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American data on the declining rates of alcohol, cigarette and drug use may come as a surprise to many, but this American experience is reflected in statistics from many countries including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Alcohol use by Australian adolescents has declined dramatically over the past twenty years. The proportion of teens aged 14 to 17 years abstaining from alcohol rose from 39% to 73% between 2007 and 2019. In addition, the age of first drinking alcohol rose by two years from 14 to 16 years and ‘risky drinking’ (five or more drinks on a single occasion) by teens fell from 30% to 9% between 2001 and 2019. While it is encouraging that binge drinking is declining, 83% of risky drinkers aged 14 -19 years are injured each year in Australia, including 7% presenting to hospital emergency departments with an alcohol-related injury.

Smoking by young Australians also declined significantly between 2001 and 2019. The proportion of secondary school students reporting that they currently smoke cigarettes fell from 9% to 2% and the proportion of teens aged 14 to 17 years that have never tried smoking rose from 82% to 97%. In addition, as for alcohol, the average age of first having a cigarette rose by two years from 14 to 16 years.

Illicit drug use by teens has also declined in Australia where illicit drug use among 14 to 17 years fell from 23% in 2001 to 10% in 2019, with cannabis use falling from 21% to 8%. However, the proportion of Australian girls aged 16 to 17 years using cannabis in the previous month increased, rising from 10% in 2011 to 14% in 2017.

It is concerning, however, that the use of e-cigarettes in young Australian adults aged 18 to 24 years rose from 19% to 26% between 2016 and 2019. In addition, a 2017 survey revealed that 14% of Australian high school students had tried e-cigarettes, although less than 5% reported vaping once in the past month and only 2% had used an e-cigarette three or more times in the past month. In the last 2 years, there is little doubt that the number of young people vaping has increased exponentially. There is little Australian data available as the trend is relatively new, but it is likely to be marginally less than the reported American data, which indicates there has been a 218% increase among middle schoolers and a 135% increase among high schoolers.

It appears that education campaigns and societal pressures have decreased alcohol use, cigarette smoking and even the use of illicit drugs. We now need to do the same for vaping.

Parents and schools need to become more aware of the increase in vaping and its long-term effects on the health of young people. St Margaret’s will ensure that we educate about these matters and I encourage parents to talk to their daughters about the dangers of vaping. I refer you to this helpful resource for parents who may know little about this topic from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia.  Once you follow all the links in this resource you will be an expert and will at least be able to identify a vaping pen/implement.   

Ros Curtis

Student voice in schools is productive. Students are in control of their own learning journey, so connecting with their teachers and peers is important for them to realise their goals.

It is essential for students to understand though that this does not mean that the teachers do the thinking for them. With the guidance of their teachers, students can engage with the content and rehearse the skills they are taught in order to reach a depth of learning that goes beyond the surface and results in deepest understanding.

With a new semester beginning and after feedback from their teachers through their reports, students should be revisiting their learning goals. Students should be looking at those areas where improvements can be made and taking steps to achieve these goals. Teachers love connecting with their students and assisting students to find their direction with making improvements in their learning.

It is expected that students are studying each day. This could include homework, preparation for assignments and exams, revision of work they have completed in their lessons and also reading. Engaging with the resources or activities that teachers provide through their POD class pages would be a good place to start if they are not sure where to start.

For secondary students, reading could include pre-reading, research or reading for pleasure. Primary students should also take time to read each day, either individually or with family members.

Karen Gorrie

The students were invited to explore the Beatitudes through 8 stations - Wisdom, Resilience, Peace, Justice, Joy, Humility, Hope and Forgiveness. Each station was designed to be interactive, inviting the students to pray, reflect and/or think about different areas of their life, the world, others, and if they choose to think about their relationship with God. For instance, the station with the theme Humility encouraged students to be aware of people who work behind the scenes to make a difference in their lives and to take the time to show their gratitude. In the Hope station it has been very special to watch the students interact with this activity. As one staff member said, it is transformative. The students were invited to create flowers as they reflected about what hope meant for them. You could hear the gentle rustle of the tissue paper as the students created their flower. Then they attached the flower to netting to create a sea of flowers- a sea of hope.

Next week we welcome onto the chaplaincy team, The Reverend Jazz Dow. It is very exciting to have two chaplains once again at St Margaret’s.

Susan Crothers-Robertson

We are very lucky that Lilly has also developed great working relationships with the Activity Coordinators of the other Boarding Schools. On most weekends at least one of the outings will be in conjunction with one or more of the schools. This gives the girls the opportunity to socialize with boarders from other schools, also providing them the opportunity to catch up with siblings as well.

This weekend the girls can join boarders from Marist, Stuartholme and Nudgee at a big BBQ or they can sign up for a tour of Maleny Dairies. This goes to show why organised activities are just another aspect of what makes boarding at Maggie’s a positive experience.

Angela Crowe

Simple tips to assist with exam preparation:

• Identifying how much time in your schedule is available for study. You might need to identify activities that can be removed from your schedule or changed.
• Constructing a timetable that sets aside a time for homework and study, as well as revision, and time for yourself.
• Setting study goals and stick to them.
• Establishing good study habits early to help you cope with periods when you might be busy, tired, or just down on motivation.
• Use strategies that have worked for you in the past
• Remember the power of the collective, committing to a purposeful study group with peers is an excellent way to revise and help each other with topics and exam practice.

I have encouraged all Year 11 and 12 girls to use these simple strategies as there is nothing stopping all students from doing these simple things each term to achieve the academic success they are after.

Year 12 Maths Exams

Year 12 students will have Exam Days for Maths Methods, Specialist Maths and General Maths on Tuesday 10 and Thursday 12 August. On these days, the girls are only required to attend school for their exams. When attending school for an exam or study all students must be in full school uniform.

Nicole Devlin

All students can access the Semester 2 assessment calendars through thier Year Level page on The POD. Academic Advisors and Form Teachers will encourage all girls to ensure they saved or printed their Assessment Calender so that they are aware of their assessment commitments for the rest of the year after this date. However, it is important to note that due to the Continuous Reporting Process, assessment is held in the last weeks of school and all girls are required to attend school until the last day to complete all assessment.

Trends in Education

This term sees St Margaret’s hosting the second seminar for Trends in Education on 26 August. Presented by Dr Jenine Beekhuyzen OAM, this seminar will focus on “Careers of the Future” and how we prepare our children and students for tomorrow’s world. For more information or to RSVP, please refer to the Events section on the St Margaret’s website or click here.

Caitlin McCluskey

Powerful girls grow up feeling secure in themselves. They learn to take action, making positive choices about their own lives and doing positive things for others. They think critically about the world around them. They express their feelings and acknowledge the feelings and thoughts of others in caring ways. Powerful girls feel good about themselves and grow up with a “can-do” attitude. Of course, strong girls may (like all of us) have times of insecurity and self-doubt, but these feelings aren’t paralysing because the girls have learned to work through their problems. Powerful girls will grow up to lead full, valuable lives.

Here are some of our experts’ ideas to help you raise powerful daughters.

Encourage your daughter to pursue a passion.
Identify the values most important to your family.
Encourage her to solve issues on her own rather than fixing things for her.
Encourage her to take physical risks.
Allow her to disagree with you and get angry.
Address girl fighting when you see it.
Acknowledge her struggles but keep a sense of perspective.
Enjoy her!

For the full article, including many other ideas on how best to support your daughter in becoming a powerful girl and thus a strong, independent woman please go to

Nikki Townsend

This term, Year 3 to Year 6 students were offered a novel study. Through novel study, the words on the page are enhanced by the teacher’s reading and student analysis of the novel is enriched through deep discussion.  Additionally, these students also participate in Literature Circles (LC).  This is a child-centred model of learning through sustained conversations about literary texts.  Literature Circles occurs three times a week in reading cluster with mixed year level groups.  Students contribute to the group from the perspective of a role; these include predictor, quiz master, connector, literary luminary, visualiser, and plot profiler.  These roles are built on a platform of explicit modelling and practice through novel study.  I would encourage you to converse with your daughter about her book and try to ask questions from the perspective of one of the roles.

Whilst reading, students are seeing the models for, and making connections to, writing.  As a school, we are committed to developing your child’s writing and do so through using the VCOP (Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers, Punctuation), providing a writing coach and offering writing club for Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 students.

Some of the learning experiences we offer to develop communication are beyond the classroom and this has been the case over the past weeks for some year levels.  For the past two Mondays, renowned author Jacqueline Harvey has been author in residence.  The opportunity to listen to her and write with her has enabled students to find out firsthand the process of writing a published story.  The girls enjoyed hearing the stories Jacqueline regaled about her inspiration. I think that when they now read her stories, they will have a greater depth of appreciation for the reading/writing connection.

In the first week of term, the Year 4 girls visited the theatre where they saw their novel, Emil and the Detectives, come alive on stage.  Through mime, puppetry and acting, this engaging interpretation allowed students to gain a greater understanding of the novel.

“Writing should be supported alongside reading as a means of encouraging a holistic approach to nurturing a literate child who is self-motivated to both consume and create words.” Megan Daley (Raising Readers, p. 38).

Staffing

This term there are changes to staff.  Karen Andrews-Close has been appointed Primary Mathematics Specialist/Numeracy Coach and so we welcome Tamryn Cronje as the new Year 6 teacher.   Stephanie Cowie has been appointed Acting Ó£ÌÒ¸£ÀûÊÓƵ Enhancement Coordinator Prep to Year 12.  She will work closely with the Primary Ó£ÌÒ¸£ÀûÊÓƵ Enhancement staff.

Angela Drysdale

News from Acting Assistant Head of Primary - Wellbeing and Operations

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself - my name is Ms Annette Box and I am stepping into the role of Assistant Head of Wellbeing and Operations (Acting) previously held by Ms Mary Surtees. I come from the roles of Head of Faculty - Arts and Design, Drama teacher and Director of the School Musical Matilda, so I am delighted to be able to be involved in the many and exciting events the Primary School has on the horizon. Term Three is a very busy one so please ensure that you access the POD.  Please see and click on each one for the details. 

Annette Box

St Mark’s Village Fair

Congratulations to all students in the Clarinet, Flute and Saxophone Ensembles for their performances at St Mark’s Village Fair held last Saturday. It was a wonderful community event to be involved in, with the students providing wonderful entertainment on the day. Thank you also to Dr Camille Syntageros for preparing the ensembles for the event.

Choir Workshop with Astrid Jorgensen

Encorah had the privilege of working with special guest conductor Astrid Jorgenson last Thursday. Astrid founded Pub Choir in 2017 and during the COVID lockdowns launched Couch Choir, which brought communities together through online singing with thousands from countries all around the globe sending in vocal contributions. She was awarded the 2019 Queensland Community Foundation Emerging Philanthropist of the Year as a result of her charitable work with Pub Choir and in 2020 was nominated for Young Australian of The Year. Encorah workshopped a piece written by Astrid entitled “Give Love” which will be performed at the upcoming Soaring Upwards Music Festival. We thank Astrid for coming and sharing her time and expertise with Encorah!

Student Congratulations – Emi McBride

Congratulations to Emi McBride (Yr 11) who was successful in achieving a place to perform as part of the 'Influence Brisbane' program, which aims to provide students across the arts with the opportunity to present their work to a wider audience. Emi was given a performance time at the Mt Gravatt Show held last weekend where she was able to perform both original works and covers. This is a wonderful achievement. Congratulations Emi!

Music Support Group

The next Music Support Group meeting will be on Tuesday 24 August at 5.00pm in the Primary Music Room (second floor of Chaseley). Parents from both the Primary and Secondary Schools are welcome to attend.

Brad King

Athletics

The Athletics squad will commence the competition season with a series of lead up meets titled the ‘Super Six Series’ held at the University of Queensland Athletics Centre in preparation for the QGSSSA Championships in September.  The competition Meets are vital to the squad’s preparation and team selection for QGSSSA.  The dates for each warm-up Meet are as follows:

• August 6 4:00pm – 7:30pm
• August 13 4:00pm – 7:30pm
• August 20 4:00pm – 7:30pm
• August 27 4:00pm – 7:30pm
• September 2 4:00pm – 7:30pm
• September 10 4:00pm – 8:00pm

Please visit the to keep up to date with the Athletics season and to register your daughter’s attendance at the Meets.

Winter Sports

It was a super Saturday of sport and whilst Brisbane Girls Grammar School proved to be tough opposition, all teams stepped onto the court or fields with a great attitude and determination to win.  Unfortunately, both Tennis and Netball were cancelled due to the unfavourable weather conditions however both Hockey and Volleyball competed fiercely with the Senior A Hockey team securing a 5-1 win.  Meanwhile the remaining Hockey and Volleyball teams experienced narrow losses. 

This weekend we welcome Somerville House to our home venues, to view the weekly draw please access the page or the individual sport pages. Please note, Covid restrictions are expected to ease on Friday 30 July at 6am.  Please monitor this situation as to the requirements of masks when outside the field of play and spectator restrictions at Volleyball.

Rowing

An amazing 28 crews hit the water at the first regatta on Saturday. Big Shout out to the Year 8 and 9 crews who have now participated in their first BSRA regatta. Unfortunately, the second round of racing was cancelled due to the windy conditions. The Orange army was in full swing and all showed great determination and spirit. We look forward to Regatta 2 this weekend and an even stronger performance on the water.

Congratulations to….

Cosette Cooke (Year 8) who was selected in the U14 Queensland Water Polo team who will compete in the Inter State Challenge at the Hobart Aquatic Centre in Tasmania in September as part of the Water Polo Australian Championships.

Grace Marchant (Year 9) who was selected in the Under 15 Girls Metropolitan North Basketball team to compete at the State Championships in Mackay from Thursday 5 August to Sunday 8 August.

Annabel Livingstone (Year 7) who was selected in the 10 – 12 Years Girls Metropolitan North Touch Football team to compete at the State Championships in Townsville from Thursday 12 August to Sunday 15 August.

Syren Letizia (Year 11) and Millicent Watson (Year 8) who were selected in the Under 19 Metropolitan North Softball team to compete at the State Championships at Redcliffe from Thursday 19 August to Sunday 22 August.

Netball Support Group Trivia Night Raffle

The Netball Support Group is holding their annual raffle, with first prize being a weekend package from Audi Centre Brisbane - luxury car hire, accommodation, and dinner.  Don’t miss out - buy your raffle tickets now at 

The raffle will be drawn at 9.30pm on Saturday 31 July 2021 at the Trivia Night.  Please note you do not have to be in attendance to win.

Green and Gold Day – Friday 30 July

In support of our Australian Olympic Team we are asking all girls to wear a 'Green and Gold' ribbon in their hair or on their collars on Friday 30 July.  This is a national day of colour and it is about painting the country in the colours of green and gold and being proud of Australia's sporting achievements and the ability that sport has to unite us all despite our differing abilities and backgrounds!!! 

Come and Try Flyer – River City Water Polo (PDF 743.7KB)

Helen Lobegeiger

I would also like to highlight a couple of other exciting events coming up this Term:

Professional Women’s Breakfast with Ruth Drinkwater ( Event 3)
Date: Tuesday 17 August 2021

Time: 7:00-8:45am

Venue: Arts Centre Foyer

Our guest speaker, Ruth Drinkwater, Chair of Alkira Software Pty Ltd and Mrs Clucks Pty Ltd, has more than 20 years’ experience in management, business development, marketing and commercialisation, investment in emerging technology companies and capital raising.

Ruth will be interviewed about getting ideas into the market, the investment environment in Australia and her professional journey since commencing her career in science.

Tickets: $80 Adult, $40 Student (tertiary, Year 10 -12) available via .

Save the date: St Margaret’s P&F Polo Day

Alsace Polo fields will be a glamorous home to St Margaret’s inaugural Polo Day on Saturday 4th September 2021. Save the date for this exciting new event and the hottest ticket on the social calendar this year!

Date: Saturday 4 September 2021

Time: 11:30am – 4:00pm

Venue: Alsace Polo, 390 Veresdale Scrub School Rd, Veresdale Scrub

Transport/Parking: Complimentary St Margaret’s bus transport to and from the venue will be available. Onsite parking is also available.

Tickets on sale soon!

Lara Pickering

QTAC Parent Information Webinar

Please join us for this informative webinar presented by QTAC. Registrations will open 5 minutes before the event.

Topic: How to Apply to QTAC

When: 3 Aug 2021

Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Brisbane

Join Zoom Meeting click this link below -

Meeting ID: 957 8722 7419

Passcode: 129503

BOND SCHOLARSHIPS
Bond Scholarships are closing soon. Click for more information.

Open Days 2021 Program Planner

A comprehensive list of tertiary Open Days is available from this link:

Upcoming - UQ Sunday 1 August, Bond Uni Saturday 7 August, Griffith Uni Sunday 8 August 2021

QTAC admissions open

QTAC applications will open on Tuesday 3 August for admission to courses for 2022.  To create an account, you will need to nominate an email address - DO NOT USE YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL as it will be invalid once you leave school.  for more information.

Register to get your ATAR result

If you are a Year 12 student and you want to find out what your ATAR is, you must . You can register from Tuesday 3 August.

Queensland Conservatorium auditions opening soon

Auditions for students wishing to study the Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Acting, or Bachelor of Musical Theatre 

Important dates:

August

3/08/2021        QTAC applications open for 2022 courses: ATAR account registration opens  

During August some QTAC audition and portfolio applications close 

September     Early closing dates for some courses

November

19/11/2021       Graduation day for Year 12. Offer round for some courses.

December

17/12/2021       Qld ATAR and QCE released 

23/12/2021       December offer round

January

13/01/2022       January offer round 

Further offer rounds

Liz Johnston