1985 School Magazine

Students enteri ng the school are no strangers to computers and so it becomes inc reas ingly important for staff to have ready access to, and confidence, in using modern technology. This is in keep ing with one of the thrusts of the Computer Education Programme, as introduced in 1984 by the Commonwealth Schools Commission. The Commission believes that in impl ementing the programme, special emphas is should be given to using computers to achi eve greater equality of outcome in education and that the needs of the girls should be given special attention . Indeed it stresses that " the effectiveness of the programme will be heavily dependent upon the skills and motivation of the teaching force. For the programme to develop, it will be essential for teachers to be provided with the necessary time and opportunity to come to an understanding of computer technology and to be ab le to work through issu es related to integrat ing th e tec hnology into th e total curriculum:' The school supports this policy and acco rdingly released Mrs Roslyn Lawrence B.Comm, M.Ed.Std ., Dip.Ed., A.A.S.A., M.A.C.E. for training as a computer consultant for teachers in non-Gove rnment schoo ls. After her initial trainin g, she co-operated with Mr Bourke and Mr Francis to develop a two-day workshop for staff. It was well attended and many of our staff now have co nfidence to use the new technology as a tool in the teaching process. Computer ed ucat ion is just one of the Commonwea lth Schools Commission initi at ives, and, as with other such p rogrammes, the sc hoo l was able to pre-empt the development so th at programmes offered in the sc hoo l retain relevance in today's soc iety. The ab ility and capac ity of staff to continual ly eva luate and plan so that this sc hoo l can maintain its position as a leading ed ucational instituti on fo r girl s is to be commended, but unfortunately, at this time, has failed to ga in sign ificant recognition by the Commonwea lth Government. During 1983, a subm ission was made to the Commonwea lth Sc hoo ls Comm iss ion for a capita l grant for the new building deve lopment that is so desperate ly needed to prov id e adequate fac iliti es for students attending the school. Unfortunately the submiss ion was unsuccessful, with the result that parents now face the

difficult task of f inding 75% of th e funds needed for the proj ect. Because we are a Queensland Gri}mmar School, the State Government generously provides 25% of funding for cap ital developments, otherwise the school would have been faced with compl ete ly funding the whole deve lopment. Although we ca n understand th e needs-based policy that presently exists for both cap ital and recurrent funding, I beli eve that it is necessa ry for far greater consideration to be given to the definition of need than has been forthcoming to date. In th e letter received from the Commonwealth Schools Commission, it was stated that the deve lopment had "i nsuffic ient priority" for funding and yet all the areas addressed by Brisbane Girls' Grammar School in its assessment of its needs for the future, are at present either programme areas or projects of national signifi ca nce that are being supported by th e Commonwealth Government during 1984: Computer education, Arts ed u cat~o n , Choice and Diversity, Education of Girls, Gifted and Talented Children, School and Community and School Evaluation. Through initi at ives the school has taken, it has accepted its responsibility co ntinually to improve resource standards and increase its academ ic offerings to stu dents, so that all students can, if they so desire, reach their maximum potential. The school has also accepted its responsibility for accountab ility to both gove rnments and parents alike. None of the facilities that were the subject of the appl icat ion for financial ass ista nce we re lu xuri es, but were basic requ irements necessary to all ow the needs and priorit ies of ed ucat ion today to be met. I w ill therefore co ntinue to ask on what grounds it can be stated that this schoo l has not suffic ient priority to att ract grant ass istance. The building w ill p roceed, but this will place increased burdens on parents of students in the sc hool. The Board of Trustees is most appreciative of the wonderful co-operat ion and support that the majority of parents in the schoo l have given to the new deve lopment through vo luntary donations to the school Build ing Fund , for without this support, the needs of the school cannot be met.

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