@Grammar - Winter 2017

125 @Grammar

ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017

We are family

@Grammar

WINTER EDITION 2017

U pfront 2

FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

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125 YEARS

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Principal and CEO Dr Peter Britton shares his views on a truly international education.

We celebrate our birthday with a look at how far we’ve come.

ALUMNI

Thea Baumann making success a (virtual) reality.

EVENT

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Alumni

When Lorna Jane came for a visit.

EEC

I GGS

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FROM OUR EEC DIRECTOR

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STUDENT LEADERSHIP

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EEC NEWS

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FEATURE

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FEATURE

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STAFF Q&A

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STAFF Q&A

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NEWS

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EVENT

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SOCIAL

34

BOARDING

35

CAPITAL APPEAL

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OGA

Mrs Kirsten Edols on building relationships.

We have grown...and have new chickens!

Reggio gives children a voice in their learning.

What is Mrs Lynda Kramer’s favourite EEC activity?

J u nior G ra mmar 17

FROM OUR HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL Mrs Nicolee Eiby’s vision for Junior Grammar.

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FEATURE

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STUDENT LEADERSHIP

The value of co-education in the formative years.

We meet Junior School Captains, Bridie and Kai.

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NEWS

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STAFF Q&A

Friendly soccer games, Eisteddfod wins and learning new languages.

Mrs Cindy Watson has a great title for her autobiography.

Our Head Girls and IGGnite.

The pursuit of perfection.

Mr David Kroeger contemplates hiking or biking.

Personalised learning, changes to the senior schooling system, sports stars and more.

International musicians join our Co-Curricular Arts Students at Tea & Symphony.

P&F Welcome BBQ, birthdays, breakfasts...

All the news from Cribb House.

Preserving the past to create our future.

A message from our Co-Presidents and a grand reunion.

@Grammar is published by Ipswich Girls’ and Junior Grammar School’s Enrolments & Community Relations Department.

CRICOS provider Number 00533D. Copyright 2017.

Editor Marketing & Communications Manager Mrs Linda Robinson

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The pursuit of perfection

PO Box 16, Ipswich, Qld, 4305 T: +61 7 3454 4447 E: marketing@girlsgrammar.com.au www.girlsgrammar.com.au | www.juniorgrammar.com.au

@GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 1.

FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

New partnership to provide international opportunities Equipping students with 21st-century skills and teaching our students to be successful global citizens is more important than ever, says Ipswich Girls‘ and Junior Grammar School Principal and CEO Dr Peter Britton.

The elements of a good education have expanded. Not so long ago, people with the ability to read, write and do arithmetic were deemed to have had a good education. Nowadays, students still need to be literate and numerate, but they also need to acquire 21st-century skills: critical and creative thinking, collaboration and teamwork, communication, and how to use information and communication technologies. Moreover, 21st-century students need to develop intercultural understanding and global awareness to increase their tertiary study and future employment opportunities and to contribute to modern societies. Indeed, students’ proficiency in 21st-century skills will be essential to the survival of our planet.

Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School including Ipswich Junior Grammar School (IGJGS) and Shandong Normal University Basic Education Group (SNUBEG), Shandong Province, Peoples Republic of China, share a vision and have partnered to give their students and teachers

opportunities to develop 21st-century skills by participating in student and teacher exchanges.

International exchanges are an adventure and a challenge. The experience of living in a foreign country and joining the local community helps students appreciate diverse cultures and lifestyles. They encounter unfamiliar rules and norms and need to ask for assistance or explanation thus building confidence, maturity and independence. Students are exposed to many new customs, habits and ideas and learn that adjusting to a new culture does not mean that they must change their values or beliefs, but it is important to be open-minded and respect those of other people.

Students who participate in an international study tour will expand their leadership and teamwork skills.

The demands of IGJGS’s international exchange require students to set and achieve goals that they would not usually set at home, further explore their personal strengths and identify

areas for improvement in their character.

Students will learn the importance of care and compassion for others and the need to be diligent, respectful, honest, courageous and an active team member.

Students who complete IGJGS’s international exchange will also strengthen their appreciation of their families and their own culture. Being thousands of kilometres away in a foreign country and needing to be more independent helps students appreciate the love and opportunities they receive from their families at home. Being away from home for an extended period highlights the importance of family, community and nation.

Host students also benefit from student exchanges. SNUBEG has selected IGJGS as its preferred Centre in Australia for international exchanges after some highly successful two-way exchanges between SNUBEG and IGJGS. It is wonderful to see the excitement and anticipation in the eyes of the IGJGS students when the SNUBEG students arrive at school. The IGJGS students

FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

warmly welcome the SNUBEG students to their school and into their friendship groups. The IGJGS students work with the SNUBEG students in classrooms, they play sport and music beside them, teach them about the local customs and the operations of the School.

In return, the SNUBEG students share their personal and social experiences in China. SNUBEG students teach IGJGS students about Chinese culture and home life and the daily operations of their schools. The friendships that develop between the IGJGS and SNUBEG students are strong, so much so that they stay in contact with each other long after the overseas study tour to IGJGS is finished.

Teacher exchanges are also an exciting part of the one term overseas study tour.

Visiting teachers are welcomed into the host’s classrooms. Visiting teachers observe classes from the Early Education years to Year 12. The teachers discuss curriculum design, assessment and reporting. Host teachers explain their School’s unique teaching framework

“…21st-century students need to develop inter-cultural understanding and global awareness to increase their tertiary study and future employment opportunities and to contribute to modern societies.” to the visiting teachers, which enable visiting teachers to expand their pedagogical repertoire of effective practices.

The Centre will also be a base for the international education program for the Junior School students.

IGJGS strives to provide its students IGJGS is in the process of establishing and teachers with every opportunity a China Centre in a school in Jinan to become confident, well-educated City, Shandong Province, China, young women, girls and boys prepared as part of the Agreement with the for higher learning, local and global SNUBEG. IGJGS’s China Centre will citizenship and life by dedicated, become the base for its international professional staff in safe, first-class education program in China. Education learning environments. IGJGS’s student plans have students completing three and teacher international exchange educational inquiries, one each in program to China is an exciting and Jinan, Beijing and Shanghai. The essential addition to the School’s inquiries have themes focused on education program. developing secondary students’ —Dr Peter Britton intercultural understanding, and knowledge of Chinese history and Australia’s engagement with China. @GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 3.

125 125 YEARS

As Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School’s first headmistress Miss Fanny Hunt and her sister, Miss Margaret Hunt, made their way up the School driveway in a black horse-drawn carriage they were greeted by Principal and CEO Dr Peter Britton.

The scene, although indicative of School life in the 18th century, took place on a stunning summer morning in March this year and was a re-enactment based on archival photographs. Fanny (played by Lizzie Slater, Year 11) and Margaret (Charlotte Sturgess, Year 11) heralded the start of our official 125th Birthday Assembly. Fanny and Margaret joined a cast of students on stage in the Mervyn Patterson Assembly Hall that saw our School’s history play out on the small stage. The pageant, written and directed by Old Girls Association (OGA) Co-President Mrs Helen Pullar, was performed in front of a captivated audience of students, staff and special guests.

125 years strong Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School’s proud history was on display at our 125th birthday celebrations.

During the performance, we learned that in 1892 Miss Fanny Hunt was charged with opening a Grammar School for Girls. Thirtyone students started under her charge, and by the end of the year, 48 students were on the School Roll, six of whom were boarders.

We heard about the origins of our motto— Omnia Superat Diligentia—diligence overcomes all and how our first school uniform was a navy, three box-pleated tunic over a white shirt worn with black shoes, a white Panama hats and white gloves.

We also heard about the foundations of our Houses; Armitage, Carter, Connell, Hunt and White, named after the School’s first five headmistresses.

By the end of the 1900s, IGGS had expanded to include a gymnasium, a gatekeeper’s lodge, stables and a hospital dormitory and the Old Girls Association had been established. In the 1940s our Main Building and clock tower served as a World War II air-raid shelter. By 1956 we had our first Parents and Friends Association. In 1967, we celebrated our 75th birthday with a major fundraising appeal for the next

primary classes and built the Brockwell Gill Foundation Centre as well as several new complexes including the Marian Walker Sports Complex, John Hancock Centre, Thalia Kennedy Arts Studios, Walker Building and Graphics Studio.

During this time, and with major studies revealing the benefits of co-education in the formative years (see The value of co-education in the formative years, pg. 18), the School expanded again, this time to include a growing number of boys from Prep to Year 6. In 2005, Ipswich Junior Grammar School became its own entity. It was, and continues to

“We heard about the origins of our motto—Omnia Superat Diligentia—diligence overcomes all…” phase of the School’s building program.

Soon after, the Main Building was converted into an Administration block, and new classrooms were built for our Years 8 and 9 students.

In 1987, Cribb House named after Thomas Bridson Cribb, the Chairman of our first Board of Trustees, opened.

Throughout the 20th-century we continued to build on our reputation of educating strong, successful, inspirational young women and in 1992, we celebrated our 100th year. By the close of 2000, we had expanded to offer

After a beautifully performed exploration of our history, the pageant and 125th Birthday Assembly culminated in the cutting of a huge birthday cake and was followed by one of the day’s major highlights—the much-anticipated return of the Boarders versus Day Girls Tug of War. In the celebration’s final hours, IGGS students gathered near the Main Building for a presentation ceremony of our 125 Year Time Capsule, organised by OGA Co-Presidents Mrs Helen Pullar and Mrs Leah Bell. We will continue to add significant contributions to the capsule throughout our 125th year before it is sealed and laid to rest, to be discovered by the School’s future custodians.

The celebrations then concluded with our traditional School war cry.

be, south-east Queensland’s only co-educational Grammar primary school.

Months later, a fire destroyed the Senior science block, and the School embarked on another major building program. Our state-of-the-art Peter Phillips Senior Complex and Mavis Parkinson Junior School Centre opened in 2009. In 2010 the School grew again to include a dedicated Early Education Centre for girls and boys in Kindergarten and Pre-Prep.

In 2017, our 125th year, Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School, including Ipswich Junior Grammar School, continues to be deeply committed to innovation, excellence and the first-class education of all our students. We are looking forward to celebrating our next major milestone, the restoration of our much-loved Main Building (see Preserving the past, pg. 35) and many more decades of supporting confident, well-educated young women, girls and boys.

@GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 5.

ALUMNI

IGGS alumna

nails glam-tech fashion

When Thea Baumann left IGGS, she thought she was destined for a career in psychology. Today, the 34-year-old trailblazer heads global glam-tech company Metaverse Makeovers, the new big thing in wearable technology.

Thea attended Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School as a Senior from 1996 to 1998.

“My fondest memories involved getting up to a bit of mischief with my BFF Camilla Edkins, who is now a successful Chinese herbalist, acupuncturist, and fertility expert,” Thea said. “We are still fabulous mates to this day!”

While at IGGS, Thea was very active in creative arts and would spend hours in the Arts Department working on an elaborate or experimental artwork.

“I was a recipient of a Minister’s Award for Art in my final year. It was an IGGS highlight, so I guess that was recognition of all the time I put into experimenting across media in the Art Department.”

After Year 12, Thea went to the University of Queensland to study Psychological Science.

“I thought I was going to be a psychiatrist,” Thea said. “But I was disappointed by all the statistics involved and dropped out at the end of the first year. I then went to Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Visual Arts.”

Thea said the best thing about art school was the freedom to explore all kinds of abstract concepts and experiment with all sorts of media.

“I loved art school. I also loved art history and learning about all the Movements. I was interested in new

technologies and new media and wanted to learn how to use software and make immersive installations. I was trying to make Virtual Reality experiences before the tech gear was freely available.”

Now 34, Thea is a creative technologist, entrepreneur, artist, producer and Founding Director of the international hologram brand Metaverse Makeovers.

For the past five years, Thea has been based between Melbourne and Shanghai.

Over the last decade she has lived on and off in China where she encountered all kinds of ideological clashes.

“I was doing things like supporting research on the effects of the engineering feat the Three Gorges Dam on local flora; inventing and manufacturing creative technology products in Chinese factories; and setting up shop on WeChat–China’s biggest mobile chat app,” Thea said.

“I also was lucky to undertake amazing artist residencies in Beijing supported by the Brisbane Lord Mayor Fellowship and Asialink.

“Now, I am on the Board of Advisors of non-profit organisation China Residencies, assisting and supporting artists and creatives to do cool work and championing cultural diplomacy in the People’s Republic of China.

ALUMNI

“Recently, I’ve relocated to the UK to finish off my Masters at the National Film and Television School (NFTS)— it’s a Creative Business Masters for Executives and Entrepreneurs. The NFTS and my Masters Degree is headed up by leading producers and doers in the creative industries like Nik Powell, co-founder of Virgin Records and Chris Auty who has produced many amazing cult indie films like Stealing Beauty and Crash.”

Thea’s passion for pioneering new creative innovations, and a Promethean desire to capture and share the techno light, led her to create Metaverse Makeovers. In the company’s first App, users can collect and wear limited edition artist-designed nails and then enhance them with interactive, shareable holograms on their phone screens.

Thea came up with the idea after watching girls in nail bars playing Candy Crush and getting diamante bling applied to their nails.

“I wanted to put games on girls’ fingers, turn girls’ hands into consoles,” Thea said. “Candy Crush 3D diamonds and lasers flying out of fashion and accessories. It’s Pokemon Go on fashion or Princess Leia ON your fingers.”

While Metaverse Makeovers is experiencing tremendous success, it has not been without significant challenges.

and new business methods for commercialising Augmented Reality in the largest mobile market in the world.

“There have been so many hurdles,” Thea said. “The biggest one would have to have been trying to raise US$1 million in Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas and Silicon Valley in three months and failing spectacularly.

It was a true kamikaze dive bomb!

But these lessons as an entrepreneur are important as it helps define your limitations. They amplify the internal grit and fortitude needed to rise up, keep going, and try again.”

Thea said one of her biggest achievements to date is building a female-led company and launching patent-pending new product categories

“Dropping my innovations on the market before some of the big tech companies has been incredible,” Thea said.

Thea credits IGGS with teaching her about the value of female camaraderie.

“It laid the seeds for what I’m doing now, which is to create holograms and give the newest tech to girls in a form that speaks to them in their language, culture and aesthetics,” she said.

“Seeing my dream of holograms flying out of girls’ fingers in really obscure pockets of the world and in developing Asia has been amazing. Who knows what will become of those girls after experiencing Metaverse?”

“My fondest memories involved getting up to a bit of mischief with my BFF...We are still fabulous mates to this day!”

@GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 7.

EVENT

We are an Active Living School!

Earlier this year activewear entrepreneur and author Lorna Jane Clarkson visited the School and brought with her two very special guests.

Lorna Jane Clarkson received a rock star welcome when she took the stage in the Marian Walker Sports Complex.

The international businesswoman was at the School to deliver her Active Schools Living Program and talked about how a positive mindset had contributed to her success.

“I had no formal training,” Ms Clarkson told the students. “Just a great idea and a lot of determination.”

Ms Clarkson said she developed the Active Living Schools Program to teach girls and boys how important it is to be fit and healthy.

“It is our responsibility to educate the next generation on the importance of health and wellness and encourage them to get started now,” she said.

Ms Clarkson brought Queensland Firebirds stars, captain Gabi Simpson and Mahalia Cassidy along for the session.

“It’s great to have elite athletes come along and show the students that with hard work, determination and looking after yourself great things can happen in your life,” Ms Clarkson said.

The visit was part of Ipswich Girls’ and Junior Grammar School’s deep commitment to the positive health and wellbeing of all our students. We encourage all our students to take part in individual and team sports as part of a holistic education.

At Ipswich Girls’ and Junior Grammar School, we believe we play a critical role in helping our students lead active, healthy lives. Research shows that children who move aren’t just healthier; they also tend to do better academically, behave better in class and miss fewer days of school. We offer a variety of

opportunities for our boys and girls to be active including physical education classes, co-curricular sports, inter-school invitationals, after-school clinics and visits from special guests like Ms Clarkson.

Through our extensive range of sporting activities, many students have excelled and pursued selection into district, state, national and international teams (see Sport, pg. 30).

Early Education

@GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 9.

EEC

From our

EEC Director Early Education Centre (EEC) had a great start to the year, welcoming our families with two new, well-resourced classrooms and new educators. The extension allowed us to offer more places, growing the EEC family from 75 to 119.

Our families and children have settled in well and have become familiar with the EEC way of life.

Our focus at the start of the year is to establish positive relationships with the families and the children in our classrooms. We collect information from our families to develop some common goals and understand each

child as an individual. We do this by seeking out their favourite things, things that worry them and rituals and cultures of their families. These are represented in what we will include in our classrooms.

We believe it is important that children feel like they belong to the EEC family.

This sense of belonging is our priority when establishing positive relationships with our children. These relationships are based on listening to the child and establishing their needs as individuals and implementing support structures for them to feel confident and comfortable in our play spaces.

We look to many resources when developing emotional and social skills.

The Fun Friends program is one these resources. Many of our educators are facilitator trained in this program. The Fun Friends program was developed

by Dr Paula Barrett to help guide the social and emotional development of children aged four to seven using fun,

play-based group activities. This program teaches skills that nurtures each child’s development and resilience during the crucial early years.

The Kids Matter Early Childhood framework is another resource we use. The framework puts into practice the importance of building strong connections. These connections include children: educators, child: child, child: families and child: educator: community.

The primary resource when building relationships is conversations with the children. We hold discussions with the children about what a good friend looks like, how to be a good friend and how it feels to be a good friend. These discussions are supported by the story Have You Filled A Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids, by Carol McCloud.

At the EEC we believe children are important, contributing citizens of our world. Therefore, they learn that what they have to say is important,

NEWS

The EEC expands

Two new fully-resourced classrooms opened at the Early Education Centre at the beginning of the year, growing the Centre’s maximum available places from 75 to 119. The additional places are a mix of both part-time and full-time places across Kindy and Pre-Prep, allowing the School to better meet the high demand in our community for quality educational programs for three-to-five-year-olds with long daycare options. Along with two new, fully-resourced classrooms, the expansion also includes a significant extension to the Centre’s outdoor play space, the addition of a second eating area and 17 new dedicated car parks.

We have welcomed some exceptional new Educators to our team, enabling us to maintain staff-to-student ratios and ensuring our current students continue to benefit from the continuity of care we pride ourselves on. We are now accepting applications for 2018 entry and beyond.

it is listened to, and their ideas, hypotheses and thoughts are actioned.

Free range learning

These all start from building respectful relationships and knowing the children in our classrooms, their families and their communities. Through these discussions, we are supporting the children to have a voice and to have opinions.

With this continual focus at the EEC, we find that the children develop confidence in dealing with conflict, sharing their ideas, negotiating turn taking amongst peers, looking after our friends, being kind to one another and looking after the environment and classrooms.

We believe by remaining strong on the importance of building these positive relationships, children develop good social skills and therefore the ability to make and keep friends.

Delilah

Meet Rosie and Delilah, the Early Education Centre’s (EEC) resident chickens. Our feathered friends, who were named after EEC families submitted their suggestions, joined us in March and settled in nicely to their luxurious new home.

Having chickens is an excellent way to teach children responsibility, good hygiene and where food comes from, and our EEC boys and girls are having great fun learning about and looking after them.

Rosie @GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 11.

FEATURE

Reggio gives children a voice in their learning

FEATURE

The One Hundred Languages of Children

When choosing an appropriate Kindy for their child, parents are often faced with an overwhelming amount of information including the educational philosophy of each centre.

While there are a vast range of educational philosophies a Kindy can adopt—Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Steiner and Waldorf to name but a few— our Junior Grammar Early Education Centre (EEC) reflects on the practices of the Reggio Emilia philosophy.

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is an approach to teaching, learning and advocacy for children. It is a way of observing what boys and girls know, are curious about and what challenges them. It is strong in its belief that children are born citizens of our world and have a voice from birth and features distinctive characteristics including the participation of families, the shared work

To support this idea, teachers provide opportunities in the play spaces to encourage new ideas, extend on the interests of the children and promote opportunities for the children to think, and make suggestions, about concepts. “Our classrooms and outside play spaces are ever-changing to meet the needs and interests of the children,” Mrs Edols said.

Another fundamental Reggio principle is the notion that children have one hundred languages, or a hundred different ways of thinking, discovery and learning (see The One Hundred Languages of Children, right). Mrs Edols said through drawing, sculpting, dance and movement, painting and pretend play, modelling, music and much more, each one of these hundred languages must be valued and nurtured. “These languages, or ways of learning, are all a part of the child,” she said. “Learning and play are not separated.”

This emphasis on offering many and varied means of learning and

“Parents are actively involved in supporting children and teachers in providing the best possible experiences for children.“ of the staff and the importance of the educational environment.

EEC Director Mrs Kirsten Edols said the Reggio Emilia approach views children as competent, curious and connected to the world around them. “Collaboration and interaction with our EEC families and the wider community are vital,” she said. “Parents are actively involved in supporting children and teachers in providing the best possible experiences for children.”

A core principle of the Reggio Emilia philosophy is acknowledging the environment as the third teacher.

expression allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, agility and physical, cognitive and emotional strength.

Through thinking, discovering and learning, children develop skills to solve problems, take turns, listen to others and cope with disappointment.

“It is through these learning opportunities that young children engage and interact with the world around them and gain the selfconfidence needed to participate in new experiences.” Mrs Edols said.

This poem, by the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach, conveys the important roles imagination and discovery play in early childhood learning.

The child is made of one hundred.

The child has a hundred languages a hundred hands a hundred thoughts a hundred ways of thinking of playing, of speaking.

A hundred.

Always a hundred ways of listening of marvelling, of loving a hundred joys for singing and understanding a hundred worlds to discover a hundred worlds to invent a hundred worlds to dream.

The child has a hundred languages (and a hundred hundred hundred more) but they steal ninety-nine.

The school and the culture separate the head from the body.

They tell the child: to think without hands to do without head to listen and not to speak to understand without joy to love and to marvel only at Easter and at Christmas.

They tell the child: to discover the world already there and of the hundred they steal ninety-nine.

They tell the child: that work and play reality and fantasy science and imagination sky and earth reason and dream are things that do not belong together.

And thus they tell the child that the hundred is not there.

The child says: No way. The hundred is there.

—Loris Malaguzzi @GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 13.

NEWS

Early Education Centre scores national award nomination Earlier this year, Ipswich Junior Grammar’s Early Education Centre (EEC) was publicly recognised for the valuable role it plays within our community with a nomination for 2017 Early Childhood Service of the Year in the Australian Family Early Education & Care Awards.

EEC Director Kirsten Edols said they were flattered and humbled by the nomination, as they believe they just do what they love to do.

“We create a place where children can feel safe, they have a voice, and they are involved or leading everything that we do,” Mrs Edols said. “This is supported by a team of like-minded, dedicated, passionate educators who believe they are a part of something special every day. At the EEC we think children should always come first and our whole philosophy is surrounded by this concept.”

Early Childhood Service of the Year isn’t the only nomination the EEC scored, either.

Our beloved EEC educator Mrs Lynda Kramer was nominated for 2017 Early Childhood Educator of the Year!

Mrs Kramer said the nomination was a lovely surprise.

“To know that I’ve made such a difference in a child’s life that a parent, or parents, have gone to the trouble of nominating me is wonderful,” Mrs Kramer said.

The Australian Family Early Education & Care Awards are Australia’s biggest awards for the early years education sector and celebrates the leaders and services in Australian communities that are committed to the growth and development of those in their care.

The Q&A Mrs Lynda Kramer is the Early Education Centre’s Lead Educator of Kindy A. Earlier this year, Mrs Kramer scored a nomination for 2017 Early Childhood Educator of the Year in the Australian Family Early Education and Care Awards.

Q: What do you miss about being a child?

A: I miss doing all those fun things like making things out of wood, creating gardens, watching my dad do his oil paintings and just sitting with him in the shed or garden talking.

Q: Who did you want to be when you grew up?

A: As a child, I wanted to be just like my dad. A caring person.

Someone who was an artist with many mediums and a person who could upcycle anything.

Q: What was your favourite food as a child?

A: My favourite food was a Croatian dish called Goulash. I would always help get the wood from the bush for the fire and then watch Dad place all the ingredients into the pot to cook over the open fire.

It’s one of my strongest childhood memories.

Q: How do you think the children at the EEC see you?

A: They see me as a fun, trusting and funny person. Each day I have children running up to me for cuddles with the biggest smiles ready for the day.

Q: What is your favourite EEC activity?

A: Garden Warriors, as it is a time when I can share my true self. I love connecting with our natural environment with the children each day and teaching them how to care for our environment and how to be sustainable.

Junior Grammar

@GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 15.

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JUNIOR GRAMMAR

From the Head of Junior School Junior Grammar is a family, a family who has welcomed both myself and our new Deputy Head of Junior School, Mrs Lezah Semple, warmly in 2017. It is a new year, a new team, and a new beginning.

Our Explicit Improvement Agenda will drive this new beginning. The Agenda sees the new leadership team and our committed staff working together to build on the solid foundation of coeducational excellence established at Junior Grammar. Together, we will continue to grow our School’s reputation for exceptional academic performance, personalised learning programs, futures-focused technology learning, extensive co-curricular opportunities, and of course a wonderfully inviting, family friendly community.

As Head of Junior School, I am focused on all students’ experiences and learning opportunities being age-appropriate and child-focused; maximising student engagement and learning time; understanding the perspective of our learners; and generating enjoyment, enthusiasm and positivity. In addition to understanding our learners, our Junior Grammar teachers are focused on developing an even greater understanding of the hopes and beliefs each of our parents has for their child or children.

Our team is focused on our whole school community coming together to build positive relationships both

within and outside of our school. We understand that a parent’s involvement in their child’s education and the wider school has a significant positive impact on their child’s school experience and enhances their academic achievement.

Junior Grammar is the school I chose for my family—my three children— eight years ago, and Junior Grammar continues to be the school of choice for many families in our region.

I understand this choice, and to honour each family’s commitment and investment in our School, each decision I make is focused on what is best for our students, what is best for their learning and what is best for families.

At Junior Grammar, we are consistently reflecting on and improving our practice within the domains of teaching and learning and community partnerships.

In 2017 this reflective improvement is centred on systematic curriculum delivery, evidence-based practice and a culture that promotes learning.

This model of explicit improvement will be embedded across our School, our whole staff and our wider school community to ensure we are all working towards a shared vision of the future of Junior Grammar.

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FEATURE

The value of co-education in the formative years At Junior Grammar School we are in a unique position as south-east Queensland’s only co-educational Grammar primary school. But what role does co-education play in the lives of our students?

FEATURE

The Ancient Greek philosopher Plato was a strong advocate of teaching males and females in the same institution. He said that co-education created a feeling of comradeship. In the modern world, co-education—the teaching of students of both genders together—is typically the norm as it reflects the most realistic and authentic learning environment.

Extensive educational research of co-education in the younger years of learning confirms Plato’s belief. It also highlights the many other benefits of coeducation. Students develop a healthy, positive attitude and self-image and learn to be resilient, cooperative and to thrive in groups of both genders.

Head of Junior School Mrs Nicolee Eiby said Junior Grammar School firmly believes in the value of co-education in the primary years. “We are passionate about providing the best possible environment and experiences for our students, so they are well prepared for life beyond the Junior School,” she said.

Research has also revealed there are a variety of ways and styles in which we learn and Junior Grammar’s “Growth Mindset” approach reflects this.

“It provides opportunities for boys and girls to benefit from a wider variety of approaches to learning, rather than only targeting stereotypical beliefs about how genders learn,” Mrs Eiby said.

Interaction inside and out of the classroom provides opportunities to learn different approaches, strategies and methods of learning. For example, some boys develop better participation skills through discussions and interaction with girls, while some girls learn to take risks with their problem-solving through interaction with boys.

A co-educational community exposes students to rich academic experiences.

In a classroom of boys and girls, there are enhanced opportunities in subjects, for example, English, where a broader range of text can be chosen and explored.

Collaboration between genders in the classroom helps develop confidence in students, so they feel comfortable

“Co-education in the formative years provides a child with a well-balanced set of skills and strategies and a solid foundation … ” sharing their ideas and opinions. It allows for various options and viewpoints to be expressed in classes, which is essential for creating a safe learning and social environment. Classroom discussions allow both male and female perspectives on the same issues to be equally heard and explored, and a culture of respect between genders is fostered.

Educating Junior School aged boys and girls together advances not only their academic ability but also their social and emotional wellbeing. As they work and play together they develop confidence, resilience, respect, understanding and leadership (see Leading the way, pg 20).

Friendships develop naturally in a coeducational learning environment.

“Junior Grammar boys and girls get to know each other through class, different groups and clubs, programs, sport and other co-curricular activities,” Mrs Eiby said. “Our family atmosphere allows the children to express themselves confidently in an environment that mirrors the real world.”

Co-education in the formative years provides a child with a well-balanced set of skills and strategies and a solid foundation for the development of realistic, meaningful and lasting relationships later in life.

When girls and boys move to secondary schooling, where the academic and social advantages of single gender education come to the fore, the opportunities provided in a co-educational primary school experience prepares them for the world beyond the school gates, where the qualities of tolerance, respect, service and resilience are as valuable as academic knowledge and skills.

@GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 19.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

2017 Junior School Captains

@Grammar chats to 2017 Junior School Captains Bridie Ward Landy and Kai Stevenson about School life and their role as leaders.

Q: Who inspires you?

Bridie: My Pa. He showed my family how to live a good life and be kind and giving.

Kai: My mum. She has great School spirit, is caring and never quits at anything.

Q: Why did you want to become Junior School Captain?

Bridie: Because I love my School and wanted to be part of making a positive influence on each student.

Kai: I believed I could be a good role model for the younger students and motivate them to try their best.

Q: How are you working as a team?

Bridie: Kai and I share the same ideas on how to lead by example, so we work well together.

Kai: Bridie and I have known each other since Kindy and, except for Year 3, have been in each other’s class since Prep. We are good friends and make a good team.

Q: What does leadership mean to you?

Bridie: Leadership means to lead by example. Kai and I make sure we are dressed in full School uniform each day to show pride in our School and strive to be good examples for the younger students.

Kai: It means to always try to be your best, so others learn by your example. We know the younger students look up to us, just like we did with our School Captains when we were younger, so it’s important to show good character and be good role models.

Q: What legacy would you like to leave Junior Grammar at the end of this year?

Bridie: I would like to have inspired the students to be their best self, to try hard in School and to put their hand up for things, even when it is outside their comfort zone.

Kai: I would like to leave knowing I showed the younger years how to be kind and that perseverance is important.

Leading the way Leadership is a quality that all Junior Grammar boys and girls are encouraged and supported to develop. Through the curriculum and co-curricular activities, students are encouraged to obtain the skills necessary to become a leader. Junior School Deputy Head Mrs Lezah Semple said this ensures all students see themselves as leaders and have the opportunity and confidence to take on leadership roles.

“All students have the potential to become leaders if they are taught the skills and given the opportunities to practise leadership,” Mrs Semple said.

Leadership skills encourage and develop interpersonal and intrapersonal skills including communication, negotiation, teamwork and reflection. Through leadership, our students reflect upon and demonstrate the School’s Core Values of; Diligence, Excellence, Respect, Cooperation & Teamwork, Care & Compassion, Justice and Integrity.

NEWS

Junior Grammar hits high note at Eisteddfods

News

Junior Grammar enjoyed an enormous amount of success at this year’s Ipswich Eisteddfod and brought home a swag of accolades.

Awards included First Places for Junior Grammar Choir and Junior Grammar Strings Ensemble and Highly Commended for our Junior Grammar Wind Ensemble. Many of our solo musicians also took out awards in the hotly contested performing arts competition like solo violinist Irene Jung, who won a number of First Place awards including Junior Instrumental Aggregate Award, Instrumental Solo Championship (12 years and under) and Instrumental Solo Championships (12 years and under). A few weeks later, Junior Grammar Dance Troupe (pictured, right) took out Highly Commended and a Very Highly Commended at the Ipswich Junior Dance Eisteddfod!

Mixed teams at Friendly During Semester 1 we had a sporting first at Junior Grammar with our inaugural competitive soccer match with mixed teams. Our boys and girls travelled by bus to Dunlop Park, Corinda to compete against Corinda State School. Led by our School Sports Captains, Ella Gover and Marcellus Orford-Koeman, Junior Grammar went into the sporting event with three teams of 40 girls and boys ranging from Year 2 to Year 6. Our students, many of whom had never played soccer beyond a casual game at lunch, played well and displayed remarkable teamwork. Unfortunately, we didn’t bring home any wins but our boys and girls represented the School with pride, first-class sportsmanship and a profound sense of fun!

Mandarin now taught from Prep This year Junior Grammar introduced the opportunity for all Prep to Year 4 boys and girls to study Chinese (Mandarin). “Learning a language is an excellent opportunity for children to broaden their view of the world and to understand Australia’s place in the world, as well as the many different cultures living in our country,” said Head of Junior Grammar Mrs Nicolee Eiby. Our Chinese program, taught

by Mrs Takahashi-Chen, focuses on building understanding and learning to speak, read, write, listen and think in another way. @GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 21.

NEWS

Lifelong learning

lessons at library

The Angela Geertsma Library is an integral part of the teaching and learning process at Junior Grammar.

A well-resourced school library gives students the opportunity to increase their knowledge on various subjects, get lost in an adventure or retreat to a quiet place when needed.

At Junior Grammar, boys and girls benefit from weekly library lessons. Junior Grammar Teacher Librarian Mrs Cindy Watson (see The Q&A, below) said the sessions have a dual focus.

“We concentrate on the promotion of literature and the development of information literacy skills,” Mrs Watson said. “The literature component of library lessons is designed to nurture a love of books and an enjoyment of reading.”

“During the information literacy component of the program, children learn information skills as part of the PLUS model.”

The aim of the program is to explicitly teach skills as part of a process, rather than in isolation, and to guide children to become critical users of information.

The PLUS model

— Developed by James Herring

Purpose: What exactly is my topic/task? What am I being asked to do?

Location: Library—Dewey Decimal system, using Orbit; Internet search engines, selecting appropriate sources, evaluating websites, etc.

Use: Organising, presenting and communicating information, using features of information texts, note-taking, ethical use of information, digital citizenship, etc.

Self-evaluation: Reflection: What did I do well? What can I do better next time?

The Q&A

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

Ipswich Junior Grammar School Teacher Librarian, Mrs Cindy Watson, joined us at the beginning of 2017.

She is an Old Girl (Senior in 1977) and was from, in Mrs Watson’s words, “the best House”, Hunt. Her Aunty, sister and two daughters also attended IGGS.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.

I lived a childhood dream a few years ago when I went with my family to Hobbiton in New Zealand.

A very cool day!

Q: What is your favourite book now?

Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge

by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas. A beautiful story about a young boy who lives next door to a nursing home and befriends the residents.

When he learns that Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper has lost her memory, he tries to find it for her. Love the words, love the illustrations!

Q: What would the title of your autobiography be?

Things I Haven’t Forgotten (Yet).

Q: If you could be any fictional character, who would it be?

The obvious choice – Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet! Because she was strong, smart and always knew the right thing to say!

Q: What are three things we don’t know about you?

I’m an animal lover, I’m a gadget lover, and I’m allergic to cold (strange, but true!).

Girls‘ Grammar @GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 23.

Confident, well-educated young women

125 years of girls only education

GREATEST 3 OP1s & 70% OP1 - 10

2016

three-year academic gains of any independent school in Queensland from Year 9 (2013) to Year 12 (2016).

School of

Regular 1 to 1 meetings -

PERFORMING ARTS

PERSONALISING LEARNING

15 QGSSSA Sports COMMITMENT to serving our community

2016 QTAC applicants received tertiary offers

GRAMMAR PLUS

Daily, weekly, monthly and full-time boarding options for busy families

www.girlsgrammar.com.au InfoGraphic.indd 1

6/7/17 11:23 am

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

E lla and Sam

ignite School spirit Every year the Year 12 cohorts create a theme for their final year. Last year it was Take A Leap and this year’s theme is IGGnite.

The purpose of IGGnite is to encourage all the girls to ignite their passion, motivation and spirit. We want them to spark their drive and capacity to learn, observe and be thankful. Most importantly, we want the girls to kindle the flame inside themselves, so they are always able to be the best, most empowered version of themselves.

Year 12 student Alexandria Walker designed our IGGnite badge, which is a navy, pale blue and white flame. The badge aims to remind the girls to ignite their passion every time they get ready in the morning.

As Head Girls, our role in IGGnite is to continue spreading the message throughout the year. For example, we try to end each assembly speech

with “Remember to IGGnite!” We both have the motto of “lead from behind”. By encouraging girls to ignite their passion, drive, motivation and enterprise, we believe we can get the best out of the girls by supporting them to climb to heights they have never reached before. It is rewarding seeing girls accomplishing and achieving in academic arenas, the sporting field, service activities, the Arts and cultural programs.

As part of the 125th cohort, when we finish school we want to leave a legacy of respect, kindness, enthusiasm for school life and lGGS pride. Leaving a legacy is something our cohort has aspired to do since Year 8, and we hope future students can use the qualities of igniting passion and spirit in the years to come.

—Ella Pearson and Samantha Walsh

“We want them to spark their drive and capacity to learn, observe and be thankful.”

Our hope is that we have a lasting impact on the School community.

As we have gone through our years at Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School we have both had students we have looked up to and admired. @GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 25.

FEATURE

The pursuit of perfection Principal and CEO Dr Peter Britton presents a reading on the healthy and unhealthy pursuit of perfection.

Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression have become more prominent in social conversations and schools over recent years. Mission Australia‘s 2016 Youth Survey reports that almost a quarter of young people aged 15 to 19 show the symptoms of probable serious mental illness, up from 18.7 per cent five years ago. Teenage girls are more than twice as likely as boys to be in severe psychological distress and almost one-third of Indigenous Australians are affected. The report highlights the three top stressors for teens: coping with stress; school and study problems; and depression. Other notable issues include bullying, family conflict and suicide.

ŠIllustration: Rhiannon McLay, @RuffBat

FEATURE

Sometimes, teachers are told by a parent or a friend of a student that the reason why another student is feeling anxious, sad or upset is that she is a “perfectionist” and the grade she received for an assessment item was lower than she expected. Other reports received include, that the reason why a student is sad is that he/she trained or practised so hard and he/she missed out on being selected in a debating or sporting team or a music ensemble. “She is a perfectionist, don’t you know!

I read an article, Overcoming perfection: a self-help guide to using cognitive behavioural techniques (Shafran, Egan & Wade. (2010)) that gave me some insight into the concept of perfectionism that I found educational. Some extracts are reprinted below.

Perfection is a concept that can create dissonant feelings in adolescent girls. On the one hand, perfection may seem like the ultimate life goal, providing motivation to strive for high achievement in all areas of life; and yet at the same time, perfection is often experienced as terrifyingly unreachable, burdensome and may leave girls feeling paralysed due to their fear of failing to achieve it. To create educational environments that allow girls to flourish, it is therefore important to be aware of, and sensitive to, what constitutes healthy and unhealthy perfectionism.

Shafran, et.al. (2010) state that perfectionism is not simply “doing something perfectly”. It is a complex psychological phenomenon, involving extreme self-pressure to meet excessively high standards, which is powerfully connected to the judgment of self-worth. Fear of failure is often at the heart of unhealthy perfectionism, as is intense self-criticism if an individual believes they have failed to meet their standards.

According to Shafran, et.al. (2010) unhealthy perfectionism has the following main aspects:

reaches her senior years of study when the academic stakes feel higher, that perfectionism can become a barrier to educational achievement and personal thriving.

• Demanding standards and selfcriticism • Continuing to strive to meet standards despite adverse effects • Basing self-worth on meeting standards The final point is perhaps the crux of what distinguishes the healthy pursuit of excellence from unhealthy perfectionism. Setting demanding standards can often start out as a positive behaviour and then, over time, can bring negative consequences.

The authors assert that some of the behaviours and characteristics that girls might display which can be connected to unhealthy perfectionism

Our School strives to educate and support students’ mental health. The Centre for Young Women’s Health and Wellbeing provides a relaxed, supportive meeting place for students, staff and allied health professionals from the local community to discuss mental health and wellbeing issues.

Furthermore, the School’s pastoral care program is based on the Positive Psychology and Growth Mindset.

Teaching staff emphasise to the students the importance of enjoying the challenge and journey of learning and balance this with levels of achievement. Shafran, et.al. (2010) highlights Professor Carol Dweck’s

“… perfectionism can become a barrier to educational achievement and personal thriving.” include fear of failure, concern over mistakes, procrastination, avoidance, reassurance seeking, excessive checking, all or nothing thinking, selfcriticism and comparison to others, and difficulty making decisions.

For example, a girl who is so afraid of failing to be perfect that she procrastinates to the point where she does not leave herself enough time to complete an assignment and thus is unable achieve superior performance may conclude that she has “failed”. In unhealthy perfectionism, this tends to result in self-criticism (“What is wrong with me?” and “I’m a failure”) and feeds the belief that this girl is “not good enough”.

Furthermore, Shafran, et.al. (2010) claim that it is often once a girl

influential work on encouraging girls to adopt a “growth mindset”, which arguably protects against the development of unhealthy perfectionism. A growth mindset requires girls to believe that their abilities are not fixed, but can be developed with effort and trial.

Teachers tell students that failing is part of learning and it is not the end of the world. Failing or not achieving an academic, sporting or Arts goal provides opportunities for students to receive positive, constructive feedback and develop diligence, resilience and perseverance, all qualities that are needed to grow into confident, well-educated young women and boys who are well-prepared for higher learning, local and global citizenship and life.

@GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 27.

NEWS

The Q&A

Our new Teacher in Charge of Business, Mr David Kroeger, joined Ipswich Girls‘ Grammar School at the beginning of 2017.

Q: Where were you before IGGS?

A: Before IGGS, I taught at Sheldon College, Redland City from 2014 – 2016. Before that, I was teaching in South Africa (2002 – 2012).

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The best part has to be seeing the delight on the face of a student who has finally understood a difficult or challenging concept.

The moment the “penny drops”. I want to see students succeed.

Q: What do you consider your greatest achievement (so far)?

A: Becoming a dad to two beautiful daughters.

Q: What is your teaching highlight to date?

A: I taught a young man called Andrè for five years back in South Africa: Year 8 Mathematics, and Years 9 to Year 12 Accounting. He had learning difficulties but tried harder, and put in more effort than any student I have ever taught. In Year 12 all the hard work finally paid off, and he passed with an equivalent C+. He is now a real estate agent.

Q: Bike or hike?

A: A tough one. I love hiking and have had the privilege of hiking in some spectacular areas including the Drakensberg (South Africa), Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) and the Inca Trail (Peru, South America). Having said that, I enjoy cycling at the moment. It’s a great form of exercise, with the ability to explore and see so much more than running would do.

Q: What are two songs that would be on the soundtrack of your life?

A: Life Song by Casting Crowns and Amazing Grace.

The future of education

gets personal

International education expert Kathleen Kryza believes the future of schooling lies in personalised learning and the role of our teachers is changing.

Kathleen Kryza visited our school earlier this year to present a conference to IGGS staff and other independent school teachers on the importance of differentiated, or personalised, learning.

“Earlier this year an analysis of all Queensland schools compared the growth in academic performance of students over a three-year period,” Ms Nolan said. “Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School topped the state for achieving the highest gains of any independent school in one category. We attribute this success to our commitment to personalised learning and quality teaching.”

According to Ms Kryza, not only is the way teachers teach changing but so too is their role.

During her visit, Ms Kryza said the latest research is changing the delivery of education, and teachers now need to address the distinct learning needs and interests of their individual students.

“The role of the teacher is shifting from being ‘dictators’ of learning to facilitators of learning,” Ms Kryza said. “In our new role, we become guides or mentors who support and encourage students.

“What we know today about the brain and learning is that all brains are unique and learn in varied ways,”

“In the 21st-century, teaching students how to learn will be as important as teaching them what

“… personalised learning and quality teaching are the cornerstones of an IGGS education.”

Ms Kryza said. “Our role as educators is to teach the learning brains of all of our students. We know that one-sizefits-all teaching does not work, so we have to learn to teach in ways that are useful for all learners.”

IGGS Deputy Principal Rhonda Nolan said personalised learning and quality teaching are the cornerstones of an IGGS education.

to learn. Differentiation is meeting students where they are as learners and supporting them in moving forward successfully in, and beyond, the classroom.”

NEWS

Designing a 21st-century curriculum The Queensland Government has announced the most significant changes to senior schooling in years, with a new assessment and tertiary entrance system. Here’s how IGGS is preparing.

by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA).

In 2016, Queensland Education Minister Kate Jones announced the Overall Position (OP) scores would be scrapped for Queensland’s senior high school students and replaced by the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) system.

As part of the ATAR move, almost 80 senior syllabuses will be rewritten and modernised and new subjects like Psychology and Philosophy & Reason introduced.

“We will deliver a world-class curriculum and learning and assessment system for teachers, students, parents and the wider community,” Ms Jones said at the time.

The changes will start with Year 11 students in 2019 and see a move from the current Overall Position (OP) and tertiary rank to a more general rank that may also include a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification or Subject Area Syllabus (SAS) subjects.

Currently, all students who are OP eligible receive an OP score of between 1 and 25 with an OP a valid prerequisite for entrance into most tertiary programs.

The move to the ATAR system will bring Queensland into line with other Australian states and territories.

IGGS Deputy Principal Ms Rhonda Nolan said the new model would combine school-based assessment developed and marked by classroom teachers, with external assessment set and marked

“The biggest change will be in assessment,” Ms Nolan said. “For most, the external assessment will contribute 25 per cent towards a student’s final results while Maths and Science subjects will contribute 50 per cent.”

“We are, and will continue to be, across the changes as they happen and are committed to keeping students and families informed with the latest information we receive from the QCAA,” she said.

Earlier this year Ms Nolan, together with Principal and CEO Dr Peter Britton, IGGS Heads of Department and key staff spent an afternoon with QCAA chief executive Chris Rider reviewing the syllabus changes (pictured, above).

“We are, and will continue to be, across the changes as they happen and are committed to keeping students and families informed …”

Ms Nolan said IGGS academic staff have been preparing for the new system since the 2016 announcement, attending professional development sessions, workshops and participating in external assessment trials.

“Mr Rider delivered a comprehensive overview of the ATAR system, and we are confident IGGS will be in a strong position to facilitate a smooth transition for our students and parents when the changes take place,” Ms Nolan said.

Queensland’s senior schooling assessment changes Overall Position (OP) scores replaced with an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR).

The ATAR move will bring Queensland into line with other Australian states and territories.

Year 12 students in 2020 will receive the first ATARs. External assessment set and marked by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). @GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 29.

NEWS

Montanna off to Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas Year 12 student and boarder Montanna McAvoy (pictured, right) is off to the Caribbean after being chosen to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Youth Games. Montanna has joined the Australian Athletics Team and will compete in the 3km event.

S p or t

The Youth Games, to be held in the Bahamas July 18-23, is an international multi-sport event organised by the Commonwealth Games Federation. More than 1,300 youth athletes, aged between 14 and 18 from the 70 Commonwealth Nations and Territories will compete in the seven-day event.

To prepare for her Youth Games debut, Montanna spent some time with the Under 19 National Development Squad at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. “It was a beneficial and enjoyable camp,” Montanna said.

“We trained with the National Junior Coaches, used the Institute’s Recovery Centre and had lectures about nutrition, hydration and recovery.”

Sixteen-year-old Montanna will also attend three national team camps at the Gold Cost before heading overseas. “The camps are to ensure you are in the best possible shape to compete and to establish a good team culture,” she said.

The Australian selection has been the highlight in what has already been a stellar year for Montanna. She set a new meet record in the Under 18 Steeplechase at the National Track and Field titles. A day later, Montanna ran a personal best and won the 3km event. She set another National Meet record, which automatically qualified her for the Australian Commonwealth Games Youth team.

While Montanna admitted to being “a bit nervous” about her first Commonwealth Youth Games, she said she was looking forward to the experience. “It will be a great opportunity to race some of the best international athletes in my age group,” Montanna said. “It will also set the stage for future international competitions if I reach that level.”

Gabby and Emily selected for Australian Hockey

Year 12 students Gabrielle Nicholls (pictured, middle left) and Emily Witheyman-Crump (middle right) were selected in the Australian Schoolgirls Hockey Team that competed in the Four Nations tournament earlier this year.

Gabby, a striker and Emily, goalkeeper, spent two weeks in Europe preparing for, and competing in, the tournament. The Australian team went up against Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, with Germany taking out the overall tournament.

Gabby and Emily said playing against international teams of such a high standard was both a massive learning curve and an amazing experience.

“It’s been the best experience of my life,” Gabby said.

Emily has also been named in Hockey Australia's National Futures Squad and will play in the QLD Under 21 Women's Hockey Team to compete at the National Under 21 Championships in Wollongong.

Grace goes to Guam

Year 11 student Grace George has joined the Australian Under 17 Women’s Basketball team that will compete in the 2017 FIBA Oceania Under 17 Championships in Hagatna, Guam. Australia will compete against Tahiti, Marshall Islands and Samoa in the initial rounds.

IGGS dominates Queensland Schoolgirls Football selections Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School students Rahni Pritchard (Year 12) Giverny Kenman (Year 12) Montanna McAvoy (Year 12) and Elli Chapple (Year 11) have been selected in the Under 19 Queensland Schoolgirls Football Team, with Gabriella Bogdanek (Year 11) selected as a shadow. Five students from the one school in a state representative team has surely got to be a record!

EVENT

Tea & Symphony to feature international musicians Junior Grammar parents and internationally renowned musicians Katharine Willison and Richard Fomison will play for the first time at the School.

Katharine Willison can’t remember her first concert but says it was probably terrifying.

“There is always an element of nerves in performing but it’s more how you handle them,” Katharine, a bassoonist, said.

“My first teacher used to say, “Nerves are a lack of concentration!”

Katharine and her husband, baroque trumpet player Richard Fomison will perform at this year’s Tea & Symphony concert on Sunday 30 July. The event will feature internationally recognised artists, sessional staff and gifted and talented students and treat guests to musical performances of the highest calibre.

long as I can remember” but fell in love with the bassoon in senior school.

“You can’t help but love the bassoon, it has so much character; it plays the joker one minute and the heartbroken lover the next,” Katharine said.

Katharine attended Brisbane’s Conservatorium Music School, and London’s Royal College of Music then went to the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama to complete a Masters. She had a busy freelance career in London playing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, English National Opera and Royal Northern Sinfonia, to name a few.

“You can’t help but love the bassoon, it has so much character; it plays the joker one minute and the heartbroken lover the next.”

Proceeds from the day will benefit the Rare Instruments initiative for our Co-Curricular Arts students.

Katharine and Richard moved from the United Kingdom to Australia at the beginning of the year with their children Martha (Year 3) and Louis (Prep).

Katharine, the daughter of two violinists, has been involved with music for “as

It seems fitting the couple met during a rehearsal of Haydn’s The Creation in St Martin-in-the-Fields—a landmark Georgian church in London’s Trafalgar Square.

“Richard was sitting behind me,” Katharine recalled.

Richard’s career in professional music started with the school orchestra.

“I went on a 21-day tour of America when I was 13,” UK-born Richard said.

“Alongside my school music I spent seven years at Kent Music School, every Saturday, with a lot of dedication from my parents. Of course, I didn’t appreciate it then, but I do now!”

After senior school, Richard attended the Royal Academy of Music where he was introduced to the baroque trumpet. Since then he has played for the Philharmonic, City of London Sinfonia and most of the early music groups in the UK. He has worked with many European ensembles and various groups in America and, before moving to Australia this year, had visited most Australian cities with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Despite Katharine and Richard’s extraordinary wealth of talent, the couple does not often get the opportunity to play together.

“We occasionally play in orchestras but rarely in small groups,” Richard said.

“There isn’t much call for bassoon and trumpet duets!”

JOIN US FOR

Tea & Symphоy

A magical afternoon celebrating the talents of the Ipswich Girls’ and Junior Grammar Co-Curricular Arts Department.

Featuring internationally recognised artists, sessional staff and gifted and talented students, you will be treated to musical performances of the highest calibre.

2pm Sunday 30 July, Phoenix Room at Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School. $25 adults, $15 secondary students, $10 primary students.

Bookings are essential. Please visit www.girlsgrammar.com.au/teaandsymphony for more details and to purchase your tickets online.

@GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 31.

COMMUNITY

Inspiring Leaders Breakfast

Ipswich Girls’ and Junior Grammar School hosted a special Mother’s Day edition of our Inspiring Leaders Breakfast series with award-winning journalist and author Madonna King as our guest speaker. Madonna spoke about her book BEING 14 – Helping Fierce Teenage Girls Become Awesome Women, with insights into how our teenage girls are feeling and what we can do to support them to become strong, kind and confident women. It was an enjoyable, informative morning for the parents, students and guests who attended.

Parent Welcome

Our Parents & Friends Welcome BBQ is always such a lovely way to start the year and 2017 was no exception. It was beautiful to see our existing School parents and new parents getting to know each other and enjoying the benefits of our amazing School community. Thank you to Llewellyn Motors for the BBQ.

COMMUNITY

125 Celebrations

Our 125th birthday was celebrated on 1 March with a morning of whole School activities and throwbacks to our early days. With the help of our Old Girls Association, we enjoyed an assembly performance highlighting our history (see 125 years strong, pg 4), prepared a time capsule and cut our huge 125th birthday cake.

Our much-anticipated Boarders v Day Girls Tug-Of-War was a highlight, with the Day Girls taking out 2017 bragging rights. The Boarders have vowed that 2018 will be their year!

Cocktail Party Our 125 Cocktail Party was held after Open Day and was greatly enjoyed by all who attended.

There was lots of fun, live music and the evening culminated with an impressive fireworks display.

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BOARDING

Cribb notes

Our Head of Boarding Mrs Carole Ward discusses renovation, fun and …fish!

This year has already been wonderfully busy and energetic, and we have thoroughly enjoyed social events including our First Week activities, Valentine’s Dinner and many others.

The latest stage of the Cribb House refurbishment is now complete, and we have refurbished and refreshed Wilson and Tatham Wings.

The two, top-floor wings are for our senior girls and are now fully air conditioned and have reconfigured, WiFi-enabled twin and single rooms. The Common Room boasts a new kitchenette and, much to the girls’ delight, Foxtel.

The completion of this work could not have come at a better time.

In Term 3 we will increase our Boarding numbers to 91, and we are looking forward to more friendship, laughter, hard work and …fish!

Many of our Boarders have discovered how rewarding it is to keep a Siamese Fighting Fish in a bowl on their desk. It proves to be a lovely companion when they’re feeling down, someone to talk to and get a load off their mind and a small, magnificent creature to take care of but who doesn’t need to go for a walk.

This got me thinking….

There are certain kinds of fish that when you place them in a small bowl, they stay small and never reach the size they were intended to be; however, if you put them in a large bowl of water they grow bigger, stronger and even more beautiful. People are the same, keep them in an environment that is limited and small, and they’ll stay small in their thinking and experience, but put them around people who think big, dream big, plan big and believe in them and they will grow and exceed their potential.

I believe Cribb House is a big fish bowl with deep thinkers, big dreamers, world changers and believers who are consistently growing and striving to be better. An aquarium filled with an amazing myriad of different fish!

If you spend time with ordinary people doing extraordinary things you will often find that they “hung out” with mentors, coaches and teachers that believed in them and inspired them to greatness. The boarders at Ipswich Girls’ Grammar are just such people. Ordinary in that they are daughters and sisters, girls and students but extraordinary because they believe they can do anything and probably will.

With this in mind, the girls always have the opportunity to invite any staff member, the Principal, cleaning staff, admin or teachers, to have dinner with us to say, “Thank you for inspiring me!”

125 CAPITAL APPEAL

Preserving the past

to create our future

Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School’s Main Building is getting a makeover, and we need your help.

Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School recently launched its 125th Birthday Capital Appeal, which focuses on the much-needed restoration of our Heritage-listed Main Building.

Principal and CEO Dr Peter Britton said the School invests heavily in quality teaching and pastoral care programs, learning resources, attracting and retaining exceptional staff, enabling 1:1 access to technology and supporting more than 50 cultural, sporting and service activities.

“Just as these are all critical components to achieving our vision, so too is the renewal of our infrastructure so that our current and future generations of students can enjoy world-class facilities in which to learn,” Dr Britton said.

The School has engaged specialists in heritage architecture Gibson Architects to oversee the restoration to achieve modern day functionality while preserving the integrity of the original building. Among the key features of the refurbishment will be the relocation of the Reception area and the introduction of a Museum and Waiting Room, which, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Old Girls Association and Friends of the Archives, will showcase the history of Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School, including Ipswich Junior Grammar School.

“In consultation with its Architects, the Board plans to restore the Main Building in line with its Conservational Management Plan, to incorporate contemporary design and amenities while retaining and conserving the building’s historical features,” Dr Britton said.

The project will see the relocation of customer-facing services, such as Enrolments and Accounts to the ground floor while student-facing services including the Office of the Dean of Studies will move to the ground floor of the Peter Phillips building.

Further improvements will include the addition of an access ramp and additional amenities.

Capital Appeal

The School is asking for the support of our community to help raise $300,000 of the estimated $800,000 cost to complete Stage 1 of the project to restore and refurbish the ground floor of our historical and much-loved Main Building. Contributions, however great or small, will go a long way in helping us reach this goal. There are many ways to donate, including online, post, or phone. Please visit www.girlsgrammar.com.au/giving to find out more or phone Director of Community Relations Mrs Kristie Welsh on +61 (07) 3454 4442 for a confidential discussion regarding your gift. @GRAMMAR | ISSUE 13 | WINTER 2017 | 35.

OGA

A message from our OGA Co-Presidents Our Old Girls Association has had a wonderful start to the year!

At the start of 2017 and the OGA’s 120th year, we expressed hope that our functions in this very significant year would be well supported. To date, this has certainly been the case with very pleasing numbers both on Commemoration Day in March and at our Annual Luncheon in June.

At the first of these occasions, we had an official “opening” of the bell turret between the Peter Phillips Senior School and the Old Girls Courtyard. This new home for the original School bell is the OGA’s gift to the School for its 125th birthday. As another tribute to this significant occasion, a shortened version of the historical pageant prepared for the 1 March Birthday Party was performed by the students.

Our Annual Luncheon was an extremely happy occasion with record attendance.

We hosted three very well-attended reunions: 50 Years, 60 Years and 70 Years. There was, as always, a great deal of reminiscing and it was a joy to see people who had not met up in decades reuniting. Hearing recounts of their days at Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School from speakers representing the reunion groups not only evoked memories but were highly entertaining – and thought-provoking. How simple our lives were then! We are now hoping that younger decades are going to support the Annual Dinner on 9 September and look forward to hosting more reunion groups.

Remember, too, that you and your friends are encouraged to attend both our Tea and Symphony afternoon and the Melbourne Cup Luncheon. All funds raised this year will be towards the refurbishment of our beautiful heritage-listed Main Building.

We look forward to meeting up with you at one, or all, of these functions.

—Mrs Leah Bell & Mrs Helen Pullar

“There was, as always, a great deal of reminiscing and it was a joy to see people who had not met up in decades reuniting.”

Upcoming Events

■ Sunday 30 July, Tea & Symphony A magical afternoon celebrating the talents of the Ipswich Girls’ and Junior Grammar Co-Curricular Arts Department. Hosted by the Old Girls Association.

■ Saturday 2 September, The Long Lunch - A Feast Beneath the Figs Join us for an afternoon of feasting and entertainment along the School’s Avenue of Trees.

■ Saturday 9 September, OGA Annual Dinner The 2017 Annual Dinner will be a special celebration of the IGGSOGA’s 120 years. This is a great opportunity to make contact with former school friends and gather a group of them together.

■ Friday 20 October, Parents & Friends Spring Soirée see below.

■ Tuesday 7 November, Melbourne Cup Luncheon Join us in our wonderful Phoenix Room for a fabulous lunch, sweeps, Fashion Parade, Fashions on the Field and watch the race on the big screen. Hosted by the Old Girls Association.

■ Monday 13 November, IGGS Speech Night ■ Friday 17 November, Junior Grammar Carols Night ■ Tuesday 21 November, Junior Grammar Presentation Night

Save the Date

Spring Soirée

Enjoy a carnival-like atmosphere with food stalls, rides, performances and more.

FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER FROM 4PM - 8PM

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Ipswich Girls’ and Junior Grammar School Inaugural Long Lunch

A Feast Beneath the Figs Join us for an afternoon of feasting and entertainment along the School’s Avenue of Trees Date: Saturday 2 September Time: 1.00pm – 6.00pm Cost: $50 per person* Funds raised will be in support of the 125th Birthday Capital Appeal to help restore our heritagelisted Main Building.

Your ticket includes a complimentary drink on arrival, your place at a beautifully laid table and an afternoon of live entertainment.

• BYO picnic lunch**, or choose from one (or more!) of the below catering options: Option 1 - Ploughman’s Platter for Two, $30 Option 2 - Gourmet Picnic Hamper for Two, $50 Option 3 - Woodfired Pizza Package (3 courses), $35 per person • Beverages available from a cash bar, operated by Pumpyard Bar and Brewery.

• Rolling Stone Woodfired Pizza and a coffee van will also be available from 1.00pm - 5.00pm.

Purchase your ticket prior to 31 July to secure the early bird price of just $50 per person!

Book now:

www.girlsgrammar.com.au/longlunch For more information, email longlunch@girlsgrammar.com.au. * $50 Early bird ticket price applies to tickets purchased prior to 31 July, or $60 per person thereafter. ** Sorry, no BBQ or cooking facilities will be available.

No BYO alcohol. Please note this is an 18+ event.