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Thank you to everyone who participated in our Giving Day on Wednesday. We raised approximately $212,000 for our Building Fund and $136,000 to contribute to our Financial Needs Bursaries. We can now look forward to starting the first stage of our cafeteria project, which includes the establishment of the Forest and the Canopy Café.

It is great to be back at school this week after four weeks away on sabbatical leave in the United States. In saying that, I very much enjoyed catching up with our exchange schools, Chatham Hall in Virginia, and Augusta Preparatory School in Georgia. I also visited other schools and I am hoping that some of those visits will result in an exchange relationship. We currently have twelve overseas schools in our Global Exchange Program which is one of St Margaret’s Signature Programs. Somewhere between 25% - 30% of our Year 10 students in any one year can participate in this program and find it to be a wonderful learning and maturing experience.

This week I shared with the leadership team the photos I took when I visited the schools. They are not really holiday type snaps – I took photos of flooring, indoor and outdoor furniture, signage, and use of space. I am very appreciative of this opportunity to learn from other schools and contexts, and to have the time to reflect on how what I have seen and learned can be applied to improving the student experience at St Margaret’s.

It is hard to believe but we are starting our preparation for 2024. This week we have had Subject Selection Evenings. It is important to finalise students’ selection of subjects by the end of this term as early next term we will advertise for new teaching staff. With the current teacher shortage, our recruitment processes need to be early.

Ros Curtis

Students in Year 9 2024 are able to take subjects in a major or minor strand, and students in Year 11 2024 should be choosing subjects according to what they enjoy and what they are good at; these are the ones that will put them in the best position to achieve well in years to come. We also have set criteria in terms of groups of subjects students should choose from – this is to give our students the best possible chance of achieving their potential and open up as many pathways as possible after Year 12 and beyond.

Parents of students currently in Year 6 should now have made subject selection for their Year 7 language preference (Chinese/French). This information was received through their parent emails. These preferences were due by Monday 22 April.

Students in Year 7 will receive their online subject selection form early next term, and are to choose 2 of the following subjects to study in Year 8 2024: Drama, Music and Visual Art.

Students in Year 8 are to choose 2 minors and 1 major subject they would like to study in Year 9 2024.

Students in Year 10 are to choose their pathway for Year 11 and 12 2024.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me, our Dean of Academics or Dean of Studies.

Karen Gorrie

Prayer Spaces in schools is an interactive environment where students can experience a practical, creative, reflective, and inclusive space that helps them to express and explore their own concerns, hopes, reflections or prayers. In prayer space each term, we explore a different theme.

This term’s prayer space has been designed and curated by a group of First Nations St Margaret’s Students. The stations will take students on a journey exploring some of the gifts of First Nations’ wisdom, culture, and story.

One of the stations invites students to reflect on what home means to them. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island students have written a reflection on what home means to them, including sharing pictures of home. These are displayed in the prayer space for other students to read and then write their own thoughts.

“Home is not necessarily where you are from. I grew up in the Torres Strait, lived on Moa Island for 4 years then on Thursday Island for the remaining of my life. It is beautiful. I am passionate about the ways of living, the rich culture, and the exquisite history. It’s a place of comfort. A place where I feel the most at peace. Home is where you feel you belong.”

Charli, Year 11

A Year 6 student said that this station helped her understand more of what it must be like to leave home for boarding school. It is a privilege to be able to learn from the sharing of one another’s stories.

Rev’d Jazz Dow

Our aim is to keep our boarders active and engaged on the weekends. Being a full-time boarding house, meaning the boarding house does not empty of a weekend, ensures that there are always a lot of friends present on any given weekend throughout the school term. There is always something planned for our boarders to do, and company while they do it.

Our activities calendars include shopping trips, city and Southbank trips, Eat Street trips, museum trips, theatre shows, excursions to sporting fixtures, beach trips, attending rugby games at Suncorp Stadium and netball games, the Ekka Show, cultural festivals, theme parks, movie nights, and active recreational pursuits, such as trips to ice skating rinks, Bounce, arcades or mini-golf.

Our boarders also have the opportunity to engage with boarders from other boarding schools in the Brisbane region and Toowoomba. We are very fortunate to be able to connect and build our wider community relationships by taking turns hosting school social events. This may include boarder dances, dodgeball tournaments, pool openings, touch competitions, movie nights and BBQs. It is a great occasion for boarders to connect and build friendships outside of our school gates. Many boarders find comfort also by reconnecting with their siblings or others from their hometowns.

In addition, the boarders can access the school sporting facilities after hours. Plus, M’s Café is used for our cosy movie nights, the Arts Centre Foyer for our dance parties and Eton Hall for indoor games and boarder day girl sleepovers. We also have our own 'boarders' backyard' with a trampoline, cricket set, softball equipment and basketball hoop where they can hang out - just like they would in their own backyard at home.

The girls really appreciate the efforts involved to ensure their time in boarding is full of fun and excitement, while acknowledging the perks of treating the school grounds as their home away from home.

Gracemere Mataia

Year 10 SET Plan Meetings

The schedule for Year 10 SET Plan Meetings has been released this week, with meetings beginning next week and finishing early Week 8. The schedule has been posted on the Year 10 POD page and parents are welcome to attend these meetings either in person, via phone or via Teams.

For those students selecting an ATAR pathway, whether to choose five or six subjects is often one of the big decisions. At St Margaret’s, we encourage students to back themselves and select five subjects. By selecting five subjects, students will have an Independent Ó£ÌÒ¸£ÀûÊÓƵ Option (ILO) line, giving her 4.5 hours of school time each week to dedicate to her remaining subjects. With the additional time afforded by this line, there should be no need for a “back up” subject.

If students and parents have any questions regarding subject selection these can either be asked at SET Plan Meetings or directed to the appropriate teacher, Head of Faculty or myself in the lead up to these meetings.

Caitlin McCluskey

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in a variety of subjects.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online result report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.

The dates and prices are below, and these are able to be purchased directly from the ICAS website.

Parent page link:

School access code: PTP984

Subject Selection Evenings

Thank you to the parents and students who attended the Subject Selection Evenings this week, either in-person or online. If parents or students wish to watch a recording of any of these evenings, the videos will be placed on the Subject Selection POD Page, which can be accessed via your daughter’s Year Level POD Page.

Chris Dunn

Giving strengthens our social bonds and promotes a sense of belonging. When people come together to support a common cause, they forge connections and create a supportive network. Collaboration builds trust, empathy and a shared responsibility for others. Giving also enhances our overall wellbeing of ourselves and of the community.

Giving inspires a culture of generosity, and when individuals witness an act of giving, they are more likely to be motivated to contribute themselves. This creates a positive cycle of giving that encourages others to make a difference.

The St Margaret’s Giving Day held on Wednesday was an amazing community event, enjoyed by all. Students appreciated many activities during the day such as the Coin Rush, the House Bake off, the Dance off and manning the phones. Year 9 students baked for our bake stall and the girls also enjoyed a sausage sizzle at lunch.

Congratulations to Chaucer who won the Coin Rush, Tennyson who won the Bake off and to Lawson for winning the Dance off competition. Giving Day brought our community together. We have raised funds to support girls who would love the opportunity to come to St Margaret’s to be educated and we also look forward to the completion of the Canopy Café. Well done to all who were involved.

Per Volar Sunata!

Nikki Townsend

As an accredited eSmart school, we teach smart, safe and responsible use of information and communications technology as part of the school culture. Children from Prep-Year 6 are taught how to be safe online and how to cope with cyber bullying, if it should ever arise.

All girls in the primary school learn about cyber safety during their Pastoral Care lessons. Whilst the internet can have positive benefits for all ages, it can also expose them to a range of risks, like harmful content, contact with strangers or missing out on physical activity. 

Four simple messages can help children develop online safety: -

1. Be safe
2. Be kind – only write what you would say to someone’s face
3. Ask for help – build the habit of students asking for help
4. Make good choices - talk about the best things to watch to help develop critical thinking skills. Develop strategies to help children transition to offline activities in order to encourage self-regulation of time spent online.

Parents can support a child’s positive online experiences by: -

• Playing together and managing access – play alongside children when new games or apps are accessed.
• Establishing good habits – check the technology habits you are modelling. Establish routines that manage screen time, define device-free places (bedrooms). Set up the habit of talking with a trusted adult about the things they see and do on technology.
• Protecting their privacy – consider your child’s digital footprint before you share images of them on social media and check privacy settings on your account to ensure you are only sharing with people you know and trust. You might like to read more on this topic in a blogpost written by cyber safety education expert Kirra Pendergast, availabe on

We also have a collection of picture books in the library that can also be used for discussion.

I encourage parents to use this week as a springboard for discussion about cyber safety. 

Angela Drysdale

1. Load up on winter seasonal vegetables and fruit 

Grapefruit, kiwifruit, mandarins, and oranges are all in season over winter. Try including fruit at breakfast if you don’t already and add an extra serving of vegetables to each main meal. Broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower are great winter vegetables to feature too.

2. Take time to rest

Give the body ample time to rest and recharge. Aim for at least eight hours of sleep each night. A small change like shifting bedtimes forward by an hour could make a big difference to energy levels and the ability to fight the flu while giving young brains important ‘downtime’ to process and store the information it receives during the day.

3. Get active, even if indoors 

As the mornings and nights get cooler, outdoor play can be less appealing. Find ways to keep the body moving such as dance, yoga, indoor sports and more. Physical activity releases feel-good chemicals into the body, like endorphins and serotonin. Staying active will give general health and wellbeing a significant boost.

4. Rug up 

Keep an eye on the daily forecast and prepare for the cold with layers. Singlets under the midi, scarves and even tights can add an extra layer of warmth on colder days. Ensure that your daughter has a named jumper so that she can rug up or remove the layer as needed. If you are new to the school and need to stock up on winter uniform pieces, the School Supplies Shop has you covered.

5. Vitamin C, D and H2O

While vaccinations and medications have their place, getting an injection of good vitamins and minerals from your diet, embracing our winter sun and staying hydrated throughout the day are crucial pieces of the wellness puzzle. They contribute to a healthy body, but also a settled, calm and nurtured mind.

Finally, if your daughter is sick or presents with cold and flu-like symptoms you are encouraged to keep her at home to minimise the spread of illness and allow her to properly recover. We look forward to enjoying a busy final few weeks of term with Reconciliation Week, Andrews Cup Soccer, Grandparents Day, Under 8’s Week, Year 5 Camp and Canberra still to come.

Annette Box

Amati Performance

Congratulations to Amati Strings who provided a morning tea performance to the primary school on Monday this week. The performance was highly entertaining and enjoyed by everyone in attendance. A special thank you to Mr Jonny Ng for coordinating and conducting the performance.

Europe Music Tour 2024

The Music Department is very excited to offer a unique opportunity for students to participate in a Music Tour to Europe in 2024 during the June/July holidays from 23 June to 7 July. Tours such as this provide students with remarkable and unique experiences that create memories of a lifetime. The proposed tour will be to Salzburg, Prague and Vienna, and will culminate with participation in the Bratislava International Youth Music Festival in Slovakia. Guided sightseeing tours will be provided in each of the cities and students will have the opportunity to perform at sites of historical and musical significance. The tour will be open to students currently in Years 8-11(Years 9-12, 2024) and in one of the following ensembles: Exultate, Sister Helen Wind Symphony, Chamber Strings. Students in Years 7 and 8 who are in these ensembles may be able to participate upon application. The provisional cost for the tour will be approximately $8600. A meeting has been organised for Thursday 1 June in the Arts Centre Foyer at 6:00pm. Further details will be provided at the meeting and there will be the opportunity to ask questions pertaining to the tour. We look forward to having many girls involved!

Music Support Group – Next Meeting

The next Music Support Group meeting will be held on Tuesday 6 June at 5:00pm in M’s Cafe. We encourage parents from both primary and secondary schools to become involved.

Brad King

The first race of the day saw the St Margaret’s team get off to a flying start, with our 17 years & over team taking overall victory in their age group. In this hotly contested race, Ginger Cox took out the individual honours, in a course record time of 10:13. Isabella Harte was only seconds away in 4th place, supported strongly by Amber Norton, Ella Brown, Kaya Agnew and Gemma Hooper.

The 12 years age group was up next, getting their first taste of the QGSSSA Cross Country championships. It was a tough day out for our 12 years team, containing no specialist distance runners, they fought hard to finish 7th and gained valuable experience along the way. We thank this team of swimmers, gymnasts, and sprinters for their efforts for St Margaret’s.

Both our 13- and 14-years teams finished in 5th place, narrowly behind the school in 4th. These age groups are notoriously tough, and our girls found themselves up against a lot of very fast runners. The 13 years age group was our largest team of the day – 22 students, led by Georgiana Richardson, Zara Ferguson, Gloria Finselbach, Sophia Panebianco, Sophie Whistler, Demi Van Itallie and Lily Carson. In the 14 years age group St Margaret’s was well represented by Ava Thompson, Charlize Heathcote, Leila Moody, Emma Hicks and Bella Beasley.

In the 15 years age group our team earned 3rd place. Arguably the hardest working member of the squad – Coco Fidler placed 5th, followed closely by triathlete Charli Spies in 6th. Abbey Whistler, Bridget Smith and swimming recruit Georgia Bruce rounded out the first five St Margaret’s students across the line, all inside the top 22 finishers – usually enough for 1st or 2nd place as a team.

The final race of the day saw our 16 years on the start line. The rapidly improving Ruby East placed 7th overall, supported well by Millie Campbell, running through pain and a recent injury for the team. Lily Hicks and Annabel Bright also had strong performances. This team placed 6th overall, with an extremely small margin between the schools from 3rd to 6th – it could easily have been a very different result for this team.

Overall, St Margaret’s finished in 5th place. All races were significantly faster than last year, being won in times well under 11 minutes. A number of St Margaret’s age group teams found themselves unluckily on the wrong side of a very close point score with another school, pointing to the importance of a full team effort.

On behalf of the team, I would like to thank all the supporters who turned out to cheer the girls on. I’m sure that running through the tunnel before the race and hearing their peers cheer them on will be a highlight of the school sport experience for many.

QGSSSA Cross Country Championships summary of results (~~~DocAnnotation.type.37054~~~ ~~~DocAnnotation.size.37054~~~)

Josh Partridge

Head of Athletics & Development

QGSSSA Autumn Sport – Reconciliation Round – Friday 26 May

The QGSSSA will celebrate National Reconciliation Week in conjunction with Round 9 of our Autumn Fixtures, this Friday 26 May. As a school we are proud to support this initiative.

QGSSSA will be hosting a number of events and ceremonies across the different QGSSSA host venues and has commissioned the following piece of art, themed ‘Connected to each other’ and inspired by the young women who represent the schools in the QGSSSA.

Indigenous Art Code 5984

Authentic Aboriginal Art by Leah Cummins – read more about this artwork. (PDF 74KB)

QGSSSA Winter Sport - Team Trials

The QGSSSA Winter Sport season is nearly upon us for 2023 and our sports are eagerly anticipating a great season ahead. QGSSSA Winter Sport involves competitions in the sports of Hockey, Netball, Tennis and Volleyball. Girls can select to participate in one of the sports listed and trial for representative teams that contest the QGSSSA competition season, that takes place on each Saturday morning of Term 3. It is expected that those girls selected within a representative team will be committed for the entire season. Girls who are unsuccessful in team selection are encouraged to continue to participate in the program in a development capacity.  

QGSSSA WINTER FIXTURE

ROUND	DATE	OPPONENT
Round 1	Saturday 15 Jul	St Peters Lutheran College
Round 2	Saturday 22 Jul	Clayfield College
Round 3	Saturday 29 Jul	Somerville House
Round 4	Saturday 5 Aug	Brisbane Girls Grammar School
Round 5	Saturday 12 Aug	St Aidan’s AGS
Round 6	Saturday 19 Aug	Brisbane State High School
Round 7	Saturday 26 Aug	Ipswich Girls Grammar School
Round 8	Saturday 2 Sept	St Hilda’s School
Round 9	Saturday 9 Sept	Moreton Bay College

For further information regarding each sport, please check out their respective POD Pages:

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Sporting Achievement

It’s with great pleasure that we can recognise the outstanding sport performances and representation of St Margaret’s students at a national and international level. I would like to highlight and congratulate the following students on their recent achievements:

•           Selma Somerville (Year 11), Lucy Bourke (Year 12), Sarah Clark (Year 12), Indiahna Frawley (Year 12) & Ella Nona (Year 12) who represented the Met North at the QSS invitational 17-18 years Rugby 7’s State Champs. Lucy and Indiahna were co- captains of the team and have both been selected in the Queensland training squad to trial for the Queensland team. Selma was awarded the Life Membership trophy for Met North for playing in the spirit of the game.

 •          Bless Daly (Year 9) has been selected within the U16 Australian Cadet Water polo Team to tour Europe in June. Bless will travel to the Netherlands and Hungary in her first international sport trip. We wish Bless all the very best of luck.

We would like to continue to recognise the outstanding achievements and representation of students’ participating at a national level, outside of the school sport pathway. I look forward to continuing to hear from our community regarding such outstanding achievement. Please email me at lknight@stmargarets.qld.edu.au   

Latest Sport News and Information

For the latest sport news and information please check out the following Secondary School Sport POD Pages:

•           Basketball (Autumn Sport) -

•           Soccer (Autumn Sport) -

•           Touch Football (Autumn Sport) -

•           Rowing -

•           Rhythmic Gymnastics -

•           Club Netball -

•           Club Swimming -

GO MAGGIES!

Lloyd Knight

Blazer Pocket Embroidery

Blazers that require pocket embroidery must be submitted by morning tea on a Wednesday and will take approximately two weeks to be returned to the Supplies Shop from collection.

Winter Items

The School Supplies Shop now has supply of the following winter uniform items:-

• Formal jumper – both poly/cotton and wool/nylon
• Pre-Prep/Prep fleecy tracksuit
• School tracksuit jacket and pants
• Blazers – compulsory for Years 10 to 12
• School Scarf

Trading Hours (Term Time)

Monday            8am – 2pm
Tuesday         8am – 2pm
Wednesday      10am – 5pm
Thursday          8am – 2pm
Friday                8am – 2pm

Public Holidays Closed

To enrol your daughter for Speech and Drama lessons commencing next term, please complete the online Application Form by clicking  or if you would like some information about the program, please contact myself by phone 3842 0750 or email mchamberlain@stmargarets.qld.edu.au. 

Maria Chamberlain

Coordinator – Private Speech & Drama

Your gift to our Scholarship Fund will help us to support young women to access or complete a St Margaret’s education through needs-based bursaries – an opportunity that some girls thought wasn’t possible – while those who supported the Building Fund will help us to deliver The Canopy Cafe, a new cafeteria that articulates to a beautiful and functional greenspace with outdoor seating that will benefit all primary and secondary students. It truly was a whole community effort, and we thank you each and every one of our 545 donors for your wonderful support. A special thank you to our Matching Donors, who matched donations dollar for dollar right through to the completion of our Bonus Round at 9pm.We would also like to acknowledge the amazing efforts of our students who danced off, held coin drives, sausage sizzles, bake sales and manned the phones to help us spread the word about Giving Day far and wide.

 

Thank you to all of you who donated on the day. We are so grateful for your support. Our ambitious goal was no match for the St Margaret’s spirit! We could not have done it without you.

Professional Women’s Network Breakfast

Tickets are now on sale for the third Professional Women's Network Breakfast for 2023 with guest speaker Jane Carland.

Jane Carland is the General Manager of Castrol for Australia and New Zealand. She has over 25 years’ experience in the energy sector across ANZ and Asia Pacific. She has worked in most aspects of the energy value chain including Operations, Marketing, Sales, Strategy and Business Development. She also holds several Director roles.

Jane has had the opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation and energy transition initiatives, providing customers with alternate, lower emission energy options. Prior to her current role, she led the development of LNG as an alternative fuel across Asia Pacific which provided her and the family and amazing cultural experience. She is passionate about customers and seeing people achieve their potential.

Event Details

Date: Thursday 24 August 2023
Time: 6.45am arrival for 7.00am - 8.45am
Location: Arts Centre Foyer, Ó£ÌÒ¸£ÀûÊÓƵ Anglican Girls' School, 11 Petrie Street, Ascot
Format: Sit down breakfast  
We also invite you to enjoy Barista Coffee from the Wolff Coffee Roasters cart, before and after the event!
Tickets: $85 Adult, $40 Student (Years 10-12/Tertiary).  
Corporate tables: $850 (10 seats), includes company logo displayed on table and acknowledgement during event.
To purchase tickets or a corporate table:

We thank our series sponsors, Major Sponsor: Pitcher Partners, Associate Sponsors: Programmed Property Services and Wolff Coffee Roasters, and Supporting Sponsors: Downer, Clear Insurance, Westpac, O’Reilly Shaw Lawyers, Uniform Link and Move Recruitment Solutions.

Lara Pickering