Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2019

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TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE/ MATER SPARQed PROGRAM In 2018, four Year 11 students were invited to participate in the Mater SPARQed Immersion Program at Brisbane’s Translational Research Institute (TRI). Nina Hadzivukovic (11H), Ella Ng (11L), Shevani Pothugunta (11O) and Elisha Yin (11W), worked alongside research scientists over a period of eight weeks, before presenting their findings to an audience of other researchers at the Institute. Students collected and analysed data used in two of the Institute’s projects—‘Bone marrow macrophage responses to immune challenge’ and ‘Investigation of epigenetic changes driven by a novel anti-cancer agent in melanoma’. The program was an extraordinary opportunity for students to develop and enrich their own skills, while contributing to medical advances and discoveries. Ella and Elisha presented some of their findings at the International Science Youth Forum (ISYF), held in Singapore in January 2019.

Ella Ng (12L) and Elisha Yin (12W) presenting the findings of their Mater SPARQed Immersion Program research at ISYF

RAISING CONFIDENT GIRLS In 2018, Girls Grammar collaborated with Victoria University on Raising Confident Girls , an Australian-first research project aimed at supporting positive body image. The research, conducted by Director of Counselling, Mrs Jody Forbes, involved more than 120 Year 8 mothers from the School community, and 500 Year 8 students from Girls Grammar and two other Brisbane schools. Extending on the School’s implementation of the classroom-based Dove Confident Me program, Raising Confident Girls invited mothers to attend three seminars to assist them in empowering their daughters to develop a strong and positive sense of self. Initial findings reinforced the role of mothers in developing their daughters’ self-confidence and body image as pivotal; Year 8 mothers who attended the seminars reported significantly greater knowledge, skills and confidence in their parenting and role-modelling abilities. While the majority of existing school-based programs that address positive body image do not include parental engagement, Girls Grammar has committed to continuing Raising Confident Girls on an ongoing basis, and in 2019 will also deliver a seminar targeted to fathers within the School community.

STAFF RESEARCH Academic and professional staff at Brisbane Girls Grammar School demonstrate the School’s commitment to life-wide learning. Almost 30 per cent of academic staff hold a Master’s Degree, and 10 per cent of academic staff (and five per cent of professional staff) have been awarded a Doctorate. The areas of staff research are diverse, and include topics that contribute to educational research such as: analysis of contemporary principal practice; insights into the practice of learning support teachers; the transformational environment of secondary schools; and shaping a digital learning culture. Other topics include those specific to areas of subject expertise, such as Mathematics, Science and History.

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2019