Learning Spaces

Contents

Learning Spaces 2-3 Global Perspectives 4-5 Diversity Sustainability Big Ideas 6-7 8 9 Words in Service 10-13

Arts Connections Arts FEL Writing Exams Outdoors Sport Athletics 14 15 - 18 19-22

23 24-25 26 - 27 28-29 30-31 32

Focus Team

Editorial and Production

Nadine Frick Zoe Geard

Reporters & Contributors

Isabel Adams Bill Avery Raphael Bartlett Kerry Bennett Jessica Best Rupert Bullard Isla Bylsma Eliza Castley Georgia Chambers Ellora Chamberlen Regine Chua Emily Cole Gryff Connah Charlotte Cox William Cracknell Riley Curtain Caitlyn Dakin Freya Karlsrud Diano Matt Dixon Cathy Dong Catherine Duffett Tilly Ellingsen Morgan Evans Anna Fearn Claire Fox Nadine Frick Lily Frohmader Monique Gall Zoe Gangell Kylie Garratt Zoe Geard Sam George-Allen Hajira Ghulam Raza Tammy Giblin Lauren Grieve Georgie Hill Charlotte Hoyle Rebekah Ismail-Arnold Sarah Jameson Rupert Kendall Duncan Kirkwood Charlie Malbarry Lynne Males Vivan Mauderer ElÖd May Dorje McQuillen Trish Menadue Stella Mitchelmore Claire Morphett Anna Mulcahy Casey-Rae Mullen Caelyn Muller Max Muller Ella Newman Else O’Leary David Painter Nicole Parums Stella Petheram Anthony Petty Alexander Poljansek Emily Rawson Tony Sinnott Ziggy Sullivan Eli Swan Noah Swan Erin Szalman Milly Taranaki Elsie Taylor Nish Thapa Sophie Tilyard Dihansa Udawatta Thomas van Sant Luke Waites Aaliyah Walker Melanie Walker Sarah Walker Henry Webster Tim Whelan John White Amasaha Wijaysinghe Wilbur Wilkinson Grace Winspear Christine Wittlinger Annabelle Woods Tony Zhou Fiona Zinn Young Voices of Melbourne

Friends’ Connections

Bill Avery Melinda Clarke Emma Gilligan Lucy Loney Thank you to the many contributors who have made this issue of Focus possible.

The views in this newspaper do not necessarily represent those of the Members of the Board of Governors or their nominees.

This paper is produced by The Friends’ School. The Friends’ Connections section is prepared by the Community Engagement Office.

The Friends’ School P.O. Box 42 North Hobart Tasmania Australia 7002 Ph. (03) 6210 2200 focus@friends.tas.edu.au www.friends.tas.edu.au

Communitas

On 16 August in The Farrall Centre, guest adjudicator and our 2020 writer-in-residence, Sam George-Allen, made an inspirational speech before presenting the award for the Jean Yeates Writing Prize to this year’s winner, Elizabeth Scott, for her short story, ‘True North’. Here is an extract from Sam’s speech:

“A friend of mine recently went through the worst trauma of her life. It was bad and unexpected and completely immobilising. She couldn’t work. She couldn’t eat or sleep. She thought she was going to go the way of all those folk song protagonists and die of a broken heart. But she did not. What ended up saving her was her community...

Community is a word that gets used in the abstract a lot, and I think it’s easy to lose track of what it actually means in the practical sense. There are community grants and community awards and community-minded initiatives and it all starts to feel a bit like synergy or leadership or any of the other much-hyped but poorly-defined buzzwords of our time. But this is what community meant for my friend in the practical sense: never being on your own. A stream of friends and acquaintances doing shifts to care for you. Food cooked for you that you don’t have to eat or say thank you for. Wine quietly stashed in the fridge. Puzzles set out on the dining table. A knot of love tightening around you. A knot that you know you would tie around any one of your friends, should they be in the same position.

This is what community means in the writerly sense: from the Latin communitas, referring to an unstructured collective of equals.

In anthropology and social science, communitas has a very specific meaning: it refers to the ‘sense of solidarity and bonding that develops among people experiencing a ritual, rite of passage, or other transitional state together...’

For now, I want to point out that we are, all of us, experiencing communitas at the present moment. The work that I read in the process of judging this year’s Jean Yeates Writing Prize is evidence of that. Your generation’s mobility in the face of climate catastrophe is evidence of that. Our shared heartbreak at the ongoing uncertainty of a global pandemic is evidence of that. We are all in solidarity with one another during this transitional state. We are at the threshold and we are stepping across together.”

Sam George-Allen. Photo: Zoe Geard

Word on the street

The new Sport Centre began construction early this year as part of the School’s Campus Redevelopment Phase One and, says Charlotte Cox, ‘has been producing seemingly non-stop noise.’ Students on the High School campus were interviewed by Charlotte about the new construction and how it has been affecting their lives at School.

Students were asked two

Noah Swan

“It’s a little bit noisy at times but I wouldn’t say it really had a massive impact on my learning. It’s a little bit hard going into North block and out of North block: you’ve got to try not to bump into anyone.” “I think it will mean the school is less congested overall and that the facilities will probably be a bit better so that will be a plus.” questions.

Question 1: How has the current construction at school impacted your

learning? and

Question 2: How do you think this construction will ultimately benefit your learning once it has been built? Here is what some of the Year 9 cohort had to say about it.

Sahansa Udawatta

“The construction has had minimal impact on my life at school but the loud noise is a distraction at some points.” “The new gym facility, as well as the additional class spaces, will facilitate a better learning experience for everyone because the extra space means smaller class sizes with less congested classrooms.”

Raphael Bartlett

“I think the construction is really exciting. It’s made me wonder lots of things about the School and has made me wonder about the past and it’s fuelled my learning.”

“The finished construction of the new building behind North Block will definitely benefit my learning of the history and future of the school. It will also provide a new environment for those who use it. When I am in a new environment, it impacts my learning because I can be curious and excited about it. This means that what I want to learn at this school will increase for me.”

Hannah Wigston Grace Winspear

“It has been really annoying. The noise makes it really hard to concentrate especially in lessons in North Block and areas closer to the construction. Languages have been really hard because you have to listen constantly and that is hard to do when there’s a massive crane outside.”

“I’m not sure it will benefit my learning experience. I think it is a lot of hassle for something that isn’t that important and I hate the fact that the older grades have to suffer through this noise during their exams and they don’t even get to enjoy the new facilities.”

“Sometimes in class it’s noisy but it mostly hasn’t really impacted my learning that much.” “It will open many opportunities for PE and we may be able to play different sports and then for other cocurricular we could use it as a training place.”

Our place through time

Erin Szalman

Just over a year ago, The Friends’ School, along with the rest of Tasmania and the rest of the world, were in lockdown. Now, thankfully, we have come out the other side of this, and are back to learning, as normal as possible. We are incredibly grateful that we have been able to return to learning inperson, and our thoughts and sympathies are with anyone who is not as fortunate.

A highlight of our distance learning journey was our virtual Languages Assembly, with many performances from students of all year levels. Being back on campus gives staff and students many wonderful opportunities, not just educational, but opportunities to appreciate our peers, staff and grounds.

This beautiful photo (left), taken by Tony Sinnott, one of our Lab Technicians, features two parallels: construction and nature, the new and the old, a crane and a rainbow; the rainbow, a symbol of hope: something very much needed as our world is pushing its way through a pandemic.

This crane is one of many pieces of heavy machinery currently on campus as part of Phase One of our Campus Redevelopment: the updating of the Commerical Road Campus by installing a new Sports Centre where the top Carr Street tennis courts used to be, which will be followed by renovating the current gymnasium into new classrooms.

Although these works may be noisy and disruptive to general School life, and seem like a big change to us now, both students and staff have adapted well to the differences of life around the school, and they will be worth it once they are completed.

The series of photos I’ve titled ‘Strides of Progress and Change’, are five of many, also taken by Tony, who has been making a regular photographic record of the transformation of our learning space through time.

Left: A Beam or Two of Hope. Photo: Tony Sinnott. Below: Strides of Progress and Change: Series of photographs of Carr Street transformation taken by Tony Sinnott, 2021.

Unearthing treasures: Asian connections

Raphael Bartlett

As our new High School Sports Centre is being constructed behind North Block, we take the time to reflect on the history of North Block.

In 1971 the right side of the North Block was constructed and opened. The Asten Lecture Theatre has been exactly where it has been for the past 50 years. Also, the rooms we know today as the “Connection Classrooms” were science classrooms back then. The library was originally what we know today as the nonfiction side of the library. The 1971 extension to the library is what we know today as the fiction side of the library.

The library extension was built to teach students about our Asian neighbours, which included teaching Malay and Indonesian languages. Lots of Asian objects and artifacts were displayed and used as teaching materials. Some of those objects are still exactly where they have been for the past 50 years. Above are the photos of those objects and artifacts that can still be found displayed.

All the other items in the Asian Cultural Collection are currently stored in the library storage room. Below are steps to find photos of those stored Asian objects and artifacts: • Go to the Library Catalogue • Click on the ‘Advanced Search’ button • Scroll down to ‘Collections’ • Click on ‘Asian Collection’ • Click on the ‘Search’ button Above: The Asian Collection is a part of our School’s past.Photos: Raphael Bartlett. Right: Included in the School’s Asian Cultural Collection are some Balinese kepeng coin temple decorations (see right). Kepeng (cash) coins were originally from China and were used as currency throughout Southeast Asia. In Bali, the coins were used as offerings on special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, burials and cremations. They are are also used as decorations for temples and shrines. These temple decorations and some other items from the Asian Cultural Collection are currently on display in the library. Please come up and take a look! Photo: Nicole Parums.