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SSA Schools (of which there are two – St Aidan’s and St Margaret’s) share the vocation of Anglican Schools in Southern Queensland to provide “education driven by a vision of humanity shaped by the image of God made visible in Jesus, present in every human being”. Within this vocation, the educational philosophy of SSA Schools is to nurture the individual within a caring community so that every student may live fully into their God-given vocation, have the opportunity to come to faith in Christ, be encouraged in their Christian journey, engender Christian values, encourage high academic endeavour and be of service to others so that all will have not only one goal, but also the inner strength “to love one another as I have loved you”.

Within this spirit the aims and objectives of the Society and the company for each of the schools are:

• to put love of God above all else and love of one's neighbour as our constant theme;
• to produce people of fine character and scholarship and to develop each to their fullest potential;
• to engender courtesy at all times and respect for all;
• to try to inculcate the ability to communicate effectively;
• to encourage development of initiative and a sense of responsibility;
• to provide guidance and counselling for spiritual and personal problems as well as for careers and other matters;
• to have every member of the School community working together and faithfully striving to uphold these aims and objectives; and
• to have each student take part in as many aspects of School life as possible, thus making all students better persons and the school a richer place.

Ros Curtis

The Key aspects of Alignment and Accountability are:

Self:

• We align ourselves with the values of St Margaret’s and endeavour to fulfil the ethos and vision of the school.
• We are accountable to ourselves through the way we behave, fulfilling our positive roles as students, teachers or parents.
• We take responsibility for our actions and do not seek a place to blame.

Community:

• As a community we operate through the six core values, thus ensuring a strong sense of cohesiveness through alignment and accountability to a common cause.
• We are aligned towards achieving our key goals – academically, pastorally and philanthropically – in order to ensure key outcomes for all students.
• We actively choose to give our best to all members of the community, and, in times of challenge, seek out solutions together.

Since the formation of the language around the St Margaret’s Way a number of years ago, it has truly been embedded into what we do, what we say and how we behave each day. When new students, staff and families join our school, we are excited to share St Margaret’s Way with them as a way of explaining how our interactions with each other count and what our responsibilities are in ensuring that others feel the way that we wish to feel here at school.

Karen Gorrie

The Values Prayer Space was a collaborative effort between members of our St Margaret’s community. Rev’d Susan took the lead, Jacinta Stewart and Claudia Mazzotta gifted their creativity, talent and expertise to help create the collective artwork, and finally the Year 12 Sacristans and Year 8 volunteers helped to set up the Prayer Space. I express my thanks to all involved.

After each session at Prayer Spaces, students were invited to reflect on what they found meaningful and which station was their favourite. The majority of students spoke of how special it was for them to have a space of quiet in their daily life to access peace and wellbeing. I am already looking forward to our Term 1, 2023 Prayer Spaces.

Rev’d Jazz Dow

Boarding at St Margaret’s is about creating an environment that is as much like home as possible. Part of the boarding experience is to teach the girls independence, resilience and the ability to solve problems themselves with the support of the staff. In the senior years of boarding, girls are given more independence to make decisions and judgements themselves and part of the experience is not always getting it right but then having the support to try again. Some girls experience more difficulties and obstacles than others, but all girls deserve the same attention and care. 

As a family we are now at a stage where we are saying goodbye to our Year 12s as the finish their external exams. The Year 12s have made a significant contribution to our community and will be missed by many. They have maintained their sense of community in all of their interactions, and we are grateful for their leadership of the boarding house this year. We would also like to acknowledge our Year 12 families who have been wonderful supporters of the boarding house and we have thoroughly enjoyed this journey with you.

Lesa Fowler

Year 11

A reminder to parents about the Year 12 2023 Parent Information Evening being held next Thursday 10 November. The invitation and RSVP link to this event can be found on the POD. This presentation will be recorded for any parents unable to attend.

Year 11 ATAR Prediction Meetings are still taking place and I am enjoying getting to meet with the Year 11 students to discuss their progress and goals moving forward.

Year 10

Study Hall for Year 10 students begins next week. All Year 10 students should be organising their study schedules for the upcoming assessment period.

Caitlin McCluskey

End of the Year Reporting Process (Years 7-11)

End of Semester Reports will be available to be accessed through Parent Lounge on Friday 2 December after 3:00pm. Please note also that all Continuous Reporting Information will be available from this date as well.

Each student’s report will consist of a comment from her Head of Year, as well as a summary for each subject. The final page of the report is the Grade Point Average (GPA) graph which records the student’s overall level of achievement and tracks this from semester to semester.

For each subject, there is a list of the course content, marks for the criteria assessed, a table showing the distribution of achievement levels within the subject, and an assessment of your daughter’s attitude to her learning. The academic results reflected in this report are based on the assessment completed throughout Semester 2.

Please note that Year 12 students do not receive a final End of Semester Two report from the school as final results will be recorded on your daughters Queensland Certificate of Education that is sent from QCAA.

Chris Dunn

It is no surprise that girls today are transitioning to puberty a lot earlier than they did a century ago. The physical, psychological and emotional changes that occur during this time can be challenging for girls, but also their parents. Some parents and carers may feel uncertain about how best to support their daughter through the ups and downs of adolescence. With the rise of social media and technology, mental health difficulties in girls are increasing, as often they are faced with online images that make it difficult to see themselves as acceptable. Many are being exposed to pornography, sexualisation and innuendo from a very young age. Girls need positive role models in their lives to step up and help them shine with self-respect and confidence. Here at St Margaret’s, the girls are surrounded by positive role models who challenge the girls to see the pitfalls of social media; to accept themselves; and to find their strengths and acknowledge and work on their weaknesses. This occurs with informal conversations as well during our pastoral care programs.

Nikki Townsend

The Christmas tree has sprung up in the Atrium, so we know we are at the final part of the year. As families head into the Christmas season and begin their festive preparations, there is irony in that it is often fraught with many stresses. I, therefore, believe it is not an accident that 16 Days of Kindness (Australian Kindness Movement) occurs in November, starting on Sunday (6 November) with National Kindness Day. This collective celebration also encompasses World Kindness Day (13 November), UNESCO International Day of Tolerance (16 November) and National Children’s Day (20 November). I think to acknowledge these days is to remind us to stop and remember to be kind to others.

Research has revealed that participating in regular small acts of kindness is beneficial to health, longevity and wellbeing. Making the decision to be a little kinder will bring more pleasure and direction to one’s life than ever before. For children to perform acts of kindness, they need to see the adults in their lives model them. By modelling them, you encourage your child to do the same and together you will value others more and strengthen your relationships.

As part of our educational program, year level ‘Service to Others’ projects are a collective way to show kindness. While participating, students experience the benefits of altruism. Helping others has beneficial effects on each child and is closely linked to our school ethos and new school value, Inclusivity.

The Year 4 girls have been busily sharing the gift of time as they help others in a variety of ways. P-2 students are making Christmas gifts for AVEO residents and will share the Nativity Play through livestream. Years 3 and 6 are each planning year level project - a parent helper thank you morning tea and a fundraiser for Ukraine, respectively.

I look forward to both demonstrating and witnessing acts of kindness as we all commit to 16 days of kindness this November.

Angela Drysdale

This year, the theme for 2022 was ‘brave conversations’. The day encourages us to start conversations about personal safety with young people in both the school and home contexts. At St Margaret’s, we are very committed to child safety and protection, and this assembly allowed the girls to view student-devised roleplays that modelled a range of scenarios, drew on the input and problem-solving skills of the audience, as well as offering some simple but effective strategies the girls can use to always keep themselves safe. You can explore these on the Daniel Morcombe , which is a trove of valuable resources targeted at different age groups and designed for schools as well as parents and carers.

This term also saw the girls in Years 3, 4 and 5 continuing their work with renowned personal and pubertal development expert Mrs Judith Krause. Each of these year levels participated in age-appropriate online sessions facilitated by Judith, who addressed a range of physical and emotional changes the girls will experience as they grow into young women. Judith had some very strong messages for the girls about the relevance of relationships with themselves and others. These messages connect effectively with the messages of personal safety and body awareness in the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum. 

Consent education will be mandated in all Australian schools next year, using the ‘Respect Matters’ curriculum, which will support teachers to address respectful relationships and consent education through the curriculum and programs schools are already delivering, such as those mentioned above. As another important component of the home-school partnership, please take the time to talk with your children about what they have been learning about safety and the ways they can react and respond if they are unsafe to make themselves safe again. These conversations will help them to develop lifelong strategies to protect themselves and others.

Annette Box

Return of hired instruments

Please note that all hired instruments are to be returned to the Sister Helen Orchestra Room Music Department no later than 3pm on Friday 18 November for cleaning and repairs. Students who are wanting to hire instruments over the Christmas holidays will be able to collect their instrument on the last day of term.

2023 Private Music Tuition

If your daughter is currently undertaking private music tuition, she will automatically be placed on her current teachers’ roll for 2023. Parents do not need to fill in a new application form. However, if your daughter is wanting to discontinue lessons in 2023, we ask that you please email directly to the Music Department at music@stmargarets.qld.edu.au prior to the end of the school year.

Music Support Group

The next Music Support Group meeting will be the AGM and will be held on Tuesday 8 November at 5.00pm in M’s Cafe. Parents from both the primary and secondary schools are welcome to attend.

Brad King

QGSSSA Junior AFL

Last week saw the commencement of the inaugural QGSSSA Junior AFL season. St Margaret’s was well represented with four teams across Years 7-9.

Year 9 Team

The Maggies showed plenty of dash, running hard with the ball. As the game wore on and the girls hit their straps, they became more direct with their ball use which paid dividends on the scoreboard. Isabella Rasheed kicked the first goal for St Margaret’s while Niah Slatter was outstanding as captain, running hard all game and kicking a great second half goal. The team showed non-stop defensive effort, laying some crucial tackles.

Game 2 was hotly contested game with both sides applying ferocious pressure throughout. The girls showed great attack on the ball and their opponents, and certainly didn’t shy away from the contest. All girls competed with enormous spirit and displayed plenty of support from the sidelines. Ruby East laid several run-down tackles and kicked an outstanding goal in the second half. Daisy Yannakouros showed her running capacity, continually pushing up and down the ground to get involved. Addison Grant-Taylor didn’t stop competing all game.

Year 8 (II) Team

In a tough first game, our Maggies competed well. In the first half, the backline of Frances Drummond, Kenzie Carter and Sienna Brennan never stopped trying and made scoring difficult for the opposition. The girls were clearly becoming more confident as the game progressed, linking up well with handballs through the middle of the ground. With many of the girls playing in their first ever AFL game, they gained valuable experience to take into the next game.

The Maggies came out strong in game 2. The improvement from the first game was obvious to all, as the team collectively lifted to play out an extremely competitive game. Isabelle Winks showed great courage kicking two goals. Bridget Smith was tireless in her efforts, running and tackling all game. While Audrey Warren-Behm was strong in defence in the second half, taking several crucial intercept marks. Well done girls.

Year 8 (I) Team

The Maggies had a great start in game 1 taking the win. The girls surprised themselves with their ability to keep the footy in our forward line for most of the game. Special mention goes to Georgina Fitzgerald who kicked three goals for the game.

Game 2 was tight in the first half, but the girls kept working hard throughout the second half securing themselves another win for the day. Annie Livingstone and Aila Miles were reliable across the backline and through the midfield. We look forward to Round 3.

Year 7 Team

It was a great effort by the Year 7 Maggies team on the weekend. Despite still learning a few nuances of AFL, their tenacity and team efforts were a pleasure to watch and coach. Ava Smith displayed plenty of dash, running hard with the ball through the midfield. While Demi Van Itallie showed no fear taking on each contest. Next week the team will be focusing on their tackling technique and delivery of ball to a target. We are excited to see this team progress across the season.

GO MAGGIES!

Lloyd Knight

Uniform Outfitting Appointments – online booking system

Bookings for October, November & December 2022 and January 2023 are available online now!

Book your appointment online

We encourage families to book a fitting appointment as soon as possible to avoid missing your preferred day and time. Appointment times are either 30 minutes or 60 minutes depending on your fitting type. Fitting types include: New Student, Existing Student, Boarder Only and Pre-Prep/Prep.

2022 Mother Daughter High Tea wrap up

On Sunday 30 October, 600 St Margaret’s mothers, daughters and members of the school community came together for a wonderful afternoon, attending the 2022 Mother Daughter High Tea at The Greek Club. 

Together with the support of our sponsors and prize donors, just over $19,000 was raised for the benefit of all St Margaret’s students. Funds raised through this year's event will once again enable the P&F Association to make a significant contribution to the Building Fund in support of the upcoming cafeteria project.

We sincerely thank Major Sponsor, Elisa McMahon from Adcock Prestige and Supporting Sponsor, Rogue Hair.

We also thank the businesses and people within our community who kindly donated prizes to the raffle: The Martin/Jansen Family, Verve Photography, Bella Vie Interiors, P&F Association, The Lyons family, SKIN Beauty, Dimity McDouall, Keri Craig-Lee OAM ('75), Shingle Inn and Nostimo.

Join the waitlist for tickets to the 2023 Fathers’ Dinner, featuring guest speaker and Australian Rugby League legend, Wayne Bennett AM.

Due to unprecedented demand, this event has now sold out, however we encourage you to join the waitlist should you be interested in attending. Please see below the key event details.

Date:       Friday 3 March 2023 (Term 1)

Venue:    Queensland Cricketers Club

RSVP:     9.30am Thursday 16 February, unless sold out prior.

Tables:    Maximum table capacity is 10 people. Seating requests can be made by nominating a Table    Captain or Year Group at the time of booking. Best efforts will be made to meet any requests.

Enquiries:  P&F@stmargarets.qld.edu.au

Join the waitlist for an individual ticket or group table via Try Booking:  

Thank you to our event sponsors: Supporting Sponsor, Morgans and Maggies Supporter, Wheelchair Vehicle Sales.

Nominations are open for the 2023 St Margaret’s Past Student Awards

If you know of a St Margaret’s Old Girl deserving of recognition, we encourage you to nominate her today! Perhaps your daughter is being mentored by a past student who has achieved great things.

The annual Past Student Awards recognise the many and diverse achievements of St Margaret’s Past Students, both professionally and personally, providing an opportunity to share stories of success with our current student community.

There are two award categories:

1. Distinguished Past Student Award - for alumnae who have celebrated their 20th reunion. Recognises significant contribution or achievements in the profession, community or volunteer work; and
2. Young Past Student of Distinction Award - for alumnae in their 20th reunion year or younger. Recognises significant contribution or achievements in the profession, community or volunteer work.

Nominations can be submitted by completing our Online Nomination Form. Please note, when competing the Form, if there are any details (i.e. alumni year, degree information or addresses) that you need assistance in completing, please leave these blank, and we here in the Development and Community Office are happy to fill in those gaps. 

Lara Pickering