2018 School Magazine

KIRSTEN JACK MEMORIAL LEUKAEMIA COMMITTEE

The Kirsten Jack Memorial Leukaemia Committee (KJ) gathers a group of passionate, committed and like-minded girls from all Year levels, dedicated to supporting young people with cancer. One of the group’s primary objectives is fundraising, with all proceeds donated to support research that may one day find a cure for cancer. As always, our committee members started the year enthusiastically with a bake stall and raffle in Term 1, followed by the annual KJ Formal Fashion Parade in Term 2. Our handmade Mother’s Day cards were once again a huge success and we were excited to see that our rocky road and face-painting stall remains an Open Day favourite. This year, we decided to treat Girls Grammar fathers with cards and fudge for Father’s Day—a new fundraising initiative that proved to be very much appreciated. We finished the year with great enthusiasm, making badges for Daffodil Day and selling bandannas to raise money for CanTeen. We are proud to report that this year we managed to raise more than $3000 and more importantly, we worked cooperatively, fostered friendships and had fun—all of which are the true legacy of Kirsten Jack. We thank Dr Farley and Ms Parry for their ongoing support, invaluable assistance and for making this committee an enjoyable space to meet and work. Thank you to the KJ girls who have given up their lunch hours, baked, painted, glued, bagged, tied and sprinkled glitter tirelessly all year. Your time, effort, companionship and generosity has been greatly appreciated and the committee would not have been the same without you.

Finally, special mention to the Girls Grammar community who have generously supported us throughout the year. It has been an honour to captain this group and we are confident the KJ Committee will continue to support cancer research and keep Kirsten Jack’s legacy alive. Louise Rainbird (12G) and Asha Varghese (12H) CAPTAINS

URALLA CLUB

In Term 1, we celebrated National Close the Gap Day and created a ‘word wall’ to create conversations about why we need to ‘close the gap’. The Uralla Club also held a breakfast with Brisbane Grammar School Close the Gap Club where former Senior Advisor for Indigenous Affairs to the Prime Minister, Mr Andrew Clarkson, was our guest speaker. In Term 2, the Uralla Club hosted a viewing of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2008 ‘Sorry’ speech for National Sorry Day, in commemoration of the Stolen Generations. Our second guest speaker for the semester was Mr Gregg Ross, who works in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hospital Liaison Services at Lady Cilento Children's Hospital. He reiterated the message gained from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s speech by emphasising that a mutually respectful and cooperative relationship needs to be established and maintained in order to achieve the most meaningful outcomes. As Uralla Club founder, Ms Anna McArthur-Dowty (2015), succinctly explained, ‘while it is easy to become deaf to statistics, raising awareness of the human face behind these figures is important. Without awareness there can be no understanding and without understanding there can be no call to action; some things will never change.’ Alexandra Ball (12R) and Olivia Dalton (12G) URALLA CLUB LEADERS

The Uralla Club is a student-led, interest based group with the purpose of learning about the culture, lives, and history of Indigenous Australians, and raising awareness within the wider School community for the issues facing modern Indigenous Australians. This year we have covered two topics—education and health.

058 | SERVICE | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2018