2006 School Magazine

Social&EnvironmentalStudies

Social&EnvironmentalStudies

Students in Year 11 Study of Religion visited the Chung Tiam Buddhist Temple and the Masjid Al Farooq Mosque. This visit provided them with the opportunity to experience other religions by visiting their places of worship and listening to members of their communities speak about their doctrines, rituals and ethics. Such exposure can only help our students understand the diversity of religious beliefsthatconstitutecontemporary Australian culture. The age of terror has unleashed much intolerance in our community and it is important for our students to base their ideas and opinions on facts rather than through media generated hubris.

BeyondtheClassroom

gside the Brisbane River

During the year our students have been exposed to many of the ideas and issues that make our society such a vibrant amalgam of wonder, excitement and confusion. In classrooms our students have been exposed to a number of issues ranging from the Arab – Israeli dispute, the existence of poverty in the Australian economy, town planning and sustainability, the urban geography resounding as “who am I”? Our Faculty is one in which critical thought, class discussion and an exposure to a wide range of disparate sources makes learning current, enjoyable and relevant. of Spring Hill as well as issues as

rving and recording land use alon

Year 10 Geography students obse

Hammarskjold Competition at Parliament House. In July, five Year 11 girls, Stephanie Carter (11E), Rachael Parry (11M), Eleanor Todd (11H), Tara Malcolm (11R) and Elaina Tsutsuma (11R) attended the Oaktree Foundation Youth Conference. Along with students from various Brisbane secondary schools, the girls gained important knowledge about poverty and its causes and engaged in several simulation activities. Ekta Paw Stephanie Carter (11E) attended the Insiders - Outsiders Forum where young Queenslanders raised and discussed youth issues: racism and treatment of refugees; inequities in public/private funding in education and health; and overemphasis on OPs andacademicperformance.The (10G), Sarah Thang (10H), Samantha Luck (10W) and Our subjects value experiences outside the classroom just as much as traditional modes of learning within the classroom making learning relevant in a changing and challenging world. girls found the experience informative and engaging.

Claire Blenkin (12O), Hannah Statham (12O) and Katrina Smith (12L) are unsure of the road sign — do they have to work or should they reduce their speed to 40 kilometres?

Miss Elin Charles-Edwards (19

97) with Year 10 students

Such experience occurs in the classroom as well as through a variety of non-classroom and co- curricular activities. Our geographers again abandoned the classroom to meet with students from Brisbane Grammar School to attendtheCareers inGeographyDay at the University of Queensland where former Brisbane Girls Grammar School students, Kate Wagner (1998) and Elin Charles- Edwards (1997) were presenters. Students were involved in a number of interactive workshops that highlighted the value of Geography in many areas including Planning and Design, Retrofitting the sustainable house, GIS hands on. All students benefited from the discussion and interacting with students from other schools, as well as gaining an insight into university life. Sinead Hastie (10B) noted, “Geography offers opportunities both inside and outside the classroom.”

Year 12 Economics students also participated in a number of activities beyond the confines of the classroom. In March they participated in a Reserve Bank of Australia seminar for school students on the topic of macro economic management and in July they travelled to the University of Queensland for an open day for economics students on subjects as far ranging as the economics of terrorism and the economics of dating! These activities provided the students with a variety of experiences that extended and complemented their classroom studies. Earlier in the year, two Year 11 Economics students, Kimberley Tran (11B) and Rachel Macleod (11H), attended the Youth Roundtable conference held within the Legislative Council Chamber of the Queensland Parliament sponsored by the Federal Member for Brisbane, Mr Arch Bevis MP. Issues raised ranged from the war on terror, social security reform and the politics of water.

Geography students Belinda Templeton (11O), Alice Nicklin (11W) and Clare Martin (11W) collecting data to determine water quality at Yabba Creek.

t House

Grace and Samantha at Parliamen

Our Ancient and Modern History students were afforded the opportunity to access the resources located at the University of Queensland’s Social Science and Humanities Library. These visits have proved to bemost popular and worthwhile. In addition to these visits a number of co-curricular activities have been organised by the History Department during the year. Grace Cowderoy (10E) and Samantha Luck (10W) represented the School in the state finals of the United Nations Youth Association

Mr Bruce Addison Director

Alexandra Rabaglino (9G), GraceTanner (9O), Telilah Huth (9E) and Claudia Wyer (9M) using navigating skills at Bellbird Grove

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Br isbane Gir ls Grammar School

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