2019 School Magazine

YEAR 12 MODERN HISTORY T his year, I have had my life enriched with historic ‘gifts’ that have not only helped me understand the world around me, but also taught me the appropriate methods of research, analysis and writing. One gift of Modern History is the phrase feedforward. The idea being that we take what we’ve learned from our practice writing tasks and use the feedback to feed into future writing. I believe that this phrase is applicable to all aspects of the subject. For example, in Year 11 I learned about the American Civil Rights movement and how America changed over time to become a more equable society. Learning from this, I can now better understand other political movements, such as seeing how the actions of Dr Martin Luther King influenced those protesting today. Another gift is the importance of understanding cause and effect. In one of our self-directed assignments, Studies of Hope, we were tasked to research, write and then present to a group our findings on a significant movement that could potentially bring hope to a state, national or an international issue. Though I believe that Live Aid’s influence on pop culture has been overplayed, it provided me with a better understanding of charity benefits and the negative impacts. History has taught me to think and interpret information differently. While I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Cold War and Arab-Israeli dispute, it will always be the research, analysis and

CURRICULUM

YEAR 10 HISTORY I thoroughly enjoyed History this year! The year began with the study of World War II, where we learned the causes of the war, significant players, events, the threat of the Japanese at this time and Australia’s changing international relations. We also had the privilege of listening to guest speaker, Mrs Regina Lipshut, who shared her survival story of the Holocaust. Mrs Lipshut’s passion and honesty had a profound impact on girls.

writing skills that are the true gifts of Modern History. Let’s hope that feeds forward into everyone’s futures. Sarah Beavan (12H)

Having had such a deeply interesting and insightful Term 1, we had high expectations for Term 2 and these were certainly met. In Term 2, we studied Rights and Freedoms through a series of case studies ranging from the Montgomery bus boycott, through to the Birmingham campaign and the March on Washington. After the completion of this assessment, we had the opportunity to ‘stage’ a climate action summit in the context of a mock United Nations forum. The focus in Term 3 was Australia’s changing immigration policies and the progression of Australia to become more multicultural and accepting. The first part of the term was focused around the rise and fall of white Australia, including how and why Australia’s Immigration Restriction Act was dismantled. The second part of the term focused on the emergence of multiculturalism Australia, in which we studied the factors that led to this positive change. Sophie McLeod (10M)

YEAR 12 ANCIENT HISTORY

T his year, Ancient History provided students with a unique perspective on human civilisation and development. In Term 1, we began our studies with the fall of the Roman Republic and a research assignment on a topic of our choice relating to this study. In Term 2, we continued our focus on Rome as we learned more about Julius Caesar. In this unit, we assessed Caesar’s character, ambition and role in the emergence of the Roman Empire. In Term 3, we jumped forward a millennium or so to begin research assignments that focused on an aspect of the Crusades. This was a stimulating and enriching unit as while we learned about the medieval conflict between Islam and Christianity, we began to notice aspects of Crusader history that reflected our own current geo-political landscape. Term 4 was dedicated to the study of ancient China and the role of women in their society. Year 12 Ancient History has equipped students with invaluable analytical, writing and evaluative skills, as well as a trove of knowledge on topics that formed the foundation of modern civilisation. Zoe Goss (12H)

070 | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2019