By Bernard Fitzpatrick

Question Pack Mailout

A “BIG THANK YOU” to the RGSQ members who helped and registered to help but were not required for the 2018 Question Pack mailout. What a mammoth effort in a tight working space!

We used the downstairs Unit 2 at 237 Milton Road to do this mailout. A somewhat more confined venue compared to previous years, yet the team of volunteers were able to sort, pack and ship nearly four tonnes of printed material to 768 schools accounting for over 71,100 students.

On Monday of Anzac Day week all printed materials and other required equipment arrived at RGSQ. Volunteers arrived promptly on Tuesday morning to start the packing process, and again on Thursday and Friday. Milton Post Office at Mary Ryan’s Bookshop picked up the packages for free and lodged them in the Australia Post system.

We used Australia Post’s tracking numbers this year to allow tracking of parcels over 500g as we did for the 2017 Certificate mailout. While it adds a little more time in the process, it has been a great assistance in allowing the RGSQ Office to address school queries about delivery times.

THANK YOU for doing the arduous work Ian Francis, Roger Grimley, James Hansen, Paul Lambert, Peter Lloyd, Patrick McKewin, Neville McManimm Peter Nunan, Ron Owen, Mike Piccolo, Kay and Graham Rees, Bob Reid, Sue Reid, Pamela Tonkin, and John Wilkinson.

Volunteers Required

Early to mid-June - we would like to call on members to assist with the scanning of the returned answer sheets. At present no specific dates can be given as it depends on when and how many sheets are returned at any time. This job is very repetitive and requires concentration to ensure no mistakes. If you would like to help or enquire about the task, please call Bernard in the Society’s Office on 3368 2066.

Tuesday 24 to Friday 27 July – we would like to again call on members to volunteer to help with the sorting, packing and dispatch of the Australian Geography Competition’s certificates, results and prizes. If you can assist with this mailout, please contact the Office on 3368 2066.

The School Round and iGeo

The Australian Geography Competition is being run in schools around Australia and three overseas from Thursday 17 May to Thursday 31 May. All the best to all schools and students sitting the Competition.

It is great to see the number of schools and students participating in the Competition on a national basis on the increase again. With RGSQ’s move to regular digital communication with schools, we have seen numbers continue to rise even since the Question Pack mailout in late April. As at 17 May there were 782 schools accounting for over 72,200 students entered.

The Australian Team to the 2018 International Geography Olympiad (2018 iGeo) will be competing at Universite Laval in Quebec City, Canada from Wednesday 1 August to Sunday 5 August with the closing ceremony and medal presentation on Monday 6 August. As reported in the RGSQ’s March Bulletin, representing Australia are: Sophie Ohlin, NSW, from Sydney Girls High, Harry Hall, SA, from Trinity College (Gawler), Hannah Wright, SA, from Walford Anglican School for Girls and Phoebe Blaxill, WA, from St Mary's Anglican Girls' School, Karrinyup.

The Australian Team Leaders are Kath Berg (Australian Geography Competition Committee and RGSQ member) and Liam Sloan (Geography Teachers’ Association of South Australia, 2017 and 2018 Geography’s Big Week Out Coordinator, and Geography Teacher at Endeavour College, Adelaide). More news on the 2018 iGeo closer to their departure in July.