Issue 5 - August 2022
From the Principal
Term 3 as always is a very busy one at Hobart College. Staff worked hard on delivering high-quality reports and followed up with Parent Teacher night on Thursday 25 August. In Home Group, staff have been working with Year 11 students to plan their subject choices for 2023. Year 12 students are focused on ‘what next’ for their time when they leave Hobart College. There have been so many events and achievements over the past few months, with many of them featured in this edition of the Newsletter.
Term 4 is very short for students and our focus is on helping all students achieve the goals they set for themselves at the start of the year. All the hard work and preparation from during the year comes together over the next term as students undertaking pre-tertiary subjects are preparing for folios, practical performances, and end-of-year examinations, whilst students on vocational pathways complete the requirements for their certificate programs. Students need to ensure that all work requirements for their courses are completed for final assessments and check with their teachers if they are unsure about any requirements. Students will also be discussing their internal assessments in all subjects with their teachers over the first two weeks of next term.
There are some important dates to be aware of for the rest of this year. Formal classes finish on Monday 7 November. During the week beginning Monday, October 31, pre-tertiary classes will have an exam preparation focus as written examinations begin on Tuesday, November 8until Friday, November 18. Detailed information about all aspects of the final examinations can also be accessed via the link below.
Our goal is for all students to have a successful end to the school year, and we are aware that this time of year can be particularly stressful for some students. The College has a range of support services available to assist students through the tutorial and Home Group programs, and our library and Student Services teams, so please encourage your young person to make the most of all the support available to them.
Wendy Irvine
Acting Principal
Student and Staff Achievements
Congratulations to Hobart College Year 12 student Narryna Nicholas who has won a prestigious Tuckwell Scholarship at ANU for 2023! One of only two Tasmanian recipients, Narryna was selected from a field of over 1,000 applications through a “rigorous process designed to evaluate academic ability, as well as leadership potential, commitment to giving back and strength of character.”
What a fantastic achievement!
ACEL TASMANIAN BRANCH - Annual ACEL Awards
Congratulations to Hobart College staff members Cass Olive and Ros Walker on receiving awards at the 2022 ACEL Awards for Tasmania.
Cass Olive - Early Career Teacher Leadership Award
Ros Walker - Excellence in Educational Leadership Award
YOUNG ARCHIES
Congratulations to the talented Visual Art students Alannah, Ash, Chelsea, Hayward, India, Layla, Molly, and Poppy whose artwork was selected as part of the Young Archies Exhibition this year. Special congratulations to Ash (Years 11-12 Highly Commended Award) and Poppy (Years 11-12 Category Winner) who were presented their awards at UTAS School of Creative Arts Media official opening. The Young Archies Awards is based on the famous Archibald Prize and is an annual portrait competition open to all students in Department of Education schools and colleges.You can see the amazing artwork via a virtual tour which will be available soon on this website:
LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT AWARD
Congratulations to our wonderful Languages department who were recognised for the quality of the language program delivered here at HoCo as part of the Modern Language Teacher Association of Tasmania conference. A fantastic achievement!
TASMANIAN TRAINING AWARDS
These prestigious awards are held every year to showcase the best Vocation in Education students and staff in the state. We are very proud to have the following students and staff member shortlisted as finalists and representing Hobart College on September 7 at a Gala event at Wrest Point.
- Mitch Samin – VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year Award
- Paige Tsiaousis – VET in schools Student of the Year
- Jack Scarborough - VET in schools Student of the Year
- Freya Milic - VET in schools Student of the Year
- Isabelle King - Equity Vocational Student of the Year Award
- Phoebe Johnston - Equity Vocational Student of the Year Award
Congratulations to HoCo HPOE teacher Jo Goldfinch on being presented a Life Membership at the STAS Annual Presentation evening on the weekend. Very special indeed!
Quote and photo courtesy of Surfing Tasmania:
“Huge STAS Annual Presentations night at Clifton Beach SLSC. Very special celebration and presentation of Life Membership to our legend and icon Jo Goldfinch.”
Congratulations to Molly Taplin who was a selected dancer for DRILL Performance Company's presentation of dissolving labels that performed to large audiences in August.
WHAT MATTERS WRITING COMPETITION
Congratulations to Emma Elliot whose written piece "I'm About to ask you to Believe Something Radical" which received a Highly Commended Award in the Years 11 and 12 category of the 2022 What Matters? Tasmania writing competition. The national competition is run by the Whitlam Institute and provides students from around Australia the opportunity to write about what matters to them in society today.
SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to the following students on their sporting achievements:
- Noah Kamprad who set a new Swimming Tasmania state record at the short course time trials in August. Noah set a new 400 free time of 3:51.59 to break the open mens and boys 17yrs record
- Indiana Dalton's selection to compete in the schools swimming championships in July
- Leyroy Harley participation in the State Bouldering Championships
- Emmama Morton and Brodie Nicholson who represented Tasmania at the schools horse riding competition
- Thomas Pearshouse who completed the Kokoda Trail with his Dad
- Thomas Thornton who was selected for the Tasmanian Swimming Team for the School Sports Australia Swimming Championships in Brisbane
- Grace Fabris who participated in the Zone Laser Tag Nationals in Bendigo
- Josh Probert, Harry Tadd, and Lincoln Sigcrist who represented Tasmania in the National Volleyball Championships
- Kaleb Kirkpatrick who was selected for a TIS scholarship for athletics where he is competing in Hammer Throw.
ARTOLOGY Composing Competition
Sensational news for Benji Raymond whose compositions “Universal Galaxies” and “The Leaves of our Ancestors” were selected as winning compositions in the Artology FANFARE and TO COUNTRY competition. What a fantastic achievement! Benji’s work will now be workshopped, performed, and recorded by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
You can hear the pieces and from Benji via the links below.
Learning Area News - HASS
ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY SESSION
We were so fortunate to have Halima A Bhatti and the Tasmanian University Union Muslim Society come and share Arabic calligraphy skills and knowledge with our Studies of Religion class last Friday. Halima is a Tasmanian artist with her venture Aniconic, in which she focuses on the cultural Islamic art of calligraphy, mindfulness, and Islamic spirituality. We learnt how to write our names in Arabic with calligraphy pens, and painted our own Arabic calligraphy artwork, illustrating messages of peace, love, and grace that is of significance to Islam. It was an enriching cultural experience and a relaxing afternoon.
VET TOURISM - Student Organised and Led Tours
Tour 1 - Sophie and Bowie - Domain and Hobart City
Sophie and Bowie created a very busy tour around the Domain and Hobart starting at Government House with a private tour of the State Rooms with Gemma and Brian. What a beautiful building Government House is with gardens, artwork, antique furniture, and fittings. The class was even offered to apply for hospitality positions with the Head Butler.
From there, Sophie & Bowie led us to the Botanical Gardens to partake in a tour led by Esther. The history and beauty of the gardens really came to life with the way Esther led the tour and described interesting features. Our next stop was the Soldiers Walk where our guides explained the stories of some of our veterans who did not return from war.
Lastly, a tour of the Maritime Museum in the Carnegie Building on Argyle Street, which was in fact Hobart's first library until 1967. This is another amazing Old Hobart Building that is packed full of maritime history, including the reconstructed Captain of the HMAS Derwent’s Personal Cabins and memorabilia of the Tasman Bridge Disaster in 1975.
It was a great tour, well led by two mature, organised, and motivated students! Thanks Sophie and Bowie!
Tour 2 - Matilda and Emma aka "The Hawaiian Guides" - Campania and Richmond
On Thursday 11 August, two Hawaiian Guides took the Tourism class on a guided tour of Campania and Richmond. Our guides Matilda and Emma both dressed up to create a party feel for our tour through the bus game Road Runner and singing to the tour group.
We started the tour at Coal River Farm, where Matilda had booked a table for us for coffee and treats. From there, we went to Richmond where our Hawaiian guides led us on a walking tour to the oldest bridge in Australia and to St John’s Catholic Church, before guiding us around the Richmond Goal with everyone trying to complete the historical quiz provided.
Next was lunch at the Richmond bakery and a visit to the iconic lolly shop before walking down Bridge Street to admire the convict buildings including Oak Lodge and the Granary followed by a brief tour of the Richmond Maze and Botanica before heading off to Wicked Cheese for ice-cream.
Our last stop was at the impressive Frogmore Creek Vineyard, to admire their beautiful restaurant and their $160,000 living Art instillation created by Tom Samek, which is a wood carving on the floor and tells the history of winemaking in Tasmania from the convict era to today's award-winning Tasmanian wine industry.
Fantastic fun and informative tour Hawaiian guides! Thanks, Matilda and Emma!
Tour 3 - Paige and Xabi - Huon Valley
Thursday 25 August and Spring arrived just in time for Paige & Xabi’s tour to the Huon Valley. The first stop in the jampacked itinerary was Home Hill Winery for a private tour with the founder and owner, Terry Bennett, who started this wonderful vineyard 24 years ago. One of his Pinot Noir vintages has even won the best Red Wine in Australia Award, so, the class had a first-class lesson in what it takes to create, cellar, bottle, market, and sell wine. Terry and his daughter Kelly also explained what it takes to run a restaurant, wine cellar, and outdoor events centre.
Next on the itinerary was Willie Smith Cider Shed where manager Kate explained the philosophy of the ‘organic Willie Smith Cider’, restaurant and events business. This business is another success story of the Huon area that demonstrates what Tasmanian Tourism and hospitality is all about.
Our last stop was very ‘unique’ and never done by any previous VET tourism student; a trout fishing lesson on a private farm out past Judbury. Xabi, a sponsored Trout fisherman who wishes to one day to become a Trout guide, demonstrated to the class how to catch a trout ‘in the wild’.
The tour also included class quizzes with prizes en route, and a fantastic soundtrack for all to sing along to on the bus!! A wonderful tourism celebration of Spring in the Huon! Thanks Paige and Xabi.
THA EXPO TASTAFE DRYSDALE HOUSE EXCURSION
On July 26, the VET Certificate II in Kitchen Operations, Hospitality, and Tourism classes attended the Tasmanian Hotels Association (THA) Expo held at TasTAFE Drysdale House. The Expo included practical sessions on barista, cookery, and mocktails as well as general information sessions. The ability to use the Drysdale campus was a perfect environment for our students to experience these tutorials, instructed by local industry representatives, as there was plenty of space and equipment for each student to test and refine their skills.
A big thank you to Roger O’Meagher at the THA for organising such a comprehensive, engaging, and informative expo.
Learning Area News - STEAM
FESTIVAL OF BRIGHT IDEAS
Hobart College attended this year’s festival with a range of activities and displays from our STEAM students. The activities included building circuits, making hologram projectors, a “guess the glassware” challenge, and lots of computer games and robots. Thanks to everyone who volunteered to help out over the two days – particularly students Grace Ren, Noelle Harradine, Neth Warusapperuma, Hannah Mendel, Lucy Lee, Nick Carmichael, Emily Fast, Minh Vo, Tessa Shea, Cailean Treloyn, Darcy Willis, Maya Kukola, Ewan Michelin and Laura Edwards, and staff members Dom Monypenny, Cass Olive and Paul Anderson.
NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK
This year’s school's theme for National Science Week was Glass: More than meets the eye. Students participated in a huge range of themed activities during Home Group in Science Week, including melting glass to make art, admiring (and in some cases wearing) a full-size hang glider, our augmented reality sandbox, melting bismuth to make crystals, cooking marshmallows with a mirror, VR, beading, kaleidoscopes, stained glass biscuits, films and more. Thanks to everyone who participated and organised the activities.
NATURE THROUGH THE LENS PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
To celebrate National Science Week STEAM ran a photography competition. We received a huge number of entries and the winning photographs are currently on display in the Little Space Gallery off the Red Square. Congratulations to students Nicholas Carmichael (5 winning photographs), Zarian Simcox (3 winning photographs), and Ruby Saunders (2 winning photographs taken with a microscope). Other prize-winning students were Murray Kelman, Ella Kelly, Jamie McDougall, Scarlett Clarke, Leila Middleton, Luke Smith, Molly Taplin, Xavier Lynch, Euan Gullick. The winning teachers were Anita Johansson-Wong and Ruth Downham.
Prizes were provided by local businesses Stallards Camera House, Find Your Feet, UTAS, and TasMap – thank you very much to these organisations for lending us your support.
NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK – GOVERNMENT HOUSE RECEPTION
On 15 August, year 12 students Lourdas Gavaghan and Yuvani Pal and staff members Dom Monypenny and Marjorie Morgan, went to Government House for the annual event held there to mark National Science Week in southern Tasmania. Lourdas and Yuvani represented Hobart College proudly and talked to lots of interesting people. It is organised by Elizabeth College and the who’s who of Science in Tasmania is invited – including lots of established and emerging scientists, school students & teachers from around Hobart, politicians plus of course the Governor.
Learning Area News - Music
SONGMAKERS
What an honor and privilege it was to work with three music industry heavy-weights in the SongMakers workshop run by APRA/AMCOS. Students were empowered to write a song in a day and work with industry producers to create high-quality demos the next day. Thank you to Joel Quatermain (Eskimo Joe), Elle Graham (Woodes) & Lily Richardson (CLEWS) for all the inspiration you provided to our wonderful songwriting students. Thank you to SongMakers for making this happen for us and schools across the country.
Listen to the songs below.
Songmakers Photo Gallery
TINY DESK
Congratulations to VET students Marco and Owen on their 'Tiny Desk Concert' concept which involved showcasing the band 'MP' last week. The performance was professionally recorded and filmed for future release. The concert was so successful that the format has been adopted to feature other bands. On Thursday we were treated to a fantastic performance by ‘Capo on the Belt Buckle’. We will now aim to alternate Tiny Desk concerts featuring specific bands, along with our normal open mic concerts on the Red Square. Thanks Marco and Owen for producing this great show.
HOT AUGUST JAZZ
The Hobart College House Band and Extension Band participated in the highly popular Hot August Jazz festival performing at the Uniting Church, Room for a Pony, and Brooke Street Pier. The bands have been working on some challenging swing, funk, and Latin repertoire and wowed their audiences with an entertaining performance.
UPCOMING MUSIC EVENTS
End of Year Music Concert: Wednesday September 7, 6:00pm-9pm
Hobart College Performing Arts will soon be presenting the final music showcase concert before students' end-of-year recitals in Fourth Term.
This will be a great night of music featuring a range of genres, as our pre-tertiary performers present pieces that inspire and challenge them. The concert will also feature performances from the Vocal Ensemble, Hobart College House Band, and Combined schools Concert Band.
Come along to see our performers strive for excellence in what promises to be an entertaining evening.
Free entry - optional gold coin donation appreciated.
Olinda Groove: Thursday September 8, 6:00-9:00 pm
It is the goal of Olinda Groove Records to showcase new emerging talent. We have a great night in store, full of great tunes across many contemporary genres (rock, indie, pop, metal, funk), in the Mt Nelson Theatre.
Come along and enjoy being entertained by these talented performers!
Free entry - optional gold coin donation appreciated
Announcement of Musical for 2023
Hobart College is proud to announce the College Musical for 2023 is 12 time Tony Award nominated production and Hobart premiere, "The SpongeBob Musical". Coming to the Mount Nelson Theatre in May 2023!!
Waterpolo success
Hobart College Water Polo Teams – Grand Final Successes – Friday 8 July
Hobart College entered a full Girls Water Polo Team into Water Polo Tasmania Schools Competition in an attempt to win back-to-back premierships, after winning in 2021.
After a 12-game season, the Hobart College Girls team only lost one game and went on to defeat GYC 10 goals to 3 in the Grand Final. Congratulations to all players on defending the premiership title in a convincing and ‘true sport’ fashion.
Special mention to Anne Poynter who won the Jo Cuthbert award for Best Player in the grand final and the Most Valuable Player award for the season. Congratulations must also go to Elma Brica who came second in the Most Valuable Player Award for the season.
The Hobart College Boys team consisted of 5 players this year who were split to help the other Colleges make teams to enter the College Boys competition. Three players joined Rosny College and two players joined Guildford Young College.
In a strange twist, the Rosny/Hobart College team met the GYC/Hobart College team in the grand final in a very tight and entertaining contest with the Rosny/Hobart team winning 5 goals to 4. Congratulations to the HoCo students involved and for your endeavours in the 2022 season.
Artist in Residence - Rob O'Connor
Hello, this is Robert O’Connor. I have been working as an artist in residence at Hobart College as part of the Arts Tasmania Education Residency Program of 2022.
For four months I used the Little Space Gallery as my studio, making new work that will be exhibited at Moonah Arts Centre in November.
As a Hobart College alumnus [2001-02], it was a strange feeling to return, like a strange nostalgia or something. Last time I was here kids were wearing baggy corduroy and Friends was on Tv, so that bit hasn’t changed. To be honest, I’m not sure what I was expecting. Something like that Michelle Pfifer movie ‘Dangerous Minds’ except with a bunch of disaffected, tech-addicted kids. The thing that shocked me was that it wasn’t like that at all. From the moment I moved in, students – independent of their teachers telling them to – have been nothing but kind, curious, welcoming, and hilarious. They have shown me their sketchbooks, shared their interests, asked good questions, and given me ideas when I have run out of my own. I guess my job here has not been to “teach” exactly but to show what an artist does, which is not just sitting around all day, but working. Being an artist involves a lot of testing out of ideas, a lot of problem-solving, and a lot of confronting ideas and things that are difficult or don’t make a lot of sense. I hope that through demonstrating this, it is clear that these skills are useful in life, whether you become a full-time artist or not. Lateral thinking, poetic stuff, testing ideas, and spending a few hours a day off the internet – these are all things that are good for you, and this is what looking at weird confusing art can give you. And that’s why art is such a weird thing to teach. There is no real right or wrong, all that matters is being interested and the energy with which you do the thing.
Right now, I am heat exhausted and have to go see the Bastille Day fireworks. I am really looking forward to returning to Hobart College in September and seeing what everyone has been making.
College Lap
The College Lap is only 4 weeks away!
This year, we are raising money for the valuable work Red Cross does in organising volunteers for their Be a Mate program which is a befriending program for people struggling with mental health.
Social connections are vital to mental health and one in five Australians are suffering from a diagnosable mental health condition in any one year. These are people at your school and in your family. The MATES program is a unique Tasmanian Red Cross program that aims to reduce loneliness in our community by forming friendships and linking participants to fun and fulfilling community activities. Volunteers and participants in MATES are matched based on similar interests and values and form a friendship that both find really rewarding. This alliance gives our participants the confidence to step out further into the community and engage (or re-engage) in things they find fun and bring them fulfillment. At MATES we aim to get rid of the stigma around mental health and ensure that people suffering do not feel alone. Funds you raise support our work by increasing opportunities for MATES participants to engage in quality community activities.
We will be collecting gold coin donations on the day and you can buy a sausage or veggie burger after the event with gold coins or Eftpos or pay to have the chance of dunking a teacher.
You can show your support by wearing RED and there will be a prize for the best-dressed home group. It doesn’t matter if you are a serious athlete or not, it is mainly about fun, having a go, and supporting a good cause.
Around the College
In August, we welcomed 8 new international students to Hobart College. A big HoCo welcome to:
- Matilde - Argentina
- Lynn - Switzerland
- Constanze - Germany
- Tommaso - Italy
- Sophia - Germany
- Sofia - Chile
- Luisa - Brazil
- Maya - Germany
HOME GROUP QUIZ
With close to 50 HGs participating in the HG Quiz, both on the Red Square and via TEAMS, congratulations to Home Group 8 (Caitlyn) who were the overall winners for 2022!
Congrats also to HG38 (Mitch) who took out the "recreate the photo" for extra points and to everyone who participated!
- 1st – Caitlyn Richardson HG 8
- 2nd – Alisha Watkins HG 40, team name was “The Tree Huggers”
- 3rd – Dan Brooks HG 45, Jo Goldfinch HG42, Ros Walker HG 14 “The Athenians with Citizenship”
Photo winners were:
- 1st - HG 38 Mitch Samin
- 2nd – HG 46 Jenny Dudgeon
- 3rd – HG 52 Courtney Thirgood
HOMELESSNESS WEEK
During Homelessness Week, Student Services held a lunch for students on the Red Square to promote awareness for homelessness week and to help raise awareness for Tasmanians living rough.
SET and STEINER HOME GROUP EXCURSION
Students from the Student Environment Team and Steiner Home Groups visited the Hobart Recycling centre to get the low down on managing recycling in Hobart from Resource Coop Networks education officer Lisa Cawthen.
HOBART COLLEGE BOOK WEEK
The Hobart College Library and HoCo community embraced 2022 Book Week in style, especially those who came along as their favourites book characters on Wednesday 24 August. There were so many fantastic costumes wandering the halls of the college which made the judging very difficult. Congratulations to Oscar for his Zaphad Beeblebrox from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy costume and to everyone else who participated. Planning is already underway for Book Week 2023!
General Notices
Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey
The well-being of our students is important to us - we want to hear how students feel, and think, about different things going on in their lives.
Students at Hobart College will be taking part in the Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey. The results from this survey will help us get a picture of the current well-being of our students, and what we can do to improve future well-being for learning. The more students who take part, the clearer our picture will be.
The Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey is part of the Department of Education’s Child and Student Wellbeing Strategy.
The details for the survey are:
When: During Home Group, Wednesday 7th September
Who: Students enrolled at Hobart College
What do I need to do: You and your child don’t need to do anything. The survey will be done in class time and will not require your child to prepare in any way.
A letter with more information has been sent home with Term 3 Reports, including Frequently Asked Questions and a form to sign and return to the school if you do not want your child to participate in the survey.
If you would like further information, please contact Cam Lynch (03) 6220 3133 or email: cam.lynch@education.tas.gov.au
Thank you for supporting us to ensure that all our learners are safe, feel supported, and are able to flourish, so they can engage in learning.
Useful COVID-19 information for families
If you’re looking for practical advice and information about COVID-19 in Tasmania, Public Health has released its COVID-19 winter update.
For more information about COVID-19, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or the Department of Education COVID-19 Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 816 057.
If you need support translating or interpreting this information, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.
Help shape a new school attendance campaign
The Department of Education is doing a public awareness campaign to show why it's important to go to school every day.
This will include a television commercial, and advertising on buses, radio, and social media.
We want to get your feedback on a campaign idea.
Please give us your honest thoughts by filling out this short survey.
REACH OUT
Reach Out has provided some fantastic resources for young people and families on a range of topics.
TASC EOY Exam Timetable
Entertainment Book
Support the Hobart College Breakfast Club by purchasing an Entertainment Book.
Community Noticeboard
Hobart Kendo Club
The Hobart Kendo Club (HKC) competed in the recent Victorian Kendo Championships held in Melbourne on the 13-14 August. Three states(Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania) competed in the championships. The club achieved a great result.
HKC won second place in the Team competition and third place in the Men’s Individuals and Veterans competition.
It also won two Fighting Spirit awards!
Hobart Kendo Club trains at Hobart College on Tuesday 7 pm and Thursday 7 pm and welcomes anyone interested in trying out Kendo - a traditional Japanese martial art.
