2016 School Magazine

JUNIOR AND SENIOR MERLE WEAVER PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITIONS MS TRACEY MACLEAN

Born in 1889 in Tasmania, Ms Merle Weaver was a teacher at BGGS on three different occasions between 1918 and 1951. She was the first woman and only the third student to be granted Honours in English from the University of Tasmania (1913). Ms Weaver very kindly made a bequest to the School in 1954 for both competitions. She was a passionate advocate of girls’ education as well as being involved in the Red Cross and other charitable work focusing on child welfare. These two awards encourage girls to be independent, autonomous and empowered by their ability to speak to an audience.

The Senior Merle Weaver is open to Year 12 students, one representing each House. This competition involves both a prepared speech and an impromptu with 10 minutes preparation. For the impromptu, students can choose one of three unseen proverbs to address. The Senior Merle Weaver Public Speaking Competition has become a traditional part of the Year Twelve final term, and is seen as an opportunity by the speakers to address their peers on a topic they feel strongly about. This year the speakers were exceptionally strong and their subjects covered a wide range, from ‘Drone Warfare’ to ‘Social media and the rise of narcissism’. This year’s winner of the Senior Merle Weaver competition is Caitlin O’Meara from Griffith House.

The Junior Merle Weaver Public Speaking competition is held every year and is open to Year 10 students, one representing each House. This year girls were encouraged to choose a topic relevant to their peers and to a contemporary Australian context. This year’s winner of the Junior Merle Weaver competition is Amrutha Murali from Beanland House who addressed the topic ‘Climb every mountain’. Amrutha’s worthy premise was that “life is full of hurdles and it’s important for us to understand that it’s not only about reaching the top, but also about the journey itself ”.

This Year’s Junior Merle Weaver Competitors:

This Year’s Senior Merle Weaver Competitors:

NAME

HOUSE

NAME

HOUSE MACKAY GRIFFITH BEANLAND O’CONNOR HIRSHFELD ENGLAND

ELLA LEYDON EDITH RODDA EMMA WALL

HIRSCHFELD

BELLA BUSBY

GRIFFITH

CAITLIN O’MEARA JULIA STOROR ANNA RUDDELL CAITLIN WILSON ELIZA FITZGERALD GEORGIA KHAN CHARNE MEINTJES ROSIE CAVDARSKI

WOOLCOCK BEANLAND

AMRUTHA MURALI

SYLVIA KING

LILLEY GIBSON

GEORGIA PERRY CLARE GORDON ANNA ANGELOS

ENGLAND O’CONNOR

GIBSON LILLEY

ALEXANDRA LAHERTY

MACKAY

WOOLCOCK

AUSTRALIAN MATHEMATICS COMPETITION The Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) is one of the highlights of the mathematical calendar at Brisbane Girls Grammar. On Thursday 28th July, 1124 girls from Years 7 to 12 competed in this competition, which consists of 30 multiple choice and short answer questions across a number of mathematical topics. The AMC provides an opportunity for girls to hone their problem solving skills away from the pressure of formal assessment and provides an opportunity for the girls to engage in mathematical discussion generated by these interesting and challenging problems.

Special congratulations goes to Yuwen Guo (9M) and Adhiti Gobindnarain (9E) who were awarded prizes in the competition.

MRS LEE MAZZAGLIA, MATHEMATICS TEACHER

MATHS TEAM CHALLENGE The Maths Team Challenge, held at Indooroopilly State High School, presented an excellent opportunity to enhance our mathematical skills and teamwork. Throughout the day, teams of five determined BGGS students collaborated and solved challenging problems. The day comprised of two rounds. In the first round, each team combined their skills and knowledge to solve as many of ten problems as possible. After a brief lunch, we conquered the second round which was a relay challenge. Pairs from the team had to solve a problem before the next pair could begin working on theirs. The training sessions beforehand sharpened the skills of all participants, resulting in the competition being a highly rewarding experience. Despite the air of competitiveness, the day was enriching, and I would recommend it to any student interested in mathematics.

ADHITI GOBINDNARAIN (9E)

CO-CURRICULUM / 121