Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2007

Brisbane Girls Grammar School

grammar gazette spring 2007

inside Think Globally Act Locally

A World of Opportunity

History of the Absurd

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Letters My twin sister Caitlin and I came to the Open Day at Girls Grammar this year and we had lots of fun. We are coming to your school and wish it was 2012 now. (Alexandra Wilson – Enrolled Student 2012) We had fun at the Open Day and Mum said it is ok to come to four more before we start Year 8. We talked to the teachers on Open Day and they were really lovely. (Caitlin Wilson – Enrolled Student 2012) It (Girls Grammar) taught me about networks, teams and leadership and gave me a level of confidence in myself and my intellectual judgement. The only gift you keep for a lifetime is your education and I use what I feel fortunate that there is the opportunity for mothers to come together and discuss life and family issues at Brisbane Girls Grammar School at the many social gatherings on offer. (Mrs Nielmg Grant-Taylor – Year 9 Parent) Family histories running through this school is one of its strengths and provides a bridge of common experience between generations within families. My mother and some other girls from 1948 (alumni year) recently had morning tea together. Obviously their association and friendships made through Brisbane Girls Grammar School remain life-long. (Mrs Elizabeth McCray – Year 9 Parent and Alumnae 1981) Girls Grammar gave me everyday. (Margy Osmond – Alumnae 1977)

grammar gazette: Spring 2007 edition

In Brief..................................................... 14 In Focus.................................................... 15 Grammar Girls......................................... 17 Community.............................................. 18 Alumni..................................................... 19 Reunions.................................................. 19

It’s been an exciting time at Girls Grammar. At the beginning of Term II we had our first look inside the newly completed Creative Learning Centre. It was breathtaking to see the transformation from building site to outstanding educational facility. Over 1100 girls raced up and down the six flights of stairs with great energy and excitement. The official opening, on 17 May, saw Her Excellency, the Governor of Queensland, Ms Quentin Bryce, officially name the building The Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre. An Open Day held on 18 May gave the wider Grammar community an opportunity to see our spectacular new facility, and importantly, a chance for everyone to try the menu in our new café. We are so fortunate to have this building and access to the latest technologies and facilities. The Creative Learning Centre has enhanced the dynamic of the School and has quickly become a much-loved social centre. In addition to the formal celebrations the students had a celebration of their own. The party began at morning tea with blue-iced donuts – a surprise from Ms Bell. By lunchtime the music was pumping, the dance floor was hot, and the sausages sizzling to raise funds for Kummara. To signify the bonds being formed each girl was encouraged to buy a strip of coloured fabric and write her name on it. The strips were linked into a giant rainbow chain. The aim was to build a chain that could reach from the top level of the CLC, down six storeys to Level 1. The moment of truth arrived, and the Grammar war cry echoed around the building for the first time as the chain fell all the way to the ground floor. Exciting Times FROM THE SCHOOL LEADERS From the School Leaders.......................... 2 From the Deputy Principal........................ 3 Our Global Community. ............................ 4 On the World Stage................................... 7 Staff. ........................................................ 10 Student Care............................................ 12

Led by our Service Captains, Rachael Parry (12M) and Stephanie Carter (12E), the School raised $2000 for breast cancer research. The school also supported Michelle Lin (10H), who shaved her head to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation, by hosting “Thank God Grammar’s Here,” based on the format of the similarly-named television show. In Term I we focused on bonding within peer groups and year levels, in Term II our focus was on strengthening the bonds within the School. In Term III we extended these bonds to the community. Our recent Open Day provided the perfect opportunity to focus on the community. Very much a student run evening, Open Day gave the community a chance to experience Grammar life first hand. Our “Stop! Grammartime” campaign, which tracks the number of hours Grammar girls give in community service, has continued. To date 3315 hours have been spent doing things for others. As the year’s end approaches (faster than we want), we encourage the students to keep up their good work and continue doing an exceptional job in Creating those Bonds. Sarah Cowley and Sally Fry, Head Girls

Cover: Moondance Painting, 1998 sculpture by Hollie. Donated to Brisbane Girls Grammar School for The Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre. Hollie, a self taught artist, was awarded the Moët et Chandon Fellowship in 1990 and is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery as well as private collections. Cover Photography: Greg Gardner Photography

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FROM THE DEPUTY PR INC I PAL

Constrained as we are by our island geography, Australians are enthusiastic travellers – by air, sea and the imagination. Contemporary Grammar students increasingly live the reality of the “global village” reflected in opportunities for diverse social and intellectual experiences through cultural exchanges, actual overseas visits or virtual exploration and travel via increasingly sophisticated and accessible technology. This Gazette highlights a selection of personalities, events and achievements – both international and local – that have contributed to the rich texture of School life. Our Global Community

“Technology is also playing its part in providing the interface between Grammar and the world”

In the June-July vacation, the Australian team that won the International Young Physicists’ Tournament in Korea contained two Grammar girls, forty-six others participated in the 2007 Space Trip to USA, while another student won the privilege of representing Australia at the National Coalition of Girls Schools Conference in Baltimore. The Director of Post-Secondary Planning, Mr Jim Seaha reports that an increasing number of Year 12 students are planning a GAP year overseas – with some choosing to work in a developing country. Recently, French and Chinese visitors from our Affiliate Schools Programme, arranged by Ms Lorraine Thornquist, have strengthened ties of friendship and our understanding of the wider world. Technology is also playing its part in providing the interface between Grammar and the world whether it is in Geography using Google Earth, authentic language studies or participation in an International Digital Design Challenge.

The variety of activities represented in this Grammar Gazette help to illustrate how successful the School has been in fulfilling its Design – “to enhance educational opportunities for linkages to the wider community – locally, nationally and globally” – through our curricula, extension and service activities that encourage our young women to participate in their society as responsible and informed global citizens. Miss Felicity Williams

As a significant architectural design, The Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre is attracting attention nationally and internationally. Since its opening in May, the excellent facilities of the Creative Learning Centre have been explored and exploited with enthusiasm. The social space of the Barbara Fielding Room has proved a popular and attractive venue for students, staff, parents and alumni reunions. Large scale concerts, imaginative Drama productions, Art installations, the Year 10 Subject Selection Expo have shown just how practical and versatile this building can be.

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OUR GLOBAL COMMUNI TY

Think Globally

The latest technology combined with creative teaching has allowed Year 11 Geography students to gain a real understanding of how people in developing countries live.

Affluenza is Spreading Fast , from World Vision’s YouTube site. A number of the contrasts presented in this media format were particularly confronting for the girls and provided them with a realistic way of understanding many of the concepts underlying their study of development. The video and the messages it conveyed challenged the students to contrast their own lives and values with those of children living in different parts of the world. Far from feeling powerless to help they were empowered by the opportunity World Vision presented through its 40 Hour Challenge programme. One of the significant elements of this approach to student learning is the way in which it challenges the students to think about their attitudes and responses

Geography is a subject that focuses on a global as well as local view of important issues and debates. This positioning is central to the development of our curriculum and aims to provide the girls with a realistic view of the world around them. A range of diverse and challenging learning experiences are incorporated into the curriculum. These include the use of relevant forms of technology, specifically the World Wide Web and spatial technology such as ArcGIS, a Geographic Information Systems (GIS), together with more traditional interactive approaches such as role plays to deepen the learning environment of our students. In many ways the People and Development Unit studied by our Year 11 students readily encapsulates this approach. With technology being such an integral part of our daily routine it seemed appropriate to introduce this unit by showing an online video, Teenage

to confronting such global issues. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been

incorporated into the study of Geography in a variety of ways. Through the use of ArcGIS, girls were encouraged to create

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Act Locally

“It has allowed me to understand just how many things I take for granted and how

lucky I really am.” Sarah Waller (11L)

Global Distribution of Wealth: Living it up on US$10 a day (Source: www.worldmapper.org)

www.worldmapper.org showing the spatial distribution of people living on up to US$10 a day which depicted Africa as being disproportionately larger than the scaling on a traditional map. These types of activities contribute towards the development of critical thinking skills.

their own maps of Africa that showed the distribution of various development indicators by accessing and manipulate data collated from such sources as the World Bank and the World Health Organisation. Another startling visual representation that attracted the girls’ attention was a world map from

Role-play simulations are also a key feature of our geography classrooms allowing students to gain a broader understanding of the global community. Towards the end of Term III, having studied the causes of food shortages and the impacts that food availability has on different parts of the world, students

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Our Global Communi ty

“This unit opened my eyes to the world around us… it not only showed what countries need help, but how help can be achieved.” Jessica McDougall (11H) “The unit on Development made me aware of the adversities facing our generation in the future.” Brett Conley (11G)

these countries had a profound effect on their lives and they have been so willing to share their perspectives with fellow geography students. These activities are just part of a strategy to help bridge the gap between classroom discussion and the practical application of topics encountered by students on a daily basis. By looking at different aspects of their course globally, students can become more engaged, challenged and stimulated learners at a local level. Mr Jeff Wheatley, Head of Geography

organised by TEAR Australia, a Non Government Organisation. This provided a practical opportunity for students to take a positive step and to proactively apply their knowledge gained in classroom discussions. A number of our Geography students have availed themselves of the wonderful opportunities associated with the School’s Antipodeans trips to Peru (2004) and India (2006). Through these very personal experiences the girls have been able to draw on a vast array of geographic concepts developed in class. Visiting

were put into a series of role play simulations. Each student paid a token amount of money for a special lunch held in the Annie Mackay Room. While there were thoughts of a fast food lunch extravaganza, this quickly dissipated when they were served a bowl of rice, thin soup and glass of water. Through this role play the students experienced how the majority of people in the world feel when supplies of food are inadequate leading to malnutrition and starvation. The concluding part of the activity had students deciding how best to allocate the money raised to programmes

“I believe that now, having studied this I will be more aware of the world around me and have a greater understanding of how fortunate I really.” Brodie Grant-Taylor (11M) “I have learnt that the developing world does have the power to make a difference.” Caitlin Bennett (11W)

0

500

1,000

2,000

Kilometers

Africa – Population with access to clean water 2004

Legend (%) Clean H 2 O

Source: The World Bank Development Data & ESRI Created by Amber

13–39

40–63

64–78

79–89

90–100

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On the World Stage

Educating Girls for a World of Opportunity During the first week of the June–July holidays I was fortunate enough to attend the National Coalition of Girls School (NCGS) conference in Baltimore, USA together with one of our Year 12 students, Antonia Morris. The conference brought together education leaders and experts from around the world and represented a significant international gathering of educators of girls. The theme was “Educating Girls for A World of Opportunity.”

The NCGS is a United States Association of girls’ schools which works to research and document the unique qualities of an all girls’ education. Here I had the opportunity, together with ten other girls from Canada, New Zealand, the UK and America, to hear from a variety of interesting speakers, participate in exciting activities and of course make friends with girls from around the world. Two speakers were of particular interest to me. The first was keynote speaker Ms Parry Aftab, an internet privacy attorney and founder and CEO of wiredSafety.org, the world’s largest internet safety organisation. Ms Aftab spoke to us about the dangers of using social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Ms Aftab realises that there is no way to stop teenagers using these sites and has therefore developed groups of teenagers in schools throughout the world called A Student’s Perspective The NCGS is affiliated with the Alliance of Girls Schools, Australasia and the equivalent organisations in Canada, UK and South Africa. Eleven students were also invited to the conference, participating in a specific programme designed for them. Antonia Morris (12W) represented Australia and acquitted herself particularly well in the student forum held on the final day of the conference. From my own perspective the conference was enlightening on a range of topics and provided me with an insight into

Teen Angels . The Teen Angels are trained in internet safety and act within their schools and communities to inform other teens of the ways in which they can be safe on the internet. We were fortunate enough to speak to the Teen Angels and hear about the research they had done on internet safety. Another speaker who was of particular interest was Ms Ann Cotton, founder and president of CAMFED International. CAMFED is an organisation dedicated to fighting AIDS and poverty in some of the poorest areas of Africa, including Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and does so by educating girls who would otherwise not receive an education. Ann Cotton’s project has educated over 300,000 girls in the last 14 years. As the conference was held at the Roland Park Country School I also learnt about some of the differences between an American school and Australian schools. the environment needed for girls to succeed and develop intellectually, emotionally and physically. One of the most significant factors is that students at single sex schools are better able to separate academic and social concerns. 1 The issues highlighted at the conference also reinforced the value of the approach we take to education at Brisbane Girls the workings of girls’ schools around the globe. It confirmed my beliefs about the benefits of an all girls’ education for girls. Evidence, both anecdotal and research based supports the idea that girls’ schools are better able to create

Grammar School. By empowering young women through building their resilience, providing them with opportunities to experience personal success and helping them to preserve their sense of worth in times of difficulty we are giving them the tools to achieve their potential in a wide range of contexts. Antonia’s article (below) summarises the key points of interest from the conference from a

student’s perspective. Ms Samantha Bolton, Head of Woolcock House

Reference: 1 Lee,V.E & Bryk, A.S. (1986). Effects of single sex secondary schools on student achievement and attitudes, Journal of Educational Psychology 78(5) , pp. 381-395.

What particularly caught my attention was the recognition and celebration of diversity within Roland Park. Amongst a number of co-curricular clubs were the Black Appreciation Society, the Asian Awareness Club, and the Jewish Heritage Club. At the other end of the spectrum were the Trivial Pursuit Appreciation Society and the lunch time Dance Party Club, both of which were initiated by my host in Baltimore, Lucy Scholz. My four days in Baltimore were an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to listen to speakers who had recognised areas in which girls needed help. They had then, of their own accord, initiated organisations to help these girls, no matter where they were in the world. It opened my eyes and made me realise how privileged I am to attend an all girls school. Antonia Morris, Year 12

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On The World Stage

Bright Ideas in Digital Design Every year Griffith University hosts an International Digital Design Challenge for students. This year over 140 schools competed and Brisbane Girls Grammar was awarded sixth place overall.

Lauren Hurcum (Year 12), achieved a highly commended fifth place in Open Web Design; the team of Ekta Paw (Year 12) and Claire Stevenson (Year 12) also achieved a highly commended fifth place in Open Graphic Design, and in Open Animation Sherlyn Hii (Year 12) achieved first place. The competition tests students’ knowledge of specialist computer design skills within a specified time frame using advanced industry software. Students are asked to develop web design, 3D architecture and animation designed around a set theme. Brisbane Girls Grammar competed in junior and senior categories of animation, graphic and web page design. The theme was water conservation, a pertinent and highly topical design brief. Each student undertook a specified challenge, within a time limit of three hours, typical of a real project in the design industry. Students were judged on how they articulated and communicated their ideas based upon industry expectations and requirements. The International Digital Design Challenge recognised more than just the amazing design achievements of students. The high level of technological competency displayed by entrant schools clearly demonstrated the strong presence of ICTs as part of the current curriculum.

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On The World Stage

World Cup Win

The Australian team comprising of five Queensland students from Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Brisbane Grammar School and All Saints Anglican School won the World Title at the 20th International Young Physicists’ Tournament, (IYPT), held in Korea in July.

before hand, and it was fascinating to see the solutions that other countries had found during the tournament,” she said. Australia has a strong history in this tournament, finishing with a second and two fourth places in recent years, however this was not only the first win for Australia, but it was the first time any English speaking country had won. Kathryn was honoured to be representing her country “we were World Champions! Elated that our hard work had paid off.”

This tournament has provided an opportunity for students to deepen their interest and knowledge in physics. The structure of the IYPT, with its open ended physics problems with no unique solutions, provides an inspirational environment to nurture young physicists. They have the opportunity to delve into the world of research and to debate their findings and discuss physics at levels well beyond even first year university courses. Kathryn found the competition challenging and interesting. “We had worked on the problems for the semester

Kathryn Zealand (captain and youngest team member) and Antonia Morris both from Brisbane Girls Grammar School were members of the team selected at the Australian Qualifying Round of Competition in March. National teams representing 22 countries from six continents competed in the week long event. After five rounds, the Australian Team qualified for the final in the leading position and emerged triumphant — well deserving of the Championship title for the 20th International Young Physicists’ Tournament.

The Lord Florey Student Prize The Lord Florey Student Prize, formerly the Born in South Australia, a medical graduate of the University of Adelaide, a Rhodes Scholar and the first Australian to be the President of the Royal Society

results: OP1, VHAs at exit across every subject, A on the QCS Test and a Field Position score of 1 in all fields for which they were eligible. In 2006, one hundred Queensland students were recipients of this prestigious prize, among them were Girls Grammar students Emma Burrell, Sarah Emmett, Annie Tong, Vy Dinh, Amy Hsaio and Jade McLellan. This is an outstanding achievement for all six young women, recognising not only the level of their accomplishment, but the breadth of their studies.

Australian Students Prize, is an Australian Government initiative designed to give national recognition to academic excellence and achievement in secondary education, particularly in senior secondary years.

of Medicine, Howard Florey is one of Australia’s greatest scientists. He is known for his role in developing the life saving medicine penicillin in the 1940s, and winning the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1945. His work led to profound benefits for mankind. Students are nominated for the prize by State and Territory Ministers for Education. To be eligible Queensland students must achieve the following combination of

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STAFF

Staff Profiles

Ms Hollie Hollie Visual Art Teacher

Mr Jeff Wheatley Head of Geography

Ms Lorraine Thornquist Director International Studies Faculty Brisbane Girls Grammar School has played an immeasurable role in fostering my love of languages. Beginning with my time as a student in this School I was able to take advantage of the wide language programme that was then and is still now offered. It is with great pride that I have been a teacher of French for nearly my entire teaching career and more recently Director of International Studies at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. After an extended stay overseas early in my career path where I worked in travel and retail, I eventually returned to Brisbane Girls Grammar School as a teacher of French. Except for a three year absence, this is where I have enjoyed the challenges and satisfactions of promoting language learning and working with students in furthering their other language skills. I have also been privileged to travel to the countries of the languages we teach as an ambassador for our International Affiliate Schools Programme, often with students on Study Tours. Our interaction and exchanges with overseas schools is a valuable and valued element in our language learning programmes. The International Studies Faculty at Brisbane Girls Grammar School offers students a choice of five languages, and as a teacher and linguist I relish my task of working in an optimum learning environment with motivated students to help develop not only second language proficiency but also to engender a love of learning and of the language as culture.

Hollie began her employment with the School in a part-time capacity in 2006 moving into a full time position as Visual Art teacher in 2007. This was Hollie’s first teaching appointment after completing her Education Degree as an honours student in 2005. A successful practising artist Hollie had worked and exhibited across a range of non-profit and commercial galleries throughout Queensland. Hollie supplemented her art practise with teaching positions at the Queensland College of Art and the Brisbane Institute of Art as well as being involved in workshops and art residencies throughout Queensland. She began her education studies as a mature student in 2000 when she began to question her role as an artist within the commercial context. In 1990 Hollie won the prestigious Moët et Chandon Art Award which provided her with the opportunity to live, work and study in France for a year. On her return to Brisbane she worked on a series of public commissions including Brisbane International Airport and Logan College of TAFE. Hollie brings to the School the experiences of someone who has lived and worked within the world of art as well as her own vision of introducing students to new ways of looking at and thinking critically about the world around them. Mrs Jacqueline Colwill, Director Creative Arts Faculty

Jeff joined the staff of the School in 1998 as Head of Geography following a career with Education Queensland. In many ways Jeff is an inspirational educator. His love for his subject area has enthused generations of Grammar girls as has his trade mark humour, steadfast commitment to student care and his determination to introduce technology, particularly GIS technology, into the Geography Curriculum. Over the years Jeff has developed a range of excursion activities that have delivered a curriculum that is both relevant and engaging for the girls. Stemming from these excursions has been the introduction of a range of assessment instruments that utilise the primary data generated from these activities. This approach to primary research generation has enriched the research experiences of the girls acting as a means by which to differentiate Geography from the text based approaches of the other Social and Environmental Studies subjects. The Queensland Studies Authority recognised Jeff’s contribution to the discipline when it appointed him to the position of Panel Chair of the Brisbane Central Region. He has approached this task with a determination to ensure that standards are maintained and remain rigorous across schools and sectors. Jeff Wheatley is a wonderful role model for both staff and students. In a world in which hubris and self promotion have such prominence; it is a privilege to work beside someone whose quiet, steadfast yet understated ability makes him an exemplary teacher. Mr Bruce Addison, Director Social and Environmental Studies Faculty

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Staff

History of the Absurd

Ms Julie Hennessey, Head of History, takes an educational tour of South Korea and visits the demilitarized zone at Panmunjom.

For me this made the DMZ not so scary as bizarre. Bus loads of visitors, mostly foreigners, visit the site on a daily basis to see and experience the demilitarized zone, which despite its name contains a proliferation of troops, guns, barbed wire and fortifications. The conference buildings, where armistice negotiations originally took place, are painted in United Nations blue. They are the centre pieces of the Joint Security Area where young boy soldiers with serious dispositions from opposing sides face each other off in a game of “don’t blink first.” Surrounding buildings carry names such as Freedom House and Peace House and there is a bridge called the “Bridge of No Return” used for prisoner exchanges. The souvenir shop sells T-shirts sporting “I’ve been to the DMZ and survived” and other military regalia. For me, this made whole place incongruous, if not absurd. The demilitarized zone appears trapped in a senseless time warp which is on an endless loop, destined to continuously repeat itself. At the recent APEC summit in Sydney, a question from the South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to a surprised American President George W. Bush suggested he was looking for a circuit breaker. President Roh confronted his American counterpart with an unscheduled public question – when might the United States declare an end to the Korean War? Twenty years ago in 1987, American President Ronald Reagan demanded the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” Maybe President Roh’s unexpected and unprecedented inquiry might set in train some positive changes which might further normalise relations between the two Koreas. And maybe just maybe, we might see history repeating itself and a reunified Korea emerging from war just as a reunified Germany emerged from the Cold War in 1990. Ms Julie Hennessey, Head of History (Julie is currently on sabbatical reading for a PhD in History)

Visiting a war zone is an unusual itinerary item on any educational tour, but not so, when you visit the Korean peninsula. Each year the Korea Foundation invites educators from Australia, New Zealand and the United States to visit the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Over a fourteen-day programme of lectures and excursions, participants experience as much of Korea as possible. The schedule is packed as it is diverse. The first week is dominated by lectures at the Korea University in Seoul covering an eclectic mix of topics – Korean history, art, film, education, language and current affairs. The second week is devoted to visiting natural treasures and heritage sites throughout the southern peninsula where Korea’s rich historical and cultural traditions are matched by the sheer beauty of the landscape. However, it was the trip to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at Panmunjom – the fortified line dividing North and South Korea that I found the most intriguing. The DMZ is a relic of the Cold War. After the Korean War (1950-1953) an armistice was declared between the warring parties but no peace treaty was ever signed. This means the nations are still technically at war and the DMZ is effectively a war zone. Before entering the zone visitors are required to sign a declaration which warns them that they will be entering “a hostile area” where there is the “possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action.” Security is particularly tight – visitors are required to move through a number of checkpoints where passport details are checked and double checked by military personnel. Strict dress codes must be adhered to – no blue jeans, sandals, shorts, sleeveless shirts or shirts without collars. Visitors must not wave, point, make any sudden moves or engage the “enemy” in any way.

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Student Care

Promoting Positive Relationships In the classic works by Homer, Helen of Troy’s notoriety as “the face that launched a thousand ships” began long before she eloped with the dashing Paris. As a twelve year old girl she gained dubious fame through her abduction by the Athenian war hero Theseus. Myth or otherwise, the themes encapsulated in this story wove their way into Western culture for the next two and a half thousand years and cast young women in an ambiguous light as both alluring and dangerous and thus requiring very firm restraints yet vulnerable and requiring protection.

experimenting with identity and a sense of self, attempting a successful psychological separation from her parents, and negotiating the power of the peer group. The discomfort of these transitional phases perhaps goes some way in explaining the power of groups at this year level. Perhaps one of the most potent reminders of the vulnerability of young adolescent girls is the harmful effect of “bullying” where to use the terms used by the media, girls invent themselves as alpha “queen bees” – who place their own success above all, “representing a new-style girls’ empowerment, brimming over with righteous self-esteem and cheerful cattiness,” (Talbot, 2002) that can affect the behaviour and feelings of the whole year group. The Student Care team is particularly aware of the fact that while we have very few reports of bullying in the School,

worry about how their daughters are coping with their new, and often rather perplexing, teenage social world. The Student Care Programme at Brisbane Girls Grammar School endeavours to help the girls navigate all this and strives for an authentic development of girls both intellectually and emotionally; that is based on fostering real self esteem as opposed to a false, and by definition transitory, empowerment. The students in Year 9 in many ways encapsulate the contradictions that belie the powerful images of the teenage girl presented by the media. For some, being “grown up” and confident means negotiating the world of school dances, going to the city, parties and sleepovers. In a school context, the Year 9 student finds herself in an ambiguous position, somewhere between the novelty of newness in Year 8 and the comfortable middle ground of Year 10. More importantly, she is

Obviously, for the twenty-first century adolescent girl, much has changed. Never has there been a time when they have had so much perceived freedom. The media in particular, presents teenagers as both powerful and infallible, girls are told that they can do anything; the possibilities seem endless. But, does the reality of “girl power” match the rhetoric? What is this power based on? And, if these messages are to be believed, how do girls respond to all of the options with which they are presented? In answer to these questions, schools, and in particular schools for girls, play a vital role in transforming adolescent girls into confident young women. If they are to carry out this role successfully however, they must begin by being discerning about the media hype surrounding them. From “queen bees” to “gamma girls” to the “odd girl out” adolescent girls are all over the news. Parents understandably,

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Student Care Programme is premised on an acknowledgement of these challenges. Once a fortnight, the Year 9 cohort meets with their co-ordinators Mrs K Cohen and Miss A Dare and Year 9 House Group teachers. The sessions held during this time are designed to develop a sense of community within the cohort from which to deal with a range of issues that are relevant to their age group. These sessions are devised by the co-ordinators with input from Mrs K Belbin and Mrs J Forbes, our School Counsellors. Towards the end of the year, our programme for Year 9 aims to expand their focus beyond the confines of themselves and their immediate friendship circles. The emphasis here is on the notion of giving back. In Term III, students are introduced to the concept of community service in preparation for the integral role this will play in the Year 10 curriculum. In this way it is hoped that our students will begin to develop a lasting sense of their own worth and the very real power that they have to change the world around them in a meaningful way. Miss Alison Dare, Head of O’Connor House & Mrs Kim Cohen, Head of Mackay House

“Our approach to this issue begins by unpacking what actually comprises a positive relationship and focusing on the nature of empathy. In this way, it is hoped that the girls will have a better understanding of the effects that their words and actions have on each other.”

standards for beta girls (essentially a wannabe Alpha) who hover around them, hoping to be noticed and accepted. A gamma girl is outside this hierarchy and considers that what she does matters far more to her than how she appears. “She is neither popular nor unpopular (thriving among the cliques) – girls who are nice, fairly smart, athletic, confident, and totally okay with not being the most beautiful, best-dressed, most popular girls in school” (Lundsten, 2003). It would seem that these gamma girls ultimately fair the best both at school and in life. These are examples of the teen social world commentators such as Wiseman (2002), Shearin Karres (2004), Simmons (2002) and Talbot (2002) tell us our teenagers are negotiating. The Year 9

it would be naïve to think that it did not exist. Our approach to this issue begins by unpacking what actually comprises a positive relationship and focusing on the nature of empathy. In this way, it is hoped that the girls will have a better understanding of the effects that their words and actions have on each other. Indeed the School, under the guidance of Mrs K Belbin (School Counsellor), has produced a Promoting Positive Relationships policy which confirms and endorses a consistent, school-wide approach to dealing with the spectrum of what is fashionably termed the gamut of alpha, beta and gamma girls. According to Miller (2002), alpha girls are “monarchs” who exercise control through deceit and often cruel tactics that establish their power and set the

Lundsten, A. (2003, January 22). The simon: It was a great time to be a grrl. Retrieved September 6, 2007 from: http://www.laurengreenfield.com/index.php?p=7E2LO8J0 Miller, J. (2002). A Unified Theory of Maureen Dowd. Retrieved September 6, 2007 from: http://www.seanet.com/~jimxc/Politics/Articles/Dowd.html Shearin Karres, E. V. (2004). Mean Chicks, Cliques, and dirty tricks: A real girl’s guide to getting through the day with smarts and style. Adams Media. Simmons, R. (2002). Odd girl out: The hidden culture of aggression in girls. New York: Harcourt. Talbot, M. (2002, February 24). Girls Just Want to Be Mean. The New York Times, Late Edition – Final, Section A, p. 21 Column 1. Wiseman, R. (2002). Queen bees and wannabees: Helping your daughter survive cliques, gossip, boyfriends and other realities of adolescence. Crown Publishers: London.

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IN BR I EF

Aere Perennius

I have created a monument more lasting than bronze: Horace

Brisbane Girls Grammar School is pleased to invite alumni to participate in Aere Perennius, a new philanthropic programme established to celebrate the vital connection between Girls Grammar’s accomplished past and its exciting future.

We hope that many members of the Girls Grammar community will take this opportunity to leave a legacy for their families, positively influence the lives of current and future students, and help the School continue the implementation of one of the most significant building plans in its long history. For more information about Aere Perennius please contact the Philanthropic Programmes Manager on 07 3332 1437 or email philanthropy@bggs.qld.edu.au.

Through Aere Perennius, the School will recognise the contribution made by alumni to its building Masterplan with the creation of individual bronze plaques, to be displayed on campus. Each plaque will contain an inspirational text selected by the donor, together with the names of the past student who attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School. The plaques will become an enduring record of the long history and lasting bonds for alumni and their families with the School, as well as an inspirational domain for current and future girls for generations to come.

National Music Award

Our Principal, Ms Amanda Bell, has received a national School Leader Award in recognition of her commitment to school music education at Brisbane Girls Grammar School.

Grammar School. “The building represents an exciting new phase in music learning and Ms Bell’s futures orientation enables staff to develop high quality programmes that utilise their new space in innovative ways.” Mr Andrew Pennay, Head of Classroom Music, notes that under Ms Bell’s leadership, “rigour is valued in the academic study of music and the development of musicianship skills as well as in performance practice.” The School congratulates Ms Bell on this fine achievement.

many benefits and that a love of music should be cultivated in students. Ms Bell has made an exceptional contribution to the musical life of the School through ensuring that all students are provided with equitable access to a curricular and co-curricular music programme, and that staffing, timetabling and resources are in place to support the programme. “The School’s new Creative Learning Centre is one tangible example of Ms Bell’s commitment to arts education,” says Mr Mark Sullivan, Director of Instrumental Music at Brisbane Girls

The award was announced by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP as part of the Australian Society for Music Education (ASME) National Conference in Perth in July. These National Awards for Excellence in School Music Education recognise outstanding school leaders who have made a positive difference to the lives of students and school communities through their devotion to quality music education. An initiative of the Australian Government, the awards are designed to congratulate leaders such as Ms Bell who recognise that Music programmes in schools bring

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IN Focus

Sharing Professional Wisdom Conversational Spaces and Professional Learning

Sharing professional wisdom has epitomised the operation of the Centre for Professional Practice (CPP) this year in a range of collaborative engagements between academic staff, our pre-service teachers and our university partners. Instituted in 2005 from the School’s Strategic Design, the Centre has formalised our long-standing commitment to nurturing the professional growth of our teachers as well as pre-service teachers.

Dr Kay Kimber

for our senior students. The Pathways and Passions Series showcase the expertise and interests of our own staff presenters. Teacher Talk has helped to enhance staff collegiality, support our new and beginning teachers, and improve the learning experiences for our students. State and Federal education authorities have in recent years prioritized investigations into ways of promoting teacher quality. Professional standards for teachers have been developed in each sphere and rightful concerns have been expressed about the untimely attrition of beginning teachers. Key recommendations in the 2007 report from the national inquiry into the multitude of teacher education systems operating across the country include the promotion of pre-service practicum partnerships, the training of school staff as mentors, and career-long, professional learning for teachers. Our Centre for Professional Practice has been addressing these issues in advance of the national agenda.

The Centre seeks to develop quality practicum experiences for our pre-service teachers by promoting empathetic mentorship and offering weekly support seminars featuring professional focus topics led by our own staff experts. Traditional mentorship practices are enhanced in our cross-faculty Learning Innovation Groups (LIG), facilitated by our first collaborative partner, Queensland University of Technology. LIG members seek to expand their knowledge of cutting-edge pedagogies and quality mentorship in a programme of professional learning tailored to their “sharing professional wisdom, sparking innovation” emerged from the 2006 LIG’s recommendation for expanding the circle of professional conversations occurring within the School. To facilitate the Provocations Series of conversations, we forged our newest collaborative partnership with Griffith University who also offer tertiary learning opportunities interests throughout the year. Teacher Talk, with its purpose of

The recent appointment of Mr A Dale, Dean of School and architect of the CPP concept, as Chair of the Promoting the Profession Advisory Group of the Queensland College of Teachers, affirms the value placed on his professional wisdom and the vision of the Principal and Board of Trustees in instituting this Centre. Dr Kay Kimber, Director Centre for Profession Practice

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IN FOCUS

“Don’t waste any opportunities you’ve got, knowledge is the best thing that you can have, and always, always, strive for your goal.” of Knowledge A Gift

legacy of knowledge in the form of the bursary she bestowed on the school she felt would provide best for talented young women – Brisbane Girls Grammar School. Ever a head-strong, opinionated and moralistic woman, she decided that the bursary would be both means and academically tested to ensure that no girl received what she didn’t deserve. She made sure to add that it was perfectly acceptable for the bursary not to be awarded in a year when the Board felt there were no worthy applicants. Maria Sulima lived by a simple, but powerful tenet: Don’t waste any opportunities you’ve got, knowledge is the best thing that you can have, and always, always, strive for your goal. Sarida McLeod (12L) The Maria Sulima Bursary is just one example of how bequests can assist the students of Brisbane Girls Grammar School to achieve their goals while also leaving an enduring legacy. For information about how to make a bequest to the School, please contact our Philanthropic Programmes Manager on 3332 1437 or email philanthropy@bggs.qld.edu.au.

Law at Florence University with a 100 per cent result. Fluent in seven languages, Maria returned to her home of Poland after completing her studies and in 1939 used her proficiency in foreign languages to assist the organisation of the defence of Warsaw against the Germans. It was during this time that she realised Hitler’s true intentions for the Polish people. She was warned by the Underground that the Germans had her name and she decided to run, if possible. What followed was something akin to an adventure novel: fleeing from the Gestapo, forged papers, searches on trains, sharing compartments with German Officers, hiding jewellery in thermos flasks… She fled to England, and later moved to Australia in the late 1940s. Ever an independent woman, Maria Sulima set up a real-estate agency, translation service and migration agency for immigrants in a rented room in Spring Hill, working as the bread winner for herself and her husband. Throughout her life, she faced the choice between work and family. Maria Sulima worked until she was 65 and died in 1993 at age 82, leaving no children. What she left instead, was a

“Maria Sulima was born on 14 August 1911 in what is now Poland into a wealthy and well-educated family, the eldest of three children. Her early childhood was affected by the political upheavals and revolutions of the Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian territories. She described herself as ‘a child of the Winds of War.’” These are the opening words of Maria Sulima’s eulogy, an account of the beginnings of a life which was to be filled with achievement, adventure, and inspiration, and which would, ultimately, fill the lives of many others with the same. Maria Sulima, a pioneer, wife and businesswoman, would eventually become the benefactor of the Maria Sulima Bursary at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, a scholarship programme which allows talented students from less-privileged families to gain access to the gift she held high above all else: knowledge. Yet, the story of Maria Sulima’s life warrants as much a movie deal as it does a bursary. A feminist who would have been appalled if you had dared dub her so, Maria Sulima defied the ethos of her day by completing her Doctorate in

The school gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by Diana Grace Favell, Executor of the Maria Sulima Bursary, in researching this article.

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Grammar Gi rls

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics is a form of gymnastics emphasising dance-like rhythmic routines utilising various apparatus including ribbons, ropes, hoops and balls. It is a team sport with either two, four or five participants who perform energetic throws, catches and exchanges that require perfect precision and timing.

showcase their skills while also receiving constructive feedback from the judges. All girls with a dance or gymnastic background are well suited to Rhythmic Gymnastics.

The official competition of QGSSSA is held annually in August for one day only. This year the School entered a squad of 55 energetic girls. This was preceded by an in-house competition held on Open Day that gave the girls the opportunity to

Brisbane Girls Grammar School has been competing in this sport since 1978 and has managed to gain consistently good results. We have had gymnasts who have reached national and international level. Last year, past student Amanda Lee See (2005) competed in the Commonwealth Games.

XLD3: A Water Story

Every movement of the theatre by a skilful poet is

communicated, as it were, by magic, to the spectators; who weep, tremble, resent, rejoice… – David Hume, Scottish philosopher and historian A unique performance opportunity was presented to Year 10 and 11 Drama students in May this year. XLD or Excellence in Drama; an initiative of Drama Queensland (the State Drama Teacher’s Association), QUT and QTC provided a space in which young people could engage in the creation of a new work for performance at the Gardens Point Theatre. Nine schools were selected to be a part of this project. Students were provided with exciting opportunities to work with practicing artists in performance, design and technical theatre to extend their knowledge of drama and to further realise their potential as future theatre creators.

appreciative audience. The sense of ensemble was evident throughout the performance. The need for each performer to be present, to produce a highly challenging piece and to move beyond the ordinary into the extraordinary was clear. Performing before hundreds of Brisbane high school students and members of the wider community provided an invaluable artistic experience for all involved. Working in a professional theatre space, with passionate theatre artists provided the participants with an inspiring environment in which to grow as drama students.

Brisbane Girls Grammar School students worked collaboratively with students from Kenmore and Loganlea State High Schools in devising a new response to Coleridge’s epic poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” During the devising process, the Schools met to explore the rich pre-text, build creative and personal relationships between the participants and thus encouraging an environment of creative possibilities. The resulting performance was quite spectacular. Using the body as the primary tool of expression, the stunning imagery created a visual feast for the

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