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We ask parents, siblings, and friends to encourage our graduates to complete the survey noting that the respondents have the chance to win a MacBook Air. Past students may also be contacted by email or phone from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office.

For more information, please visit .

Last week at the P& F AGM I launched the school’s new Strategic Direction, ‘Every Girl, Every Opportunity. 2026 - 2030’. In 2025, representatives of key stakeholder groups provided input into a conversation about the future for students of St Margaret’s; a number of key themes emerged from that conversation, particularly the discerning use of AI, the value of service learning, using further Science of Learning principles to inform education, and the importance of maintaining and solidifying our current culture and community. 

For the development of the final plan, it was determined that our school values, mission, and commitment to the educational philosophy of the Society of the Sacred Advent remain the same. Our strategic goals were then organised into five pillars: Future Focused Learning; Enriching Student Experience; Outstanding Staff, Strengthen Community and Culture and, Sustainable Strategic Growth. Behind this strategic plan is an implementation plan which details what we hope to achieve in 2026. For further information about our Strategic Goals please visit Our Strategic Direction 2026-2030 - St Margaret's.

As part of our strategic direction, we also have a statement about our envisioned future:

By the end of 2030, St Margaret’s will still be known as a leading day and boarding school encouraging aspiration and developing ’future ready’ skills in its students. St Margaret’s will continue to encourage academic excellence, provide a wide range of extra-curricular activities, and offer inspirational and experiential opportunities for the students. St Margaret’s students understand their civic responsibility and the school’s wellbeing programs focus on developing the skills needed to manage the challenges and opportunities of post school life.

Ros Curtis AM

However, as we move towards the end of the term and into the holidays, this is a timely reminder about the importance for all of us to audit and reflect on our use and our students use and interactions in the online environment. As our students become more independent and tech-savvy, it's crucial to ensure they navigate the online world safely.

This week I was reading a substack by Kirra Pendergast, an international expert in online safety with a career spanning over three decades and the founder of Safe on Social. Her message was about the power of the smartphone and how it did not disrupt education, it became the education and the curriculum has been handed to the highest bidder or most popular. The following extract is from her substack and is a really powerful reminder of the online environment our students are growing up with.

“The device on the bedside table, or under the pillow, is not merely a phone. It is the single most complete archive of human experience ever assembled in the history of civilisation, made perpetually, joyfully, effortlessly available to a twelve-year-old who has not yet developed the neurological infrastructure to calibrate what she is receiving, or he is receiving, or they are receiving. It contains the collected wisdom of every philosopher, the accumulated testimony of every survivor, the complete artistic output of every tradition. It also contains the mechanics of self-harm, the grammar of misogyny, the visual language of war, and the seductive, highly produced, algorithmically amplified architecture of people who have decided that the confusion of young men is a market, and that the self doubt of young women is inventory.”

“Who Is Designing the Lesson Plans?” Pendergast, March 23

While we as a school community have been working with parents and students as we navigate the Social Media Delay, and continue to educate and discuss safe online behaviour, I thought I would share some strategies from our programs to assist with safety, focusing on mobile phone use, screen time, and overall online safety.

Mobile Phone Use

1. Set Clear Guidelines: Establish rules about appropriate phone use, such as no phones during family meals or after a certain time at night.
2. Monitor and Discuss: Regularly review your child’s phone usage and have open conversations about their online activities. This helps build trust and allows you to address any concerns together.
3. Privacy Awareness: Remind your child about the importance of privacy settings online and the risks of sharing personal information. Encourage them to think twice before posting or sharing their location.

Managing Screen Time

1. Create a Balanced Schedule: Help your child balance screen time with other activities like sports, hobbies, and family time. Use screen time management tools to set daily limits if necessary.
2. Encourage Regular Breaks: Remind your child to take breaks from screens to rest their eyes and move around. The 20-20-20 rule (every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds) can be beneficial.
3. Model Healthy Habits: Demonstrate healthy screen habits by limiting your own screen time and engaging in offline activities together as a family.

Online Safety Tips

1. Stay Informed: Keep up-to-date with the latest apps, games, and social media platforms your teens are using. Understanding these can help you identify potential risks and discuss them with your teens.
2. Promote Open Communication: Create an environment where your child feels comfortable discussing their online experiences with you. Encourage them to talk about anything that makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
3. Educate About Cyberbullying: Discuss the signs of cyberbullying and how to handle it. Encourage your teens to report any incidents to you or another trusted adult.

Nicole Devlin

St Teresa was a 16^th century mystic nun. These words are approximately 500 years old and still speak such truth to us today. In this exhortation, she is making clear that each person is called to be a messenger of compassion and kindness in the world. The first step in this call to live with kindness and compassion is to offer ourselves compassion. In a world that is fragile, with cost of living rising, and with all of the tasks everyone is juggling, self-compassion is vital.

Ms Curtis shared a reading on self-compassion with the Executive Leadership Team recently. In it, the author offers four steps to ground yourself in compassion. These steps are particularly useful in moments of stress:

• Feel your feet on the floor. Bringing attention to physical contact helps orient the nervous system to the present moment.
• Take one slow breath, extending the exhale. A longer exhale activates the body’s calming response.
• Silently name the experience. Try phrases like, “This is a hard moment,” or “This is stress.” Research by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer shows that naming difficulty supports emotional regulation and reduces reactivity.
• Reconnect with your values. Before responding, ask yourself: What matters most here: being right, or being steady and kind?

(ref. )

Chapel Notices

Rev’d Jazz Dow

These include games such as the “Guess How Many Easter Eggs Are in the Jar” competition, creative colouring competitions, and word search activities that add excitement and friendly competition to the daily routine. A highlight for many is the annual Big Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt. In a wonderful display of leadership and generosity, our senior students step in to assist the Easter Bunny, carefully hiding eggs across the school grounds for the younger girls to discover. The campus comes alive as a place of adventure, with students searching every nook and cranny and working together.

During the final week of term, the boarding house hosts its Easter Dinner in Eton Hall. This is an evening that brings students and staff together to share a meal and mark the end of a busy term. Everyone is encouraged to dress to the Easter theme, with best-dressed prizes awarded across year levels, as well as a number of other prizes throughout the night. The catering team prepares a generous and delicious dinner and dessert, helping to create a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere that feels like being at home with family and friends.

The Easter Dinner also provides a moment for reflection within the boarding community. For Year 7 students, the evening marks the completion of their very first term at St Margaret’s and an important milestone in their transition to boarding life. For Year 12 students, it is one of their final whole-of-boarding dinners, shared with peers and staff who have supported them throughout their journey.

Easter in the boarding house is a beautiful celebration of community, gratitude and belonging, and a memorable way to wrap up the first school term and send our girls into the holidays feeling connected and supported.

Kelli Boucaut

It would also be worth noting this so that in Term 2, you can support your daughter in implementing a more balanced approach earlier in the term. An Eisenhower Matrix (urgent/not urgent, important/not important) can assist with prioritising tasks. Ideally, 80% of time should be spent working on “important, not urgent” tasks. If time is distributed appropriately throughout the term, there should be a limited number of tasks that fall into the “important, urgent” category.

Year 11 Academic Progress Meetings

Early next term, I will be meeting with all Year 11 students to reflect on their progress in Term 1 and assist with goal setting moving forward. The meetings will run for approximately ten minutes and will be available before, during and after school hours. Students will have access to book in for these meetings via the “Year 11 Academic Progress Meetings” tile on the POD. This will become live in Week 1 of Term 2. Parents are more than welcome to attend these meetings either in person, via Teams or phone.

Caitlin McCluskey

“Be consistent with your study habits, be proactive and ask questions early, and use feedback to improve. Give it your best now, so when the results come, you can accept them without regret.” – Hailey Tsang, ’25.

To access these results, please log into the Learning Analytics Parent Portal and click on the Continuous Reporting Quick Link button.

Interim Attitude to Learning Grades

Interim Attitude to Learning grades will be available for parents and students to view through Learning Analytics from next Thursday 2 April.

To access these results, please log into the Learning Analytics Parent Portal and click on the Pastoral Care Quick Link button.

If you have any questions regarding parent access to Learning Analytics, please don’t hesitate to contact me (07) 3862 0703.

Chris Dunn

To ensure this initiative is genuinely meaningful and responsive, we would greatly appreciate your input. We invite you to tell us what topics you would most like to know more about—whether it be supporting adolescent wellbeing, navigating friendships and peer dynamics, supporting your daughter through senior schooling, fostering resilience, managing digital life, academic motivation or any other aspect of raising confident, capable and compassionate young women. Your suggestions will directly shape the focus of these resources, allowing us to address real questions and concerns shared by families across our community. We welcome your suggestions and invite you to email them to me at ntownsend@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Our aim is to provide practical, reassuring guidance that parents can access at a time that suits them, strengthening confidence and connection as we support each girl’s growth together.

This parent video series is an initiative of the Educational Leadership Team, in collaboration with senior staff and trusted professionals, to support families in raising confident, capable and compassionate young women.

Nikki Townsend

Firstly, it highlights our school’s strong sense of community. We are connected within our school walls, our local community and the wider world. Our Sister School relationship is a means to help our girls make connections across the globe and learn important life skills like empathy, open-mindedness, and global citizenship. Through this partnership, we foster lifelong friendships and a deeper understanding of the world around us.

As part of the visit, we provided a variety of experiences with students from different year levels which allowed them to interact with the Japanese visitors. These included a visit to Pre Prep, sharing an “Aussie” morning tea with Year 4, exploring the school grounds with Year 5, making vegemite sandwiches and experiencing a STEM activity. The visit concluded with a primary school assembly conducted by Year 5 and a lunch in the boarding house dining room. Thank you to the Year 5 teachers for their organisation of the different activities. Each provided an amazing opportunity for our students to connect with the Japanese students, learn about their culture, and share our own.

Secondly, the visit is a significant event on the primary school calendar, not only because of the rich experience it offers but because it also takes place on the day our school acknowledges Harmony Day, which is dedicated to celebrating the rich cultural diversity within our school and our country. Harmony Day is all about respect, inclusion, and embracing our differences. Having Konan students visit on the day strengthens our commitment to cultural understanding and mutual respect as it helps students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of cultures beyond their own, broadening their perspectives.

Thank you to Ms Box who ensured the visit was once again a success. We are grateful for this valuable relationship with our Sister School and look forward to next year’s visit.

Swimming Carnival

The girls are counting down the days to next Monday (30 March) for the Primary Interhouse Swimming Carnival.

Important information for the day:

Dress for the day:  HPE shorts, House shirt, House socks, sandshoes (over swimmers)

Girls who use public transport must arrive and depart in their middy uniform and change into their house uniform at school

Food:                      Lunch and afternoon tea

If your daughter will be having Tuckshop on this day it must be “pre ordered” only for the lunch break at 11am.  Students in Years 3-6 (only if required) may purchase afternoon tea from the Canopy Café using their Student ID card (linked to Flexischools). 

All other students not ordering tuckshop please bring a healthy lunchbox with enough food for lunch and afternoon tea.

Term 1 will then conclude on Wednesday, 1 April at 3:00pm.

Angela Drysdale

This is not a new idea for our school. Across Years 2 to 6, we already flexibly regroup students for Cluster, Spelling, and Mathematics — and the impact of that approach speaks for itself. By organising students according to their current point of need rather than their age or class, we are able to give every child what they need, when they need it. Teachers across those year levels have seen firsthand how responsive grouping accelerates progress and allows teachers to direct their instruction with precision. Children come to school at vastly different points in their phonological awareness and letter-sound knowledge. A child who can already segment and blend three-phoneme words has entirely different instructional needs from a child who is still developing phonemic awareness. When teachers group students according to their current point of need, they can pitch instruction at just the right level — not too easy to be disengaging, not too hard to be overwhelming.

We warmly welcome Mrs Singleton to our early years team in this dedicated Core Literacy role. In Year 1 she will work as a third Core Literacy teacher, enabling us to deliver genuinely differentiated small-group instruction every day. In Prep, she will work alongside our Prep teachers and teacher aides to ensure every student is supported, seen, and taught at their point of need.

Kate Frewin

Past Student Awards Dinner

Thank you to the Sculthorpe String Quartet who provided entertainment at the recent Past Student Awards Dinner as guests arrived. Thank you also to Minh (Year 7) who gave an amazing solo performance on the cello of Scherzo by Daniel Van accompanied by Mr Ng. All in attendance were very appreciative of these special musical contributions.

Music Support Group

In preparation for the Churchie and St Margaret's Music Afternoon on Thursday 30 April for Stradivari Strings and Jackson Wind Ensemble, the Music Support Group are seeking the support of parent volunteers for the afternoon tea. If you would be available to provide fruit or home bake, or volunteer your time to support, please signup via this link -

The next meeting dates for Term 2 are listed below. All primary and secondary parents are welcome. Meetings will be held in the Canopy Café at 5:00pm.

Term 2, Week 2 - Tuesday 28 April
Term 2, Week 7 - Tuesday 2 June

Become a Friend of St Margaret’s Music

Parent support is pivotal to the success of the St Margaret’s Music Program. Become a Friend of St Margaret's Music, to further expand opportunities for music excellence at St Margaret’s with Gold and Silver Memberships available. Your donation includes priority seating at Classics in the Cathedral and your name will be added to the Friends of St Margaret's Music Honour Board displayed in the Sister Helen Orchestra Room.  To find out more, click here: 

Brad King

Congratulations to the following teams who secured a top three finish.

16 Orange – Gold

14 Orange – Gold

12 Blue – Bronze

17 Orange – Bronze

19 Orange – Bronze

Congratulations to all 19 Water Polo teams for an outstanding 2025/2026 season. Thank you to our Water Polo captains, Amelia H and Taylah N for your great leadership over the season and thank you to all Year 12 players who have now finished there playing careers with St Margaret’s Water Polo. Your contributions are very valued. Thank you to our Parent Support Group as well as all parent volunteers who took on roles such team managers or on table duty on game days. The Water Polo BBQs have become an integral part of fundraising for all St Margaret’s sports and the organisation and logistics that goes into making this possible is very much appreciated by the sports office.

The week is Round 3 for Autumn fixtures against Brisbane Girls Grammar School. Please ensure that you check the POD for venues as there are number of venues being utilised for these fixtures.

Next week will be our final round of QGSSSA Cricket for and we also will be competing in the QGSSSA Artistic Gymnastics Championships at Clayfield College. Thank you to both Wilston Junior Cricket Club and Delta Gymnastics who have supported these programs throughout the respective 2026 seasons.

The sport team is happy 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 directly contact Ms Williams via awilliams@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

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) - (
• Cross Country -
• Artistic Gymnastic –
• Cricket -
• Club Netball -

Anne Louise Williams

Well done to Bronte for her mixed media piece, and Angel for her cyanotype composition. Congratulations again to these girls!

Bronte (Year 7)   Angel (Year 11)

Evie, Sofia, Elysia and Stella

WINTER UNIFORM ITEMS

Blazer Orders

Students who placed an order for a school blazer at the end of last year will be notified as soon as stock arrives. At this stage, our supplier has advised that delivery is expected between 30 March and 15 April, subject to current transport conditions.

Winter uniform items are beginning to arrive, and we are pleased to advise that the following items are now available for purchase:

• Formal jumper – both poly/cotton and wool/nylon
• Pre-Prep/Prep fleecy tracksuit
• School tracksuit jacket and pants
• School scarf
• Winter tights – St Margaret’s Brown

Training Jacket - Years 7 to 12

For extra warmth during early morning and/or late afternoon training, we now have the new ¼ zip training jacket available. Please note that no other garment is to be worn with the school tracksuit to training sessions, other than the approved ¼ zip training jacket. Please visit the Supplies Shop early to secure the best fit.

Blazer Pocket Embroidery

Blazers that require pocket embroidery must be submitted by morning tea on a Thursday. Pocket embroidery takes approximately two to three weeks before being returned to the Supplies Shop for collection.

In the Fine Art category, students can draw, collage, paint or sew a piece that is any size within the A2 boundary. In the Digital Art category, students can produce a still image using digital programs to the size of 4200pixels by 4800pixels.

Great prizes are up for grabs so ensure to have your completed piece submitted by 29 May. More information can be found on The POD.

As these pieces will be photographed and published online and in marketing materials, it is important that the work submitted is original – no recreations of Pinterest pieces, images from the Internet or characters from film, television or games can be used.

Peta Bistany (nee Dee ’86), Sports Consultant and former Executive Director of the Premier League, brings a rare behind‑the‑scenes perspective on this shift. During a period of rapid growth and intense scrutiny, she worked at the centre of global sport as it evolved into a high‑stakes enterprise, where decisions were made under constant public and commercial visibility and scrutiny.

Drawing on senior executive roles with the UK Premier League, The English Football Association and the England & Wales Cricket Board, Peta will share practical insights into governance under pressure, leadership in moments of crisis, and the strategic choices that shape culture and performance.

Date:                    Thursday 14 May
Time:                    6:45am arrival for 7:00am-8:45am 
Venue:                  Arts Centre Foyer, St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
Format:                Sit down breakfast with grab and go barista coffee on arrival 
Tickets:                 $90 adults, $55 students (Years 10 to 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. Supporting Sponsors: Wolff Coffee Roasters, Clear Insurance, Resource Innovations, and The Bathhouse Albion.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the PWN Series. If your company is looking for an opportunity to support and empower women in business and education, connect with Brisbane’s corporate community, host clients or staff for professional development and hear from inspiring leaders in a variety of industries, please contact the Development and Community Office via (07) 3862 0822 or developmentandcommunity@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Online Business Directory

St Margaret's is known for being a strong, connected and supportive community.

As a community we are stronger together and we encourage you to support those who support our school. If you are looking for an experienced property service provider, healthcare professional, legal advice or property service - check out St Margaret’s Online Business Directory for all these service providers and much more.

You can access the Online Business Directory via this link: /community/business-directory

Calling all Old Girls – Reunion Weekend tickets are on sale now.

St Margaret's warmly invites graduate students from 2016, 2006, 1996, 1986, 1976, 1966 and VIP graduates from the years 1965 and prior to return to the school to celebrate their milestone reunions. The reunion events will be held at various locations at St Margaret’s over the weekend of Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July.

The annual Old Girls’ Day Chapel Service and Morning Tea, open to graduates from all years, will be held from 9.00am on Sunday 26 July, and is always a wonderful opportunity to reconnect, remember and share personal histories with one another.

To find out more and to register to attend, please visit the Reunion Weekend webpage: .

Lara Pickering