Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2007

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

10 grammar gazette spring 2007