Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2019

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FROM THE CHAIR

AUTHOR Ms Julie McKay Chair of the Board of Trustees

Firstly, I believe that the best way to help girls navigate an uncertain and changing world is to do what the School has always done. For the past 144 years, Brisbane Girls Grammar School has prided itself on equipping young women not just with the skills they need to navigate the world around them, but with the tools to thrive in a changing world and uncertain future. Secondly, the School is putting at its very core the quest for knowledge and the sense of wonder and awe that can come with this. We are helping girls to become excited by the possibility of the unknown, to look into space, to ask big questions and to challenge how we understand the world works—from its molecular to its political structures. We have seen this with the opening of the Dorothy Hill Observatory in 2017, which has given our students the unique experience of being able to explore their universe in a whole new way. We will continue this journey through the construction of the Science Learning Centre this year, which will act as a hub for the pursuit of scientific knowledge, supporting girls’ educational development by evoking questions and analytical thinking, while inspiring wonder and awe. The new building is one component of the School’s Master Plan, and throughout 2019 Girls Grammar will continue to plan for and implement other initiatives to maintain our position as one of Australia’s leading girls’ schools. This planning is underpinned by the Strategic Design , which outlines the guiding principles that determine the strategic priorities of the School. This year, the Board looks forward to working with the School community to develop the next iteration of this important document (2020-2022). A thoughtful, measured and consistent approach to a Girls Grammar education relies upon good governance, strong leadership and a dedicated staff committed to a common purpose. As a student, alumna, Trustee and now Chair of the Board of Trustees of this School, I have seen firsthand this commitment from all within the School community. Past chair, Ms Elizabeth Jameson, demonstrated this throughout her time on the Board of Trustees, her affection and respect for the School evident in her unwavering commitment as a significant ‘custodian of the School’s cultural flame’. This commitment was honoured last month with the School officially naming the Elizabeth Jameson Research Learning Centre, acknowledging Ms Jameson’s extraordinary contribution to Girls Grammar and her important role in the history of the School. I feel privileged to be in a position to contribute to the next chapter in Girls Grammar’s history—to protect

I am delighted to be writing in the Gazette for the first time as Chair of the School’s Board of Trustees. It is a privilege to be taking over the role at such an exciting time in the life of the School and to be following in the footsteps of Ms Elizabeth Jameson, a woman whom I feel very honoured to call a colleague and friend. From 1996 to 2000 I was a student at the School and I am conscious of how the School has helped shape me, my values, my outlook on life and my friendships. I have spent the majority of my career working to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. Many aspects of this work remind me constantly that we live in a world where systemic barriers to women’s leadership, their independent economic security and at times their safety, remain. However, whenever I visit the School, I always feel more optimistic. This is partly because the School radiates an almost infectious sense of enthusiasm— there is an energy and excitement from being surrounded by hundreds of girls enjoying themselves, pushing themselves, supporting each other and fulfilling their potential. More importantly, it is because I know the world in which students will live and work will be very different from the past and even from today. Gender inequality won’t disappear overnight but we will live in a world that increasingly values different attributes and places greater emphasis on achievement, expertise and knowledge. It is almost impossible to predict how the world will unfold over the next decade—we are at the start of a technological revolution that will see us conquer new frontiers of artificial intelligence, medical research and scientific innovation. This in turn will unleash new forms of artistic expression, new entrepreneurial opportunities and new moral challenges for us to navigate. This prospect of change can pose some fundamental questions about the purpose of schools. It is growing increasingly clear that schools will fail students if they try to equip them only for the world and the vocational opportunities that exist today. Instead, we need to help prepare young minds for a less certain, more varied environment. I am confident—and deeply excited—by the fact that Girls Grammar is uniquely well placed to do this.

GRAMMAR GAZETTE