Hobart College eNewsletter

From the Principal

The conclusion of Term 1 always feels like such an achievement because so much work for the year occurs in those first precious months. We see students settle into classes, connect with their teachers, become familiar with the campus, and really begin to challenge themselves in all the ways that the college encourages. The volume of excursions, performances and activities that occur alongside learning in classrooms is breathtaking – sometimes literally. Patterns of study, engagement, participation, and attendance begin to be cemented, so if you feel as a family, a staff member, or a student, that you can support a learner to improve then we are here to help make that happen. Over this extended first term break, reflect on what you need to do to achieve your very best, think about the supports you might need, and get ready for Term 2.

The Awards Evening on March 29 was brilliant. Our guest speaker, Dr Lewis Johnson, graduate of Hobart College and UTas, was awarded intern of the year in 2022 and has been researching MS, and paediatric haematology/oncology. His big message was about how he appreciated the teachers at Hobart College and how graduates in his medical intake from the college showed greater skills in grit, support of each other and study. Congratulations to all the students who were recognised for their academic, sporting, and cultural achievements in 2022. Highlights included acknowledging the 19 students who were in the list of top 100 TCE achievers in the State, the 59 students who achieved an Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking (ATAR) over 95, and the 154 students who achieved a Perfect Score in their pre-tertiary subject. Eight students received the prestigious TASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Academic Program, and nine students were awarded an Outstanding Achievement in a VET program. There were also several special awards which focused on attributes such as leadership, character, service to the community and personal excellence. Please see the full list of prize winners in the official program later in this Newsletter. Inara and Sam did a great job of MCing – wonderful humour and eloquence.

The AGM of the School Association was held recently, and the 2023 Committee consists of:

Chairperson - Marc Ransome
Deputy Chairperson – Lisa Monro
Secretary - TBC
Committee Members - Janine Brookes, Virginia Eddleston, Jen Poynter, Warren Lashmar, Ben Goodsir, and Max McGuire
Staff Members – Craig Freeman, Trish Rowley

I look forward to working with the new Committee and welcoming other parents to the meetings over this year as we share our vision for continued excellence for every learner and consider how we might gain external funding to support facility improvement.

Finally, my first day back on campus was on Monday of the last week of Term 1, after my medical journey. I continue to be grateful for all the support, particularly to Mandy Reynolds-Smith and Assistant Principal team who held a steady course at the College in my absence. I was able to work from home due to the collaborative relationships that exists as an essential part of school leadership. This is my key message: we don’t achieve our goals alone. Families are key partners in learning regardless of the age of the learner – I loved it that my parents were part of my PhD journey with cups of tea and encouragement (I was 50 when I got my doctorate)! Please continue to chat with your young people about turning up, working hard and most especially, what it is they wish to achieve. Remember, research through survey has shown that the people with the greatest impact on senior secondary study choices were parents and guardians followed closely by teachers and then friends. To further help parents to access information to support their young people, TASC has a dedicated section of their website at www.tasc.tas.gov.au/parents/ which I would encourage you to access. The page has links to useful online resources to assist with course and career planning such as Careerify, Anything Can Happen and the TCE Course Planner. It even has a section on how to remain calm for exams (I wish we had this resource when I was in year 11/12 – actually, I wish we’d had the internet)!

Enjoy reading about the many achievements of our school community in this edition of the Newsletter and I hope you all have a happy, safe and relaxing Easter holiday!

Dr Libby Robinson

Acting Principal

Important Dates for the Calendar

25/05/2023 to 3/06/2023 - College Musical Season
30/05/2023 - Parent/Teacher Evening
13/06/2023 - College Association Meeting
22/06/2023 - Year 10 Taster Day - Study at Home Day
23/06/2023 to 30/06/2023 - Midyear Assessment Period
7/07/2023 - End of Term 2

Awards Evening

On Wednesday 29 March, Hobart College held its annual Awards Evening to celebrate our 2022 students and their academic, sporting and cultural achievements. Congratulations to all our award winners. It was a wonderful night full of proud moments for our community.

The Occasional Address was presented by Hobart College Alumnus, Dr Lewis Johnson, who spoke fondly of his time at HoCo and how it set him up for success at medical school. Our wonderful compares, Inara and Sam, kept the evening running smoothly.

Hobart College would like to officially acknowledge the Dux for 2022, jointly awarded to Mackenna Minstrell and Akihiro who both scored an ATAR of 99.95, and the Year 11 Dux for 2022, Jemima Baghurst who achieved perfect scores in all 4 of her pre-tertiary subjects.

You can access the official program here:

Awards Evening Program 2023.pdf

Award Recipients - Photo Gallery (Richard Jupe Photography)

The SpongeBob Musical hits the stage on May 25 - June 3 @ Mt Nelson Theatre

The countdown is on! It's almost showtime for our spectacular production of The SpongeBob Musical. The cast, crew, and orchestra are working tirelessly to bring this beloved animated TV show to life on stage. It's a show that's sure to delight both young and old, with catchy songs from eclectic legacy musicians, energetic choreography, colourful sets, and imaginative costumes that transport the audience to a vibrant underwater world.

SpongeBob SquarePants, the show's central character, is a cheerful and optimistic sea sponge who, along with his best friend Patrick, sets out to save their underwater world from destruction. The musical is a heart-warming tale of friendship, creativity, and the power of optimism in the face of adversity. It's a story that's sure to leave audiences of all ages feeling entertained and inspired.

We're thrilled to announce that ticket sales are now open through trybooking. You can secure your seats for this production by visiting the link:

The SpongeBob Musical - tickets

So mark your calendars, tell your friends and family, and join us for an unforgettable evening of entertainment. We look forward to seeing you there!

Check out the "behind the scenes" ad by clicking on the link below.

The Spongebob Musical - Ad

The SpongeBob Musical - Cast and Band

Working with Andy Vagg

HoCo is super excited to be working with local Tasmanian artist, Andy Vagg, as artistic advisor for the college production of The SpongeBob Musical, and he doesn't hide his love for rubbish!

The SpongeBob cast and crew have been challenged to change the way they look at rubbish, and working alongside Andy, they are learning about how they can change their relationship with post-consumer materials and give them a new lease on life. The entire set of The SpongeBob Musical utilises materials and objects we would normally recycle or throw away as props and installations within the set.

Thanks Andy, for your amazing philosophy on rubbish and your wonderful sense of humour as we bring SpongeBob to life in the Mount Nelson Theatre.

You can find out more about Andy on his website: https://www.andyvagg.com/

Harmony Day Big Breakfast

On Wednesday 5 April, we celebrated HoCo’s Harmony Week with a big breakfast. It was a wonderful way to come together and celebrate Term 1. There was lots of smiles and laughter all round, all while we filled our bellies with some wholesome food to get the day started.

Sam Marsh

Congratulations to Sam who won the Whip Off at the HIGHLINE Mountain Biking Festival 2023 in Victoria, against some of the best riders in Australia!

Leyla Sharmen – Mountain Bike Festival NZ

Congratulations to Leyla Sharmen who successfully competed in the Highline Mountain Bike Festival in New Zealand. Over the course of the festival, Leyla achieved two firsts and a second.

Lochlan Mott

Read this great article featured in The Mercury recently about Lochlan Mott and his selection as one of three Tasmanian’s to represent Australia in the Roller Derby World Cup in France in July.

Hobart College Students Storm Stand-Up Comedy Competition

On Wednesday 29 March, at the state Class Clowns comedy competition, five HoCo students (including Mika Hosking, Jet Cyngler, Noah Gladdish, and Oscar Wadsley) delivered incredibly funny stand-up comedy routines to an enraptured audience. The budding comics killed so hard that one disgruntled audience member was overheard bitterly muttering the phrase, “How can they be this good? They’re so young, this is so unfair.”

Mika Hosking won the competition and is now off to Melbourne to compete in the Class Clowns national final as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. We wish her the best of luck - although she and the other participants are winners already (seriously, how can they be this good?!)

HoCo Chess Success

“I personally know the other competitors that attended the last tournament and I know how keen they are in attending more tournaments and hopefully the state tournament which we qualified for. Everyone is practicing regularly in hope of performing better in the future. I have had a great time getting to know the other team members as well as representing my school in something I consider myself good at.” – Ben Du Bois

“The Hobart College Chess Team, who engage in weekly meetings every Thursday at lunch time, recently had the pleasure of participating in the inter school chess championship taking place at St Aloysius Catholic College. The team, composed of 12 students and led by the maths magician Ron McGuiness (though we’re always looking for more players!) of all skill levels, arrived at the school near 9:30 in the morning and were led to the school gymnasium which had been transformed into a chess paradise. Gone were any basketballs or scoreboards that one might expect to find in a gym, as they had been replaced with countless chess boards and timers that the students could utilise to hone their chess skills before the first of seven matches took place. Not only was this a great time to warm up for the championship, but it also granted us the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with our opponents and any team members that we didn’t speak to regularly.

Divided into primary and secondary divisions, the first match of the day was entirely randomised, meaning anyone had the opportunity to snag a victory. This allowed those running the championship to determine the competitors' skill levels and allocate their opponents accordingly, ensuring that as the matches went on each student was playing against someone with roughly the same amount of experience. Many students from Hobart College quickly climbed to the top of the ladder, with every student having at least one victory, and if anyone finished their match early it was not uncommon to see them on the other side of the room exhibiting their unwavering support for their fellow teammates. The chess tournament was more than an exercise in our chess skills, as it also served as an opportunity to build camaraderie and develop an understanding of who our teammates were as people rather than just passing faces that you see in the library every week. Such displays of allyship eventually accumulated in a victory for Hobart College, with our team earning more points than any other school present that day, something that we are determined to achieve once again at the next stage of the tournament during Term 2.” – Raegan Munro

State Athletics Championships

Congratulations to the following athletes who competed at the Tasmanian State Athletics Championships in Launceston recently:

Oliver Vince: Gold U/20 Men’s Shot Put, Gold in Men’s U/20 Discus, Gold U/20 Men’s Javelin
Nathan Hippel: Gold U/18 Pole Vault
Alex Hanigan: Final of Open Men’s 800m
Jacob Gardner: Gold in U/18 800m, Final Men’s Open 1500m
Isaac Bonsey: Final Men’s Open 1500m,
Felix Wilkins: Final Men’s U/20 200m
Emily Best: Silver Women’s U/20 800m, Final of U/20 400m
Liam Dawson: Final Men’s U/18 100m and 200m
Max Perkin: resting up for Nationals.
Henry Diggle: Gold Men’s U/8 1500m, Bronze Men’s U/18 800m
Sam Brownlow: Gold 400m Hurdles, Silver men’s U/18 Long Jump
Anna Smee: State W50 records in 800m and 1500m

📸Holly Smee

Congratulations to the following Hobart College students who competed in the State Gymnastics Championships recently:

Madi McCulloch
Avah Hughes
Tristan Styles
River Mallam
Billy French
Riley Fenn
Jude Coburn
Dylan Crack (for trampoline)

Dylan is the junior international men overall champion and Madi is the junior international women overall champion.

Debating News

Debating kicked off on Wednesday 22 March with HoCo hosting the Novice and College competitions. The topic for debate was “The Voice to Parliament” and our three teams examined the issues around the referendum during lunchtime meetings.

HoCo 1 argued against the proposition “That the voice to parliament would be good for Australia” and were convincing winners against Guilford Young College 2. HoCo 2 argued for the proposition: “That, as Anthony Albanese, we would resign if the voice to parliament does not pass” and were successful against Collegiate 1. Unfortunately, Friends 1 were forced to forfeit to HoCo 3.

Our next debates will take place on April 5 when we will be focusing on Healthcare: patients’ access to information.

Congratulations to Chelsea March, Grace Gregson and Zara Fenton who have all been selected in the Tasmanian team.

Learning Area News - HASS

Studies in Religion

Studies of Religion 3 created their own sand mandala, as inspired by the incredible designs in the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana monastic practices. Students included imagery related to enlightenment (bodhi) and the Buddha through sand creations of lotus flowers, geometric designs to represent the Noble Eightfold Path, the Vajra (with diamonds and thunderbolts), and the Whirlwind of Existence (samsara).

The colours chosen and the directions of the designs also link toward different concepts within Buddhist philosophy. It looked stunning upon completion, until we then heartbreakingly had to dismantle the beautiful mandala! The destruction process of the students’ hard work symbolised concepts of emptiness (sunyata), and the Three Marks of Existence: suffering (dukkha), non-self (anatta) and impermanence (anicca). We certainly felt a desire (tanha) towards keeping our beautiful designs forever, and the process of dismantling was a good reminder that nothing will last forever. The mandala will live on through photos for now!

Geography students have been looking at sustainable solutions to a range of urban challenges facing Australia. To help them with their investigations the Geography class have been making site visits to hear from the Hobart City Council and Kingborough Council staff about the ways these challenges are being tackled in our local areas. Some of the topics being investigated include the provision of stormwater infrastructure, traffic congestion, urban heat island effect, lack of affordable housing, and waste management.

Learning Area News - HPOE

Outdoor Expedition – Southern Forests

The final Expedition trip for Term 1 was a walking and rafting trip based in the Southern Forests. Over 20 students headed to Hartz National Park to set up camp after an afternoon walk around Lake Esperance and Lake Osbourne in cool, wet Autumnal conditions. After dinner, students gathered around a fire to sing accompanied by guitar. Saturday was April Fool’s Day, and it was also a great day for rafting with a good level of water in the Picton River with mild weather and intermittent sunshine. Students were able to swap between three big rafts practicing their paddling and guiding skills and three small double rafts. The rafters were supported by two members of the HPOE staff in kayaks. Between rapids there were several pirate and Viking raids between rafts and very few were safe from the marauders.

Outdoor Ed and Expedition Class – Clifton Beach and Freycinet National Park

HoCo Outdoor Education and Expedition classes have been busy in Term 1 with excursions to a range of locations including surfing at Clifton Beach and bushwalking at Freycinet National Park. There's no better way to learn!

Fitness Competition

Hobart College will hold a fitness competition “The College Total” which will be held on Wednesday 24 May. Students are invited to find out what their overall strength is in an inclusive and supportive environment. The competition will be run from 10.40am till 12.50pm.

It involves adding up the total weight lifted through a back squat movement and an overhead press, plus the total amount of strict pull ups you can complete. There will be female and male divisions.

For further information see the Athlete Development team in F block in early Term 2.

HPOE Photo Gallery

Ristumeikan High School Visit

From Monday 6 through to Thursday 9 March, Hobart College welcomed 40 students and three teachers from Japan as part of a short study tour, co-organised by GETI (Government Education and Training International). The students came to us from Ristuimeikan Moriyama High School, about 40 kilometres from Kyoto, Japan. Ristumeikan High School students come to Tasmania every year, with this being their 10th visit, after a two-year hiatus due to COVID. After spending four days at Cradle Mountain, studying the flora and fauna of Tasmania, students were picked up by host families at Hobart College on Saturday 4 March. Host families included staff and students from Hobart College, as well as local families. The Ristumeikan High School students reported their time with their host families as an extremely valuable learning experience where friendships were made and strange food (vegemite!) was eaten.

At Hobart College, after a welcome speech by Hobart College’s Acting Principal, Mandy Reynolds-Smith and a school tour conducted by HoCo’s student leadership team, the students were welcomed into various classes to see what education was like for Tasmanian students. They also visited the Marine Discovery Centre, in Woodbridge, as well as our own Sustainability Learning Centre. On Tuesday, Ristumeikan students were joined by HoCo’s Japanese students at lunchtime for a language exchange. The study tour culminated in Ritsumeikan students giving a presentation of their findings during their time in Tasmania. The presentations were attended by Hobart College students and host families, with the Ristumeikan students leaving with much more than the certificates they received.

A huge thank you to host families, GETI staff, HoCo students and HoCo staff that were integral in making sure this year’s study tour was a success

Launch Concerts a great success!

We extend our warmest congratulations to all the young performers who took part in the launch concert for Performing Arts and Olinda Groove! The event was a true showcase of the outstanding talents of our students, who displayed an impressive standard of work. We are thrilled to see such a high level of talent, especially so early in the year.

The audience was treated to a diverse range of performances, including a taster of the SpongeBob Musical, a rousing performance by the house band, who will be representing the school at the upcoming Generations in Jazz festival in Mt Gambier, and a strong vocal ensemble who are working towards their show in the Festival of Voices held later this year.

The Olinda Groove concert celebrated the success of our contemporary performers and songwriters, and we were treated to some creative original music as well as some intricate and entertaining covers!

We are immensely proud of all the performers who took part in the launch concerts, and we would like to thank them for their hard work and dedication in preparing for the event. We look forward to seeing them continue to grow and develop their talents in the coming months. Congratulations once again to all involved!

Music Showcase Photo Gallery

Our UTAS music class vocalists recently had an incredible opportunity to participate in a workshop with two of Australia's most outstanding contemporary singers, Lindsay Field and Lisa Edwards. This took place at the state-of-the-art facility Hedberg with participants from other schools in the region. Lindsay and Lisa, who worked as backup vocalists for John Farnham for most of his career, shared their expertise and experience with our students, providing a valuable learning opportunity. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr Andrew Legg, Coordinator for University Connections Program at UTAS, for organising this unforgettable event for our students

Drama shows take the stage

Congratulations to our talented drama performers on their outstanding productions of 'Same' presented by Theatre Performance and 'A Dream Play' presented by Drama 3.

'Same' explored themes of identity and individuality, following the story of a young person struggling to find their place in the world. With impressive acting, innovative staging, and powerful writing, the production was a thought-provoking exploration of the challenges faced by many young people today.

'A Dream Play' took audiences on a journey through a surreal and dreamlike world, examining the complexities of the human experience. The students involved in the production showcased their exceptional acting skills, bringing the characters to life in a way that left audiences mesmerised.

Both productions were a testament to the hard work and dedication of our drama students, and tech crew who spent countless hours rehearsing and preparing for the shows. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and know that these performances will be remembered for years to come.

We would like to extend our thanks to our drama teachers, Jeff Michel and Rowan Harris who guided and inspired our students throughout the rehearsal process, as well as Lyndon Bounday who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring the productions to life. Congratulations once again to all involved in these outstanding productions!

HoCo UTAS Songwriting class spent two days taking part in the SongMakers program, working with visiting mentors Katie Wighton, Jackson Phelan and Asti Holz. The workshops focussed on songwriting techniques with the orginal pieces recorded and produces in just two days.

Learning Area News - Technology

Textiles

Design and Production Level 2 Textiles students are busy finishing up their fabric containers. So much creativity!

The Brief: Design and make a fabric container to store, hold, or carry small items. During this unit of work textiles students immersed themselves in the field of product design. Each student identified a real-world problem to solve, determined the context of the problem and designed a made a solution to meet this need.

Students investigated examples of existing products with a similar function, conducted paper and fabric prototyping to test and trial their ideas, made their own paper patterns and learnt the sewing machine skills and hand sewing techniques they needed to realise their design. Students experienced a true design process; complete with the adjusting and modifying initial design ideas and solving production problems when things didn’t quite go according to plan! From crochet hook holders to makeup bags, cross body skate satchels to card holders, pencil cases to laptop sleeves, art caddies, handbags, clutches and wallets, all students deserve to be very proud of their finished product. Student fabric containers are on display in the library until the end of Week 2, Term 2 so don’t take our word for it… come and experience the awesomeness for yourself!

Gourmet creations were on the menu in the commercial kitchen as part of the Big Cook Off in the last week of Term 1. Congratulations to everyone involved - there were certainly some amazing creations that would put MKR to shame. They looked too good to eat!

Learning Area News - Visual Arts

Bunnies and Flowers Winners

The HoCo annual Bunnies and Flowers art competition was held at the end of Term 1 with an amazing array of art work and mediums. Congratulations to all who entered. A special congratulations to Bianca Severini who took our first prize as voted by staff and students.

Sexual Health Workshop

Recently the SHN Lyndell ran sexual health workshops in health studies with teacher Ange Zonno.

The highlight of the session was attempting to beat the record of 82 tennis balls in a condom, unfortunately, the students fell short with a total of 65, great effort and lots of fun.

Safeguarding Lead appointment

Hobart College has recently appointed Keith Turnbull as our first Safeguarding Lead.

Safeguarding Leads have been appointed in all Tasmanian state schools to help ensure all children and young people in Tasmania are known, safe, well and learning.

Keith, as a part of our fabulous Student Support Team, will support the wellbeing of all our students and help us all understand that keeping children and young people safe is everyone’s responsibility.

For further information on Safeguarding in Schools please click here:

Safeguarding Children - DECYP

TASC Updates

TASC Academic Integrity Policy

Hobart College is keen to enhance our students' understanding of academic integrity. To provide guidance on what academic integrity is and the roles and responsibilities everyone has for upholding academic integrity, TASC has developed an Academic Integrity Policy (PDF, 104 KB).

The Policy includes information about actions that are a breach of academic integrity (such as copying, collusion, contract cheating, inappropriate paraphrasing and referencing, plagiarism and recycling) and the potential consequences of a breach of academic integrity.

The Policy applies to all Tasmanian students undertaking TASC-accredited courses. This includes level 1, 2, 3 and 4 courses.

Want to know more? In the first instance, talk with your teacher.

Additional Resources include:

Checking out TASC's Academic integrity webpage.
Looking up the externally assessed folio-based courses (if you are studying one of these), which detail their course-specific academic integrity requirements in their External Assessment Specifications. Due dates for folios and Practical Presentations can be found at 2023 Folio Practical Presentation Oral and Display External Assessment Dates (tasc.tas.gov.au)

Checking your 2023 Course Enrolment is on Track

Will you get your TCE?

As students fully settle into their courses for the year, they may want to double check that their 2023 plans will get them where they want to go. Below is a summary of useful TASC resources students can use.

Using the TCE Planner

Students can use the TCE course planner to check that their enrolled courses allow for attainment of the TCE standards, and the credit points needed for their future pathway.
VET unit levels are also viewable via the TCE course planner.

Explaining the TCE

The short video What is the TCE? explains the purpose of the TCE and the TCE standards.
More detail about how to achieve the TCE standards is available on the TCE webpage, including information about achieving the Everyday Adult Standards (the ‘ticks’)

Understanding the ATAR

For an ATAR overview, watch the What is an ATAR? video.
More detailed information about the ATAR and how it is calculated is available in the Understanding the ATAR document.

Understanding Options for the Future - Careerify

Careerify is a great career planning resource, with tailored information for both Year 11 and Year 12 students.
Students wishing to continue studying beyond their senior secondary years can use Course Seeker to search and compare thousands of courses from different institutions. This website also allows you to filter search results by courses that do not require an ATAR for entry.

School Notices

College Hoodies/Windcheaters

Get ready for winter on the mountain by purchasing your 2023 HoCo hoodie or windcheater over the holidays via the QKR! app.

Hoodies: $48
Wincheaters: $42
Add your name/nickname: $7

NOTE: You don't have to be in Year 12 to purchase one - they are available for all current HoCo students.

SIZE GUIDE:

(NOTE: the chest measurement is ACROSS the chest, not the whole way around - see image below)

Small (Chest: CM 55 Collar/Neck to bottom of shirt length: 68)
Medium (Chest: CM 57.5 Collar/Neck to bottom of shirt length: 70)
Large (Chest: CM 60 Collar/Neck to bottom of shirt length: 72)
XLarge (Chest: CM 62.5 Collar/Neck to bottom of shirt length: 74)
2XLarge (Chest: CM 65 Collar/Neck to bottom of shirt length: 76)
3XLarge (Chest: CM 67.5 Collar/Neck to bottom of shirt length: 78)
4XLarge (Chest: CM 70 Collar/Neck to bottom of shirt length: 79)
5XLarge (Chest: CM 72.5 Collar/Neck to bottom of shirt length: 80)

Install the QKR! App today!

Hobart College will be utilising the QKR! app for a number of school-based purchases including College Hoodies and Enrichment Activity payments. It's easy and safe to use. See the images below on how to install, setup an account and add your young person's student profile.

Keep up to date with our future newsletters

The easiest way to access our future newsletters and archive is to install the SZApp to your device. You'll receive instant notifications when a newsletter is released. You also advise of your young person's absence via the app. Use the PIN 3185 when prompted.

Issue 2 - April 2023