1974 Annual Report

or the Orchestra, or the Drama Club. The Music Camps have given tle opportunity of worthwhile sustained practice and real musical experience. The visit to Canberra for the presentation of "Peer Gynt" in September gave the cast the chance ofbenefrring from coDritructive criticism, as well as a lift to their morale for the well-deserved praise their performance earned them, and also helped to add more polish to ttreir production of theplayin October.To the membersof stafffromboth schoolswho have been responsible for all these ventures, the girls as well as the boys, owe a great deal. There is only one regret: that all th"ss inlslssting activities are rehearsed "over there", and the influence and enthusiasm they generate, which should radiate through the whole of our school, is confined to the girls who belong to these groups and the great part ofour school remains untouched. This observation, however, scarcely applies to lnteract, ]vhose B.G.G,S. members this year have been a very lively, community-minded group; very actively involved in working for the the Centenary Appeal" Save The Children Fund, and in providing us with a school flag. The Fourth Formers of the two schools tried out their journalistic talents in an effort to establish a periodic broadsheet, but despite the hard work of the Committee, the initial enthusiasm of their fellow Fourth Formers waned as the year went on. The Perents' rnd Frlends'Assoclallon has continued to give us much appreciated support. The school thanks them particularly for the gift of the Inter-communication System which connects the office with the library, the science laboratories and the audio-visual centre and saves much 'ne. They have also given us an Electronic Calculator, shared betweenthe office andthe Mathematicsdepartment. Its uses havenotyet been fully exploited. The Association has carried on despite the difficulty of finding Office Bearers, which has placed an added burden on the shoulders of the President, Mrs. Pitkeathly; the Treasurer, Mrs. Arbuckle (having to retain offrce for a third year); and the Secretary, Mrs. Hawes. It is almost certain that we shall have to look at the whole organisation and mode of operation of the P, & F. With more and more mothers working, and prices constantly rising, running the tuck shop becomes well-nigh impossible, and the monthly meetings have a limited attendance. This being so I almost hesitate to ask whether, among the parents, there are some who would like to volunteer their services as part-time assistants in the Library, or any ex-teachers among you who could be supply teachers when we have absences through excursions or illness. Evening meetings, however, have been well attended. There is no lack of interest, only of tirne for extra involvement. The Old Girls' Association for a long time has operated under great difficulties. Girlsleavingschoolquicklybecomecaugbtupinnewinterests amongnewpeople allmakingnewdemands. Theyoftencomebacktothe Association later when they have daughters at the school, or divide their time between the O.G.A. and the P. & F. The achievement of the Old Girls' Committee this year, so ably led by Mrs. Lyle Schwarten as President, supported by Mrs. Jean Vallis as Vice-President, and a hard- working Committee is indeed praiseworthy. Their Dinner Dance in June and the Art Show during School Day week-end were outstanding social successes, and they have raised almost $2000 for the Building Fund. The Boarding Sclool continues to provide plenty of problems. On the whole behaviour has been much better this year. Every effort has beenmade to give the girls better conditionsfor study, inproviding desks in cubicles for the Sixth Formers and distributing the younger ghls through classrooms on the upper floorofthe westernwing. These efforts have not always been appreciated and many boarders could work much harder. Generous granting of extra leave, shopping privileges have not necessarily brought greater contentment. Miss Slater and her Staff have always tried to make conditions less regimental and more home-like, but in any community the tone can only be improved by upholding firm, just discipline and clearly defrned regulations. In the third term Mrs, Kugelman, for her own convenience, took up residence in the boardingschool, and I am happy that shewill remain and have the oversight of the boarders in 195. In the battle against rising costs, especially offoodstuffs, we find that our fees do not meet all our expenses. It may be necessary to call on girls to give greater assistance in the future and not to assume that because they pay fees they are exempt from any form of menial service. ktters have comefrom several quarters askingwhetherwe have any plans to update the boarding school. This is a problem very much in our thoughts but no satisfactory solution has so far been reached. The Stafr leavlng: To those members of staff leaving us this year we offergoodwishesforfuturehappiness. Muchjoytothosewhoarelooking forward to their lirst babies! Some teachers are planning overseas travel, others a change ofwork scene. Some have had temporary Posts with us and perhaps will be available to assist us again-the need is often there: Mrs. M. Williams, B.Sc., Mathematics; Mrs. P. Saunders, Mathematics; Mrs. J. Challen, B.A., Dip.Ed., History; Mrs. A. Kazakoff, B.Sc., Dip.Ed, Biology, Chemistry; Mrs. J. Hunter, B.A., Dip.Ed., History, EnSilish; Mrs. W. Hoog-Antink, German, French; Mr. D. Winkel, Biology; Mrs. L. Hadgraft, 8.A., English; Miss J. Cockburn, Junior Science; Mr' G. Stewart, Science; Miss P. Slater, Mistress-in-Charge of the Boarders.

system of school organisation and leadership comes coDstantly "under frre" and the girls themselves are as concerned as we to devise an effective system. It is heartening that they recognise the need for discipline and, while rejecting the idea that Sixth Formers be overwhelmed witl mere "police duties", they are nevertheless anxious to exert their influence through involvement in organisation and their example of activity and enthusiasm. This year we tried out the system of Chss Seniors, an idea suggested by the girls after investigation of schetnes operating in other schools. This is almost tle same as tle Sixth Form Counsellorswe had up till three years ago, except that these girls are volunteers. These girls have not only been Counsellors but have helped to coach Form Teams, to advise on School Day, and the system has worked both ways-that is, in helping the younger Forms specially to identify with the school and understand its operation, and also in developing leadership and responsibility in a greater number ofgirls. The Prefect System still exists 66r'gh here aSain 1s-slemin3fio11is takingplace. The girls holding office this year have felt isolated and the school has regarded them as a group apart. This has caused disappointment and frustration. I do not wish to denigrate the example and leadership of most of our Prefects in LVI4, their capacity for organisation was admirably demonstrated when they ran the Inter-Form Athletics Carnival, and their analysis of our present situation has been peretrating and thought provoking. It appears that they must be more in the mainstream of school life, exercising their inlluence through leadership in Form Captaincies, Student Council, Sporting Teams, Interact, and other organisational committees which need to be set up. Whatever eventuates from the discussions at the Fifth Form Camp this year let us hope that we have a strong body of leaders ready to begin the adventure of our second century. There is excellent potential among our Fifth Formers, and there is plenty of opportunity for -them to revive, redirect, reform existing groups or devise new ones. The Student Representative Council, in particular, needs some fresh energy. Certainly this year has been frustrating in that amenities the Council has asked for, such as more drinking fountains, outdoor clocks, and hot showers, have been held up by building operations, but they have not been forgotten. Sport The detailed results of our Inter-school Sporting Fixtures are set out at the end of this report. We have had a satisfactory year. Moving up to second place in the Swimming, thanks to excellent relay work, gave us a tremendous lift, and our fine standards in Tennis and Gymnastics have been maintained. In all the other sports we have been well placed thanks to the steady practice and interest of team members. The *A" Netball Team suffered some reversals of fortune owing to accidents during the season, but still managed to achieve second place, There was a decline in interest among Sixth Formers in the varied programme of PhysicalEducation arrangedforthemasinpreviousyears. Some of itwas perhaps too ambitious, the venues too distant, admission and tuition too expensive. Although some variety needs to be htroduced at Fifth and Sixth Form level, we must be content with what can with less disruption be taught ontie spot.I hope some ModernDancewillbecomepart of the Physical Education Course. More girls have been urged to improve their qualifrcations in Life Saving but the anticipated increase in the numbers preparing for tests and raising their level ofprofrciency has not yet been realised, As always, our difficulties lie in the often conllicting claims of time spent inimprovinggeneralphysicalfitness in the school and that devoted totraining the enthusiastsforcompetitive sport. Both aimswouldbe easy of attainmentwith more staff and acres more of groundspace. The Sports Mstresses are to be congratulated on the degree of balance they have been able to strike, as well as in frnding time to organise Camps and Activities, School Photographs. A Sports Week-end Camp, was organised in October to replace the separate celebrations customarily held at the end of each sports series and, although there seemed little enthusiasm for the idea at first, when it came to the actual experienceitproved amost acceptable idea, and again as most of the actual running of the Camp, including the Commissariat, was in the hands of the girls themselves it was a very successful exercise. Campg Excurslons and HolidayTrevel are now a regular part ofour schoolyear and I shouldlike to thankmembers ofstaffwho have devoted time to organising and supervising ventures ofvarious kinds. In addition to the Fourth Form "Discovery" Camp in mid-year, and the Fifth Form Leadership Camp in November, there have been smallergroups taken to O'Reilly's atLamington National Park; aFrenchweekend camp was held at the Y.M.C.A. site at Petrie. Several of our Fifth Formers attended a week-end camp at Caloundra, arranged by the Health Education Council. This was to give girls with leadership potential information about the drug problem, and useful ideas on counselling among their peers and younger girls. One bus load went off in August to enjoy excellent ski-ing and snow sports atMt. Bufralo. Another lucky handful hadawonderfultourof Bali and Malaysia-the first time a school trip had gone so far: we only wish it had been withia the reach of a greater number, but praise the girls who had worked hard at week-ends and in holidays in order to pay their own way. Jolnt Activities wlth Brisbane Gremmar Schook Many girls have continued to benefit from participation in the Combined Schools Choir,