Welcome back to the second half of the year at Rockhampton Girls Grammar. It promises to be another term of outstanding learning opportunities and experiences for our girls.
The holidays provided our QISSN netballers with the opportunity to compete against a range of schools from around Queensland, in sometimes, wet and windy circumstances. Our RGGS First netball team, Galaxy, competed over the week and put their bodies on the line for their sport! I have seen some tough matches in my time but these girls held their own. Netball is certainly not a non-contact sport it seems! We are very pleased with our top 8 finish in our division. I was able to watch a few of the matches but their last final was a nail biter, with only a point in it on the siren. I would like to acknowledge Mrs Jacalean Wines – coach of Galaxy and Mr James Lye, Manager for their commitment to the team and for staying in the hallowed halls of Paterson House with the team for the week – a huge commitment of time for both of these committed professionals. Galaxy acknowledged Mrs Wines’ commitment to netball over the years at RGGS and made a presentation to her on Assembly last week. We thank Mrs Wines for her role in the development of this sport at our school.
I was pleased to be able to spend time in the Central Highlands over the holiday break – representing RGGS at Emerald’s AgGrow, where I ran into a number of Girls Grammar families past, present and future. It was especially great to be able to attend a beautiful lunch in the park in Rolleston – a great community which works together to provide great opportunities for the kids out there. Girls Grammar students were pleased to be able to support the Rolleston/Springsure netball team as they played in the Regional Shield Competition in Rockhampton. Galaxy and other students provided an RGGS cheer squad for one of their games. Great team spirit reflected the energy and vitality of these two towns.
We presented Colours to many of our girls on our first Assembly of the semester. I would like to congratulate all of the girls who have achieved this recognition of outstanding effort. A range of awards were made in cultural, academic, sport and community domains. It is a great reflection of the opportunities available to the girls. We will review the Colours criteria this term to reflect the changing nature of opportunities available to the girls and to ensure as far as possible that effort and achievement are rewarded. I look forwarded to having this discussion with the P&F and our student leadership teams.
Our primary school girls competed in the Rockhampton district athletics trials over the past two days. These trials will lead our students to selection in the Rockhampton District athletics squad for Capricornia. The girls have achieved a number of excellent results and I am proud to announce we have retained the Robert Schwarten Shield for the second year running. Thank you to Mr Fuller and Mr Cox for attending these trials with our students, and congratulations to our girls.
This week’s Assembly saw the annual RGGS commemoration of NAIDOC week. What an incredible presentation we experienced. I wish to acknowledge Jasmine Holroyd and her team for the outstanding work they did to bring together students from The Rockhampton Grammar School and St Brendan’s College to celebrate our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage. Many hours were put into preparing dances and presentations to showcase the talents of all of these students. Jasmine was also able to arrange for Jeremy Marou of Busby Marou to speak to the Assembly and to play for us. The NAIDOC celebration was an amazing example of what is possible when people think big and work together. It was certainly unlike any NAIDOC celebration I have attended before. Thank you to Jasmine and all of the girls for their hard work and commitment. These young ladies are truly future leaders. I would also like to thank the many members of staff who assisted including: Ms Jade Allgood, Mrs Julienne Hadok, Mrs Tammy Lang, Mrs Kim Dixon, our Grounds men and of course, our fabulous chef Mark Thompson and his team. What a great community to be a part of.
I would like to acknowledge the work of Mark and his team more broadly. On Monday 1 August, Mark will travel to Brisbane to attend a dinner for the announcement of the National Restaurant and Catering Awards for Excellence. Mark’s nomination in these awards is a testament to his work in providing an outstanding catering service to our school students and the broader community. While many were on holidays over the June break, Mark and his team were looking after 80 ‘Wrapt in Rocky’ attendees and four schools who were billeting with us for the QISSN Carnival. I congratulate Mark on his nomination and wish him the best for the Awards evening.
As we move through Term 3, our Year 12 girls enter one of the most crucial parts of their academic careers – the Queensland Core Skills Test and the QCAA verification process. It also happens to coincide with that part of the year when the end is in sight, the flu bug is going around and it can be a stressful time. It is not unusual for Year 12 students to succumb to stress and worry at this time – especially when they are also making decisions about future pathways and QTAC preferences. One of the biggest enemies at this time is fatigue. If I could wave a magic wand and ensure anything it would be that the girls remain focused on the long goal here – a future without limits. Keep on top of your study, your sleep, your diet and exercise. Don’t limit yourself by pulling up short on study; by letting the commitment lapse. There is time enough for parties and socialising coming your way. If you feel the stress and strain of the next few weeks mounting up, reach out to the many support networks that exists in the school – many of whom have been through this themselves. I wish all of our Year 12 students the best over the coming weeks.
As we move into preparation for 2017, we will be reviewing our electronic media policy, including use of mobile phones and their place in our school. It is true that mobile phones and the associated social media give the girls an amazing reach into a broader world of information and interaction. Unfortunately, it can also be relentless and it often does not encourage thoughtfulness and consideration. I remind the girls of the reach of social media, email and SMS. Standards of behaviour and language that we would not accept face to face, seem easier for some to engage in electronically. The standards at RGGS are clear and our girls must remember that their use of these media is a reflection of the School, but more importantly, of themselves.
Christine Hills
Principal
A special thank you to Mr Lye and Jacalean Wines for coordinating our whole week, all of your late nights, driving us everywhere, feeding us, washing our clothes, helping us with our injuries, dishing out high fives when we won and picking us up when we lost.
This year, Sophie Harwood has been honoured at the Queensland Olympic Council award ceremony, being named as a Pierre de Coubertin Award recipient.
This July, RGGS students had the joy of hosting Shake & Stir Theatre Company for their touring production of Oversharer. The work explored the growing role of social media and digital forums in modern life, considering the impact of bullying behaviours online. Over the past four consecutive years, Shake & Stir’s touring performances have become something of an annual tradition. This year, the school was doubly fortunate to have the company’s artistic directors themselves make the journey to Rockhampton to perform. The girls practically stampeded into the school hall, such was the excitement for this year’s performance. Following the show, our Drama students in Years 9 – 12 benefited enormously from Ross, Nelle and Nick’s wealth of experience in an intensive workshop on contemporary theatre making. We are looking forward to seeing more from them in the future!
