Hobart College Newsletter CLEAN UP DAY HEALTH FOCUS HEALTH FOOD FAIR Issue 2 May 2017 FROM THE PRINCIPAL The recent Awards Evening was a fitting celebration of the- out standing academic, sporting and cultural achievements of the stu- dents from last year and it was great to meet up with the 2016 leav- ers and hear about the next stage of their learning. The traditions of Hobart High were the pursuit of academic excellence and in- novation, and it was a place for building character, sportsmanship and leadership skills. These ideals are as relevant now as they were in 1913 with a commitment to excellence, personal development, innovation and creating opportunities for everyone to learn as part of our core values. Congratulations to all the award winners and I encourage the current students to follow their example and to set high expectations for their own learning this year. As we begin Term 2 we are reminded how quickly the school year passes and how important it is for students to attend every class. We are committed to assisting all students to complete Year 12 with their Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE) as well as an Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking (ATAR) or VET Certificate qualification. Regular attendance and completion of set work for all subjects in Years 11 and 12 is crucial to achieving that goal. It is nearly impossible to achieve an assessment in a subject if students do not attend regularly. It is also very difficult to catch up on an extra subject in Year 12 to attain the necessary points for the TCE. We ask for your support in encouraging your son/daughter to attend every lesson so that they have the best chance of success in achieving those qualifications. Recently you would have received a letter about duty of care and students leaving the campus during the day. If you do not give permission for your son/daughter to leave the campus when they do not have a timetabled class 1 or to arrive later if they do not have a scheduled class at 8.45am, then you should notify the school office. If you missed this letter or would like more information then please contact me on 6220 3133. I look forward to meeting you at the Parent Teacher Evening on Tuesday 30 May and at one of the performances of our musical Bring It On. Tracy Siedler Principal HC WELCOMES THE SWISS EDUCATION DELEGATION On Friday 7 April we welcomed the Minister for Education, Anne-Catherine Lyon, Canton de Vaud, Switzerland and a group of delegates who came to visit the six Swiss students who are currently studying at Hobart College as part of their “study abroad” program. The students took the visitors on a tour of the College before doing some presentations on their research topic. We will be sad to farewell these students at the end of Term 2 as they have fully embraced life at Hobart College and in Tasmania. The College looks forward to welcoming a new group of students from Switzerland at the start of Term 3. UP FOR DEBATE L to R: Matti Schwarz, Mae Woodruff, Dylan Seckold-Bamford, Olive Walker, Finlay McKeown, Annabelle Hansen, Desmond Marcenko, Ariane Easton, Noopur Aryal and Louie Wagner. (Absent: Tasman Hughes and Alec Garratt) Hobart College Debaters are well and truly up and talking with four debates already completed. The two teams have acquitted themselves very well taking out the first round against Friends 2 and 3 arguing both for and against the proposition “That we should introduce parenting licenses”. In the next round while HC 1 had a bye, HC 2 defeated Friends 4, convincingly negating the idea “That there should be a tax on beef”. In the final round before the holidays, both teams were victorious against Guildford Young 1 and Friends 1 arguing both for and against the 2 notion “That we should assassinate the leaders of terrorist organisations”. Congratulations to Finlay McKeown who has been selected in the Tasmanian team to compete in the National Championships later this year. UNITED NATIONS YOUTH On the weekend of 24 – 26, March, Finlay McKeown and I attended UN Youth Australia’s State Conference. Whilst there, we were given the opportunity to simulate the United Nations General Assembly, engage in workshops and debate issues of international importance. For the weekend, Finlay as a representative of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and myself as a representative the Republic of Iraq, debated issues of terrorism, cyber security and nuclear weaponry. We also engaged in a series of workshops where we looked at the idea of sovereignty and the purpose of Human Rights. The weekend was engaging and allowed us to socialise with like-minded individuals with unique perspectives on the world. Dylan Seckold-Bamford ROB DOES ROBOTICS (AND GAME DESIGN) Computing (Robotics and Game Design) is a new subject at Hobart College in 2017. It provides a meaningful and engaging context for students to develop their everyday adult skills in the use of computers and the internet. It is also an introduction to programming for anyone wishing to continue on in Computer Science. In the first half of the year, the focus is robotics. Working in small teams, the students design, program, and build robots to solve a variety of engineering design challenges. Recent challenges have included line-following rescue robots as well as robotic musical instruments. In the second half of the year, the focus is on video game design, culminating in the class working together to design a suite of Rob Torok, Jonathan Mommers and Brian Shisanya. computer games. SET CLEANS UP THE CAMPUS This year, more than eighty Hobart College students have volunteered for the Student Environment Team – SET! Their first big mission was Clean Up Hobart College Day. Held on a hot Indian summer day, Home Group teams led by SET members scoured the College’s 65 hectares of bushland finding old truck parts, household furniture, couches, beds, piles of cans and bottles and household waste. Veolia donated a skip for the day which was easily filled by the energetic scavengers. The SET also manage the campus recycling program, collecting the comingled rubbish and recycling bins fortnightly. Their next challenge is to collect 6000 1.25 litre PET drink bottles to build a productive greenhouse near the Sustainability Centre. 3 HOME GROUP HEALTH FOCUS Fitness activities - tug of war. Healthy lunch preparation. Fitness activities - trust games. NOTICE OF AGM HOBART COLLEGE ASSOCIATION Tuesday 23 May at 6.00pm A Block conference room (next to the main office). Nominations are called for the election of committee members (parent/carer, community and student representatives) to the Hobart College Association. Nomination forms are available from the front office or by calling 6220 3133. The main function of the Association is to provide advice and recommendations to the Principal in relation to local issues affecting students at the College. Please contact Tracy Siedler if you would like more information. We look forward to seeing you at the AGM. INTERNATIONAL FOOD FAIR 4 At this year’s Food Fair We had 33 stalls; some of them were operated by a couple of Home Groups which is a great idea as it really helps to share the load and maximise the use of various talents. The food is always good at our Food Fairs. The spirit is always happy and generous. The chilli is always blow-your-head-off hot, the curries are always spectacularly tasty, the Asian fare is always to die for, there’s always a chocolate ripple cake to look forward to, Mexico is always well represented, and sweets abound at our Food Fair. And drinks – really and truly if you’re looking to make some quick, cold, hard cash, then keep in mind that without fluids, we die. This is especially the case if we eat from the aforementioned chilli stall. The clear “winners” this year – and in other years too – of the competition to make the highest profit, were Home Group 1 who must have made over 250 Spiders! The milkshakers, the mocktail makers and the fruit juicers also raked it in. Congratulations one and all. This year’s profits will be donated to the White Ribbon Foundation to further the cause of ending family violence. Jill Chisholm DRAMA AND THEATRE PERFORMANCE The Theatre Performance Class presented Finnegan Kruckmeyer’s, ‘The Girl Who Was a Hundred Girls’ to very appreciative audiences on 12 and 13 April. The play enacted the moving account of an abducted girl and the accompanying stories of eight other women whose lives, by virtue of a shared ancestor, were related to hers. On the same evenings the Drama 3 class 5 presented ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime’, based on the bestselling book by Mark Haddon. The play recounts the journey of Christopher, a teenager on the autism spectrum, who seeks to solve the mystery of the death of his neighbour’s dog. OLINDA GROOVE SHOWCASE Oliver Pearce, Noah Bannerman-Roberts, Imogen Flynn and Mathew Kile rock the house at the Olinda Groove Records Showcase on April 4. MUSIC Lauren Davidson and the House Band at the Showcase Concert. Emily Evans and Katrina Wong - Performing Arts Showcase. 6 Dance Class perfomance at the Showcase Concert, 30 March. The House Band performed at the Kingborough ‘Love Living Locally Festival’ 19 March. TSO COMPOSERS WORKSHOP UPCOMING PERFORMANCES UTAS Music Performance student, Finn Clarke (below Festival of Voices Performance centre), has been chosen to participate in the TSO Tues 4 July 7pm-9:30pm (Including a 20 minute Composers’ Project over the next 6 months.