2019 School Magazine

CHESS T heGirls Grammar Chess Club continued to thrive in 2019, withmany newmembers joining throughout the year. Chess Club is held every Tuesday at lunch and is predominately a recreational activity. However, for many of our players, Chess Club provides an opportunity to prepare for the annual Queensland Interschool Girls Chess Championships. This year, the BGGS Chess Club entered two teams in the championships. Rachel Watkins (9R) won Best Player and Sophie Watkins (12R) won Third Best Player. Team 1, comprising Ayesha Khagram (8G), Rachel Watkins (9R), Abbey Grice (11E) and myself came second overall. Team 2, comprising Emma Armitage-Ho (9R), Lola Thew (11R) and Grace McFarlane

CO-CURRICULUM

(12M), placed fourth. Sophie Watkins (12R)

CHINESE CLUB

C hinese Club is held once a week and offers students the opportunity to cultivate their understanding of the Chinese language and culture. All students are welcome to join the club, irrespective of their language studies. The aim of the group is to promote an understanding of China and the broader Asia region among students, with hopes to perpetuate a cross-cultural understanding and cement inter-disciplinary links with other subjects. The club also allows students who study Chinese to utilise and adopt more of their spoken and written language skills and to foster a rapport with students who share similar interests. The club boasts many fun activities, including preparing for Chinese language speaking competitions, sampling traditional Chinese food, tea ceremonies, celebrating Chinese festivals, art and craft activities, and games such as Chinese chess and majong. These activities may sound trivial, but they provide a deeper understanding of the rich Chinese culture. In Week 6, Term 3, the Chinese Club welcomed Grammar Woman, Molly Pate (2016), who shared her experiences of living in Beijing for a year. Her insights were not only informing but also inspiring. Despite some inevitable difficulties, it was evident that Molly was well equipped to immerse herself in Chinese culture after studying the subject at Girls Grammar.

Knowing that a past student was able to engage herself in such a foreign culture was compelling. Molly’s travels and experiences in China left us with vibrant expectations and a sense of excitement for our own future endeavours. Isabelle McHugh (12E)

092 | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2019