Newsletter
Week 6 Term 2

Public purpose and belonging

What an exciting week at Brisbane Grammar School. The Senior Dramatic production A Few Good Men generated a lot of interest and school spirit. Congratulations to staff and students on an incredible show in front of sold-out audiences, and to the seniors for supporting this important event.

I really enjoyed the play, but it was the connection between staff and the boys involved that captured my attention. The staff are incredibly supportive of each other and the boys in the cast and crew, which contributes to the success of this experience for all involved.

Thank you to Head of Drama and Dramatic Productions Ms Tanya Neilsen and her team for all their work, and to the cast and crew for creating an atmosphere where boys feel they belong. This sense of belonging underpins the culture at Brisbane Grammar School.

This connection between staff and students is also evident in the School’s Public Purpose program. I would like all boys to engage in public purpose, as it provides opportunities for boys to work for the benefit of others. I was delighted to see the cast and crew of A Few Good Men turned their costume requirements into money for a good cause, raising a large sum for the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave.

Developing a sense of service to others and an understanding of what it means to be selfless is important for future leaders. It is never to late to join the Public Purpose program, with committees at each year level your son can join through MyGrammar. If your son has any questions, please ask him to connect with Mrs Philippa Douglas, Director of Student Wellbeing Programs.

In the past, the School has provided public purpose experiences within Australia and around the world. With the COVID pandemic, the School is investigating possible options within Queensland, ideally next year. Boys in Years 9, 10 and 11 in 2022 will have the chance to participate in a program run by ACTURA called Ocean School. This experience will replace Space School, which was popular with boys prior to COVID. The tour will occur during the September holidays in 2022. Information for this experience will be sent to the relevant year groups shortly.

The School is also supporting Cambodian communities that Year 10 BGS students have previously visited by selling Cambodian craft items. Boys will be selling these items at the Public Purpose stand at Open Day on 12 June. I encourage you to drop by and support this important work.

Reconciliation and Sorry Day

National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June) and National Sorry Day (26 May) are important dates on the national and BGS calendar.

This year marks 20 years of Reconciliation Australia and almost three decades of Australia’s formal reconciliation process. The 2021 National Reconciliation Week theme, More than a word. Reconciliation takes action, urges brave and impactful behaviour to strengthen the ongoing reconciliation movement.

I encourage all community members to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. It is important to recognise this year’s theme and to amplify the voices of our First Nations peoples.

Brisbane Grammar School is acknowledging National Sorry Day at an assembly later this term.

The last few weeks have seen the gradual demolition and removal of a number of buildings to clear the area that the STEAM Precinct will eventually occupy. This week, demolition completed on the Biology Block, Physics Block and Maintenance Building. Watch the below timelapse, with the demolition of A Block to follow shortly.

Congratulations to all boys on a fantastic start to Term 2. The campus has been buzzing and students have been showing up in large numbers, supporting their mates, in all fields of involvement.

For us, it was a pleasure to gather alongside our peers to support the light dark blue at GPS Cross Country, Grammar in Concert, and Football and Tennis fixtures. These events provide massive opportunities for us to come together as a community and continue to foster important relationships with boys from all year groups. We have especially enjoyed the Senior Dramatic Production, A Few Good Men, which has shown to three sold-out audiences this week. However, as exciting events such as these take place, it is important to continue to focus on our academic pursuits.

With many of us between assessments periods, it is easy to lose sight of where we are going. It is important that boys maintain the strong momentum built in Term 1 and continue to push themselves in their academic and cocurricular endeavours.

Tom Stunden, Will Staib and Harry Anstey-Walsh

Cognitions in learning and assessment

Both teaching and learning in the QCE-ATAR senior syllabuses, and our Effective Thinking Cultures framework at BGS, are informed by the work of Marzano and Kendall titledThe New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (2007). At the heart of the taxonomy are four levels of thinking that we refer to as cognitive processes. The four levels are: retrieval, comprehension, analytical processes (analysis), and knowledge utilisation. Each process builds on the previous process, and each has increasing degrees of complexity.

Retrieval and comprehension are often grouped together and involve the activation and transfer of knowledge (for example, students might be asked to define, explain or identify). At the next level, analytical processes involve the reasoned extension of that knowledge (for example, students might be asked to classify, compare, infer or judge). The culmination is about using knowledge to accomplish a task (for example, students might be asked to argue, evaluate or synthesise).

These thinking processes or cognitions are emphasised in each subject area syllabus. They focus the teaching and learning objectives in each syllabus unit, which informs the assessment objectives. In subjects like Mathematical Methods and English, the assessment criteria will measure a group or cluster of objectives. For example, in the first Methods internal assessment, the criterion ‘Formulate’ assesses objectives 1, 2 and 5. In this criterion, marks are awarded for students’ ability to: select, recall and use facts; comprehend concepts; and justify procedures. The italicised words are the language of thinking, what we call cognitive verbs. In subjects like Modern History, the syllabus objectives are related to the criterion and there is no cluster of objectives.

Precisely defining thinking processes helps students master and apply these cognitions with intellectual agility and flexibility. For example, senior assessment items assume students know what they must demonstrate and will not be scaffolded through cognitive verbs in a question. Knowing other ways cognitive processes may be represented is a necessary skill.

The cognitive verbs used in senior also underpin our curriculum in Years 5 to 10. At BGS we aim to develop a clear line of sight in our curriculum from Years 5 through 12. In the middle years we aim to build familiarity and capability in applying the cognitions, use the common language of thinking and provide practice in assessment modes that build a pathway to senior. Through the work of our Professional Learning Teams, teachers are continually exploring and testing strategies to enhance student thinking. They are sharing their knowledge in these forums to help build effective thinking cultures.  

Chris Price
Director of Learning Programs

Director of Assessment and Reporting
Mark Schumann

ICAS Assessments are independent, online assessments designed to recognise and reward academic excellence. The assessments are based on the curriculum for subject and the relevant year. Students are asked to demonstrate a deeper, integrated, and thorough level of learning.

Before the end of term, boys will be invited to nominate to do assessments in Digital Technologies, English, Mathematics and Science. Middle School boys (Years 5 – 8) will be contacted by Mr Grice, and boys in Years 9 to 12 will be contacted by Heads of Department. Numbers are limited, so nomination will not guarantee participation. However, we will endeavour to accommodate all interested students. The competitions will be conducted after school. Boys in Years 7 to 12 who participate will need to bring their tablet on the day as the assessment will be done online.

Competition times are below.

Subject	Nomination closing date	Competition date	Time (approx.)
Digital Technologies	Friday 18 June	Tuesday 10 August	3.15 – 4.30pm
English	Friday 18 June	Tuesday 17 August	3.15 – 4.30pm
Science	Friday 18 June	Tuesday 24 August	3.15 – 4.30pm
Mathematics	Friday 18 June	Tuesday 31 August	3.15 – 4.30pm

If you have any questions, please contact BGS Director of Assessment and Reporting Mark Schumann at mark.schumann@brisbanegrammar.com for enquiries relating to Years 9 to 12, or Head of Middle School Curriculum Ian Grice at ian.grice@brisbanegrammar.com for Middle School enquiries.

Director of Boarding
Berian Williams-Jones

Weekend activities

The old saying that a team that plays together stays together is particularly relevant in the Boarding context.

In the first part of the year, we focused on working with the boys to define the unique characteristic of boarding. In that process, boys consistently identified connectedness and friendships as a significant element of life as a BGS boarder. It makes sense that boys' experiences are enhanced when they form close friendships.

It was equally evident that boarders who fully immersed themselves in the Boarding and School programs, or contributed to the wider sphere of boarding life, were the ones who had formed those lasting friendships.

Our weekend activities program has always been about far more than simply filling the void from Friday until Sunday night. For many boys, it is the highlight of the week, and as the Director of Boarding, I am conscious of how my involvement at various occasions helps foster and cement so many of the relationships that underpin residential life.

Last weekend was filled with various activities, and it was immensely rewarding to accompany the boarders to the activities organised by Mr Ollie Bartlett.

On Saturday evening, we joined the Normanby Blues, our BGS Rugby Support Group, at Suncorp Stadium to cheer on the Queensland Reds in their match against the Crusaders. The game’s result wasn’t what we had hoped for, but we all had a great evening. A highlight for one of the Griffith House boys was an opportunity to meet notable former boarder and Wallabies captain Old Boy Stephen Moore ’00.  

Sunday was equally busy with a driving range experience at Victoria Park. A diverse group of boys from Griffith and Harlin Houses enjoyed hitting (and missing) buckets of balls from the driving bays. There was good advice shared and some deserved praise for the odd shot, but we are not quite ready to tackle the full 18 holes!

On Sunday afternoon, we attended the St Peter’s Lutheran College touch football social with Somerville House. All boarders enjoyed themselves in the fun competition. It was great to see them mixing between schools, building connections and friendships.

As always, Sunday ended with games in the Indoor Sports Centre.

I encourage all boarders to involve themselves in as many opportunities as possible to engage with the community. This will assist in their development of lifelong friendships and connections that underpin the boarding experience.

Director of Student Wellbeing Programs
Philippa Douglas

Reminder — Drug and Alcohol Education | Paul Dillion Thursday 3 June

Each year, the School welcomes Mr Paul Dillon from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) to present on drug trends causing problems in the community. On Thursday 3 June, he will speak to students in Years 10, 11 and 12 during the day and to all parents at night (details below).

The content outline of each year level presentation is available here. You may find this information helpful when starting or continuing the conversation with your son. 

Paul’s three golden rules for parents are:

• know where your child is;
• know who they are with; and
• know when they will be home.

Parent Information Evening with Paul Dillon

Thursday 3 June at 6.00pm

Parents from all year levels are encouraged to attend this Parent Information Evening, which will be held at Brisbane Girls Grammar School on Thursday 3 June at 6.00pm in the Gehrmann Theatre. Please click here to register.

Sleep for Better Health, Resilience and Performance with Lisa Maltman

Lisa Maltman’s presentation can be viewed below. Further information on child and adolescent sleep health, along with information to support adult sleep health can be accessed here. Within this document, there are also links related to information on technology use, sleep and sport performance, study skills and time management, as well as mental health and wellbeing tools via Smiling Mind. 

Sex, Consent and Staying Safe with Dr Justine Coulson

If you missed this live session with Dr Justin Coulson, you can catch up via a Zoom recording here. 

Director of Outdoor Education
Derek Jervis

8I was an excellent class during their Outdoor Education experience. As the final class of the year group, they embraced the program focus of community and maintained a positive team approach to the activities and challenges of the week. 

Marcus Forbes was an exceptional student in the outdoors. Marcus was consistently engaged in every activity and task, maintaining a positive attitude and looking for opportunities to help his peers. Ollie Swift was an excellent participant during the expedition to Bitenbar and Mt Alford. Ollie navigated very well on the mountain and supported his peers when it was their turn to lead. Ollie was recognised by his peers for his contributions during the final debrief. Saad Salman was an enthusiastic student who maintained great engagement during the activities. Saad created an unusual technique while climbing the giant ladder and was widely celebrated by his group for pushing the limits.

Ben Mowbray was a keen and enthusiastic student willing to get involved in every aspect of the program. He maintained this energy all week and had a positive influence on his group. Bennett Huf was a capable leader. He brought the group together during challenges and stepped up to facilitate the group tasks. Luke Duncan was an excellent participant who made an effort to be fully involved in the program. Luke ran a great time on the morning run, setting the record for the 2021 Year 8 cohort.

Year 11 Outdoor Education Leaders Oscar Akhavan and Charles Spencer made an excellent leadership team to guide and mentor the class through the experience. They demonstrated the dispositions of a BGS leader and had a positive impact on the program and student experience.  

Mr Hamish Benson joined his form class and got involved in all aspects of the program. Mr Benson embraced the opportunities to see the class operating in the outdoors. Ms Carla Salmon spent the expedition day paddling and hiking with the class. She has been a great supporter of the Outdoor Education program throughout the cohort’s experience this year.

A short movie of the boys' experiences can be viewed via the 8I video link.

Sharemarket Game

Over 260 students from Years 9 to 12 have spent the last 10 weeks learning how to invest while playing the ASX Schools Sharemarket Game.

The boys were provided with a $50,000 virtual cash balance to invest in over 200 companies listed on the ASX. The students traded their portfolios in real-time using current market prices and paid brokerage for each transaction.

From playing the game, students were able to develop their knowledge of the sharemarket, learn how to research various companies and overall gain greater knowledge of economic and world events. We hope that by actively engaging with the game, students would discover the importance of wise investment decisions and learn more about important concepts such as compounding investing and diversification.

Congratulations to Year 10 student James Randall who placed first out of all the BGS participants and sixth in Queensland, increasing his portfolio to $56,436. Jeremy Spink and Cooper Henley in Year 11 followed in second place at BGS with a portfolio of $55,595. Roshan Shami placed third at BGS with a portfolio of $55,250.

Well done to all teams who actively participated throughout the 10 weeks of trading. We hope to see even more teams participate next year.

Megan Marshall
Economics Teacher

Each year, the Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art recognise the artistic achievements and creative talents of Queensland senior high school students. The exhibition showcases the 37 excellence award recipients selected from over 500 student entries from metropolitan and regional schools. The Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art is an initiative of the Queensland Department of Education, supported by the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art.

Viewing others’ artwork is critical to developing as an artist. Year 12 Visual Arts students recently visited GOMA to view the 2020 Creative Generation Awards Exhibition and see how last year’s students responded to the unit they are currently resolving, ‘Art as Knowledge’. BGS Visual Arts students considered the other students’ processes and intentions and gained ideas for displaying their bodies of work.

The benefit of these insights was evident in their first major exhibition held in the Great Hall on Wednesday 19 May. For the first time, students and staff were invited to a lunchtime preview.  With over 150 people in the Great Hall, the energy and encouragement provided a fantastic rehearsal for a successful evening show. Parents and members of the Senior Leadership Team enjoyed the diversity of student work alongside the mentor artists: Lily Karmatz, Karen Hannay, Amanda Stuart, and Alexandra Matthews, who the students worked with at Moogerah to inform their practice.

Guest artist Alexandra Matthews kindly accepted the honour of awarding the Emerging Student Artist Prizes – a difficult task with such diversity and excellence on display. Congratulations to the recipients Charlie O'Sullivan, Dhruv Suchak, Josh Goh and Christopher Spencer (pictured below).

Displaying and sharing visual art can be overwhelming, frightening and highly rewarding for students. However, it helps create a communal bond as a studio of working artists and promotes an inclusive culture.

As a stimulus for the Year 11 IA3 Art as Code unit, Visual Arts students recently visited OCCURRENT AFFAIR at UQ Art Museum. The group exhibition featured works by the art collective proppaNOW, a group of contemporary Indigenous artists including Tony Albert, Richard Bell and Vernon Ah Kee. The exhibition commented on Australian social issues from an Indigenous perspective. Students listened to a presentation that provided valuable insights regarding the artworks and the embedded meaning and messages. The excursion was an invaluable experience and will undoubtedly inspire the boys when they next focus their work on social issues.

Amanda Stuart
Art Teacher

Interwing Cross Country

The Interwing Cross Country will be in a different format this year. Each wing will be allocated two days to accumulate as many laps as possible in a 12 minute period. The event will take place on Number 1 Oval during Break 1 of Weeks 7 and 8. Please see the table below for details.

Allocated days	Week 7	week 8
Tuesday	West Wing	South Wing
Wednesday	South Wing	East Wing
Thursday	North Wing	North Wing
Friday	East Wing	West Wing

GPS and Regional Cross Country

The past few weeks have been incredibly busy for our Middle School Cross Country runners with the GPS Championships, the City District championships and the Met North event all being held in a short space of time.

Congratulation to all boys who have committed themselves to the sport, particularly the 10 years division for stepping up when we asked for more runners to complete the team. The result was our largest and best-scoring 10 years team to date. We look forward to seeing you all back again next year.   

See the Cross Country section of this Newsletter for a report.

Team	name
5A	Toowoomba Grammar School
5B	Brisbane Grammar School
5C	Brisbane Grammar School
6A	Brisbane Boys College
6B	Brisbane Grammar School
6C	Toowoomba Grammar School
6D	Brisbane Grammar School
7A	Brisbane Grammar School
7B	Brisbane Grammar School
7C	Brisbane Grammar School
7D	Brisbane Grammar School
7E	Brisbane Grammar School
7F	Brisbane Grammar School
8A	Toowoomba Grammar School
8B	Brisbane Grammar School
8C	Brisbane Grammar School
8D	Brisbane Grammar School
8E	Brisbane Grammar School

Team	name
5A	Noah Sriskandarajah
5B	Elliot Morris
5C	Matthew Boyd
6A	Liam Duncan
6B	Thor Loch-Wilkinson
6C	Inness Shannon
6D	Angus Hoyling
7A	Julian McKay
7B	Jamie Homer
7C	Tom McCredie
7D	Thomas Stutz
7E	William Coates
7F	Buddy Matthews
8A	Liam Hardie
8B	Alex Spence
8C	Rafferty Chapman
8D	Noah Lauder
8E	William Coates

Team	name
5A	Brisbane Grammar School
5B	Brisbane Grammar School
5C	Brisbane Grammar School
5D	Brisbane Grammar School
6A	Brisbane Grammar School
6B	Brisbane Grammar School
6C	Brisbane Grammar School
6D	DNP
7A	Brisbane Grammar School
7B	Brisbane Grammar School
7C	Brisbane Grammar School
7D	Brisbane Grammar School
8A	Brisbane Grammar School
8B	Brisbane Grammar School
8C	Brisbane Grammar School
8D	Brisbane Grammar School

Team	name
5 A/B	Aamay Wadhwani
5 A/B	Aiden Ng
6 A/B	Thomas Van der Westhuizen
6 C/D	Jayden Lin
7 A/B	Aaron Alphonso
7 C/D	Asher Levy
8 A/B	Max-ze Lee
8 C/D	Thomas Chambers

Team	name
Primary Foil Green	Malakai Wong
Primary Sabre Red	Theodore Andreatidis
Junior Foil 5	Will Yuen
Junior Sabre 5	Vikram Kumar
Junior Sabre 8	Spencer Ballentine

Books, Boys and Bickies

The Book Club for boys in Years 5 and 6 is very popular. Each Monday boys turn up to talk about the books that we have read or participate in fun activities relating to the books. Of course, they also get to eat bickies!

Our latest read was Escape from Mr Lemoncello’s Library. This is a great story about a group of children who win the opportunity to overnight in a fantastic new library and must solve puzzles to escape in time. This week, boys played a breakout game based on this idea, solving puzzles to unlock the box and receive a reward. They worked together to find the correct answers and had lots of fun along the way.

Our next book is the beautiful graphic novel This was Our Pact, the story of five boys who are determined to follow their lanterns down the river to see where it takes them.

All boys in Years 5 and 6 are welcome to attend. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Vicki Palmer
Middle School Teacher Librarian

Developing athletes

Over the last 18 months, Performance Development staff have been working to enhance your son’s tactical and technical skills and help him achieve long-term athletic development. BGS students are busy with both academic and cocurricular activities, and the Performance Development program is designed to support your son, building from week to week and year to year.

In 2020, the PD department restructured to create five clearly defined, skill-specific roles. Mr Nathan Parnham is Strength and Conditioning Director, bringing a wealth of industry experience in elite sport and the NSW schools sector, including the Australian Rugby Union, Westfield Sports High School and Newington College. Nathan’s leadership in the Weights Room has increased the rigour of the program’s strength training. Mr Rhett Cope works as a highly qualified strength and conditioning assistant, and Mr Grant Cole oversees our inaugural Foundations of Performance Development Program for Year 9 and 10 students. They have ensured that every student in Years 9 to 12 has access to an industry-leading, weighted strength program while at BGS. Grant also programs and coaches the highly successful Years 7 and 8 Hercules Program, which focuses on bodyweight strength activities, core stability and speed mechanics. Ms Cat Paice ensures the best possible management of our students. She liaises with allied health professionals and prescribes and coaches rehabilitation and return-to-play programs for athletes across all sports. With 1700 boys playing cocurricular and club sport, the need for a dedicated injury management and rehabilitation professional has never been more pressing. Finally, Mr Jordan Manning is critical to implementing data-informed practice within the Performance Development Program. The ability to track attendance, monitor training load and provide visual representations to program leaders has been an important development in the Cocurricular program. Our data shows:

• 4453 entries into the Weights Room, encompassing General User, Foundations and High-Performance Programs.
• Approximately 50% of Years 11 and 12 have enrolled in the timetabled Performance Development sessions, as a Core Physical Education elective. This includes both preseason loading and in-season management, as well as rehabilitation and return-to-play across 14 Cocurricular programs. Working with Head Coaches to deliver PD Technical in these sessions helps us develop field-based strategies, focusing on decision-making and skill acquisition when players are fatigued. We can transfer this information to game day.
• Years 9 and 10 students have completed 1380 sessions in their Foundations of Performance Development Program, an exciting new initiative for their long-term athletic development.
• 104 Years 7 and 8 students have attended Hercules Club in the past 10 weeks, completing 423 bodyweight strength, core stability and speed mechanics sessions.
• Continued implementation of the PAT program across Year 5 and 6, focused on developing broad physical competencies by adopting a game-sense approach.

With the Performance Development program in its infancy, we are excited about continuing to develop and enhance the physical programs for your son. Our multi-sport approach will better prepare the Cricketer in Term 1 to excel at Football in Term 2, and the Tennis player to engage successfully in the Rugby program, irrespective of year level. We look forward to your continued support.

Adam Bloch
Head of Performance Development

GPS Cross Country Championships

Last Thursday, BGS competed in the GPS Cross Country Championships at Limestone Park. Boys ran extremely well, with over 95% of runners recording a personal best time on the day.

Charlie Sprott won the Open division, capping off an exceptional undefeated season, while Isiah Mazzocchi showed that the future of BGS Cross Country is bright, winning the first race of the day in the 10 years division. There were many great performances, but the coaches’ choice for the run of the meet was Hamish Campbell, who posted a season-best performance to place third in the 11 years race.

At our post-race event, we recognised the efforts of our top trainers. Luca Waterhouse (Year 8) and Finn Raymond (Year 11) attended 48 and 47 sessions across the season respectively. This level of commitment forms the basis of the strong participatory culture that we value in BGS Cross Country.

Met North

On Tuesday, a team of 18 BGS boys represented the School at the Met North selection trials. The following boys each finished among the top six runners in their age group and are eligible to compete at the State Titles in July.

age group	name	place
10 Years	Isiah Mazzocchi	1st
11 Years	Hamish Campbell	6th
13 Years	Archie Boorer	1st
15 Years	Archie Austin	1st
15 Years	Thomas Siemon	4th
16 Years	Will Motley	2nd
16 Years	Doug Chapman	6th
17 Years	Max Hooper	4th
18 – 19 Years	Charlie Sprott	1st
18 – 19 Years	Matt Allison	6th

Well done to all boys who were part of the program this year. We look forward to seeing you all back for another season in 2022.

Nick Holland and Brad Scholes
Cross Country Co-Directors

QFA Brisbane Schools Teams Competition

BGS fencers won 17 matches in Round 3, placing the School as competition leaders with a total of 55 wins this season. This is a fantastic effort, with Brisbane State High School currently sitting in second place with 17 wins across the season.

A team results table is available via Tableau and on the Fencing page of MyGrammar.

Round 4 is tomorrow, Saturday 29 May. Please check the draw on MyGrammar as there are some byes this round. Fencers should arrive 30 minutes before their bout time and check in with Ms Chin on arrival. 

BGS Primary Internal Fixtures

Senior fencers spend most of their time between bouts mentoring younger boys. It is great to see our boys always striving to improve in their fencing and coaching practices. They have also been showcasing their great leadership and community spirit as they hone their refereeing skills by officiating matches. Well done, boys. 

Round 3 is tonight and Round 4 is next Friday 3 June in the Indoor Sports Centre. 

End of Season Function

Tickets are now available for the Fencing End of Season Function. Please view the below invitation for details. Places are limited to the first 100 guests.

Melanie Chin
Fencing Director

Australian Gymnastics Championships

The Australian Gymnastics Championships took place at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre from last Wednesday 19 May to Tuesday 25 May. It was a fantastic event, and BGS had many gymnasts across all levels selected in the Queensland team, including four Division 1 team members.   

In what was a tough competition, some great results and experiences were gained with many opportunities to learn from others. Tennyson Collas-Ford was part of the Level 7 Under 13 Queensland team that placed second. He also placed 20^th all around individually.

Oliver Waterhouse was a key member of the Level 8 Open Queensland team, which placed third. He also picked up second place on Floor and finished eighth all around.

Fletcher Griffiths and Alistair Hoole were part of the Level 9 Under 17 Queensland team that placed second. Alistair also placed second on High Bar and placed 12th all around, while Fletcher placed first on High Bar and placed ninth all around. Congratulations to all these gymnasts.

The GPS Gymnastics squad now looks forward to the BGS Championships this Saturday 29 May, held at BGS. In what is always a very enjoyable day, this will also be a great chance for the squad to have one last hit out before the GPS Gymnastics Foundation Cup next Saturday 5 June. 

Jack Coates
Gymnastics Director and Head Coach

GPS Tennis

BGS Tennis continued this season’s success with some resounding victories over an always-formidable Toowoomba outfit. BGS won all 28 fixtures played at BGS and Toowoomba.

The Year 11s had some tough matches, with 11D managing to sneak out a win 35-33, keeping their hopes alive for a premiership. The 6A team bounced back from a tough round the week prior, as did the Year 7s and the Year 9s. The mighty Year 8 squad is pictured below.

Despite the cold, it was a spectacular round at both venues with everyone in high spirits. Congratulations to all those boys who have worked hard for five or more years to earn a place in the Firsts, Seconds, Thirds and Fourths on the weekend.

Thank you to Just Photography who were at the BGS Tennis Centre last weekend to capture some shots of the boys in action. We look forward to having them back for the Nudgee round!

First IV

This week’s team was Alex Patane, Charlie Hume, Nick Jones and James Tam. This was an all Year 12 affair, with Nick and James making their debut appearances. Even though Toowoomba put in a spirited effort, the BGS team was too strong, scoring an 8-0 result.

The P&F Auxiliary is a subcommittee of the P&F Association that facilitates fundraising and fosters parent fellowship and the sense of strong community at Brisbane Grammar School. All profits are returned to the School to enhance the experience for students and families.

The Tuckshop and Grammar Shop are currently operating cash-free, so please plan accordingly. Safety guidelines regarding social distancing and hand sanitising will continue in both locations.

Tuckshop

Open school days before school, during breaks and at lunchtime.

The Tuckshop provides a selection of hot food, fresh salads, wraps, rolls and drinks. Please recharge your Student ID cards here. 

The Tuckshop has a new 'Breakfast of Champions' menu here.

Tuckshop Annual Price Review

As a result of the Auxiliary’s annual pricing review, there will be price increases on some items in the Tuckshop from Tuesday 1 June. This increase is in response to supplier cost increases following government initiatives to reduce single-use plastic containers. The Auxiliary aims to maintain reasonable prices for BGS families, which it is only able to do thanks to the efficiency of our staff and the generous donation of our volunteers’ time. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all volunteers – both parents and Duke of Edinburgh students – who enable us to minimise staff costs and keep prices as low as we can.

The new price list is available via the P&F Auxiliary page on MyGrammar.

Grammar Shop

Open school days from 7.30am to 11.00am.

TENNIS and Football SHIRTS

Tennis and Football shirts have arrived and are available for purchase from the Grammar Shop.

ITEMS FOR COLLECTION

The Grammar Shop shelves are overflowing with purchased items that are awaiting collection. If you have received an email please come in and collect your items as soon as possible.

Term 3 sports

For anyone participating in Term 3 sports – Basketball, Gymnastics, Rugby or Track and Field – please check your uniform sizes and requirements before school holidays to allow enough time to purchase anything you need.

BLAZER AND HAT EMBROIDERY

Students who missed the cut off to submit their blazer for embroidery ahead of winter uniform can plan their embroidery over the upcoming school holidays. Blazers and yellow award forms can be dropped off at the Grammar Shop on the last day of this term and can be collected before school on the first day of Term 3.

EMBROIDERY

Families who are waiting for returned embroidery should check here (MyGrammar > P&F Auxiliary > Embroidered Item Pick Up List) to confirm whether their items are awaiting collection in the Grammar Shop.

Students who need hatbands embroidered over the break can bring them to the Grammar Shop on the last day of term before school or during first break.

Payment 

Grammar Shop staff appreciate parents arranging payment for their sons prior to their arrival. Students can pay using credit or debit card, using funds on their account with the Grammar Shop or using their students ID cards (log into Student ID Account from MyGrammar to top up the balance).

Please call the Grammar Shop on 07 3834 5347 to discuss your needs.

Joanne Villiers
P&F Auxiliary

Tuckshop +61 7 3834 5229
Grammar Shop +61 7 3834 5347
Roster Secretary: Lana Szumowski auxiliaryvolunteers@brisbanegrammar.com

Grammar Shop hours
School days 7.30am – 11.00am

Tuckshop hours
School days 7.00am – 2.00pm

Date claimer

To open the Basketball season, the Hardwood Support Group is holding a Hardwood All Stars event for parents and boys on Sunday 11 July from 3.00pm to 6.00pm in the Indoor Sports Centre.

Join us for a fun-filled afternoon program to launch the 2021 Basketball season.

More details will be released later in Term 2.

Nicole Hastie
Hardwood Support Group President

Normanby Blues season launch | Saturday 5 June

The Normanby Blues invite BGS parents and Old Boys to the 2021 Rugby Launch Function at Wests Rugby Club on Saturday 5 June at 7.00pm. There is a lot of excitement about the 2021 season, in particular the many innovations being rolled out with respect to player safety, coaching and technology. 

Come along to hear from our special guest, Old Boy Fraser McReight '16 and a panel of BGS coaches including the Director of Rugby Phil Mooney and BGS Scrum Coach Cameron Lillicrap '81, who is currently coaching the 2021 Australian Super Rugby champions.

We will be looking for BGS Rugby's #1 Supporter on the evening, by auctioning a unique supporter’s cap. Funds raised will accelerate the application of technology in the BGS rugby program.

RSVP 1 June. See booking link or invitation below for more information.

BGS Reds Family and Friends match recap

We were delighted with the turnout for the inaugural BGS Reds Family and Friends match last Saturday, with 400 attendees witnessing a masterclass in Rugby from the Crusaders. That said, everyone enjoyed the evening and Fraser certainly knew the student body was there to support their Old Boy! You can expect this to become an annual BGS Rugby event.

BGS Old Boy Jack Cornelsen ’12 was on the winning Wild Knights side over the weekend in the highly competitive Japanese top league premiership. We congratulate him on his selection in the Japanese squad set to play the British and Irish Lions. Jack was in the BGS First XV GPS Rugby premiership team of 2012.

Jonte Lowe
President, Normanby Blues
+61 (0) 411 476 472
normanbyblues.support@brisbanegrammar.com

Annual General Meeting 

The Willow Club AGM will be held on Tuesday 1 June 2021 at 6.00pm in The Lilley Centre Function Room.
The voluntary positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer will be declared vacant. 
Further enquiries may be directed to the Willow Club Secretary Tracee Cash at tracee.cash@alumni.griffithuni.edu.au.

Tracee Cash
Willow Club Secretary

Click here for more information on upcoming events.

Open Day 2021
Saturday 12 June. Click here for details. Registration is required. 

BGS/BGGS Young Alumni Event (BGS Old Boys 2015 – 2020)
Saturday 19 June

Virtual Open Day 2021
Wednesday 14 July. Click here for details. Registration is required.

Sportsman's Lunch | Friday 23 July
Friday 23 July — purchase tickets here.

BGS Old Boys Business Breakfasts
Thursday 9 September (Topic TBC). 
Thursday 11 November (Topic TBC)

BGS Golf Day
Friday 20 August

BGSOBA Band Battle ’21
Saturday 21 August

Milestone Reunions
Class of 1970 (50 year reunion) | Friday 8 October — purchase tickets here.
Class of 1980 (40 year reunion) — purchase tickets here.
Classes of 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, and 2011 | Saturday 9 October (invitations to be sent in early August)
Class of 1961 | Sunday 10 October (invitations to be sent in early August)

BGS Regional Events — Boarding and Community Tour

Click here to RSVP.

Toowoomba | Wednesday 9 June
Emerald | Thursday 24 June
Gold Coast | Thursday 12 August
Sunshine Coast | Thursday 19 August
Darwin |Tuesday 31 August
Cairns | Wednesday 1 September
Townsville | Thursday 2 September
Mackay | Friday 3 September
 

For information about the BGS events, please contact Alumni and Community Relations, Carla Hardy on 3834 5206 or carla.hardy@brisbanegrammar.com

 

BGS is excited to confirm the speakers for the 2021 Sportsman’s Lunch – former Wallaby and Old Boy Greg Martin '80 and All Blacks legend Andrew Mehrtens.

Join the pair at the Brisbane Hilton Hotel for an afternoon of stories, banter and World Cup analysis on Friday 23 July (12.00pm). There will also be some fantastic auction items and raffle prizes available on the day, including: 

• One week in a luxury six-bedroom ski chalet in the Yellowstone Club, Montana, USA (valued at over $30,000).
• Four SCG member’s platinum five-day tickets at the 2022 Sydney Test.
• Private suite and drinks voucher for 10 guests at the Brisbane Racing Club.
• Mick Fanning signed surfboard, designed and shaped by Darren Handley 
• Calile Hotel and Hellenika restaurant voucher.
• Ex-Wallaby captain and Old Boy Stephen Moore ’00 corporate speaking 
• Fortitude Music Hall Experience donated by Old Boy John Collins ’87 (includes 10 tickets to a show of your choice, $500 pre-show drinks package and private roped-off area)

Stay tuned for the growing list of Sportsman’s Lunch auction items. All funds raised will go towards a bursary to give a boy access to a BGS education. All community members are invited. Tables of 10 and individual tickets available here. 

Term 2
Tuesday 20 April – Friday 18 June

Term 3
Tuesday 13 July – Friday 17 September

Term 4
Tuesday 5 October – Friday 26 November

Light Dark Blue: 150 Years of Learning and Leadership at Brisbane Grammar School is available for purchase. The beautiful 500-page hardcover book updates the BGS story with previously untold anecdotes, rare photographs and illustrations. With a limited print run, it is sure to become a sought after collector’s item. Standard edition and limited editions are available.

Click here to view all BGS150 merchandise – limited stocks remain.