eNews Archive Issue 20 - 18 July 2019

I’m excited to be back after my long service leave. Thank you to Karen Gorrie, Nicole Devlin, Tom McCormick and Louise Brown who all stepped up into the ‘next level role’ while I was on leave.

Earlier this year, we saw the release of a new study by renowned Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University, Jean Twenge, which confirmed her earlier research findings that rates of serious psychological distress and major depression have risen significantly in American teens and young adults between 2005 and 2017. Although this study is based on US data, there are parallels to the Australian experience.

Twenge and her colleagues used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a nationally representative survey of over 600,000 American adolescents and adults. Overall, they found that adolescents and young adults experienced higher rates of serious psychological distress, depression and suicide in the late 2010s than in the 2000s. In girls aged 12-17 the rate increased from 13.1% to 19.9% (one in five). Nearly all these increases occurred after 2010.

Twenge and her colleagues' research suggests that the largest increases in mood disorder outcomes occurred among higher socioeconomic status white women and girls. Although the cause of the reported trends is unknown, previous studies show that individuals who spend more time on social media report lower wellbeing and are more likely to be depressed, while general internet use and involvement in cyberbullying (as victim or perpetrator) are linked to depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Jean Twenge also notes in her contribution to the World Happiness Report 2019 that studies show that internet and social media users may feel that “their lives are inferior compared with the glamourous ‘highlight reels’ of other’s social media pages”, while those who limit or cease digital media use improve their wellbeing.

In the World Happiness Report 2019, Jean Twenge concludes that the large amount of time adolescents spend on digital devices is either directly linked to unhappiness and/or that it displaces time spent on activities proven to increase happiness, including sleep, sport and exercise, face-to-face social interaction, volunteer work, going to the movies, keeping up with news and current affairs, and attending religious services. In fact, the Monitoring the Future survey for 2013-2016 found that all activities correlated with general happiness in American 8th and 10th graders are non-phone activities, while all activities carried out on phones, including listening to music, using the internet, computer games, social media, texting, video chats and phone calls were negatively correlated with happiness.

References:
Twenge, J., Cooper, A., Joiner, T., Duffy, M. & Binau, S. (2019, March 14). Age, period, and cohort trends in mood disorder indicators and suicide-related outcomes in a nationally representative dataset, 2005-2017. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1037/abn0000410

Twenge, J. (2019). The sad state of happiness in the United States and the role of digital media. In J. F. Hellliwell, R. Layard & J. D. Sachs (Eds), World Happiness Report 2019 (pp. 87-96). Retrieved from: https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2019/

Ros Curtis 

Parent Program:
The Anglican Schools Commission has engaged Brett Lee from Internet Education and Safety Services (INESS) to develop a series of online courses for parents about cyber safety. St Margaret’s strongly supports this training for parents within our school community. This course is a user-friendly and practical resource that will equip parents with information and skills to assist their children to safely navigate the online world.

There are separate, tailored courses for parents with students in:

• Lower Primary (ages 4-8)
• Upper Primary (ages 9-11)
• Lower Secondary (ages 12-14)
• Upper Secondary (ages 15-18)

These courses are free. Please email Ms Kristie Govender, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Principal, on KGovender@stmargarets.qld.edu.au or phone 3862 0771 for the website link and password.

Please note: The Anglican Schools Commission has entered into a financial agreement with INESS to provide this training to school parents for a period of five years including annual updates. School parents are asked to honour the agreement with INESS and not to share the login password with persons not directly associated with St Margaret’s.

Statement of Commitment:
St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School supports the rights of children and young people and are committed to ensure the safety, welfare and wellbeing of students. St Margaret’s is therefore committed to responding to allegations of student harm resulting from the conduct or actions of any person including that of employees.

This commitment includes the provision of a safe and supportive living and learning environment for all students and requires all employees, volunteers and visitors to model and encourage behaviour that upholds the dignity and protection of students from harm.

In support of this commitment, St Margaret’s is dedicated to our Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy which includes having relevant policies, procedures and training in place to effectively address the safety and wellbeing of students in our care.

Student Protection Officers:
These are persons designated as liaison people to whom students may refer if they are not feeling safe; or to whom they make complaints of harm, inappropriate behaviour or physical/sexual abuse.

The St Margaret's Student Protection Officers are:

• Deputy Principal - Karen Gorrie
• Head of Boarding - Lesa Fowler
• Head of Primary School - Angela Drysdale
• Dean of Students - Nikki Townsend
• Guidance Counsellor - Sharon Stone

All Student Protection documentation, including all policies and procedures can be viewed on our website: https://www.stmargarets.qld.edu.au/discover-st-margaret-s/student-protection.

Karen Gorrie 

The Boarding House at St Margaret’s is a community rich in culture and contrast. We are fortunate to share our boarding experience with others from all corners of the globe. Preparing the girls for a fast-changing world that is full of opportunity, as well as challenges, is one of the key tasks of the Boarding House. We need to see diversity as a strength and work towards the girls accepting and understanding that they live in a global world. Many will work in international companies, have international colleagues at work and have clients and customers from all over the world. It is essential that we are proactive in broadening the girls’ horizons, preparing them for the path ahead where they will require skills to ensure that they are empathetic, tolerant and able to work collaboratively and with integrity.

 Lesa Fowler 

Academic progress meetings began on Monday and I was very impressed by the girls’ commitment to their learning and improvement. I have asked all Year 12s to sign up for a meeting on Thursday or Friday and you are most welcome to attend with your daughter. Please email Rosie Parisi on rparisi@stmargarets.qld.edu.au if you would like to organise an alternative time next week.

Year 10 SET Plan interviews
Part of the subject selection process for Year 10 students is the opportunity to engage in a SET plan interview to discuss proposed subject selections. Most of the girls completed their interview last term; however, due to some student absences and the Global Exchange Program interviews will continue over the next two weeks. Your daughters will be asked to nominate a time for the interview and you are most welcome to attend with them.

Also, a reminder that we will have a subject information night on Monday 5 August. On this night, I will provide information about the new Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) system, tertiary institutions will be present, and each Head of Faculty will be present to provide information about subject options.

Years 10 and 11 subject changes
Students considering a subject change in Years 10 and 11 can make an appointment with me this week to discuss their options. When considering a subject change, it is important to remember that all subjects increase in difficulty in the senior years so persistence and hard work are needed in all subjects to improve.

Assessment Planner – Year 10
The Semester 2 Assessment Planner is available on the Year 10 POD page.

Jo Butterworth 

Along with the Curriculum Handbook as a guide, in Term 3 the Year 8 students will be addressed by each Head of Faculty during Year Level Assembly times. The curriculum details and requirements of each elective subject will be outlined. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions about the subjects they may be interested in pursuing next year. These talks have begun and it is important for your daughter to have looked at the Curriculum Handbooks to understand her options.

In addition to these information sessions, a Year 8 and 10 Subject Information Evening will be held on Monday 5 August. This event will incorporate a Subject Expo where parents and students can speak with staff about subject offerings.

Following the Information Evening, students will be required to select their subjects through an online process. More information about this process can be found in the Curriculum Handbooks.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss options for 2020, please feel free to contact either Jo Butterworth or myself.

Supervised Study Sessions
Supervised Study Sessions commence next week on Monday 22 July and will run every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until 12 September, from 5:00-7:30pm in the Eunice Resource Centre. These sessions are supervised by tutors from St Margaret’s College and have been a great support to the girls who attend. Bookings for all sessions during the term can be done via Flexischools on the schools’ website. While the study session is free of charge, if you would like your daughter to have dinner this can be purchased for $10 at the time of booking the sessions on Flexischools.

Nicole Devlin

The challenge for the term ahead is to keep these lines of communication open when the weeks start to become hectic. I encourage parents to continue to talk to their daughters about what happened at school that day, what homework they have, what assignments are coming up, how they feel they’re going with the content, what goals they’re trying to reach and discuss any issues they’re experiencing. If your daughter is having difficulties, please contact her Head of Year and ask how you can work together to support her learning. Partnerships between the school and home are vital for your daughter’s overall achievement.

Pastoral Care Days – Sexual Health and Healthy Relationships
As part of the School’s Pastoral Care Program, students from Years 7 to 12 over the coming weeks will be presented with a comprehensive session around healthy relationships, sexual health and at risk sexual behaviours. Judith Krause, a clinical social worker and sexual health educator, will present to Years 7 and 8, while True Relationships Australia  will present to Years 9 to 12. These programs provide age appropriate, factual information and meet curriculum content where students can discuss and ask questions in a safe and non-threatening environment. The sessions will hopefully allow parents to have a segue which enables them to have conversation regarding sexual health at home.

The Year 11 students will continue their leadership journey with the nomination process occurring in the first three weeks of term. The 2020 leadership announcements will be made on 8 August 2019.

Year 12 students will continue to work towards their exit goals this term, both academically and as leaders of the school. This cohort has shown generosity in both the time they have given to younger students and raising awareness and funds for a number of charities. They are to be commended on their efforts as they continue to receive the support of the whole school community as they move into their final semester. The Ponytail Project is the prefects' initiative for Term 3 where funds raised will go to the Minotti Trust and the Cancer Council.

Students are looking forward in anticipation to our St Margaret’s Day celebrations this Friday 19 July.

Nikki Townsend 

These performances would not have happened without the dedication and guidance of all the House teachers. Like the girls, this type of learning is not common, so for each teacher the competition offered some form of challenge. However, as role models, the teachers accepted the challenge of the competition and planned, prepared and committed to exiting the learning pit with a stellar performance. It was a difficult decision for the judges with Milton House taking out first place, Lawson second and Bede third.

The girls not only enjoyed performing with House members but doing so for an appreciative audience of Grandparents, Godparents and Parents. This event is such a valuable experience for both the child and the adult which is supported by research. For the child, the adult is:

• Someone who offers unconditional love
• A mentor who can help with a problem
• Someone who offers a sense of adventure
• A role model of kindness, humour and patience
• A friend who a child can talk to and laugh with
• And a teacher of life lessons

On the other hand, we also know that spending time with a child or children adds infinite value back for the adult. Many visitors took the opportunity to visit the classrooms and I know the simple joy of working together will be an everlasting memory for both the child and the adult. Thank you to Bernborough Ascot for providing a coffee van for the morning.

Angela Drysdale

Upcoming Events:
19 July: St Margaret’s Day Run, 2pm, Circular Drive
24 July: Bands Concert, 6:30pm, Eton Hall
25 July: Andrews Cup Netball, MDNA Coorparoo 

Dates to note are as follows:
24 July: Bands Concert
1 August: Ponytail Project Rock Band performance
13 August: Classics in the Cathedral
20 August: PWN Breakfast
21 August: Private Music Students’ Recital Three
23 August: Primary Arts Spectacular
8 September: Nundah Street Festival Rock Band Performance
17 September: Choral Concert

Bands Concert
On Wednesday 24 July, all students involved in St Margaret’s Band Ensembles will be performing in the annual Bands Concert. The Sister Helen Wind Symphony, Jackson Wind Ensemble, Chaseley Concert Band, Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone, Elayne Jones and Regale Percussion Ensembles, Stage Band, Secondary Rock Bands, Highly Strung as well as the Year 5 Band will present wonderful music for you to enjoy! The concert will be held in Eton Hall and begins at 6:30pm, concluding at approximately 8:00pm. The cost of admission is $5 adults, free for students/children. Please join us for pre-concert refreshments provided by the Music Support Group in Eton Courtyard from 6:00pm. A letter with further information is attached here (PDF 170KB).

Music Support Group
The next Music Support Group meeting will be on Tuesday 30 July at 5:00pm in the Primary Music Room (second floor of Chaseley). Parents from both the Primary and Secondary Schools are welcome to attend.

Brad King 

A key event at the carnival is the St Margaret’s Gift where the fastest 100m runners from across all ages compete against one another in a handicapped race. There were 11 girls who competed in this event running off varying distances from 100m to 93m. Congratulations to the following girls: Lucinda Bourke, Tayden Tomich, Ryanne Coe, Gabrielle Geldard, Indiahna Frawley, Emily Woods, Bianca Licina, Ashleigh Pomeroy, Lauren Searle and Dimity Hunter, with special mention going to Gabrielle Geldard who placed first, Dimity Hunter in second place and Ryanne Coe in third place.

The overall results from the carnival were as follows:

1st Tennyson

2nd Lawson

3rd Chaucer

4th Bede

5th Herrick

6th Milton

7th Spenser

8th Kendall

Winter Fixtures
Our Winter sports of Hockey, Netball, Tennis and Volleyball commence the season this weekend with Tennis ‘hitting’ it off on Friday 19 July and all other sports on Saturday morning. Our first game takes place against Somerville House at our home venues with games commencing from 7:30am. We invite all parents and friends to come and support the ‘Brown, White and Blue’ this weekend. To view the game schedule, please click here (PDF 134.2KB).

QISSN – Netball Tournament
QISSN is a Netball Tournament which St Margaret’s has competed in over the past three years and we continue to get better and better. This year, the tournament took place in Bundaberg and the St Margaret’s team consisted of 9 girls, Coach - Gayle Coutts (Head of Netball), Manager - Nicole Devlin (Dean of Studies) and Mrs Bichel who was able to lend a hand throughout the tournament, especially when the team overpacked!

The team was successful in their round games resulting in them securing a quarterfinal berth. The girls went on to contest a final against Southern Cross College only to be defeated and place 21 out of 64 teams. The week-long QISSN competition was filled with many laughs, incredible netball games and lots of memories, including a visit to an Old Girls’ strawberry farm owned and operated by a previous St Margaret’s girl - ‘TinaBerries’ that will be treasured by all the players, especially the seniors. Special thanks to Gayle Coutts and Mrs Devlin for their guidance and assistance throughout the tournament.

Congratulations…

Portia Creevey (7) who was selected in the 11 and 12 Years Queensland Secondary Schools Netball Team. Portia will now contest the Australian School Sport Netball Championships in September.

Stella Stuart (7) who was selected as a member of the Queensland School Sport Swimming Team to participate in the School Sport Australia Swimming Championships in Melbourne from 27 July to 31 July.

Helen Lobegeiger 

Term 3 2019 smART Club for Students in Years 7-12 (PDF 1.1MB)

Term 3 2019 smART Cub for Adults (PDF 1019.3KB)

Congratulations to Eleanor Jewell (Year 9) for 'Artwork of the Month - July 2019' (PDF 296.1KB).

Lisa Smith 

Exchange movements for Term 3
Visiting Students:
Term 3 is our busiest Exchange hosting term as we welcome 17 visiting Exchange students to the St Margaret’s community:

• St Margaret’s College, New Zealand (Rowing Exchange): Grace Farrell and Alana Cawte
• St Anne’s, South Africa: Catherine Van der Merwe, Jennifer Connolly and Emily Bennett
• Emma Willard, USA: Ella Boshart
• Konan, Japan: Ryeone Kim and Honori Manabe
• Ursulinenschule, Germany (commencing 29/7/19): Hannah Schmidt, Katharina Leuke, Johanna Lotze, Hannah Schurheck, Isabel Gabler, Katharina Offenberg and Lisa Eicke
• Nga Tawa, New Zealand (commencing 22/7/19): Emma Clark and Natalie Bone

Students returning from their respective Exchanges in Term 2:

• Rosie Turnbull (Shawnigan Lake, Canada)
• Celia Quinn and Estella Caro (Pensionnat du Saint Nom de Marie, Montreal, Canada)
• Lucy Howard, Rachel Sands and Teneille Allen (St Anne’s, South Africa)
• Edwina McLachlan and Julia Elks (St Stephen’s College, Hong Kong)
• Charlotte Heather and Sophia Henebery (Nga Tawa, New Zealand)
• Charlotte Brown and Eva Moller (Crofton House, Canada)

Students away on their exchange in South Africa:

• Charlotte Russell, Georgina Winter and Priscilla Russell (St Anne’s Diocesan College)
• Alice Boughey, Elizabeth Kettle and Greta Kasprowicz (St Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls)

Angelin Achari 

Our next Professional Women’s Network Guest Speaker is one of only a handful of women in the world to run a privatised airport, having retired as CEO and Managing Director from Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) in June 2018 after 10 years in the role.

Join us for Breakfast with Julieanne Alroe, Chair of Infrastructure Australia and inaugural President of the Queensland Futures Institute!

Date: Tuesday 20 August 2019
Time: 7:00am arrival for a 7:15am start - 8:45am finish
Venue: Arts Centre Foyer, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School
Tickets: Corporate tables $800 for 10, $80 adult and $40 students (Years 10-12/tertiary)

Please click here (PDF 579.4KB) for more information.

Limited tickets are still available via Flexischools. Please click here to purchase your ticket.

We sincerely thank our corporate sponsors for their generous support of the Series.

Associate Sponsors: Pitcher Partners and McCullough Robertson

Supporting Partners: Downer, NAB, Programmed Property Services, Clear Insurance and Red Oak.

P&F General Meeting
The P&F invites the school community to attend our second General Meeting of 2019. This is an opportunity to share your views and ideas, so please join us.

Date: Monday 29 July 2019
Time: 6:30pm start
Venue: Arts Centre Foyer, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School

Mayo Long Lunch - The Australian Story
Join us for the hugely popular Friends of Mayo Long Lunch on Sunday 11 August 2019! This year we will be taking a culinary tour through the history of Australia, accompanied by beautifully paired wines.

Date: Sunday 11 August 2019
Time: 12noon to 3:00pm
Venue: Gallery, Level 1 Arts Centre, St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
Cost: $100 per person (includes paired wines)
RSVP: Friday 2 August (unless SOLD OUT earlier)

Limited tickets are still available via Flexischools. Please click here to purchase your ticket.

Please direct all enquiries to the Development and Community Office on 07 3862 0768 or developmentandcommunity@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

The Long Lunch will once again feature the Friends of Mayo Postcard Project, where guests will be able to purchase authentic, original artworks from artists connected to our school community.

This year's Long Lunch will also feature selected artworks from Fireworks Gallery.

St Margaret’s Milestone Reunions
The St Margaret’s Reunion weekend (26 – 29 July) is fast approaching! If you are celebrating your Reunion this year and haven’t got your ticket yet, don’t forget to do so via Flexischools. We look forward to welcoming those celebrating a milestone reunion back to the campus in July.

Primary Mother Daughter High Tea – Years 3 to 6.
Due to high demand for this event, tickets are now SOLD OUT. If you would like to be put on the waiting list for tickets, please email your name, contact details and number of tickets required to developmentandcommunity@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.

Lara Pickering 

Meet Sydney University in Brisbane
Scholarships Workshop and Information Evening - Wednesday 24 July 2019, 4:30-5:45pm, Scholarships and accommodation workshop 6:00-8:00pm. Join us at our upcoming information evening in Brisbane and discover the Sydney Undergraduate Experience for yourself. Registrations: meetsydneybrisbane.eventbrite.com.au.

QTAC Key Dates
QTAC’s admissions period runs from the beginning of August 2019 to the end of June 2021. The cost will be $44 which includes three changes of preferences.

1 August: Applications for 2020 open

28 September: Early closing date some courses

28 September: Scholarship Applications due

October: Submit EAS and supporting documents

15 November: First offer round Year 12

14 December: OP’s released

23 December: Offer Round

7 January: Last day to change preference

15 January: Offer Round

Year 12 students will receive their QTAC course guide and instructions about how to apply through QTAC during this term. Whether or not they are applying to QTAC, each Year 12 student will also meet with Ms Johnston, Careers Counsellor, on an individual basis to discuss their post year 12 options.

The University of Queensland
The UQ situational judgement test for the Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Honours) are scheduled in August, October and November 2019. Registration will remain open until the day before the scheduled November exam date. Discover more

 University Open Days: These dates are available on the POD

 Australian Catholic University: Community Achiever’s Program (CAP)
The program offers future students who are active in their community early entry to their undergraduate course of choice. Apply here Applications for 2020 close 30 July 2019.

UQ International High School Students Showcase for Years 11 and 12 International high school students: 2 Oct (Monday), 9:00am-3:30pm at UQ St Lucia campus.

QUT International high school day
We welcome all international high school students who are currently studying Year 11 or 12. Gardens Point campus on Monday 21 October 2019 (student free day). Register here

 UNE
Year 12 students are invited to participate in our Early Entry Program for admission in 2020. UNE's Early Entry application process is fully online, it’s free to apply and you can submit your Early Entry applications now.

Griffith University
Griffith university has developed a website to assist you to decide on a study pathway: https://www.griffith.edu.au/study

 Scholarships in Australia: https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/scholarships

 QUT Match My Skills
Looking for some inspiration on what to study? https://match-my-skills.qut.edu.au/

 VTAC December Offers
VTAC recently announced that from this year onward, domestic applicants will have the opportunity to receive offers via the VTAC system in December, shortly after the release of results. Queensland is the only state other than Victoria that will participate in this new December round. More information, along with some FAQs, can be found here.

From a University of Melbourne perspective, applicants will be considered for offers in all courses for the December round.

Elizabeth Johnston