Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2015

25

VOLUME

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL / AUTUMN 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

PAGE 06 / EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE

PAGE 08 / HONOURING HISTORY

PAGE 16 / 140 YEARS OF THE ARTS

PAGE 22 & 23 / INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

CONTENTS

LETTERS

PAGE 01 / FROM THE CHAIR by Ms Elizabeth Jameson PAGE 02 / A SCHOLARLY COMMUNITY by Ms Jacinda Euler PAGE 04 / NEW BUILDING OPENS NEW CHAPTER PAGE 05 / LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD by Mrs Kristine Cooke PAGE 06 / EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE by Mrs Anna Owen PAGE 07 / INSPIRE YOUR SISTERS OLD AND NEW, 140 YEARS IN ROYAL BLUE by Natalia Gulbransen-Diaz (12W) & Jacinta MacGinley (12B) PAGE 08 / HONOURING HISTORY by Ms Alison Dare

I just wanted to thank you — and your fabulous girls — on behalf of the interactive storytelling team, for volunteering to be part of our Gallipoli video project last week. We really appreciate your input and thank you for taking the time out of your day to support our endeavour. Josie, Anna and Laura were absolutely delightful young ladies who did a great job with their news video ‘debuts’! Very kind regards JENNIFER KING ABC NEWS ONLINE This is a just a brief note to thank you, the trustees and your staff for the wonderful 140th anniversary ball on Saturday night. It was a glittering affair and a perfect way to commemorate this milestone. I was particularly struck by the images of the girls through the years — what an incredible history this school has. The event backed up something I have thought about the school for a while. It has a restless spirit. Confident, but never self-satisfied, and always looking for the next advance and the next tweak that will make the curriculum that little bit better. It is a trait to be cherished. Regards, GRANT SUNDIN Millie has loved her first few weeks and there have been a few challenges … like trying to do everything and every sport and of course finding that we don’t have enough time! But we would rather a tired Millie and one that is enjoying sorting it out than a bored one. We thank you and all the staff for the wonderful opportunities that our girls are granted and especially all the support that is given when there is so much for everyone to do. Thank you and kind regards FIONA AND LEWIS PERRIN I was part of this exchange about nine years ago now and that’s when I fell in love with both Australians and their country. I was welcomed like never before by my two Australian families (I got to go twice). I’ll always have Australia and the Girls Grammar School in my heart! RUDOLPH MARNAS (Exchange student from Lycee St Paul in Angoulême, France) Sally Gardner @sal_star1 · Nov 3 The service I participated in as a student @BGGS

PAGE 10 / REFLECTIONS PAGE 12 / SPORT PAGE 13 / OLD GIRLS ASSOCIATION PAGE 14 / 140 YEAR ANNIVERSARY BALL PAGE 16 /

140 YEARS OF THE ARTS by Ms Lorraine Thornquist PAGE 18 / BEHIND THE SCENES PAGE 19 / UNIFORM PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN OUR IDENTITY by Mrs Pauline Harvey-Short PAGE 20 / LEGACY OF LOVE, FRIENDSHIP AND GOOD WORK by Dr Ann Farley & Dr Kay Kimber PAGE 22 /

INTERNATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS FORUM Linnea Cain (11W) & Emma van Baarle (11M) PAGE 23 / INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR SCIENCE OLYMPIAD Ranita Atcheson (11R) & Lauren Fidler (11R) PAGE 24 /

is why I now work in the non-profit sector for @mealsonwheelsQ @reblev @612brisbane

OLD GIRLS/ALUMNI by Mrs Claire Tynan PAGE 26 / GROWING SUPPORT by Ms Lea Walker PAGE 28 / THEN AND NOW

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Brisbane Girls Grammar School Board of Trustees Mr Andrew King, Ms Ann Harrap (1984), Mr Tony Young, Ms Elizabeth Jameson, (Chair, 1982), Emeritus Professor Mary Mahoney AO, Professor Adam Shoemaker and Ms Diana Lohrisch (1989).

FROM THE CHAIR

These are responsibilities that have been passed down through the preceding ninety-four trustees to the current Board of seven, and can be seen in recent decisions such as the acquisition of Fig Tree Pocket and Bread House and the development of the Research Learning Centre. The courage to undertake such developments has been underpinned by careful review and analysis of the challenges and benefits, an essential feature of the good governance of any organisation. It is this considered planning and attention to detail that has led to the strong position of the School in 2015. The role of a trustee is certainly much more than the obligation prescribed under legislation — it is a role of stewardship and care and it requires a strong belief in the unique benefits of a Girls Grammar education. In our 140th year, a renewed Board remains as committed as ever to the tasks at hand. The wisdom and knowledge of reappointed trustees Emeritus Professor Mary Mahoney AO, Mr Tony Young and Ms Diana Lohrisch (1989) combined with the ideas and experience of new appointees, Ms Ann Harrap (1984), Professor Adam Shoemaker and Mr Andrew King will ensure the School continues to strengthen. With the support and involvement of the entire School community, the Board will guide and govern the School with as much vigilance as ever. I look forward to a celebratory year where we honour the progress and achievements of the staff, students, families and previous trustees who have all contributed to making Girls Grammar the extraordinary school it is today.

AUTHOR Ms Elizabeth Jameson Chair of the Board of Trustees (Head Girl, 1982)

Cherrell Hirst (1963), the first woman to be appointed as Chair of the Board of Trustees, remarked in her final address as Chair at Speech Day 2006 ‘It takes courage to steer the School in new directions and it also takes courage to follow a path different from the trends of the time’. This courage was evident in the foresight shown by our founders in requesting approval to establish a girls’ school at a time when girls’ education was not widely valued, laying the foundations for a School that would grow to be a leader in exceptional scholarship. It has been demonstrated time and time again by Grammar girls through their achievements at school and beyond. It is the Board’s role to govern in a way that not only preserves the School’s traditions but also embraces the opportunities of changing times and circumstances. AND INTEGRITY. THESE ARE ATTRIBUTES THAT ARE MODELLED THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY, AND QUALITIES THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS EVER- MINDFUL OF DEMONSTRATING THROUGH ITS OWN LEADERSHIP OF THE SCHOOL. FOR 140 YEARS GIRLS GRAMMAR HAS OFFERED AN EDUCATION THAT PROVIDES GIRLS WITH THE SKILLS TO NAVIGATE THEIR WORLD WITH WISDOM, IMAGINATION

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2015

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A SCHOLARLY COMMUNITY

AUTHOR Ms Jacinda Euler Principal

Passionate, intellectual exchanges — sometimes heated ones — characterise the debate and discussion of our own Athene Club. Named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athene provides a forum for girls and boys from the Grammar schools in Years 11 and 12 to engage in informed scholarly dialogue on ethical, social, political and philosophical issues. The discussion within Athene is managed by the students themselves. A research paper on a topic of their choice, and the questions that emerge from it, provide the stimulus for their arguments to be challenged, logic to be questioned and opinions tested, all within a civil and respectful setting. They learn to critically evaluate the ideas and views expressed, responding with thoughtful and reasoned argument, just as all Grammar girls are encouraged to think for themselves, challenge assumptions and become comfortable with uncertainty in the pursuit of wisdom. Dr Bruce Addison, Dean of Curriculum and Scholarship and Dr Ann Farley, Director of Cross Faculty Initiatives are developing our Philosophy of Learning programme with Girls Grammar’s newest students in Years 7 and 8 to encourage reflective practice, develop essential learning dispositions and provide a foundation for ‘thinking about thinking’ that will sustain them in the years ahead. British educator, Guy Claxton, effectively summarises some of the most important research in this area that is guiding our approach to teaching and learning at Girls Grammar:

WHEN HARVARD UNIVERSITY’S HOWARD GARDNER MADE HIS FESTSCHRIFT 1 PUBLIC, HE SAID THAT ONE OF HIS MOTIVES WAS THAT HE BELIEVED ‘THE KINDS OF EXCHANGES THAT I’VE HAD OVER THE DECADES WITH STUDENTS AND COLLEAGUES HAVE BECOME AN INCREASINGLY RARE IF NOT ENDANGERED SPECIES. IN MAKING AVAILABLE THESE EXCHANGES — EXTENDING WELL OVER 1000 PAGES — I WANT TO GIVE A FEELING FOR WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO LIVE AND INTERACT IN A SCHOLARLY COMMUNITY, WHICH IS ALSO A COMMUNITY OF HUMAN BEINGS, DURING THE LAST DECADES OF THE 20TH CENTURY AND FOR THE FIRST DECADES OF THE NEW MILLENNIA’ (2014, p.xx). At Brisbane Girls Grammar School our own scholarly community comprises strong intellectual and emotional relationships and we encourage this connectedness for, as Gardner said early in his academic career: I had come to realize that there was no better education for a young student bent on taking the temperature of a field than to have the opportunity to read exchanges — sometimes heated ones — among individuals who are trying to create, define, build up, promulgate, or corral a field of knowledge (2014, p. xvii).

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If Lauren Resnick is right, that intelligence is properly seen as ‘the sum of one’s habits of mind’ (Resnick, 1999); if David Perkins is right, that much of what looks like evidence for intelligence (or lack of it) is actually a matter of learned dispositions and ‘sensitivity [or insensitivity] to occasion’ (Perkins & Ritchhart, 2004); if Carol Dweck is right, that our apparent intelligence is powerfully moderated by acquired beliefs about intelligence (Dweck, 2000); if Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman are right, that (acquired) self-discipline accounts much better for school performance than (fixed) IQ (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005); if all this is good psychology, then the idea of helping young people to learn how to be smarter — especially in the way they respond to difficulty and uncertainty — gains a great deal of credibility and practicability’(2012, 17).

For example, in November eight Year 10 girls participated in the International Young Leaders Forum at the Suzhou Foreign Language School, an hour west of Shanghai. In a week rich with discussion and debate some very bright and idealistic students from six leading schools in Asia gathered to explore topics of common interest with their international peers. In the words of the host Principal, Mr Cao Lunhua: The spirit of this event is to offer a multi-national stage for our brilliant young people to play their role in handling the important global issues of our time. Through creative thinking, wise decision making and cooperative action, they can make the world a better place, and simultaneously make their own lives extraordinary by attaining higher levels of interaction with their peers, as well as a higher level of understanding of the solutions to the pressing issues that the globe faces. The future will require our girls to have the skills to form collaborative personal and intellectual relationships, to synthesise information and different views from multiple sources, to be inquisitive and to ‘learn, unlearn and relearn’ (Toffler, 2015). They will need ever greater understanding about other cultures and an appreciation that ‘other people, with their differences, can also be right’ (‘Mission’, 2015). Fortunately, it is not always necessary to travel so far as China to develop the skills of intellectual dialogue. Our own Athene Club, debating and public speaking competitions, science Olympiads and so many other opportunities provide these experiences at home. Most importantly, it is within the classroom that students are inspired to understand that we are all life- long, life-wide learners whatever our innate abilities or intellectual aptitude. Scholarship is the intellectual endeavour of learning how to think and thinking solves the problems of the world. If we can teach the art of thinking through a Girls Grammar education, we will have fulfilled a very noble and worthy purpose. Our learning environment enlivens curiosity and nurtures in all students a love of learning and for 140 years that has been both the joy and the privilege of being a Grammar girl.

Exceptional scholarship, then, is most assuredly active not passive. It is rigorous and disciplined and yet allows for meandering and musing. Much of this meandering and musing is being encouraged through the practise of keeping a learning journal with our younger students. Through Philosophy of Learning the girls keep a reflective learning journal in which they ask themselves ‘What did I learn?’, ‘What worked?’ ‘Why did I underperform and how can I improve?’. The concept of Personal Bests (PBs) is encouraged in this journaling activity because it is essential that all girls, regardless of their particular interests or individual abilities, experience academic success and understand that intelligence is malleable not fixed. Relationships are fundamental in Gardner’s concept of a scholarly community. At Girls Grammar we understand the strength and importance of these social connections and view scholarship as a spiritual endeavour that connects us to our fellow travellers and elicits great joy, a sense of freedom and delight. As Bertrand Russell observed, it was the Renaissance that ‘broke down the rigid scholastic system, which had become an intellectual strait jacket’ and ‘encouraged the habit of regarding intellectual activity as a delightful social adventure, not a cloistered meditation’ (1946). So many of the opportunities at Girls Grammar to rigorously explore ideas and to question, not just within a particular field but also between neighbours, and even between nations, are important intellectual social adventures for our girls and young women.

i Festschrift - a collection of articles published in honour of a scholar

REFERENCES Gardner, H. (22 May 2014). Mind, work and life: A Festschrift on the occasion of Howard Gardner’s 70th birthday (Volume One) . Kornhaber M. & Winner E. (Eds.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Claxton, G. Professor. (2013). School as an Epistemic Apprenticeship: the Case of Building Learning Power . British Psychological Society, Great Britain Retrieved from http://www.winchester. ac.uk/aboutus/lifelonglearning/CentreforRealWorldLearning/ Documents/Claxton%20 %282013%29%20School%20as%20an%20 epistemic%20appren ticeship%20%28Vernon%20Wall%29.pdf

Russell, B. (1946). History of western philosophy . London: Routledge.

Toffler, A. (2015). Toffler Quotes . Retrieved from http://www.alvintoffler.net/?fa=galleryquotes

International Baccalaureate – Mission, retrieved from http://www.ibo.org/ en/about-the-ib/mission/

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2015

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NEW BUILDING OPENS NEW CHAPTER

TWO DAYS BEFORE THE SCHOOL’S FOUNDATION DAY, THE RESEARCH LEARNING CENTRE WAS OPENED BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE HONOURABLE PAUL DE JERSEY AC, QUEENSLAND GOVERNOR. Federal member for Brisbane the Hon Teresa Gambaro MP, State Member for Brisbane Central Grace Grace MP, Councillor Amanda Cooper and former Principal Dr Judith Hancock AM were all in attendance to officially witness the culmination of almost five years of planning and development. The introduction of Year 7 in 2015 provided the School with the impetus for the new building which would create a contemporary learning space to support thought, reflection and inquiry. It was recognised early in the process that the location of the Research Learning Centre at the front of the School, adjacent to the School’s founding buildings, provided the opportunity to create a visible history of women’s education, juxtaposed with the latest approaches to education, technology and scholarship. Rather than proving a hindrance, the existing mature fig tree became an inspiration for the building and the beauty of this tree was incorporated into the design. Study tours to the Delft University of Technology Library in the Netherlands and the Hellerup School in Copenhagen highlighted the potential for creating intimate spaces within bigger, open-plan environments, and the possibilities inherent in such contemporary learning spaces. Over fifteen months, work on this emerging building was thoughtfully managed with minimal disruption to

‘IMAGINE A DAY … WHEN A BOOK SWINGS OPEN ON SILENT HINGES, AND A PLACE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE WELCOME YOU HOME. IMAGINE…TODAY’.

His Excellency Paul de Jersey AC with Chair Elizabeth Jameson and Principal Jacinda Euler at the official opening of the Research Learning Centre.

students and staff. Almost 100 000 hours were worked on site and 58 000 bricks, 2183m 3 of concrete and 176 tonnes of reinforcement indicate the scale of the project. The severe storm that hit Brisbane on 27 November 2014 did not deter spirits nor determination, and the building was completed ready for the start of Brisbane Girls Grammar School’s 140th year. Preceding its official opening on 13 March, the RLC opened its doors to the School community on 27 January, invoking excited whispers, expressions of awe and squeals of delight, confirming the success of the building’s design and construction. As Principal Jacinda Euler remarked at the opening, ‘Michael Banney and m3architecture have designed a building whose contemporary, bespoke exterior is perfectly at home in its historic location, with windows revealing glimpses of an interior rich with suggestions of scholarship’. The combination of the School’s heritage and contemporary values, evidenced through the tactility of old books in partnership with modern technologies, and antique furniture located throughout the flexible learning spaces, reflects — in our 140th year — our proud traditions of providing an exceptional education for Grammar girls.

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I AM IN A UNIQUE POSITION AT GIRLS GRAMMAR. I HAVE HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO BE A PAST STUDENT, A CLASSROOM AND A RESOURCE TEACHER, AND NOW A DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES. THAT HAS PROVIDED ME WITH A RANGE OF PERSPECTIVES ON THE WAYS IN WHICH THE SCHOOL HAS CHANGED — AND THE WAYS, THANKFULLY, THAT IT HAS NOT. LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD

of our Shakespearean play or we could listen to a radio programme about poetry. Rare and special events! How times have changed to laptops, self-loan and self-return stations, RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags in the resources, digital signage, booths with televisions to project laptop screens, and thousands of DVDs. In the centenary year of the School, 1975, the much larger and lighter building was opened and, as a relatively new teacher, I was overjoyed to bring my English classes into such a ‘modern’ and airy space. This library in the Lilley wing grew over the years to include a whole new area in the later-built Hancock building. That library could accommodate at least seven classes and the staffing grew to include two teacher librarians, a reference librarian, a special collection librarian, and two library assistants. While the building was not the most modern and beautiful, the students claimed it as theirs and the stained glass windows certainly made the space memorable. However, our new Research Learning Centre (RLC) has opened a totally new and dynamic page in the history of information services at Girls Grammar. As Director of this faculty and manager of this new facility, I feel as if the wheel has turned full circle from my primary school days and I am home. The journey here has been a combination of excitement and upheaval, of moving thousands of resources and seeing them and the students settle into a totally new home. The place may be new and the furniture modern and different but the values of scholarship and creativity, of intellectual stimulation and imaginative exploration remain the same. This School has never been afraid of innovation nor intimidated by the future. It was founded by men and women who wanted the best education for girls who would make their mark in what was then a relatively new colony. Our new RLC has provided the perfect place for supported learning while the very design encourages the students to look out at the world and all its possibilities.

AUTHOR Mrs Kristine Cooke Director of Information Services

My interests have always included books and reading. Therefore, libraries have always been special places for me — although I was told I was a ‘bother’ at my primary school for reading too many books! How wonderful to come to a high school where I was not only welcomed but also encouraged to immerse myself in the information and insights that books have to offer. I have such warm memories of the librarian in my senior years who used to keep poetry books at the desk for me — just because she thought I would enjoy them. I hope that, despite the

drastic changes in physical facilities, what continues to this day is the idea that the library is a home for each and every student, and the role of the information and library staff is to support readers and researchers, to enlighten them to the wonders of knowledge and wisdom that books and films have to offer, and to provide a safe and stimulating environment.

The library of my student days was a smallish but two-storey affair with reference and non-fiction [the serious books] upstairs and fiction downstairs. There was an outside staircase that led students down to the collection of novels I so loved. This library was built with Old Girls’ funding and opened in 1956. There are archival photographs of the serious foundation stone ceremony where everyone looks very pleased to be gaining a future library that outgrew one room in the main building. The furniture in that library was mainly wooden, and some of the tables and bookcases were quite lovely. To this day, many library spaces have included selected pieces from this early version. The present students seem to enjoy the old tables and chairs — and even the old classroom desks we have incorporated. It is as if, while they admire the new, the sense of tradition is not lost on them. I also find it almost quaint that, in my days as a student, the extent of the technology was a record player on which the teacher could play recordings

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2015

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EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE

THE WORLD IS SHIFTING FROM AN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY TO A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY. THE RISING GENERATION — BROUGHT UP ON THE INTERNET — IS VERY DIFFERENTLY MOTIVATED TO LEARN (DR TONY WAGNER).

The one-to-one laptop programme that resulted in the roll-out of technology into Australian schools did achieve its purpose. But what now? The early thinking behind our BYOD programme emphasised that we were not going to import a culture, but manage it intelligently. Some students use more than one device; others use only one and do so sparingly, their differing motivations to learn dictating the method by which they do so. The hardware and software is neither the pretension nor the intellect, rather the selection and carefully crafted use of technology is the genius. Putting a smart phone in the hand of a child does not increase her intelligence nor determine her value set. The process of streamlining and increasing the availability of technology in a learning environment must be accompanied by an educational philosophy and, combined with teacher training in digital pedagogies, embedded in all aspects of the learning environment. The aim then is to move our girls from users of technology to creators of technology and future directions. The approach used at Girls Grammar is the Design Thinking process. This process values the team and time with industry, educators and peers. It has empathy at its core and is a social process where all members of a diverse group — from students, to teaching teams to professional staff — can find their place and have their input valued. We launched the inclusion of Design Thinking in 2013 with the Creative Futures symposium, continued in 2014 by appointing Design Thinking specialist Adam Blake as our Thought Leader in Residence, and more recently presented at the Future Schools conference on this topic. As we face the new challenges and opportunities of the digital age and knowledge economy the School will continue to monitor and adopt new methods that will develop in our girls the ability to contribute confidently to their worlds with wisdom, imagination and integrity.

AUTHOR Mrs Anna Owen Deputy Principal

As educators, it is incumbent on us to inspire, to challenge, to inform and to ignite passion and curiosity in our girls. To facilitate this, we must adopt teaching and learning practices that not only engage our girls but also equip them with the skills to respond and contribute to a rapidly evolving and globalised world. Over Girls Grammar’s 140 year history, the School has offered an education that honours its grammar traditions while embracing the needs of the present time. Through new subject options, technological advances and shifting educational practices, the School works to address what ‘Dr Wagner has identified as a “global achievement gap”, which is the leap between what even our best schools are teaching and the must-have skills of the future’ (Singmaster, 2015). From the School’s early days, this has meant that ‘decisions had to be made about what ought to be retained from the past and what needed to be added for the future’ (McWilliam, 2013). The necessity to get the balance right remains in the present day and, as always, is underscored by careful consideration. Hence, decisions such as the introduction of the School’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme and the retention of Latin as a compulsory subject for Year 7 students have been driven by a belief in the benefits derived by girls. Indeed, The Educator named BYOD as one of its six new and emerging ‘important technological developments’ in education due to its success in increasing productivity and student learning outcomes (Henebery, 2014). In order to motivate and teach this generation, the school system must be reinvented to be accountable for what matters most. That means to do the work — teaching, learning, and assessing — in new ways. (Singmaster, 2015). The responsibility of educating the current, and future, generations of aspiring young women will require constant evaluation of the resources, skills and values that honour our great Grammar history and the visionary educators that have gone before us. To value tradition, to value skill, to value creativity and self-management in a broader sense requires focus. The one certainty in the uncertainty of education in the future is that an intelligent approach is required. It will not be a declaration of what we do but a demonstrated pathway that leads us into the future.

REFERENCES Henebery, B. (2015). Education revolution: report offers a glimpse into the future . Retrieved from http://www.educatoronline.com.au/news/ education-revolution-report-offers-a-glimpse-into-the-future-197028.aspx McWilliam, E. (2013). Educating Girls . Queensland, Australia: University of Queensland Press. Singmaster, H. (2015). Seven Skills Students Need for Their Future . Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/seven-skills-students-need-their-future

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INSPIRE YOUR SISTERS OLD AND NEW, 140 YEARS IN ROYAL BLUE

AUTHORS Jacinta MacGinley (12B) and Natalia Gulbransen-Diaz (12W)

MOTTOS ENCAPSULATE THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF AN INDIVIDUAL OR ORGANISATION. They offer direction and construct solidarity or unity of purpose within groups. Therefore, it is no surprise that the tradition of creating a motto, establishing a year-long adage, has become a tradition at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. This year, the Student Council has adopted a maxim expressing the fundamental principles of the School to be recognised and celebrated: Inspire your sisters old and new, 140 years in royal blue . Born from values of passion, sisterhood and tradition, we hope these words will inspire girls to embrace school life with unparallelled enthusiasm and spirit. In terms of passion, Khalil Gibran, Lebanese artist, poet and philosopher, asserted that individuals should ‘rest in reason; move in passion’. Thus, the supportive environment at Girls Grammar means that all girls are encouraged to express and pursue their individual passions. Girls Grammar teaches us to walk through our school with arms outstretched, prepared to grasp every opportunity with both hands. Passion is seen in every aspect of school life, resonating through the campus like a voice. It is contagious, and we hope girls will endeavour to live out their passion and inspire those around them to view the world from a different perspective, be it the Uralla Club, International Women’s Day wish cards, or wearing their heart on their sleeve for Valentine’s Day. Another fundamental value underpinning the motto is the idea of sisterhood. Girls Grammar is not only a

community but also a family, a family of girls who inspire and empower one another. However, this notion of sisterhood extends beyond girls currently at school to include alumni, prospective students and women globally. There is an organic connection between Grammar girls, a common background which draws them together. Thus, sisterhood is not only about supporting friends, but also about embracing the continually evolving Girls Grammar community and, through this, attempting to inspire sisters both old and new. This can be as simple as waving to a Grammar girl outside of school, talking to someone from a different year group, or dancing with your buddy on the ‘d-floor’ on Blue Day. Finally, in honour of the School’s history, our fervent belief in tradition pays homage to the women who have walked in through the white picket fence for 140 years. While the School and its students endorse scholarship as a cornerstone of our intent, we chose to foreground tradition in this special year. While we value the practices already in place, the Grammar girl takes ‘the road less travelled’. At our first assembly for the year, the Seniors committed to an inaugural pledge where each Year 12 girl promised to her sisters that she would strive to be the best Grammar girl she could be. Traditions are not old fashioned; they mark the ever-evolving vision of the School. In 2015, we challenge the girls around us, our sisters, to be motivated, to maintain a sense of family, to respect old traditions, and to create new ones.

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2015

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HONOURING HISTORY

AUTHOR Ms Alison Dare Director of Humanities

2015 IS NOT ONLY A MOMENTOUS YEAR FOR GIRLS GRAMMAR AS WE CELEBRATE 140 YEARS , but is also a very important year for Australia, marking a century since Australian and New Zealand troops landed on the shores of Gallipoli in the early hours of 25 April 1915. There have arguably been more traumatic events in Australia’s war history over the past century but it is this event that has seared itself into our national consciousness. With each new generation it seems to gain more, not less, significance. To commemorate this anniversary, Brisbane Girls Grammar School conducted its inaugural ANZACs and Antiquities Study Tour to Turkey and Greece. Our group comprised twenty-three students from Years 10–12 and their accompanying teachers — Dr Rashna Taraporewalla, Ms Julie Hennessey, Dr Sally Stephens and Ms Alison Dare. To many Australians, the battlefields of Gallipoli constitute the real origin of our nationhood. Occurring just fourteen years after Federation, Gallipoli provided us with an opportunity to forge our national identity and establish international status through the trials of war, sacrifice and death. Many have seen it as a marker for the nation’s coming of age; our ‘baptism of fire’. These deeply embedded notions of the almost sacred importance of Gallipoli in our national psyche help to

Students from Years 10-12 visited ANZAC Cove as part of their study tour.

explain why so many Australians flock to Gallipoli each year. Indeed it is not uncommon in the media to hear the word ‘pilgrimage’ used when describing such visits. World War One, and more specifically Australia’s experience of it, is an integral component of the Year 9 History programme. Students learn about the lead up to war from a global perspective; the dangerous alliances that formed in the early twentieth century as well as the various theatres around the world where fighting occurred. From a more local perspective, they explore Australia’s response to war and the overwhelming jubilation that came with the announcement of the outbreak of war. Why so many young men flocked to ‘do their bit’ for the Empire, an idea that would seem strange today, is a question we seek to answer. Our approach to

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Third Australian General Hospital Staff with old girl Grace Wilson 1925 (centre).

community as a whole. Indeed, our own school magazine records the contribution Grammar girls made to the BGS War Memorial Library: We still give willingly each week to the fund for establishing a Memorial Library in honour of the old Grammar School boys who fell at the front … for it is only right that the deeds of our fallen heroes should live in the memory of succeeding generations. Women have largely been ignored in the ANZAC narrative despite the fact that they played a highly significant role. According to historian Susanna de Vries (2013), old girl Grace Wilson (1899) was one of two women who ’stand out in the history of World War One’ as ’dedicated nurses and inspiring leaders’. Grace Wilson (1879-1957), whose career as a nurse at Gallipoli was dramatically recreated in the recent ABC mini-series ANZAC Girls , was Principal Matron of No.3 Australian General Hospital serving in Egypt, Lemnos and France. During the war, she was mentioned in dispatches five times, awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal, the Florence Nightingale Medal and was appointed a Commander (Military) of the Order of the British Empire for army nursing service in France. She was the first woman to receive life membership of the Returned Services League. The culmination of our visit to the Gallipoli peninsula was a formal commemoration for those who died there. Each girl found the grave of her chosen soldier and laid a poppy in memory of him. As a group we laid a wreath on behalf of Brisbane Girls Grammar School for all of the Australians and Turks who died at Gallipoli.

Gallipoli is to first understand the campaign itself, where it was, and why it was strategically so important for the allies to gain access to the Dardanelles. Importantly, we also examine, and to some extent challenge, the mythology that has grown around Gallipoli, seeking to understand why this campaign has become so central to our national identity. Preparations for the trip began in early 2014 in the form of lunch time meetings with students and information evenings with parents and their daughters. These sessions dealt not only with the practicalities of travelling to a foreign country but have also sought to provide a cultural and historical context for the places we visited. We wanted our students to approach the various historical sites with some pre- existing understanding so that their experience was a meaningful one. To personalise their experience we asked our girls to ‘adopt a soldier’ from Gallipoli, to find out all they could about this man, where he came from, how old he was and when and how he died. While there are a number of fantastic online databases such as the World War One Pictorial Honour Roll, Trove and the Commonwealth Graves Commission, we also paid a visit to Brisbane Grammar School’s own War Memorial Library which was built to honour the School’s old boys who fought, and in many cases died, in the war. Of the 370 boys from Brisbane Grammar School who fought at Gallipoli, twenty-seven students and two Masters died — six of these on the first day, 25 April. Mr Chris Price, Head of the History Department at Brisbane Grammar School, shared his detailed knowledge of the School’s involvement in World War One with our students in a visit last year to the War Memorial Library. While there, our girls were able to study the various artifacts such as diaries, items of clothing and letters that the library holds, bringing home to them in a very poignant way the reality of war and the effects that it must have had on the Grammar

REFERENCES de Vries, S (2013). Australian Heroines of World War One . Chapel Hill, Australia: Pirgos Press.

Editorial (December 1921). BGGS School Magazine. 2. Brisbane, Australia.

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REFLECTIONS

EACH YEAR, OUR NEW STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GIRLS GRAMMAR THROUGH THEIR HUMANITIES STUDIES. IN THIS HISTORIC 140TH YEAR, WHERE WE NOT ONLY WELCOMED OUR NEW YEAR 8 STUDENTS, BUT ALSO OUR FIRST YEAR 7 COHORT, THIS TASK HAS TAKEN ON EVEN GREATER SIGNIFICANCE. Girls explore the Main Building, the first to be built on the Spring Hill campus, and examine the collection of archival photos and information, providing them with a sense of how the School has changed over the years but, just as importantly, how the spirit and philosophies have stayed the same. Following this activity, girls were asked to write reflections as Grammar girls in the past and present. A selection is printed below. After my first week at this school in Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill I feel honoured to be one of the first females educated in Queensland. Also, I am feeling perplexed as it is rather peculiar I am getting an education like my three older brothers. I have worn my favourite summer vest all week as well as riding my horse Antoinette to and from school. Everyone at this school is lovely and as there are not many pupils it feels like a second home. The concept of having a school just for women is a rather foreign subject in my family. I was going to follow in mother , s footsteps by doing all the household chores for the family but now, since I am getting an education, I do not know what my future will bring me. Elizabeth Contessa-Watkins After having my first week at Girls Grammar I feel well settled in and ready for the six years ahead. When I walked through the white gates for the first time in my new uniform I was showered with a sense of importance and belonging. I was collected by my Year 11 buddy who dropped me off to the Gehrmann Theatre for my first Year 7 assembly. My first week was a blur of meeting new girls, meeting teachers and getting used to the routine. I was exposed to multiple clubs, orchestras, groups and services. It was an interesting experience to see how many activities there are in the School and, more importantly, how I can get involved. So this year it is my goal to try participating in school activities as much as I can and occasionally step out of my comfort zone and try things that I may not be good at. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? Bridgette Watkins (7R)

Anyone can learn, despite his or her ethnicity, religion, disability or gender. Gender is a major distinguishing characteristic in this century. Luckily, things are changing. The first ever girls , ’ school in Queensland has opened. Brisbane Girls Grammar School is history changing, modifying, creating. Equality is evident. A new beginning, a new start for many women. Finally women are being provided with the prosperous future they always deserved. This means that it’s the start of my beginning too. I attend Brisbane Girls Grammar School on George St, not far from my four brother’s school, Brisbane Grammar School. My brothers don’t have anything to use against me now, for I am being guided towards a successful future, akin to them.

The School is wonderful. It may be Mr Harlin , s former house, but it is now our school. Mrs O’Connor is just lovely, she combines diligence and enthusiasm, as well as great determination. I am absolutely delighted to be attending a school with such hope and pure commitment to the education of women. I cannot wait for tomorrow. Catherine Winsley 16 March 1875

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Elizabeth’ Diary 1915 Today at school we learnt about needle work, mathematics, German, typing and English. I am very excited to do more typewriting as I want to become a secretary or maybe if I do really well I can become a principal like Miss Mackay. While I was at school today men landed in Gallipoli. We are all troubled by the war and scared but our Principal Miss Mackay took care of us all. Miss Mackay encouraged us to donate sweets, handkerchiefs,

I can’t explain the excitement contained within me on arrival through those white picket fences. Surprisingly, nervousness has not yet found its way into me, although it was clearly evident on some of my classmates’ faces. Although subtle, they possessed big, anxious eyes; yet, all mine were capable of at this point was sparkling. And they continued to do so during the majority of the day, except for near the end when I struggled to keep them open. It had been a very long day, but a great beginning, and I was reassured that this was the place — a school where I could carry out my goals and aspirations with ease, where I could flourish and embrace everything in the dedicated atmosphere. Ms Euler’s speech only reconfirmed these feelings. Her speech was truly inspirational, to say the very least. It is great to have a Principal with so many valuable qualities.

pillowcases, washers and eye bandages to help the men serving our country.

After her speech we met our House Group teacher, Ms Winter and had the chance to bond with our new classmates. Ms Winter made a great impression on us members of 8M. She’s lovely, so it was great to discover she would be our maths teacher too! The rest of the day was a blur of team building activities, orientation and meeting our new buddies, but nothing went unmissed. I’ve unveiled orienteering skills I never knew existed. Finding my way around the School was always going to be a challenge but I have accomplished this in less than two weeks. I truly believe I am ready to start my academic adventure and be guided to the prosperous future awaiting me.

Josephine’s Diary 2015 Today at school we learnt about chemistry, maths, Japanese, Latin and history. I am very excited to do more Latin and science as I want to become a neurosurgeon or maybe a veterinary scientist at the zoo. While I was at school today a new female Queensland premier was elected. I don’t think I want to be premier but it was very exciting. I am also excited because in one month’s time the school will be 140 years old and I will be 12 — we share the same birthday.

Jessica McLeod 16 February 2015 (8M)

(Josephine Clough 7L)

Year 8 students explore the School’s history in the historic main building

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SPORT

GIRLS GRAMMAR HAS HAD AN ENERGETIC START TO SPORT IN 2015 WITH OUR NEW YEAR 7s AND 8s SHARING IN THE REST OF THE SCHOOL’S ENTHUSIASM AND ENJOYMENT. Our softballers won the Open and Senior B1 competitions undefeated. The Senior A’s were shared premiers, undefeated with one draw. The 16A waterpolo team followed up their Brisbane club premiership win with second place at the state titles and our swimmers improved on last year’s results to place fifth at QGSSSA, narrowly missing fourth place by twelve points. A close result also for the Open Cricket Team, finishing second on the QGSSSA ladder. They won all but one game, where they lost by only one run.

The participation and support of all girls who have trained, competed and cheered for their peers is to be admired.The competition, passion and determination that sport demands play an essential role in the life of the School, and many important life skills and friendships are fostered through participation.

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OLD GIRLS ASSOCIATION

AUTHOR Mrs Janine Schmidt AM

(Hogg, 1964) OGA President

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE OLD GIRLS ASSOCIATION (OGA) WAS HELD IN MARCH at which two long-serving members stepped down from their roles. Sue Meeking served as Treasurer for sixteen years and has been the public face of the OGA. Her knowledge and hard work have ensured the smooth flow of the work of the Association. Sue has kept a tight rein on expenditure and her vitally important and effective personal touch dealt with many individual enquiries and concerns. After twenty-three years, Dorothy Bourguignon relinquished the role of Secretary. She has faithfully kept the minutes and recorded the Association’s activities with enormous dedication and will continue as a member of the OGA Committee. A huge thank you goes to both Sue and Dorothy for their commitment and diligence. We are delighted to announce the members of the 2015 Committee elected at the AGM: Janine Schmidt (Hogg, 1964) as President, Jenny Gray (Vallis, 1969) as Vice President, Leigh Fielding (Gow, 1984) as Secretary, Ann Stubbs (Westaway, 1982) as Treasurer and Dorothy Bourguignon (Scotney, 1958), Ann Caston (Pressland, 1958), Pauline Harvey-Short (Harvey, 1971), Sue Jordan (Squire, 1967), Sylvia Pegg (Gaulton, 1965), Salliann Powell (Johnson, 1986), Donna Scott-Young (Horton, 1985), Grainia Schmelzer (King, 1981), Kirsten Whip (Macallister, 1981) and Diana Wood (Thacker, 1975). The annual event Everything Old is New Again was held in the new Research and Learning Centre in March. The evening provided an excellent opportunity for current mothers at the School who are also old girls to reconnect, reminisce and meet other old girls with common interests. Eight Year 11 girls assisted and wore ‘muck-up’ uniforms suitably amended with enormous creativity and imagination.

Old girls Maria Clark (Tambakis, 1987), Lisa Sugg (Wood, 1985), Danielle Murdoch (Pherous, 1989) and Anastasia Samios (Anastas, 1989) celebrating at the Everything Old is New Again event.

Chair of the Board of Trustees Ms Elizabeth Jameson and OGA President Mrs Janine Schmidt AM thank OGA members Dorothy Bourguignon and Sue Meeking for their service.

The keynote speaker was current parent and old girl Jessica Bindon (Axelsen, 1983). She talked about the challenging role of parenting girls — nurturing, loving, guiding, driving and feeding them, listening to them, being complained to and about, and accepting them as they are. While many things are changing, many remain the same. The School continues to provide the best in girls’ education — cutting-edge facilities, a nurturing environment, and a culture that encourages personal involvement, giving to the community, following traditions and creating new ones. Old girls have their memories of the School; their daughters will make their own with fresh insights and experiences.

Alaya McPherson (11R), Eloise Owens (11O), Ciaran Greig (11B), Sally Nicklin (11W), Rose Gunn Burr (11M), Alexandra Wilson (11H), Senjuti Maitra (11M) and Erica Schmelzer (11E) wearing old girl muck up uniforms.

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140 YEAR ANNIVERSARY BALL

ON 28 MARCH, 600 MEMBERS OF THE GIRLS GRAMMAR COMMUNITY CONGREGATED AT CITY HALL TO CELEBRATE 140 YEARS OF EXCEPTIONAL SCHOLARSHIP AT OUR ANNIVERSARY BALL. Arriving to the joyous sounds of the Brisbane Girls Grammar School Big Band, guests mingled in the City Hall forecourt before being ushered into the Main Hall to the strains of City Hall’s magnificent organist Christopher Wrench. Once inside, guests heard from Chair of the Board of Trustees Ms Elizabeth Jameson and Principal Ms Jacinda Euler on the history and achievements of our School and its role as a leader in educating girls. Two photo montages were shown, one capturing the history of the School in a carefully scripted ‘then and now’ narrative, and one capturing the spirit that makes Girls Grammar the vibrant and extraordinary school it is today. The evening was superbly emceed by old girl Mrs Marie-Louise Theile (Schubert, 1982), attendees were entertained by band Savvy — the dance floor a true sign of an enjoyable evening. An impromptu school war cry led by ‘young’ old girls showed the Girls Grammar spirit is as strong as ever.

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The celebratory atmosphere was the perfect environment for reconnecting with old friends, old girls and staff, and past and current trustees. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the achievements of our school community and will be remembered as a very special event in Girls Grammar’s history.

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140 YEARS OF THE ARTS

IF THERE IS A THREAD RUNNING THROUGH THE HISTORY OF THE ARTS AT BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL, IT IS AUTHENTICITY. WHILE MOTIVATIONS FOR INCLUDING THE ARTS IN OUR CONTEMPORARY CURRICULUM MAY DIFFER OR HAVE EXPANDED FROM THOSE OF THE EARLY DAYS OF THIS SCHOOL, THE ARTS HAVE NEVERTHELESS BEEN CONSTANTLY DEEMED OF VALUE FOR OUR STUDENTS, NOT MERELY AS PART OF THE ACADEMIC FRAMEWORK BUT AS A LEARNING STRUCTURE FOR LIFE AND LIVING.

Real life experiences in the arts classrooms have grown exponentially across the years, realised now through an enormous diversity and flexibility of learning. Art students no longer simply sit at a desk carefully copying the same picture displayed at the front of the class. Students in Year 8 may all be learning to draw from nature, learning skills from teacher modelling, but each student is pursuing her own version of ideas. By the time art students are in the senior school, they are able to choose their own preferred media for a personal expression of a syllabus theme and the carefully honed skills of the junior school take form in an explosion of styles and creation of meaning. Visiting artists in workshops and in the classroom contribute further to the wealth of the Visual Art curriculum. Exposure to the world of theatre is an integral part of both Curriculum and Co-curricular Drama. Over the years, students have worked with highly regarded playwrights, directors and actors who have provided their practitioner perspective, allowing students to engage with artists in the process of creative theatre building. Students gain both a deeper understanding of the actor’s approach to character development and also the director’s tools in shaping dramatic action. Noa Rotem, a physical theatre specialist, performer and teacher, works alongside Drama staff each February as they lead our students in the craft of building original physical theatre compositions. Most recently, Michael Futcher, Brisbane-based playwright and director has worked with the 2015 Senior Drama Company in their

AUTHOR Ms Lorraine Thornquist Director of Creative Arts

The arts classrooms have continuously been peopled by practising artists, experts in their fields who have brought the world into the student learning sphere. Students have always been transported beyond the classroom in their lessons of art, music and drama and the walls of the arts classrooms continue to be flexible, allowing the world to come to the students so they can imagine and live their arts. Essential to this intent is that the expertise of the teaching personnel in the arts is corroborated and enhanced by visiting artists. Founding art teachers included no lesser names than R. Godfrey Rivers and J.A. Clarke, artists of renown whose works hang in state and national galleries. The first music teacher, R.T. Jeffries, was a professional musician and has given his name to a perpetual bursary. In the first part of the twentieth century, drama education and the local world of theatre was put on the map by Rhoda Felgate (1918), a student of the school who returned as a teacher of ‘elocution’ and established the highly influential and significant amateur theatre companies of Twelfth Night and Repertory Theatre in Brisbane.

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