THE GRAMMARIANTHE MAGAZINE OF TOWNSVILLE GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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NORTH WARD CAMPUS - PHONE (07) 4722 4900 ANNANDALE CAMPUS - PHONE (07) 4725 3588

Website: www.tgs.qld.edu.au Email: tgs@tgs.qld.edu.au

VOLUME 10

1 From The Principal’s Desk

TGS commemorated ANZAC Dayin a ceremony in the SchoolQuadrangle on the 24th of Aprilthis year.

The School community wereprivileged to have special guests,Lux and John Foot attending theceremony. Lux and John Foot aresons of Richard Foot, who was oneof five brothers, all of whom wentto school at TGS. Richard, theyoungest, was too young to enlistfor service in the war, but his fourbrothers fought in the First WorldWar. Fortunately, George and Ericsurvived the war. However,tragically, Henry and Alexanderwere killed in action at Gallipoli.Our School Principal, Mr Fairley,

intends to visit the graves of Henryand Alexander Foot when visitingGallipoli this year to pay homageto their sacrifice.

School parent, Colonel KimFaithfull, father of Jessika (7.1),addressed the School communitywith an important message ofremembrance, stating, “The fundamental purpose ofANZAC Day is to pay homage tothe men and women who haveserved Australia in times of conflict,but especially those who gave theirlives. In doing so, we ensure therecognition by our youth thatpeace and freedom we benefit fromtoday were bought at the expenseof enormous sacrifice in the past.”

After nearly three years of planning and twelve months of building and construction, I am pleased to report that theMiddle School is fully operational with 430 Year 7-9 students enjoying the benefits of their ‘state of the art’ Precinct.

Special Guest, Mrs Hilary Marsh, ‘cut the ribbon’ and unveiled the magnificent$6.5m facility at the official opening ceremony on Saturday 1st April. Hilary’slate husband, long serving Board member and Deputy Chairman of the Board,Mr Ross Marsh, unfortunately passed away in January. Ross had been awonderful servant of the School Community and he will be sorely missed by allwho had the honour to work with him at the School.

As I put pen to paper for this editorial, I also prepare to take six weeks sabbaticalleave which, amongst other things, will include a pilgrimage to Gallipoli and anumber of school visits in the UK. My somewhat ambitious agenda includes areview of senior management structures, performance pay for teachers, middle

schooling developments, inter-school links for staff and students, boarding and personal development curricula.

At this stage, schools on my itinerary include: Bristol Grammar, Cheltenham College, the Kings School, Royal Grammar,Marlborough College and Clifton College.

I look forward to the opportunity provided by the Board of Trustees to take this sabbatical break and to share my findingsand experiences within the School community upon my return.

Richard FairleyPrincipal

The Grammarian

From

the P

rincip

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ANZAC Day

ContentsFrom the Principal Page 1Captains 2006 Page 2Boarders Page 3

ABOVE (L-R) Mr Lux Foot, Col. Kim Faithfull, Mr Fairley & Mr John Foot BELOW (L-R) Mitch Jonsson, Issac Ketchell & Daniel Farlow

General News Page 4-5Senior School Page 6Middle School Page 7-8

Junior School Page 9-10Past Grammarians Page 11-13TGS Community Page 14

2

Captains 2006

Hilton Bristow – School CaptainHilton is a gifted academic, having achieved a Maxima Cum Laude Award in every year of his secondaryschooling at Grammar. Dux of his Grade in Years 8, 10 and 11, he was also awarded the Subject Prize forPhysics in Year 11 (2005). Juggling a busy schedule, Hilton is an active member of the School’s musical activities as well as enjoying avariety of sporting pursuits.

Lauren-Phoebe Nielsen – School CaptainLauren-Phoebe has been the recipient of many Academic Awards throughout her schooling, includingRowland Medallist in the Townsville Grammar School Writing Competition (2004), Proxime Accessit (2004),and the Dr Jim Baker Prize for Science (2004). Lauren-Phoebe was selected as the only Townsville participant at the National Youth Science Forum held inCanberra in January this year. From this forum she became one of six students selected nation-wide torepresent Australia at the prestigious Canada-wide Science Fair.

Kingsley Grimshaw – School Vice-CaptainKingsley has received Cum Laude Awards in each of his secondary years of education. In Years 9 and 10 hereceived Academic Awards, as well as the H & PE Award in 2004. Kingsley is a keen cricketer and the Captain of the School’s First XI. He has captained two QueenslandChampionship winning teams (2003/04; 2004/05) and is currently the Captain of the Tropical North Queenslandside.

Sarah Reilly – School Vice-CaptainSarah has made a strong impact academically since arriving at TGS two years ago, receiving a number of awardsincluding Magna Cum Laude Awards and Academic Awards at Speech Night in Years 10 and 11. In 2005, Sarahalso received the Agnes McWhinney Prize for Legal Studies and the Subject Prize for History.Sarah is a well-rounded young lady with interests in drama, sport and the welfare of the School community.

Joseph Goicoechea (9/06) – Middle School CaptainJoseph came to Townsville Grammar last year having spent his primary years at St Joseph’s The Strand where hewas elected as their Sports Captain. Joseph is a keen sportsman, captaining the North Queensland basketballside in 2004 and being selected as a representative for both the Townsville Rugby Union and Basketball teams.Joseph is also a fine student receiving a Maxima Cum Laude and was Dux of Year 8.

Megan Simmonds (9/06) – Middle School CaptainMegan arrived at Townsville Grammar in Year 8 in 2005, having spent her primary school years at St Joseph’sThe Strand where she was a member of the Student Council. Megan is academically successful as well as on thesporting field. In 2005, Megan received a Cum Laude and the Performing Arts Award at Speech Night as well asrepresenting TGS in Netball and Cross-Country.

Daniel Anderson (6/06) - School CaptainDaniel commenced Preschool at the Junior School in 2000. Since that time Daniel has been an excellent student,awarded a Cum Laude in Year 5 and an Academic Award at Speech Night. He has participated in the SchoolArt Club and Science Club, and won the Science Quiz in Year 4. Not surprisingly, Daniel lists Science as hisfavourite subject, and hopes to become a Zoologist.

Laura-Jane Cooper-Jackson (6/06) - School CaptainLaura-Jane also commenced Preschool in 2000 and has involved herself particularly in the musical life of theSchool. She participates in Band, String Ensemble and Celtic Strings. Laura-Jane also enjoys Club Netball. In Year5 she was awarded a Cum Laude and Academic Award, after receiving the prize for All Round Performance inYear 4. Laura-Jane’s favourite subject is English and this year in her role she is looking forward to helping otherstudents.

Senior School Captains

Middle School Captains

Junior School Captains

Amanda Burns – Head BoarderAmanda is a graduate of theCharters Towers School ofDistance Education and her arrivalin Year 8 (2002) heralded anintroduction to a radically differenttype of school experience.

Achieving outstanding resultsacademically, Amanda is also akeen sportswoman, enjoyingswimming and representing theSchool at water polo and netball.Growing up in Maxwelton nearRichmond, Amanda would like tohelp younger boarders “find theirfeet” as Head Boarder in 2006.

Zane Biffanti – Head BoarderZane hails from the Burdekin Shireand in Year 10, left behind therelative tranquillity of acreage toshare his time and attention withthe Boarders of TownsvilleGrammar School.

A diligent student, Zane is also anexcellent sportsman, involved in avariety of sports including touchfootball, soccer, swimming,basketball and rugby.

Well-respected by staff andstudents alike, Zane is looking tomake a difference as Head Boarderin 2006.

HeadBoarders

3

Current and past day students alike have wondered what the boarders get up to ontheir weekends. A group of excited new boarders and our current Head Boardersdescribe a “typical” weekend...

Zane Biffanti, Head Boy Boarder, “There are no two weekends the same; everyweekend is different. We do a range of organised activities from going to thefootball…”“Up the Cowboys”, one pipes in.“…to going to the Strand or swimming in one of the local creeks.”

Zane explains the Senior privileges for weekends, “The Seniors earn privileges suchas going down to breakfast later – so you get to sleep in – and extra day leave onSaturday.”

The Senior boarder girls have also organised a “tuckshop” on Thursday nights.Amanda Burns, Head Girl Boarder stating, “We sell food such as two minutenoodles to the boarders to fundraise for a memento for the end of the year for theSenior girl boarders.”

The younger boarders aren’t forgotten either. From Years 7 through to 10, thestudents are provided with “pocket money”. This small amount of money is usedon the weekends for outings such as the movies, bowling or dinner outings. But,where is it often spent?“Maccas!!!” the group wholeheartedly reply.

“Life in the boarding house is usually not at all boring“. Zane adds, “You live withyour friends and make good friendships, it is a really different experience – it is likeone big family“.

Weekend Fun for theBoarders

Friday night • Going to McDonald’s after school• Study time • Friday night Strand Markets

Saturday • Breakfast and meeting of all boarders before activities• Day Leave – Shopping at Flinders Mall or Stockland Plaza• Lunch back at TGS• TV or Movies in the Boarding Dorm• Gymnasium and Pool open for use • Strand Leave • Outing - Ten pin bowling

Sunday • Breakfast and meeting of all boarders before activities• Outing to Alligator Creek for swimming and picnic• Back at the Boarding Dorm by Sunday evening for homework

and study

One

Wee

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BELOW Amanda Burns, Mr Weir & Zane Biffanti

The Grammarian

Boar

ders

Some of the boarders enjoying organised weekend activities

4

The TGS Music Program pridesitself on having the best ensemblesin the Townsville region. DuringMay, Grammar Singers, the 80voice senior choir, travelled toMagnetic Island for three days ofintense rehearsals to ensure theSchool’s tradition of excellence inmusic is maintained.

Special guest, Anthony Young,travelled to Townsville to assistwith the camp. Mr Youngconducts the choral programs atSt. Laurence's College and St.Thomas Aquinas Church St. Luciaand co-conducts the QueenslandKodaly Choir with James Cuskellyof the University of Queensland.He specialises in developing themale changing voice.

The goal of the musical weekendwas to provide the students withthe skills and attitude required toperform to the absolute best of

their ability. The choir heldpractice for six hours each day,dividing the time into one and ahalf hour periods similar to aregular school day. Half thepractice time was dedicated toworking as a whole choir with theother half used to give eachsection of the choir (Soprano, Alto,Tenor and Bass) the opportunity towork with experts separately. TheTenor and Bass sections found thistime extremely useful as they weregiven the opportunity to work withthe special guest, Mr Young. Theexpertise and guidance that MrYoung provided assisted thegrowth of the groups Lezom andTake 8.

The singers worked hard allweekend, but of course, there wasalways time for fun! The weekendwas packed with trips to thebeach, delicious meals and atalent show on the last night of thecamp.

Special thanks must go to Ms Neil,Ms Dyer, Mrs Ahern, Ms Lyne andMr Young for making the weekendpossible.

Earlier this year, the Newspapers in Education (NIE), a department of theTownsville Bulletin, in conjunction with McDonald’s Restaurants ran aNews Quiz competition for secondary students.

There were two divisions in the competition, junior and senior. Studentswere required to read the Townsville Bulletin and answer a number ofquestions to test their knowledge.

Each team participated in two rounds and semi-finals up against otherlocal Townsville schools. The senior team made it through to the semi-finals and was then, unfortunately, defeated. The junior team won ahard-fought battle against Townsville High School and took out first placein the region.

All students involved displayed outstanding commitment and always putin their best efforts.

Students succeed in News Quiz Win

General News

ABOVE (Top) Junior Team (L-R) Georgina Nielsen, Michael Phillips, Michael Doris, Maxwell Braddick & Miss Cracknell(Bottom) Senior Team (L-R) Jacques Eastment, Lauren Furnas, Alex Hammerton & Miss Cracknell

Music CampAnnette Cook is the Residential ServicesSupervisor and has worked at TGS for the past15 years. Annette took time out of her busyschedule to answer a few questions about the“Healthy Eating Strategy” adopted at TGS.

How long has the healthy eating concept been inplace?In 1993, the School canteen went from privatelyoperated to run by the School. Previously thecanteen had sold things like pies and chips, andwe changed to selling healthier options such aschicken rolls. Past students might rememberthere used to be one junk food day, Fridays, andwe served food like chips and hot dogs.

Last year, Mr Fairley announced that the Schoolwould put in place a “Healthy Eating” strategy bylimiting “red zone” foods available to students.The School policy has been in place since thebeginning of the year.

What food and drink is now available at TGS?We have a variety of food available for thestudents, including salads, sandwiches, focacciaand also a range of hot food. We have healthy hotfoods like hamburgers using lean meat, chickenburgers using skinless chicken breast and steakand onion sandwiches using rib fillet steak. Weare also introducing soup for the colder months.Any of the “red zone” foods are limited to onlyfundraising or special events, such as theSwimming Carnival and fundraising by Interact orSchool discos.

Examples of Red Zone Foods: All soft drink,lollies and chocolate, chips, most deep friedfoods and some types of ice creams.

Healthy Eating at the School Canteen

Ms Neil conducting at Music Camp

Some of the healthy options available

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The Grammarian

Gene

ral N

ews

Café Training forHospitalityStudents

All students from Years 7 through 12 recentlyparticipated in the Townsville Grammar School WritingCompetition. In an opportunity unique to the studentsof this School, students were given the opportunity toshowcase their writing talents by writing a response tothe provided stimulus. TGS has been conducting theWriting Competition since 2000, presenting PFRowland Medals to the winners of each year level.Some very pleasing results were realised by a largenumber of students, with the PF Rowland Medals for2006 being awarded to:

Year 7 Lachlan Meikle and Odette HaussmannYear 8 Nicholas Potter and Madisson GriffithsYear 9 Michael Phillips and Ellee McClymontYear 10 Rhys Morris and Kellie ChristiansenYear 11 Adam Schneider and Lauren MasonYear 12 Sean Kelly and Anna Williams

Medals and High Distinction Certificates werepresented at a special assembly where James CookUniversity Journalism lecturer and published author, MsLindsay Simpson was the special guest speaker, sharingher passion for writing with the students.

Townsville GrammarSchool

Writing Competition

SWIMMINGWith the introduction of theMiddle School, the North Wardcampus now has two carnivals; aMiddle School and a SeniorSchool carnival.

Both carnivals were a hugesuccess, with both the Seniorand Middle Schools having the50m championship events, 25mevents and a host of noveltyevents.

The Middle School had theirinaugural Big Bomb DiveCompetition which was won byNadia Howell (9/06). Pointswere awarded for splash height,technique and entry. Not to beoutdone, the Senior School hadtheir eighth annual Belly Flopcompetition that went off with abig splash and Matthew Bryant(12/06) was the eventualchampion.

CROSS COUNTRYThis year, we again held our Interhouse Cross CountryCarnival at the Sports Reserve.

In very trying conditions, rangingfrom rain to heat and humidity,runners participated in thechampionship, or Gold Course(ranging from 2.7km for Year 7girls and boys, 4km for girls 13years to Open and boys 13 to 14years, while the 15 to 16 yearsand Open boys ran a 6kmcourse).

Students studying Hospitality have beenserving coffee and café food as part of the“Responsible Service of Alcohol, CoffeeProduction and Service” unit they arecurrently studying.

To enhance the delivery of skills in this area,the Hospitality Department have purchaseda commercial coffee machine, with studentsgaining professional instruction from CoffeeDominion owner, Justin Humphrey.

Staff have enjoyed sampling coffee servedeach Thursday, as well as a lunch preparedby Senior Hospitality students served at theSchool’s mock café named the “Java Café”.

New Records Set

EVENT OLD NEW14 Boys 50m Freestyle Dale Iwanicki (1994) 29.03s Brad Simmons (9/06) 25.66s14 Boys 50m Backstroke Dale Iwanicki (1994) 33.00s Brad Simmons (9/06) 29.40s14 Boys 50m Butterfly David Warnock (2000) 30.88s Brad Simmons (9/06) 28.33s14 Boys 50m Breaststroke K. Pietzsch (1976) 37.00s Brad Simmons (9/06) 35.68s12 Girls Freestyle Gabrielle Vartis (2004) 32.82s Tatiana Vafiades (7/06) 31.04s12 Girls 50m Butterfly NEW EVENT Tatiana Vafiades (7/06) 38.67s15 Girls 50m Freestyle A.Wockner (1991) 29.30s Anika Wright (10/06) 29.20s

Sports ResultsNorth Ward Campus

Mr Fairley, Mrs Hall, PF Rowland Medal Winners & Ms Lindsay Simpson

GIRLS1st ROWLAND2nd HODGES3rd MILLER

4th WHIGHT

BOYS1st WHIGHT2nd HODGES

3rd ROWLAND4th MILLER

OVERALL1st WHIGHT

2nd ROWLAND3rd HODGES4th MILLER

RESU

LTS

BELOW In Young Chungand Hanalie Antalanenjoying Cross Country

TOPStaff enjoy a lunch atthe “Java Café”BOTTOMKevin Fujii andAlexander Montaguepreparing coffee

6

Senior School

Debating competitions between the houses is a newinnovation at TGS in response to the many students keento be involved in debating.

Currently, only four teams are allowed in the InterschoolDebating at each level - Senior (Years 11/12), Junior (Years9/10) and Year 8 (Years 7/8). Due to this, numerous Year 9and Year 7 missed out on this opportunity. It was decidedto organise and implement an Interhouse Middle SchoolCompetition for these years, unanimously supported by allstudents present at a meeting in Term 1.

The success of the debating competitions is largely due tothe dedication of the students involved. In particular,congratulations must go to the Year 12 adjudicators(Samantha Roberts, Calum Kippin, Sean Kelly and JacobFisher), the Year 9 House Debating Captains (James

Hodge, Nathan Roff, Emily McLeod, Michael Doris andBronte Lyne) and, of course, the willing Years 7 and 9Debaters. They have set a fine foundation for the future ofInterhouse Debating at TGS.

The students have been solely responsible for attendingmeetings, organising teams, preparing rooms for debatesand returning these to their original condition.

Trophies for the eventual winning teams will be presentedin an assembly towards the end of Term 2. Congratulationsto Rowland and Whight Houses, both of which will becompeting in the final at the Year 7 and 9 levels.

Mr D. O'Regan Debating Co-ordinator

Interhouse Debating

International LOTE tours arenow a major event on theschool calendar for TGSstudents. Students in Years10, 11 and 12 are offered theopportunity of joining thebiennial educational tour tothe target country of thelanguage they have chosento study. The tours givestudents an opportunity touse their language skills in areal life environment, as wellas experiencing first hand theculture of the language theyare currently studying.

Last December, a group ofenthusiastic Year 10 and Year11 students who werestudying Japanese, embarkedon a once-in-a-lifetime tripto Japan.

The whirlwind ten day tourconsisted of visitingimportant landmark sitessuch as Hiroshima andHimeji Castle, as well asallowing time for shoppingand sightseeing. The studentswere also able to visit ShinjoHigashi High School,friendship school to TGS,and engage in a weekendhomestay. Anotherfascinating part of the tourwas many of students’ firstexperience with snow!

Both the French andIndonesian Tour will occurlater this year, with excitedstudents eager to practisetheir language skills outsidethe classroom.

Last year saw the revival ofthe Townsville GrammarInteract Club, which had aproud history of communityservice from 1967 to 1992.In its second year back atTGS, the Club has a newgroup of enthusiastic BoardMembers, passionate aboutcommunity service.

The Interact Club quicklycame in to action with its firstfundraising activity of theyear with the unexpecteddevastation of Cyclone Larryin North Queensland. TheClub contributed to thiscause through the creation ofthe “Cyclone Larry Appeal”(“CLAP”). Students and staffmembers across bothcampuses created moneytrails to collect over $1000 incoins.

Continuing a proudGrammar tradition was theInteract implemented TGSSalvation Army Food Appealin May. The Club collected non-perishable food items onbehalf of the Salvation Army.A competition between allNorth Ward classes raisedthe stakes, with Year 9.5collecting the most - 380items over two weeks. Thewinning class was treated toa Pizza Party to reward theiramazing efforts.

The TGS community haveand continue to show theirstrong sense of compassionand willingness to help.Speaking of behalf of theInteract Club, I thank theSchool community as awhole for its support.

Shani RupasingheInteract President - TGS

LOTE International Tours Community Service - Interact Club

BELOW (Left) Roxanne Niveri - Year 11.4 (centre) with two Japanese“Geishas” (Right) The tour group at Tokyo Disneyland

BELOW (Left) Interact Club members collecting food for Salvation Army(Right) Interact Club members fundraising for “CLAP”

7

The Grammarian

Mid

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Our New Middle SchoolPrecinct Has Finally Arrived...

Three years in the making, the $6.5 million dollar Middle School Precinct is now open.

Years 7 to 9 now have a specially designed area to cater to the specific needs of 11 to 14-year-olds.

The Middle School Precinct also doubles as a function area for special occasions, such as the recentTownsville Grammar Audi Art Show.

Magnificent and functional in design, the Middle School Precinct will be a valuable asset for manygenerations of TGS students.

LEFT TO RIGHT 1. The MiddleSchool Opening Ceremony inprogress 2. Mr Fairleywelcoming guests to theceremony 3. Mr Norm Kerley (Head of Junior School), Mr Richard Fairley (Principal),Mr Mark Zietsch (Head ofMiddle School) with MiddleSchool Captains

Official Opening of the Middle SchoolSaturday, 1 April 2006 saw the culmination of over three years ofplanning and hard work, when the TGS Middle School Precinctwas officially opened in a wonderful ceremony within the MiddleSchool Plaza area.

About four hundred guests, including Middle School students andtheir families witnessed the traditional cutting of the ribbon byspecial guest, Mrs Hilary Marsh. In a moving speech Mrs Marshspoke about the vision for the future of the School that the newbuilding represented. Simultaneously, she acknowledged thevitally important role that Grammar’s history plays, not just for theMiddle School, but for the entire Grammar community. MrsMarsh, nee Davies, as a Past Grammarian, mother of PastGrammarians and wife of the late Mr Ross Marsh [former memberof the Board of Trustees, Deputy Chairman of the Board andChairman of the Building Committee] is uniquely qualified tocomment upon the School’s past and future.

Other esteemed guests included Mayor of Townsville, Mr TonyMooney, members of the current and past Boards of Trustees, keyconstruction representatives, parents and, of course, students.

After the official ceremony, parents and guests were invited toinspect the classrooms within the Middle School. Students andteachers alike were excited and proud to display their colourfulclassrooms, and in particular the specialty classrooms – thePerforming Arts Room, the Middle School Science Laboratory andthe Level 2 French, Indonesian, Italian and Japanese classrooms.

Meet Mark Zietsch, Head of Middle School

Mark Zietsch started atTownsville Grammar this yearto take up the position of Headof Middle School. Previous Position:Head of House (Years 8-12)Villanova College, BrisbaneQualifications:• Bachelor of Education • Masters of Educational Leadership (Middle School) Why did you choose to take this position at TownsvilleGrammar School?Firstly, the position of Head of Middle School is a perfect jobfor me in terms of my experience and interests in education.Secondly, the opportunity to be the inaugural Head of MiddleSchool with a brand new, first class facility was anopportunity not to be missed - I am the envy of manyeducators throughout Queensland! What was your first impression of Townsville? My first visit to Townsville was in May last year. I wasimpressed with the beauty of the Strand and thedistinctiveness of Castle Hill. After living here for six months,I am impressed with the family-friendly environment thatTownsville provides. What is the most rewarding part of your job?The times that I am able to go out of my office and work withthe Middle School students. I value opportunities to buildrelationships with students and enjoy seeing them participatein the wide variety of activities TGS has to offer. Favourite advice to provide your students:Always seek the truth and give your best. If things don’t go toplan, repair any harm done by taking responsibility for youractions and try again. Take each moment as an opportunity forlearning.

8

Middle School

The building of the new Ceramics Studio was undertaken with the Middle School construction. The original ceramic areawas an outdoor annex established in 1984 and the area was becoming outdated.

The new studio makes efficient use of space, light and natural breezes. The Studio also has two-way shelving, newfurniture and a separate room for glazing and firing of student built ceramics. Two new electric kilns have been purchased,an exhaust system and warning light have also been installed for safety reasons and extensive drainage systems forenvironmental reasons.

The space is now keenly used by all year levels during class time and Art Club.

Introduction of Italian in 2006Italian is now the fourth language on offer at TGS. Since the startof Term 1, 2006, over 60 students have been studying Italian as aLOTE subject.

The introduction of Italian at TGS balances the languages on offerto two Asian languages (Japanese and Indonesian) and twoEuropean languages (French and Italian).

Support from the community, parents and students has been highand classes are expected to grow in future years.

Year 7 Italian Class wearing their handmade masks

New CeramicsStudio

From the inception of the MiddleSchool, a distinction between“Middle” and “Senior” School hasbeen made. Years 10 through to 12are now considered SeniorStudents.

The decision to “seniorise” Year 10has enabled the students to bebetter prepared for the academicdemands and challenges of theSenior curriculum. Year 10students have risen to thischallenge and have demonstrateda positive and mature attitude tostudy.

The process to seniorise Year 10has been an ongoing process forthe last two to three years throughcurriculum restructuring in thelead up to the opening of theMiddle School. The curriculum isnow aligned far more closely toYear 11 and 12 subjects.

Year 10s are now givenopportunities to experience extracurricular activities throughcompletion of TAFE courses onThursdays. There is also flexibilityto enrol in TAFE courses onWednesday to study such subjectareas as Child Care or Certificate IIor III in Business.

In addition, students are able toparticipate in school-basedapprenticeships and traineeships,as well as work experienceprograms.

The exciting journey into theMiddle Schooling era has manypositive aspects that extendbeyond the Middle Years. Thefocus and development of our Year10 programme and the ongoingimpact that this will have onstudents as they move into Year 11is very important and contributespositively to an already impressiveeducation development at TGS.

Although we have seen changes to our Schoolstructure, we still operate within a district sportstructure geared towards “Primary School” and“Secondary School” Sport.

As such, we have had to put in place changes tocontinue to provide the opportunity for our Year 7’s toparticipate in conjunction with students from our JuniorCampus in the Townsville Primary School Sport forinterschool carnivals, Friday afternoon team sport andrepresentative teams.

Year 7 students compete at interhouse carnivals as partof our Middle School. From these carnivals Year 7students are selected and combined with a teamselected from our Junior School to make our “PrimarySchool” team.

There are Open, Year 6 and Year 5 competitions formost sports played on Friday afternoons, with the Openteams usually consisting of primarily Year 7 students.

Under 12 “Primary School” representative teams areselected for many sports each year and are chosenprimarily from Year 6 and 7 students with the raretalented Year 5 student included.

New Ceramic StudioArt Classin action

Year 10 as the Stepping Stone toSuccess in Years 11 and 12

Changes to Year 7 Sport

The Grammarian

After relinquishing the Year 7 cohort to the Middle School,many wondered how well the Year 6 students wouldhandle the responsibility of leadership in the Junior School.After one term of working with this year’s CommunityService Group, I have to say that all misgivings have beenput aside. This year’s group has shown maturity,dedication, compassion and a great work ethic wellbeyond their years.

Our first term project was a book drive. We decided to givethe books to Shalom Christian College when we found outthat they had a lovely new library but did not have manybooks. The teacher-librarian and the Head of their JuniorSchool were supportive of the idea and suggested that thiscould be the start of a great friendship between our twoschools.

Each class had to collect as many books as they could andwe aimed to reward the class that collected the most. Withover 270 books collected Year 2S were declared thewinners and treated to a special party, catered for withdonations from several business houses around Townsville.We ended up with an absolute feast with generouscontributions from the Cheesecake Shop, KFC, Brumbies,Woolworths and Angelina’s.

With boxes of nearly 2000 books, we delivered them inperson to Shalom. They made us welcome with a speechfrom their captains and some musical items. We joined thewhole primary school for a sausage sizzle and playedlunchtime games of football and basketball. Our studentsthen joined the Shalom students in their classrooms for theafternoon.

On our departure we were presented with thank you cards,a lovely banner painted by the Prep class and requests tocome back again. It was a thoroughly rewardingexperience on many levels and all parties are keen todevelop the relationship further. We are now busyscheming how we can get our new friends to come to us!

Vanessa KerleyCommunity Service Group Co-ordinator

Community ServiceGroup

9

Juni

or Sc

hool Students from TGS and ShalomStudents from TGS and Shalom

playing football

On March 16, the Junior School held its InfantSports Day, with students from Preschool throughto Year Two participating in this fun and colourfulevent. The theme of the day was theCommonwealth Games, with each classrepresenting a Commonwealth country. Mrs Elizabeth Gauld, playing the part of QueenElizabeth II, officially opened the “GrammarianGames”. The day’s activities rotated througheleven sports, including:

JavelinCycling

High JumpLong Jump

HockeyMarathon

GymnasticsShootingRelays

Target BallBasketball

This gave all the students participating theopportunity to experience a range of differentsports.

At the end of the day, each little athlete was veryweary from the excitement of the day and quitecontent to return to a regular day at school the nextday.

InfantSports Day

Year 2J as Australia

BELOW(Left) Mrs Gauld playing Queen Elizabeth (Right) Year 2S as Canada

10

Junior SchoolThird Preschool Class

This year's Swimming Carnivalinvolved Years 3 - 6, with Year 6House Captains having their firstopportunity to lead the Houses.

The end result for the day wasMiller as the Champion House,but it was a very well contestedcarnival with the lead changingseveral times before finally beingdecided by the relay events.

There were a number of very fasttimes on the day, with MonicaLovelock in Year 5 swimming anew record time.

Using the interhouse carnival forselection, the TGS teamcompeted in the 'A' Schoolscarnival, again winning thecompetition overall.

The Junior School Cross Country went off with abang, despite the gloomy clouds threatening rain onthe day. Preschool through to Year 6 competed on theday, with special guests, Paul Bowman from the NorthQueensland Cowboys and Dean Rutland from QNIalso attending the event.

Miller House was the overall winner on the day.

Interhouse Cross Country

BELOW (Top) Miller Captains, Paul Bowman & Dean Rutland(Bottom) Junior School students competing on the day

2006 has brought record numbers ofPreschool enrolments into the JuniorSchool. 75 Preschoolers are painting,drawing, singing, swinging, playing,modelling, climbing, creating andlearning each day as they undertake themany activities vital to their stage ofdevelopment. Our three teachers, MissCharles, Miss Rooney, Mrs Wilson and their hardworking aides are kept busy

stimulating the eager young minds eachday. It is a rich and fun-filled play-basedenvironment, with just enough of the ‘bigkid’ teaching and learning to develop theskills they are looking forward to in theprimary classrooms.

The challenge of housing the three classeswas offset by the transfer of Year 7 into theMiddle School this year. Whilst two

classes work in the Ross Marsh PreschoolCentre, the third class has set up in thedouble space formerly occupied by Year1. This huge space has been a boon forthe 25 children as they have taken upresidence in their new classroom.Obviously, playtime provides theopportunity for the three classes to mixand share time together.

In preparation for 2007 when the Preparatory year commences,teachers are considering how best to meet the needs of the younglearners. The curricular emphasis and timetabling for specialistlessons aside, we are also improving our already outstanding facilitiesto accommodate our first ‘preppies’. The fort which the childrenenjoy is about to be covered in the interests of sun safety. The areaaround the swing set too will receive an upgrade and of course alarge variety of new resources and equipment are being provided inanticipation of the group. It is our intention to continue to providefull-time aide support to each teacher’s prep class. Preparatoryschooling offers exciting new opportunities for us, and representsanother phase in the life of our School. We can hardly wait!

Swimming

Preparing for Prep 2007

Miller Captains with Shield for Overall Winner of Interhouse Swimming Carnival

Play equipment to be converted for sun safety

Current Preschool students

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Two Past Grammarians were recently honoured in theAustralia Day Awards. Col ARTHUR BURKE [1961] wasawarded the Medal of the Order of Australia [OAM]. Hiscitation reads: “For the service to the community,particularly to veterans and their families through theactivities of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committeeof Queensland.” Arthur spent one year on the ADDC’sCommittee before becoming its honorary secretary for tenyears. He says his involvement was a labour of love andhe also points out that he would not have been assuccessful in the task but for the support, dedication andinspiration of his wife. Arthur is also involved incommunity service and ex-service organisations includingLegacy and honorary historian to the 105th Field Battery[Brisbane] and the 4th Field Artillery [Townsville].

MARK NEY [1982] was awarded the Police Medal for hiswork as Assistant Commissioner on the Federal PoliceForce. Mark joined the Queensland Police and worked hisway through the ranks before moving to Canberra.

Dr SPENCER ROUTH [1953] was recently awarded anhonorary Doctor of Letters from the University ofQueensland. The degree recognises his distinguishedcareer and nearly four decades of dedicated service to theUniversity Library. He is currently a member of theworking party on the Australian Dictionary of Biography.Spencer has the unique distinction of winning the LilleyMedal [1949] by topping the State ScholarshipExamination, the Byrnes Memorial Medal [1951] for bestresults at the State Junior Examinations and the John BlackScholarship [1953] for the best results at the SeniorExamination.

Professor RICHARD HAYS [1970] left recently for the UKto become Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at KeeleUniversity. Richard was the Foundation Professor ofMedicine at James Cook University.

CONGRATULATIONS

The Past Grammarians would like toexpress their deepest sympathies to thefamilies of past students who have recentlypassed away:

MARIAN MILFULL [nee Rowland 1921]

died in April. She celebrated her 100th

birthday on 18 December, 2005. Marianwas the last surviving child of legendaryHeadmaster ‘Boss’ Rowland. Marian hadthe unique distinction of being born on theSchool grounds [in the kitchen] and being married on the School grounds [on what is now the School quadrangle]. Rear Admiral GEOFFREY WOOLRYCH [1943] passedaway at Exeter in the NSW SouthernHighlands. On leaving the Rosslea campusGeoffrey was selected to the AustralianNaval College as a Cadet Midshipman.Upon graduation in 1947, he proceeded tothe UK and spent four years serving in theRoyal Navy. On his return to Australia heserved in the Korean War beforeundergoing specialist courses in the UKand the USA. On his return he was placedin command of various ships including theDerwent and the Vampire. Promoted toRear Admiral in 1980 he became the FlagOfficer and served as Chief of NavalDevelopment, Deputy Chief of the Navy

and as Australian Maritime Commanderbefore retiring in 1985.GRAHAM PARKER [1973] was a student atthe School from 1969 to 1973 and taughtat Grammar from 1982 to 1993. Onresigning from Grammar he moved to StMargaret Mary’s and was teaching there atthe time of his death. Graham was apopular member of the School and wasliked and respected by staff and studentsalike. He involved himself in many facetsof the School’s life and was universallyknown as “Enzo”. Graham derived hisnickname from that lovable and amiablecharacter, Ensign Parker, in the televisionshow McHale’s Navy.ANTHONY RAE [2002] was tragicallykilled in an industrial accident two weeksbefore his 21st birthday. A pupil atGrammar from 1997, Anthony was also amember of the Old Boys’ Rugby Union Club.

While not Past Grammarians, theAssociation would like to acknowledge thecontribution by two School Trustees whopassed away earlier this year. They are ROSS MARSH [1980-2006] and JOHN McINTYRE [1969-1981]. Rossbecame involved at the School as amember of the Parents’ and Friends’ in 1971 and his association lasted until his

death in 2006. He was proud of the factthat he was the fourth longest servingmember of the Trustees in the School’s history. Ross’ wife HILARY MARSH [nee DAVIES 1952]attended the Grammar School, as did theirfour daughters.JOHN McINTYRE was a prominentengineer in Townsville. He was a SchoolTrustee at a time when the School wasexpanding at a rapid rate and hisengineering expertise was well utilised bythe School. John’s four children allattended the School and one of hisdaughters HEATHER TAIT [1974] teacheson our Junior Campus.

Vale

Marian Milfull on her Wedding Day

Grammar at HomeWeekend 2006

Friday 11 August 2006 Saturday 12 August 2006• Black and Gold Ball • School Tours

• Rugby, Netball and Basketball Games• Past Grammarians Reunion Dinner

Please contact Kristell Lyne on (07) 4722 4973 for more information

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Past Grammarians continue to do well in many facets of academic,sporting, cultural and community life. Congratulations to

LISA ZAPPALA [1999] on graduating with 1st Class Honours andbecoming the inaugural winner of the University Medal for Medicine.Her sister TANIA ZAPPALA [1996] is presently at James CookUniversity undertaking a postgraduate degree and researching skincancer. She will be tutoring in the Anatomy Faculty in Semester Two.MARK WARNOCK [1994] has returned from a year in France as aRotary Scholar. Mark was recently awarded a $16,000 Economics’Scholarship to the study at the University of Queensland.

Grammar is renowned for its drama and music teaching and this isreflected in many past students being successful in this area.NATALIE WEIR [1983] recently directed the world premier for theballet version of Puccini’s opera Turandot. The performanceoccurred in Hong Kong. Natalie who is married to PETER MARSHALL [1982] recently gave birth to their second boy.Congratulations to both Natalie and Peter.SCOTT SHEENS [1999] has been accepted into NIDA as has LUKE EDE [1998]. Scott is the son of Tim Sheens, the coach of theWest Tigers’ Rugby League team. Scott’s mother RONDA KELLY[1971] was a student at Grammar. TIM COLEMAN [2000] is doingwell as a dancer with the San Diego Ballet Company and is hopingto win a contract with the Royal Ballet Company in the near future.KIM DEGENHART [2000] has returned recently form Paris whereshe danced with the famed Moulin Rouge Company for a year.CARLA DE JONG [1996] and LORI WEIGHTMANN [1993] haveboth produced shows for Channel 10 in Brisbane. Carla producedthe popular afternoon show Scope while Lori was a producer andwriter on the show Totally Wild. Lori is currently with the BBC inLondon.

Grammarians continue to perform on the sporting field both locallyand nationally. MATTHEW ELLIOTT [1981] completes the year asthe coach of the Canberra Raiders before moving on as coach of thePenrith Panthers. DANNY McKELLAR [1993] has been on contractwith the Queensland Reds’ squad while JOSH HANNAY [1997] andMICHAEL LUCK [1997] continue with the Cowboys and NewZealand Warriors respectively. PHILIP REHDER [1984] visitedrecently from Lae. Philip’s father K.B.REHDER [1947] was a paststudent and Philip is keen to have his children enrol at Grammarwhen old enough. A good athlete at School, Philip is the Secretary-General of the PNG Athletics’ Association, a position he enjoys as itallows him to travel the world fostering athletics in his country.

Two long standing past students made contact recently. BOB SMITH[1959], known as “Big Zebu” at Grammar has had a successfulcareer as a Land Engineer and Mining Surveyor. Bob comments thatMAURIE BLANK [Headmaster 1948-64] told him he would nevermake it as a surveyor because his mathematics’ ability was not up toscratch. ROBERT FOX [1961] is enjoying his retirement in theNorthern Territory. He is an executive member of the Australian ClayTarget Association and is an advisory member of the NT Parks andWildlife Council. His area of expertise is in the caring of thecritically endangered Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat.BIANCA POWER [1998] and SCOTT IRONSIDE [1993] are twoyounger past students who are doing well in the world of business.Bianca won the $10,000 Philip Leong Business Incentive Prize in2005 and is now doing postgraduate study at James Cook University.Scott was recently nominated by the Townsville Chamber ofCommerce as Young Business Man of the Year. Scott is an engineerby training.

General News

For those Past Grammarians who have not visitedthe School for some years it would be a surprise ifthey were not impressed when they walked in theSchool foyer situated in the MAURIE BLANKADMINISTRATION BUILDING. Guided by thevision of the Principal, Mr RICHARD FAIRLEY, andfunded by such diverse groups as the PastGrammarians’, Year 12 students, School supportgroups and individual parents the foyer has becomea most welcome and wonderful focus for thehistory of the School.

All the Honour Boards have been re-polished andbrought up to date. The trophy cabinet has been re-situated and trophies going back to the early1900’s have been cleaned and placed in thecabinet. A new Honour Board setting out winnersof The Governor’s Cup [started in 1905] and theMary Agnes Donald Prize [started in 1935] will beready by August of this year.

Photographs of all School Principals are also to befound in the foyer as well as plaques honouringsome past students who have died in unfortunatecircumstances. The latest addition to the foyer isphotographs of two paintings of Mr HODGES[Headmaster 1888-1900] and Mr PURVES [1890-1898]. Mr Purves was the Second Masterand then became Headmaster of ToowoombaGrammar before following Mr Hodges asHeadmaster of Sydney Church of EnglandGrammar School. Mr Purves is best known atTownsville Grammar for writing the words of theSchool song.

The School would like to thank SHORE [SCEGS] forcopies of the two paintings.

The SchoolFoyer

Mr Hodges Mr Purves

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In 1996 the Martinez Family,in memory of their fatherDOM MARTINEZ [1932],presented an Honour Board tothe School. This HonourBoard recognises PastGrammarians who, since theinception of the Australiansystem in 1975, have beenawarded honours. To datetwenty-four past students havebeen recognised for theircontribution to Australian society with one past student, GREG NORMAN OAM, AO[1971], being the recipient oftwo awards.

As the School archivist I haveset myself the task of trying totrack down awards, militaryand civilian, presented to paststudents under the ImperialHonours’ system thatprevailed in Australia prior to1975. This has not been aneasy task as School records aresketchy for some years. It hasbeen easier tracking downmilitary medals awarded topast students. This is, in part,due to the excellent recordsavailable through theAustralian War Museum.

To date my research revealsthat three past students havebeen knighted. They areLAWRENCE WACKETT [1911]knighted for his services to the aircraft industry,J.L.McKELVEY [1898] a Sydney surgeon and TOM COVACEVICH [1931] a

Cairns based lawyer. It isinteresting to note thatWackett was also awarded aDFC and AFC during WorldWar One while Covacevichwon a DFC while serving witha Bomber Squadron in WorldWar Two. Wackett was one ofthe three “W’s” who pursued acareer in the military. Wackett became a Air Vice Marshall while WILLIAM WATSON AO, OBE[1943] became a General and G.WOOLRYCH AO [1943] aRear Admiral.

A handful of past students have been awarded lesser Honours. JAMES DOUGLAS [1896] wasawarded an OBE [Military] in 1919 while CHARLES DAVIDSON [1914]was awarded an OBE[Military] in 1945 and a KBEin 1964. Davidson, a Ministerin the Menzies Government,was also Mentioned inDispatches [MID] duringWorld War One. ERNEST NEAL [1930]received a MBE in 1947 for hisservices as a Warrant Officerin the South West PacificTheatre of War.

Three staff members havebeen recognised for theircontribution to Australiansociety. MORTON MOYES[1909-10] received an OBE in1935 and three Polar Medalsas recognition of his work in

the Antarctic. He workedclosely with Mawson in theearly years of exploration onthat continent. KIM ALLEN[1961-1986], author of theHistory of the GrammarSchool published in 1988,received a BEM in recognitionof his services to education in North Queensland. JUDY HUNTER [1988-2003]received an OAM for herservices to the Arts andLibraries in Queensland.

Trustees to the School havealso been honoured for theirservices to education, thecommunity and business. JOHN McINTYRE [1969-1981] received an OBE andOAM while Professors EDWARD SCOTT [1985-1989] and RODERICKCAMPBELL [1972-1982] eachreceived an AM.

Grammar’s most decoratedsoldier is J.D. WHITE [1898]who served with theMiddlesex 33rd Regiment andwon a DSO, MC and CdeG inWorld War One. His halfbrother R.L.HENDERSON [1889] served as a doctor inthe AIF and won a MC on theWestern Front. The School’smost decorated family wouldbe the Mehan Family.J.S.MEHAN [1900] won a MCwhile his brothers A.MEHAN[1908] and D.A.MEHAN[1908] were both awarded aMM for their bravery.

W.T.REED [1904], a boarderfrom Normanton, won a MMand BAR for his exploitsduring action. Not as manyGrammarians receivedbravery awards during WorldWar Two althoughC.R.WILLIAMS [1921] wonthe DFC while flying on thelegendary Dambusters’ raid.He was on the second waveand tragically lost his lifewhen his plane was shotdown. The above is not a fullcoverage of the achievementsattained by Grammarians overthe hundred and eighteenyears of the School’sexistence. It is a reflection,however, of how many paststudents have involvedthemselves in so many facetsof community life both at alocal, state and national level.

If any Past Grammarian isaware of past students whohave received either Imperialor Australian honours theirinput would be mostwelcome. As pointed outabove my research is on-goingand any help would be greatlyappreciated.

W.J. MULLER

Our Honoured Grammarians

J.D. WhiteR.L. Henderson

Kivi Korua, Lina Luingi and Kumalau Gotaha [All 1996] are living in Port Moresby, all working at the Internal Revenue Commission inthe same building. Kumalau is with the Audits section of the Taxation office, whilst Kivi and Lina are Customs Officers.

Ralph Boas [1995] is still with the Treasury Department in Port Moresby. Roger Kilembe and Paul Pius [Both 1995] are withPriceWaterhouseCoopers also here in Port Moresby. Asi Vele Tola [1996] is also currently living in Port Moresby.

Michael Ilo [1995], Peter Olali, Calvin Singomat [1996] and Godfrey Wong [1994] are all based in Lae. Michael is with PwC as anAccountant. Peter is a Doctor at the local government hospital. Calvin is refereeing the local rugby competition, as well as playingrugby for his club side, Pirates. Godfrey is currently running the family business with his brother Gary Wong [1991].

Clyde Diuvia [1996] is currently in Kokopo, but rumour has it that he will soon be moving to be with his wife in Port Moresby and hasindicated that he will be joining up with the Wanderers rugby team.

News from Papua New Guinea

A Gift to Grammar

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TownsvilleGrammarAudi Art Show2006

Our 2006 Townsville Grammar AudiArt Show held on the 13th and 14th ofMay was a great success, with a highquality selection of artwork for sale bylocal, interstate and investment artists.A highlight of the evening wereperformances by internationallyrenowned didgeridoo player, MrWilliam Barton, who made time in hisincredibly hectic schedule to open theArt Show and to provide performancesfor our guests. William had just

returned from playing with the BostonPhilharmonic Orchestra in the UnitedStates, and had to fly back to Brisbaneto commence rehearsals for theAustralian Festival of Chamber Music,and was a great supporter of the ArtShow.The Art Show’s success was due in nosmall part to the large and willing bandof volunteers. These wonderfulsupporters gave many hours of theirtime in setting up and dismantling this

enormous event. A very big thank youto all those volunteers and guests whosupported this important Black andGold fundraiser.

The funds raised from this event willdirectly benefit all our studentsthrough an appropriately fundedproject. We look forward to bringingyou another TGS Art Show in 2008.

Wearable Art on display at the TGS Audi Art Show

The TGS P&F Association’s fifth Golf Daywas held in May at the Townsville GolfCourse. More than 30 teams took partwith 28 Hole Sponsors supporting theevent. It is their contribution, as well asthe donation of prizes, which assist inmaking it a financial success.Additionally, a putting competition and araffle are conducted in conjunction withthe golf.

Each team of four was awarded a prizeand nearest the pin and longest drivecompetitions were also contested. Theoverall winning team on the day wereawarded the coveted Green Jacket, aprize of Sunferries Reef Trips and theAnnual Shield. The team of James Hill,Andrew Cassidy, Lee Van Antalan andLuke Gulbinas were the eventual

winners, awarded on a count back, butjudging by the good humour and satisfiedteams, everyone went home a winner!

After months of planning by a small butdedicated committee, the day proved asuccess by raising well in excess of$6000 for the P&F Association. Theefforts of the volunteers who helped runthe event are also to be acknowledged aswithout this assistance such a day wouldnot be possible.

On behalf of the Committee - manythanks to all for their support as players,hole sponsors, prize donors or helpers.

Norm KerleyChair - Golf Day Committee

P&F Golf Day

Townsville Grammar School is what it is today because of the many people who have believed in it, who have given loyally oftheir time and energy and have financially supported the School and its community.

One way you can help Townsville Grammar School continue its fine tradition of academic, sporting and cultural excellence isto consider a gift to the School through a bequest in your will.

Play a part in the future of the Townsville Grammar School. If you would like further information about bequests, please contactthe Principal, Mr Richard Fairley on (07) 4722 4926. All information is treated in the strictest confidence.

Overall Winning Team for the Golf Day