1997 School Magazine

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Mrs Hancock: 21 Years of Dedication

T uesday, Janua1y twenty-eight , 1997, and the first day back at school. This is for most teachers a common occurrence, but for Mrs Hancock it was a ve1y special day as it marked the twenty-first year of her time as Principal at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. Since her arrival as Principal of Girls Grammar in 1977, Mrs Judith Hancock has made momentous changes and improvements to the whole school, yet she has not

Recent innovations at the school include girls participating in TAFE, outdoor education at Imbil, and the introduction of revolutiona1y teaching methods. Mrs Hancock enjoys seeing people "embrace change, allowing the school to evolve" . Despite all the technology developments whichMrs Hancock has made possible, she has insured that every Granm1ar girl has a strong sense of tradition. She emphasized this point in her

let the strong traditions of this 122- year-old school stray from her sight. Mrs Hancock has dedicated most of her teaching career to prestigious girls schools , having also taught at Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar and at a girls school at Rose Bay, Sydney. Upon arriving at Brisbane Girls Grammar, Mrs Hancock saw her new appointment as an exciting challenge: "I wanted to know that the young women who came here really did have the same opportunities as boys, that educa- tionally the facilities were of the highest calibre, just as the staff were the best you could get." Thus began the transformation of BGGS into a modern learning institution. Mrs Hancock's initial years as Principal were difficult. "People don't like change, " she remarked, as she renected on the obstacles encoun- l red in her attempts to move the school into a modern era. In spite of thi s, Mrs Hancock's vision for the school: "to become pro-active in cl ucational matters and attract a wide ·li entele" has persisted, and has guar- anteed for future generations of girls the learning opportunities which she herself did not have as a girl.

address at the 1997 Prefect Induc- tion on Februa1y the nineteenth: "Each one of you on accepting your position, must make a commit- ment to 'learning as much about the school as you possibly can. You must learn to value the past and to build upon that past so that the school can move confidently into the future." Mrs Hancock is very passionate about her school. She based the thesis for her Master's Degree in Philosophy on the early years of Grammar and how it came to be established. "I was determined to find out how this school is so unique, " she said. She realised that a vision that Grammar's founder Sir Charles Lilley had, she too shared. This was a vision of tradition and change . Mrs Hancock has , in her time at Grammar, seen over four thousand seniors and forty head girls exit the school as fine young women. She says, "It's great to see you conling at Year Eight and watch you grow and mature and develop, and to see you come out independent at the end.

Mrs Hancock, cutting her celebration cake, a. gift from the Boa.rd of Trustees

It's not an easy tiling to do, to let you all have your own say and so on, but is a ve1yworthwhile thing." Now that her initial vision of the school has been more than realised, one can only wonder what Mrs Hancock pictures for the future. "My vision for Grammar, as we move into the 21st centu1y , is to remain ve1y proactive and to know that people accept change not just for change's sake , but for its value if our count1y is going to grow and develop. "One can only expect this determined woman to achieve just that.

As a result, the school today is brimming with opportunity. Mr Hancock sees the greatest developments to have been the bui lding of the Outdoor Education Centre at Imbil and the Gehrmann Theatre, for she believes in challenging students in areas other than academic life. The highlight of her twenty-one years, surprisingly, was not the naming of the Hancock Communications Centre in her honour. Instead , it was the satisfaction of "seeing a vision rea li sed".When Mrs Hancock first came to Grammar there were few co-curricular activities ava ilable to challenge students. Soon arter, basketball and waterpolo were introduced, and this was onl y the beginning. 9

ELIZABETH VELKOVIC