At Holme Issue 31 - November 2024 by Info-Design Online

AT Holme

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S PEN:

I choose to do this because it’s hard, not because it’s easy

“I’m sooooo stressed.”

“This is too stressful for me to do. I am too stressed to do well.”

“I do not know how I’ll mange, there’s too much to do. I am too stressed to manage.”

“How are you?”

“Stressed.”

Since 2006 I have used an adage in countless addresses and conversations: “I choose to do this because it’s hard, not because it’s easy.” It’s become cliched … almost as cliched as me underlining the importance of “finishing well.” In 2006 I was privileged to see Nikki Hudson, the former captain of the Australian Women’s Hockey team, on stage for full school assembly at her alma mater –Centenary Heights SHS. Nikki spoke about her gruelling training regime and the challenges of wintery mornings in Toowoomba. Eloquently, she described waking to an alarm in the early hours of a foggy Toowoomba morning, getting dressed ready for a few hours of hard exercise and saying: “I choose to do this because it’s difficult, not because it’s easy, because I love a challenge.” It may seem

like an unremarkable mantra – perhaps, yet for Nikki, it worked very effectively. Stress and pressure can yield positive outcomes.

There was something very powerful in the words of this Olympic champion when she reminisced about a time when she was a school student listening to a guest speaker, also an Olympian, on Assembly. For a moment we could all see her as a blond Year 12 student dressed in bottle green, just like her peers. Yet the sense of ‘then and now’ provided enormous inspiration for the students who heard her personal story. It was a story of focus, determination and the will to achieve her goals no matter what the obstacles, no matter the endurance of stress and pressure.

I remember Hudson responding to a girl in the audience who had just missed out on selection in a Queensland team, she replied, “That’s tough isn’t it, but it’s really good as well. I missed out on Olympic selection once and I promised myself it would never happen again. It hasn’t.” Her messages were clear. Positive self-talk is powerful. Progress and success are regularly born of struggle, rather than ease. The greatest setback can provide the greatest motivation. When the pressure is on, work harder – it often leads to a positive outcome.

Pressure is privilege, words recently articulated by Penrith captain, Nathan Cleary. It’s an interesting paradox and yet I’ve become quite aware of its intuitive accuracy, ever since I heard him say it, on the eve of their fourth successive NRL grand final win. We don’t achieve great things unless we can endure pressure. Achieving great things is a privilege.

And yet, we don’t always view pressure that way, do we? As parents we wish for and sometimes contrive or construct for our daughter, a smooth path through her secondary schooling. We falter when she articulates her stress, her anguish at having too much to do or her inability to meet expectation – hers or ours. We probably never say – that stress you’re talking about, is actually a privilege.

It is not to say that stress is always positive. It is not to say that stress always elicits the best. But it is interesting to consider the positives that can exist in a pressure or stressful situation – the things that drive us on to achievement.

The end of the school year is nigh and with it, an opportunity to ‘de-stress’ it would seem. Certainly, there has been a lot of ‘stress talk’ floating through the Fairholme airspace, not surprising given that the end of the school year coincides with end of term assessment. Stanford University neurobiologist Robert M. Sapolsky, reminds us that our goal should not be a life without stress. “The idea is to have the right amount of stress,” he tells us. He indicates that the ideal is a life with stressors that are both transitory and manageable. Exams conclude. Assignments get submitted. Reports and marking finish. All of these are transitory stressors: manageable, inevitable and, at times enjoyable enough – when they’re ‘done’.

Often they represent the end point of hard work, discipline and effort: great character traits. “I choose to do this because it is hard, not because it is easy,” springs to mind at such times.

Furthermore, when epinephrine shoots into our system and norepinephrine follows, our heart rate increases, our hands may get clammy, and our pupils dilate. Cortisol increases. This is termed: challenge stress or the fight/flight response.

Challenge stress heightens our attention to the situation and, when channelled appropriately, assists our response. Yet I often find myself having a conversation with students before a big event, exam, oral, performance or grand final, trying to debunk some myths about fear, anxiety and stress. “It’s the same physiological response that you have when you are excited,” I say. Usually, this statement is met with look of incredulity, horror and disbelief. They believe that “Dr Evans is delusional.”

I maintain that if we are to perform at our best in any high stakes situation then we need some stress, albeit transitory and manageable. We do well also, to acknowledge those feelings and rebrand them as normal responses to the situation. If we are brave enough, we might also describe the situation as exciting, rather than daunting and frightening. “Fake it and you’ll make it,” a wise psychologist once said.

Perception of the pending event, interaction or situation is of fundamental importance says psychologist Wendy Berry Mendes, of the University of California, San Francisco. Do you frame the stressor as a challenge or a threat? Do you view transitory stress as fearful and anxiety-riddled or do you acknowledge it as manageable, normal and a catalyst for full attention to the task at hand?

Sadly, as we know, (that hefty responsibility of being a responsible role model yet again), our children are watching our responses to stress consciously and unconsciously and inevitably absorbing them as their own. Stress is real and inevitable. We do want young people to rise to the challenge of the inevitable stressors of life, to differentiate clearly between those that are transitory and manageable and those that require greater assistance and expert support.

We want them to acknowledge that challenging situations can be approached with excitement rather than fear, knowing that they will pass, and often will lead to the intrinsic reward of accomplishment that follows hard work.

Choose to do things that are hard, not because they are easy – and there, in the midst of that paradox and tension lies opportunity to grow. Pressure can be privilege. Think of the Nikki Hudson metaphor: we can all do the hard things, if we practice doing so, enough. This includes the sometimes-difficult step of reaching out for support in times when stress isn’t transitory or manageable. We can do these hard things. We can.

Best wishes for the Christmas holidays. May there be the right amount of rain for our farmers and time for us all to enjoy the company of our children. God bless you and your safe travels.

Dr Linda Evans | Principal

2024 Equestrian trophies

The end-of-year Fairholme Equestrian awards were held last week in the Homestead, celebrating our amazing riders and their achievements throughout the year.

Trophies are awarded to riders competing in the Interschool disciplines of Dressage, Show Jumping, Combined Training, Eventing, Show Horse.

The successful riders will have gained the highest points overall across several disciplines or in individual disciplines as specified for secondary school.

The Holmes Cup (All Riders)

This trophy awarded to the rider who received the highest overall points across the Interschool disciplines in the championship’s competitions throughout the school year.

Winner: Jemima Southwood – Asham Fireman

Fairholme College Junior Equestrienne Trophy (Primary Only)

Awarded to the primary rider (Year 1-6) with the highest overall points, gained from across the Interschool disciplines, from competing in the nominated competitions throughout the school year.

Sara Holmes Dressage Trophy

A trophy was awarded to the rider with the highest points gained from Dressage in the nominated competitions throughout the school year.

Winner: Bella Ostwald – Silverdene Pharaoh

Fairholme College Combined Training Trophy

Awarded to the rider with the highest points gained from Combined Training in the nominated competitions throughout the school year.

Winner: Chloe Bruggemann – Another Conquest

Pugh Bakeries Show Jumping Trophy

Awarded to the rider with the highest points gained from Show Jumping in the nominated competitions throughout the school year.

Winner: Annabelle Rogan – Benelong Peanut

Fairholme College Eventing Trophy

Awarded to the rider with the highest points gained from Eventing in the nominated competitions throughout the school year.

Winner: Abbey Gordon – Belrock Nadal

Fairholme College Hack and Rider Trophy (Show Horse)

Awarded to the rider with the highest points gained from Show Horse in the nominated competitions throughout the school year.

Winner: Ruby Hooper – Alfa Romeo

Fairholme College Equestrian Commitment Trophy

Awarded to the girl who has shown consistent commitment, team spirit and dedication to representing themselves and Fairholme in the sport of Equestrian.

Winner: Charlotte Ostwald – 2024 Team Captain, 2024 Qld Team Captain

Interhouse Equestrian ‘Squelch’ Trophy (Secondary)

This trophy is awarded to the House with the highest overall points, gained from across the Interschool disciplines, from competing in the nominated competitions throughout the school year.

Winner: Cameron House

Commitment Award – this is presented to the rider who has shown dedication and commitment to achieving their equestrian goals throughout the year.

1. Grace Todd

2. Arabella Muenster

3. Felicity Piccini

Hitting their high notes

Fairholme singers have been hitting some high notes to cap off the school year, recently undertaking AMEB and Trinity College of London singing examinations.

Singers taking examinations included Year 10 student Annie Anderson (AMEB Grade 7 classical singing), Year 11 student Rori Zimmerman (AMEB Grade 3 Rockschool) and Year 7 student Giaan Zammataro (AMEB Grade 4 Musical Theatre).

Trinity College of London examinations took place at Fairholme, with Ayesha Saleh (Year 11) and Year 9 students Brooke Johnson and Avantika Saji completing Grade 6 level, Year 12 student Anna St John Grade 7, Year 9 student Abi Barnes Grade 4 and Year 7’s Grace Ward Grade 3 level.

Fairholme Singing Studio Coordinator Alana Scott said both the AMEB and Trinity College of London exam syllabuses offered a wide range of repertoire to suit individual student objectives.

“The exams help each singer to further develop their voices through technical work, exploring languages including French,

German and Italian, and performing repertoire from a broad range of musical periods, with the aim of supporting diverse and expressive young vocalists,” Ms Scott said.

2025 Specialist Arts Tuition Sign-Ups are now open for students in Prep to Year 12.

Some of the options for learning are: Piano

• Voice

• Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium

• Speech & Drama

• Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone

• Percussion, Guitar

• Composition, Music Technology

• Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass

The Arts Tuition Application Form can be found on myFairholme.

From Boarder to leader

Penne Skene joined Fairholme as a boarder in 2017, when she was only in Year 5. Although moving away from home to attend boarding school may seem daunting for many 10-yearolds, Penne was captivated by Fairholme right from the start, recalling, ‘I knew immediately that I would proudly call this school my home for the next eight years.’

Reflecting on her first days at Fairholme, Penne, then just 10 years old, recalls, ‘I thought it was the best thing ever!’ She felt so welcomed by her ‘boarding big sisters,’ Year 12 students Lauren Begore and Sarah Tomlinson, that she never experienced homesickness. ‘They were so kind and supportive,’ she said. ‘I never felt alone.’

When Priscilla McPhee joined the boarding house in Year 6, Penne was no longer the only boarder in her grade. ‘Meeting Priscilla was amazing because I had a friend who was right there by my side through everything,’ she shared. Now, as they prepare to graduate together in a few weeks, Penne reflects on the friends and memories she’s made, saying, ‘I know these friendships will last a lifetime.’

One of her fondest memories from her early years was her Year 6 classroom. ‘Walking in and seeing Mrs Harris as my teacher—that made every day the best,’ she recalls. ‘She was so encouraging, and from then on, I’ve felt the same support from every teacher here.’

According to Penne, ‘Fairholme’s teachers couldn’t get any better,’ and she added that ‘many of them now hold a special place in my heart.’

During her time at Fairholme, Penne took advantage of many extracurricular activities, including tennis, cross country, and swimming.

However, her true passion emerged when she joined the TGS Army Cadets Unit in 2021, during Year 9. Inspired by family members in the defence force, she joined Cadets, saying, ‘I wanted to learn new skills and make new friends, and Cadets offered that.’

Through Cadets, Penne discovered that ‘teamwork is key with everything.’ She explained, ‘Whether it’s a job by yourself, there’s always a team behind you. You’ve got to talk to people to support each other—you don’t learn unless you ask others.’

Her dedication earned her the rank of Sergeant in the TGS Army Cadets, and she’s now ready to bring her experiences and skills to her new role as an Aircraft Technician for the Australian Defence Force.

Since the end of Year 11, Penne has worked tirelessly toward

her goal, and she will soon see her hard work pay off.

‘On the 10th of February 2025, I’m moving to Wagga Wagga to start my work in helicopter engineering with the ADF,’ she shared. ‘I’m so excited to wake up and be in a team every day, working with people who are going through the same journey.’

Penne has learned countless valuable lessons during her time at Fairholme, and although she will miss it dearly, we couldn’t be prouder of her. We look forward to seeing all the exciting adventures that await her in the real world.

Mothers’ Dinner

Kindy to Year 3 Christmas Musical

Boarder Gallery

IN THE ARTS

Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art

The Darling Downs South-West Queensland Regional Exhibition of the Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art were on display at the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery throughout November.

These state-wide awards attract entries from Senior students across Queensland and Fairholme was admirably represented by Year 12 students, Roma Aarons, Georgia Hoffmann, Celina Mouzouris and Kadence Wilson.

Excitingly, Roma, Georgia and Kadence were short-listed as finalists and were awarded Certificates of Commendation to acknowledge this achievement.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Australian Touch Championships

Year 10 touch footy powerhouse, Scarlett Sippel was named in the All Australian Schools Merit Team after her sensational performance at the Australian School Sport 13-15yrs Touch Football Championships. The Queensland team, of which Scarlett was Co-Captain, stormed home to take the National Championship title, defeating NSW 7-3 in the Final.

DD Cricket Representatives

Year 9 students Emmy Cussons and Morgan Smith were part of the bronze medal winning Darling Downs team to compete at the 13-15 Years Queensland School Sport Cricket Championships.

Andrews Cup –Gymnastics and Cricket

Six teams of Fairholme gymnasts leaped,

cartwheeled and somersaulted their way to some great results against strong competition. Our B Grade team achieved a commendable 5th place overall, with our A Grade, C1, C2 and D2 teams all finishing in 6th place and D1 in 7th.

In very warm conditions, our Junior Cricketers showed fantastic enthusiasm and enjoyment for the game making some terrific plays throughout the day, all while helping to raise funds for the PINK Breast Cancer Day. Our A and C teams both finished in an awesome 4th place and our B team in 8th position.

Track & Field Success

A mighty effort by our Fairholme athletes who competed at the Queensland All Schools Track and Field Championships to finish top of the Toowoomba

Schools on the team points tally.

Lucy Barnes – 1st in the U14 1500m

Taylah Chapman – 1st in the U17 PA Shot Put, 1st in Discus and 4th in the 100m

Julia Wainwright – 3rd in the U17 1500m final and 5th in the 800m final

Amara Clemens – Finalist in the U15 400m (6th) and 800m (8th)

Abi Barnes – Finalist in the U16 800m (8th)

Elana Schultheiss – 5th in the U17 Hammer Throw

Gemma Sullivan – 4th in the heats of the 400m and 800m

Queensland Athletics Relay Championships

Despite very wet conditions, our Fairholme teams came away with some sensational relay results.

1st in the 4 x 800m Relay 3rd in Long Jump 3rd in Discus

Lilli Hamilton Strikes Again

Congratulations to Year 11 student Lilli Hamilton who has been announced in the Queensland Cricket Under-19 squad for the National Female Championships to be held in Perth next month.

16 of the Bowl division but were knocked out on Sunday after a tight game against Brookfield.

Congratulations to the following players:

Lula Carrigan, Eden Broksch, Poppy Doyle, Ava Farr, Isla Forster, Tilly Haddin, Emme Hall, Maggie Jackson, Evie Nairn, Ella Pauli, Bailey Sander and Marley Wilkinson

Thank you to coaches Mr Craig Collins and Mrs Brenda Rackemann for preparing the team. This playing experience will be so valuable in future