eNews Archive Issue 9 - 24 March 2022

The MAYO Arts Festival, named after prominent sculptor and Old Girl Daphne Mayo, is borne out of the school’s commitment to the significance of arts in education. Exposure to the arts develops a child’s creative and critical thinking skills, important proficiencies that contribute to their learning in all other fields and are desirable traits for the future workforce. The arts can also encourage and help develop teamwork and collaboration.

It is through the MAYO Arts Festival and the work of Friends of MAYO that Daphne’s strong legacy will endure for future generations of St Margaret’s girls. The event, in conjunction with the much-appreciated generosity of donors, assists the school to continually grow our art collection to inspire current and future generations of St Margaret’s students.

The festival features a gallery exhibition and cocktail party on the Friday evening, followed by a family friendly festival on the Saturday featuring artisan market stalls, creative workshops, food and wine, and music and performing arts displays. There is something for all ages to enjoy, so I encourage you to attend with your families and friends.

There are many opportunities for families to support the festival, and I encourage you to please consider contributing to this noteworthy school event. From staffing stalls, to donating goods or services or sponsorship, we rely on and value the support of our community to make the event a success. I encourage you to read more about the MAYO Arts Festival and ways you can become involved in the special MAYO section of this eNews below.

Ros Curtis

This year we have three confirmed exchange partners: Ursulinenschule Hersel, Bornheim, Germany; St Anne’s Diocesan, Hilton, South Africa; and Chatham Hall, Virginia, USA. Year 10 students who apply for the program will be selected on how they reflect and embody the core values of St Margaret’s, their academic standing, personal motivation, and participation in school activities. They must also demonstrate initiative, strong communication skills, social maturity, and resilience. The students will also be required to complete the Cultural Intelligence test and will be selected on their suitability as an ambassador for St Margaret’s and their ability to adapt and function in new environments.

Students who are selected are expected to fully engage in this cultural immersion experience and participate fully in academic and extra-curricular programs at their exchange school. Applications for the 2022 Exchange Program can be found on the Year 10 POD Page and close at 3pm on 31 March. 

At Open Day this Saturday, there is an opportunity for the students and their families to ask more questions at the Global Exchange stand in Eton Courtyard or they can email Lisa Watson (LWatson@stmargarets.qld.edu.au) for more information. We certainly look forward to reading the applications from Year 10 students.

Lesa Fowler

Earlier this term while we were learning online, Years 7 to 10 focused on the power we hold to shift perspective to find joy and strength in whatever situation we face. We spent time reflecting on the Dalai Lama’s teaching regarding the power of perspective. Over the term we have also visited the teachings of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose death we mourned at the end of 2021. Tutu and the Dalia Lama shared a joyful friendship, which celebrated their differences.

This year our theme is “embracing joy”. This term has been challenging – we have carried the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the South East QLD and Northern NSW floods, had the threat of severe storms, and are grieving a war in Ukraine. Perhaps joy feels a distant reality.

One of the things that has helped me “embrace joy” amidst all that this term has held is the power to shift perspective and see joy in the power of humanity to come together to face a struggle. We have seen incredible community spirit, with people putting aside their differences and stepping in to support one another in crisis. We have seen many people across the world resist the violence of war, which reminds us that despite our physical separation through Covid, we are still connected.

Peace be with you as we approach the final week of Term 1.

Rev’d Jazz

Whilst holidays are foremost in our minds, we are also looking forward to exciting events on the calendar for next term. One of the most anticipated events is the Day Boarder Weekend. An extra-long weekend is granted to the girls at the end of Week 2 in Term 2, Friday 29 April to Tuesday 3 May, providing those who live a little further afield the time to return home for a few days. This weekend presents the boarders with the opportunity to invite day friends to come to their home. It gives the day girls the chance to experience what life is like at home for the boarders. The girls always come back from this experience with the most wonderful stories and pictures of the fun they have had showing their friends around their home. We encourage both day girls and boarders to capitalise on this opportunity as it is a wonderful way to create lifelong memories for all.

Angela Crowe

Next week, all Year 11 students will receive an email from me inviting them to sign up for an academic progress meeting to discuss their Year 11 progress, including Unit 1 results, goals for 2022 and subjects. Meeting times will be available before, during and after school and you are most welcome to attend these meetings with your daughter. Your daughter will have access to the booking system through the POD from next week to book in a time to meet.

Year 10 students are also to be commended on their cooperation and conduct for their Careers Avenue testing that occurred today. This is an important part of the preparation for subject selection for Year 11, so it was wonderful to see the girls take a mature approach to this.

Caitlin McCluskey

What is spaced practice and how does it work?

Spaced practice is a study technique where students will intentionally review their study material over a long period of time. Rather than studying for a subject in a few long study sessions (cramming), students chunk their revision into smaller sessions over an increasingly spaced timeframe (Firth, 2017).

The purpose of this technique is two-fold:

1. It allows for neural recovery time, where the brain can form connections between ideas and concepts (Smolen et al., 2016)
2. It also activates relevant episodic memories over subsequent study sessions, which makes it easier for a student to access that knowledge in the future (Benjamin & Tullis, 2010).

Hermann Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve model (as seen below), visually represents how spaced practice, if conducted over a long time period, helps students to form a stronger, more consolidated understanding of concepts.

Figure 1 – A representation of Ebbinghaus' Forgetting Curve (Chun & Hae Ja, 2018)

Most importantly, for spaced practice to have its most desired effect on memory retention, the days between review must increase. Firth (2017) suggests that a spaced revision schedule might look like the following for a new concept covered:

• Day 1 – initial study session
• Next day – revisit and review
• After three days – revisit and review
• After one week – revisit and review
• After two weeks – revisit and review

As Benjamin and Tullis (2018) point out, it may seem counterintuitive to encourage students to ‘almost forget’ a concept before reviewing/retrieving it, but it is this exercise that makes our brains work harder to access the memory, and therefore, the knowledge becomes more consolidated as a result.

Chris Dunn

References

Benjamin, A. S., & Tullis, J. (2010). What makes distributed practice effective?. Cognitive Psychology, 61(3), 228-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogpsych.2010.05.004

Cepeda, N. J., Vul, E., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., & Pashler, H. (2008). Spacing effects in learning a temporal ridgeline of optimal retention. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1095-1102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02209.x

Chun, B. A., & Hae Ja, H. (2018). The effect of flipped learning on academic performance as an innovative method for overcoming ebbinghaus' forgetting curve. https://doi.org/10.1145/3178158.3178206

Firth, J. (2017). Spacing out instruction for more effective learning. NPJ Science of Learning. https://npjscilearncommunity.nature.com/posts/19254-spacing-out-instruction-for-more-effective-learning

Smolen, P., Zhang, Y., & Byrne, J. H. (2016). The right time to learn: mechanisms and optimization of spaced learning. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17(2), 77-88. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2015.18

We would very much appreciate your support in publicising the event to friends and colleagues who may be interested in seeking a St Margaret’s education for their daughter.

Furthermore, Saturday 26 March is a day when we require all students to be present at school, in full uniform and either participating in curricular, co-curricular or community activities. Students should arrive no later than 9.15 am for the activities. Their timetable for the day will be posted on their Year level page on the POD.

If due to extenuating circumstances a student is unable to be at school on Open Day, we will require an email requesting absence to studentleave@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Final Day of Term 1

Next Thursday 31 March is the final day of Term 1, finishing at 3pm. Year 11 students will finish at 1.05 pm due to the Dinner Dance that evening. The school strongly encourages students to attend school to the end of term as valuable feedback is given regarding their recent assessment and classes will be starting new work.

Nikki Townsend

We hold great value in data collected from surveys and we have been measuring our students’ (Years 5 and 6) wellbeing since 2014 through the annual survey - Australian Gallup Student Poll. This has provided data on students’ feelings about Hope, Engagement, Wellbeing and Faith. The data collected from this poll is used to compare a cohort from one year to the following year. From this data, we have been able to track and identify trends in relation to the areas identified above and used to monitor the psychological environment of the school.

Whilst we have collected some interesting longitudinal data from these surveys, we wanted to access more ‘here and now’ data. EI Pulse survey tool has provided that opportunity. This program allows us to measure the wellbeing of Years 4, 5 and 6 students on a weekly basis.

EI Pulse asks students to answer questions which are drawn from the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth's (ARACY) Common Approach™ framework. The Common Approach™ framework was selected based on its evidentiary base and track record of use in Australian schools. The list of ARACY member organisations can be found at https://www.aracy.org.au/join-us/current-members. Data is collected from students and organised within six areas of wellbeing: Valued & Safe, Healthy, Material Basics, Learning, Participating, and Positive Sense of Identity and Culture.

The weekly check-in consists of five to six questions and collects two kinds of information: Identified and Anonymous.

Each check-in, students are asked ‘How are you feeling today?’. This question is asked every week of every student with the student’s identity attached to her response.  This question allows the student to reflect on her emotional state and provides an easy way to ask for help.

The student can choose from the following responses:

• I’m feeling great
• I’m feeling positive
• I’m feeling in the middle
• I’m feeling negative
• I need some help (this statement sends notification to teacher/primary leadership team member if student agrees)

Based on the response to this question, the student is then asked four to five other questions which are different each week and relate to wellbeing and engagement. The question responses are all anonymous. Each week, the responses are collated in a continuum for analysis and a percentage of positive check-ins is also provided. This data is also used to help monitor the efficacy of our wellbeing programs.

The social and emotional wellbeing of all students is of paramount importance. A happy child = a happy school, and that environment is conducive to strong learning in all areas.  

Angela Drysdale

Students have also been working in the public demonstration site, a site that has been created to further assist with the familiarisation of question types and related functionalities available in the online assessment. Some of the key features include a range of question types, onscreen tools, timers and interactive navigation. Students are working on this platform at school, the platform is also available for home use and can be accessed here.

Kate Frewin

Open Day

The St Margaret’s music ensembles are very much looking forward to performing at the upcoming Open Day on Saturday 26 March 9:30am – 12:30pm. Please note there are some minor changes from the original published program. The Saxophone Ensemble will now perform at 10:50am. Encorah will also perform at 11:45am in Eton Hall. Students are encouraged to check performance uniform details on the St Margaret’s Music POD page.

Circular Drive

9:30am             Sculthorpe String Quartet

9:50am             Amati Strings

10:05am            Stradivari Strings

10:20am            Chamber Strings

10:35am            Chorale

10:45am            Volare

10:50am            Exultate

11:45am            Music Extension Performances

12:00pm           Rock Band Performances

Eton Hall

9:30am             Chaseley Concert Band

9:40am             Sister Helen Wind Symphony

10:05am            Elayne Jones Percussion Ensemble

10:20am            Jackson Wind Ensemble

10:35am            Stage Band

10:50am            Speech & Drama Presentation

11:45am            Encorah

Toorak Courtyard

10:50am            Saxophone Ensemble

11:00am            Clarinet/Flute/Brass Ensemble Performances

Primary Atrium

9:30am             Beath String Quartet

9:50am             Tutti Strings

Missed Music Lessons – Terms and Conditions

With private music lessons up and running for the year, it is important to be aware of the terms and conditions regarding missed lessons. If sufficient notice is given and teachers have time available, teachers will do their best to provide an alternate lesson time. However, if students miss lessons without providing appropriate notification, the lesson will be charged, with music teachers under no obligation to make up the missed lesson. Please find attached the full terms and conditions for undertaking private music lessons. (PDF 4.4MB)

Music Support Group

Thank you to all those who joined our recent meeting via Teams. The next Music Support Group meeting will be on Tuesday 19 April at 5.00pm in M’s Cafe. Parents from both the Primary and Secondary Schools are welcome to attend.

Brad King

QGSSSA Swimming Championships

• 12 Years and Under - 1st Place
• 13 Years - 2nd
• 14 Years - 6th Place
• 15 Years - 3rd Place
• 16 Years - 5th
• 17 Years and Over - 2nd
• OVERALL - 2nd
• PERCENTAGE - 3rd

From the Swimming Captains

2022 QGSSSA Swimming was an amazing experience! As captains of our team, we are extremely proud of the efforts of not only the girls who swam on the night, but also the reserves and supporters that kept up the spirit and enthusiasm in the stands.

Our hard work and resilience over the last five to six months paid off with our team overall coming away with a nail-biting second place, by just a point! This result was supported by our 13 years, 15 years, and 17 and over age group all placing on the podium and our 12 years and under winning their respective age group.

A highlight of the night was the last event of the program, the Open Brockway Cup. The amount of screaming and cheering from the St Margaret's stands during this event was phenomenal, and it truly captured this year's theme of 'soar together, stronger than ever', while down on the pool deck, the strength of the swimming community was truly displayed, with too many group hugs and smiles to count.

Unfortunately, the competition marks the departure of our beloved head swim coach, Kevin Sargent. On behalf of all the swimmers on the team, we want to thank Kev for his immeasurable contribution to the swimming community over the past 20+ years. We will miss him dearly.

Well done, girls!

Faith Phillips and Isabella Martin

QGSSSA Autumn Sport Match Report

Basketball

St Margaret’s v St Aidan’s

• Open 54:19 Won
• Senior B 14:30 Loss
• Year 10A 3:32 Loss
• Year 9A 28:12 Won
• Year 7A 9:21 Loss

From the Basketball Captains

Last Friday, 18 March, was the first round of QGSSSA basketball games for our Maggies basketballers. We took on St Aidan's at our new home stadium, 'Northside Indoor Sports Centre' at Zillmere. Our Opens team started off the season strongly, winning their game 54 to 19. The 9A team also won. While the Senior Bs, 10As and 7As didn't come away with a win, they should all be proud of how they played, putting in 100% effort for the full 40 minutes.

Our MVP awards for this week went to each team's "Crazy Cheerleader", that is, the player who showed the most spirit and enthusiasm both on and off the court. A special shoutout must go the Open team's "Crazy Cheerleader", Ziggi Norris, who hit a very impressive shot from well beyond the 3-point line. One player even went as far as saying, "It was like watching Steph Curry out there!" It was a great start to the season, and we can't wait to watch our Maggies basketballers continue to dominate on court in the coming weeks!

Holly Marchant and Rosie Nehill

Basketball Captains

Football

St Margaret’s v St Aidan’s

• Junior 4:7 Loss
• Intermediate 4:0 Loss
• Opens 4:2 Loss

From the Football Captains

Despite not coming away with a win, our squad gained valuable experience and confidence for the game ahead.

Lily Crawford, Mia Madsen

Football Captains

Touch Football

St Margaret’s v St Aidan’s

• Open 1:8 Loss
• Senior A 7:5 Win
• Yr10A 0:9 Loss
• Yr10B 0:2 Win
• Yr9A 5:3 Win
• Yr9B 6:4 Win
• Yr8A 2:7 Loss
• Yr8B 0:9 Loss
• Yr7A 0:10 Loss
• Yr7B 4:3 Win
• Yr7C 13:3 Win

Our Football teams got their season underway against St Aidan’s. Despite not getting a win, our teams showed plenty of spirit and potential for the season ahead.

Our Opens team started the second half 3-0 down. Despite the mounting challenge, our girls came out in the second half determined to even the ledger. Two quick consecutive goals gave our team a sniff; however, unfortunately this was not enough to claim the draw. The intermediates and juniors played tough games, with our juniors coming away with four amazing goals.

Touch Football started its season with games against St Aidan’s. The Opens team match was played with speed and intensity. Despite some late match touch downs, the match was a close contest, giving the team confidence for the season ahead. The highlight match of the round was our Year 9A team. This was an extremely close contest with the result coming down to the final plays of the game. A special mention must be given to the Year 7C’s, their spirit and team cohesion on the night was the difference as they powered away to their first win of the season. Congratulations to all teams.   

GO MAGGIES!

Lloyd Knight

For those of you interested in assisting with the Gallery Exhibition preparations and setup, please contact Lucy Hulme via email lhulme@stmargarets.qld.edu.au. For any sponsorship enquiries please contact Pru Reed preed@stmargarets.qld.edu.au and for anyone who might like to consider having a stall at MAYO, please contact Angela Drysdale adrysdale@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

We are also looking for year level parent ambassadors to run and staff stalls on the day so if you are interested in volunteering, please contact Angela Drysdale adrysdale@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Please refer to the attached Information Guide for full booking terms and conditions. We are unable to accept bookings via email or text message. The OSHC registration and Debitsuccess form must be completed, signed and sent back to us to finalise your booking. Please read the information guide carefully as some information has changed. OSHC Registration and Debitsuccess can be completed via the My Family Lounge.

PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR VACATION CARE BOOKING FORM VIA THE MY FAMILY LOUNGE APP

We are very excited to inform you that St Margaret’s OSHC has subscribed to a fantastic online Booking and Waitlist management program called QK Enrol. This program will give you access to manage your own account information, where you will have the ability to make bookings requests and allows you to complete and submit an online enrolment form for your child. You can do this and much, much more all within a parent portal called ’My Family Lounge’.

How do I log in?

Please navigate to the link below and either sign in with your existing My Family Lounge account or Register for an account if you do not already have one. Please note all families who have previously submitted an enrolment form will have an account already set up; all you will need to do is click ‘forgotten password’ and use the email address you used to receive this form.

https://www.qkenhanced.com.au/Account/Embeddable/?databaseId=9385

When making a Vacation Care booking please select Casual bookings, not Permanent.

What is the cost?*

Early Bird Fees: $61 per day

Early Bird Bookings close: 18 March 2022

Fees: $66 per day*

Bookings close: 28 March 2022

*Incursions and excursions incur additional costs. These are compulsory for all students and therefore you are able to claim CCS.

What are the hours of operation?

The service is open from 7:00am until 6:00pm.

How can I obtain more information?

If you would like further information regarding our OSHC Program or if you would like to make a booking, feel free to contact me on 0423 547 653 or email: oshc@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Palu Ingram

Two awards are presented each year at the Awards Dinner, the Distinguished Past Student Award (for alumnae who have passed their 20th reunion) and the Young Past Student of Distinction Award (for alumnae in their 20th reunion year or younger).

Previous award recipients include Dr Hannah Kraus AO ('85), who was awarded an AO for distinguished service to medicine in the field of urology and gynaecology, particularly through surgical assistance to women in developing countries throughout Asia and Africa, and Lucy Shaw ('09), mechanical engineering graduate working in international development, focusing on the intersection of energy and development in Africa. 

Download and complete the 2022 Nomination Form via this link Tickets are on sale for our second Professional Women’s Network Breakfast with guest speaker Jane Campbell.

Jane operates Manana Pastoral with her husband, Ian, and has been in agribusiness since 1999. The Campbells co-founded Barambah Organics in 2002 and are strong advocates of the benefits of consuming organic produce throughout Australia and overseas. In October 2020, they sold a major share of Barambah Organics, and leased their three organics dairy farms and a grain property to a private equity group. Jane has a law degree from UNE and was admitted as a lawyer in NSW in 2021. Her interests are Australian Consumer Law and Environmental Law. Jane is intending on being a strong advocate for farmers and environmental matters.

This event is a fantastic opportunity to host a corporate table of staff as a professional development opportunity, to host a table of clients who have an interest in agribusiness, or to attend with your daughter.

Date: WEDNESDAY 11 MAY 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 at https://www.trybooking.com/BXIZM

Lara Pickering

Griffith | Dental Health Science Webinar

Thursday 31 March 2022, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Online

Find out more: https://www.griffith.edu.au/engage/dental-health-science-new-entry-requirements

NIE | UCAT and Pathways into Medicine and Dentistry Information Session

Thursday 14 April 2022, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Online

Find out more: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_orjrbqGnQLmvuvRuItA9SQ

University of Sydney

Life of a Psychologist | Wed 6 Apr 4-4:30pm

Join this session to discover what studying psychology involves, what an average day for the different types of psychologists is and how you can pursue studies towards becoming one yourself.

ANU Early application is now open. Applications close 23 May.

Griffith | Creative Arts Open Day

Sunday 12 June 2022, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Griffith University, South Bank Campus

Get expert advice on your study options at our Open Days. You’ll find information about our degrees, as well as essential details on student support services, admission pathways, applying to study and scholarships. Get a taste of life at Griffith and chat with our study advisers. Find out more:

Women in Engineering opportunities

The University of Queensland Women in Engineering(WE) team are happy to offer these opportunities to educate your students on the diverse careers an engineering degree can lead to:

Online Trust Me, I'm an Engineer presentation - March 28 4-5pm

School holiday tour of Engineering precinct at UQ - April 12 and April 14 2-4pm

UQ: What can I do with my ATAR?

This link can provide students with more information about ATAR requirements, and which courses they might want to study. Discover here

ACU | Entry and Pathways for Year 12 Students

Tuesday 24 May 2022, 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm Online

Find out more: https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/events/2022/may/acu-entry-and-pathways-for-year-12-students