2000 School Magazine

year 8

THE GREIGHTS

Although the school places emphasis on the House system, we find a together ness as a grade. We are the greights:the grade eights. When we came on our first day, we were lost, uncertain, and indecisive. We stuck to our old friendship groups. When it came to making new friends, it was a case of 'Will she like me or not?"Should I try to be funny or serious?' and 'What's her name again?' Eventually, we settled in and found new friends, although it took longer to settle into the academic side of secondary school. We can finally say that we've at last adjusted to the faster paced lifestyle. It took some testing of memory: the first step was to remember our locker number, then not to lock our key inside. After that came endless classrooms, teachers and timetables. The diary became a very useful accessory.

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eight year eight year eight year eight y^ One such date in all our diaries, regardless of our social or academic inclinations, was camp. Five days away from home with only each other for company. This undoubtedly caused some dramas, but it bonded many a friendship. Although none too distant, Imbil was as far away from 'civilization' as some of us could imagine. Yet even more distant' was our overnight adventure. This involved a certain amount of trust. We cooked our own meals, slept in tents and Iilo-ed and hiked 'for endless hours: When we got back home, we discovered that there had been a murder ... a Murder under the Microscope to be exact. This interactive eco-game is played annually by hundreds of schools throughout Australia, and this year, our nine greight classes at BGGS took up the challenge. On the day of the last broadcast of clues, our teams registered their findings. Twentyfour hours later we discovered that the team from England House had come first in Queensland and fifteenth in Australia. They were rewarded with pizza and set to work on the second section, which involved preparing a booklet containing a plan to prevent the trime'from recurring. Meanwhile, the rest of us were studying or rather, worrying for Language tests. One of the main differences between primary school and Grammar, apart from exams, was, for us, Languages and Creative Arts. Three times a week we went to a lesson of Art, Drama or Music and one of our two choices of Language. Although it's sure that none of us will be fluent in German or Chinese by the end of the year, the Languages provide us with a change of pace: a chance to delve into another country's culture and customs, an opportunity so typical of BGGS. At the end of the year, we had memories both good and not-so-good, but we had been the greights, and all the better for it.

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Alex Mercer & Geolgino Brown

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