Today’s annual St Margaret’s Day celebration was brimming with an extra special buzz and excitement following the announcement of the school’s plans to develop a state-of-the-art new sports precinct.
The new development will transform the school’s northern end of the campus, between Butler and Lapraik Streets and adjacent to the primary school.
The development plan boasts a water polo sized heated pool enabling students to swim and train for sports such as lifesaving and water polo all year round; new tennis courts with lights and a new gymnasium, strength and conditioning gym and HPE classrooms.
St Margaret’s recognises the importance of physical education, and the impact it has on the health and wellbeing of students. When students are at their healthiest and happiest, their academic performance and the way that they engage and interact in the classroom is improved.
The opportunities for innovation and collaboration in teaching and learning that this facility will provide are truly endless.
Year 8 student Lucy Damman said: “It will be great to have a heated pool all year round. Pre-season water polo training, even in October, is so cold in the 50m pool, and I’m excited to hear we will be able to hold home matches at St Margaret’s, which will be a real advantage”.
Sophie Webster in Year 7 said: ”With night lights for tennis, we will be able to extend the time we can play and practice. Sometimes we can’t play now if it has been raining, so all-weather courts will really help too”.
This announcement signifies St Margaret’s commitment to providing an environment that prepares confident, compassionate, capable women able to contribute in a global community.
St Margaret’s bold new vision – to be funded in part by a capital campaign – will be one of the most significant undertakings in the recent history of St Margaret’s.
The school has a long history of philanthropy with the facilities the girls benefit from today being delivered by the efforts of previous generations of parents, past students and staff.
Our community including past students, parents and staff have already shown their support through philanthropic contributions.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the St Margaret’s Foundation Building Fund to support the new sports precinct or for further information, please contact our Director of Philanthropy and Stakeholder Engagement, Lara Pickering by calling 07 3862 0884 or email foundation@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.
The project is due to commence in December this year with the expected completion date to be late 2019 or early 2020.