So maybe it’s not really about the boots at all. It’s about what they remind us of, every girl who’s walked these paths, every memory stitched into this place. Because the funny thing is, you don’t realise it while it’s happening. You’re just living it, the laughter, the chats, the late nights, the dress‑ups, the birthdays. MIA: And then before you know it, all your firsts end up being your lasts MAGGIE: your last sports training MIA: your last dorm MAGGIE: your last prayers MIA: and even your last Birthday Lunch. MAGGIE: But even though all good things must come to an end, the Frensham spirit will always remain in every girl MIA: for 20, MAGGIE: or 30, MAGGIE & MIA: or even 40 years on. And through connection, care, and community, we make it something extraordinary. Happy 113th Birthday, Frensham! Mia Fernandez & Margaret Maynard Year 12
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BIRTHDAY GAMES
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
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FRENSHAM BIRTHDAY ADDRESS
Dr Sarah Farrell (Madigan, 2006)
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Director and Principal GP Sydney Women’s Wellness
arah Farrell graduated from The University of Sydney in 2014 with a Combined Bachelor of Medical Science and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery. She earned her Fellowship from the Royal Australia College of General Practitioners (RACGP) in 2020. Given her passion for women’s and children’s healthcare, Sarah completed the Sydney Child Health Program through the Sydney Children’s Hospital network and holds a certificate in Sexual and Reproductive health. She is an Antenatal Shared Care Provider through Royal North Shore Hospital and is currently training in Lactation and Neurodevelopment Care (Possums). Sarah was invited to deliver an address at Frensham’s 113th Birthday Service on Sunday 31 May. Her speech on Excellence, Service, and Love can be read in the following pages.
‘40 Years On’ – Frensham’s 113th Birthday Service
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FRENSHAM BIRTHDAY ADDRESS
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THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Excellence, Service, and Love t is such an honour to be asked back to Frensham, and to be standing here on Birthday Weekend of all weekends.
Thank you to the girls, Old Girls, parents and staff for lending me your ears this morning. When I started writing this address, I wasn’t sure I would have anything to say! But once I got going it was incredibly hard to stop. So Mr Spencer, if I get carried away and begin to ramble, you have my full permission to politely organise me off the stage, Oscars style. I also must confess that when Mr Marsh called to ask me if I would speak today, there was a brief moment of panic, public speaking is not my natural habitat. But while I feel much more at home in my clinic room than up here in front of a lectern, I said yes, because Frensham holds such a special place in my heart, and I felt I owed it to the 17 year old version of me sitting right there where you are now, 20 years ago, who would be completely gobsmacked to see me up here today. She would also be appalled to see I have finally embraced the natural eyebrow look after all those years of over-plucking. Though I think it’s safe to say I stand on the right side of history with that one. Wow… 20 years on. It is so surreal to stand here, where women I once looked up to stood. I remember sitting in this hall, listening to their addresses… about their lives, their families, their careers and achievements. I remember quietly admiring them, never imagining though that one day, I might be one of them. So as part of writing this address I went looking for the answer to one question. How did I end up here, giving the birthday address, 20 years on. I looked back over my life, my incredible family, my challenging but immensely rewarding career, my practice, where I work alongside remarkable women everyday with the honour of helping other women live well. How has this all been possible?
Well, the answer, as it turns out, is Frensham. At school, I was a full-on nerd. Science and maths did not just make sense, I loved them. I loved the elegance of Physics, the logic of Chemistry, the structure of Latin. I did all the maths I could get my hands on, begrudgingly rounding it off with a smidge of English and Philosophy. I was lucky enough to be born with a brain that made learning easy. I worked hard, yes, but I did not earn the brain I was born with. That part was pure luck. The greater luck though was finding myself at a school that saw my intelligence, valued it fully, and then quietly, but firmly refused to let that be enough. Frensham was never going to let me be just the smart girl. When I wasn’t playing around with calculus or electromagnetism, I was playing cricket on the bush pitch, practising descants in Senior Choir, lost for hours in the photography darkroom, or squeaking my way through a clarinet concerto. These weren’t distractions from my education, they were the education. Frensham taught me that being smart was never going to be enough. That the women who make a real mark on the world are those who are intelligent and creative, analytical and warm, precise and compassionate. Intelligence is like a spark, but sparks don’t light anything alone.
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FRENSHAM BIRTHDAY ADDRESS
Excellence, Service, and Love Rather its breadth of thinking, of curiosity and of skill, that can fan that spark into a fire that can light the world. A perfect example of this was in Term 4 of Year 12. Enter Peak Stress-Head Sarah. Until that point, despite being a proud allrounder, there was one corner of Frensham education I had avoided like the plague. Drama. I hated the very idea of it. Public speaking was bad enough. Adding a character and a costume was my worst nightmare. But our Head of Drama at the time, the lovely Mrs Muir-Smith, had other ideas, and clearly thought my horizons needed broadening. So she skipped the formal audition process and “gifted” me a five-line cameo as Dr Grimwig in the end-of-year production of Oliver! I was terrified, and a little confused how you could get a speaking part in a play you never auditioned for. HSC assessments were piling up and there was no wiggle room in my heavily-highlighted, overly-ambitious study plan. I almost pulled out… twice. I mean, who remembers Dr Grimwig anyway? But she was right to push me. Not because she thought I was destined for the West End, and not because the play needed a nervous, awkward Dr Grimwig. Rather, she knew something I had not yet worked out for myself. She knew that real education is not just about excelling at what comes naturally. It is about being stretched by what does not. It is about being awkward, nervous, squeaky and unsure of yourself. As it’s only in those moments that you can discover that on the other side of discomfort sits confidence, resilience and grace. It is that small cameo as Dr Grimwig that is, at least in part, responsible for me standing here today, on this same very stage, still terrified, but standing on it anyway. That is the kind of education Frensham gives you.
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But beyond cameos, cricket, clarinet and calculus, I believe Frensham also taught me three things that have shaped the life I have built. Excellence, Service, and Love. They may sound like 3 simple words. But the Frensham version of each of these words has quietly shaped every chapter of my life, and together they have carried me to where I am today. First, there is Excellence. Frensham taught me that excellence is not the same thing as talent, and it is certainly not the same thing as perfection. Talent is a gift. Excellence is the respect you show that gift. the discipline to develop it, the humility not to take it for granted, and the care to use it well. Excellence is doing the work when no one is watching, holding yourself to a higher standard than anyone else expects of you, and it’s taking your own potential seriously enough not to leave success up to chance. This is the excellence honoured in Ties, Girdles and Irises. Awards, given sparingly and unpredictably, recognising an excellence that is harder to measure than just coming 1st or being the best. They honour something of much higher value: the rare combination of skill, effort, and a genuine respect for your own talent. That is the excellence Frensham teaches. It is this form of excellence that made all the difference when I came down with glandular fever 5 weeks out from my final HSC exams. I was too unwell to study, and even too unwell to sit my first exam. I was convinced it was over. I wasn’t going to get the UAI I needed for medicine. I would never become the doctor I had always dreamt of becoming. I started making other plans. Should I cancel my gap year and do a bridging course in Adelaide or take the HPAT and study Medicine in Ireland.
FRENSHAM BIRTHDAY ADDRESS
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Excellence, Service, and Love But two months later, when the UAIs were released, I logged into the glitchy UAC website to find a number flash up on a screen, that made no sense. This number didn’t reflect the glandular fever, the weeks in bed or missed exam. Instead it reflected the months of quiet work that came before them. It reflected a foundation built on steady effort driven by my own personal standard. A foundation so strong that those five lost weeks could not undo. It reflected the excellence that Frensham taught me. And just like that, everything was okay, actually it was more than okay. I got into my dream university, an incredible college, and a medical degree on full scholarship. My poor parents could finally breathe. They wouldn’t be losing me to Ireland. I guess they’d have to do without yet another Dr Madigan. That is what excellence really gives you. Not a guarantee of success, not control over what happens next, but something solid to fall back on, when life doesn’t go to plan. And then there is Service. Like excellence, service can be one of those words that can sound a little lofty, as though it only belongs to a certain kind of person or career. But the service I learnt at Frensham was not lofty or grand. It was simple. Frensham taught me that service is about living in a way that keeps other people in your view. After school, this view of service took me a long way from Mittagong. I have had the privilege of working in communities in Peru, Cambodia, and Uganda. I went into those experiences thinking I was the one with something to give. However, I came home understanding it was almost entirely the other way around. In my final year of med school, I travelled to Uganda to work in a paediatric HIV clinic on the outskirts of Kampala. I was young and ambitious, with the kind of quiet arrogance that confuses enthusiasm for expertise the sort that makes a 25-year-old medical student genuinely believe she might be the one to cure HIV.
Instead, when I arrived, I was led to a makeshift tent with a chair and an esky full of vaccines sitting on a dirt floor. This was where I would spend the next month, giving vaccination after vaccination, day after day. No miracle cures. No dramatic saves. Work so ordinary it was easy to mistake for insignificant. And yet, to this day, it has been, without question, the most important medical work I have ever done. And it was in that tent on the outskirts of Kampala where I learnt what service actually was. Not always a grand gesture or a dramatic save. Rather, service as the steady, unglamorous work of showing up where you are needed and doing the work that actually needs to be done. I want to say this to the students sitting here today. Service is not only for the future doctors or nurses, teachers or aid workers in the room. Whether you go into marketing or agriculture, finance or music. Whether you become a lawyer, an engineer, an economist or an artist. You WILL have the opportunity to serve as long as you remember to keep others in your view. All you have to do is ask, how your intelligence, your gifts, and your ambition might be used to, not only build a successful life for yourself, but to improve the lives of those you encounter along the way. Because the world does not need more brilliant women. It needs more women who will use their brilliance in ways that matter. And finally there is love. Not the Love Actually kind of love (though I’m sure we can all appreciate the striking resemblance between Mr Marsh and Hugh Grant). I mean love as fuel for the way you live your life. Any career worth having will at some point, try to harden you. Medicine certainly has. I was prepared for the night shifts, the missed birthdays, and a poor husband who got used to dinner alone, a half-empty bed, and a goodnight kiss that doubled as a good morning one.
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FRENSHAM BIRTHDAY ADDRESS
Excellence, Service, and Love But then there were the parts that no one could prepare me for.
And Service without love eventually becomes duty, and duty alone is hard to sustain.
Losing a patient my own age, who had somewhere along the way, become a friend. Sitting with a woman after her fifth pregnancy loss, when she quietly notices I’m pregnant with my third. Caring for another mother, with kids a similar age, and telling her she has cancer.
At this point of writing this address, I found myself wanting to say something to that seventeen-year-old me. So if you will allow me, this part is for her.
After enough moments like these, the temptation to protect myself, by caring just that little bit less, was strong. But this is not unique to medicine. In any field worth being in, in any career worth having, the hours will be long, the setbacks will be real, and you will see things that may tempt you to become cynical or detached. Love is what protects against that. Love for the work will keep you curious and engaged long after the hours start to take their toll. Love for the people you serve, will keep your heart open, despite the losses that threatened to close it. And love for yourself, with the same generosity you extend to everyone else, is what keeps the work from quietly taking more than it gives. Because you can’t light a room with a candle that’s already burned out. A reading used often during my time at Frensham, and at many Frensham weddings since, is 1 Corinthians. “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.” While I am not particularly religious, and actually a little surprised I remembered this line at all, I think Saint Paul had a point, the greatest of these is Love. Love is the foundation. And without it, Excellence and Service have nothing to stand on. While Excellence without love may still look impressive, it tends not to last.
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Excellence, service, and love are going to build you a life you cannot yet imagine. They are also what you are going to need, for the tough parts of that life you don’t yet know you will need to brace for. You will get sick at university, badly enough to think you might not finish, but you will. You will have two premature babies, and despite their tiny start, they will grow into strong, thriving boys. Your third pregnancy will be your hardest yet, but your little girl will be worth every day of that bed rest. You will open your own practice with three kids under five, while colleagues and friends gently advise you not to, and yet two years on, despite the insane juggle and the days you feel like you are failing as a mum, a wife, a doctor, and friend, you will look back, with your village cheering you on, and not change a thing. Excellence, service, and love will not spare you from any of those hard parts. But they are the reason you are still standing, still smiling, and here delivering this address today. But as I stand here 20 years on, telling you what has worked for me, I need to be honest. The world I built my life in is not the world we live in today. Every one of you sitting here WILL build an amazing life. But you will build it alongside something my generation never had to contend with. AI is here, and the world is changing in ways we can only begin to imagine. It already knows more than any one of us could learn in a lifetime, and it learns more every day. It can diagnose, draft, calculate, and analyse with an accuracy we will never match. It never tires and it can speak with such warmth
FRENSHAM BIRTHDAY ADDRESS
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Excellence, Service, and Love and such wisdom, that it almost seems like it cares. And yet, no matter how real it feels, there is one thing AI can never be. Human. I know that may sound like a naive cliche. Exactly the kind of thing you would expect a returning old girl to say at a birthday address. And had AI arrived at the beginning of my career, I too would have felt that quiet unease I imagine many of you might feel today. But over a decade in medicine has shown me that this view is anything but naive. As junior doctors, we were led to believe that the skills of an excellent doctor were knowledge, accuracy, and the ability to leave your emotions at the treatment room door. The first two I had a handle on. But the third I fell short. I was told, more times than I care to remember, that I was too emotional. I spent too much time with patients and I got too distracted by the social aspects of medicine, I was frequently reminded, these were not actually medicine. I was told by my seniors that these were weaknesses I would have to overcome if I were ever to become a good doctor. And for a long time, I believed them. But as I moved through my training and began to carve out my own path, I came to realise they were wrong. While knowledge and accuracy are, of course, cornerstone skills, crucial to being a good clinician, on their own, without everything I was told to leave at the door, will never enough to make a good doctor. Which is why, when I think about AI, I am not worried. If anything, I am quietly excited. If AI can handle the parts of my work that do not need me, then it frees me up, to give more of myself, to the parts that do. The human parts, the parts that drew me to medicine in the first place. Because AI cannot share the joy of a couple who has finally, after years of trying, seen two lines on a pregnancy test. It can’t sit beside a woman and cry with her, when the scan shows
something we were both afraid it might. It cannot read the silence of a young mum who is too tired and too overwhelmed to say she is not coping. We cannot compete with AI on knowledge and accuracy alone. It is a race we cannot win, and one we don’t actually need to be running. Instead, now is the time to focus on being deeply, stubbornly, unapologetically human. To be able to read a silence as carefully as any word. To know when to ask, “but how are you, really?” and to care, not because you have been programmed to, but because you just… do. So I want to leave you with this final thought. Do not accept the false choice between being clever and being creative, being rigorous and being warm, or being brilliant and being human. Back yourself to be them all. And in doing so, your excellence will serve in ways no algorithm ever can. Make the most of the education Frensham has given you. The one that has been quietly shaping excellent humans for 113 years. Women of excellence, service, and love. The kind of women AI can never replace, and the exact kind of women the world is about to need more than ever. Happy Birthday, Frensham. Thank you for stretching me, shaping me, and occasionally casting me in roles I never auditioned for. And finally, to every girl sitting in front of me: I want you to leave here knowing that the life ahead of you is bigger and richer than anything you can possibly imagine. And so when life hands you a five-line cameo as Dr Grimwig, and it will, take it. Even if your knees are shaking. Thank you. Sarah Farrell (Madigan, 2006) Frensham’s 113th Birthday Service Sunday 31 May 2026
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BIRTHDAY REFLECTION
H
Birthday Weekend Reflection ow lucky are we? And I mean all of us, students and staff alike.
After a weekend like the one we have just experienced, it becomes surprisingly difficult to find language that can adequately capture the feeling that lingers. A sense of belonging that seemed to settle gently over the entire school. As I reflected on all that unfolded, I felt deeply grateful to belong to a school defined by such a remarkable culture and community. So, how lucky are we? The more I sat with that question, the more I began to wonder whether “lucky” is quite the right word. Because none of this happened by chance. It has been shaped deliberately, thoughtfully and with great care over generations.
On Friday, the school paused together. We gathered to mark the foundation of our Schools and then shared the birthday lunch. But it is not simply about the lunch or the service. It is about what the act of stopping represents. - The decision to pause. - The willingness to make time. - The intention to gather together. These moments communicate something powerful about Frensham: that community matters, that presence matters, that relationships matter. That is how culture is formed, not through grand gestures alone, but through repeated, intentional acts of coming together. On Saturday morning, I watched the Five Years On cohort return.
And I suspect that Winifred West understood this from the very beginning: that she was not simply founding a school, but creating a community; not simply for her own time, but for generations she would never meet.
What struck me most was the affection with which they spoke about their school, eager to see what had changed, to recognise what remained, and to know that the traditions they had once been part of still endured.
Frensham is more than its buildings and classrooms. It is more than lessons, assessments and timetables. It is, at its heart, a living, breathing community.
One encounter in particular stayed with me.
My experience teaching in other schools may be limited, but I imagine it would be difficult to find many schools where staff are moved to tears during the celebration of a Year 12 cohort. Yet on Sunday, as I looked around, I could see teachers who had spent years guiding and encouraging these students visibly moved as they reflected on the young people they had watched grow and evolve. That kind of emotion does not arise by accident. People do not feel that deeply about a community from which they are disconnected. Across the entire weekend, there were countless moments that revealed this truth, and I have selected some of my highlights to share with you this morning.
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One of the girls bounded in to say hello, a student I clearly remember declaring on numerous occasions that she could not wait to leave school so she could wear as many earrings as she pleased, and that school rules were, in her view, entirely unreasonable. (The words she used back then would not be appropriate for me to repeat during prayers.)
BIRTHDAY REFLECTION
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Birthday Weekend Reflection What amused me most was that she had no recollection of this whatsoever. Instead, she spoke with genuine fondness about how much she missed her time here. Perhaps most ironically of all, she was wearing just a single pair of earrings. She told me she had already made it very clear to her partner that, if they were ever to have a daughter, there would be no question about where she would go to school. Perhaps it takes distance to fully recognise the value of what one has been given. When she was a student, she could not wait to leave. Yet only a few years later, she returned full of affection for the place she once hurried through. On Sunday, how lucky we were to hear from Dr Sarah Farrell. To hear her story and her reflections on the role Frensham played in shaping her. It was both inspiring and grounding. It was impossible not to be reminded that the experience of a Frensham education does not end at the green gates. The values, confidence, friendships and opportunities formed here travel with people long after they leave. They bind you to generations of people who have gone on to lead, to contribute and to shape the world in meaningful ways. And you, too, will do the same. And then there was the final moment from the weekend. “Forty Years On”, sung not by one group, but by many. By you girls, members of the Five Years On cohort, Old Girls, mothers and grandmothers. Voices from across generations, united in the same song. Looking around, it was impossible not to feel the weight and beauty of that continuity. The message was unmistakable: no matter how much time passes, this place remains part of you.
That sense of belonging is powerful, and with it comes great responsibility. A responsibility not just to belong to this community, but to actively shape it; to contribute to it with care, and to ensure that what we are part of continues to endure. A community like this depends on participation, on people choosing to step forward, to be involved and to invest in the experience of others. Because the culture that so many spoke about this weekend, the one that draws people back and leaves such a lasting imprint, is not confined to the past. It is something you are shaping right now. So perhaps the question is not simply, how lucky are we? Because luck suggests chance. And there was nothing accidental about what we witnessed this weekend. What we experienced was the result of generations of people choosing to build something meaningful. - People choosing to show up. - People choosing to care. People choosing to create a place where others feel they belong. A place imagined by Winifred West more than a century ago and sustained by every generation since. So perhaps the more important questions are this: - What will we contribute? - How will we strengthen this community for those who come after us? Because we are not simply the beneficiaries of Frensham’s culture. We are its custodians. And one day, others will inherit what we choose to build. Lucy Thorne Head of PDHPE Year 9 Coordinator
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TRADITION
Why does Frensham sing 40 Years On?
F
orty Years On was chosen by Winifred West from the Harrow School Song Book before the celebration of the first birthday to tide them over until they could have a school song of their own. Miss West asked Margaret Hartfield to compose one, which she did and called it the Iris Song. But it never saw the light of day as the girls flatly refused to give up Forty Years On. Several times Miss West tried to get them to change or at least adapt the words to something more suitable to a girls’ school, but unsuccessfully. Without doubt, Forty years On is Frensham’s oldest and most indestructible tradition.
The Iris Song By Miss Hartfield – a song which did not become a tradition (Emilson, 1988) Loving service is our aim More than wealth More than fame Is our motto to the school For by it we keep life’s rule.
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Iris is the flow’r we chose E’en before the English Rose For she brings us on her wings Tales of hope of better things. And in righteousness is strength So we reach our goal at length Ev’ry day a little nearer Working bravely, seeing clearer. In the cloud stands the bow And it cheers us for what we know When we see it help is near All things seem more bright and clear. Frensham may we love and serve thee Fit ourselves to deserve thee Let us work and help each other With these words — ‘In Love Serve One Another’, Loving service is our aim More than wealth More than fame In our motto to the school By it keep love’s rule.
FJS – FROM THE HEAD
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
STEM in Action at Frensham Junior School
S
TEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) comes to life when students are given opportunities to explore real questions, design solutions and test their ideas. Rather than learning concepts in isolation, STEM invites them to connect knowledge across disciplines and apply it in meaningful, hands-on ways. Across the Junior School, this learning comes to life through the everyday work happening in our classrooms In Kindergarten, children design and create their own Roly Poly toys. What appears at first to be playful exploration is, in fact, rich learning. Students naturally begin to consider balance, weight and shape, experimenting with force and motion. Designs are tested, adjusted and tested again, quite often with great excitement when something works the way they had hoped. In Year 1, this thinking continues as students design and test chrysalis models. Drawing on their understanding of life cycles, they consider how structure supports function, thinking carefully about materials, form and stability as they refine their ideas. “Some of the most powerful learning happens when children try, rethink and try again.” What we are seeing in these moments is that children aren’t just learning ideas, they are shaping their understanding as they go. Through questioning, experimenting and designing, they learn to make decisions, solve problems and improve their ideas over time. STEM also strengthens the capabilities we know matter most for the future - critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity - helping children learn not just what to learn, but how to learn.
Inventive Minds: Agency in Action This term, we are excited to continue our Inventive Minds Program, where students will have rich opportunities to solve problems, think creatively, collaborate and design, while also growing in confidence as learners Designed to foster student agency, the Inventive Minds program invites students to take on the roles of creator, planner, designer and inventor. Students begin by choosing an elective that sparks their curiosity from areas such as Build It, Present It, Design It, Create It or Change It, and from there, the direction is very much their own. In this space, our classrooms feel different. Ideas are shared, tested and reshaped. Some students design products, others build prototypes, and many find creative ways to bring their thinking to life. The role of the teacher shifts as well. Rather than directing each step, teachers guide, question and support, helping students navigate their own thinking and decision-making. “When we step back as teachers, we create the space for students to step forward.” During the Inventive Minds program, classrooms are alive with energy and purpose. Students are embracing challenges, collaborating thoughtfully and taking genuine ownership of their learning.
A Lasting Mindset At its heart, STEM education is not simply about preparing students for future careers. It is about shaping how they approach the world. It invites them to stay curious, to ask thoughtful questions, to persist when things don’t work the first time, and to have the confidence to try again. Lucy Gregory Head of Frensham Junior School
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FJS – JAMIESON SCIENCE
The National Science and Engineering Challenge
Y
ear 6 students recently participated in the Southern Highlands National Science & Engineering Challenge 2026, held at Mittagong RSL, along with 14 other local schools. The National Science and Engineering Challenge (SEC) is a nationwide STEM outreach program presented by the University of Newcastle in partnership with communities, Rotary clubs, universities and sponsors. Students conducted hands-on tests including building glider planes, creating mechanical grabbers with claws, investigating the most efficient pathways for electrical current and constructing fan blades for a wind turbine. The day provided a wonderful opportunity for students to work collaboratively to solve themed-challenges in a team, while also interacting with other students from different schools across the Southern Highlands.
Get Over It Students will build a light and strong model bridge inside a U-shaped cradle that can support a trolley carrying ‘gold’ ingots from one side of a test rig to the other. Points will be awarded for each successful crossing, with the number of ingots gradually increasing.
Eco Shelter Showdown Students will build an ecologically friendly house that must meet certain requirements. Houses are tested for strength and wind resistance.
Gust busters Students construct fan blades using basic materials to catch wind provided by an electric fan. Construct fan blades from cardboard, wooden skewers, masking tape and other materials. Turbines will be scored on how efficiently and quickly they spin.
Electropolis The power is in your hands, the task is to provide the lowest-cost electricity to the city’s infrastructure. Students must work out the most efficient pathways while weighing up the cost of cables and their resistance, and the cost of leaving buildings without power!
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Light Comms Students design efficient codes to send secret messages along fibre optic rods using pulses of coloured light. Teams are scored based on the accuracy in transmission of the message being sent.
It’s a Trap! Use 3D-printed rocks to set up collection points for various sizes of “fish”, represented by marbles. Students will design a variety of different traps with the 3D-printed rocks. They will work through scenarios aiming to catch specific amounts and sizes of “fish”.
Launch It! Build a model glider to be launched using the Y.E.E.T. (YOLO Electronic Ejection Technique). The glider will be scored based on distance travelled, precision of landing, and accuracy hitting a target. One glider will be made for all tests, but this glider can have slight modifications (i.e. flaps, ailerons, weight distribution) between launches.
Claw Control Students are required to design, build and use a mechanical grabber built from PVC pipe, string, straws, and wooden sticks. Each group will assess the effectiveness of their construction in several tests including moving and throwing objects with precision. This day-long experience of STEM activities supports the development of several elements of our Character Framework, including: • Adopt high standards: I do my best; I am proud of what I do • Cooperate with others: I help others willingly • Develop and share your talents: I share what I am good at; I keep striving • Question and take calculated risks: I try new things even if they are tricky • Problem solves: I try to find a way to fix something that is not working Lynn Venish Jamieson Activities Coordinator Year 6 Classroom Teacher
FJS – JAMIESON
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
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JAMIESON - PUBLIC SPEAKING
South Coast Public Speaking Competition
P
ublic speaking at Frensham is shaped by steady preparation with students in Years 7 to 12 meeting at lunchtime to refine their ideas, practise their delivery and build the confidence needed to speak with clarity and purpose. This work culminated in the South Coast Public Speaking Competition, now in its 30th year and hosted by Holy Spirit College in Bellambi, where 12 schools and more than 100 students presented speeches crafted from a selection of set topics. Our students rose to the occasion with maturity and composure, earning 1st place for Poppy Corbett, Issy Edwards, Paige Sullivan and Clem Carpenter, and 3rd place for Maya Bischoff, while all competitors represented the School with distinction. Their collective efforts saw Frensham place 2nd overall, a result that reflects both individual talent and the supportive culture of oratory within our community. Alexis Hunter & Kara Thomas English Faculty
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STAFF PROFILE
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Michelle Friedrich: Understanding Maths Prayers are also an important part of her morning. She describes them as a grounding moment and appreciates the opportunity to pause before the day begins in earnest. In the classroom, Michelle focuses on making Mathematics approachable and relevant. Her Year 10 students have been learning trigonometry and applying it to real-world examples, including finding missing heights and lengths, using bearings to solve travelling problems, and exploring its applications in surveying and architecture. “When a student who has been struggling suddenly gets it, that’s my favourite part of teaching,” she says. “That lightbulb moment is really special.”
“Maths doesn’t change... If you have the tools, you can work it out. There’s comfort in that.”
T
here is a particular kind of confidence that grows in a Mathematics classroom when students begin to realise they are capable of solving problems they once thought were beyond them. For mathematics teacher Michelle Friedrich, those moments are what make teaching so rewarding. No two days at Frensham are ever quite the same. Mornings begin with conversation and laughter in the Mathematics staffroom before the day moves into roll call, classes across Years 8 to 12 and the many moments of connection that come with pastoral care. As Year 8 Coordinator, Michelle values the chance to see students first thing in the morning. “It’s nice to just see the vibe,” she says. “You can quickly tell who’s having a good day and who might need a little extra support.”
Michelle’s own love of Mathematics began with a teacher who made difficult concepts feel simple and achievable. After initially pursuing engineering, she realised she found greater fulfilment in helping others learn and understand. At Frensham, she values the way Mathematics teaching is increasingly tailored to the needs of each student. From extension opportunities to practical, life-focused learning, she believes students benefit from being supported at the level that is right for them. “There’s often a stigma around Maths,” she says. “People think it’s only for certain kinds of learners, or that it has to be hard. I want students to feel like they can enjoy it.” More than anything, Michelle hopes students leave her classroom with confidence in themselves and their ability to work through challenges. She believes Mathematics teaches students to persist, think critically and become comfortable with uncertainty while they work towards understanding. “Maths doesn’t change,” she says. “If you have the tools, you can work it out. There’s comfort in that.” Sophie Rankine Marketing and Engagement Manager
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INSPIRATION
When will I ever use this in life?
I
f I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked, “When will I ever use this in life?”, I would be sitting on a plane to enjoy ‘Euro Summer’ right now. I’m usually asked halfway through a lesson. Sometimes dramatically. Sometimes genuinely. Often I’m asked when a student sees Pythagoras Theorem for the first time. Which, by the way, is used in real life by builders, engineers, and architects - just to name a few! It was most recently asked by my year 10 class when learning to factor and graph quadratics and cubics. In all honesty, it is a fair question. Because when you’re looking at a graph of a hyperbola, it doesn’t exactly scream “essential life skill.” But I think the problem isn’t the question itself. It’s the assumption behind it. The assumption that the only value in learning something is whether you will use that exact content, in that exact form, in your adult life. And that’s just not how learning works. Many skills and ideas you learn in class, both in mathematics and other subjects, will be used directly in your lives, in many contexts, depending on the paths you take.
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Though there are many skills that you won’t use, they are still valuable because of what they build while you’re learning them. Maths isn’t just teaching you algebra. It’s teaching you how to think. It teaches you how to approach a problem instead of avoiding it. How to break something overwhelming into smaller, manageable steps. How to look for patterns. How to test an idea. How to realise you’re wrong… and then adjust and learn from your mistakes. And maybe most importantly, it teaches you what to do when you get stuck. Because you will get stuck. In school. In friendships. In careers. In life. And the people who have practised sitting in that discomfort - not panicking, not quitting immediately, but trying again - are building something far more important than the right answer. They’re building resilience and grit. Now, I see this same idea play out in another part of my life - in football. If you don’t know me well, I have played soccer my whole life and I’m super passionate. I grew up with German parents and a father who also played overseas. So I didn’t have much of a choice than to be surrounded by football.
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INSPIRATION
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
When will I ever use this in life? But beyond having fun and learning how to carve through the midfield and distribute direct balls, I’ve learnt a few other things. Not every training session is exciting. Some drills are repetitive and exhausting. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you make mistakes in front of everyone and you feel like you have let the team down. And at any of those moments, I could’ve easily thought, “What’s the point?” and I could’ve quit. Realistically, most people who play sports won’t become professional athletes. But that was never the main value of it. When you learn to dribble under pressure, you’re not just moving a ball. You’re learning to stay calm when someone is closing in. You’re learning to make decisions quickly. You’re learning that mistakes aren’t fatal — they’re feedback. You’re learning to trust yourself. And you’re learning to rely on a team.
You will use the ability to analyse before reacting. You will use the ability to communicate clearly. How to manage your time and how to work with people who think differently to you. You will use the ability to persist when something feels difficult. Now I’m not standing here telling you, you won’t use the content you learn in school during your lives - because you will, whether you: - Work on a farm and use linear relationships - Or work as a chef and use ratios and fractions - As a nurse and use measurement conversions and decimals - Or whether you become a pilot and use trigonometry and coordinates - Or a photographer and use angles and nonlinear relationships I would go on, but I fear that I will still have to answer that same infamous question when I’m asked next period.
And those skills travel.
“When will I ever use this in life?”
They show up in exams. In interviews. In leadership. In conflict. In moments when things don’t go your way.
And no - you might not solve a quadratic equation tomorrow morning.
I recently came across a statistic that really stuck with me: 94% of women in executive leadership roles played sport growing up. Now I’m going to repeat that. 94% of women in executive leadership roles played sport growing up. And to add to that, girls who stay in football are 70% more likely to hold leadership positions.
You might not graph a hyperbola at the supermarket. But you will absolutely face problems. You will absolutely experience pressure. And you will absolutely need to think clearly when things feel uncertain. The real value of what you’re learning isn’t always in the content.
That doesn’t mean sport guarantees leadership or you should play sport to have a successful career.
It’s in the person it’s building.
But it does suggest something powerful those habits you build early, shape who you become later.
Now, that you’ll use for the rest of your life.
And school works the same way.
And that part?
Michelle Friedrich Teacher of Mathematics Year 8 Coordinator
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FOUNDATION
Brodie van Egmond: A story of grit, gratitude and good humour
F
or Brodie van Egmond, coming to Frensham was more than just attending ‘school ’— it was a transformative journey made possible by Foundation’s support, an opportunity for which she remains deeply grateful. Brodie’s path to Frensham began in Year 8, when she first considered boarding school. After attending a Boarding Schools Expo and Frensham’s Open Day, she knew it was the right fit. Frensham’s welcoming community and beautiful surroundings left a lasting impression.
experiences. Friday night activities were a favourite, offering a chance to unwind outside the classroom and sports field. Frensham instilled in Brodie a strong sense of community, embodying Frensham’s ethos of ‘In Love Serve One Another’ through her quiet, unseen efforts that supported others.
Her years at Frensham were filled with wonderful memories, even amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a Year 12 student preparing for the HSC, Brodie faced significant disruptions, but the COVID experience strengthened the bonds within her Year group. A highlight of Brodie’s time at Frensham was boarding. The boarding houses became a second home, where the girls shared unique
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Brodie (centre) with Molly Staniforth (left) and Abigail Clarke (right), Year 12 2020
FOUNDATION
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
Brodie van Egmond: A story of grit, gratitude and good humour Now, Brodie is forging her own path in agriculture, working at Conqueror Milling while studying for a Diploma in Agriculture. Her dream is to work alongside her father in grain marketing and build up the family farm in Temora. Passionate about encouraging young women to pursue careers in agriculture, Brodie believes that with “grit, gratitude, and good humour” anything is possible. Brodie’s story, shared at the 2024 Winifred West Legacy Lunch, exemplifies the power of opportunity and the lasting influence of a Frensham education.“This school genuinely
celebrates creativity,” she says. “I feel really lucky to have participated in that tradition.” This story is one of many featured in Impact of Giving 2024, which celebrates the generosity of the Frensham community and the lasting difference philanthropy makes across our School. Discover more stories of giving and the impact of philanthropic support at https://www. frensham.nsw.edu.au/publication/impact-ofgiving-magazine-2024/ Penelope Ellice-Flint Development Manager
Winifred West Schools Foundation Livestock Enterprise
E
xperiences like Brodie’s begin with the generosity of our community.
create opportunities for future Frensham students.
The Livestock Enterprise is one of the many ways that support is transformed into opportunity, helping Winifred West Schools Foundation provide bursaries for students who may not otherwise have access to a Frensham education.
Whether through the gift of grass to host livestock or a financial gift towards the purchase of stock, your generosity helps create opportunities through Foundation’s Bursary Fund.
The Gift of Grass Generous hosts offer the gift of grass by grazing five head of cattle or 25 sheep within their existing farming enterprise. Hosts purchase the livestock on behalf of the Livestock Enterprise, with the purchase cost reimbursed by Foundation. Livestock are cared for and sold at a time that best suits seasonal conditions and operational requirements of the host. Proceeds from each sale are returned to the Foundation’s Bursary Fund, helping
To learn more about becoming a Livestock Enterprise Host or supporter, please contact: Penelope Ellice-Flint Development Manager 02 4860 2000 pmelliceflint@frensham.nsw.edu.au The Winifred West Schools Foundation gratefully acknowledges the valued partnership of Jim Hindmarsh Livestock Agencies, whose expertise and ongoing support in facilitating the purchase and sale of livestock are integral to the success of the Livestock Enterprise.
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FELLOWSHIP
70 Years On Reunion (Class of 1956)
W
ho’d have thought it? 70 years on! That seemed so special that the year of 1956 certainly celebrated (twice). Fourteen of us returned to school on 14 March where we were welcomed in the North Room by Geoff Marsh and Charlotte Ostor. Lunch with the School in the Dining Room was fun and oh so different! Girls just coming and going while we enjoyed finger sandwiches, fruit platter and cakes. Those who had not been to the Frensham Dining Room since it was extended were struck by the thoughtfulness of the row of clocks on the wall above the servery, each set to the home time of a current girl from overseas or from a different time zone. After lunch a group of Year 10 students took us for a tour of the school bringing back precious memories and marvelling at the incredible change and upgrades since we left. Everything looking so much better. Up to Clubbe Hall for a Year 11 concert and then School Service, so special and as always, the Music. When the girls turned round and sang the Lord’s Prayer we all felt quite emotional. We were impressed by how good the girls looked in the new uniform, neat and with hair tied with the school ribbons; very impressive. After the service we were back in the North Room for drinks and canapes with time to talk about our day and ask any questions of Geoff, Charlotte and Tina Griffin-Hunt.
Dinner at Ali’s ended a happy day and there was brunch on Sunday for those still in the Southern Highlands. With return to school being difficult for many, Gay yet again rose to the occasion and on a perfect day hosted 18 of us at her and Bill’s beautiful Longueville home. With help from ‘Clifton’ (Helen Garrett) the long verandah was transformed with green tablecloths, purple napkins and purple flowers, setting the scene for a fabulous day. At the head of the table and in fine form, our Head, Vice Head and Games Captain, Fiona MacLachlan (Reid), Gay Windeyer (Power) and Sandra Berman (Barripp). With usual totally superior food, we raised our glasses with champagne to toast absent friends and a joyous few hours of catch-up and laughter began. One never ceases to be amazed at the closeness that is still maintained after so long; we may not have seen someone for many years and yet it seems as if we just finish a sentence we started ten years ago. To have been sent to this special school all those years ago was a gift our parents gave us and one which we could never repay. Sally Heath, Alison Rosenberg & Gay Windeyer
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FELLOWSHIP
THE IRIS | JUNE 2026
70 Years On Reunion (Class of 1956) Attendees: Sandra Berman (Barripp), June Buckingham (Dance), Chris Butler (Christine Morrow), Janet Evans (Chalmers), Louise Forbes (Rutherford), Margery Foss (Abbott), Helen Garrett (Webb), Sal Heath (Sally Macpherson), Marianne Lyons (Hake), Fiona MacLachlan (Reid), Cate McMurray (Hunt), Anna Power (Annabelle Ayrton), Caroline Roberts (CullisHill), Ali Rosenberg (Alison Selby), Sally Shuter
(Cameron), Susie Toomey (Sue Crennan), Judy Veness, Liz Whitney (Elizabeth McLaren), Gay Windeyer (Power) and apologies from Didie Alker (Dymphna Fairfax), Christina Gebhart (Wilkinson), Caroline McGilvray (Hill), Ros Packer (Roslyn Weedon), Caroline Parker (Rutledge).
Fellowship Events 2026
Thursday 30 July
Frensham Meet & Greet Canberra
The home of Lucinda Fairrie, Sutton
Thursday 6 August
Fellowship Bridge Day
The Queen’s Club, Sydney
Saturday 29 August
40 Years On - Class of 1986 Reunion
Frensham
Friday 18 September
Fellowship and Friends Weekend – Orange (including Golf)
Orange (Duntryleague Golf Club)
Thursday 24 September
Fellowship Breakfast Service Class of 2026
Frensham
Wednesday 14 October
Fellowship Careers Networking Evening
Online
Friday 4 December
Fellowship End of Year Christmas Drinks
Briars Inn
Saturday 5 December
Fellowship Christmas Stall
Frensham
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Head’s Tour
2026
Experience Frensham by joining us for our 2026 Head’s Tour on Saturday 29 August 2026, 12.30pm-2.30pm Information Session and Campus Tour, and an opportunity to view our HSC 2026 Visual Arts and Design & Technology Exhibition Scan to sign up
Boarding & Day School for Girls | Years 7-12 | Range Rd Mittagong NSW | 02 4860 2000
FRENSHAM PRESENT
ROALD DAHL
FANTASTIC MR. FOX Adapted for the stage by David Wood Directed by Fiona Shannon
FRIDAY 28 AUGUST 2026 7.30PM - CLUBBE HALL FRENSHAM MITTAGONG A Frensham Junior Production (Years 7-9) | 36 |