1989 School Magazine

pafticipated in the District Finals in Cladstone. Students also gained the oppoftunity to debate in public through the media, in such programs as "Rewind", which is seen across Australia on the Seven Network, and in the "Creat Debates" on 4BC. The School fosters and appreciates the experiences that the media can provide for students. The School's Media Department works to consolidate learning support facilities within the School, and this year the video studio facility was improved with the addition of a new studio camera. This will provide the opportunity for the recommendations contained in the new English Syllabus to be quickly implemented. The study of media as an integral part of the English program raises the "critical consciousness" of students who from infancy are bombarded by the often spurious messages. An alarmingly high percentage of students asserts that they receive their knowledge of the world through the mass media and predominantly through the medium of television. The aim of the program is therefore to encourage students to analyse and criticise what they see. The Media Department is just one segment of our entire Resource Department and it would remiss of me if I did not mention the changes that have occurred in the Library this year. An on-line circulation system was introduced at the beginning of the year which involved initially putting bar codes on all books and entering bibliographic information into the computer. Students were given ldentification Cards and bythe middle of Term 1, borrowingwas much simpler and more efficient. Since the installation of the system, some fifteen thousand book loans have been transacted. This figure does not include books borrowed from the reserye collection for use on a daily basis. Currently the Library holds over thirty-five thousand volumes, covering reference, non-fiction and fiction and we subscribe to fifty- one periodicals. Non-fiction purchases for 1988 have endeavoured to respond to the changing curricular needs of the various Departments. Responding to a request from Senior students and Boarding students, the Library opened until 9.00 p.m .on two nights a week and for three hours on Saturday afternoons. This is for a trial period and will be evaluated to ascertain whether there is a permanent need for extended hours. The two Resource teachers, Mrs. Farley and Mrs. Pepper- Budge, have continued to work with individuals, small goups and within regular classes to cater for individual needs and to improve the basic skills of all students' Study skills workshops and tutorial sessions in Maths, Science and English, have been conducted at lunchtime and after school. A study skills booklet, entitled "Successful Study in Maths" was prepared for all Year 8 students. This series provided opportunities for parents and students to have a detailed insight into proficient methods in Mathematics. Results in Mathematics and Science have been very pleasing this year with record numbers of students gaining bistinctions in local and national competitions. Cristina Vergara, Jan Milford and Hilary Fisher all received prizes in theWestpac Mathematics Competition. ln Science, Katrina Biltoft and Linda Campbell received prizes in the Science Teachers Competition and Rachel Balmanno has been chosen to go to the National Science Summer School in Canberra.

New computer software has allowed students access to programs, which develop their basic skills in Mathematics and English. This year has seen the addition of a classroom set of twenty-five Aztec Computers. This was achieved through the generosity of the Parents & Friends' Association who donated the $70,000 that was required for the facility. The School now has three rooms of computers, together with a number of others scattered through various Departments. These facilities provide the girls with access to various types of software that will aid their studies in all areas. Accounting students have benefited greatly from the new machines by being given the opportunity to gain insight into Computer Accounting. They can now move easily from spread-sheeting to report writing to analysis and interpretation, to graphical illustrations and to using a program which encompasses many aspects of the two year COUTSE, Next priority is for Year 1 1 and 12 students to experience, as closely as possible, what is happening in the world of work. Senior students undertook a four week intensive course on the use of Word Processing, and they are now able to use the facilities for class writing exercises. The lntegrated Studies students received their own IBM compatible computer through the year, and are now kept busy developing their touch-typing skills and other computing skills which are essential for most employment situations today. Computer Literacy at Year 8 level continues to provide every student with reinforcement in the nature, scope and limitations of modern information technology. This has been extended by the English Department to be an integral paft of their program and provides students with the opportunity to create and produce a large range of formal and informal written work. High levels of student proficiency, coupled with the popularity of our new system, have placed a heavy demand upon existing facilities, both in and out of class time. The result has been that the majority of students have a most positive approach to the use of computers as tools within the educational process. I have spoken at some length about the opportunities for students to have access to courses that will provide them with the foundations for their further education, but there must be a balanced approach to the academic program. Physical fitness is essential if young people are to function at the highest academic levels, and this year it was pleasing to see the Memorial Outdoor Education Centre at Imbil become fully operational. On the first weekend of the School Year, students in year 12 who wished to participate in the Year B, 9 and 10 Outdoor Education Program, attended a Leaders' Camp at the Centre. This introductory weekend provided students with an insight into the types of activities and situations they would be involved in as leaders on School Camps, and it also provided the staff at the Centre with opportunities to know the potential camp leaders. The girls who attended the camps certainly fulfilled their roles with many showing very good common sense and responsibility in a number of challengin g situations.