Illumine

Do you remember the world without screens?

Our younger secondary school students are part of ‘Generation Alpha’—completely digital natives who have been around smartphones and devices for their entire lives. 

Emerging research indicates that these young students use devices and interact with social media in vastly different ways to their older peers. 

In this episode, Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, speaks to three Year 8 students, Sophia, Isobel and Zoe, about parental limits, screens and their routines, and how these devices and social platforms make them feel. 

Homework, or 'home learning' as we call it at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, can be a hot topic for families. While many students comfortably complete their allocated work each night, some find they struggle with quantity, or understanding what they need to accomplish. Home learning also changes as students progress through secondary school, with the intention of encouraging more independence in senior years. 

To discuss how can parents support their children, Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, speaks to two BGGS House Group teachers: Rick Laur and Anna O'Gorman. 
 

The world is abuzz about ChatGPT and the potential of artificial intelligence. But what do our young people think of the tools that are predicted to run their future?

In this episode of Illumine From the Students,  Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, speaks with three Year 11 students about their experiences, their concerns, and their hopes for AI platforms. 

The number of Australians, and in particular, Australian women, experiencing homelessness has never been higher and it’s a crisis that shows no sign of slowing.  As a nation, we have never been more reliant on non-profits and charitable organisations to shelter women and their children who are in crisis and have found themselves suddenly without a roof over their head.

For more than a decade, Brisbane Girls Grammar School has supported the Second Chance Programme—a charitable organisation based in Brisbane that raises awareness and support for women and their children experiencing homelessness.

In this episode of Illumine, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh sits down with Co-founder and Treasurer of the Second Chance Programme, Mrs Marjorie Morton.  

ChatGPT remains in the headlines around the world for its ability to answer seemingly anything.

Educators around the world are grappling with how to manage ChatGPT, with many schools restricting access to the platform. Is this option sustainable in the long term? Or, should we find ways to use such AI responsibly, and for our benefit?

In this episode of Illumine,  Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, discusses the potential and pitfalls of AI with James Keogh, Acting Deputy Principal (Academic), Kathryn Talbot, an English Teacher and alumna of the School, and Ben Dervish-Ali, Coordinator of Drama Productions and a classroom Drama Teacher.

To experience the arts can be inspiring and life-affirming, and yet many parents and  society at large struggle to connect their relevance to our modern lives. 

In this episode of Illumine for Parents, Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Ms Jacinda Euler, and Director of Creative Arts, Andrew Pennay, discuss the opportunities that Grammar girls have in the world of arts, their value in a broad, liberal education, and what students of the arts can expect to gain from their studies. 

Despite research that indicates that Generation Z will have multiple careers in their lifetime, students still feel that their ATAR score is a defining moment. But it can take years, reflection and a range of experiences before individuals find the area of learning that they will thrive within. Recognising this, Australian universities are employing a range flexible models of higher education to support the diverse needs of their students.

In this episode, Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, speaks with Professor Adam Shoemaker, Vice Chancellor and President of Victoria University, about the stories, lessons and ideas he has encountered through his varied and accomplished career in research and education. 

Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh will join Professor Adam Shoemaker again later in 2023 to discuss Girls Grammar's progress toward a Reconciliation Action Plan. 

Did you stay in touch with your secondary school after graduation, or perhaps reignited old connections at a reunion years, or decades after graduating?

Being part of a school's alumnae community can be a treasured addition to one's sense of community and belonging.

In this episode of Illumine—Grammar Women  host and Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Ms Jacinda Euler, interviews three recent alumnae of the School: Sarah Wilkey (2018), Abi Ashford (2017) and Lily Cilento (2015). These graduates reflect on how events, mentoring and other opportunities have deepened relationships with their peers, teachers, and further generations of students.

Do you remember your first day of secondary school? Your nervousness and excitement? Perhaps also some terror about the unfamiliar? Scared that you won’t have someone to talk to, or eat lunch with? 

In this episode of Illumine from the Students, Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Ms Jacinda Euler, is joined by our Year 7 Advisor, and four students to discuss how they navigated through their first year of secondary school, and their advice for our new Year 7 students who are just starting out. 

Has the cyclical nature of the global economy in recent times made your head spin? The continuous cycle of boom, collapse, then boom again before we tip south.
 
We can all agree that it has been a tumultuous few years for the global economy—the pandemic, soaring property prices, supply chain issues, the war in Ukraine, and unprecedented levels of debt powering many countries, including Australia. 

In this episode of Illumine, Principal of Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Ms Jacinda Euler, speaks with Head of Economics, Dr Sam Peng, about the front-row seat we have had in recent years to witness economic theory and monetary policy roar to life, and the wonderful opportunity this has given teachers and students of economics  to see these play out in ‘real-time’.