June 1945 School Magazine

June, 1945

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

Brisbane Girls ' Grammar School Magazine

June, 1945

THE BE:{TY WOOLCOCK MEMORIAL ESSAY: 1944. "Success lies, not in achieving what you aim at, but in aiming at what you ought to achieve, s ure of achievement here, or if not he re, he reafte r." -R. F. Horton. This quo tation is almost a paradox. In this gross, materialistic world o f today, it would be contemptuously dis- carded, rathe r than acceptE!d as a true definition of succe ss. I agree with Horton, for spiritual content is infinitely more satis- fying than the restless poss~ssion of worldly s uc.:::ess. Success is a wilful firefly pursued in dark, ensnaring jungles by millions of blundering creatures, who crush and maim one another ruthlessly as they grope frenziedly for the ir ·.vill-o'-the-wisp. Failure is regarded as a treachous qui:::ksand which drags men down to the depths of despair. Thought of it breeds fear and something almost akin to awe at the wasta of man's abilities. · At first reading, one almcst unconsciousl~­ rejects the 'implication in the quotation as necessitating recon- ciliation to probable failure in this life in the shadowy hope of. success in the hereafter. One is too apt to think of success as an urgent. material thing of the present. Youth is e ithe r fired with ambition that is sooner or later dulle d by. experience, or it completely lacks an aim in life, b eing conte nt merely to live a long, happy, meaningless exist- ence with conscious thought neither of the present nor of the- future 'life . The latter are unworthy of contemplation. The- former are the moving spirits of their age. Disillusionment, ,along with regret for a lost ideal and hopelessness in conse- ·quence of it, are felt by all at some stage. The lost ideal is. restored through the recognition of the knowledge that comes to every human b eing of feeling and discernment,-the per- ception of the power of spirit over fact; the inexplicable power of one personality over another's life and circumstances, and the equally wonderful power of a soul over the conditions of its own exis tence, are ample proof of the possibility that man will ultimately achieve what he ought to a chieve , he re, or if not here hereafter. Knowledge and purity are a natural con- secru'ence of f.ree individual life, and they are· obtained not by inheritance and imagination, but by achievement; they are the triumph o f'strivings towards some seemingly elusive goal. Experience and mental struggles lead men to the pursuit-of an ideal that eventually they perceive to be sure and discover- 15

CURRENT EVENTS.

Once again this year, many new girls were enrolled as pupils at the school; and also, we were pleased to see so manY of our Juniors return to the Sub-Senior forms, in numbers so great that it was necessary to have two Fifth Forms. The Swimming Carnival caused great excitement during · the first term, when our teams came fourth and third in the Senior and Junior Brockway Cup races _ b ut our greatest thrill was the winning of the McWhirte r Cup by our Life Saving Team. This is the firs t time for ten years that we have won it. In the Inter-school Swimming Carnival we took fourth place, gaining thirty-six points, and being placed in almos t every event. We spent a most enjoyable afternoon on Old Girls' Day, which fell on the 14th April. In Net-ball both our A and B Teams were victorious, but the Old Girls' C Team was success- ful. In Tennis, however, all three Old Girls' Teams won. Inter-school fixtures in Tennis and Net-ball have begun -again this year. Although Wynnum High School has no Tennis Team, i t has entered the Net-ball Competition for the first time, thus bringing the total number of schools compe ting to ten. Athle tics practices have started e arly this year, and wit,n -earnest and continued practice we hop e to regain the Schools iormer re nown in this sport. Considering the former condition o f the Gym. floor, we w ere -pleased to hear that it was to oe renewed during the .Easter Holidays, and feel sure that it has improve d our qym- nastics. In accqrdance with the increase in the number of pupils there have b een additions to the staff. We are glad to welcome Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. McCoske r and Mrs. Boulton who are taking -classes here. ·We were sorry to lose the help cf Miss Dunn, but she has not lost touch with u s altogether, for she still coaches Tennis at the School. • -B.P., VI. 14