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• Louise Brown – Master of Education (Leadership and Management) – QUT
• Kerry Daud – Master of Education (Digital Learning and Leadership in Education) – QUT
• Annette Box - Master of Education (Leadership and Management) – QUT
• Amanda Jansen – Master of Education (Leadership and Management) – QUT
• Kate Wiedemann - Master of Education - Gifted Education specialisation – UNSW
• Sarah Singleton - Master of Education – QUT
• Stephanie Cowie – Master of Educational Leadership - QUT
• Belinda Knowles – Master in Play Therapy – Deakin University
• Sandra Dunne - Master of Education in Middle Leadership and Mentoring in Primary and Post-Primary settings – University of Limerick (Mary Immaculate College), Limerick
• Courtney Burton - Master of Educational Leadership – QUT
• Georgia O’Brien - Master of Educational Leadership – QUT
• Lara Molloy - Master of Educational Leadership and Counselling – QUT 
• Rhea Barber - Master of Educational Leadership – QUT 
• Erin Buckingham – Master of Educational Leadership – QUT
• Ysabella Dawson - Master of Educational Studies – Guidance Counselling and Careers – UQ
• Kate Frewin – Master of Educational Leadership – QUT
• Briar Bracey – Master of Education (Inclusive Education) – QUT
• Alison Davis – Master of Educational Leadership – QUT
  
  

The theme for this year at St Margaret’s is ‘Embracing Joy’. The research tells us that it is the small pleasures in life that usually gives us joy. For me, I would count the morning cup of coffee at M’s Café; a joke with a member of staff; seeing the students doing the war cry on Circular Drive; a small act of kindness; and an enthusiastic hello from a student as joyful and all contribute to my love for the role I have in the school. There are so many benefits to looking for the joy in everything we do – including health benefits, ranging from lower rates of depression and anxiety to a greater sense of belonging in a community. I encourage us all to embrace joy!

At the Secondary Information Evening I have shared a little about the St Margaret’s Way. Perhaps your daughters have mentioned the St Margaret’s Way to you at home? If you are new to the school, I’m sure that over the coming weeks you will be able to hear more about it.

The St Margaret’s Way underpins our culture, demonstrating a respect for those around us and ensuring that we notice everyone here at school. The vision of the St Margaret’s Way is to ensure social and professional interactions between all within our community – students, staff, families – foster a sense of belonging, coherence and wellbeing. The St Margaret’s Way is a set of values and behaviours to which all members of the St Margaret’s community adhere. It grew out of questions put to the community: How do I want to feel every day when I come school? What am I doing to ensure that others feel this way? The vision of this plan is to ensure social and educational interactions that foster a sense of belonging, coherence, wellbeing and accountability among staff, students and parents. Essentially, it is a pastoral approach that is designed to give a language to the way we are and strive to be in our interactions with each other. It is a focused energy on wellbeing, noting that all within the St Margaret’s community have a role to play in the wellbeing of everyone in our community. There are two key focus areas: firstly, we appreciate and acknowledge (each other, students, parents), and, secondly, we are aligned and accountable (to ourselves, to each other, and to the vision of the school).

I look forward to a year where our community can continue to embrace and foster the St Margaret’s Way.

Karen Gorrie

Term 1

**Note date correction.

The Pre-Prep to Year 3 Twilight Family Service and Picnic will be held on Friday 18 March at 6 pm. Families and their children are invited to attend this special family celebration.

Baptism and Admission to Holy Communion for Years 7 and 8 will take place during the family service in Term 1, Wednesday 23 March at 6pm in the St Margaret’s Chapel. There will be preparation classes during the lunch break on Tuesday 15 March in the school chapel.

Term 2

Years 4-6 are invited to participate in preparation for Baptism and Admission to Holy Communion (preparation will take place in class during RVE lessons). The service be held on Wednesday 27 April at 6pm in the School Chapel. Please note, family members who attend other schools are welcome to be baptised with their sibling.

Confirmation is considered a rite of passage for older students and adults. In 2022, Confirmation is open to students from Year 9 and above and other members of the school community. We also welcome family members to be confirmed with the St Margaret’s confirmees (Year 9 or above). We will be holding our Confirmation preparation classes during lunch. Dates for preparation will be confirmed closer to the time. The service of Confirmation, with Bishop Jeremy Greaves, will be held on Friday 10 June at 6pm in the St Margaret’s Chapel followed by a celebration dinner.

For any further information, don’t hesitate to call 3862 0716 or email jdow@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

May God’s peace be with you.

Rev’d Jazz

We are happy to announce formal dinner sittings have returned Mondays through to Thursdays, which allow the girls to sit with other girls from other year levels and practise their manners. This has already helped initiate many friendships between girls in different year levels. We are also happy to announce that our very first weekend of activities will include outings to Eat Street and Broadbeach, both of which are already at full capacity!

There will be strong focus on the values of the school and how important these are in developing the community spirit in the boarding house. We are indeed off to a great start with so many opportunities to come together and dive into fun activities and house meetings. Our big sisters and boarder prefects have been very involved in leading the way.

Gracemere Mataia

Academic Progress Meetings – Year 12 (including ATAR Indications)

This week, all Year 12 students received an email from me inviting them to sign up for an academic progress meeting to discuss their Year 11 progress, goals for 2022 and ATAR Indications, if eligible. Meeting times will be available before, during and after school and you are most welcome to attend these meetings with your daughter. Your daughter has access to the booking system through the POD to book in a time to meet. Dates and times available are listed below:

• Tuesday 15 February 3:30pm-6:00pm
• Thursday 17 February 7:30am-8:10am, 12:00pm-1:00pm, 4:30pm-6:00pm
• Friday 18 February 12:00pm-4:00pm
• Monday 21 February 4:00pm-6:00pm
• Tuesday 22 February 12:30pm-1:30pm
• Thursday 24 February 7:00-8:00am, 12:30pm-1:30pm, 3:00pm-6:00pm
• Friday 25 February 12:00pm-5:00pm

Goal Setting

In your daughter’s academic advising meetings over the past week, there has been a lot of discussion about setting goals. Setting goals can sometimes be a daunting task when you have only just started the year and may be studying a completely new suite of subjects with new teachers. Therefore, your daughter’s goals may change or become more specific over time; however, the purpose of thinking about some goals now is to enable your daughter to focus her attention on specific areas of strength or weakness.

To set realistic goals, I encourage your daughters to read their Continuous Reporting comments from last year, think about their own study habits and consider the range of activities in their life they need to balance. You will have an opportunity to discuss your daughter’s goals with her academic advisor at the upcoming Parent Teacher Interviews.

Caitlin McCluskey

Continuous Reporting will be accessible to both students and their parents as assessment items are progressively finalised and released throughout the year. Students can access Continuous Reporting through Learning Analytics, while parents can access it through the Parent Lounge (Click through to ‘Curricular Activities’ for the assessment list).

For parents, Continuous Reporting will provide:

• Results and feedback in a working context – individualised to their daughter.
• Up-to-date information about how their daughter is performing, rather than waiting for the End of Semester Academic Report or Parent Teacher Interview.

For students, Continuous Reporting gives them clear feedback about their performance in each assessment, and most importantly, provides them with insights into how they can improve for future assessments.

For every assessment item, I encourage all students to read their teachers’ comments and reflect on the following three questions:

1. What strengths have been identified by my teacher, which I can build upon in future assessments?
2. What areas for improvement have been identified by my teacher, which need to be addressed before the next assessment?
3. What steps do I need to take, or who do I need to seek help from, to effectively act upon the feedback provided to me?

Parent Teacher Interviews

In conjunction with Continuous Reporting, all parents have access to Parent Teacher Interviews twice a year (Terms 1 and 3). The Term 1 Interviews will be held with your daughter's form teacher (Years 7 and 8) or her academic advisor (Years 9 to 12). The focus of these interviews will be to share with you the information we have on your daughter and the goals that your daughter has set with either her form teacher or academic advisor. Parents of Year 12 students will also have the opportunity to book times to see their daughter’s Year 12 subject teachers to discuss the progress of their learning. 

This year, we are pleased to be offering both video and face-to-face interview options. On Monday 7 March, we will be holding Interviews via Microsoft Teams, and on Thursday 10 March we will hold face-to-face interviews in Eton Hall. Both sessions will run from 3:30pm-6:00pm, and further information regarding bookings will be emailed to parents.

Term 3 Parent Teacher Interviews for Years 7 to 12 will give you the opportunity to meet with your daughter's subject teachers. The Term 3 Interviews will be held on Monday 11 July from 10:00am-8:00pm.

It is important to note, however, you are welcome, at any time of the year, to contact your daughter's subject teachers, form teacher or academic advisor, if you have any questions.

Chris Dunn

One of the topics that is often discussed in the pastoral care program is to acknowledge how lucky and blessed we are. It is so easy to go through a day without noticing the little things: the smell of rain on a dusty road, the tear on a baby’s eyelash, the love of a pet dog. When we take time out to notice and appreciate these things – smell the roses if you like – our world becomes a better place. At times we all struggle to find little things for which to be grateful. I recommend visiting this website link for some inspiration.

Robert A. Emmons, in his book Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier (2007), defines gratitude as ‘the acknowledgment of goodness in one’s life … and recognising that the source(s) of this goodness lie at least partially outside the self’. It is well documented that a person’s sense of wellbeing can be closely linked to their sense of gratitude and even more so if a person takes time out every day to write just one or two things for which they are grateful. It is therefore worth encouraging our daughters to take notice of the world around them and frequently (daily if possible) write or speak of something for which they are grateful.

References

Emmons, RA 2007, Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, Houghton Mifflin Company, USA.

Nikki Townsend

In the afternoons, a teacher is on gate duty in Butler Street, Gate 3 (Monday to Thursday until 3.40pm, Friday until 3:30pm). At the end of the day, students are directed to Gate 3 and will wait with the teacher at this pick-up zone; students are encouraged to look for your family name on display in your car.

Gate 3 is the official pick-up zone, therefore no teacher is on duty in Lapraik Street. However, if you wish to pick up your daughter from this side of the primary school please wait outside the Atrium doors and let your daughter know to meet you at this spot.  

Loading cars at the pick-up zone: For safety purposes, we request that children and adults are not to go to the rear of the vehicle to load bags. Instead, bags are to be placed inside the car. Please note, the pick-up zone is a 2-minute zone and is a set down and collection point only. Parents of students in Years 1 to 6 are requested to please not park there and walk into the school but rather to meet your child outside Gate 4 or in the pick-up line. These arrangements are in place to help reduce the congestion at the school crossing.  

Pre-Prep parking: Four parking bays are allocated to Pre-Prep parents for drop off and pick up for a maximum of 10 minutes. We request that only Pre-Prep parents park in these bays with their permit on display in their car.

Healthy Hygiene Practices

We request parents to send in a small bottle of hand sanitiser for your child’s desk. This will always provide easy access and serve as a reminder of hand cleaning. The teacher does have a bottle in the classroom if a child does not have one available, but I believe a child would be more inclined to use the sanitiser more regularly if it was on her own desk. We will also have other hygienic practices on display in the classrooms as a reminder.

Parent Information Night

Thank you to the parents who took the opportunity to view the presentations found on the POD via the Parent Information Night tile. These presentations will remain active and available for viewing for the remainder of the year. Please contact your daughter’s class teacher if you have any questions about the year level presentation.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

These will be held on 17 and 18 February via Microsoft Teams. Information on how to book these interviews has been posted to the POD.

Angela Drysdale

There have been several requests from parents for music lesson times to occur outside of school time. Whilst every effort will be made to accommodate these requests, it may not always be possible. Older students in the secondary school are always given first preference to these timeslots. Students who need to come out of class for their lessons will have their private music lesson time rotated so they will not consistently miss the same subject. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

ST MARGARET’S MUSIC POD PAGES

All notices for students involved in music rehearsals will be provided via the POD. Parents and students are encouraged to consistently check the St Margaret’s Music POD page and the respective ensemble pages for relevant notices. These pages are regularly updated with important information such as changes to rehearsal times and other pertinent information.

MUSIC REHEARSAL DAY

A Music Rehearsal Day will be held on the school campus on Saturday 19 February 10:00am – 3:00pm. Students involved in the following Secondary Music Ensembles will be asked to attend: Stradivari Strings, Chamber Strings, Jackson Wind Ensemble, Sister Helen Wind Symphony, Volare and Exultate. The focus of the Day Camp will be two-fold; the day will be an opportunity for students to spend time rehearsing new repertoire in preparation for performances on Open Day, and it will also allow students to further build friendships with others across the Music Program. Lunch will be provided to the students with the assistance of the Music Support Group. Please check the attached letter for more information. (PDF 140.2KB)

BOARDER MUSIC PRACTICE

The Boarder Music Practice Program will start up again from Week 4. All boarders who are undertaking private music lessons will have the opportunity to sign up for supervised practice sessions in the Darnell music rooms. It is an expectation that all boarder musicians will make the most of these practice opportunities.

MUSIC SUPPORT GROUP

The St Margaret’s Music Support Group is a committee of dedicated parents who meet regularly to support the girls who participate in the school’s Music Program. The Music Support Group organises and assists with refreshments at school concerts and fundraises to purchase a range of instruments/equipment to enhance the department’s resources. The first meeting for 2022 will be Tuesday 22 February at 5.00pm but will be held online via Teams. Parents from both the primary and secondary schools are welcome to attend. Details will be distributed soon as to how you can join the meeting online.

Brad King

Looking ahead, next week shall see a return to summer sport fixtures. The following sports will commence fixtures on the following dates:

• Friday 11 February - Swimming
• Saturday 12 February – Water Polo
• Wednesday 16 February – Cricket
• Saturday 19 February – Senior AFL

We wish these teams all the best for their up-coming matches.

POD Information

Please use the following link to view important information regarding your daughter’s participation in Term 1 sport:

Uniform Reminder

Students need to make sure they are in the correct uniform for sport training before and after school. Please find below a reminder of the following rules that relate to correct uniform during sport training:

Aquatic Sport (Swimming and Water Polo)

• St Margaret’s swimming togs, cap and googles if you wish,
• Leaving training in the afternoon, students need to be completely dressed in full uniform of either the sports uniform or Middy and either brown shoes or sandshoes,

All Other Sports

• HPE navy polo
• St Margaret’s navy bike pants (no netball bike pants)
• St Margaret’s visor or cap

Please note, for some sports there may additional or specific uniform items required. Please consult the respective sport POD page for further details.  

Adult Swimming

St Margaret’s would once again like to offer an Adult Swim Squad for our community. The proposed days and times are Tuesday from 5pm to 6pm and Thursday 5:30pm to 6:30pm during term time.

If you are interested, please email Jade Gray on aquatics@stmargarets.qld.edu.au. In your expression of interest, please indicate which day/s you wish to attend. This squad caters to swimmers of varying abilities, and there is a term fee that Jade can advise you on.

GO MAGGIES!

Lloyd Knight

Genevieve is passionate about empowering women to invest and believes that investing is not just about the money, it’s about investing in yourself and people. She will share her extensive experiences and expertise in the industry, and her knowledge and understanding on what makes a good financial investment.

Date: Tuesday 15 March 2022

Time: 6.45am arrival for 7.00am - 8.45am

Location: Arts Centre Foyer, St Margaret's 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.

Book online via

Interested in joining the Parents & Friends' Association?

NOTICE is given that the Annual General Meeting of the St Margaret’s P&F Association Inc will be held next Monday evening:

Date: Monday 14 February 2022

Time: 6:30pm

Venue: Arts Centre Foyer, St Margaret’s AGS

You can also join the meeting online via Microsoft Teams:

The Meeting will be followed by Welcome Drinks which is a wonderful opportunity to get to know fellow parents and members of the committee.

Please note, it is a requirement that those physically attending the meeting have had the mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. Those who are not vaccinated are encouraged to participate in the meeting online via Microsoft Teams. 

NOMINATION FOR POSITION

Any one member of the P&F shall be at liberty to nominate any other member to serve as an officer or other member of the Management Committee.

If you are interested in joining the P&F Association, all positions of the Management Committee will be declared vacant at the AGM and a new committee for 2022 will be elected.

Please note, the current persons holding the positions of Vice President and Secretary will not be nominating for these positions in 2022 and we welcome people coming forward to fill these roles.

We welcome all community members to get involved and all positions allow members to make a variety of contributions. This could include helping in a role with a particular event or initiative all the way through to leading the executive positions on the P&F.

Please feel free to reach out to the P&F President, Tom Reddacliff, on 0428 631 707 should you have any questions.

Nominations can be made by downloading and completing this Nomination for Position form (PDF 72.4KB).  All nomination forms must be returned via email to P&F@stmargarets.qld.edu.au or via School Reception by Friday, 11 February 2022. Alternatively, you may bring your completed form with you to the AGM.

We warmly welcome new volunteers to join the committee. Previous members of the P&F will be happy to propose and second new members on the night should you need assistance completing your nomination form. 

Lara Pickering

NIE | UCAT and Pathways into Medicine

Tuesday 15 February 2022, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm online

This forum is an excellent opportunity for teachers, students and their parents to find out about the UCAT pathways into medicine. Find out more:

NIE | Simulated UCAT Day Workshop, online

Sunday 20 February 2022, 10:00 am - 5:30 pm online

If you are in Years 10, 11 or 12, then this program is for you. The Simulated UCAT Workshop program is ideal and often a necessary step towards effective and efficient preparation for the UCAT. Find out more:

Bond | Year 12 Extension Program 2022

Monday 11 April 2022, 8:30 am - Saturday 7 May 2022, 3:00 pm

Bond University, Robina

The Bond Business School Year 12 Extension Program is a two-day workshop where students gain an insight into university life to assist the transition from high school to university. Upon successful completion of the two-day program, students will have the opportunity to receive one of six Year 12 Extension Program Scholarships valued at 50% and 25% of tuition fees or a $5,000 bursary. Please register by Friday, 25 March 2022. Find out more:

The University of Queensland invites students and parents to attend this online event titled ‘Making an Impact with Engineering’, hosted by UQ’s Women in Engineering team. Date: Mon, 28 February 2022.

Time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM AEST.

Location: Free online event – tickets via Eventbrite.