"..No more was this evident than in the Queensland Core Skills Test. It was inspirational at the start of the last test on the last day looking up across the gym hall to see 241 boys — those who had walked with me on my journey — totally absorbed in giving their all for each other.. I said earlier in the year that school spirit is about how we want ourselves and our community to be defined. It is something that should be visible in everything we do, every day: an integral part of our collective character.
It is a challenge I think that we all face to an extent as humans — finding our place; belonging to a part of something bigger than our own individual aspirations, but also maintaining our unique character. The beauty about BGS is that every boy has a place, and that sense of belonging is one of the things I personally will miss most. Every piece of a puzzle has its own discrete place, and yet it is interconnected with all the other pieces to become complete. The challenge at Grammar is to find your piece, and to connect to the other pieces to be a part of something more than your own aspirations.. This is what is meant when we hear so often about the 'Grammar journey'. It is a journey to find your place in this Grammar puzzle and to find your place in 'Our Grammar'.
Speech Day is about celebrating the achievements of our individuals, yet individual successes are made the richer by the community behind them. Any school can only be as good as its students are willing to work to make it. Boys, you are all Grammar. You define it. Make the most of your journey while it lasts.
For an institution with a history as long and proud as Brisbane Grammar's, the end of its 143rd year is but another turning of the page. A new story will be written next year, yet I've no doubt that the small chapter we wrote together this year will be remembered. Leadership is more than anything a group effort, and I'm very grateful for the support of Tom, Dan and John over the course of this year. Thank you for the honour of being your School Captain this year and for the unwavering support you have shown me. I have relished every single minute of wearing the light-and-dark-blue tie. To those who wear the Senior tie in 2012 and after, craft your piece of the Grammar puzzle, and become your own Grammar man."
Harry Theile, School Captain 2011
No formal Old Boys' Association section appears in the 2011 magazine; alumni are managed by the Development, Communications and Marketing Office (Director of Development: Mr Max Hutton). The issue records the departure of Community Relations Officer Tara, who from April 2008 liaised with alumni, "developed a close relationship with the Old Boys' Association becoming an integral part of the Annual Reunion Dinner team," organised the milestone reunions, and supported the Melbourne Old Boys who run the Foundation Day Dinner in Melbourne. An Old Boy, Nelson Herbert, assisted the student DVD Committee.
No President's report, office-bearers list, or Births/Marriages/Deaths register appears in this issue.
Format note: A yearbook with no traditional Old Boys' Association section (no President's report, office-bearers, or registers); alumni handled by the Development, Communications and Marketing Office. School Captain 2011 was Harry Theile (other 2011 leaders included Tom Whip and Harlin House Captain John Peacey). His theme for the year was "Our Grammar."
Brisbane Grammar School Old Boys' Association · Old Boys History. Part of the OBA Knowledge Project.
Draft site for committee review. Spot an error or hold a missing piece? Tell the OBA