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Celebrating 100 Years of Lifesaving at Brisbane Girls Grammar School  Mr Stephen Fogarty, Director of Health Studies Faculty The past is a different country.  They do things differently there. So begins L.P. Hartley’s 1953 novel, The Go-Between.  The novel’s protagonist reflects on past events in an attempt to better understand his current circumstances.  In this, the year in which the School celebrates 100 years of Royal Life Saving involvement, it is worth us doing the same. As outlined in Pauline Harvey-Short’s history of health, physical education and sport at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, To become fine sportswomen (2011, p. 26), In 1912 three students, Lottie Bond, Olga Hertzberg and Mary Lilley, were successful in achieving the Royal Lifesaving Society’s medal, as was their instructor, Miss Hunt.  Five other students achieved their elementary certificates.  These girls were Ena Eden, N. Hamilton (possibly Helena M. Hamilton), Irene Manning, Doris Park and Joan Quinlan.  The three medallists, Lottie, Olga…

Ms Natalie Smith, Director of International Studies An article that crossed my desk recently caught my attention with its title “Learning to stop; Stopping to Learn” (Brady, 2005). I wondered why the title of the article intrigued me— perhaps it was the word “stop”. I was told that in the midst of the inherent busyness of school life that it was permissible to stop: that stopping equated with learning. I was more than interested. On reading further the introduction asserted that to arrive at the simplest truth required not activity, not reasoning, not calculating, not busy behaviour of any kind, not reading, not talking, not making an effort, not thinking. It required contemplation: simply bearing in mind what it is one needs to know (Brown, 1979 as cited in Brady, 2005). Contemplation, the act of attending with nonjudgmental awareness or being open to things just as they are has long been practised and cultivated in the…

Ms Sarah Boyle, Acting Head of O’Connor House At each break throughout the school day the tables around the Main Building become a hive of activity and the excited buzz of chatter from Year 12 students. When passing by the tables you can hear the girls talking about weekend events, discussing assignments, or planning the next bake stall. Everything happens at the Year 12 tables, it is the hub of their final year. While they typify chatting teenage girls, a more significant observation about the tradition of the Year 12 tables is that the girls are sharing and supporting one another through the ups and downs of their final year at school. It is at the table that they find comfort and reassurance in each other’s company, reinforcing meaningful friendships. Can the same be said for the family dinner table? With the pressures of modern life, there is a renewed emphasis on the importance of sharing a…