Message from Deputy Head, Ms Sarah Tynan

Baby Announcement

We congratulate Ms McGarry and her partner on the safe arrival of their baby Elliott Harry Bert McGarry, born on Sunday 30 October.

Ms McGarry is currently on parental leave, returning Monday 14 November, with Ms Sarah Tynan assuming the role of Acting Head during this time.

A True Community

The word “community” has a strange power to it. It conveys a sense of togetherness and positivity. It speaks both of solidarity and homeliness. It is a group of people who share a story that is so important to them that it defines any aspect of who they are. Life at Frensham Schools embodies the notion of a community in its purest sense. Each morning when we come together in song, each Saturday on the Games Field, Friday mornings at war cry practice, in staff meetings and in our learning groups, togetherness is there. Our community showed its hospitality and welcomeness this week as we welcomed our new students for Overnight Orientation.

Overnight Orientation

This week at Frensham we had the annual Overnight Orientation event for our new students commencing in 2023. This was the first time since 2019 that we have been able to hold the event and it was the perfect opportunity to meet, greet and get to know our new Years 7-11 students who are either starting at or returning to Frensham. It was pleasing to see Gib Gate students connect with students from all over the state, as they embark on their high school journey together. The highlights of the event for the girls were the opportunity to make friends, the opportunity to see the grounds and walk around, spending time in the boarding house, games with the older students and of course chicken schnitty night.

The highlights for me were seeing the girls connect and make new friends, seeing our current students take our new students under their wing in true Frensham spirit, speaking to parents and seeing them connect with each other and spending time with our new girls and seeing their excitement around the new adventure that awaits them.

Highlight of the week

The students’ celebration of each other’s achievements in any endeavour. I never tire of hearing the cheers and support for one another. I look forward to continuing to deepen my understanding of, and passion for, our community, it is certainly a special place to be.

Boarding News

As we reach mid Term 4, I have taken some time to reflect on the year - it all seems to have gone so fast. Boarding has been busy with many moments of great fun and enjoyment. The good news is that we are not slowing down as we embark on the final weeks of the year. Below is information for the remaining term excursions, the final South-West Bus details and a few highlights from the ones that have passed. 

Upcoming Excursions:

• Sunday 6 November: Bondi Markets and Sculptures by the Sea
• Sunday 27 November: Raging Waters Water Park
• Sunday 4 December: Macarthur Square Christmas Shopping Trip

The final South-West Bus will run on Sunday 20 November. 

Bookings for all of the above events and for the South-West Bus can be made via the Orah Management platform. 

This term has, so far, seen the girls involved in the famous Friday Night Activities, Overnight Orientation for new students in 2023, a Tree Tops Walk and Zipline Tour, a social game of Netball, Touch and a BBQ with The King’s School. There has already been a wonderful and positive tone, that will no doubt continue to build as we lead up to the end of year and Christmas celebrations. Included is a small selection of photos that showcase the term’s activities.

Please review the Schoolbox Boarding and House pages for regular updates of activities and Boarding news. 

Ms Sally Edwards, Director of Student Life (Boarding)

English

Following the visit of author Sophie Laguna earlier in the term, we were pleased to welcome to Frensham acclaimed author Dr Kate Forsyth. She has a BA in literature, a MA in creative writing, and a Doctorate of Creative Arts in fairy tale studies, and is also an accredited master storyteller with the Australian Guild of Storytellers. She has published novels, poetry, non-fiction including essays and articles. Her work has won numerous awards including the American Library Association Award for Best Historical Novel.

Dr Forsyth spoke to Year 7 and Year 9 students and workshopped with Year 12 Extension 1 and Extension 2 English students. She has a personal connection with the Southern Highlands as her ancestors owned Oldbury Farm at Sutton Forest. She told the students about her new book written with her fellow author and sister Belinda Murrell, Searching for Charlotte which is the fascinating true story of her great-great-great-great grandmother, Charlotte Waring Atkinson who lived at Oldbury Farm. Charlotte was Australia's first children's author. Under the pen name of 'A Lady Long Resident in New South Wales', she wrote and illustrated A Mother's Offering to Her Children in 1841.

Senior students were provided with some excellent strategies to enrich their own writing for a range of audiences and contexts. All staff and students were moved by her desire to tell the stories of forgotten women, who simply because of their gender were silenced from the pages of history. 

Ms Lee McGuinness, Head of English

IGSA Festival of Speech

IGSA Festival of Speech was hosted by Pymble Ladies College on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October. This year the competition was co-ordinated by Ms Rebecca Theodore and Frensham participated in the following categories: Senior Public Speaking: Kate Clifton. Junior Public Speaking: Raphaela O’Neill’Siambis. Senior Debating: Clara McDonald, Bearte McDonald, Bella Cay, Monique Andersson. Junior Debating: Penelope Cay, Skye McLelland, Sophia Windsor, Sophie Worner-Tomlinson and Adeline Ahern. Drama: Sarah-Joy Day, Freyjika Parker, Meg Jones and Rose Mahony. After an enthusiastic effort from all students, the Frensham Year 11 Drama team placed third in their section.

Ms Rebecca Theodore, Senior Teacher of English

Equestrian

Congratulations to the 2023 Captains and Vice Captains of Equestrian, Lara McConnochie and Augusta Muir, and Vice Captains Megan Syme and Olivia Waugh.

2022 Australian Nationals Interschools Championships, 26-30 September, SIEC
Matilda Telford (Year 8) placed 16^th overall, with 11^th in the ridden/jump phase and 11^th in the rider.

Australian National Dressage Championships 2022, 13-16 October, Boneo Park Victoria.
Augusta Muir (Year 11) competed in an open National competition, which included professionals, amateurs and young riders. She was the youngest rider in her class and was placed in both classes, Medium Pony 4B and 4C. Her overall points also gave her the Championship. She is Australian National Champion Medium Pony on her pony Mystic Shadows Cinderella. She was also chosen to represent team NSW in the pony classes, which is a huge honour.

Interschools Horse Extravaganza 13-17 October, Tamworth
A great team of girls represented Frensham this year at ISHE in a wide range of disciplines.

• Penny Hill (Year 10) placed 7^th in the one-day event EVA80cm and 8^th in the 110cm Accumulator show jumping.
• Olivia Hill (Year 8) placed 3^rd in the 100cm show jumping.
• Lara McConnochie (Year 12) came 8^th in the huge class for the 80cm senior Show Jumping Accumulator round. She also came 4^th in her dressage round in the One Day Eventing.
• Grace Stenhouse (Year 7) placed 31^st - Working Horse Challenge - out of 87 competitors, Placed 5^th - 14hh not exceeding 14.2hh Hack - out of 20 competitors, Placed 4^th - 13 Years Sporting - Stock Rider - out of 41 competitors, Placed 8^th - 13 Years Sporting - Barrel Race - out of 41 competitors, Placed 4^th - 13 Years Sporting - Running Tee - out of 41 competitors, Placed 3^rd - 13 Years Sporting - Western Pole Bend - out of 41 competitors- excellent results for such big classes!
• Chloe McMurtrie (Year 7) placed 4^th in the 80cm Combined training, 7^th in the 90cm AM7 show jumping and 8^th in the accumulator show jumping.
• Zara McMurtrie (Year 9) placed 6^th in Combined Training 80cm.
• Tia Thomas (Year 9) placed 9^th in the Eventing 80cm (EvA80) Secondary Div A and 5^th in the Show Hunter Hack 15hh ne 16hh.
• Amber Thomas (Year 7) placed 5^th in the Combined Training (CT) 80cm Secondary Div B, 10^th in the Dressage 1B Div A Intermediate and 7^th in the Dressage 1C Div A Intermediate.

NSW State Show Jumping Championships, 14-16 October, Willinga Park

• Sophie Baldwin (Year 9) came 7^th in the Juniors on day 1, on day 2 she won the class and on the final day which was a Grand Prix I she came 2^nd, placing her 2^nd overall in the NSW Show Jumping titles in the Juniors.
• Matilda Telford (Year 8) won the Open 90, placed 2^nd in the Open 90 and placed 11^th in the Children's Title series heights 95-1.05. 

Show horse council NSW Horse of the year, 21-23 October, SIEC
Eva Telford (Year 10) placed * Owner/Rider - equal 4^th and Top Five in the Owner/Rider class, 8^th in the Rider 15 and U17 years (Top 10) and 10^th overall in the Child’s Galloway.

Sydney Jumping Association, Windsor, 21-23 October
Matilda Telford (Year 8) placed 3^rd in the Children's 105cm.

Mrs Harriet Houston, Equestrian Coordinator

Jamieson Programme

Some students of Year 11 were privileged to attend a documentary, sponsored by the local Rural for Refugee chapter, held at Bowral Empire Cinema last Wednesday. 'Behrouz' is a feature documentary telling the story of Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish journalist who fled the Iranian regime, seeking asylum in Australia in 2013. Transferred to Manus Island Detention prison a month after his arrival on Australian shores by boat. Behrouz spent six years in detention. His reporting and writings from the Manus detention prison using a smuggled mobile phone brought to international notice the horrific reality of life for detainees. His book No Friend but the Mountains written while in detention on his mobile phone has become one of the most celebrated books in Australia in recent times, winning Australia's prestigious literary award, the 2019 Victorian Prize for Literature.

This documentary aligned well with both English and French syllabus requirements. Year 12 2024 are all studying in English the common module Text and Human Experiences. The rubric invites them to reflect on the power of storytelling to ignite new ways of thinking, consider different perspectives in relation to both the individual and collective. It is a mandatory component of the module to investigate and explore a diverse range of material, beyond what is prescribed to enrich and deepen their understanding. In the French Extension course, students engage with the issues of the Individual and Contemporary Society by studying texts related to the themes of Acceptance, Resilience and Identity. Through the documentary, Behrouz, our themes are compellingly personified. He shows us what it means to be a refugee at the mercy of a system, and to be forced to struggle for survival, acceptance and identity whilst living as an outcast of society. The insights we have taken away from the film will inform our writing and discussion in this course.

Finally, congratulations to Year 9 and their teachers for completing their final component of the Global Perspectives course – the examination. Global Perspective results will be announced Term 1, 2023.

Mrs Merrilee Harris, Director of Jamieson Programme and Careers

Sport

Level 1Touch Referee Accreditation
Saturday the 22 of October the following students attended the Level 1 Touch Referee Course.

Phoebe Gilder, Lucy Molineux, Jemma Lamont, Darcy Maple Brown, Eliza Mulligan, Sarah Partland, Lily Haddrill, Matilda Graham, Lottie Firth, Scarlett, Francis, Holly Regan, Georgia Squire -Wilson, Heidi Rowntree, Edie Staniforth.

All students achieved their Level 1 referee Course and will be implementing their new qualification during Saturday Sport officiating some Touch games.

Fitness Centre
The Fitness Centre has had major renovations over the mid-term break with the installation and upgrade of new equipment.

Students in Year 10 and 11 are undertaking their safety induction so they can all have access to the upgraded space. The timetable for the Fitness Centre is the following:

Gymnastics – WAG Division

The following students took part in the IGSA Gymnastics Championships Friday 28 October in the Woman’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG).

Millie Moar (pictured below left) - Level 5 vault, beam and floor; Lola Thomas Hughes (pictured below right) - Level 3 vault, beam, bars and floor.

• Lola Thomas Hughes (Level 3) in Year 7 results were the following: Vault - 10th place,  Bars - 11th place, Beam -11th place, Floor -14th place.
• Millie Moar (Level 5) in Year 11 results were the following: Vault - 24th place, Beam - 15th place, Floor-24th place.

Mr Shane Green, Acting Head of Sport

Acknowledgements

 

• Duke of Edinburgh’s International Awards recipients: Silver - Alice Mitchell, Augusta Muir (Year 11); Bronze - Janna Martin-Cooley (Year 11); Maddyson Butler, Cate Horsfall, Maggie Ryan (Year 10).
• IGSA Festival of Speech: Drama team of Sarah-Joy Day, Meg Jones, Rose Mahony, Freyjika Parker (Year 11), who placed third overall.
• Eva Telford (Year 10) has been accepted into the Oxbridge Summer Program 2023, Paris, France, where she will study Culture & Cuisine and Fashion. The course involves visits to museums, designer factories and restaurants.
• Frensham’s Equestrian Team for achieving excellent results in recent National and State competitions: Augusta Muir (Year 11), Australian National Champion Medium Pony 2022 at the Australian National Dressage Championships; Sophie Baldwin (Year 9) 2^nd overall in the NSW Show Jumping titles in the Juniors at the NSW State Show Jumping Championships.
• Sophie Chin and Matilda Spong (Year 6) for qualifying to represent the Southern Region at the NSW State Gymnastics Championships.
• James Macpherson (Year 5) and Sammy Robb (Year 3) who recently achieved their Suzuki Cello Graduations.

 

Ms Sarah Tynan
Deputy Head of Frensham Schools