It has been a delight to welcome our students back to the School campus for the commencement of Term 2. Winter uniform, the arrival of the Year 12 senior jerseys and the upcoming Year 12 Formal Dinner all signal the move to the cooler months of the year. I hope that the Easter break was a restorative, enjoyable time for all our Grammar families.
Throughout this term, Ms Euler will be taking a period of sabbatical leave. We hope this will provide a time of personal and professional reflection and the opportunity to step away from the momentum and busyness of the daily school routine. We hope that this time for Ms Euler will be rewarding, and we look forward to her return in Term 3.
In this first week of the term, we marked some significant events at our School Assembly. Mrs Rachel Fraser, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary to the Board of Trustees, provided the Anzac Day address, that prompted us all to reflect on the impact of war, and our personal histories, family stories and experiences.
At this time of the year, we also remember and acknowledge the Christmas Creek bus accident. Ms Kim Wood, Director of Outdoor Education, provided the Assembly with the history of this tragedy, but also focused on the living memorial that Marrapatta has become for the Brisbane Girls Grammar School community. Out of such a terrible accident—which claimed the lives of teachers, Mr John Stamford and Mrs Janelle Stamford, and students Helen Gahan and Jillian Skaines—the School has created a truly special place in Marrapatta—‘a place to reconnect young women with themselves, others and the world around them’ (Wood, 2022). We look forward to seeing our Year 8 and 9 students engaging wholeheartedly in the Outdoor Education program this term and thank all Marrapatta staff, along with the academic staff who accompany these programs, for their work, ongoing involvement and support.
I hope that our families are looking forward to the term ahead and all that it will hold, and on the eve of ANZAC Day, lest we forget.
Mrs Anne Ingram
Acting Principal