2004 School Magazine

122 Co-curriculum

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>-- Future Problem Solving provides thoughtful analysis of the future through creativeIy thinking about possible future scenarios. DNA Identification, the topic of 2003S National Finals, was a challenging subject, with significant implications for future generations. Loreto College Normanhurst hosted the National Finals and organized a tight schedule for the participants in the competition. A dinner on the Friday night was followed by the main booklet competition on the Saturday morning. Skits that afternoon, skit finals the following day and a final presentation made for a very busy time. Of the four Girls Grammar Future Problem Solving teams, two were invited to compete in Sydney. The Year 9 Team Included Louise Yueng, A1nie Tong, Rachel Ferris and Sarah Burr and the Year I I Team included Alson Plant, Adelia Ng , Judith Castillo and Suailce Burke Shyne. Accompanying us to Sydney were Sarah Hancock, our indefatigable coach and mentor and Mrs Stubbing ton. FPS is an activity where people can socialize and forge meaningful friendships while working on a collaborative task; this certainly occurred in the Sydney experience. However it was not totally business. A trainjourney into Sydney Harbour and dinner at Darling Harbour completed a whirlwind weekend which everyone eruoyed Two year I O Teams were invited to the 2004 Finals at Deakin University, Melbourne: Sarah Burr Rachel Ferris, A1nie Tong and Louise Yuen; Elizabeth Forrest, Aexandra Price, Jien-U Tan and Elizabeth Moule - this team won second place in the Middle Division and have been invited to the International Finals in Kentucky, USA next June 2005. co Richards went as a reserve and Jemima Cowderoy went as a mentor

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>. The Literature Cafe began its life at the School in 2003 as a discrete staff group. This year the decision was made to expand and evolve the concept into an informal forum where all enthusiastic readers from the whole School community are invited to come together to listen to presentations and participate in discussions of a selection of fiction and non fiction texts. Cafe evenings are conducted at the School in the Library where a light supper and refreshments are fumer Hospital. This book, which deals predominantly with the after effects of terrorism, prompted very lively discussion on what is obviously a very topical SUI^Iect in August the group looked at Death Sentence by Don Watson. This book dissects the use and misuse of p blic language in particular "weasel words", using WatsonS terminology. Dr R Colwill presented the book and participants were asked to bring in examples to discuss. Buzzwords such as 'raise the bar 'touch base', fast track' and 'pushing the envelope' were considered. Are they metaphor or mumboJumb07 Suzi Wilson of Riverbend Bookshop in Bullmba presented our next book, Old School by Tobias Wolff She also recommended some good reading from the newest publications to come to her attention. Our final book for the year is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Valdez and we will celebrate the end of the year with a social occasion at River bend The books have been wonderful this year but it is the people who come to discuss, debate, explore, laugh, analyse, deciy and interpret, who have made Literature Cafe a pleasure to attend and co-ordinate The Joy of reading is doubled when shared with others who have read the same book. See you there in 2005! served. The first book discussed this year was Due Preparations For The Plague by Janette

Rockel Ferris

>. in a club where imagination and creativity are the most important things, meetings are always going to be interesting, and this year has proven to be as exciting as usual for Future Problem Solving. Over the year Grammars four teams have

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inner at Darling Harbour Sydne 200

applied their practical and lateral thinking to three topics of relevance to todayS society and that

of the future. Smart Clothes. Rage and Bullying, and Artificial Intelligence As a result of their work, two of the teams. consisting of Rachel Ferns, Sarah Burr Louise foen and Annie Tong, and Jien-Li Tan, Elizabeth Forrest, Elizabeth Moule, Alexandra Price and LU Richards, have been invited to travel to Melbourne for the National finals in October. There, they will be writing a submission on problems related to Media Impact The teams have been coached this year by Jemima Cowderoy, Mrs Sharma and Mrs Stubbing ton, who 15 also our invaluable Co-ordinator Without the time and effort that she puts in every year Future Problem Solvers could never achieve so highly both in their own learning and in national competition

MVS a~ Cotwil! Coordinator

a~gunj, ". A Cowder^I (116)