The
Torch The Friends’ School Magazine
Issue Three | October 2021
Purpose & Concerns
The Friends’ School is a coeducational Quaker school based on fundamental values such as the intrinsic worth of each person, the recognition of ‘that of God’ in everyone, the desirability of simplicity and the need to establish peace and justice. As a learning community, we are concerned for the academic, cultural, physical, social, emotional and spiritual development of each person in our care. We seek to help our students develop as people who will think clearly, act with integrity, make decisions for themselves, be sensitive to the needs of others and the environment, be strong in service and hold a global perspective. We believe that these aims can best be achieved with the active support of all members of our School community.
Enrolments 2023
If you are considering enrolling your child/children in 2023, or know of someone considering the same, please contact our enrolments office for a tour of the School or submit an application today. For further information on 2023 vacancies, or enrolments generally, please contact our Enrolments Manager Jen Scharkie on jscharkie@friends.tas.edu.au or (03) 6210 2286.
Key Dates Thursday 9 December 2021 Last day Term 4 Wednesday 22 December 2021 School Office closes Tuesday 4 January 2022 School Office opens Wednesday 2 February 2022 Term 1 commences Friday 12 & Saturday 13 March 2022 Music Scholarship auditions and Scholarship Exams Thursday 14 April 2022 Last day Term 1
The Friends’ School Torch Magazine Issue 3, 2021 Publisher The Friends’ School Community Engagement Office 23 Commercial Road North Hobart TASMANIA 7000 AUSTRALIA
Table of Contents Shaping the future of Friends’
2
Our journey of reconciliation
4
Climate Impact Working Group
6
Early learning - Engaging through inquiry
8
Building resilience 10 Conceptual inquiry 12 Preparing for the changing world
14
Hanif Iqbal-Zada, Class of 2016 From asylum seeker to honours student
15
Financial management at The Friends’ School 16 Lighting the way 18 Friends’ sports stars 20 David Jackson & Sam Wood, Class of 1998 Fitness entrepreneurs 22 The Farrall Centre 10th anniversary
24
Quaker values in action
26
Upcoming events & reunions
28
The Friends’ School is an independent, coeducational Early Learning to Year 12 day and boarding school, founded in 1887 on Quaker values that still apply today. The cover image features students performing at The Farrall Centre 10 Year Anniversary event celebrating the amazing impact of The Farrall Centre on student learning and showing our appreciation for all in our community who provided financial support. The Farrall Centre was named in honour of Co-Principals Lyndsay and Stephanie Farrall’s significant contribution to The Friends’ School. The Centre has become an integral facility in the educational journey of all students and a wonderful gathering and performance space for our school community. We hope you enjoy this edition of The Torch which acknowledges the School’s values in action and shares news and information about our organisation, people and achievements. Students in the cover image include Max Rapley (Year 9), Lilah Harding (Year 9) and other Year 9 Dance students.
From the Principal
Shaping the future of Friends’ Nelson File | Principal
At The Friends’ School, our focus remains on putting the Purpose and Concerns into practice on a daily basis. Students at Friends’ are guided and provided with many opportunities to explore their interests and discover how they can develop into a positive contributing member of society. The School’s Quaker values and mission guides us on all we do. At the same time, we seek to consider how we can improve and adjust to the changing world around us. As
the
COVID-19
pandemic
continues to impact all our lives, it also emphasises the importance of how we can provide the optimal learning environment for our students on an individual and collective basis. As I mentioned in my Principal’s Address to the Association in May, the School has established a Working Group to investigate and review the organisational year group structures at Friends’. This significant initiative is part of two strategic areas of responsibility; Teaching and Learning and Physical and Organisational Structures. A large part of the impetus behind the Working Group is the Tasmanian Government’s initiative to implement a Year 9 through Year 12 program across the state. The working group consists of myself, the Deputy Principal, the Head of
Clemes (Year 11 & 12), a Co-Head of High School, the Head of Morris, the Deputy Principal, the Director of Teaching and Learning, a Pathways Advisor, the Director of Community Engagement and the Enrolments Manager. The Working Group has been closely examining what a Year 9 through to Year 12 grouping of students might look like and how it might work. We are also investigating how the School can better address the distinct needs of younger adolescents in Year 7 & 8 students (with the possible closer integration of Year 6 students). Throughout this term, we have consulted with staff and parents/ guardians to gain their valued contribution and feedback on the review and year group structures.
“Should not a Friends school be a restlessly searching, experimenting, risking place, ceaselessly seeking to attain new levels of perfection?” The Peculiar Mission of a Quaker School, Douglas Heath - prominent American Quaker educator
on the need for constitutional recognition and Treaties with Australia’s First Nations People, especially here in Tasmania. The path of Reconciliation at Friends’ will be approached with an open heart and sincere intentions.
Pictured with Year 11 and 12 Friends’ students is Co-Chair of Reconciliation Tasmania, Bill Lawson. From qualitative and quantitative feedback we received from a survey, a large number of parents/ guardians were supportive of a possible shift and commented on the ideas of greater opportunities for extension in a 9-12 model. We also heard the desire for continued development of curricula offerings and pedagogy for all our students across both a middle school and 9-12 model. The need for Year 9 to be seen as a key area of focus was also mentioned. Comments in support of a middle school style model were received and these were countered by concerns around how best to implement a middle school framework. Connecting the upper primary and reducing the number of transitions across the two Friends’ campuses were both commented upon favourably. A recommendation will be made to the Board of Governors before the end of 2021 for implementation from 2023 onwards. Pleasingly, there are also a number of other important initiatives and strategic focus areas being progressed throughout the school community. Two aspects that align with our strategic responsibility under Culture and Values were the
establishment of a Climate Impact Working Group and Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group. These are outlined in other articles in this edition of The Torch. As a community, we need to consider how the School can better educate and practice our environmental responsibility and stewardship. The significant step of the Board of Governors developing a Climate Impact Policy and accompanying guidelines will help inform and guide our focus on being a carbon-neutral institution and support a variety of learning initiatives. The Board of Governors is also considering a set of recommendations put forth by the Climate Impact Working Group and I look forward to sharing the recommendations in the near future.
As part of the redevelopment of our facilities and campuses to better serve our student’s learning and development needs, we have seen the progression of the new Sports Centre at the top of Carr Street. With the wall panels now assembled and the roof being fixed in September, this new state-ofthe-art facility is taking shape. The excitement is building among our community and we look forward to the new Sports Centre being open in early 2022. Late this year, the transformation of the WN Oats Centre into learning spaces will be underway in order to dramatically enhance the physical layout of the Commercial Road campus in time for 2023. I’d like to thank all those in our community, particularly our staff, volunteers, parents and alumni who contribute and support the many initiatives being undertaken to help our students’ lives at Friends’. I hope you enjoy this edition of The Torch. To view the Principal’s Address to the Association, please scan the QR code.
Not only do we need to better educate our students on the history, culture and truth-telling with the First Nations People of Tasmania, but we also want to ensure fairness and equality for Tasmanian aboriginal people. I recently listened to Aboriginal Anthropologist and Educator Professor Marcia Langton AO talk 3
Community
Our journey of reconciliation Bill Avery | Director Community Engagement
Aunty Patsy Cameron and Professor Tim McCormack speaking at the Peter Underwood Peace & Justice Lecture. The Friends’ School was fortunate to have special guest speakers Aunty Patsy Cameron and Professor Tim McCormack present the Peter Underwood Peace and Justice Lecture in Term 2, 2021. This Lecture, titled ‘What would a treaty with Australia’s First Peoples look like?’, was an important part of our Clemes Friendly Conference journey in which we, as a community, explored the idea of Reconciliation with Australia’s Indigenous community. Aunty Patsy opened her talk with:
“Truth telling and listening to the voices of our ancestors are pivotal to this presentation that seeks to acknowledge one of the most significant episodes of history, albeit 190 years after a verbal treaty was sanctioned. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the promises made during colonial times to enable you, the next generation of leaders, to gain an understanding of one of the most profound historic injustices that remain unresolved and ignored. Indeed, there is a conspiracy of silence that envelopes the 1831
treaties.” Later on, Aunty Patsy shared with the audience: “Our lives are intrinsically linked to the past for it shapes the future. Treaty is an important part of Tasmania’s unfinished business and a moral imperative. As the next generation of Tasmanian leaders it is important that you know this history in order to support a treaty dialogue with Tasmanian Aboriginal people and explore what a 21st century treaty might comprise.”
Aunty Patsy’s personal connection to the colonial period wrongdoing was a powerful and impactful account of the continuing injustices to our indigenous community. Professor Tim McCormack was recently appointed to support former Tasmanian Governor, Professor Kate Warner AC, in providing recommendations to the Tasmanian Government on a proposed roadmap towards Reconciliation and what a pathway to Treaty would look like. During the Lecture Tim stated: “Societies that fail to come to grips with violent pasts that include unresolved and egregious injustice will never flourish to their full potential. Denial, indifference and societal blindness create a dead weight that persists indefinitely in the absence of change.” Tim’s talk was a thought-provoking connection to recent legal decisions fulfilling agreements with First Nations peoples from around the world and what should happen in Tasmania if indeed we are a ‘just’ society that acts with integrity to uphold commitments made by a government on behalf of its citizens. He also discussed what makes a Treaty important and some common fallacies about Treaties with Indigenous Peoples: “It is often assumed, wrongly, that sovereignty within a nation is unitary and cannot be divided. The argument runs that Australia enters into treaties with other sovereign nation States and can’t enter into a treaty with part of its own population. This assumption is
fallacious.” In summary, Tim proposed to the senior students and collection of staff and guests in attendance what could happen in Tasmania and the impact of a public acknowledgement of the wrongs of the past: “Imagine if this public statement expressed our desire to negotiate a treaty and offered to initiate a consultative process to identify those who should represent our Aboriginal community in negotiations with the Government?”
knowledge and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions.
It was clear to all who listened and asked questions that every person in Tasmania needs to hear the stories and perspectives shared by Aunty Patsy and Tim. We thank Aunty Patsy and Tim for their powerful and impactful presentation, which will help to frame our students’ worldview for decades to come.
As Aunty Patsy shared during the Lecture: “Only when we collectively have the courage and compassion to reconcile past injustices will we walk together as proud Tasmanians.”
Earlier this year, the School formally commenced a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) with the formation of a RAP Working Group, with agreed Terms of Reference. The School is placing an emphasis on understanding what it means to contribute to Reconciliation and how as a School we can strengthen and put into practice what is stated in our Acknowledgement of Country. The development of a RAP is within Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali online program, which supports all schools and early learning services in Australia to foster a higher level of
A key component of the RAP is to build cultural competency, which is also underpinned by our Quaker values of truth-telling and being sensitive to the needs of others. We continue to strive and aim for a greater understanding of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture and history in the hope that this will lead to a more united and fairer country for all Australians.
The Friends’ School Reconciliation journey is ongoing. We encourage all members of the school community to get involved. To find out more please contact one of our working group staff members: Tracie Acreman - Convener (tacreman@friends.tas.edu.au), Bill Avery (bavery@friends.tas.edu.au) or Marty Crerar (mcrerar@friends. tas.edu.au) To view the 2021 Peter Underwood Peace and Justice Lecture, with special guest speakers Aunty Patsy Cameron and Professor Tim McCormack, please scan this code.
“Only when we collectively have the courage and compassion to reconcile past injustices will we walk together as proud Tasmanians.” - Aunty Patsy Cameron
5
Community
Climate Impact Working Group Nicola Anderson | Head of Science / Convener
The Friends’ School has always been guided in its actions by the Quaker testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship. Of particular interest in these environmentally challenging times is the testimony of Stewardship (or Earthcare). Many decisions at the School have been guided by this testimony over the years, however, there has never been an overarching policy which can be referred to for robust support in decision making. In light of the climate emergency we are facing as a society and recognising the growing concern of our students, the decision was made to create a working group to research and
write a Climate Impact Policy and set of associated guidelines. These documents will set the philosophy, tone and narrative with regards to climate impact for The Friends’ School into the future. The working group was established in the middle of 2020 and were given the instructions
to complete the draft policy and guidelines in time for the August 2021 board meeting. The working group was convened by Nicola Anderson (Environmental Science teacher and Head of the Science Faculty) and included two members of staff (Kate Sinclair and Wilbur Wilkinson), a member of the Board (Mary Beadle), two
We seek to nurture a global human society that prioritizes the well-being of people over profit, and lives in the right relationship with our Earth; a peaceful world with fulfilling employment, clean air and water, renewable energy, and healthy thriving communities and ecosystems.
current parents (Sarah Coleman and Kristine Barnden), two current students (Hugh Magnus and Riley Curtain) and two alumni (Beatrice Farquhar-Jones and Grace Furness).
As members of this beautiful human family, we
Our first step was to survey the wider school community to gauge the level of support and interest in the topic and in the initial directions we were considering. We received nearly 400 responses from students, parents, staff and alumni, with the responses showing overwhelming support for the process and the initial areas we were focusing on. Over 90% of respondents supported action on energy and water consumption, waste management and education and advocacy. As a working group, we then engaged in research into the ways in which we could reduce our school’s environmental impact whilst also supporting and
a stunning gift that supports life. It is our only
seek meaningful commitments from our leaders and ourselves, to address climate change for our shared future, the Earth and all species, and the generations to come. We see this Earth as home. Let us care for it together. (A Shared Quaker Statement: Facing the Challenge of Climate Change, 2017) empowering our students through education and advocacy. We then wrote draft guidelines to provide a plan for action. The Board of Governors is considering a set of recommendations put forth by the Climate Impact Working Group.
Photos Below: student working on a Worm Farm building project for the School. Opposite page: Year 3 students planting veggie gardens at the School.
7
Early Learning
Early Learning Engaging through inquiry Fiona Zinn | Deputy Head of Morris - Friends’ Primary Years
Across the School we continue to focus on building a strong, healthy community that respects the rights of all individuals to be heard, seen and understood. This important work begins with our youngest children in Friends’ Early Learning. Building and maintaining respectful relationships is a key focus for learning and happens in many ways including through intentional teaching moments and in many opportunities for social play across many contexts. All of our work in this area supports our Purpose and Concerns as a Quaker School, to build and maintain a strong, caring and vibrant community where each individual
is a valued part of the collective experience. Building connections with community and context, our babies in the Green Room have been enjoying getting outside in the winter sunshine, exploring the seasonal changes in their
environment together as we edge ever closer to springtime. This has created new and different possibilities for playful engagement with the space. The indoor environment is changing too, with more natural and recycled materials being added to the space each week; the
“Perhaps community is a constellation. Each one of us is a light in the emerging collective brightness. A constellation of light has the greater power of illumination than any single light would have on its own. Together we increase brightness.”
- John O’Donoghue, Poet and Author
beautiful silver birch is from our playground space and is enjoying a second life inside the babies’ environment. Natural resources such as these allow endless play and flexibility for the children to explore freely, supporting many skills including: problem-solving, co-operation, decision-making, fine motor dexterity and gross motor movement, independence, language and vocabulary, creativity, mathematical understandings and exploring many new experiences. Our 1-2 year old children in the Orange Room have been enjoying going on lots of walks around the wider school environment. This linked in well with NAIDOC week where the educational team introduced an age appropriate exploration of connecting to country. Our work building an authentic acknowledgement of country begins in foundational experiences such as these walks, allowing our educational team and children many opportunities to have discussions about walking ‘on country’.
hairdressers, construction workers, doctors and restaurant chefs. The 3-4 year old children in Blue Room have been deeply engaged in investigations into bones, skeletons and bodies with a special visit from an ambulance on Thursday 5th August. The children thoroughly enjoyed talking with the ambulance officer and exploring all the different parts of the vehicle. This inquiry has led to a range of different experiences including observational drawings of bones and skeletons, investigating the different ways our bodies can move through our own Olympics and even working out how to ‘extract’ dinosaur bones that arrived one morning,
mysteriously frozen in large blocks of ice. All of these experiences weave together in a continuum of playful inquiry as we navigate and respond to the richness that the world around us offers to children and their learning.
Photos Left: students exploring natural materials. Below: Early Learning students walking on country.
The 2-3 year old children in the Red Room are showing great enjoyment in their indoor spaces for learning, participating in the different learning experiences, especially creative work with materials and mark making. These are the foundations of reading and writing which will continue to take shape over the coming years of development. The children really enjoy having access to open ended creative materials to represent their ideas and build new theories. The home corner also provides continued engagement with dramatic play being a key interest and many of the children taking on new and familiar roles through their dramatic play, including: 9
High School
Building resilience Esther Hoggart | Year 9 Connections Coordinator
Year 9 (2020) students after finishing the Redanks Mud Run. High School can pose many challenges for students; a growing study load, changing friendships and planning for the future can sometimes feel overwhelming. But what is a healthy amount of stress and anxiety? How do we provide young people with a ‘safe space’ to share their feelings without judgement? Most importantly, how do we equip students with the tools to be resilient in the face of pressure or adversity? According to Catalano et al (2004), “Students who receive quality evidence-based social and emotional skills programmes delivered within positive school environments tend to
be more resilient. They feel more connected to school and to learning, have improved academic achievement and are less likely to exhibit problem behaviour.” As a Partnership
School with The Resilience Project, The Friends’ School has been investigating ways in which we can work with students, staff and parents to answer some of these questions and develop a common
Did you know? • • •
•
1 in 3 secondary school students loses sleep through worry. 65% of secondary students do not seek help for mental illness. Replacing face-to-face contact with family and friends with messages on social media, email or text messages, could double our risk of depression. By keeping a gratitude journal, you become three times more likely to scan the world for positives in just 21 days.
vocabulary around emotional literacy. The Resilience Project identifies the three keys to resilience as Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (GEM). With regular practise, they increase learning capacity, emotional literacy, physical health and happiness. Initially part of the Year 9 Connections Programme, we have now also incorporated parts of The Resilience Project curriculum into Year 5 and the Year 10 Connections Programme, and use GEM principles to guide our weekly Gatherings from 7-10. We have also embedded the principles across a range of subject areas, and provide opportunities to put their resilience to the test on the Year 9 Challenge Days in Term 4. Our aim is to provide students with evidence-based, practical strategies to build resilience and happiness, and enable them to thrive both academically and socially in their learning environment.
Stone. Lael discussed the scientific links between adolescent brain development, and why teenagers behave the way they do. She also provided practical strategies for how parents can create safe spaces to process emotion, and tools that can be used to create robust mental health for their children. This was timely advice, and particularly relevant to the Year 9 and 10 responses to their Wellbeing Survey, completed earlier in the semester. Students reflected that lack of sleep, overuse of devices and struggles with self-confidence are contributing to feelings of anxiety and disengagement at school and their lives in general. Some also reflected that they struggled to find gratitude moments in times of stress, and had difficulty seeking help from an adult.
In order to support our work with students in the High School, The Resilience Project have established a Parents’ and Carers Hub, and regularly post new content via their website on TRP@Home and GEM TV. Here, you will find a number of informative and inspiring videos, as well as additional support materials, guiding parents and carers about how they can best support their children through such an important time in their lives. If you have any questions about The Resilience Project, please contact Esther Hoggart, Year 9 Coordinator. Catalano, R.F., Haggerty, K.P., Oesterle,S., Fleming, C.B., & Hawkins, J.D (2004). The Importance of Bonding to School for Healthy Development: Findings from the Social Development Research Group., 74(7), 252-261. https://theresilienceproject.com.au/ university-of-melbourne-research-findings/
Staff and parent/guardian wellbeing has also been at the forefront of our vision for positive mental health practices. We have hosted a number of professional learning opportunities for staff, not only on how to implement GEM principles into their classrooms, but also how to look after their own mental health in the Teacher Wellbeing Workshop. The analogy of ‘putting on your own oxygen mask first’ is apt here; we can only provide the best support for our students if we also look after ourselves. The same applies for the everchallenging role of parents and carers, and we were most fortunate to recently host The Resilience Project’s Connected Parenting Workshop with Lael
Getting muddy at the Mud Run (2020). 11
Morris
Conceptual inquiry: A powerful way to learn Mark Febey | Head of School - Early Learning to Year 6
Morris students “painting” with light. We at The Friends’ School are very fortunate to be able to learn and teach in an environment that is driven by more than the need to learn prescribed content at each year level. Although we seek to reach and achieve beyond national benchmarks, our educational focus is much deeper and sees success in future life as the end point of learning. Fortunately, with our School’s Purpose and Concerns clearly stating our aspirations for all in our community being supported by an International Baccalaureate framework for learning we are able to provide opportunities that encourage rich conceptual learning experiences.
Our highly skilled teachers aim to provide an education that promotes transdisciplinary learning. Nicolescu (2014) outlines that the key imperative of transdisciplinary learning is to unite knowledge for the understanding of the present world. It promotes learning that is relevant and connected beyond the subject disciplines usually taught in schools. In transdisciplinarity learning, the disciplines are no longer distinguishable, like the ingredients in a cake, and the result is something completely different (Choi and Pak, 2006). It does not negate the need for explicit teaching within subjects,
but asks us to take this learning further, making connections across the curriculum and beyond. The International Baccalaureate provides an educational framework for this type of learning and teaching to take place, where conceptual understanding drives inquiry, promotes deep open ended questions and encourages students to engage in their interests. A conceptual inquiry approach is a powerful vehicle for learning, that values concepts and promotes meaning and understanding. It challenges students to engage critically and creatively with significant
By providing an education that is meaningful, connected and useful beyond the classroom we are encouraging students to be self directed, competent learners who are able to go into the world and contribute in meaningful ways. - IBO ideas beyond the surface level of knowing. PYP teachers use powerful, broad and abstract concepts as a lens to organize learning within units of inquiry and subject-specific learning. (IBO) Within the Primary Years Program at Friends’ there are many examples of learning that goes beyond surface level knowledge. We see learners of all ages as competent and capable and with the right structure and support can achieve understanding beyond initial expectations. For example, our Prep students have recently engaged with the concept of light through exploration and play. Through this inquiry, they recognised that light is all around us and has an impact upon us all. By using both critical thinking and research skills, coupled with rich learning engagements which included access to subject matter experts, students built understanding of scientific conceptual ideas such as how light is produced, it’s properties, the relationship between light and colour and how light influences our daily lives. To hear 5 and 6 year old children articulately discussing refraction, luminescence, colour spectrum and many other complex ideas is nothing short of inspiring. Another example comes from
our Year 5 Program of Inquiry. During Year 5 our students focus on the conceptual understanding of resilience through the Who we are unit where they inquired into personal, mental, social and spiritual health. Using the lenses of interdependence, growth and choice, students dug deeply into understanding and reflecting upon themselves to build an awareness and understanding that when resilience is challenged it allows for growth in your wellbeing. This unit was supported by the interactions and stories told by the Hobart City
Mission Human Library. Students were attentive and interested to hear the personal stories of local Tasmanians who have relied upon their resilience to overcome personal situations. Students are supported in using this knowledge to have a positive influence in all aspects of their lives. By providing an education that is meaningful, connected and useful beyond the classroom we are encouraging students to be self directed, competent learners who are able to go into the world and contribute in meaningful ways. An IB PYP education is conceptual and ‘conveys learning that has relevance between, across and beyond subjects that transcend borders connecting to what is real in the world … Through this process of learning in the PYP, students become competent learners, self-driven to have the cognitive, affective and social tools to engage in lifelong learning.’ (IBO)
Glenda, a “book” from the Hobart Human Library talking with Year 5 students. 13
From the Board
Preparing for the changing world Craig Stephens | Presiding Member Board of Governors and Concerns. These priorities emphasise our commitment to enabling, supporting and nurturing our students to be positive contributing members of society.
As The Friends’ School completes its 135th year of operation, I am reminded of a Charles Darwin quote: ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’ For The Friends’ School, the last 12 to 18 months has been a continual period of unexpected, but also important change. We have and continue to adapt to the way of life that COVID-19 has presented to us. We have also reflected on how the School can continue to evolve and serve our community of learners. Throughout this period, our valued staff, students and families have adapted and created pathways forward. With our students at the heart of everything we do, The Friends’ School’s Strategic Priorities guide the School’s direction and reflect how we implement the values of the School; the Purpose
Each February the Board conducts a comprehensive review of all its Areas of Strategic Responsibilities in consultation with senior staff. The discussion and submissions are collated, with further consultation and discernment in the following months. In June this year, the Board of Governors confirmed with Principal Nelson File a range of updated outcomes and strategies within the Board’s Strategic Areas of Responsibilities. Many strategic priorities continue if they are still significant or are being undertaken over a two to three year timeframe. New priorities are also established to make sure the School pivots with micro and macro challenges and to ensure we are providing the best educational environment we can in the changing world. The Board works to ensure the School has the resources to support its Purpose and Concerns and be able to provide the quality whole child education that Friends’ is known for and will continue to provide for the future. Last year, I wrote that thanks to prudent fiscal responsibility, the School has a good foundation to embark on the Campus Redevelopment Phase One
project. The philanthropic support from our community will also be vital in funding this planned transformation and continued innovation without committing the School, along with current and future families to an extensive financial burden. Pleasingly we are working hard towards achieving our fundraising target and I would like to thank those who have so far joined myself and the Board in making a contribution to this transformational project for all students. I commenced in May last year as the Presiding Member of the Board of Governors, having served as a member since 2011. Having spent this time on the Board and with my three children attending Friends’, the eldest commencing in 2006 and the youngest graduating in 2015, I am still amazed at the dedication of our staff and volunteers in enabling the students to grow into the best person they can be. It is a strength of the Friends’ community to weave the Quaker values into daily life at the School, while embracing progressive and best-practice teaching. It is an exciting time to be part of the Friends’ community and I would like to acknowledge the innovative and caring way our community continues to adjust and support one another in these unprecedented times.
Alumni
Hanif Iqbal-Zada, Class of 2016 From asylum seeker to honours student support to those who cannot afford to study at Friends’. If they can continue this, they will change many people’s lives. Hanif Iqbal-Zada, Class of 2016
My name is Hanif Iqbal-Zada. I left my home country of Quetta, Pakistan, in 2013 as it was no longer safe. I came to Australia by boat when I was 17. I wanted to study, but I did not have the right to study. I wanted to work, but I didn’t have the right to work. The only way I could study was to pay an international student fee, and in those circumstances, that was not practical. That was the time when The Friends’ School helped me to come to the School.
In 2019, I finished my Bachelor of Medical Research Degree at the University of Tasmania and in 2020 I completed my Honours year at the Menzies Research Centre. I’m trying to find new therapeutic targets for brain cancer. So, that has the potential to change millions of people’s lives. The Friends’ School is doing a wonderful job, providing an amazing education for their students and providing extra
“Financial assistance for students like Hanif is vital. Hanif put so much emphasis on education and he really saw that as a way forward, an opportunity for him to move out of the environment that he’d come from. He was unfailingly polite, respectful, gracious. I think he gave far more back to the School than we gave him and he did really well academically. He also gained an award called the Martin Zochling Award, for attitude, endeavour, and in Hanif’s case, because he so obviously loved and appreciated the School.” - Lyn Tunbridge, Former Deputy Head of Clemes
“Hanif had many challenges when he came to Friends’, his English level was developing, he knew noone here, he wasn’t in any of the social networks of students prior to arriving. Hanif was, however, very committed to his own education and improving himself. Even from day one when he first arrived he wanted to take full advantage of whatever was available that made him into a better person and a conscientious student.” Nelson File, Principal Friends’ will always be committed to providing opportunity and access for families and young people with limited means. To see a video about Hanif and his journey from asylum seeker to Honours student, please scan the QR code below.
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Finances
Financial management a t Th e F r ie n d s ’ S ch o o l Shaun Sargent | Director of Business Affairs
The Board of Governors (“the Board”) has the ultimate responsibility for overseeing the sound financial management and control of the School. In this regard, Finance is one of the governance areas of responsibility captured in the Board’s strategic plan. Meanwhile, day-to-day financial responsibility rests with the Principal working in partnership with the Director of Business Affairs.
The financial management of the large and modern institution that is The Friends’ School can be complex and requires careful and ongoing oversight. As a “forpurpose” charitable institution, the overarching objective of the School’s financial management is to provide the resourcing necessary to achieve our Purpose and Concerns. The long-term solid financial management processes that are in place have enabled the School to thrive and prosper across many generations of students and parents/guardians.
To monitor both the short and long-term finances of the School the Board has a well-established set of Budget Parameters. These parameters guide the School’s management in the development of appropriate annual and multiyear budget forecasts. The Parameters include shorter-term financial indicators, such as cashflows, salary adjustments and tuition fee levels, as well as longerterm considerations, such as capital developments, debt levels and equipment upgrade plans. Over the past few years a key financial objective has been to ensure that sufficient capital funds are available for the Campus
Redevelopment Phase 1 Project on the Commercial Road campus. This has required careful financial planning to ensure that the significant financial commitment that this project requires is affordable without putting the School’s longer term financial security at risk. The Project is being financed from long term savings that have been set aside for capital works, some borrowings and, importantly, generous financial support from the school community to turn our vision for the Commercial Road campus into a reality. Ultimately sound financial management practices are an essential element of the School’s governance framework. The strategic and disciplined approach that is taken to financial stewardship optimises the resources that are available for teaching and learning. Solid financial sustainability ensures that many more generations of students are able to benefit from an education at The Friends’ School.
2020 Income 2.3%
Tuition Fees & Charges Scholarship & Bursary Funds 7.7% Commonwealth Grants State Grants 23.1%
Other Income
65.4%
1.5%
2020 Expenses Salaries & Employee Benefits
1.7% 2.5% .3%
Curriculum Delivery Caretaking & Cleaning Information Technology
8.1%
3% 1.7%
Depreciation & Amortisation Finance Costs
3.7% 4.2% 74.8%
Maintenance Power & Utilities Administration & Operating Costs 17
Giving
Lighting the way Bill Avery | Director of Community Engagement
Becoming a reality. The current stage of building works (as at August 2021) and the envisioned finished centre. In 2022, after 135 years of operation (and 133 years on the Commercial Road Campus) we mark an exciting milestone in the School’s advancement of its built environment which will support our student’s health, wellbeing and learning. Early next year we will open a new Sports Centre on the Commercial Road Campus. This new state-of-art facility is a key part of the Campus Redevelopment Phase One which was prioritised as part of a 2016 Master Plan. It is an exciting time to be part of the Friends’ community as we see
the facilities evolve and develop to complement the outstanding staff and caring values that are central to our learning community. Our current buildings and facilities have been well used and well loved for a long time, but upgrading our facilities across the School remains a focus of The Board of Governors.
The Friends’ School seeks generous philanthropy in its determination to provide every student with a vibrant, valuesbased education. The school is fundraising for this campus transformation work, along with finance through borrowings and savings. School fees and government funding cover yearly
“We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.” Winston Churchill, 1943
staff salaries and operational requirements of the School. Our fundraising target is progressing well with the support of some generous community donors and we look forward to launching our public appeal in 2022. A generous community donor for the Campus Redevelopment Phase One was Richard Revell. Richard (1953) attended The Friends’ School as a Boarder from 1950 to 1951. Richard, who was severely physically impaired, had limited mobility and speech capacity. During his time at Friends’ many actions, that recognised him as a person and what he could contribute, were shown towards Richard by his classmates and teachers. Later, and because of how Richard was valued as a member of the community, he was motivated to include a very generous gift to The Friends’ School in his Will. It is fitting that Richard’s unencumbered and visionary gift will be used as part of this transformational project, which will include considerable equity of access measures being incorporated as part of the essence of the new design. This includes installing a lift outside the transformed WN Oats building and at the top side of North Block as well as linking elevated
Richard Revell (1953).
Dr Lyndsay and Dr Stephanie Farrall with Justice Peter Underwood. Photo taken in 1990. passageways between several of the buildings. Initially, little was known about Richard and so we turned to his classmates for help. David Long (1953) and John Hyndes (1953) were instrumental in helping us to capture Richard’s story in a short video about Richard’s life. We invite you to view the video about Richard Revell and his life at the QR link below:
The Friends’ School community has been a vital partner in the growth of the School since it was established in 1887 with generous gifts of funds and resources by English Friends’. The Friends School started with no financial backing other than an annual grant of 120 pounds for 4 years from London Yearly Meeting and pledges of support from local
Friends of very moderate means. In more recent times, the Friends’ for the Future campaign, led by Stephanie and Lyndsay Farrall in the 1990’s, raised significant community support to extend the Year 5 and Year 6 classrooms, refurbish and repurpose classrooms in the Hobartville building in the High School, build the current Home Economics room and refurbish laboratories in North Block. In the 2000’s the Friends’ community provided philanthropic gifts to help make The Farrall Centre a reality - providing Friends’ students then, now and into the future with access to a world-class facility offering diverse learning opportunities. The Friends’ School has always been committed to education and today rightly takes its place as one of Australia’s leading values based coeducational schools. In our rapidly changing local, national and global world, it is more important than ever that Friends’ continues its strong focus on developing informed, independent and motivated young people who lead by example in the changing world.
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Alumni
Friends’ sports stars Laura Halm | Community Engagement Coordinator
Max Walker (pictured front row, third from left) In an Olympic year, and with our new sports centre under construction, we are proud to celebrate all our alumni who continue to excel in sports. The School’s first building program in 1891 gave priority to a girls’ gym: a structure open to the elements on one side, roofed in tin and floored in tan bark that served for the next 93 years. A boys’ open gym followed shortly after. The new sports centre will provide state-of-the-art sporting facilities focused on maximising student learning outcomes, sustainability and inclusive access, to continue the School’s enduring commitment to sport and wellbeing. The centre is scheduled for completion in
early 2022. We have been overwhelmed by the community’s response in letting us know about all our high achieving sports alumni. Today we share a small sample of the outstanding sports alumni who are some of our highest achievers. You can see the full list on our website at friends.tas.edu.au/aboutthe-friends-school/academicexcellence/sporting-alumni, and please keep the suggestions coming so we can capture all our wonderful sports champions. We are currently building our records for alumni who have represented their country (Australia or other) at international level, and/or qualified for an
international sports competition at Junior, U23, Senior or Masters level. If you know of a former student who qualifies (or you are one) please contact us via email at stayconnected@friends.tas.edu.au with the following details: Name, Leaving Year, Sport, Level attained. “Sport” means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels. (The Association for Applied Sport Psychology and the European Sports Charter)
Hanny Allston (2003) Athletics (running), orienteering, Australia: World Orienteering Championships, 2006; The World Games, 2009
Lindy Goggin (1966) Golf, 3 Australian Amateur wins, 5 Tasman Cups, 3 Espírito Santo Trophy Tournaments (World team championships) including World Cup 1978 Espírito Santo Cup and 3 Commonwealth series matches; Queen Sirikit Trophy, 1981, 1982; runner up USA Amateur; represented Australia from 19701988
Sam Beltz (1998) Rowing, Australia: Olympics and World Championships, 2004, 2008, 2012
Will Sargent (2019) Sailing, Australia: XVI Pacific Games 2019 (Bronze), Laser Standard Men’s World Championships 2020 Brett Thurley (1981) Waterskiing, Australia: World Water Ski Championships, 198595; World Slalom Champion, 1993 Max Walker (deceased) (1965) Cricket, Australia: 34 Tests; 17 One-Day Internationals, 1974-81; World Series Cricket, 1977-79 Cameron Wurf (2001) Triathlons, cycling, rowing, Australia: Olympics, 2004; World Rowing Championships, 2004-6; triathlons 2016-2021, Ironman World Championships win, 2021; Giro d’Italia 2010, 2013; La Vuelta d’España, 2013, 2020
Mathew Goggin (1991) Golf, Australian Amateur win; Australian The Players Championship win; top 5 British Open; top 50 World Ranking
Charles Blundell (1965) Sailing, Australia: Transpac 1969; Admiral Cup 1977; Fastnet 1984, 1985, 1992; Newport to Bermuda races, SORC races; China Sea Race 2016 Amelia Catt (2010) Sailing, Australia: 470 World Championships 2013-15, 2017; ISAF 470 Sailing World Cups
Kerry Hore (1999) Rowing, Australia: Olympics, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016; World Championships, 2003, 2010, 2011 Kate Hornsey (1999) Rowing, Australia: Olympics, 2008, 2012; World Rowing Championships, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011
You can see the full list on our website by following the QR code.
Eddie Ockenden (2005) Hockey, Australia: Olympics, 2008, 2012, 2021
Caryn Davies (1999) Rowing, USA: Olympics, 2004, 2008, 2012; World Rowing Championships, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007
21
Alumni
David Jackson & Sam Wood, Class of 1998 Fitness entrepreneurs Lucy Loney | Development Manager
The friendship, warmth and humour shared between “28 by Sam Wood” founder Sam Wood (left) and Australian Life Technologies CEO David Jackson (right) was abundantly clear in their recent Zoom interview, sharing with us the joys of working in a tech start up and how they came to be business partners. David: We met around Year 7....? Sam: Around Year 7? It was Year 7! David: There was an intake of a bunch of people and one of them was Sam. A tall, skinny kid with a big personality. I think even at that time he had aspirations of being a comedian. He was one to keep an eye on. We instantly became extremely good friends. Sam: Part of the bonding came through cricket. It was the tail end of the cricket season and we ended up playing Friends’ cricket
together for the next six years including three years in the Firsts. There are six of us that are still incredibly close and five of us were in the cricket team. The other one was Samuel Beltz, the amazing rower. Can’t throw a ball, but pretty impressive athlete. David: Cricket’s actually a great game for friendship forming because you spend a lot of time standing in a field doing absolutely nothing, so you have to talk to each other.
Sam: Or if you’re as good at batting as us, a lot of time in the grandstand watching... and doing absolutely nothing!
Since Friends’... Sam: I discovered a love for fitness in Year 12. I actually got accepted to do Psychology/Law at University and was reading my acceptance letter and thinking to myself ‘I really don’t know what this is and just applied for it because there was a lot of pressure to apply for
something’. So I deferred for a year. I went away to America as an 18 year old, I coached basketball in Chicago. While I was overseas I thought ‘I don’t really want to be in an office, I don’t want to be desk bound, I’m not hugely academic, I need to be around people and if I can combine sport or fitness with that in some way that feels a lot more like a natural path that I would like to follow, something that I’ll be better at and something I’ll enjoy a lot more’. David: I studied Law/Commerce at the University of Tasmania and I accepted a job at (what is now called) PwC, but I took a year off before joining, did a bit of travelling, surfing with friends from Tasmania. I left PwC and joined an investment firm in their private equity business. But I’d always had a desire to run a business, ideally a technology business. I was seeing the amazing things Sam was doing with “28” and an opportunity arose for me to join. Funny how life takes you on these journeys, from us standing in the slips cordon at Friends’ playing cricket to here we are both 40 years old, married with kids, partnering in this business. Sam: I’d always admired David from a business acumen perspective. I’d always had small businesses and whenever I was stuck, or needed a sounding board I’d go to Dave and he was very balanced, very level-headed. I’m
a founder through and through, everything’s passion and ideas and whiteboards and brainstorming and I love people and I love fitness and I love helping people. The business grew so quickly and to make sure it grew into long term sustainable success I needed to surround myself with brilliant people and I knew Dave was one of those. Since David came to the business we’ve doubled in size and gone to a whole new level. It’s pretty special to be able to build a business like this and it’s twice as special when you can do it with one of your best friends. David: It was certainly a shift. All the fundamentals I’d learned in the corporate world were certainly relevant, you just do things a slightly different way. Everything you do has an impact on the business. There’s a big level of accountability and responsibility. But we are really the perfect combination because Sam has that entrepreneurial spirit and drive to build something bigger and better than anyone else and forge new paths. Whereas I come from a corporate, structured background. The learning curve was probably steeper than I expected, but it’s been a really healthy process for me. Sam: David rocked up on his first day here in the office with his jacket on, and his shirt on and his suit pants on and that was on the
Keeping your eyes wide open and having a ‘yes’ attitude to everything is really important. Taking opportunities and giving things a go. Talent and intellect only play part of the role. There’s a lot of quick wins people can have in life just through demonstrating a lot of passion, work ethic, and the right attitude.
Monday. By the Friday he was in his shorts and his thongs and his t-shirt! He’s like… “I’ve made it to tech start-up!” We’ve got table tennis tables and I come to work in my runners. If we’ve got important meetings we’ll look the part but it’s about being comfortable and being happy and getting the balance right.
For those starting out... David: Keeping your eyes wide open and having a ‘yes’ attitude to everything is really important. Taking opportunities and giving things a go. Talent and intellect only play part of the role. There’s a lot of quick wins people can have in life just through demonstrating a lot of passion, work ethic, and the right attitude. These all sound like very basic things but are actually really powerful. Those softer skills are really important. Sam: As a leaver in 1998 if you said you were going to be an entrepreneur and go into ‘tech’ people would have looked at you as if you were nuts. But if you said that now, people would be much more accepting of it, there are many more formal pathways. Don’t worry about what other people are doing. Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to do. Try as many things and take as many opportunities as you can in life. You always think that everyone else has it worked out and they don’t necessarily. I probably felt a bit lost when I left. I think that was because I hadn’t found myself yet but Friends’ had at least started that for me rather than push me into something or make me think I was something that I wasn’t. I’m really grateful for that. These sliding door moments in life, we don’t even realise they’re upon us until we look back sometimes.
23
Community
The Farrall Centre 10 th anniversary Lucy Loney | Development Manager
On Saturday 26 June 2021 the Friends’ community came together at to celebrate the opportunities The Farrall Centre has created for our students. Performances
from dance, choir, music, art and drama students were included in the showcase, with an alumni performance from Tasmanian Soprano, Sophie Mohler (Class
“On its 10th anniversary The Farrall Centre has more than lived up to its potential at the heart of the community. So, on behalf of the extended Friends’ School community and all Tasmanians who enjoy The Farrall Centre, and to all of you here today, I say Happy 10th Anniversary. Thank you to those who contributed and thank you to those visionaries who have pursued, and continue to pursue, possibilities… Thank you for putting the spirit of community and the joy of the creative and performing arts centre stage for our children and grandchildren.” - Frances Underwood, Former Head of Friends’ Primary Years
of 2017), who visited us from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. It was a beautiful evening shared by some of our oldest and youngest community members, showcasing the extraordinary talent of just some of our students. The Farrall Centre was opened jointly by the former Governor of Tasmania, His Excellency the Honorable Peter Underwood AC and Mrs Frances Underwood in 2011 and we were delighted to be able to invite Frances back to share some remarks on this special occasion.
Follow the QR code to see a video of the full performance.
25
Values
Quaker values in action Mary Beadle | Member, Quaker Values Committee
In 2019 the Quaker values committee investigated how Quaker values are incorporated into the Science curriculum. Pictured: Clara Kim (Year 12) The Quaker values committee was established in 2015 with the purpose of supporting the school in implementing Quaker values and its statement of Purpose and Concerns throughout the school community. The committee is made up of the Presiding Clerk of the Australian Yearly Meeting, the Principal, three Tasmanian Quaker Board members and six Quakers from Quaker Meetings around
Australia. As a Quaker school The Friends’ School is committed to incorporating Quaker values into every aspect of school life. In 2019 the committee had the opportunity to gain an insight into ways in which the Health Faculty implements the Purpose and Concerns. We could not meet in 2020 and this year we were invited to learn about the Science Faculty.
This began on Thursday evening with a presentation from curriculum leaders from the Primary and Secondary sections of the School who gave an overview of the Science program and ways in which it aligns with the Purpose and Concerns as well as considering some of the challenges involved. The presentation set the scene for Science classroom visits
the following day. During the classroom visits, the QVC was fortunate to visit all areas of the School from Early Learning to Year 12 to see the different ways that the Quaker values are incorporated into the daily life of classes. Some reflections regarding this visit from Mary Beadle and the other Tasmanian members of QVC from her report to the Tasmanian Regional Meeting in May 2021 follow: During our classroom visits we were welcomed into settled learning environments where staff acted as facilitators of learning rather than instructors. We met teachers with excellent professional skills who clearly had developed good relationships with the students. This in turn resulted in a mutual respect and trust between teacher and student and also between students. Such an environment allowed students to feel comfortable and accepted. We acknowledged that this mutual respect takes time to establish and shows a long- term commitment to the values of the School. Teachers are called by their first names, which is indicative of equality between all members of the learning community. We observed that students had a fair amount of freedom within wide boundaries and that self-discipline from within was fostered rather than discipline being imposed from outside. Curiosity was encouraged in students throughout the school from Early Learning where play was child-led but the concepts being explored by the children were then developed by the carers. In all areas of the School student contributions were received positively and students thanked for their participation. It was
evident that students throughout the School are accustomed to working collaboratively but individual needs were also accommodated. For example during a Year 9 class dissection of a sheep’s pluck (lungs, heart etc) the teacher showed great respect for students’ potentially varied reactions, providing them with a range of options including leaving the room entirely to engage in a different related activity, as well as the choice of different degrees of involvement in the dissection. A potentially stressful situation, the return of a test at Clemes, was carried out with empathy and student self-reflection was encouraged. Some of us were fortunate to attend a Year 7 Connections class. Connections classes last all day, are transdisciplinary and on this particular day the class focused on mindfulness, mindsets and learning from mistakes. We witnessed an exceptional degree of self-awareness for such young people. They demonstrated their inclusiveness during group activities and referred to their work on gratitude and their kindness journals.
presentation from staff. These include: • •
•
• •
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outdated classroom spaces in Morris the prevalence of “fake news” and misinformation on social media information overload and the difficulty students have processing it student climate stress and concern for social justice issues the scoring system for TCE subjects which may cause students to select subjects based on their score the uncertain future of work
We heard at the Annual General Meeting that the School weathered the pandemic of 2020 relatively well, offering generous assistance to families who were struggling while maintaining financial viability of the organisation. Nurturing staff and students affected by the pandemic was important at this time and continues to be a concern. Some overseas students remained at Walker House over the summer holiday period because of travel restrictions and we questioned what could be done to support these students further.
We noted the challenges of delivering the Science curriculum that were highlighted during the
While we acknowledge that we only experienced a snapshot of life in The Friends’ School, we felt that we were in a school where a culture reflecting Quaker values has been built up over many decades and current staff members are striving to build on this foundation to implement these values as expressed in the Purpose and Concerns statement. 27
Events
Upcoming events & reunions
Coming Up Class of 1971 – 50 Year Reunion Saturday 6 November Royal Hobart Yacht Club Tour 1pm, Dinner 6.30pm Book here: trybooking.com/BTOVH Hobart Alumni Community Catch-up All former students, families, staff, volunteers are invited Friday 12 November Boodle Beasley | 5pm Book here: https://fb.me/e/19PsdViXs Class of 2016 – 5 Year Reunion Friday 19 November 2021 The Hanging Gardens | Drinks & Nibbles 5pm Book here: trybooking.com/BUHAH
End of Year Gathering Wednesday 1 December The Farrall Centre Class of 2020 – 1 Year Reunion Saturday 11 December 2021 Hobart Brewing Co. | Drinks & Nibbles 5.30pm Class of 2001 – 20 Year Reunion Saturday 18 December La Sardina Loca | Drinks & Nibbles 3pm Book here: trybooking.com/BTYJB
The Friends’ School Torch Magazine has been produced to inform and celebrate the School’s values in action and share news information about our organisation, people and achievements. If you have any feedback or would like to share news, please contact us at stayconnected@friends.tas.edu.au Warm regards, The Friends’ School Community Engagement Office For more stories & updates please visit:
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friends.tas.edu.au
23 Commercial Road North Hobart TAS 7000 Australia +61 3 6210 2200 enquiries@friends.tas.edu.au The Friends’ School Incorporated trading as The Friends’ School. CRICOS Registration No 00477G ABN 34 682 819 626
The Friends’ School is an IB World School.
