Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 1995

~---------S_c_h_o_o_I_Ne~w __s________ ~[; Witness the patchwork's splendour you made it! Nartarshla Soo Dedicated to 10 Bart During the weeks leading up to .---------------------------------------~ "The Rpad Not T~ken" Alex McTavish On September 8, 1995, twenty

an uncontrollable urge to frolic through the Queen Street Mall. The day which has been dreaded, awaited and even fantasised about hits you. You stop to catch your breath as you realise the greatness of the event. Long and lasting friendships will be forged, accomplishments will be made and memories wilt be captured. The greatness of the moment affects you in unusual ways: you sing, you laugh, you frolic . As you board the bus, you say your farewells to civilisation, your family and your friends. One week seems like an eternity and it is, at least, that's how long the memories will last. The dread gives way to optimism and enthusiasm. Each day you strive to do as much

camp, a gentle wave can be felt. A tingle which is a mix of enthusiasm, dread and nostalgia makes its way though the optimistic class . This tingle affects each and everyone of us in its own way. Some people wander around the schoolyard as if in a daze, while others reminisce about previous expeditions. Lunchtime conversations begin to form around camp. Accounts of the oncoming camp schedule become greatly exaggerated. Two kilometres become converted to twenty kilometres . Tales are spun and stories told. As "the week" draws near, the amount of exaggeration reaches a climax . \Vhat was once two kilometres, then twenty kilometres undergoes another change to twenty kilometres uphill, whilst carrying backpacks, tents, food and the kitchen sink. The once gentle lingle erupts into lan Gray Yes, it 's official. Emma Newitt in Year 12 is weird! That's her in the photograph in the white shirt, next to Frankie Mason on her left and Penny Stabler on her right. She looks almost as studious as Ruth Jans, who's on the other side of Penny, but what is she· doing? She doesn't even belong in this class. She attends my Modem History classes and she doesn ' t even do Modem History. She should be taking a "spare' '. as in completing her

year twelve d,:ama students exhibited their work l'o an audience of f~mily, peers, friends, and teachers. The presentation was tbe culmination of two years' course work that highlighted the students' talentandabilityinvariousdramatic styles. The stimulus for the student scripts stemmed from the poem by Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken". Interpretations of the poem were varied and produced some ingenious productions. Many of the plays performed were written entirely by the students -a wonderful achievement in itself.. tackling issues relevant to young people. Other plays were adaptations of works by famous playwrights like Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. The student performances did justice to these outstanding literary works and well as their own abilities. Penny Murphy, Head of the Drama Department at Girls' Grammar, said, "This year's drama class is a special one. The talent, energy, and enthusiasm displayed at the performance was explosive." Comments from the audience on tbe evening reflected their admiration for the students' talents. As one parent said, "Look out world! Here they come!" Thanks to all the parents and friends who attended the evening and we commend the year twelve drama class of 1995. Welcome French imports Genevieve Stewart & Benita Newton As the sun peered over the silent, golden Australian horizon , a re stless stirring of excitement could be heard. That Sunday morning , the 9th of August, a small group of dedicated (and sleepy) Grammar girls headed out to Brisbane International Airport to welcome ten students and their two teachers. This was the second year that students from Lycee Saint-P::aul in Angouleme. France, have visited our school , (and perhaps more importantly to some, the second year tempting French men have entered our cloi stered community, distractingly many and disgustingly few!). The French s tudent s enjoyed various excursions in and around Brisbane, trips to the reef and even to Melbourne, the great parties thrown in their honour and the fanning of las ting friendships, all with a touch of school thrown in for luck. The recent decision of the French government to conduct nucl ear testing in the Pacific increased the geneml interest in our French guests. All Grammar girls' were interested in the decision made by the French government, but many felt the need to question the reasoning behind the decision. The Australian media portray the avemge French citizen as ag::ainst the Pacific testing and the visiting students were able to give the Grammar student s an insight into this point orvie\v. Mme Thornquist is to be congratulated on her hard work in organi sing activities for our French guests. We hope that they all enjoyed their three weeks ' 'Down Under" .

as you can to accomplish as much as you can and you do. Tiny things which seem almost insignificant at the time help to stitch a great patchwork, which will live in our hearts forever. We will remember the friendships formed and furthered, the happy moments and that moment, which is WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS GIRL? SHE GOES TO CLASSES WHEN SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO!

impossible to describe in words, the moment when you look back over the past week and feel sadness in you heart. But you understand the time must come for camp to end, as all great things must come to an end. The brilliant patchwork which has been gently tended over the past week

flashes past your saddened eyes. Time pauses briefly as you absorb the beauty of the tapestry; the images are so vivid, you can almost hear pas t conversations. Once again you board the bus, but this time you bring home more than you came wilh. Memories.

r---Acts on show

Camerata Singers singing Si ster Act and the Theatre Dancers, were very successful. Providing thecomicrelief, teams from B.G.G.S., Churchie andMarist competed for the Theatresports Crown. The event raised proceeds for the Interact Clubs' respective activi ties . B.G.G.S. will send its money to fund a teaching program in Laos. Many people helped in contributing tothesecausesand, regreUably, were not thanked on the night because of time constraints. Most of the burden lay with the Presidents, Harry Gauvin and Sarah Jane StClair especially. but the other members of the clubs alsodida lot of work. The Prefects volunteered their services with ushering and spec ial mention must be made of Bill Story, who held the show with hi s quick witted compering. Richard Clark of Churchie, Cal Wilson from B.G.S. and Helen Flint, Tiffany Ware and Emma West helped with sound and backstage work . Susan Perel definitely deserved to win the CD gift voucher rarne. after all the help she gave with ad verti sing. The most thanks have to go to Brisbane Grnmmar School for the venue, the bands and other acts fora11 their hard work and practice, and to the audience for supporting student bands and being so co-operative. Considering the patchy advertis ing due to the late confinnation oft he venue, the support for theconcert made it a knockout event and thebands were very grateful for the informal atmos phere and anentive audience. Many people have suggested that another Acts on Show con cert be held because it was "so much fun! " but , after the exhaust ing effort thi s time around, the Interact Board is probably only too happy to pass the impetus on to next year's Board. winners had to re -apply for :1 position in the Defence Force Academy. Alex is presently at the final stages of the scl ic tion processes, and is hoping to achieve a position in the academy next year. Alex is to be congratulated for her achievements, and wished every success in pursuing her future plans.

Zewlan Moor 'Where are lhe amps and the mikes? How can we have a ~ concert without sound?" Friday 4 August saw the frenzied Interact Board members desperately trying to organise theirActs On Show concert at the las t minute. Everyone was panicking but the night turned out to be a surprising success. The idea for the concert origi nated a few years ago when the Inter act Club held the Students' Own Shows or S.O.S. concerts to raise money for the Save Our Souls Or phanage in Nairobi, Kenya. The 1995 Board, composed of Year twelves and headed by Sarah Jane StClair, decided to continue the tradition and take on the massive task of organising a full -blown rock con cert. The Girls' Grnmmar Club de cided to join with the B.G.S. club and halve the work and share the profits . Unfortunately, in order to fit the event in the already full school cal endar and well before exams, the date had to be moved forward to the first week in August That lert less than four weeks to arrange il. The acts were lined up with no trouble because the bands were ex cited about the exposure and were eager for a venue to showcase their talents . The bands played various styles of music, from garage to rock, soul and jazz. One band, Soul On The Side, with members from B.G.S. and B.G.G.S. played some songs from The Commitments with great har monies, such as "Chain of Fools". The other Grammar bands, one of which was Graham's Garden, were especially popul ar , as was the Churchie group, Divine Brown. The other band fromChurchie, DoorNail , was totally bizarre witti its garbage disposal lyrics and the last act, a past B.G.S. students' band called Aneu rysm, was very impressive. The other special music acts, the officer and officers in AleX 1 S chosen field, navigation. Questions asked included issues such as combat, ethics, current affairs and general knowledge of the defence force. Interviews were even asked to count backwards from one hundred in sevens. Recommended candidates then had their files sent to Canberra to be judged nationally. Scholarship

Economics. The history of education in Japan was really interesting too, and I thought I'd just keep on turning up. What !learn in Modem History... I can see it affecting me now. II seems really important. " Frankie asserted, " I knew I was right doing humanities ." "It wasn ' t good for me," added Penny. "It's my Science subjects that come more naturally ." Frankie then said, " I wish we could do every subject." "I like biology," said Emma. 'We're doing genetics at the moment

and il ' s really interesting. Like History it's more ... emotional, more relevant to people and you hear good stories. I really love the history of the family that you're doing at the moment. I've learnt all sorts of things about how the roles of women in the family have changed ... or rather not changed. It also ties in wilh a book I'm reading for English at present ; HughMackay's Re-inventing Australia. I selected it partly because I could see the connections with History. It sort of brings it all together." And so Emma Newill, perhaps you're not so weird after all. In fact perhaps this desire for knowledge without a concern for marks is what being a mature learner is all about. The award was presented on assembly. Written applications took place by mail in November, 1994. With over five hundred applicants in the state, te s ting was rigorous, and included aptitude, psychological and full medical tests. After passing all these, Alex also had to face an interview board containing psychologists, a recruiting

homework in the library or reading a novel under a shady tree. Instead, not just for a week or two but for the whole year, Emma has been turning up to Modem History classes. Now I know Modem is fascinaling but this behaviour warranted investigation. Like a trained hi storical detective I fired my first question: "Why did you do it?" Frankie, perhaps defensively answered for her. " I dragged her along". "No, I just said I was coming," replied Emma in her usual quiet, but definite tone. "I liked the China and Japan stuff in first semester. The economics part was good. It tied in with what we were doing in Emma Markwell Alexandra Neels, a Year 12 student at Brisbane Girls' Grammar School, was awarded a R.H. Wi lliams Memorial Scholarships from the Australian Defence Force Academy (RAAF). The thousand dollar, non binding scholarship was one of twenty-two awarded in Queensland.

Alex wants to fly away

Page5 GRAMMARGAZETTE;Term31995