Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2005

SNAPSHOTS

NYSFsessiori A report by Chefyl Au 02

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This year I was very fortunate to be one of 150 people from around Australia and other parts of the world to have been selected to attend the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF), Session A This experience has moulded me into a confident, optimistic and gregarious individual with a fuller perspective on life beyond high school. The NYSF Programme is very intensive, with visits to science, engineering and technology establishments around Canberra during the first week. I got to experience firsthand what a career in Science is all about. Students are placed into groups according to their career interests. I was put into Heisenberg, nicknamed the 'uncertain' group after Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. My group visited institutions primarily concerned with biology and through this experience I realised that my interest lies in biomedical science. During the second week, student^tan run seminars were held on those integral skills required by a scientist or engineer. I was able to build on my skills in areas including negotiation, teamwork and public speaking. The seminars conducted definitely consolidated my understanding of university related issues such as entries, scholarships and accommodation. The most beneficial aspect of the personal development programme, however, was the writing of a mock job application and attending an interview for the chosen job. The interviewers offered very helpf ul and constructive advice about interview techniques. NYSE however, is not just about work. Not only did we participate in evening activities such as ice-skating, sports and music, and went on sightseeing excursions to the Black Mountain tower, Parliament House and the National Museum, but we also formed many friendships. I believe that one of the greatest assets of NYSF to me is to be able to meet other students from around Australia and overseas. Long term personal networks of people have definitely been established, providing an important nucleus for peer support groups at university and beyond. I would like to extend my appreciation to the many people who helped make my trip to Canberra so successful and enjoyable.

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To commemorate this day, the School organised a very successful Mother - Daughter Breakfast, inviting the fascinating Dr Dale Spender as guest speake Publications Captain, Anna MCGahan 02L), reports.

Celebrate the past, claim

the future

Tuesday 8 March 2005 was celebrated by women worldwide, and was especially close to the hearts of those in Queensland. Annually, International Women's Day represents the power, strength and beauty of fernininity, but 2005 also signifies a century since the majority of women in Queensland were given the right to vote, an enormous achievement by the suffragettes considering the inequality and gender discrimination so prominent at that time - hence the motto for the important date: 'Celebrate the past, claim the future. ' Dr Spender spoke inspiration ally to her eager female audience of our ancestors' fight for their right to vote and the conditions they endured during that period. she emphasised the importance of the vote to those strong-minded women and discussed women's rather bias6 attitude towards it today: 'I think it is time to reinvest the woman's vote with the power and the dignity - and the hopes - that our foremothers claimed for it. ' International Women's Day is very important to Dr Spender - it means to me, a day set aside when you actually look at the conditions for women, and you look at what we still don't have, which I think is important ... but my goodness you look at how far we've come in such a short space of time and how many women worked so that we

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could be here today'

This interest in women's welfare was not only expressed by Dr Spender at Brisbane Girls Grammar School but also at an International Women's Day Morning Tea organised by the Honourable Anna Bligh MP. Year 12 girls from schools all over Brisbane met at Parliament House to hear inspiration al stories of the suffragettes' efforts and accomplishments, with speeches from Anna Bligh and also 10hn McCulloch, an expert in the history of women in politics. Ms Bligh spoke of the importance of International Women's Day and how all girls of our generation especially should work to make the most of our right to vote and recognise the women who fought for it

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