rgs girls gossip...rgs girls gossip rgs girls boarding newsletter term 2 2017 from time to time...

RGS Girls GossipRGS Girls Boarding Newsletter Term 2 2017

From time to time there are windows through which the calibre and good qualities of the girls are noticeable, in addition to hundreds of happy g’days every day. Inter-House athletics for example, where event after event there are examples of girls competing for their sporting house, and for the spirit of the occasion, with little or no chance of a place-getter’s ribbon, in fact the likelihood of coming last in some cases.

Running around an athletics track, especially the longer distances where one gets wayyyyy out of breath, and throwing awkward objects – hopefully in the right direction – are outside the comfort zone of many students, but those same students participate nonetheless. I repeatedly witnessed girl boarders doing so, not just once or twice. Consequently, our inter-House athletics carnival retains much of its old-world charm, and is a learning experience for the stuff of life: it won’t be easy, and you might not be the best, but if you perform to the best of your ability across a range of aspects of life, you will find yourself and your strengths and capitalise on them for a satisfying life.

Another window into good qualities are the farewells to staff that are leaving, indicative of the appreciation and regard that the girls have for others. An entirely natural spirit of thankfulness and dignity pervades farewell gatherings, and the sentiments of the girls that speak on behalf of their peers. This heightens the sense of loss when devoted staff leave, but this is also learning for life in the global village, because life is change, and our ability to adapt is paramount. Departures remind boarders that they themselves are preparing every day for a successful transition to life after Grammar, however unthinkable that may be for some.

Meanwhile, business as usual means that another semester, inclusive of exams and many other challenges, has been successfully lived and breathed. Ends of term and semester bring opportunities for new beginnings upon return to school, underpinned by the good things that are perennial.

Mr Stewart Norford Director of Boarding

From the Director of RGS Boarding Stewart Norford

Wakeboarding as a sport can best be described as two distinct disciplines. Traditional Wakeboarding behind a boat that we are all at least somewhat familiar with, and WakePark which can best be described as a Skate Park on water with multiple jumps, rails, sliders and other obstacles the rider can use. I competed in the WakePark National Championships in Brisbane over the Easter break where I was able to take out 1st place in the U19 Wom-en’s Wakeboarding division and Pro Wakeskate division.- Pippa Wilkings (Year 11)

WakePark Champion

Girls Gossip Term 2 2017 www.rgs.qld.edu.au

As we approached the end of Term Two, the dorm clean-ups began and room changes occurred for girls in Years 7-10. Year 11 and 12 will move rooms in the first week back. Our Heads of Year think long and hard about moves and take all of the girls’ requests into consideration, except sometimes they cannot keep everyone happy. For those who find change challenging, please remember that change means emotion and emotions determine behaviour. Practising positive behaviours helps individuals during periods of change. Make people smile, be courteous and respectful, friendly and considerate, and try to understand others.All of the girls have been so busy this past semester with their

academic studies, co-curricular activities and community service. All of the girls attended ANZAC Day ceremonies or marches to commemorate and to raise their awareness of the origins of this important national day. Many girls also took the opportunity to contribute to the community as volunteers. The Year 11 Girl Boarders worked together with Year 11 Boy Boarders to raise funds for Relay for Life, and the Red Shield Appeal was well-supported by our boarding community to help raise funds for the Salvation Army.It is hard to believe that Semester One is over, and whilst Year

7 students celebrate making it to the half way mark of their first year at boarding school, the Year 12 girls will begin counting down the number of school days left and will begin to tick off their list of lasts. Last athletics carnival, last netball game, last assignment and last school report. Soon another cohort will prepare to walk out the front gates of the School into a world of opportunity. In order to prepare themselves to help create the future that they want, I hope each Year 12 student will take the time to reflect on her time as a boarder at RGS and think about how she has contributed to the Girls Boarding community of tomorrow.In Tracy Shand’s book, Boardingology, all of us contribute

positively or negatively, into building the boarding community of tomorrow. Tracy Shand describes a successful boarding community as one where there are more positive emotional deposits than negative withdrawals made by all members of the boarding community. For example, a deposit is a kind word when someone is feeling down, a smile or a compliment. Negative withdrawals include gossiping, not keeping a promise or a commitment, bullying or put-downs. When a major withdrawal

happens and there is no going back from either side, putting small deposits in over time is the only hope to help change a situation. Personal development specialist, Steven Covey, identifies six

major ways that each of us can make positive emotional deposits to ensure our boarding community remains balanced. 1. Understanding people – take some time to step in someone else’s shoes to get the full picture.2. Keep commitments – a promise is a commitment. Therefore if you make a promise to a person or a team and break it, there is a serious withdrawal and trust is affected.3. Attend to little things – a smile, compliment or a random act of kindness are easy deposits.4. Clarify expectations – we are not mind readers so communication is key. Everyone sees things differently and you may need to bring it to someone’s attention when something is upsetting you or you are unhappy.5. Personal Integrity – honesty and trust are central to integrity. Always tell yourself the truth and do what you believe is right.6. Apologise when you make a withdrawal – we are human and make mistakes. Sometimes you make a withdrawal without realising. Talking it out and listening are key to re-establishing trust after a withdrawal.Everyone is unique and each individual staff member, student

and parent at RGS brings a rich array of experience to our boarding school. To ensure that we move forwards and provide a solid foundation for future girl boarders at RGS, our community needs to become conscious about making more positive emotional deposits than negative emotional withdrawals. As the Head of Girls Boarding, I am feeling brave and I am the first to admit that I may not always get things right and have made a few withdrawals of late. There are always relationships I need to work on, things I could have done better, incidences to report and issues to resolve. Nonetheless, I am committed to working with staff, students and parents to ensure that the Girls Boarding community is well cared for physically, socially and emotionally. Later on in the year, I will put out a survey for staff, students and parents to complete in order to ascertain the needs of the Girls Boarding community, as I am dedicated to laying a firm foundation for the RGS Girls Boarding of tomorrow.

Kind Regards,Ms Raquel Mangin

Head of Girls Boarding

Introducing Rockview Rogue Trader or ‘Tradie” as he is known at Rayner Park Stables. Tradie and I have been competing at Central Queensland shows, the Toowoomba Royal Show and Rockhampton Show Horse Spectacular this year. We are very fortunate to have assistance from lots of people so that I can compete and ride Tradie, a Riding Pony Hunter Galloway, each week. The RGS Transport Department is fantastic taking me to training and lessons. My parents often travel to Rockhampton to take me to events or I have help from friends who kindly transport us and help prep Tradie for the shows. Competing in the show ring takes a lot of dedication, commitment and hard work, show horses have to be prepared prior to the event – washed, clipped, plaited and ridden. On the day of the event it is always an early start to prepare your horse – makeup, a false tail, quarter marks, hoof paint and oiling tack are just some of the jobs. I have been very lucky to win lots of ribbons this year including many champion and reserve champions. Thanks to RGS for supporting my extra curricular endeavours from helping wash my riding clothes to making sure I get to lessons. - Madelyn Sparrow (Year 10)

On the show circuit


Discovering our Heritage

Talented BoardersRGS boarders continued to celebrate success in their chosen interests. Pictured below are Celine Bielenberg (Year 12) with her campdrafting success; Caitlin Kilmister (Year 11) continues her success at Taekwon Do; and Sarah Salisbury (Year 7) displays some trick riding.


New Gap staff

April Forrest (1 year placement. Finishes End Term 2, 2018)

Alice Kretschmar (1 year placement. Finishes End Term 2, 2018)

Tiana Phillips-Marlar (1 year placement. Finishes End Term 2, 2018)


Australian hockey honourLast year (2016), I went away with the Queensland team to Melbourne to compete in the U16 School Girls National Championships. We won the tournament and I was selected in the U16 School Sport Australian Team. Fast track to this year on May 18th I flew to Singapore and in Singapore all the girls selected in the team met for the first time, (we were from all across Australia). From Singapore, we went to Amsterdam and watched two premier league games (one men’s and one women’s), these were fantastic to watch as some of their players also compete in the Olympics.

We then had our first training together and started to get to know each other better. One of the sights that we saw was the Anne Frank house, which was very informative and quite sad to read about the tragedies of WW2. We also played against the top U18 Amsterdam women’s club team and it was a fantastic game, very fast. We then drove to Belgium and played a game there and did some sightseeing in medieval towns such as Ghent and Bruges. We then came into the education section of the tour and followed the trail that the Australian defence force took

during WW1. With this tour, we visited towns such as Fromelles, Passendale, Zonnebeke, Ypres, Pozieres, Villers-Bretonneux, Fouilloy, Le Hamel and a concentration camp in Natzweiler called Struthof. All of these places are of great significance to the Australian divisions that fought during WW1 so it was good to show respect and commemorate them.

From there we went to Germany, and more specifically Mannheim, for the four nations tournament against Germany, Holland and Belgium. Firstly we had a couple of trial games against Germany and visited a town named Heidelberg (George Clooney owns a mansion in this town). Then the tournament began and for the following couple of days we versed each country. On the final day, we versed Belgium and afterwards drove to Frankfurt to depart to Singapore. It was an honour to play for my country and wearing the Green and Gold will not be something that I will ever forget.

Elnè Bezidenhout (Year 12)

Tessa’s cutting classCutting is a horse sport which involves a herd of cattle and

riding a horse. You get 2 minutes and 30 seconds to cut 2-3 cows (one at a time) and block them from going back to the herd, but you can’t use your hands once you have cut a cow. I have been competing in this sport since I was about 10 years old. I was influenced by my dad who has been cutting for most of his life. Earlier this year I competed at the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity in Tamworth. I competed in the junior youth division and placed third. - Tessa Conaghan (Year 8)


We were very lucky in Term 2 with only a handful of confirmed cases of head lice. We did a lot of checking and were very relieved that we became aware early and managed it before there was an outbreak! We check the girls hair regularly in Year 7 and 8 if we see signs or someone presents with head lice. If your daughter is unsure and would like a thorough check, please send her to the health centre for the nurses to check. However, please check your daughter’s hair prior to sending her back to school from leave and treat accordingly to hopefully prevent any cases. Please find below some info on how to do this and how they are spread.

Head lice are spread by close contact with an infected person. Common ways that head lice spread are sharing of clothing (eg hats) and brushes, earphones, close head to head contact, and from head rests of seats.If you notice your child scratching or complaining of an itchy scalp, please inspect for lice immediately. If lice are evident, commence treatment as soon as possible. Talk to a pharmacist about appropriate treatment, or alternatively treatments are available from supermarket. Treatment must be repeated in 7 days – one treatment is not enough to kill the eggs already laid by the existing lice, and the problem just continues. The comb through method using conditioner is also very effective and described below. In addition, the entire family should be inspected for head lice as well, and treated accordingly. We suggest the following procedure for inspecting your child for head lice: 1. Under bright light begin looking at the back of the head just above the neck area. 2. Part the hair section by section and look closely for head lice or nits (eggs). Eggs will usually be located near the scalp or on the hair shaft. They may look like dandruff, but when you try to brush them off, are difficult to remove. 3. Depending on the length and thickness of the hair, it should take between 5 and 15 minutes to properly inspect a child’s head. There are a number of preventative measures that can be taken in an effort to lessen the chance of head lice spreading. They are:• If the hair is long, plaiting the hair significantly reduces the

surface area for lice to cling to. • Do a weekly lice check. An easy and very effective way is to

buy a large bottle of cheap conditioner, and once a week whilst showering smother hair in conditioner, and comb through with a metal nit comb, wiping the comb on a tissue or paper towel. This is a great method for the older students who would prefer to check for themselves. If lice are detected, use this method daily. It has been proven to be the most effective method of getting rid of lice and eggs. It is important to use a metal nit comb as the teeth are closer together. The plastic ones are not effective in removing all lice, and do not remove eggs. • Use a daily preventative spray.

I cannot stress enough how important it is that you regularly check your children. Nobody feels comfortable when they have head lice, and it is an unpleasant and costly problem to deal with. It can go as far as affecting the self-esteem of a child, so please take responsibility and help us in our fight against head lice.

Melanie March, Health Centre Manager

Headlice Reminder

Rowers win CQ medalsRGS boarders were among the medals at the Central Queensland Rowing Championships at Bucca Weir, near Bundaberg, at the start of the school holidays. Congratulations to all the boarders who proudly represented the School, both on and off the water.Results:(Gold Medals)• Girls Year 10 Double Scull - Olivia Maynard, Grace

Sypher;• Girls Quad - Grace Sypher, Tayla Donnell-Wales, Bonnie

Maynard, Annalee Godwin, cox Sylvia Godwin;• Girls Double - Annalee Godwin, Bonnie Maynard;• Girls Year 11 Quad - Lucy Kinsella, Olivia Maynard,

McKenzie Apel, Karis Edwards, cox Sylvia Godwin;• Girls U16 Single - Grace Sypher;• Girls Year 8 double - Anna Mactaggart, Laura Sypher; • Girls 8 - Lucy Kinsella, Karis Edwards, Olivia Maynard,

Annalee Godwin, Grace Sypher, Tayla Donnell-Wales, Bonnie Maynard, McKenzie Apel, Cox: Sylvia Godwin;

(Silver Medals)• Schoolgirls Single - Grace Sypher;• Girls Year 8 Quad - Hannah Boyce, Sophia Lloyd, Anna

Mactaggart, Laura Sypher, Cox: Jahna Day;• Girls U17 single - McKenzie Apel;(Bronze Medals)• Girls Year 8 Quad - Matariki Kibblewhite-Claus, Roni Peff,

Faith Maynard, Isabella Woods, Cox: Joanna Baillie;• Girls Year 9 Quad - Jessica Pearce, Anna Mactaggart,

Lara Littleton, Brooke Bolger, Cox: Joanna Baillie;• Girls Double - Tayla Donnell-Wales, Bonnie Maynard.


Thank you to all the boarders who participated in important community events during Term 2.The Year 11 girl boarders once again participated in Relay for Life, and were this year joined by the Year 11 boy boarders in their fundraising efforts. The group raised around $5000 and were named the Highest Fundraising Youth Team. Thank you to everyone in the RGS boarding community who supported this worthy cause.Boarders were also involved in the annual Red Shield Appeal in May with RGS volunteers helping collect over $6300 fo the Salvation Army.Earlier in the term RGS boarders joined a large Rockhampton Grammar School contingent to march in the Rockhampton ANZAC Day March. Many students also attended the Dawn Service earlier in the day. Many students also marched in their home town ANZAC Day parades.

Community Service


Around the sports venuesRGS Athletics Carnival

Inter-House Touch

Schoolgirls Netball Grand FinalsRGS netball teams featured in Rockhampton and District Secondary Schools Netball Grand Finals in Term 2.Five teams were successful in winning premierships: RGS Phan-toms (B2), RGS Storm (9A), RGS Mystics (9B), RGS Warriors (8A) and RGS Redskins (8B).Runner-up teams were: RGS Meteors (B1), RGS Bullets (B2), RGS Lightning (8C) and RGS Suns (7A).RGS Most Valuable Players, as judged by opposition coaches included: Olivia Marks (Meteors), Lauren Neilson (Phantoms), Arnika Forrest (Warriors) and Ella James (Redskins).RGS boarders also participated in the Rockhampton Sullivan’s Carnival during Term 2 (pictured below).

Girls Boarding Calendar - Term 3

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First Day Term 3

Student Free DayRed&Black Shop Open 8am

RDSS Girls Football starts

Queen’s Birthday Holiday

RGS Art Exhibition

July

Augu

stSe

ptem

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Oct

ober

Boarder Parents Morning Tea Last Day Term 3

Year 11 Boarders Garden Party Lunch

Year 7-12 Formal Assembly

Student Free Day

First Day Term 4 All Schools Touch

RGS Breakfast Series - Rowing Club

RDSS Athletics Carnival

RDSS Athletics Carnival

RGS Musical - Little Shop of Horrors



Student Free Day

RGS Art Exhibition RGS Art Exhibition

RGS Breakfast Series - Rowing Club

RGS Rugby Club Trivia Night

CST Exam - Ritamada

CST Exam - Ritamada

Middle School Exams (4-5 Sept)Year 12 Exams (Fri 8)

RNA FinalsRGS DMTA Production - Shrek Jnr

Red & Black Association Fathers Day Sports Day

Year 9 Personal Development Programme starts

Student Free DayBoarder Parents AGM and meeting

rgs girls gossip...rgs girls gossip rgs girls boarding newsletter term 2 2017 from time to time...

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