eNews Archive Issue 29 - 18 September 2025

In addition to all the other activities in Term 3, you may be aware that every teacher at St Margaret’s undergoes an annual professional review with a member of the senior leadership team. All support staff also have a professional review with their line manager - in all, in amongst the work required to run our teaching and learning program and our extra curriculum and student wellbeing program, there are 230 reviews being conducted throughout the school.

For the teachers, this is any opportunity to sit down with a senior leadership team member and have a professional conversation about their career plan, the achievement of their goals, and their teaching plans for next year. It is a conversation I very much enjoy and I am very appreciative of the reflective nature of our teaching staff, their focus on student outcomes and their commitment to best practice.

It is important to have student voice in this process and student evaluations form the basis of the review. Your daughter may have told you about this. Students across all year levels may have been asked by their teacher to complete a survey; the survey questions reflect the pillars of the St Margaret’s Quality Teaching and Learning Framework. Reflection on the student feedback is an important part of the professional review. It is analysed and discussed, ultimately informing the teacher’s goals for their classroom practice for the remainder of the year and into 2026.

This process is a crucial element of our school improvement program and is also part of the reason that St Margaret’s has been named an Employer of Choice in education for five years in a row. The staff value the opportunity to grow as teacher practitioners. The Senior Leadership too, learn in this process and these opportunities for professional dialogue are highly valued.

I wish all students and families a relaxing and safe September holiday period. See you all in Term 4!

Ros Curtis

State Rowing Championships

Best of luck to our rowers competing at the State Rowing Championships at Wyaralong Dam this weekend. With many schools participating, we wish our students a safe and successful regatta.

Sony Children’s Holiday Camp

The annual Sony Children’s Holiday Camp returns this year, with a number of Year 11 students preparing to take part. Run in partnership with Churchie, this weekend-long camp brings together students from both schools, along with medical professionals from across Brisbane, to support guests with disabilities and special needs—providing their families with valuable respite. It is a transformative experience for our students, and we wish them all the best.

Student Exchanges

Many of our Year 10 students will be embarking on their exchange experiences over the break. We wish them well for their Term 4 adventures and look forward to hearing about their journeys.

Years 5 and 6 Japan Tour

Finally, best wishes to our Years 5 and 6 students who depart for Japan tomorrow. Thank you to the staff attending and I wish them safe and exciting travels.

Start of Term 4 and Prize Reading Assembly

School resumes on Tuesday 7 October, with boarders returning on Monday 6 October. We will begin Term 4 with our Prize Reading Assembly, where we will announce the recipients of awards and prizes to be presented at our Annual Speech Night on 14 October. Additional awards from the Sports Awards Evening (9 October), Music Dinner (10 October), and Special Awards Ceremony (17 October) will also be announced.

Speech Night Ticketing

Tickets for Speech Night will again be booked online via the QPAC booking system.

• Year 12 parents can book now using the link emailed last week.
• General bookings open at 5pm on Tuesday 7 October, following the Prize Reading Assembly.

Please note: Students will receive their tickets at school and will not be seated with parents, so there is no need to book seats for them.

Attendance and Uniform Requirements for Speech Night

The following students are required to attend Speech Night:

• All Years 11 and 12 students
• Year 12: Church dress
• Year 11 prize winners: Church dress
• Year 11 non-prize winners: School middy
• All boarders
• Non-prize winners and Year 11 boarders: School middy
• Prize winners in Years 5–10 and Musicians: Church dress

Church dresses are available for purchase or hire from the School Supplies Shop:

• Year 12 students and Musicians: May arrange their Church dress now.
• Prize winners: May arrange their Church dress following the Prize Reading Assembly on Tuesday 7 October.

We look forward to welcoming families to our Annual Speech Night and Prize Giving Ceremony. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed. A viewing link will be sent to all families on 14 October.

Nicole Devlin

I would like to thank the Year 12 Leaders, particularly the Sacristans, for their consistency, initiative, and contributions over the last year. It has been a joy to work with you all and I have learned much from you.

Earlier this week, I was listening to a reflection that championed rest as a resistance to a culture of busyness. How carving out time for peace and rest tends our inner life in such a way that strengthens us for whatever the outer world throws at us.

We live in a busy and noisy culture. Very rarely do we get moments of stillness and silence – and yet these moments are vital to our health and wellbeing. In 1859, Florence Nightingale said, “Unnecessary noise, then, is the most cruel absence of care which can be inflicted either on the sick or the well”.

These holidays may you carve out space for rest, moments for noticing, and replenishing your wellbeing. “It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol” - Brene Brown

Rev’d Jazz Dow

Next term, with the departure of our Year 12 leaders, we will welcome our new Boarder Captains, Tilly and Bridget, and our Boarder Prefects. I am very excited to commence working with this cohort and I know that they will bring exceptional empathy, strength of character and conviction to their roles, inspiring our younger girls and being an asset to the Boarding Leadership Team.

As we look ahead to the holidays and next term, I thank all our boarding parents for their continuous support of the boarding house and for entrusting us with the care of your daughters. I hope you have a lovely time with them all at home again and I look forward to seeing you at the commencement of Term 4.

Lesa Fowler

Moving forward,

Year 12

All students have copies of SWOTVAC timetables and the External Assessment Timetable, these were provided via email and are on the POD. As always, we appreciate the teachers who give up their holidays to run the SWOTVAC sessions. The girls have covered all the content for the exams, their teachers are here to support, but the hard work and commitment to get them to their final exams is up to them.

Year 11

The current Year 11s will begin their Unit 3 study next term. Each Year 11 has access to the Assessment Calendar until the end of the year that includes Internal Assessments for Unit 3 that counts towards your daughter's ATAR and QCE. Year 11 students will also receive their first ATAR prediction based on their Units 1 and 2 results and further information about these meetings will be shared in Term 4. 

There may be some students who wish to do a final change of subjects. This must be finalised by Week 2 of next term, so please reach out to me ASAP if this is your daughter.

Year 10

All students have finalised their subject selection for Year 11 2026/Year 12 2027. At this stage of the process there may be some doubts and I have been meeting with students who have been having second thoughts to discuss their selections. As the timetable has been created for next year, it is possible that not all subject changes are able to be accommodated.

For all girls, over the holidays, take some time to relax and recharge. I certainly will be and am looking forward to reading plenty of books. Find the activity that fills your bucket and make time for it in the holidays so that you are ready to come back refreshed for Term 4!

“My mum told me to choose subjects I enjoy for Year 11 and 12 so that I was more motivated to do well. This helped to alleviate stress in the senior years as well, as I enjoyed what I was learning.” – Ava Barber, ’24.

Caitlin McCluskey

I do encourage students to take the time to reflect on the progress they have made towards their curricular and extracurricular goals this term, and, if necessary, consider adjustments to strategies in Term 4 to ensure they can achieve them. This reflection is part of the metacognitive thinking that will ensure they are growing as a learner each and every term.

I wish all students and their families a relaxing and rejuvenating break.   

Chris Dunn

Mental Health and Recovery Extended learning periods can lead to academic burnout, anxiety, and chronic stress. School holidays allow students' minds to decompress, reducing cortisol levels and restoring emotional equilibrium. This mental reset is crucial for maintaining long-term academic performance and psychological health.

Physical Restoration During term time, students often sacrifice sleep, proper nutrition, and physical activity for academic demands. Holidays provide time to establish healthier routines, catch up on sleep debt, and engage in physical activities that boost both fitness and mood.

Family Connection and Relationships Holidays strengthen family bonds through shared experiences, conversations, and quality time often impossible during busy school terms. These connections build emotional security and communication skills that benefit students throughout their lives.

Creative Exploration and Personal Interests Free from structured curricula, students can pursue passions, explore new hobbies, and engage in creative activities. This unstructured time fosters innovation, self-discovery, and intrinsic motivation that enhances classroom learning upon return.

Real-World Learning Holidays offer authentic learning experiences through travel, community involvement, part-time work, or volunteering. These activities develop practical life skills, cultural awareness, and social responsibility that textbooks cannot provide.

School holidays aren't educational interruptions—they're essential components of holistic student development, ensuring young people return to school refreshed, motivated, and ready to engage meaningfully with their learning.

Nikki Townsend

Yesterday, we held our Interhouse Athletics Carnival. This day is so much more than the track and field events, it is filled with experiences that support social development. The day started with the girls proudly displaying their House Spirit as they chanted war cries with great enthusiasm and beamed with pride. 

Special mention to our Pre-Prep and Prep students who, for some of them, it was their first time competing in a whole school competition. It was evident from their joy, excitement, and enthusiasm that they relished the day from lining up at the starting line, collecting a ribbon after they stepped across that finish line, interacting with the ‘big’ girls and just being ‘amongst it’.

Thank you to Mrs Schiller, Ms Richards and Ms Edwards for their organisation, to all primary school staff for supporting the girls and the events and to the facilities team for their efforts in setting up and packing down the equipment for the event. Thank you also to the Years 5 and 6 parents who worked tirelessly to provide lunch on the day. It was wonderful to see so many parents, relatives and friends of the girls attend and support them.  Both the staff and girls appreciated your attendance. Check out the POD tomorrow for the results.

Read, Read, Read in the holidays

Nobody doubts the value of reading, but numerous studies have identified the significant impact it has on the reader. It has been found 10 minutes exposure to reading materials each day will help shape your child’s future. Interestingly, all reading materials (picture books, comic, novels, recipes, even the back of food packets) contribute to a child’s daily reading goal. Reading any of these materials for 10 minutes a day exposes a child to more than 600,000 words in a year.

Reading for 10 minutes a day shapes your child’s future by benefitting their performance in general knowledge, vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal fluency, and spelling which are linked to improved measures on a child’s academic success as illustrated in the infographic below.

It is critical that students spend time each day rehearsing fluent reading behaviours by accessing books at a suitable level to develop fluency and comprehension. Challenging books do not need to be discouraged as they can be read by parents to the child. By sharing the reading experience, parents model fluent expressive reading and instil a love of literature, the holidays will be a great time to read together. 

2026 Planning

Planning for 2026 has begun, an important task for the new year is to develop class lists. The teachers use their knowledge of the children and professional judgement to construct these classes.  If you have a valid educational request (not teacher request) regarding your child that you believe would be valuable for teachers when creating classes, please complete the form via this link by Friday 10 October. Unfortunately, no late forms can be accepted beyond this date as changes will impact on all class arrangements made by teachers. It is not a requirement to complete a form.

It has been a hectic but fulfilling term with many students achieving their learning goals. Look out on the POD for ideas for educational but interesting holiday activities. I look forward to seeing the girls when they return to school on Tuesday 7 October after a well-rested holiday.

Angela Drysdale

The holidays are the perfect time to initiate a conversation with your daughter/s and to start to discuss how you will manage the impact of the upcoming legal changes to accessing social media platforms. According to eSafe educators, Safe on Social, “from December 10, 2025, social media platforms in Australia will be legally required to prevent under-16s from creating or maintaining accounts. This change is not about punishment it is about protection. This national shift is designed to give young people more time to grow, connect, and build resilience before being handed over to systems designed for profit, not their wellbeing. Changes like this brings both relief and resistance.”

Safe on Social through their latest pursuit CTRL+SHFT have a number of tips designed to help you initiate what might be challenging conversations and changes in the home:

1. Begin before 10 December: start the conversation now - long before 10 December creeps up on you. Not once. Not in a rush. But gently, over time

2. Make the plan with them, not for them: sit down with your child and ask: Because of the new age delay we need to start winding back your social media, how would you want to do it?

3. Taper, don’t cut: social disconnection, especially for young people, can trigger real emotional fallout: anxiety, anger, even shame. So don’t rip the Band-Aid. Phase things out slowly. One app at a time. Set screen hours and gently reduce them over days or weeks.

4. Name the grief: for some this will be a loss. Not just less screen time, not just unplugging. It’s friends they might drift from.

5. Replace, don’t just restrict: Belonging. Identity. Expression. These aren’t extras, they’re the deep drivers behind every scroll, like, and DM. Help your child find what else can fill the gap.

6. Rebuild analogue connection together: talk to other families. This can’t be done in isolation. Coordinate digital-free afternoons.

7. Build new routines before the old ones end: don’t wait for the age delay from 10 December to drop before you start building what comes next. That empty space social media leaves behind? It needs tending, deliberately, gently, now.

8. Watch the quiet kids: the ones who “seem fine” are often the ones hiding it best. Check in, not just once, but over time. Listen between the lines.

9. Model the shift: your child is watching you…closer than you think. So start with yourself. If you want them to shift, show them how. Replace your scrolltime with presence, with conversation and with quiet.

10. Hold your ground and your compassion: when the pushback comes, and it will, don’t retreat; but, don’t harden either. Your job isn’t to win, it’s to hold the line with warmth. That’s how they learn to ride out change, not by force, but by feeling safe enough to face it.

Annette Box

Pre-Prep Performance

Thank you to the Brass Ensemble who gave a special performance to the Pre-Prep students during Monday morning tea. This was a very special opportunity, both for the secondary students who loved the opportunity to perform to the younger students, and also for the Pre-Preps who were enthralled by the sounds of the instruments. Thank you to Mr Mckenzie and the Pre-Prep teachers for facilitating this opportunity.

Auditions

Auditions for 2026 secondary music ensembles will be held in Week 3 of Term 4 with audition excerpts available via the respective POD pages (Strings/Bands/Choral). Sign-up sheets will be available in SHOR from Week 1 of Term 4.

Monday 20 October

7:00 – 8:20am Primary String Auditions, Years 3 and 6 in SHOR

3:30 - 5:00pm Rock Band Auditions for guitar, bass guitar, and keyboard, DM01 (Rock Band Room)

3:30-5:00pm Volare Auditions (Years 7 & 8 Choir), SHOR

Tuesday 21 October

7:00 – 8:20am Primary String Auditions, Years 1, 2 and 5 in SHOR

10:25-10:50am Secondary String Auditions, SHOR

1:05-1:50pm Secondary String Auditions, SHOR

3:30-4:30pm Primary Chorale Get-to-know-your-voice Session, Primary Music Room

3:30 - 5:30pm Secondary String Auditions, SHOR

3:30 - 5:00pm Secondary Rock Band Auditions for Vocals (current Years 9-11), DM01 (Rock Band Room)

Wednesday 22 October

7:00 - 8:15am Band Auditions for current Primary students, SHOR

7:15 - 8:15am Stage Band Auditions (all instruments) Secondary students, J101/102

1:10 - 1:50pm Rock Band Auditions for Drum Kit (Secondary), SHOR Percussion Room

3:30 - 4:30pm Highly Strung Auditions (Primary) for guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and drumkit, DM01 (Rock Band Room)

3:30 – 5:00pm Band Auditions for Percussion, SHOR Percussion Room

3:30 - 5:30pm Band Auditions for woodwind/brass (current Secondary students), SHOR/J102

Thursday 23 October

7:00 - 8:15am Band Auditions for woodwind/brass (Primary and Secondary), SHOR

7:00 – 8:20am Primary String Auditions, Year 4 in J101/102

3:30 - 5:00pm Exultate Auditions (Years 9-12 choir), SHOR

Student Congratulations

Congratulations to Charlotte (Year 10) who was selected into the Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s Compose Program for 2025. This program is designed to introduce secondary school students to composing for orchestral instruments. Through workshops and face-to-face activities under the guidance of QSO Composition Mentors Craig Allister Young and Timothy Tate, participants wrote compositions for the QSO Connect Ensemble, resulting in a final presentation at the QSO Studio in South Bank, Brisbane last Friday evening. This year the students were asked to write a composition inspired by specific pieces of art by contemporary visual artist Arabella Walker, depicting native Australian animals. Congratulations to Charlotte on this very special achievement and we look forward to hearing many more compositions from her in the future!

New Zealand Music Tour/Festival – Deposits Due 

A reminder that deposits of $795 are due by Friday 19 September to secure a place on the Music Tour to the Rotorua Rhapsody Music Festival in New Zealand. Deposit payments can be made via Parent Lounge. Please note the deposit is fully refundable if insufficient numbers commit to the tour. Further details regarding the tour are available on Music Cocurricular POD page.

Music Dinner 

A reminder that tickets are now available for the upcoming Music Dinner. The theme for this year’s Music Dinner will be Heroes vs Villains! Music Dinner will be held in Term 4 on 10 October and is a wonderful event where we can celebrate the achievements of our music students throughout the year and also acknowledge our outgoing music seniors. Students (and parents) are encouraged to come along dressed according to the theme. We always love seeing everyone’s creativity! All music students in Years 7-12 involved in music ensembles are encouraged to attend. Any Year 6 students involved in music ensembles are also welcome to join us for the evening (and will be chaperoned by a music staff member). Parents of students in Years 9-12 who have been involved in the Co-curricular music program for the year are welcome to attend. Should extra tickets become available, parents of Years 7 & 8 attending the music dinner will be given the opportunity to also purchase tickets.

Tickets are $95 for adults and $75 for students and are available only through this link. For catering purposes, it is imperative you include any dietary requirements and payments are made by 5pm, Tuesday 23 September. Please be mindful there is a capped number, so book your tickets early! The cut-off time allows the Music Support Group and Catering to finalise purchasing of perishable goods and appropriate table allocations prior to the event. A letter from the President of the Music Support Group with further details is attached here.

Music Support Group

The next Music Support Group meeting will be held on Tuesday 7 October 2025 at 5:00pm in the Circular Drive Classroom 01 (in front of the Arts Centre Foyer). Parents from both the Primary and Secondary school are welcome to attend.

Brad King

Our Athletics team have dedicated multiple hours at early morning training sessions throughout the cooler months as well as the Friday night practice meets at UQ or SAF. Thank you to Josh Partridge, Head of Athletics, and his group of dedicated coaches, many of whom return year after year. We are looking forward to seeing some season bests, personal bests and great results this week.

Last Saturday marked the end of the QGSSSA Winter fixtures for Netball, Hockey, Tennis and Volleyball. It’s been a great season for all our sports with St Margaret’s students demonstrating great spirit and dedication at training and each Saturday morning at fixtures. For some of our teams, this meant claiming pennants at the end of the season.

• Netball had a record breaking 7 pennants with the following teams winning outright; Senior A, Senior B, Senior C, 9A, 7A, 7B and 7C.
• Hockey won a pennant for the Junior A team.

For other teams, season success was determined by other measures. Our Volleyball teams had some great games during the season against some tough competition but always played with a smile and showed great spirit. A few examples highlighting this was the win for the Senior As against MBC last weekend and the 7Bs cheering for every point of their own game versus MBC and even winning a set like they had won a grand final! Our Tennis teams also showed great resilience on more than one occasion with some tough match ups, but they carried on, working well as a team and improving skills and technique throughout the season. This season also marked the return of training to the St Margaret’s courts for our Open Tennis team.

Next term, highlights will include our Junior and Senior Badminton Championships in the first few weeks of the term, as well as the commencement of the AFL Junior season and Club Water Polo. Swimming will also start ramping up as we launch the QG Swimming campaign in readiness for 2026.

We look forward to celebrating with our sport community at the upcoming Sports Awards evening on Thursday 9 October. The sports office is preparing for a fantastic celebration to commemorate a year of great achievements both on and off the sporting arena. Invitations to awardees and families will be sent out in the next week.

Latest Sport News and Information

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

• Badminton The POD - Secondary Badminton
• AFL Jnr The POD - Secondary AFL
• Water Polo The POD - Club Water Polo
• Swimming The POD - Club Swimming

Anne Louise Williams

Year 11 Term 4 2025 (Year 12 2026) Booklist

The Booklists for Year 11 Term 4 2025 (Year 12 2026) are now available and parents are able to order online at www.campion.com.au.  

Orders that were placed by 29 August will receive free delivery and orders will be delivered prior to the commencement of Term 4. Orders received after the cut-off date will be packed ASAP, however Campion Education cannot guarantee delivery of these orders prior to commencement of Term 4. A delivery fee will be applied to all late orders.

Please Note: Families who created an account in 2024/2025 are not required to enter the Resource code below.  For new families, you will need to create an account by clicking on the "Parents Order Here" button located top right-hand corner of the Campion website.  A four-character code is required to access the 2026 resource lists; the code for St Margaret's is 89YV.

Booklists for Pre-Prep to Year 11 will follow in early Term 4.

Blazer Fittings – Secondary School

Blazer Fittings – for Students in years 7 to 10 in 2026 have been postponed due to Church dress hire for Speech Night.  Blazer fittings will recommence from Wednesday 15 October.  The cost of the blazer is $275 and is payable at the time of ordering. All Blazer orders will need to be placed by 14 November 2025 for a March 2026 delivery. Students can visit the Supplies Shop during our opening hours (no appointment required). A blazer fitting takes around 15 minutes.

Church Dress Hire for Speech Night

Hiring of the Church Dress for Year 12 and the Musicians involved in Speech Night has now commenced. Church Dress hire forms must be completed and signed by a parent or guardian. Church Dress hire forms must be completed and signed by a parent or guardian. The hire form is available here Church Dress Hire Form.  A Deposit holding fee of $115 is payable for the hire of the Church Dress and upon return (as per conditions listed on the hire form) a refund of $70 will be given.  Plain white fold down ankle socks (not St Margaret’s competition socks), brown school shoes and a white ribbon are to be worn with the dress.

Student Card Purchases

Flexischools daily limit – Just a reminder to ensure that the daily limit is set high enough to cover the cost of the uniform items being purchased, otherwise we will not be able to complete the transaction.

Blazer Pocket Embroidery 

Blazers are collected every Thursday after morning tea and take between 2 to 3 weeks to be embroidered.  

St Margaret’s Merchandise

The Supplies Shop has some great new Merchandise available.  The Supplies Shop now stocks – St Margaret’s folding chair, scented candles in two sizes, St Margaret’s dog lead, St Margaret’s keychains, Panama croc jibbitz, Vacuum drink flask and a crested fine bone china coffee mug.

Your invitation to PWN: The Transformative Impact of AI and Technology

AI isn’t on the horizon, it’s already here and it’s reshaping how we lead, how our teams work, and how our competitors (and customers) move.

Join us on Thursday 30 October for a panel discussion around The Transformative Impact of AI and Technology. This session will unpack what technological advances really mean for business transformation, risk management and customer experience.

Hear directly from industry experts: Michelle Weber (Macquarie Banking and Financial Services), Debbie Smith (PwC), Lauren Capelin (’01) (Amazon Web Services), in conversation with UX expert, Amy Leigh (‘03) (Great Southern Bank), as they share boardroom level insights, hard-won lessons, and what every leader needs to know to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market.

If you’re serious about leading through transformation, this is the room you want to be in.

Date:         Thursday 30 October 2025

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 with grab-and-go barista coffee on arrival. 
Tickets:     $85 Adult, $45 Student (Years 10-12/Tertiary)
Corporate tables: $850 (10 seats), includes company logo displayed on table and acknowledgement during event.

Tickets are available here: https://www.trybooking.com/CUSFP

We thank our series sponsors, Major Sponsor: Pitcher Partners. Supporting Sponsors: Wolff Coffee Roasters, Clear Insurance, The Bathhouse Albion and Resource Innovations.

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 of these service providers and much more.

Find our business directory here.

Mothers Lunch Thank You

On behalf of the P&F Association we would like to thank everyone who joined us for our annual Mothers Luncheon at The Greek Club last Friday. It was a truly special afternoon filled with laughter, connection, and delicious food.

We sincerely thank our 2025 Mothers Luncheon Maggies Supporters: UMS, Single Inn, Hundt Law and Kailo Wellness Medispa. If you were unable to connect with our sponsors on the night, and would like an introduction, please contact the Development and Community Office or visit their website for more information.

We also thank the businesses within our community who kindly donated prizes: The Bathhouse Albion, Ray White Clayfield, Lina Rooftop, Edito Boutique James Street, Kailo Wellness Medispa, Tigerlamb Hair Salon, Nostimo Restaurant & Bar, Hellenika, White Grove House, Hoppy's Car Wash and St Margaret's P&F Association.

Event photos will be available soon via Pixevety.

Lara Pickering