2020 School Magazine

JUNIOR AND SENIOR MERLE WEAVER A s an English teacher, I often find myself pondering the meaning of words. Inspire, for example. It sounds oddly similar to perspire, respire, and expire. What could inspire, a word connected so intimately with hope, and confidence, have to do with sweat and exhalation? As with many mysteries, it all comes back to the Latin. Spirare: to breathe (hence, respirate). Inspirare: to breathe into, excite, inflame. We trace these meanings back to a time of myth and magic. Long ago and far away, the Titan Prometheus sculpted humans from earthen clay, but found them dull, and lifeless. It was Athena—Goddess of wisdom—that literally breathed life into these, the first humans. This is inspiration: to use one’s breath, one’s voice, to bring to life that which is still or forgotten. Brisbane Girls Grammar School has a long and proud history of encouraging young women to use the power of their voices to inspire others, and this is nowhere more evident than in the Merle Weaver Public Speaking competition.

Junior Merle Weaver Competitors and Topics:

Student

Topic

Ashmitha Murali (10B)

GEN Z’S GREATEST WEAPON: SOCIAL MEDIA

Emilia Arba (10E)

PANDEMICS AND POLITICAL DIVISIVENESS—WHY WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE A COMMON GOAL

Isabel Shorrock-Browne (10R)

RAISING THE HEMLINE: LOOK HOW FAR WE’VE COME

Isabel Stephens (10M) WINNER THE YEAR WHERE THE WORLD LOVED BIG Millie Smith (10O) HOW NOT TO BE UNGRATEFUL IN 2020 Scarlett McLellan (10H) DON’T CANCEL ME FOR THIS Shanna Heath (10L) OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS AT THE DOOR OF A CRISIS

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