eNews Archive Issue 15 - 21 May 2026

The National Excellence in Teaching Awards program was established in 1994 to honour exemplary teaching throughout Australia and New Zealand.

We know that parents value the efforts of our teachers and there are very few opportunities for a public expression of this appreciation and support. One way of doing this is by nominating a teacher for this award. Nominated teachers receive a congratulatory NEiTA Certificate of Nomination and become eligible for NEiTA State and National Awards.

Nominations are quite straightforward and confidential. If you wish to nominate, please do so at this link https://www.neita.com before 30 June.

St Margaret’s was shortlisted as finalists for the inaugural ASCENT Anglican School Awards in eight out of the ten categories, with the winners announced last Friday at a Gala Dinner. These awards apply to all 24 Queensland Anglican Schools. Out of those eight shortlisted awards, we were announced as winners in four of them:

• Best Reconciliation Initiative
• Archbishop’s Awards

  - Most Engaging Religious Education Initiative for our On Being Human program.

  - High Impact Service-Learning Initiative for the Ponytail Project

• Hall of Fame Awardee – Ray Geise OAM (who will be well-known to many of our past students)

Sophie Boller, our current Head of Year 9, will be on parental leave for the year from Semester 2 and Grace Shepherd (English/Drama) has been appointed to be the Acting Head of Year 9 for this time.

We are also starting our organisation for 2027, and we congratulate Mr Tom Smithers who will be the Head of Year 7 from January 2027.

Ros Curtis AM

As our cocurricular program continues to offer valuable opportunities for our students, we ask for your support in ensuring safe and well-managed routines for both early morning and after-school practices.

Punctuality is essential. Students should be dropped off at the scheduled start time, not earlier, unless a coach is present. Likewise, prompt collection at the end of training is required to ensure students are not left unsupervised.

When dropping off or collecting your daughter at Windsor Park or the Rowing Shed, please ensure that you have seen the supervising coach. Students should not be left at a venue until supervision has been confirmed.

Students must arrive ready for their activity, with:

• The correct uniform
• All required equipment (e.g. water bottle, sport-specific gear)

Being well-prepared supports both student safety and the smooth running of training sessions.

Your attention to these expectations plays an important role in maintaining a safe environment for all students. We appreciate your partnership and commitment to these routines.

Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to supporting the QG Cross Country team this weekend and going to Downey Park to watch the Netball.

Nicole Devlin

Recently, we had an early-years' lesson in the chapel where I invited students to ask questions, giving the space for any questions they had about what they saw in the chapel. One girl asked why John was stabbing Jesus in the head. I very swiftly explained that it was water and used it as an opportunity to talk about baptism.

I left the chapel that day newly convinced on how important space for questions and the act of storytelling are for human beings. As human beings we have an inherent curiosity about spirituality and faith.

The SSA Education Philosophy is about holistic education - educating the whole child. “The Sisters’ educational philosophy, based on religious principles and never narrowly academic, also actively sought to educate ‘the whole personality, physical, mental and spiritual that the girls may live to their fullest capacity’.”  SSA spirituality is characterised by spaciousness. The patron Saint of the order is John the Baptist, who made space for Jesus to reveal what God was like. The Sisters’ philosophy is “to prepare a place for God in our hearts and minds, in our school community and in the world in which we live.”

This origin story provides us the foundation for a spacious spirituality and faith life where our questions are celebrated.

Rev'd Jazz Dow

All the festivities and activities throughout the week have been a beautiful reminder that while our students may be far from home, they are surrounded by a community that supports, nurtures, and celebrates them every day. The true echoes of home can be found in the relationships we build, the cultures we share, and the memories we create together, and this is something we are so proud to celebrate and share with others.

A special highlight of the last couple of weeks has been the opportunity to connect beyond our own campus. We have been busy both hosting and visiting other boarding schools, creating meaningful opportunities for our students to socialise, form new friendships, and strengthen existing connections within the wider boarding community. It is also an opportunity for those who come from the same rural areas to connect. These experiences are incredibly valuable. Not only do they bring joy and excitement, but they also help our boarders grow in confidence, develop social skills, and gain a broader sense of belonging. Engaging with other boarding schools reminds our students that they are part of a much larger network of young people who share similar journeys, challenges, and experiences.

We are incredibly grateful for these opportunities and look forward to many more chances to socialise, collaborate, and celebrate boarding life together in the future.

National Boarding Week is such a powerful initiative, bringing boarding schools together to recognise and honour the unique experiences of our students and staff. It is through opportunities like these both within our own boarding family and alongside others that we continue to foster a genuine sense of belonging, connection, and pride in boarding life.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this week so meaningful and to our boarders, who are truly at the heart of it all.

Gracemere Mataia

As part of this conference, I spoke to the girls about the different pathway opportunities we offer in Years 11 and 12 and they had the opportunity to ask Heads of Faculty questions about the various subjects we offer.

In addition to the Broadening Horizon Conference, we also have subject videos and the Years 11 and 12 Curriculum Handbook available via the Subject Selection tile on the Year 10 POD page. All students and parents are encouraged to have a look at the handbook and watch relevant videos prior to the Subject Selection Evening next week.

Following the Subject Selection Evening, Year 10 students will have a 30-minute SET Plan Meeting with a member of staff. Parents are encouraged to attend these meetings either via Teams/phone or in person. The schedule for the SET Plan Meetings will be released early in Week 6. We are looking forward to helping Year 10 students select the best subjects for their success in Years 11 and 12.

“Start tasks early, ask for help as soon as you need it, and treat preparation as a habit, not something you do under pressure” – Sophie Servin, ’25.

Caitlin McCluskey

A reminder that these events will all be livestreamed and a link will be sent out next week to families.

Parents and girls are encouraged to read through the Curriculum Handbooks that have been posted on the POD before these nights.

Any questions about Subject Selection Evening can be directed to Megan Farnsworth (mfarnsworth@stmargarets.qld.edu.au).

Chris Dunn

As author Michael Pollan wisely notes, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” For adolescents, this guidance translates into regular meals, healthy snacks and a flexible, guilt‑free approach to food.

At school, we promote positive food conversations—focusing on nourishment rather than restriction. Encouraging students to listen to their bodies fosters a healthy relationship with food, an important protective factor for wellbeing.

Families can support this by prioritising shared meals when possible and involving young people in food preparation. These everyday practices not only reinforce healthy habits but also create opportunities for connection.

By nurturing healthy eating habits early, we give students tools to care for both body and mind, supporting academic success and lifelong wellbeing.

References:
Dietitians Australia; Headspace Australia; Pollan, M. In Defense of Food

Nikki Townsend

The first two skills are taught in the early years through the core literacy program, a program unique to St Margaret’s. All year levels practise the skills of comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary development through a variety of learning experiences in year level and cluster programs.

The aim of teaching and practising the big six literacy skills in isolation is for a person to automatically integrate them as she/he reads. The automaticity of these skills also leads to a child reading for pleasure – the aim of our reading programs. We encourage reading for pleasure through novel studies, the Accelerated Reading (AR) program and library borrowing – all platforms for achieving our goals for young readers and for them to ultimately become lifelong readers. 

Novel Studies

Each term, students in Years 3 to 6 explore novels. Through novel study, the words on the page are enhanced by the teacher’s reading. Students also learn to analyse the novel through close reading and deep discussion. I would encourage parents to engage in conversations with your daughter about the novel being studied.

Accelerated Reading (AR)

The AR program helps students in Years 3 to 6 choose appropriate books, track their progress, and set personal reading goals. The program encourages, monitors, and assists each girl’s book selection and reading development. One of the most motivating aspects of this program is the opportunity to become a 'Million Word Reader'.

Library Borrowing

Sourcing and borrowing books are important aspects of reading. Recent research has found a connection between students with lower book borrowing rates and lower performance in reading comprehension.For students in the early childhood years, it is important that they read the books they borrow weekly with an adult who can model reading and engage in discussions about the text.

Choice plays a crucial role in fostering a love of reading. Each week, the girls eagerly select books during their library sessions, and the joy they express is a testament to the power of reading for pleasure.

Reading for Pleasure

Picking up a book of one’s own free will, anticipating the satisfaction of reading, is reading for pleasure.There are growing studies that emphasise the importance of children reading for pleasure for both educational as well as personal development. 'Adolescents entering the adult world in the 21^st century will need to read and write more than at any other time in human history' (International Reading Association, Moore et al. 1999. P.3 cited by Clark & Rumbold, 2006). It has been found that children who have access to their own books read more frequently and with greater enjoyment. Thank you to the many parents who supported our recent book fair and contributed to your home library.

As Jane Goodall said in A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, 'There is something very special about a book – the feel of it in your hands and the way it looks on the table by your bed or nestled in with others in the bookcase.'

Angela Drysdale

Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy. The event promotes interdisciplinary learning and encourages students to make meaningful connections across subjects.

On 19 May, St Margaret’s attended the Da Vinci Decathlon at BBC with a talented group of Year 6 students: Ruby S, Sophia SS, Jemima P, Maxine L, Elsa G, Ines L, Nella J and Rose VN. The girls represented our school with pride and school spirit, achieving first place in the ideation event. We extend our sincere thanks to Mrs Garrett for her dedication in preparing these talented Year 6 students for the competition and hope the girls are as proud of their efforts as we are.

Kate Frewin

Europe Music Tour 2027

The Music Department is very excited to offer students the opportunity to participate in a Music Tour to Europe in 2027. The proposed tour would travel to Munich, Salzburg, Ljubljana, Graz and culminate with the Summa Cum Laude Music Festival held in Vienna. This festival brings student musicians from around the world to perform together in some of Vienna’s most spectacular music venues, including the Musikverein, where the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is based, and St Stephen’s Cathedral, where some of the world’s most famous composers have performed, including Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. The tour will be open to students in Chamber Strings, Exultate and Sister Helen Wind Symphony (if your daughter is currently not in one of the listed ensembles, she is more than welcome to talk with her respective conductor to discuss potential eligibility for 2027 ensemble inclusion). These kinds of tours provide unique opportunities to students where they perform together in stunning venues with great historical value and where they create very special bonds with each other through these shared experiences. An experience such as this can be life changing, and we would love to have as many students as possible involved. A letter with further information, including the itinerary and proposed cost, will be made available next week. An information night will also be held on Thursday 11 June in the Loft at 6:00pm with a representative from World Strides.

Student Performance

Congratulations to Chloe (Year 5) for her outstanding performance on the cello at the recent Professional Women’s Networking Breakfast. Chloe performed the virtuosic work Allegro Appassionato by Saint Saens, accompanied by Mr Ng, which was thoroughly appreciated by everyone in attendance. Thank you also to the Sculthorpe String Quartet for the beautiful music provided as guests arrived. These musical contributions are always highly valued, and we thank all those who performed.

Student Congratulations

Congratulations to Yuna (Year 8) and Tram (Year 10) who were involved in the recent Queensland Youth Symphony performance at Parliament House celebrating the Queensland Youth Orchestra’s 60^th anniversary. The orchestra impressed the audience with a set of John William’s most famous films scores. Unfortunately, the orchestra was interrupted by rain before they could play the finale of Dvorak’s Symphony 9. This was a very special event to be a part of, and we congratulate the girls on their involvement.

Music Support Group

Support Our Steinway Piano Fundraising Raffle

We are now approaching the halfway mark in our fundraising journey towards a beautiful Steinway piano for the new performing Arts Precinct, and with your help, we can reach the finish line.

Our raffle is packed with incredible prizes, including:

• a tropical 2-night getaway to Tin Can Bay
• award-winning wine
• tickets to The Australian Ballet and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, with fine dining experiences
• a Crosley Vinyl Turntable with a selection of albums, an adorable Jellycat collection
• and more!

Every ticket purchased helps support the future of music at St Margaret’s while giving you the chance to win something special.

Purchase raffle tickets here – https://www.raffletix.com.au/?ref=fadxy

Thank you so much for your ongoing generosity and support of the Music Support Group.

Support Group Meeting dates for 2026

Term 2, Week 7 - Tuesday 2 June

Term 3, Week 3 - Tuesday 28 July

Term 3, Week 8 - Tuesday 1 Sept

Term 4, Week 1 - Tuesday 6 October

Term 4, Week 4 - Tuesday 27 October (AGM)

Brad King

Three students came away with 1^st place in the individual events, Arabella B (Year 8), Piper C (Year 9) and one of our Rowing Captains Matilda B (Year 12). Congratulations also to our Year 12 team who won the Year 12 relay event as well as our all-ages relay team who finished in 3^rd position. It's shaping up to be another great season of rowing for our St Margaret's rowers.

On Saturday, the St Margaret's cross country team will compete in the 37^th Annual QGSSSA Cross Country Championships at John Paul College, Daisy Hill. Our team of 89 runners are set to take on the 3km course competing against the other 9 QGSSSA member schools. The team has trained hard starting back at the start at Term 1, and over the past five weeks athletes have competed in practice meets in readiness for Saturday’s race. Thank you to our Cross Country Captains who have attended trainings, practice meets and encouraged the students all season. We are looking forward to supporting the team with the help of our Year 8 and Year 10 student spectators. Good luck to all the team.

Athletics season is nearly here! Athletics is a core sport at St Margaret’s, meaning that participating students attend weekly training sessions and key practice meets to develop their skills to trial for the representative school team that will contest the QGSSSA Championships at the culmination of the season. The athletics season commences Week 7 of Term 2 and concludes Week 10 of Term 3 with the QGSSSA Championships on Thursday 17 September.

Please visit the Athletics POD page for registration and for more information on training schedules and practice meets.

The POD - Secondary Athletics

Registration remains open for 2026 QGSSSA Winter Sports - Hockey, Tennis, Netball and Volleyball - which take place across Term 3.

Students can access the Secondary Sport POD page to sign up or go directly to the specific sport POD page of interest.

The POD - Secondary Hockey

The POD - Secondary Netball

The POD - Secondary Tennis

The POD - Secondary Volleyball

Please note that registrations for interest in Winter Sport will close on Friday 22 May with trials and trainings commencing in the next few weeks.

Congratulations to the following students who have had outstanding achievements in sport in the past week. Congratulations to Ashley B (Year 12 student) who on Monday won gold in the Under 20, Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin with a jump of 1.70m. Congratulations also to Zizzy B (Year 7 student) who last weekend competed and has been selected to participate in the Diving Championships for School Sport Australia.

The St Margaret's sport team are happy to recognise the outstanding achievements and representation of students participating a national level, outside of the school sport pathway. Please directly contact Ms Williams via awilliams@stmargarets.qld.edu.au

A reminder to all families that students should be bringing student ID cards to all trainings and fixtures for bus travel. If you have misplaced your card, please visit school support for a new one.

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

• Basketball (Autumn Sport) - (The POD - Secondary Basketball (stmargarets.qld.edu.au)
• Soccer (Autumn Sport) - (The POD - Secondary Football (stmargarets.qld.edu.au)
• Touch Football (Autumn Sport) - (The POD - Secondary Touch Football (stmargarets.qld.edu.au)
• Cross Country - The POD - Secondary Cross Country (stmargarets.qld.edu.au)
• Club Netball - The POD - Club Netball (stmargarets.qld.edu.au)

Anne Louise Williams

Your tax-deductable donation to the Building Fund will help to support the realisation of our new Arts Precinct. Or alternatively, your donation our Panama Fund will provide the gift of education through financial needs-based bursaries.

Our students, led by our House Captains, have an exciting day of fundraising activities planned in celebration of Giving Day including a house dance-off, sausage sizzles, bake sales and a coin drive in the Philip Harris Gym (so please save your gold pennies, but notes may stretch further!) It is wonderful to see the culture of philanthropy on show within our current students.

We are also looking for volunteers to help us in the Operations Room which will be located in the ACF. Our volunteers play an important role in raising awareness on Giving Day by making phone calls to members of the St Margaret’s community. If you have an hour or more to spare, we would love to have you.

For more information or to volunteer in our Operations room, please contact the Development and Community Office on 3862 0822.

P&F Secondary Father Daughter Breakfast

Rug up and join us for the Secondary Father Daughter Breakfast with a view. Students in Years 7-12 and their fathers are warmly invited to join us for breakfast with coffee from Tipple and Tamper.

We understand that it is not possible for all girls to invite their fathers. Girls are welcome to invite a relative or family friend, boarders are welcome to 'adopt a dad' for the event.

Event Details

Date:    Thursday 18 June 2026
Time:    6:45am for a 7:00am start. Concludes at 8:00am
Venue: Circular Drive and Arts Centre Terraces

To purchase tickets please click here

Aspiring Young Women’s Network Breakfast - with guest speaker, Brittany Luhrs (’13)

Join Brittany as she shares her journey from St Margaret’s to the creative industries, and offers an insight into what a passion for the arts, combined with the right skills, can lead to.

We invite parents and senior students to join us at the first Aspiring Young Women’s Network Breakfast event of 2026 to hear from Brittany Luhrs (’13), a creative and driven marketing professional who has built a dynamic career at the intersection of digital strategy and the arts.

After leaving St Margaret’s, Brittany went on to earn a Bachelor of Business and a Bachelor of Creative Industries, both with a focus in Marketing, from QUT, followed by a Master of Business (Marketing). Brittany’s early career saw her channel her entrepreneurial spirit into founding The Social Flamingo, her own bespoke social media consultancy, while simultaneously developing her skills across a range of marketing and communications roles. Her work spanned content strategy, digital campaigns, graphic design, copywriting, and large-scale social media campaigns reaching millions of people.

Now in her eighth year at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Brittany has grown from intern to Senior Marketing Coordinator, playing a key role in promoting one of Australia’s most celebrated arts destinations. Her work encompasses strategic marketing campaigns, digital and e-commerce initiatives, and audience engagement across both traditional and digital channels, most recently as part of the team behind the highly anticipated launch of the Glasshouse Theatre, the largest performing arts centre under one roof in Australia.

Date:                   Thursday 28 May 2026

Time:                   6.45am arrival for 7.00am - 8.45am

Location:            Eton Hall, St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School, 11 Petrie Street, Ascot
Format:              Continental style breakfast  

Tickets:               $38 Adults/Student

To purchase tickets please click here

We thank our series sponsors Pitcher Partners and the St Margaret’s Old Girls’ Association.

Lara Pickering