1997 School Magazine

-----------------------1[1--------- ~irls ~rnmmar ~cbooI ~risbane 1997 ~ hnbil Matures

I t is ten years since the Outdoor Education Centre was established at Imbil and each year has seen new additions to the grounds or to the buildings or to the programs. The

1997 saw the appointment for the year of an old girl of the school, PE teacher Miss Nicki Richards as the second teacher at the centre to replace Miss Hazel who has joined the Queensland

Police Force . Miss Richards and Mr Kimball have been the constant staff through- out this year as Mr Lanham took long service leave in third term. Mrs Lanham re- turned to the Centre staff for the first three weeks of the term and worked with Mrs Fairlie who then acted ,in the place of Mr Lanham for the rest of the term while the Lanhams were on leave . The M.L.Btyant labora- tory has been used by a range of students, espe- cially the Year Nines and

buildings now nestle into the trees and shrubs on what was once a stark hill- side. As the trees have matured so have the pro- grams and this year has seen the trialling of a two week Year Nine program. The vision of the school has always been to develop a range of experiences that would effectively integrate the work on the Brisbane campus with that at the centre. By extending some of the Year Nine camps to two weeks students were

The new kitchen

the Combined Study Mode students . The macadamias have produced quite well and the Small Business Studies students are involved in marketing the crop . The GAP student from England this year was Lisa Collings from Brighton. Lisa brought with her a range of appropriate outdoor skills, particularly in navigation, mountain biking and canoeing as well as a bright, outgoing personality. She was an invaluable member of the staff until her return to the U.K. at the end of August to commence her university studies in the new academic year. Best wishes, Lisa, in your future studies.

given the opportunity to choose a focus and then spend an extended period of time investigating that topic (utilizing many of the skills they had already acquired at school) . Research involved visiting factories and museums, interviewing local identities and detailed surveying of specific sites around the Centre. The idea of two weeks away from home was greeted by some with apprehension but by the end of their twelve days the girls agreed that the wide range of experiences and projects in ,vhich they were involved were enjoyable and worthwhile. The new kitchen was installed in late 1996 was invaluable during the extended stay.

Gap Student

A t the start of the year I left snowy Brighton, in England, to statt work at Imbil Outdoor Education Centre. I have now been here for eight months and have learnt much during my stay. My job involves assisting the staff in all activities from canoeing to cooking. With support from Tim and Sue Lanham, Nicki Richards and Peter Kimball I settled in quite quickly and was soon feeling at home, apart from coping with the heat. Back in the U.K. I'm involved in many outdoor pursuits including mountain biking, and the experience I have gained has helped me clarify my ideas and shape my future career. The students of B.G.G.S. have also been great (most of the time!), teaching me much about Australian life including many

lessons on playing cricket and speaking with an "Aussie" accent. Working with a mixture of ages has opened my eyes to outdoor education in general. It is far more complicated than I first thought. During my stay I have managed to do some travelling. At Easter I visited Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney is a lively city with many opportunities to spend a dangerous amount of money. Melbourne is ve1y cosmopolitan and the riverside restaurants and live music reminded me of mainland Europe. In July my sister came over and we flew to Cairns for a week. Cairns is a lovely city and caters mainly for travellers . I met many English people there . The beauty of the Great Barrier Reef was

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