Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2016

/ 01

PRINCIPAL WELCOME

An expert and inspiring range of keynote speakers included Gloria Steinem — writer, lecturer, political activist and feminist organiser; Arianna Huffington — Chair, President and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group; Baroness Sue Campbell — Chair, Youth Sport Trust in the United Kingdom; Nuria Chinchilla — Professor, IESE Business School, University of Navarro, Spain; Nakenya Ntaiya, Founder and President of the Kakenya Center for Excellence, a girls’ primary boarding school in Kenya; and Australia’s Holly Ransom — Chair of the 2014 G20 Youth Summit and currently Co-Chair of the UN Global Coalition of Young Women Entrepreneurs. Mrs Owen and I delivered a presentation on ‘Design Thinking in Leadership, Teaching and Learning: A Whole School Approach’ that outlined how BGGS has integrated Design Thinking as a structured approach to generating and developing ideas in leadership, curriculum and digital pedagogy. We, in turn, visited New York schools to learn more about their approaches to educating girls and attended stimulating presentations from educators who had gathered from around the world. So much can be absorbed in just a few days and the connections rekindled, or initiated, will serve Brisbane Girls Grammar School well into the future. As a member of the organising committee for the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia’s 2016 Conference held in Brisbane in May this year, the Forum reinforced for me the importance of educators coming together to share their expertise, experience and deeply held belief in the importance of educating girls to the highest standards of excellence, and deepened our understanding that the education of girls brings enormous benefits for societies globally.

AUTHOR Ms Jacinda Euler Principal

The inspiring forum was hosted by the National Coalition of Girls Schools in partnership with pre-eminent educational organisations from all over the world including our own Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia, the Girls’ Schools Association (UK) and the European Association of Single-Sex Education. For the first time, leading educators, researchers, authors and advocates from around the world were brought together to exchange examples of best practice and innovative approaches to attaining academic excellence and the healthy development of girls. Universal themes and topics were addressed, such as Leadership, Health and Wellness, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics), Civic/Community Engagement, Strategic School Advancement, Teaching and Curriculum.

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2016