2017 School Magazine

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CONTENTS

EDITORIAL

05 24

Blue represents both the sky and the sea. We think of freedom, intuition, imagination, expansiveness, inspiration and sensitivity. It adds meanings of sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability and faith. From a single smudge of blue, with just a few drops of water, the colour flows out through a spectrum of shades and tones. Layering colour and water, we see a magnificent creation develop — full of complexity and unity. Welcome to the Brisbane Girls Grammar School 2017 School Magazine — the latest edition in a long held tradition of preserving memories and a place to share the School year with students, alumni, family, friends and the wider Brisbane community. This year’s Girls Grammar motto, Out of the Blue allowed us to explore our own unique Brisbane Girls Grammar School experience, like that smudge of colour that seeps to the edges of its reach, but with no one point being replicated. To provide a visual representation of how we can ‘come out of the Girls Grammar blue’, we have explored a design thematic in this edition that pays respect to the tradition of watercolour as an artistic medium — pigments suspended in a water-based solution that have delivered some of the most beautiful masterpieces in the modern world. This interpretation allowed us to explore the kaleidoscope of colours that represent our School houses, and from there the magazine builds upon layers and hues in different combinations to represent the complexity of our School — a place where students grow as individuals, learning from experiences both inside and outside the classroom. While technology changes and challenges the way we archive memories, it is the hope of this year’s Publications Committee that this yearbook, along with your own collection of school-years memories, will be found on your bookshelf in twenty, thirty, fifty years from now — a time capsule of your 2017 experience. In finishing I would like to thank Mrs Pauline Harvey-Short, who has been invaluable in her guidance and mentorship of the 2017 Year 12 cohort, and is retiring after more than forty years of service to the Brisbane Girls Grammar School community. Special thanks also go to Ms Eadie, Ms Stafford and the rest of the Brisbane Girls Grammar School 2017 Publications Committee for their invaluable contribution to this 2017 School Magazine. EMILY ANDERSON (12R)

HOUSES

SENIORS

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COMMUNITY

SERVICE

63 93

CURRICULUM

CO-CURRICULUM

117

132

CREATIONS

SPORT

2017 Publications Committee

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Through their words and actions, the girls and young women of Brisbane Girls Grammar School have brilliantly brought to life the 2017 Student Council’s motto: Out of the Blue . As a lifelong memento for all 2017 students, the Publications Committee has created this School Magazine with a selection of stories and images that beautifully capture from all Year levels the essence of the motto — to celebrate the diversity within the Blue; be grateful as individuals who emerge from the Blue; and promote teamwork as a school community, as Grammar sisters. We are a School that sets high expectations for students and provides a learning culture that encourages rigorous investigation and intellectual risk-taking. Providing experiences outside of the traditional classroom setting is an invaluable aspect of learning and development. As artfully showcased in the pages that follow, Grammar girls have dared to test the unfamiliar through fascinating and adventurous curriculum and co-curriculum activities throughout the year. Students have had the opportunity to be involved in such a variety of pursuits including service, community and leadership programmes, performing and visual arts, music ensembles, eighteen different sports and activities including Science Olympiads, study tours, debating and numerous special interest clubs.

The breadth and depth of experiences displayed is great testament to the broad, liberal educational ethos of the School, and the spirit and commitment demonstrated by students and teachers throughout 2017. Challenged to strengthen their minds and bodies, Grammar girls’ intelligence, goodwill towards and support of each other, creativity, diversity and service to others is evident in throughout this year’s School Magazine. It has been my continued pleasure to witness the acumen and energy of every Grammar girl, and to work with teaching and professional staff who each day throughout our busy academic year have dedicated themselves to educate and care for our students. To the Year 12 class of 2017, as you embark on the next stage of your life — now as Grammar Women — your teachers and I wish you every happiness and hope your pathways are fulfilling. Know that the people whose lives you touch will be enriched by your wisdom, imagination and integrity. MS JACINDA EULER PRINCIPAL

HEAD GIRLS’ REPORT

Our proudest moment, however, was undoubtedly the focused and total support felt during our first-ever whole school mindfulness session. During Assembly, Mr Pincott assisted all staff and students in appreciating all that Girls Grammar gives while encouraging us to take a moment to reflect. Girls Grammar is home to many teams, from basketball to debating. Many of them require auditions or trials, and many of them will have players who sit on the bench at one time or another. But the Blue is one team that accepts every girl, a team that has all members contributing at every opportunity. The spirit of the Blue was encompassed in our 2017 sports motto, ‘All Blue, All in’. At a School with such a supportive environment where we refer to our peers as our ‘Grammar sisters’, teamwork and supporting your team comes naturally. This is obvious in relay teams running to the cheers of their respective houses in the stands at the Interhouse Athletics Carnival. At the Queensland Girls’ Secondary Schools Sports Association (QGSSSA) swimming this year, we were proud to have the largest number of Year 12 supporters on record. The heart of the Blue was not simply the talent of the girls in the pool, but also, the spirit of the girls in the crowd, clearly evident at other Interhouse and Inter-School events, such as QGSSSA Cross Country and Head of the River. Our teamwork was not just limited to co-curricular activities, with QCS being the perfect example of the Year 12 Girls Grammar team. All girls embraced QCS as a time to work with their Grammar sisters while appreciating the strength we have as a cohort. While our year has been shaped by our broad overarching goals, we strove to achieve a few personal goals in our elected role as Head Girls. At the start of Term III, we set a target of visiting each one of the fifty-four House Groups in the School to have a chat with the girls, to give some advice, gain some insight and discuss general thoughts about the year. Through this initiative, we created connections and built a rapport with the girls whom we strive to represent. Perhaps the most tangible outcome of this endeavour to listen to the students was the installation of four new bubblers that were a repeated request. Less tactile, but just as perceptible, are the relationships we have been able to foster with girls throughout every Year level. This year was made most special for all Year 12s as we were guided and supported by a fellow ‘2017 graduate’, Mrs Harvey- Short. Mrs Harvey-Short assisted us and constantly supported our many endeavours to build upon tradition while creating change. It will be an honour to leave together. For the past five years, we have been so fortunate to be a part of a community that has consistently supported us and encouraged us to learn and live with curiosity, confidence and integrity. Every day, we are able to see the spirit in every single Grammar girl and the diversity, the gratitude and the teamwork we celebrate as a school. The responsibility that comes with being a Grammar girl is one that requires us to be thoughtful, to be self-aware and to be global citizens. Our time at Girls Grammar has guided us as individuals, shaped our core values and imbued us with courage. This courage has enabled us to walk out of the gates at the end of our five years, feeling proud, empowered and ready to take on the world, Out of the Blue . LUCINDA DUKE (12H) AND ELIZABETH PRINS (12B)

This year at Brisbane Girls Grammar School has been quite Out of the Blue — to say the least. Our goals as Head Girls, from the outset, were threefold: to encourage all girls to celebrate our diversity within the Blue; to be grateful as individuals who emerge from the Blue; and to promote teamwork as a school community, as Grammar sisters, as the Blue. We were proud to see daily expressions of these goals and the affect that they had on our School culture. At every opportunity, we have encouraged girls to celebrate the diverse range of talents, experiences and interests that each Grammar sister contributes to the School culture — from Diversity Day, which gave us the opportunity to recognise the different backgrounds and identities that enrich our community, to ArtsFest, a week-long celebration of wildly talented artists, musicians, and actors. However, perhaps the most significant culmination of the diversity of the School body was Open Day. Open Day was our opportunity to welcome the wider community and allow them to experience a taste of Girls Grammar life. Everyone was able to experience the School’s diversity through band performances, drama scenes, sports displays and, ultimately, the individuals that make up the student body. Additionally, the regular celebration of Blue Day allowed girls to support and encourage all Girls Grammar sportswomen, whether they excelled on the track, the field or in the pool. The incorporation of specific Blue Day themes encouraged our 2017 celebrations of this time-honoured tradition to be a little bit Out of the Blue . From Under the Sea to Inter-Grammactic concepts, we hoped the girls were excited and united as they supported their Grammar sisters. In many ways, gratitude was our easiest goal, with all girls finding countless ways and opportunities to be thankful for Girls Grammar. Events like White Blouse Day, the Mother and Daughter and Father and Daughter Dinners, the Generational Grammar Women Afternoon Tea and Service is in our DNA, really proved how gratitude can extend beyond the School walls. Rangakarra also benefited from expressions of gratitude during Grammar Goes Green events where girls worked to enrich and improve the environment at our Fig Tree Pocket campus.

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BEWARE THE BEAR

The 2017 Beanland mantra ‘Beware the Bear’ aimed to encourage each Beanland Bear to embrace their house spirit and have a blast at every interhouse event. Term I kicked off with the annual Beanland House Party, which successfully exhibited this year’s theme. Decked out in every shade of pink, each year level competed in a gruelling obstacle course to win the ultimate Beanland Bear award. The entire house was then thrown into the deep end at Interhouse Swimming, where we won the teachers and students lifesaving race. The Beanland Bears once again proved their spirit at Interhouse Cross-Country. Term II consisted of weekly House Assemblies that included activities such as ball games, trivia quizzes and a particularly active ‘Just Dance’ to raise the House spirit. In Term III we saw the return of Ms Christopherson from visiting Bradford Girls Grammar School, where Miss Sophia Beanland lived and taught before sailing to Australia. As the founder of our house, her educated, confident and independent mindset is reflected in the Beanland girls today. Open Day was a huge success as students, parents, and future Beanland Bears devoured our famous fairy floss. Alongside this, pink and purple ribbons were sold in honour of our 2017 house charity, Girls Not Brides. The cold winter winds saw the advent of Interhouse Athletics, which showed a drop in the house spirit. This was redeemed by Year 12 Beanland Bears’ admirable accomplishment of winning the annual Interhouse QCS competition.

In Term IV, the house competed in the Interhouse Choral Competition, singing ‘Pompeii’ by Bastille, led by Beanland’s Choir Captains: Clare Crawford; Cailtlin Trout; and Lillian Ma. We have a few Beanlanders whose achievements outside the classroom this year have been extraordinary. Notably, Maia Martin (Year 11) for outstanding achievements in karate including being the youngest girl in Australia to have achieved her second Dan Black Belt and Year 12 debater, Isabel Nolan, who captained the Queensland state team and was named sixth best speaker at the 2017 World Schools Debating Championships held in Indonesia. Year 12 swimmer, Minna Atherton was selected to represent Australia as part of the Youth Transition Squad in Japan at the 2017 Japan Open competition, where she came away with a win in the 50m and 100m backstroke. In October, she won the 50m backstroke at the Australian Short Course Championships in Adelaide, breaking a new All Comers Record! This year for all Beanlanders would not have been such a success without the help from Head of Beanland House, Ms Christopherson as well as Ms Coughlan, Mr McGarry, Ms Miles, Ms Belich, Mr Huppert, Mr Larkin and Ms Byrne. Thank you. CATRINA GU AND SOPHIA WONG HOUSE CAPTAINS

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SOAR TO THE TOP

The England Eagle flock has soared to new heights this year with girls embracing the motto ‘Rock the flock, soar to the top’, encapsulating the England spirit and our ultimate goal to make England House feel like a united home for each girl. The England House Party in Term I was a display of enthusiasm, support and sense of fun. To link in with our motto, we adopted a denim/rock theme encouraging girls to dress up in everything from denim jackets to blue tutus. The afternoon was filled with speed donut eating, extreme egg-and-spoon racing, pizza, cake and killer dance moves. It was a very memorable event, especially for the Year 12s who couldn’t be more proud to enjoy one of our ‘lasts’ with their England sisters. The swimming carnival was our first interhouse competition of the year and was a clear display of England spirit. Everyone worked as a flock to support each other by cheering the war cry, decking themselves out in blue and diving into the pool. Our enthusiasm and involvement this year was reflected in us having a record number of participants in the pool, filling every single lane! We maintained our spirit for the remaining interhouse events: cross country and athletics. These days were filled with excitement, cheering and incredible athleticism. Fuelled by blue sour straps and support from the sidelines, the England flock performed outstandingly, with girls breaking records and the house achieving fourth and second place for cross country and athletics respectively. The ultimate goal of the Year 12 cohort this year was to recognise the incredible achievements, experiences and friendships Grammar girls can gain Out of the Blue. This was achieved through the initiative of ‘England’s got Talent, in which we saw incredible performances including singing and slam poetry. The Rock the Flock Award was also introduced, encouraging girls to nominate their friends in support of their achievements or spirit as an England Eagle. We have loved being a part of the England flock during our five years at Brisbane Girls Grammar School under the wing of our mother eagle, Ms Stark who we can’t thank enough for her constant support and passion for our house. Each England Eagle has shown house spirit, dedication and enthusiasm this year, which has made us so proud and made our time as House Captains incredibly rewarding. While we are sad to be leaving the house that has become a home for us, we are confident that we are leaving it in the hands of a fantastic group of eagles who will

continue to ‘Rock the Flock’ in years to come. MIRANDA BLUNDELL AND ELIZA WATSON HOUSE CAPTAINS

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NO LIMIT

This year has been a huge, eventful and exciting year for Gibson House. This year we aimed to unite the house and connect the Year levels in order to promote friendship and a supportive atmosphere throughout the house, with our motto ‘No limit to the Gibson spirit’. After welcoming new members to the Gibson family, we ‘initiated’ them at the house party — covering the Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre grass in purple as every girl danced their heart out. We continued traditions such as Knights, Mounts and Cavaliers, musical statues and as always had a cake to celebrate the start of the Gibson year. We were lucky to enjoy House Assemblies every Monday morning in the Gehrmann Theatre where we played ‘Just Dance’, played ball games on the grass, had toilet paper dressing competitions, practised mindfulness sessions, played Kahoot online games and had a pancake and cake breakfast. We also continued with last year’s goal of uniting the house with groups of girls from various Year levels, naming them after fourteen different shades of purple, but something that we thought was important this year was the recognition of achievements that Gibson girls have received outside of school. From rock climbing to weightlifting, we tried to encourage the girls who have shown outstanding determination and perseverance in their chosen area. Gibson showed an amazing amount of enthusiasm at the 2017 interhouse events. We dominated at the Swimming Carnival in February, with purple caps flying down the pool. Interhouse Cross Country was also an amazing success with each and every girl supporting her Gibson family, regardless of their place. This support and enthusiasm was also seen at the Interhouse Athletics Carnival where it was wonderful to see the girls donning their costumes and cheering on their friends. This year has been amazing with each and every girl showing her determination and support for her house and we would like to congratulate all of them on their achievements across the year at, and outside, school. None of this would have been possible without the endless support and efforts of Mrs Boltman and the Gibson House Group teachers who are constantly engaged and helpful with our activities, and we thank them immensely. As House Captains, we can say that it has been an honour to lead Gibson this year and we wish the 2018 and future House Captains the best of luck. EMILY FERGUSON AND KATHRYN GIRDIS HOUSE CAPTAINS

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STRENGTH OF THE WEB

Wow, what a year — a year that has gone mind bogglingly fast! This year the Griffith Web was strengthened as each Griffithian embraced their inner spider. Red-y to tackle any challenge, our house was alive with tenacity, enthusiasm and infectious joy. This year began with a bang with the Griffith House party, which was easily the most exhili-red-ing event of the year. Our sisterhood unified together as every girl in the house proudly wore a red Griffith headband. Our girls dominated the Interhouse Swimming Carnival as they spun their way into podium positions, leaving their competitors flailing in a web of hard work and energy behind. Our persistence and participation payed off as we managed to come out on top, taking out the interhouse swimming championships for the second year in a row. The enthusiastic momentum that began with swimming did not waver, with each girl participating eagerly during our house assembly activities such as Kahoots and ‘Just Dance’, especially when a reward of chocolate was on offer. This spirit continued throughout Cross Country and Athletics Carnival as the girls ran, jumped and threw their red hearts out.

The final big event for the year was Open Day where we held one of our most successful Lob-a-choc stalls ever, with great thanks to the skilful Year 11s as the proceeds supported our house charity, beyondblue . The Year 7s, an extremely enthusiastic and organised cohort, beautifully decorated their stall as they warmly welcomed the future Griffithians who will be joining our web next year. Our 2017 motto, ‘The strength of the web is the spider, and the strength of the spider is the web’, was really embraced by all our Griffith girls especially the Year 12s who tirelessly helped us as House Captains throughout the year. We would like to thank all the house group teachers, particularly the Year 12 house group teacher, Mr Wheatley, for their ongoing support. Most importantly, we would like to thank Ms O’Sullivan for her compassion and dedication for Griffith House. She has encouraged us to achieve

our goal to the very best of our abilities. Thank you, girls and good luck next year. GRACE MITCHELL AND FIONA QIU HOUSE CAPTAINS

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TO INFINITY AND BE-ORANGE

Hirschfeld has had a wonderful year full of team spirit, podium finishes and an abundance of fun. A goal of ours for 2017 was to encourage every girl to get involved to always go ‘to infinity and be-orange’! Our spirit soared as there was always a sea of orange on the sideline cheering on at every event. We cannot thank Mrs Dabelstein enough for her support and guidance throughout the year; her positivity and enthusiasm is what drives the house to succeed and we couldn’t do this without her. Our House Party held in Term I aimed to embody our motto go ‘to infinity and be-orange’. We organised an activity relay for the girls, which consisted of bobbing for apples and oranges, doughnut eating, newspaper modelling and face painting. We hope all the girls had fun interacting with other Hirschfeldians from other Year levels, as a goal of ours was to create more connections between different Year levels. Hirschfeld has done exceptionally well in all interhouse events, placing second in Interhouse Swimming, and first in both Interhouse Cross Country and Interhouse Athletics. These exceptional results couldn’t have been achieved without the participation of all girls and our amazing sports captains Sophie Clacher and Coco Wackwitz. Aside from the great results, it was Hirschfeld’s attitude and spirit on these days that was always noticed, and the peer support and enthusiasm was clearly on display. As Hirschfeld House Captains, we always encouraged the girls to always try their best and have fun with their friends. We couldn’t have asked for a better house to lead and we were so impressed with how enthusiastic each and every girl was from filling spots in events, to turning up to the hot potato stall on time. For ten years, Hirschfeld’s House Charity has been the Pyjama Foundation and were so honoured to donate our funds to such a wonderful cause. It has been a true honour for us to lead such an exceptional house like Hirschfeld, and we can’t thank the girls, teachers, and Mrs Dabelstein enough for their ongoing support and enthusiasm throughout the year. PHOEBE BELL-ALLEN AND MAIH PORFYRIOU HOUSE CAPTAINS

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EVERY FROG HAS ITS LILLEY

This year has been a toad-ally fabulous year for Lilley House! Between the welcoming of the new Year 7s, the House Party, interhouse competitions and Open Day, the year has slipped right on by — with the Lilley Legends coming to life, once again leaping out of the pond and into the race with all four feet. This year kicked off with a warm welcome for the newest little Lillians, the Year 7s. Although somewhat nervous and unsure at first, our little tadpoles have grown into fully fledged frogs this year, and have become a very confident and tight knit group who even took out first place in the Interhouse Maths Competition! Their spirited and enthusiastic a-croak-ch to the Interhouse ‘Just Dance’ Competition, also shows promise — we couldn’t be more proud of our newest additions! This year’s festivities hopped off to a frog-tastic start with the annual Lilley House Party, the most ribbiting social event of the season. We Lillians could hardly be distinguished from the lawn as we got together for an afternoon of games, cake and pizza, dressed to impress as we decked ourselves out in bright and brilliant greens. Although we frogs haven’t quite managed to conquer the pool, course or track this year, our legendary spirit remains strong, because we do not dwell on our failures, we just ‘frogget’ about them. Indeed, despite not coming in first, we made a splash in

the pool, leapt across the course and hopped along the track as fast as our froggy legs could carry us — even managing to break a few records along the way! Our 2017 motto was ‘Every frog has its Lilley’ and we’ve tried to bring it into every event and assembly. This year, our weekly House Assemblies were jam-packed with games, quizzes, and musical, poetic and dramatic performances from some of our very talented Lilley girls. The Lilley ‘Green Group’ tradition continued throughout the year as well, combining Year levels to play games and chat so that girls from different backgrounds and of different ages get to know other girls. However, Open Day 2017 was where our green colours truly shone through. The Year 11s put together a truly un-frog-ettable fudge stall which brought in more than $2000 (the most we’ve ever made!) to donate to our House Charity, The Melanoma Foundation. We are so proud of this year’s Lillians, bringing their kermittment, zest and legendary spirit to every event and occasion. In 2017, the girls certainly proved why we are called the Lilley Legends. NIKITA USCINSKI AND CATHERINE DUFF HOUSE CAPTAINS

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DON’T JUST FLY, SOAR

Mackay has had an exceptional year in 2017. Our Mackay Angels have personified our mottos this year, ‘Have courage and be kind’ and for sports, ‘Don’t just fly, soar’. Ms Jans has been the most supportive and wonderful Head of House and we feel so happy to have her leading us. She is always available with creative and original ideas on how to motivate the house for each of the events. We started the year with our ‘fairy tale’ themed house party. All the girls embraced this theme and dressed appropriately. It was amazing to see all the girls dressed up as different characters and in their white clothes. Being seen as the spirit house, we are exceptionally proud of our brilliant achievement of reaching and maintaining fourth position in each interhouse event — swimming, athletics and cross country. We also had excellent attendance at each event, receiving a ‘shout out’ from Mrs Harvey-Short and being acknowledged as the house with the least absences at the swimming carnival. This shows the spirit and energy of each Mackay girl and her love of her house. Our success has only been possible by the hard work the House Sports Captains have put in and we’d really like to congratulate them for all they’ve done. Our House Service Captains chose to support the Ovarian Cancer Foundation this year. Through the amazing fundraising efforts of the grade 11s at Open Day with our traditional cupcake stall, we managed to raise donations to support research into ovarian cancer. It has been a true honour for the two of us to be House Captains. We have loved every minute of leading the Mackay Angels. We tried to keep our Thursday morning House Assemblies interesting and entertaining, doing different activities such as Kahoot, ‘Just Dance’ and even some Bollywood. The amazing successes we have achieved this year would not have been possible without the fabulous support of Ms Jans, the house group teachers and of course all the girls in Mackay. MALWINE SCHUETZ AND ABIRAMI SOMASUNDARAM HOUSE CAPTAINS

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OCTOPI STICK TOGETHER

The theme for O’Connor this year was ‘Octopi stick together, O’Connorians are forever’ and we really think the house has embraced this idea. We wanted our motto to represent the spirit of O’Connor House. Our mascot, Otis the octopus, is very similar to the O’Connor House in 2017. It has many tentacles just like O’Connor has many unique and independent girls. O’Connor girls, although all different, are still connected just as all of Otis’ tentacles meet in the centre. It has been a great year for O’Connor with the introduction of many new activities and traditions. We started the year with an ‘Under the Sea’ themed house party in honour of our underwater mascot. It was a fun afternoon with girls dressing up for the theme and dancing away to plenty of sea songs. The girls also made a wall of ‘Starfish wishes’ for the year ahead. O’Connor has done outstandingly in interhouse competitions with some fantastic athletes, especially from the new Year 7 house group and a great commitment from the house as a whole. To encourage house spirit before the athletics carnival we distributed monogrammed maroon ribbons to each O’Connor girl and encouraged them to wear the ribbons at interhouse events. It was amazing to look up at the stands to see a sea of maroon ribbons unifying the house. In Term III we introduced the O’Connor ‘fight series’, an intrahouse group competition in House Assemblies. The series went for three weeks and featured a physical week (thumb wars), a brains week (general knowledge quiz) and an all-round week (survivor challenge). There was so much enthusiasm during the series, as each house group fought it out for the spirit stick. Another exciting initiative was the Octopus of the week award given to a girl in the house who did something extraordinary but would not normally be acknowledged. This could be as simple as lending a helping hand setting up the Open Day O’Connor Brownie Stall (which was a great success), working up the courage to busk at school or always volunteering for house assembly activities. All the recipients are just some of the incredible, unique girls who unite the house. We trust that next year the O’Connor Octopi will continue to stick together and support each other through the maroon. We thank and acknowledge the tremendous support provided by our two Heads of House this year: Ms Boyle (who went on parental leave during the year); and Ms McDonnell who very ably took over to guide and lead us throughout the remainder of the year. ELIZA WOODS AND MEG HENDERSON HOUSE CAPTAINS

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WOOLCOCKATOO WARRIORS

This year has been absolutely fantastic and especially amazing for Woolcock House. There were several events throughout the year where all Woolcockatoos could showcase their spirit and support for one another. These events included the House party at the beginning of the year — where we applauded the overload of yellow each girl brought to the table — and the interhouse events including swimming, cross country and athletics. The House party allowed for girls from different Year levels to bond with other Woolcockatoos over activities including the famous ‘Miss Woolcock Challenge’. The activites undertaken at the House Party allowed for a tight-knit bond to be created which consequently carried throughout the rest of the year. After Interhouse swimming and cross country where we placed ‘dead’ last, we were ecstatic to receive the news that we had placed second-last at athletics! We were over the moon to get this result and we are so proud of the efforts of each Woolcockatoo Warrior! We are especially proud to be lucky enough to take out the title of the teacher relay with the team consisting of Ms Northcroft, Mr Hollier, Ms Nisbett and Ms Cameron, our two sports captains Portia Bennet and Abigail White, and us — Cara Avenia and Lily Macrossan. It was a fantastic race and we will never forget our victory. As captains our goal this year was to unite the house and to try and get to know as many Woolcockatoos as possible. We both agree that the house has become closer and more united over the year and we believe that we achieved this by encouraging every girl to take part in every activity. Some of the initiatives we undertook this year were creating multiple videos to showcase specific events or messages. To begin the year we created a ‘promo video’ which basically hyped up everyone for the year and gave an introduction of what life like was at Girls Grammar for our new Year 7s. With amazing help from our media captains we were able to provide the house with videos highlighting events such as the Year 12 Formal and Year 11 Charity Social. We believe these videos assisted in encouraging girls to take part in activites across the year and recognise the importance of the warm and welcoming Woolcock House. This year at the 2017 Open Day, Year 11 Woolcock successfully ran a stall, which sold delicious waffles with a diverse selection of toppings. They did a fantastic job and the efforts provided by them were absolutely incredible. The earnings made from this stall all contributed to our house charity for this year, Endometriosis Australia, to help raise awareness of an alarming issue that affects girls globally. We are so proud of what they have achieved this year and we know they will do an incredible job as leaders in 2018. Our motto for this year was ‘Raise your crest and be your best’ and we believe every girl has lived up to this. We are so proud of the efforts of every single Woolcockatoo we are so pleased to have been part of this amazing house. It has been a privilege for us as House Captains to lead Woolcock throughout 2017 and the memories we

have made will forever last in our memory. CARA AVENIA AND LILY MACROSSAN HOUSE CAPTAINS

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Minna Atherton

Elize Atme

Julia Banks

Kate Breeding

Ashley Brockhurst

Madeleine Duncan

Helene Carter

Claudia Cavallo

Clare Coulter

Clare Crawford

Rosie Dann

Charlotte Newton

Emma Giles

Catrina Gu

Lucinda Johnston

Ravleen Kahlon

Lillian Ma

Lucy Suchting

Isabel Nolan

Charlotte Petfield

Nadja Pop

Elizabeth Prins

Chelsea Ricato

Caitlin Trout

Chek Ying (Adeline) Wong

Sophia Wong

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Eliza Amos

Millie Baker

Miranda Blundell

Hillary Bui

Olivia Byrom

Madeline Kellett

Gabrielle Callow

Tess Cilento

Alice Dunn

Ellen Gardner

Emily Holden

Rachel McCready

Laura Kimble

Soobin Lee

Kimberley Lin

Jasmine Lunn

Hayley Mattner

Eleanor Veitch

Gemma Nyssen

Claudia Schmelzer

Isabella Shue

Starlette Thynne

Caitlyn Trimboli

Eliza Watson

Cara Whiting

Annabelle Williams

Ellen Winning

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Ivy Adams

Layla Adib

Alice Barlow

Josephine Dooley

Emily Ferguson

Charlotte Lucas

Kathryn Girdis

Matisse Green

Young Min Kim

Ayesha Kumar

Larrisa Lae

Maya Norris

Emma Macbeth

Eugenie MacMillan

Isabella Mathiou

Lauren Murphy

Ashlyn Nicholas

Zoe Webb

Tatjana Perin

Julia Slancar

Scarlett St George

Brooke Tran

Lucy Tucker

Surini Wijesuriya

Amelia Wootten

Serina Xu

Helen Yesberg

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Emily Anderson

Abigail Ashford

Eesha Bajra

Annabel Charlton

Meg Charlton

Tiarne MacDonald

Chloe Fu

Brooke Heilig

Emily Hoang

Joanna Huang

Archlia Lin

Fiona Qiu

Juliet McArthur-Dowty

Grace McLay

Bija McPherson

Grace Mitchell

Ella Patrick

Misa Uchiyama

Mia Sarri

Yu-Ling Schmidt

Julia Shield

Annabelle Stubbs

Mia Thurecht

Ashlee Warat

Chloe Williams

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Emma Campbell

Lily Allen

Ava Bastow

Phoebe Bell-Allen

Inais Black

Bridget Butler

Anna Fletcher

Shui-Yu (Jocelyn) Chen

Sophie Clacher

Sara Connell

Lucinda Duke

Alexandra Dunk

Micaela Olm-Milligan

Dominique Hale

Saffiya Khan

Elisha Lin

Tu-An Ma

Kate Morrison

Emma Southall

Helena Payne

Amy Perkins

Maih Porfyriou

Samantha Potter

Mirabelle Pun

Nikki Wong

Lucy Stevens

Jasmina Tims

Tiana Villaescusa

Coco Wackwitz

Hannah Walker

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Isabella Bartho Laxton

Charlotte Bowdidge Calvert

Jessica Brown

Adeline Chan

Jocelyn Chen

Kate Hanlin

Rebecca Dai

Kashmeeraa Devaraj

Catherine Duff

Christine Greenland

Portia Greensill

Catherine Nicholls

Niamh Hunter

Abbie Hurnall

Dinh (Christine) Huynh

Mia Kapernick

Seo Yeon (Kelly) Kim

Zoe Skoien

Claire Orr

Alessandra Palm

Bella Ponsford

Saskia Roberts

Luca Ryan

Genevieve Thomas

Nikita Uscinski

Ellen Wilson

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Lily Awyzio

Ellouise Bergin

Claire Chen

Maddison Clarke

Kennedi Clayton

Anna Miller

Rose Cross

Madeline Horne

Freya Martin

Breeze Mathews

Polly McKevitt

Sienna Quinn

Lauren Mount

Evangeline Noble

Isabel Peters

Lauren Poulos

Megha Prasad

Kelly Trainor

Madison Satyasiv

Naya (Malwine) Schuetz

Emma Seymour

Abirami Somasundaram

Isabella Tobin

Emma van Baarle

Lucy Wittmann

Jennifer Zhang

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Mikaela Lamb

Anastasia Georgiou

Meg Henderson

Isabella Jansen

Miranda Jones

Aliesha Lam

Erica Patane

Ailish Luke Martin

Leigh McEntee

Isabella Mirosch

Kate Norris

Jennifer Pak

Sher Meng Tan

Xuan-Nghi Pham

Alice Poole

Jessica Pyman

Alice Read

Alexandra Rush

Gabrielle Williams

Philippa Taylor

Charlotte Than

Alicia Tonio

Cindy Truong

Navodhee Wijesundara

Eliza Woods

Paris Wu

Julia Wyer

Lucy Yuan

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Olivia Bundock

Rachel Anderson

Abby Andrews

Cara Avenia

Portia Bennett

Scarlett Buchanan

Emily Hawkins

Georgina Conlan

Jaimie Durston

Aleesha Ganendran

Lauren Gorringe

Eloise Hawkins

Sophie Jones

Amanda Heales

Ashleigh Hockings

Nicole Hu

Anisa Jaffar

Jessica Jenkinson

Elizabeth O’Brien

Natalie Kong

Vanessa Lamarre

Starr Lee

Clare Lindsay

Lily Macrossan

Nicola Panizza

Catherine Rolls

Alicia Singh

Ella van der Kreek

Abigail White

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STUDENT COUNCIL Front row: Abigail Ashford, Madison Satyasiv, Mrs Emma Lowry, Mrs Pauline Harvey-Short, Lucinda Duke, Ms Jacinda Euler, Elizabeth Prins, Mrs Anne Ingram, Ayesha Kumar, Alice Dunn, Sophia Wong Second row: Kathryn Girdis, Miranda Blundell, Meg Henderson, Lily Macrossan, Cate (Rosie) Dann, Laura Kimble, Cara Avenia, Emily Ferguson, Nikita Uscinski, Maih Porfyriou Back row: Naya (Malwine) Schuetz, Grace Mitchell, Abirami Somasundaram, Fiona Qui, Catherine Duff, Eliza Woods, Eliza Watson, Catrina Gu, Phoebe Bell-Allen

CAPTAINS OF CULTURAL ACTIVITIES Front row: Jasmine Lunn, Emily Anderson, Miss Ellena Papas, Isabel Nolan, Olivia Byrom Back row: Chelsea Ricato, Catherine Nicholls, Cate (Rosie) Dann, Bridget Butler, Laura Kimble

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CAPTAINS OF SPORT Front row: Kate Norris, Adeline Wong, Kimberley Lin, Madison Satyasiv, Ms Sally Northcroft, Abigail Ashford, Mia Sarri, Abbie Hurnall, Natalie Kong Second row: Josephine Dooley, Annabel Charlton, Kate Breeding, Shui-Yu (Jocelyn) Chen, Evangeline Noble, Polly McKevitt, Cara Whiting, Kate Morrison, Layla Adib, Dominique Hale Third row: Ashley Brockhurst, Lauren Murphy, Eugenie MacMillan, Starr Lee, Ashlee Warat, Philippa Taylor, Ravleen Kahlon, Ashleigh Hockings, Portia Bennett Back row: Inais Black, Rachel McCready, Abby Andrews, Annabelle Williams, Minna Atherton, Meg Charlton, Emily Hawkins, Sophie Clacher Absent: Lily Awyzio

SERVICE CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES LEADERS Front row: Archlia Lin, Megha Prasad, Claire Chen, Chloe Fu, Anastasia Georgiou, Ayesha Kumar, Mrs Lynne Mungomery, Miss Ellena Papas, Alice Dunn, Ailish Luke Martin, Tu-An Ma, Sophie Jones, Hillary Bui, Bidisha Roy Second row: Ellen Gardner, Isabella Shue, Alexandra Rush, Ms Anna Flourentzou, Mrs Kristine Cooke, Ms Ruth Jans, Mrs Jody Forbes, Ms Violet Ross, Dr Ann Farley, Mrs Romy Fritz, Mrs Sharon Anderson, Seo Yeon (Kelly) Kim, Paris Wu, Ellen Wilson Third row: Larrisa Lae, Ms Susan Garson, Mrs Margaret Golawska-Loye, Mrs Christine Woodford, Ms Paula Quinn, Elizabeth Prins, Emma Stacey, Camille Levy, Abirami Somasundaram, Ms Susan Miles, Mr Anthony Cupitt, Mrs Sybil Edwards, Miss Emma Jones, Gemma Nyssen Fourth row: Mrs Monica Urry, Ms Kara Coughlan, Tiana Villaescusa, Helene Carter, Juliet McArthur-Dowty, Elisha Lin, Alicia Singh, Jennifer Zhang, Isabella Mathiou, Louise Rainbird, Rebecca Haley, Ms Sarah Frew Back row: Mr Stephen Woods, Chloe Williams, Emily Anderson, Nadja Pop, Sophie Clacher, Abigail White, Joanna Huang, Claudia Schmelzer, Anisa Jaffar, Jessica Siong, Julia Slancar, Mrs Louise Lockyer Absent: Emilia Weeden

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BI-GRAMMAR

Bi-Grammar is an annual series between Year 12s from Brisbane Girls Grammar School and our neighbours, Brisbane Grammar School which consists of a game of Touch in Term I on the boy’s field next door and a game of Netball in Term III at our own McCrae Grassie Sports Centre.

Our first game was highly anticipated by the senior Touch girls who were narrowly defeated on the field. It was a great game with a lively, competitive atmosphere with cheering and support from both sides. However, when the second game of Bi-Grammar came around in Term III, it was the Netball girls’ turn to demonstrate their skills, defeating the boys in front of a lunch-time home crowd. Both games were so much fun and the incredible atmosphere of support from our Grammar sisters is what makes the Bi-Grammar series one of the most enjoyable traditions for the seniors during their final year. SOPHIE CLACHER (12H)

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Thankfully, at Brisbane Girls Grammar School we are blessed to be part of a community that celebrates the fantastic achievements of girls at our School and women globally — what they have done for women and what they have done as women. It is in this encouraging and uplifting environment that on International Women’s Day, we are truly able to recognise our own capabilities and work on actualising our potential. I am truly inspired by the trailblazing history of my School, the multi-talented girls that surround me and our teachers who encourage us to ‘keep pushing the limits’. It is against this backdrop that I know anything I set out to achieve is possible. Some criticise this culture of celebration and argue that it’s not reflective of the ‘real world’, but we are part of the real world. In the absence of implicit and overt discrimination in this School, girls do not question whether their dreams are appropriate, they just set out to achieve them. Ultimately, I’m truly thankful that I had the opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. ISABEL NOLAN 12(B)

International Women’s Day, is an occasion intended to celebrate the hard-won rights of women and the progress being made on those challenges that are still being fought. However, it is a day often marred by criticisms from people who attempt to tear down and discredit the inspirational work of women worldwide.

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DIVERSITY DAY

As a Student Council, we hoped that 2017 would be shaped by our three main goals of diversity, gratitude, and teamwork. While we had cemented diversity as our overarching theme for 2017, we knew that intentions would only get us so far. We wanted to translate the positive culture fostered in our school community into a physical display of celebration and appreciation. In the feedback we received from the student body, it was clear that unity within our diversity was something that every girl was passionate about. In this spirit, we made it our priority to incorporate Pride at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, where we acknowledged and celebrated the LGBTQIA+ community. On the Tuesday 23 May, suitably embedded within Diversity Day, all students had the opportunity to apply coloured paint onto a large canvas, resulting in a rainbow with myriad unique handprints. At the following assembly, Ms Euler removed two strips of tape from the canvas, revealing an equal sign and reinforcing the idea of equality for everyone’s personal identity.

The project was a considered a huge success for the Student Council, with the canvas being a physical representation of the diversity at the School as well as providing us with a beautiful piece of art to remember the occasion. LUCINDA DUKE (12H) AND ELIZABETH PRINS (12B) HEAD GIRLS

FOUNDATION DAY

On Wednesday 8 March 2017, Brisbane Girls Grammar School marked Foundation Day celebrating 142 years since the School’s foundation in 1875. The festivities began with the ‘Foundation Day Assembly’, a time to reflect on how important education for young women is and how Brisbane Girls Grammar School has continued to educate girls at a high standard since its inception all those years ago. Following assembly, we all headed to receive our slice of the delicious Foundation Day cake. This special day not only acted as an opportunity to enjoy the famous blue and white frosted cake, but also a chance to think about each of our role in the School’s long history and the many women who have been educated at the School in the years before us, and those in the years to come. ELIZA WOODS (12O)

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WHITE BLOUSE DAY

White Blouse Day at Brisbane Girls Grammar School was held in July this year to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and support the work of the Cherish Women’s Cancer Foundation. Unlike many other cancers, there is no effective test that provides early detection of ovarian cancer and unless you really know and understand your body, it can be very difficult to recognise the symptoms. There is a great need for research to improve testing and develop better and less invasive treatments for women with gynaecological cancers. This research requires funding and that is why we support the Cherish Women’s Cancer Foundation on this day.

White Blouse Day began with a graceful and thought-provoking ribbon routine by Rhythmic Gymnastics pair, Mackenzie Curtis (10W) and Nina Hadzivukovic (10H). During assembly, all students were invited to remove their tie for the day and to take part in our campaign to improve awareness of ovarian cancer and encourage gratitude for people we cherish. At lunchtime, girls wrote the names of people they cherish whose lives have been impacted by this disease on white balloons. ALICE DUNN (12E) AND AYESHA KUMAR (12G), SERVICE CAPTAINS AND MRS LYNNE MUNGOMERY, DIRECTOR OF SERVICE

On 26 July, Girls Grammar held its annual White Blouse Day to raise awareness for ovarian cancer. To show support for this day as a whole school, when instructed to by the Service Captains, every girl took their tie off during assembly and wore a white blouse for the rest of the day. White balloons were strung up along the pool fence and Level 4 of the Cherrell Hirst Creative Learning Centre and throughout the day girls could write supportive or positive messages on the balloons. A white lady art installation was also placed in the noticeboard for student and staff to see as they walked pass. Four Australian women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each day, making White Blouse Day an extremely important day to not only raise awareness about this cancer within the school community, but to also acknowledge and support the women who are have fought or are still fighting it today. EMMA VAN BAARLE (12M)

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