1985 School Magazine

Report from Yvonne Bain NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN OF QUEENSLAND The B.G.G.S. Old Girls' Association has had a long period of affiliation with the National Counci l of Women, which is an umbrella organisation comprised of delegates from many diverse women's groups and interested associate members. Since its inception prior to Federation, the National Council of Women State Councils and since 1932 the Federal Board, on behalf of their affiliated organisations: have sought to improve the status of women and conditions for women in all facets of life. During the last decade for women instituted by the United Nations, with which the International Council of Women has consultative status, all member national councils have concentrated on education, health and employment prospects which could affect women. Brisbane Girls' Grammar School has always innovated educational changes to provide a broad base for its students. Over the years this training has been reflected in the council in Queensland by many old girls of the school who have served as executive members and delegates from a variety of women's organisations and in their various capacities, they have helped to develop policies and instituted benefits for women through the National Council of Women channels. In 1985 the President of the Old Girls' Association, Wendy Spranklin and Yvonne Bain are the B.G.G.S.O.G.A. delegates to the National Council of Women of Queensland.

Mrs. Lorraine Thornquist. CHURCHILL FELLOW, 1986

A new name has been added to the Honour Board at B.G.G.S. Mrs Lorraine Thornquist (nee Williams), a former student of the sc hoo l and current ly teaching here as Head of Languages, was recently awarded a Churchil l Fellowship for 1986. At the beginning of next year, Mrs Thornquist will spend near ly three months visiting universities and educational institutes in the U.S.A. and France. She will be looking at the use of computer and video disc technology in the teaching of foreign languages, with particular focus on the teaching of listening comprehension skills, recognised as a key to language acquisition. This promises to be an exciting and relevant project, given · the increasing use of computers in education in Australia, and their extension beyond the traditional use areas of maths-related subjects. ' Computer facilities are growing at Brisbane Girls' Grammar School and within the next two years, Mrs Thornquist hopes to apply knowledge gained through this project to the language teaching programmes at B.G.G.S. Besides providing for individual working pace and immediate feedback for students, computer technology, particularly video discs, can 5ring the language environment to the students. Students can interact with native speakers on screen. The days of disembodied, purely textbook learning are in the past.

Dr Melda Moffett is a member of the Alumni Association Executive at the University of Queensland. She was educated at the Brisbane Girls' Grammar School and graduated from the University ofQueensland in Science in 1952 majoring in Botany. She_joined .the Plant Pathology Branch of the then DepartmeRt of Agriculture and Stock where she became interested in baeterial plant diseases. Involvement in this area of plant pathology led her in 1959 to undertake further·studies.at the University of Queensland in the field of microbio:log.y. In 1966 she was awarded an American Association ·of University Women International Fellowship to work with Dr R.R. Colwell at Georgetown University, Washi.ngton D.C. S-be. was awarded a Masters Degree in ,1969-and in l98laPh.D. in Microbiology. Melda ho-lds the~ posi-tion of"Seniur Pa>thologist; Plant Pathology Brar.Jch, Department of ·Primary Industries. She is Past · Presid€nt -ofthe.-AUJstra·lian' F€derat-ion ofUniversity Women - Queensland. and rs rntereste.d in women's affairs, · particularly in the educatior:t of women.

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