Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2008

STAFF

Curriculum

TERTIARY DIVIDENDS

STAFF PROFILES

MR DAVID ARMSTRONG Head of Drama

MRS PHILLIPA GREIG Head of Accounting

MR STEPHEN FOGARTY Acting Director, Health Studies Faculty Teaching is something I became interested in from a relatively young age. Like many people, I look back at my own school years with genuine fondness for many of my teachers. Two in particular stand out as inspirational—an older cousin who was a Physical Education teacher and my secondary school English teacher. From these two people I learned a love of sport and the ability to analyse things critically. My goal as a Health Studies teacher is to encourage students to think about sport and physical performance in a critical way. Fortunately, at Girls Grammar, there is no shortage of girls who are willing to think critically. I joined the staff here in 2004 as Head of Senior Physical Education. Before teaching at Girls Grammar I worked exclusively in co-educational institutions and my experiences here have convinced me that single-sex schooling can be amazingly positive for girls. Never more so than in the context of sport and physical education, where girls tend to performwell beyond the traditional drop-out age of fourteen. As Co-ordinator of Basketball, this wonderful enthusiasm is something that I see first-hand throughout the year. Curriculumdevelopment is something that I have always found challenging and satisfying. Amajor aim in the continuing development of the programme is to equip each student with knowledge, skill and desire so that she may continue to see participation in physical activity, and the ability to make health related decisions, as important.

Sally Carter receiving her Prize from QUT’s Professor Christine Ryan

Before coming to Brisbane Girls Grammar School earlier this year I taught Drama and Music for a total of fifteen years with Education Queensland, and for the last three years I worked as Education Liaison Officer at QueenslandTheatre Company. This professional arts industry experience was some of the best professional development a teacher could hope for and has shapedmy vision for the girls’experiences at our School. The Queensland Theatre Company environment gave me an overview of all aspects of the theatre industry as well as the privilege of working with artists such as Michael Gow, Carol Burns and Barry Otto. The focus on young people allowed me to develop programmes for communities across the state for up to 35 000 three to twenty-one year olds. A key planning factor in the Drama Department is establishing and building a network with industry professionals to keep students and teachers up-to-date with current practice. This enables all Year levels to work with professional playwrights, designers, actors, dancers and directors throughout their course. Integrating technology into performance is another important aspect which will be developed within the new drama programme. Brisbane Girls Grammar is dedicated to providing an environment where girls learn together in a community that supports and encourages each student to reach her full potential in all she undertakes, and I have been impressed with the spirit in which Grammar girls approach their school life.

Accounting has an undeserved reputation for being dull or even boring but I delight in working with my students to enlighten them to the joys of finding that pesky little figure that prevents the balance sheet from achieving its definitive aim—‘balancing’! Prior to joining the staff of the School in 2002 as Head of Accounting I taught accounting and business subjects at a number of independent girls’ schools in Brisbane. I have also enjoyed tutoring at Queensland University of Technology and teaching pre-service accounting teachers in the dual and postgraduate degree programmes in the School of Education at The University of Queensland. While teaching accounting is my passion, I also co-author accounting and junior business texts and resources for teaching computerised accounting (MYOB) for use by students in Queensland and other states in Australia. Publishing in education is about having a genuine love for a subject and dedicated collaboration with colleagues to produce a text or a resource that students and teachers will find useful. Brisbane Girls Grammar School has provided me with exceptional opportunities for my own professional development. In November 2007 I was fortunate to receive a Sir Samuel Griffith Professional Development Scholarship from Griffith University to implement a research project into the training of pre-service accounting teachers in Queensland. Teaching, writing and researching—all require some ‘balancing’!

SUCCESS AT QUT

Ms Sally Carter (2007) was recently awarded the Pearson Education Australia Accounting in High Schools Prize at the 2008 QUT Business Faculty prize-giving ceremony. Sally’s prize was presented by Professor Christine Ryan, Head of the School of Accountancy at QUT. The award recognised her as the student who scored the highest percentage in the 2007 Accounting in High Schools Programme and who subsequently enrolled in a QUT Bachelor of Business course in 2008. Currently in the Dean’s Honours Accelerated Programme, Sally will complete her undergraduate degree plus Honours in three years. On the basis of her first semester results she was awarded a scholarship to cover the fees of her summer subjects and in addition, will receive $5 000 after she finishes her Honours year. Sally’s participation in this programme in her senior year at Grammar has certainly paid dividends for her in her tertiary studies.

Starting university in high school

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Accounting in High Schools Programme was initiated in 2001 by QUT School of Accountancy Senior Lecturer Ros Kent. This programme is offered as an extension–enrichment opportunity for Senior Accounting students at Brisbane Girls Grammar School but has additional benefits for the girls beyond their senior studies. Students sit the same university exams as regular QUT students but pay no fees, have access to QUT services including learning materials and texts, and gain credit for this subject towards their university degree. An important but perhaps less tangible advantage in undertaking this programme is that students get a taste of university level subjects and consequently feel more confident when they begin university. Passing this subject will also be acknowledged on the new Queensland Certificate of Education issued at the completion of Year 12.

‘For some extra time and effort outside of class polishing some basic skills and learning a few new ones I reaped the reward of having completed a university subject while still in Year 12’.

BSB110 Accounting is a first year core unit in all the majors of the QUT Bachelor of Business degree, and since the programme was initiated seventy-nine students from Brisbane Girls Grammar School have successfully completed the course. All girls who participated in the 2008 programme achieved a credit, distinction or high distinction for their semester’s work. Erin Bonney says of her experience: ‘The programme was rewarding and complemented our school study of Accounting. For some extra time and effort outside of class polishing some basic skills and learning a few new ones I reaped the reward of having completed a university subject while still in Year 12’.

MRS PHILLIPA GREIG Head of Accounting

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11 grammar gazette spring 2008