B R O A D E R H O R I Z O N S - St Hildas School

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FROM THE ARCHIVES Events boost funds for Assembly Hall project Assembly Hall Built at a cost of £6000, the new Assembly Hall at St Hilda’s School was opened by Archbishop Wand on 26 February 1938, in the presence of parents and friends of the School. The brick building situated at the north-west corner of the main wing of the School measured 70ft by 30ft and was designed to accommodate 400 persons. The original plan included a domestic science room at the rear of the stage which was laid out as a model kitchen with fuel stoves. The hall’s flat roof was built to permit the addition of a future first floor and until such date, it served alternatively as a sun roof or a cool night time study area. In declaring the building open, Archbishop Wand remarked that “the hall was a great architectural addition to the School and completed the quadrangle which formed the bulk of the school buildings. The fact that the hall would be used for the school services until the building of the chapel was built imprinted a special character upon it.” Hundreds of parents and friends of the St Hilda’s community gathered for the official launch of the Assembly Hall fundraising project in the Library Courtyard. Families dug deep and donated generously to this significant refurbishment project that is set to start during the end of the Term 1 holiday break. The School aims to raise $350,000 to provide for a small, modern theatre that forms the heart of the Performing Arts precinct. Works will enable the following inclusions: l Extension to existing stage l New stage curtaining including a new front-of-house curtain l New Bio box, built on a mezzanine level to house the operation of lighting, sound and AV equipment l Installation of retractable seating for approximately 54 people l New lighting equipment l New sound equipment including speakers and mixers l Acoustic treatment for the ceiling and walls l Air conditioning l Refurbishment of back stage area with change/storage rooms l Wheeled storage boxes under stage A second successful fundraising event was held at Palazzo Versace where 140 people gathered for a night of live and silent auctions, raffles, dinner and dancing. “These events have boosted the amount of funds available for the Assembly Hall and we are grateful for the generosity shown by sponsors and the community,” said Head of School, Mr Peter Crawley. 14
Clockwise from top: Fiely, Stevie, Lauren, Tim and Casey are excited to be part of the Hi-5’s fresh line-up. Sally: diver, counsellor, hero Meet Old Girl and Hi-5 member Joining one of Australia’s most popular kids’ groups is a dream come true for St Hilda’s Old Girl Lauren Brant. Lauren graduated in 2006 from St Hilda’s School where she was a talented Drama student and performed the role of Scarecrow in the musical, The Wizard of Oz. After weeks of auditions, the 20-year-old singer and dancer was named as a new member of the Hi-5 gang this year and Lauren is revelling in her new role. OGA DIARY DATES OGA Away Weekend Saturday 2 May to Monday 4 May (May long weekend) Venue: Brisbane St Hilda’s School Fete Saturday 5 September OGA Weekend Friday 30 October OGA Cocktail Party Spouses and Old Southportonians welcome Saturday 31 October Tour of the School and new Science building Sunday 1 November The Eucharist Annual General Meeting OGA Lunch Reunion Weekend 30 October to 1 November Reunion coordinators are sought for the following Seniors groups: 2004, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1979, 1974, 1969, 1964, 1959 and any previous years. Carly Snodgrass has volunteered as 1999 reunion coordinator Meet St Hilda’s Old Girl, Sally Gregory, who has overcome personal struggles, a debilitating disease, faced a great white shark and now fronts a unique charity organisation. Sally talks of two incidents that changed her life - a childhood illness which threatened her ability to walk, and the horror of facing a menacing great white shark, the size of a Kombi van. The first ordeal caused her to spend months in hospital as a teenager, watching her friends enjoy their adolescence and the second left her with post-traumatic stress disorder. Neither destroyed her innate optimism; in fact, she credits both trials with giving her the bubbly, positive nature for which she is best known. Born in 1958 in Frankston, Melbourne, Sally moved to the Gold Coast with her parents Alison and Bill and two older sisters and brother when she was nine. She attended Broadbeach State School before enrolling at St Hilda’s for high school. From an early age she suffered from severe asthma and at 13 years she was diagnosed with a rare spinal disorder known as spondilolithesis, a malady which could have meant losing the ability to walk. At 16, her spinal condition became so severe she was hospitalised for four months while doctors performed corrective surgery. In hindsight, she says the months in hospital were a ‘fantastic experience’ as she became an optimistic person with a ‘go get ‘em attitude’. It was this positive outlook that saw Sally set off down the path to her first true love - scuba diving. Sally failed the medical examination due to her poor health but with her fighting spirit she became more determined to take the examination for a second time because she knew she ‘really wanted to do it’. By 21, she was the youngest female dive instructor in Queensland. It was while attending a relatively quiet diving conference in 1993 she was confronted with one of the defining moments of her life. Cruising to a dive site off Byron Bay, Sally and close friend Jeff rushed to the aid of a neighbouring boat after hearing reports of a shark attack. A Sydney couple was diving around 9.30am when a great white shark, estimated by witnesses to be about 6m long and the diameter of a Kombi van, was seen heading straight for the woman diver. In a tragic act of love, the man pushed his wife out of the path of the ‘monster shark’ only to be taken instead. When Jeff and Sally arrived at the scene the woman had returned to the surface and the remaining divers were being hauled back on to the boat. Sally jumped into the water where a man had just been taken by a shark to console a woman, whom she had never met, in the very worst of circumstances. “I just wanted to get to her as soon as possible because that’s what we girls do. We look after each other,” she says. In the hours following the attack Sally comforted the griefstricken woman, taking her back to the couple‘s honeymoon suite to collect personal items. Despite Sally and Jeff being labelled heroes in the local and national press, Sally says she struggled to cope with the ordeal. “Afterwards I got post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and I couldn’t eat. I stopped eating for 10 days,” she says. “My friends would take me out and try to cheer me up but I just felt so miserable.” For her actions on that fateful day in 1993, Sally was awarded a commendation for brave conduct medal by the Governor- General at Government House, Canberra, in 1995. Sally went on to become involved in the Australian Bravery Association (ABA), a charity offering counselling, support and recognition to those who have committed brave acts. She is one of five national vicepresidents and is the Queensland president. (Read full story by Maria Lewis at www.sthildsa.qld.edu.au/community/oldgirls.htm) 15
Page 1 and 2: BROADER HORIZONS ISSUE 1, 2009
Page 3 and 4: Seniors united and strong St Hilda
Page 5 and 6: Penny McGregor (Victoria Bailey) sh
Page 7 and 8: Author makes his craft look easy Ma
Page 9 and 10: Year 6 girls step up to new roles Y
Page 11 and 12: St Hilda’s hosts leaders conferen
Page 13: Grevillea triumphs in the pool Girl

B R O A D E R H O R I Z O N S - St Hildas School

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