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I, too, will be going on long service leave from the beginning of Term 3 and will return in time for Open Morning on 17 August. Karen Gorrie will again take up the role of Acting Principal and Angela Drysdale (Head of Primary) will become Acting Deputy Principal. Kate Frewin (Assistant Head of Primary – Curriculum) will take on the role as Acting Head of Primary. Lesa Fowler (Head of Boarding) will also be on long service leave from the beginning of Term 3 until 28 August. While Lesa is absent, Fiona Spooner and Gracemere Mataia, will be Acting Heads of Boarding.

Last week, I had the opportunity, alongside Lesa Fowler, to represent St Margaret’s at the ICPA (Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association) Conference in Julia Creek. As always, it is not only interesting but educative to listen to the motions at the meeting. As a large boarding school, we value the work of ICPA and are pleased to support their advocacy for rural and remote students.

Enjoy the June/July break. I look forward to seeing you all on my return from leave later in Term 3.

Ros Curtis

The influence of feedback only works if students use that feedback for future development or maintenance of their work. We encourage students to engage with this feedback within our academic advising and form classes, in order to inform specific goals for improvement. Now is the perfect time to revisit those goals to inform their study habits moving into assessment.

Please note that other sources of feedback to parents in the form of reports and the parent teacher interviews are coming up, and more information about these can be found in this newsletter.

I hope all can have a restful break, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back in Term 3. Perhaps it can be a time that all (parents and students) can catch up on some reading. Not only is reading enjoyable and informative, reading can boost your brain power as it stimulates the mind and improves your memory function. It is also an important literacy skill to have. Students learn to read from an early age, often to begin with from their parents and then through robust reading programs such as that which is in our primary school. By the time students reach secondary school, reading becomes something they need to do to gather, interpret and form opinions about information in all the subjects they choose.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all students and their families a well-deserved rest. We look forward to seeing all our students back next term refreshed and ready for the semester ahead.

Karen Gorrie

As we finish the Term 2 season, we celebrate all that has occurred, all the academic, sporting, musical and drama, and social achievements. We celebrate our community and the support and encouragement we offer one another. Now, in the Winter break, it is time to rest, to regroup, gather our strength for the Term 3 season. As you go into the Winter break go with this blessing:

“May the sun, moon and stars glow on you like a great fire.  May you rest and hibernate in the exquisite darkness.  May you and the whole of the planet be yoked to new life through God’s holy light and holy darkness. Amen”

(A blessing from: )

An Invitation:

Sunday 2 July: SSA Service, 4pm, Sisters’ Chapel, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School (next to Pre-Prep) – All welcome.

Rev’d Jazz Dow

We are indeed a very full boarding house, and we are grateful each year level is flourishing in numbers. Bed planning is a significant task for staff, as we plan for next term. The boarders must have their turn to share with different students in their cohort, and this is rotated each term. This process helps our students forge friendships, develop social  and personal skills, and build resilience and camaraderie with people with whom they are sharing an experience with. Rotating dorms also focuses on bringing a sense of independence that will be vital in the transition to adulthood as the girls continuously learn to adapt to their new dorm surroundings while continuing to follow their individual routines.

 

We also place a strong focus on the wellbeing of each student, acknowledging the importance of this within the context of them living away from home and the girls’ diversity in extracurricular activities and routines. Support is readily available in dorms. Our dedicated housemothers are tasked with cultivating a positive culture within dorms and common room spaces. We continuously try our best to meet the needs of all girls while also ensuring we create an environment that feels like a living, breathing community of which your daughter is a part of the one household.

 

In this last week, our Year 12 Boarder Captains and Prefects along with the senior staff of boarding have been putting together the final planning of our Term 3 Closed Weekend. It will be held on the first weekend of next term from 14 – 16 July. There is much excitement in the air planning events including the ‘See My Difference See My Worth’ festival and the Amazing Race through Brisbane City. We will also celebrate our Year 12’s ‘100 days’ left in boarding during the first week of Term 3. There is much to look forward to on our return as we celebrate and plan the milestones ahead.

 

Next term our Head of Boarding, Lesa Fowler, will be going on long service leave for seven weeks. Lesa’s many years of service here at St Margaret’s are a true testimony to her dedication to boarding and our boarding families, which is truly valued. On behalf of the boarding community, we wish Lesa a wonderful time on leave. In Lesa's absence, both myself and Fiona Spooner will be Acting Heads of Boarding.

Gracemere Mataia

Term 3 is a busy term and one of transition in the Senior Secondary School. Year 12 students are finishing their last internal pieces of assessment. They have their last Chapel Service, the Knot Service, and move into Mock Exams. Year 11 students are going through the process to become leaders of the school, as well as finishing up their last formative pieces of assessment. I will hold a Parent Information Evening in Term 3 to explain what school will look like for Year 11 students moving forward.

Year 10 students have their final semester before they start their selected Senior Subjects. Sometimes this can be challenging as they may be studying a subject they know they will not continue with. I encourage parents to have a conversation with their daughter(s) about how to manage this change in motivation. While not all students will continue with their current subjects, they still have another semester to continue developing skills in those subjects. A student’s role in school is to be an engaged and proactive learner, which means committing to the end of the year regardless of what next year looks like.

I look forward to seeing everyone on the other side of the June/July holidays, relaxed and refreshed!

Caitlin McCluskey

As the semester draws to a close however, it is important for students to take the time to reflect on their progression towards the academic goals they set in Term 1; where they have succeeded and where they have struggled. Thomas Carlyle once said, ‘The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none’ – an adage that could not be more relevant for students navigating the challenges of high school.

Two questions I always ask students to reflect on are:

1. What academic achievement are you most proud of from the past semester? And, most importantly, why did this make you proud?
2. What academic challenges did you face in this past semester? And, most importantly, how do you think you changed as a result of facing them?

I wish all St Margaret’s families a happy and safe holiday and look forward to seeing many of you at Secondary Parent Teacher Interviews on Monday 10 July.

End of Semester Reports

A reminder that End of Semester 1 Reports will be available on the Parent Lounge from 4:00pm on Friday 23 June.

Chris Dunn

At school, staff share stories and experiences of themselves and others, stressing the importance that the girls should learn not give up on their dreams when they have setbacks and to find a way forward.  It is humbling for the girls to hear such stories of someone having a no ‘dream run’ towards their goals, but determination and perseverance assisted them in keeping on track for their vision.

Over the holidays, girls will receive their Semester 1 reports. I encourage you to sit down with your daughter and go through the report in detail. Goal setting in academics is no different to goal setting in other areas of life. Setting goals is proven to be effective in achieving stronger results. I hope you take the opportunity to have some worthy conversations with your daughter about her plans and processes to reach her academic targets. I hope you have a wonderful winter holiday with your daughter.

Nikki Townsend

Literacy Ideas

During the holidays, encourage your child to read and write. As I shared recently, research has shown that the amount of independent reading a child does outside of school relates to their growth in vocabulary, verbal fluency, reading comprehension and general knowledge. Children who read on their own improve their reading skills, have greater content knowledge and score higher on achievement tests than children who do not open a book outside of school. Food for holiday thought!

Spend time reading aloud together and take time to share your love of reading; it sends a positive message. While doing so, you engage in conversation: chat about the story, the words, the values, and the ideas. Choose a book that is beyond their reading level and never underestimate what children can manage as listeners. View the table below with ideas to share with your child.

Extended conversations	Ask questions like: What do you think the author meant by…? Tell me why you think X did Y…? What do you think will happen next…? Why do you think the author did…? How are these characters the same or different? Why do you think the author used this word?
Develop word awareness and love of words through play	Puns, riddles, word games, alliteration, poetry, create a family anthology of favourite poems, collect family savings.
Games	Play games such as Up words, scrabble, find a word, I spy
Scribe stories	The child dictates stories while the parent writes down exactly what was said. The child rereads the story.
Look for unusual and interesting words	Identify prefixes, suffixes and root words while reading aloud. Identify word families and synonyms and antonyms.

Encourage your child to keep a holiday diary, write emails/letters.

Numeracy Ideas

Research has found that students suffer maths loss while on holidays, so seize opportunities. Here is a list of suggestions:

• Regularly practice on Khan Academy (see Mrs Frewin’s eNews article)
• Shopping - calculate change or discounts
• Watch a game (sport) - talk about what players’ statistics mean.
• Cooking - halve/double a recipe, figuring out the new proportions.
• Read short maths stories together.
• Play board games (e.g. Yahtzee, Monopoly) that rely on maths skills such as counting, categorising and teach to win/lose.
• Playing with blocks and assembling jigsaw puzzles can help spatial skills and to recognise patterns.
• Problem-of-the-day maths calendars are a great way to practise basic maths problems on a small scale.
• Recite tables regularly.

Harness other learning opportunities: visit galleries, museums, parks, go for a hike, see a movie, get sand between your toes, make, create and TALK.

Have a restful holiday and make the most of the time you share together with your children. I look forward to sharing Term 3 with you all.

“Kids want to know they matter, you communicate that through the gift of time and attention.”

Julie Morgenstern

Angela Drysdale

The exercises are intended to not only revise concepts but learn and develop new skills with online videos and a range of exercises. The program allows students to work at their own level and pace. Khan Recommended Practice can be accessed via the link on each Year Level POD page using the credentials provided by your daughter’s teacher. We encourage you to utilise this wonderful learning tool over the break.

Primary Reporting

Over the next two weeks, students in Years 5 and 6 will receive their final grades and feedback for the semester. Students are able to access their feedback and results via Ó£ÌÒ¸£ÀûÊÓƵ Analytics, while parents are able to access it in Parent Lounge - Student Details - Curricular Activities via The POD.  

The Semester 2 Primary Reports will be available in Parent Lounge at 4.00 pm on 23 June. We trust you find these reports informative.

Kate Frewin

Thank you to the Music Support Group who are organising food for purchase which will include hot dogs, fairy floss, popcorn and cold drinks (soft drinks/water/juices). We are also hoping to provide a coffee van for the event. This will be an exciting event for the students to be involved in and look forward to having many in the audience to support the performances!

Concert Bands & Percussion Ensemble

11:30am           Chaseley Concert Band

11.40am           Jackson Wind Ensemble

11.50am           Elayne Jones Percussion Ensemble

12.00pm           Sister Helen Wind Symphony

12:10pm           COMBINED BAND PERFORMANCE

String Ensembles

12:30pm           Tutti Strings

12:40pm           Amati Strings

12:50pm           Stradivari Strings

1:00pm             Sculthorpe String Quartet

1:05pm             Chamber Strings

1:15pm             COMBINED STRINGS PERFORMANCE

Choirs, Rock Bands & Dance Groups

1:30pm             Serenata

1:40pm             Belle Voci

1:50pm             Chorale

2:00pm             Ballare

2:05pm             Encorah

2:15pm             Volare

2:25pm             Exultate

2:35pm             COMBINED CHORAL PERFORMANCE

2:45pm             Stage Band

2:55pm             Highly Strung

3:05pm             Monday Rock Band

3:15pm             Tuesday Rock Band

Music Tour 2024

The St Margaret’s Music Department is very pleased to be offering an exciting tour opportunity to Salzburg, Prague, Vienna and Bratislava in 2024 during the June/July holidays. The proposed itinerary is attached (PDF 1.3MB). 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 and Chamber Strings. Students in Years 7 and 8 who are in these ensembles may be able to participate upon application. Students will gain unique and rewarding experiences, not only from a musical perspective but also from a cultural perspective, providing lifelong memories. Final costs are still to be confirmed and will be dependent on final numbers committing to the tour; however, the provisional cost provided to us by the organising travel company is $8,600. To secure a place on the tour, an initial deposit of $500 is required. Deposit payments can be made via Parent Lounge. Please note the deposit is fully refundable if insufficient numbers commit to the tour. To confirm your daughter’s involvement, payment needs to be made by Friday 14 July 2023.

Term 3 Date Claimers

Sat 29 July                Soaring Upwards (Community)

Tues 1 August           Ponytail Project/Soaring Upwards (Students)

Thurs 10 August       Boarder Musicians’ Recital

Tues 15 August         Classics in the Cathedral

Wed 6 September    Soloists Recital Series 3

Music Support Group – Next Meeting

The next Music Support Group meeting will be held on Tuesday 18 July at 5:00pm in M’s Cafe. We encourage parents from both Primary and Secondary schools to become involved.

Brad King

Vicki Wilson Shield Netball Team

Annabel Cameron

Teliah Cordingley

Chloe Crook

Vivienne Fraser

Danica Gilmore

Emma Hicks

Ella Jonsson

Ana-Belle Mogg

Eloise Shewan

Chloe Whelan

QISSN Tournament Team

Our QISSN team has been busy this term preparing for the Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Netball Tournament. The QISSN tournament draws together 64 premier school teams from across the state to compete in five days of fierce competition across the June/July holidays. Our Team this year will be coached by Gayle Coutts, Head of Netball and supported by Ms Camille Poupardin as team manager. We wish this team all the very best for the tournament ahead.

Our St Margaret’s community can follow the progress of this team across the break with many of the games being live streamed online. The live links will be available through the POD.

QISSN 2023 Team

Aimee Young

Catherine Gillan

Ella Antonie

Elle Gordon

Jessamy Redmond

Lauren Packer

Lucinda Cameron

Neve Mattsson

Sascha Hughes

Sienna Small

Coaching

Our Netball players and coaches have been privileged to learn and develop their craft under the watchful eye of two of Australia’s leading Netball coaches in recent weeks.

Jill McIntosh, former Australian Representative and Australian Diamond Head Coach (1994-2003) has led several coach education sessions for our coaching team. Jill is the current Chair of the International Coaching Advisory Panel at the International Netball Federation and was very willing and passionate about sharing her skills and learnings from her illustrious career. Jill emphasised for our coaches the importance of teaching the fundamentals firsts and use of key cues to streamline our netball language.

In addition to Jill McIntosh, our top division netball teams were incredibly lucky to be joined by current Australian Diamonds Head Coach Stacey Marinkovich last week at training. Stacey took the teams through their paces, sharing an enormous amount of knowledge and wisdom. Several of our coaches were also fortunate to shadow this training session, learning a great deal. We thank Karen Brown, St Margaret’s Lead Coach for organising this special opportunity. We are extremely appreciative of the knowledge and network Karen continues to share with our program.

  

We look forward to a busy Term 3 of Netball.

Ms Gayle Coutts

Head of Netball 

Latest Sport News and Information

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

QGSSSA Hockey -

QGSSSA Netball -

QGSSSA Tennis -

QGSSSA Volleyball -

Athletics -

Rowing -

Rhythmic Gymnastics -

Club Netball -

Club Swimming -

GO MAGGIES!

Lloyd Knight

Student Card purchases at the School Supplies Shop/Flexischools

Please ensure the daily limit is set high enough to cover the cost of the uniform items being purchased. We are unable to complete the purchase if there are insufficient funds available on the Student Card.  Fund top ups can take up to 24 hours to clear, so please keep this in mind when depositing funds onto student cards.

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.

Trading Hours (Term Time)

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

Public Holidays Closed

We have fun-filled and exciting activities planned for our June/July School Holiday Program. Further details of the program can be found here (PDF 290.5KB). Boys and girls, siblings, friends and family welcome!

Please refer to the attached Information Guide for full booking terms and conditions. We are unable to accept bookings via email or text message. The OSHC registration and Debitsuccess form must be completed, signed and sent back to us to finalise your booking. Please read the information guide carefully as some information has changed. OSHC Registration and Debitsuccess can be completed via the My Family Lounge.

PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR VACATION CARE BOOKING FORM VIA THE MY FAMILY LOUNGE APP

We are very excited to inform you that St Margaret’s OSHC has subscribed to a fantastic online Booking and Waitlist management program called QK Enrol. This program will give you access to manage your own account information, where you will have the ability to make bookings requests and allows you to complete and submit an online enrolment form for your child. You can do this and much, much more all within a parent portal called ’My Family Lounge’.

How do I log in?

Please navigate to the link below and either sign in with your existing My Family Lounge account or Register for an account if you do not already have one. Please note all families who have previously submitted an enrolment form will have an account already set up; all you will need to do is click ‘forgotten password’ and use the email address you used to receive this form.

When making a Vacation Care booking please select Casual bookings, not Permanent.

What is the cost?*

Fees: $68 per day*

*Incursions and excursions incur additional costs. These are compulsory for all students and therefore you are able to claim CCS.

What are the hours of operation?

The service is open from 7:00am until 6:00pm.

How can I obtain more information?

If you would like further information regarding our OSHC Program or if you would like to make a booking, feel free to contact me on 0423 547 653 or email: oshc@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Palu Ingram

This year our theme is ‘Star Gazing’ where we are celebrating artists such as JMW Turner, Justinna Napaljarri Sims, Edvard Munch, Camille Pissarro and Vincent Van Gogh whose works capture the magnificent display of light, colour and life that occurs above our heads each night.

Your ticket includes a four-course experience, designed by the fabulous Head Chef Scott Johnson, where you will be surrounded by artwork from the local Fireworks Gallery.

Tickets will be on sale from 9.30am Monday 10 July 2023.

Date:            Sunday 13 August 2023

Time:           Pre-lunch drinks from 11:30am – 12:30pm in the Arts Centre Foyer

                    Long Lunch from 12:30 – 3:30pm in the Arts Centre Gallery

Price:           $135 per person

Inclusions:    4 course meal including drinks

Tickets:        On sale from 9.30am Monday 10 July via www.trybooking.com/CILNU

RSVP:           Tuesday 4 July 2023, 5pm unless sold out prior

Enquires:      Lucy Hulme, lhulme@stmargarets.qld.edu.au

The event invitation with further details and how to register can be accessed .

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 having 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 an 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