2013 Annual Review

HIGHLIGHTS

SCHOOL • Educational Leadership: Ms Jacinda Euler commenced as the 16th Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School; former Governor-General, Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO launched a landmark publication commissioned by Brisbane Girls Grammar, and written by renowned Australian educationalist Professor Erica McWilliam called Educating Girls ; The School was granted The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation for 2013. • Academic: The School’s exceptional record of academic achievement continued with the 2013 Year 12 students achieving excellent results in the Queensland Cores Skills Test and in their OP scores. 14.35% students received an OP1 and 46.52% received an OP1-5; Girls Grammar was confirmed as Queensland’s top performing girls’ school in Year 9 NAPLAN results released by the Queensland Studies Authority; A record 72 girls achieved a VHA at Year 12 exit in English. • Infrastructure: Construction commenced on the contemporary $17.3 million five-storey Research and Innovative Learning Centre to be opened in January 2015 when our first Year 7 cohort arrives. • Sports: The first home-ground cricket matches were played at the new Girls Grammar Sports Campus at Fig Tree Pocket; The School won its 20th consecutive QGSSSA Cross Country title — a remarkable sporting achievement. • Co-curricular: The School continued its commitment to Service with a four-week health and wellness initiative ‘Steptember’ to raise $24,000 for the Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation, while $40,000 was raised to support local, national and global causes; The School staged a successful Senior Drama Production of the commissioned play The Chosen by multi-award-winning Australian playwright, Lachlan Philpott. The play was the culmination of two years of workshops with the playwright and has since been published by Playlab; Girls Grammar hosted the 18th Biennial Australian Combined Schools Music Festival with Brisbane Grammar School — 67 girls participated and Richard Gill OAM conducted the Symphony Orchestra, hosted another successful Gala Concert, Picture This , showcasing the School’s musical talent at The University of Queensland Centre.

PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION BY STAFF • Appointments: Head of Accounting, Phillipa Greig, was appointed to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Advisory Board for the Economics and Business Curriculum; Director of English Stephen Woods was appointed to assist the Quality Assurance Unit, Queensland Studies Authority for presentations to the Ministry of Education, Tonga; Co-Directors of Technology Studies Brendon Thomas and Shane Skillen were appointed to the Board of the Queensland Society of Information Technology in Education (QSITE); Head of Co-Curricular Drama, Katrina Riveros was nominated by Independent Schools Queensland to join the Expert Teacher Group; Co-Director of Technology Studies, Shane Skillen was appointed to the Joint Council for the Queensland Teacher’s Association; and Drama Teacher Robyn Shenfield was re-elected to the 2013 Drama Queensland Management Committee as Communications Editor. • Conferences & Symposia: Director of Sport, Sally Northcroft presented at the Sport and Society Conference in the USA; Marrapatta staff played an integral role in managing the Outdoor Educators’ Association of Queensland’s OEAQ 2013 State Conference ‘Think Outside – no box required’; Director of Mathematics, Margaret Gunn spoke at the Mathematical Association of Victoria Annual Conference in Melbourne; The Technology Studies Faculty hosted a Q&A forum for industry leaders, technology teachers and curriculum managers; The Creative Arts Faculty hosted the inaugural Creative Futures Symposium attended by arts educators, artists, industry professionals and students; Co-Director of Technology Studies, Brendon Thomas presented and facilitated at the QSITE State Conference 2013; Deputy Principal Mrs Marise McConaghy joined a hypothetical panel run by esteemed psychologist Dr Michael Carr Gregg at the Queensland Positive Schools Conference 2013. • Media: Dean of Academic Development Trent Driver participated in a radio interview on ABC Life Matters with Natasha Mitchell on developing resilience in children. • International placements: The Centre for Professional

Practice hosted 27 pre-service teachers from five Australian universities and a TAFE college, and internationally from the University of Akron, Ohio, USA, and Saarland University, Germany.

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BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2013 Annual Review