Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2006

GRAMMAR GI RLS

GRAMMAR GI RLS

Duke of Edinburgh — Fraser Island In the final week of the June – July holidays, thirty-two Brisbane Girls Grammar students hauled themselves away from civilisation, abandoning sleep-ins, television, shopping and general relaxation to spend three days hiking on Fraser Island. The girls were on a mission to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze or Silver Award.

UN Security Council Competition Winners

Girls were arranged into small groups and were required to plan what food and equipment to take and the routes which they would walk. The groups walked approximately 40 kilometres in 48 hours, while managing to enjoy themselves. They camped at historic Central Station and beautiful Lake Mackenzie. It provided Talkback Classroom

a great experience to interact with new and old friends. Although it was extremely challenging, the girls learnt many new skills such as responsibility, organisation, navigation and cooking. The girls felt that the challenge had given them a greater determination to succeed and were proud of themselves.

The day was organised by the School’s Service Captains Emma Burrell (12R) and Anna Huyhn (12E) who encouraged students and the staff to show their support by wearing their favourite pink attire and accessories. Funds were raised through the sale of “Think Pink” merchandise, a hot chocolate stall and other music and art activities. It was a wonderful scene of support from the girls for such a worthy cause. All funds were donated to The Wesley Hospital Kim Walters Choices Program. Pink Day spread shades of pink across the School as the girls built up the spirit to raise funds and awareness for women with breast cancer. After successfully competing in the heats for the 2006 United Nations Hammarskjold Competition, Year 10 students Samantha Luck (10W) and Grace Cowderoy (10E) were selected to go through to the state finals. In this competition, teams are allocated to represent countries on the Security Council and are given resolutions to debate as that country. Grace and Samantha were given the Republic of the Congo to research, and debated the topic of rapid disaster relief, the question of a comprehensive plan for Africa, the issue of equitable representation on the Security Council and the question of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The debate lasted for over six hours and during the lunch break, teams eagerly continued to debate these international issues. Grace and Samantha performed well as the Republic of the Congo, managing to convince the five permanent members to abstain from vetoing the resolution which would increase the number of permanent seats on the Council, despite being mistaken for neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (a completely separate nation). Grace and Samantha were runners-up, and were selected along with the winning team to represent the School and the State in the Australian Schools Model UN Security Council Competition to be held in Melbourne later this year. This is an extraordinary feat as the competition is designed for senior students. This means Samantha and Grace will be the youngest team to ever compete for the prestigious Evatt Trophy. Both girls have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learnt a great deal about the skills of negotiation, speaking and research. A Sea of Pink

Science STAR

Educational Assessment Australia (EAA), University of New South Wales, awarded Rebecca Conrick (9W) a medal for her outstanding achievement in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) – Science. Rebecca scored the highest mark in her year level across the State for 2006. The competition provided an opportunity for students to compete academically with the high achieving students in Australia and internationally. The highest achieving students in each state and territory (in Australia) or country were awarded a University Medal.

Maths Café

The Mathematics Faculty held the inaugural Maths Café in Term III . The Cafe provides a unique forum for the discussion of topical mathematical ideas and phenomenon. Centred on guest speakers the forum offers a light hearted approach aimed at enriching mathematical experiences and providing the opportunity to explore and engage with mathematical ideas and minds. The first session was well attended by members of the Girls Grammar community. Guest speakers were University of Queensland lecturers; Dr Michael Bulmer — Senior Lecturer, Operations Research and Statistics and Dr Victor Scharaschkin — Lecturer, Mathematics. Dr Bulmer and Dr Scharaschkin gave fascinating and engaging presentations on the exciting, contemporary topic of the Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Ratio and just how widely these numbers appear in our daily lives. Students, parents and staff were enthusiastic as the speakers covered areas as diverse as family trees of bees, spirals in pineapples and tiling patterns. The Maths Café will be held each semester.

on ABC Radio

An enthusiastic group of ten Grammar girls seized the opportunity to question Opposition Health Spokesperson and acting Liberal Party Leader, Dr Bruce Flegg on ABC Radio 612’s morning programme presented by Madonna King. The girls, from Years 10, 11 and 12, were enjoying the June-July holidays but the prospect of having one of Queensland’s senior politicians answer their questions was more than enough to entice them back to school. The girls asked Dr Flegg some tough questions that covered a broad range of issues including health, education, politics and south east Queensland’s water shortage. “The girls are certainly right up on all of the contemporary issues in Queensland — that’s for sure,” said Dr Flegg. Complimenting the girls on their outstanding questions and research skills Dr Flegg said he thought the girls knew more about his party’s policies than 99 per cent of the population.

16 grammar gazette spring 2006

grammar gazette spring 2006 17