Co-Curricular programs and World Teachers' Day
Then and Now
Gleaning historical snippets from 1919’s 'The Brisbane High School for Girls Magazine' yields some similarities between last century and this century. Let me share a few highlights with you that have reminded me that some one hundred years on, everything old is new again…. (!)
'Twentieth Annual Prize Distribution'
The Twentieth Annual Prize Distribution took place quite privately at the School on Tuesday morning, October 21st, immediately after Prayers. The prizes were to have been given on June 26th, but owing to the epidemic of influenza then raging, the Day School was closed, and so the prize-giving was deferred. The Hon. E.W. H. Fowles, M.L.C., gave away the prizes in the unavoidable absence of our Chairman (Sir David Hardie), but otherwise there were no visitors.
Speech Night 2020
Our 121st Speech Night (that is, prize giving) occurred on Thursday evening, 9 October. Given the COVID-19 restrictions, only Year 12 Awards were presented, with Year 12 parents and a small number of special guests present at the ceremony in the Concert Hall, QPAC.
'1919 Basket-Ball Notes'
After the Schools were re-opened, it was decided by the Sports’ Committee that only one round of matches, instead of two, would be played, and that there would be no pennant awarded this year, the matches being just friendly contests between different schools. Accordingly our team visited Ipswich on 2 August.
Extract from July, 2020 Principal Communication to parents
We welcome the return of our face to face co-curricular programs as they form an important part of the educational experience of our girls. We will continue to take guidance from relevant authorities and external organisations about precise conditions for specific activities. Such conditions and requirements will be communicated to parents via the School App or email notification.
All planning for the return of school sport activities in Semester 2 will include consideration of the Queensland Government Roadmap to easing Queensland's restrictions – A step-down approach to COVID-19 (the Roadmap), the AIS Framework for Rebooting Sport in a COVID-19 Environment (AIS Framework) and the Return to Play Guide for Queensland sport, recreation and fitness industries.
'1919 Boarders’ Notes'
Last issue of the Magazine saw us suffering a period of isolation during the influenza epidemic. We are glad to say that this half-year, things have returned to normal conditions – so normal indeed that it is hard to think of news for our notes.
April, 2020 Extract from Principal letter to Boarder parents
Based on the advice from the Medical Director for Communicable Disease, Queensland Department of Health, the Boarding House remains closed until further notice. Currently, we have a small number of students in a “locked-down house” arrangement with staff supervision and a high standard of hygiene protocols. Our structure means that each student has been allocated her own individual bathroom and bedroom, so that the shared living arrangement means that physical distancing practices can be observed with a greatly reduced frequency of face-to-face contact. Appropriate risk mitigation means that we have had to suspend all student programs, activities and events.
Updated policies
I provide parents with the most recently updated policies, as reviewed in this past week. Please refer to the MySomerville parent portal for:
What is World Teachers’ Day?
World Teachers’ Day was inaugurated on 5 October 1994, by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to commemorate the 1966 joint signing of the UNESCO and ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
In adopting this recommendation, governments unanimously recognised the importance of competent, qualified and motivated teachers in society. Internationally, World Teachers’ Day is celebrated on the first Friday in October. However as this is usually during Australian school holidays, Australia celebrates the day on the last Friday in October of each year.
This Friday 30 October, on World Teachers’ Day, we shall show appreciation for our wonderful teachers. Even though this year has taken a dramatic turn, with bouts of remote learning, which strengthened the home/school partnership, it is apparent that a teacher’s role has become even more important, and that teachers can and do make a difference.
Mrs Kim Kiepe
Principal