Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2008

Grammar Girls

Snapshots

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award adventure, challenge and teamwork

Winning Space

Everyone has their own reasons for participating in the Awards— the flexibility of the programme means girls can try something new or choose something they are already involved in to contribute toward an Award. Many girls use their involvement in the School’s Music and Drama programmes towards fulfilling the Skills section of the Award. Likewise, participation in one of the School’s many sporting teams can count towards the Physical Recreation section of the Award. The Service section of the Award requires girls to make a regular commitment to a Community Service Provider and has clear links to the School’s Year 10 Service Programme. Girls use overseas school tours and school camps as well as the two bushwalking expeditions offered by the School each year for the Adventurous Journey section of the Award. It requires real determination and commitment to achieve a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, but the effort is certainly worth it as the girls gain increased self-belief, self-confidence and a sense of identity and responsibility. Dr Natasha Mayne Co-ordinator

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a flexible programme for young people between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five. This year 94 Grammar girls joined the programme, swelling our membership base to 150 girls. Organised around three levels—Bronze, Silver and Gold— each level requires girls to complete sections in Service, Skills, Physical Recreation and Adventurous Journey. The commitment and dedication required to complete any level of the Award is significant.

Mooting Awards

Mooting is an exceptionally difficult skill requiring prodigious preparation, a firm understanding of the law, and analytical skills of the highest order —as well as the ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written communication. Recently a Girls Grammar team participated in the finals of the Bond University High Schools Mooting Competition.The School was represented by Senior Counsel At Brisbane Girls Grammar we aim to provide every possible opportunity for the girls to challenge themselves, to work collaboratively in teams and to experience the wonders of mathematics, science and technology as it applies to the world around them. Each year, the girls enter a number of competitions which provide a team environment for them to put their mathematical and technological skills to the test. Our most recent achievement has been the Girls Solving IT For Themselves competition – a major competition for Years 8 and 9 students, which Girls Solving IT for Themselves

Lucinda Brabazon, Junior Counsel Tess Evans and Instructing Solicitor Emily Burr.This year the moot problem revolved around the issue of negligence and contributory negligence. The team performed extremely well answering some very searching questioning from the Bench, which included a number of senior legal academics.This is the first time that a Girls Grammar team has reached the finals.

As well as being awarded the prize for the most outstanding team in the Brisbane Region, Tess Evans won an advocacy award in the preliminary round, as did Lucinda Brabazon during the finals.The group prize, as well as the individual prizes, are testament to the talent, skill, determination and advocacy skills of the students involved in the 2008 competition. Dr Bruce Addison Co-ordinator This year, more than sixty schools across South East Queensland participated in the event. Girls Grammar teams took out the top three places in the Year 9 division, and the top two places in the Year 8 division. This was a fantastic outcome, and is attributable to the girls’ dedication, creativity, teamwork and of course the high standard of teaching they enjoy in the Sciences and Mathematics. Mr Rick Bowman Co-ordinator

Spaces shape and change practice. Engaging, adaptable spaces energise students, teachers and the community. Well-designed learning spaces inspire creative, productive and efficient learning. (MCEETYA, 2008).

Recently, the state’s most prestigious prize for architecture was won by m3architecture for the Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre, along with a commendation for Interior Architecture. The jury for the FDG Stanley Award for Public Architecture commented ‘This is a breathtaking building in every way and from every vantage—a dynamic learning place for girls and young women, which reflects the client’s depth of knowledge regarding links between socialisation patterns and girls’ education’. As we learnmore about what creates optimal conditions for teaching and learning in modern times, the relationship between pedagogy and the physical learning

environment becomes increasingly important as a factor—space, both physical and virtual, has an important impact on how we learn. Over the last decade innovation in the design of learning spaces in Australia and overseas is incorporating changes in generational learning and social patterns with a consequent shift to a more learner centred focus. Brisbane Girls Grammar School is committed to providing optimal conditions for its students and staff in line with leading-edge research on creating the most advantageous conditions for effective learning. The Centre contributes significantly to the learning and social spaces of the School, enhancing

academic endeavour and creativity within a thriving community of learners. It is truly a pivotal space for the whole School community to enjoy. The Centre was also the recipient of the 2008 Brisbane Housing and Construction Award for Education Facilities over $12 million, and in 2007 was voted Top Building by The Architects programme on Melbourne radio station 3RRR. On 2 August 2008 The Queensland Art Gallery opened Place Makers: Contemporary Queensland Architects at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), and the Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre was included within the selected works as one of the state’s most exciting public buildings.

celebrates National Numeracy Week. There were a variety of events including individual competitions and a team event where students were required to undertake quite demanding projects involving high levels of teamwork, creativity and persistence.

References Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). (2008). Learning Spaces Framework. Retrieved 2 September, 2008, from http://www.mceetya.edu.au/verve/resources/ICTLearningOnlineWorld-LearningSpacesFWork.pdf Wallace, M. & Stutchbury, S. (Eds.). (2008). Place Makers: Contemporary Queensland Architects. Brisbane: Queensland Art Gallery.

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