2017 School Magazine

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.