2017 School Magazine

JUNIOR AND SENIOR MERLE WEAVER

Merle White Weaver served on the staff of Brisbane Girls Grammar School on three different occasions between July 1918 to 1925, 1927 to 1928, 1943 to 1949 (she was on leave for a year over 1949 to 1950) and finally in 1951. She taught Latin, English and History. She left at the end of 1925 to be Head Mistress of a new high school – North Coast Girls’ College in Ballina. Ms Weaver returned to Girls Grammar from 1927 to 1928, and then left at the end of 1928 for a position as Head Mistress of Broadland House Church of England Girls’ Grammar School, Launceston in January 1929. She left Broadlands after 3 years then returned again to teach at Girls Grammar from 1943 to 1949. In the Senior Merle Weaver competition, the winner for 2017 was Isabel Nolan (12B). The 2017 winner of the Junior Merle Weaver is Adhiti Gobindnarain (10E).

The Junior and Senior Merle Weaver public speaking competition is an annual Brisbane Girls Grammar School event. The competition is named after Merle White Weaver who donated the Merle Weaver Prize for Public Speaking to the School in 1954. The Junior Competition is open to girls in year 10; one girl competes for each House. The Senior Merle Weaver is for Year 12 girls only and is also open to one girl from each House. In the Junior competition, girls can speak about a topic of their own choosing. Year 12 students have two sections: firstly, a speech on a topic of their choice; and secondly, an impromptu speech on one of three proverbs with 10 minutes’ preparation time. Both competitions are judged on manner and matter as in debating. There are three judges who are teachers with some expertise and experience in this area.

Senior Merle Weaver Competitors

Topic

Inais Black (12H)

Euthenasia should be legalised

Matisse Green (12G)

Pedigree dogs are a bad choice for the pet and the owner

Ellen Wilson (12L)

The dark, cruel underbelly of the Australian horseracing industry

Aleesha Ganendran (12W)

Embryonic stem cell research

Anastasia Georgiou (12O)

That we should have an opt out system for organ donation in Australia

Isabel Nolan (12B)

Child sweatshop labour

Laura Kimble (12E)

‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’: why we should put an end to racial profiling

Abirami Somasundaram (12M)

Luck is not a matter of chance

Archlia Lin (12R)

Genetic modification of human embryos (designer babies) is morally reprehensible

Junior Merle Weaver Competitors

Topic

Mackenzie Bryson (10L)

The definition of insanity

Anna Hammett (10B)

Australians’ mental health

Nina Panayotov (10R)

Those that fail to learn from history, are condemned to repeat it

Jessica McCleod (10M)

The detriment of stereotypes, with specific reference to the saying ‘boys will be boys’

Jessica Xu (10G)

The art of decision making

Shervani Pothugunta (10O)

Racial diversity in the media

Adhiti Gobindnarain (10E)

Our responsibility as youth to think and act globally

Zoe Goss (10H)

Women and the media

Penelope Sophios (10W)

Mind over matter

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2017 | CO-CURRICULUM | 109