2019 School Magazine

SERVICE REPORT

S ervice at Brisbane Girls Grammar School embodies a culture that is empathetic, inclusive and empowering. Our Service motto for 2019, ‘Service Starts with You, Share the Royal Blue’ encompasses these values, encouraging students to participate in activities that benefit the wider community. As 2019 Service Captains, we wanted to promote the significance of actions. Regardless of how big or small these actions are, they can collectively create change within our community. We emphasised actions that inspire change should never be considered too small, or too worthless, but worthy of celebration. Our toughest task for this year, was selecting a School Charity. In a world that struggles with inequality, prejudice, poverty, and violence, we found it very difficult to narrow down a selection from a multitude of causes that play a vital role in so many lives. However, our passion for both Indigenous and women’s rights led us to the Stars Foundation. The Stars Foundation is an organisation focused on supporting and enabling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women to make active choices

money collected donated to the maintenance and division of the School’s native beehive. The student body’s support of these changes was reflected in the School’s commitment to the construction of solar panels on several buildings. House Service Captains play an integral role in fostering community bonds through House Charities and promoting service as a whole within the School. This year, each House raised funds for their chosen House Charity at Open Day and other events such as White Blouse Day. From 2020 onwards, House Service Captains will be presented with badges in recognition of their outstanding efforts. Thank you to everyone who took part in service activities this year, particularly our House Service Captains, Service Group Leaders, and Director of Service, Mrs Mungomery for her support. Gemma Grattan (12O) and Victoria Hogan (12W) SERVICE CAPTAINS

in order to achieve their full potential. The foundation aims to close the gap in health, education, and unemployment between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by promoting health, development and wellbeing in schools in the Northern Territory, Victoria and Queensland. This year, in collaboration with the Uralla Club, Diversity Day followed the theme ‘Connections’, particularly connections to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups. Our guest panellists, former Principal of Milpera State High School and Chair of Friends of the Home of Expressive Arts of Learning (FHEAL), Ms Adele Rice, representatives from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit at The University of Queensland, Professor Tracey Bunda and Ms Emma Olssen, and Counsellor and Community Educator, Ms Sara Pane, from ZigZag Young Women’s Resource Centre, provided a stimulating and inspiring discussion on the importance of listening. Another focus this year was our commitment to limiting the School’s ecological footprint. The introduction of more recycling bins and the ‘Containers for Change’ scheme was well received, with

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