Issue 5 - 23 February 2012
PRINCIPAL
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
CHAPLAIN
SECONDARY
PRIMARY
CAREERS
MUSIC
SPORT
P&F NEWS
MAYO 2012
PRINCIPAL
Thank you to all parents, staff and students for helping make our Open Day a success last Saturday. The students were wonderful ambassadors for the school and I wanted to particularly thank parents who undertook a very active role on the various stalls on the day.
The much awaited Gonski Report into School Funding has now been released and, unfortunately, St Margaret's will have to wait a little longer to find out about the full impact of these changes in funding for the school.
In summary, the report contained 41 Recommendations to government and 26 Findings. However, the new approach to funding for schools is based on the premise of injecting an extra $5 billion into the funding pot for education. This may be the major stumbling block for some of the recommendations.
The proposed changes will take place from 2014 and it is heartening that the Report has recommended the introduction of 12 year funding agreements with non-government schools. Certainty for long term financial planning for schools is important.
Amounts associated with base levels of funding for primary aged and secondary aged students have been proposed and are based on what will be called a national school resource standard. The Review Panel has suggested that there will be a minimum public contribution to non-government schools between 20-25% of the average cost of educating a student properly. There is some suggestion that the socioeconomic status of parents, the fundraising of the parent body and even NAPLAN results could be used to determine the final amount of funding for different schools.
I have a major concern about the use of NAPLAN data in any way that moves from the original intention of NAPLAN. NAPLAN is of value only for the diagnostic information the tests provide to teachers and parents about individual student performance on literacy and numeracy tests. This information should then only be used to develop intervention programs designed to improve educational outcomes for students.
My other concern is that any fund raising effort of parents in the school should not have an effect on our final government funding. Such a move will be a powerful disincentive to parental involvement and the interest of Old Girls' in the school.
We will wait to see what will emerge about this matter as educators and non-government school representatives engage in the subsequent rounds of consultations and information sessions following the release of this report. The report recommends that all this work will be undertaken by an independent expert National School Resourcing Body.
The good news is that one of the findings of the Report is that non-government schools should have access to the same level of funding for students with disabilities than other systems. No doubt, many of you would be surprised to learn that up to this point this has not been the case.
I hope this newsletter article provides you with some further context as you read the reports in the newspaper and listen to commentators on news channels.
Old Girls will be interested to note that the St Margaret's Old Girls' Association offers a scholarship to graduates of St Margaret's students to study overseas. Funding for the scholarships is provided for both students in Year 12 or past students in undergraduate and postgraduate study overseas for periods of 6 months or 12 months. For further information please go to our website under the News Headlines for further information. Applications close Friday 29 June.
Congratulations to:
Isabella Smith (Year 10) who won the 800m and 1500m at the Queensland State Athletics Title and Kate Savage (Year 12) who came second at these State Athletics Titles in Triple Jump.
Amelia Jackson (Year 6) who is attending the prestigious figure skating camp in Moscow in Term 2.
Olivia Bowler (Year 11) who will be attending the National Rowing Championships in Perth, 9-12 March.
Sophie Malowiecki (Year 10) who will be participating in the Queensland Secondary Schools Triathlon Championships, 23 and 24 February.
Annabelle Traves (Year 10) who is currently in Sydney playing violin with The Australian Youth Orchestra.
Ros Curtis
Principal
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our many parents and members of the school community who attended Open Day last Saturday. This year, we had just under 700 people through the gates and conducted between 80-90 guided tours of the school. Many of our current parents also enjoyed the opportunity to stroll through the newly opened Eunice Science and Resource Centre, and gained an understanding of their daughter's renewed enthusiasm for science and reading in 2012.
I personally received many glowing comments from visitors on the day about the friendly nature of our students, the beautiful surrounds of the school and the excitement of showcasing the newly opened building. In particular, our Year 7 and Year 11 students who conducted tours of the Primary and Secondary Schools featured prominently in their feedback.
The colourful and varied nature of the displays, both academic and co-curricular, provided an insight into the St Margaret's landscape, spirit and true sense of community. Parents who were unable to attend on Open Day but would still like to walk through the new building are welcome to do so by phoning the School Reception and requesting a tour.
Michelle Carroll
Deputy Principal
Upcoming Services:
This Sunday 26 February - Year 8 Family Service, 5pm, All welcome!
Sunday 4 March: Primary Family Service - Bede, Chaucer, Kendall and Herrick, 9am
Sunday 4 March: Taize Service, 5pm, Come along!
LENT: Passion, Purpose and Prayer
Are you in tune with God?
I wonder what that could mean? Are we singing some great song of life desperately trying to hit the right notes in order to keep God happy? Or, is it our good intentions - our passion for the song that is most important?
During Lent, I am hoping to keep my listening ear out for the still small voice of God, to discern God's music for me, to engage in exploration ... I hope to discover how to be ‘in tune' with God. In order to best perform the ministry tasks I am called to, what will be the ideal ‘instrument'? What kind of music will I most enjoy playing? Will the beat remain the same or will the rhythm alter? Will God hand me the sheet music?
God's plan for each of us is unique to who we are and what we are able to offer. God will never expect too much of us - besides, God is right there beside us as our conductor and our page-turner all in one!
And then, just when we think we've managed to discover God's tune and we're swinging along quite nicely thank you very much, God surprises us with a change. Perhaps the tempo speeds up or slows right down? Is God trying to tell us that it's time to focus our attentions elsewhere or perhaps it's time we chilled out for a bit?
Does God ever mind if we are out of tune? No. So long as we are singing along and giving our all ... God doesn't give a hoot if we skip a beat or our harmonies are flat.
What tune does God have for you? Are you playing along with passion, purpose and prayer? ‘Passion' because we enjoy what we do, ‘purpose' because we are ‘in tune' enough with God to know a little of God's plan for us, and ‘prayer' because that's what is vital if we are to stay on the beat, keep the rhythm and stay groovy for God!
Keep listening for God's music this Lent - you may be surprised!
The Reverend Nicki Colledge
Chaplain
The St Margaret's Secondary School this week welcomed sixteen students and two teachers from Lycee du Sacre Coeur which is situated in Aix Provence, in the south of France. The students are currently on winter break in France and have taken the opportunity to trade snow and sleet for Queensland heat.
St Margaret's and Churchie have a long standing relationship with Lycee du Sacre Coeur which has resulted in several exchanges including four of our students visiting the school in September 2011. While the sixteen girls on the trip are currently hosted by St Margaret's families, eleven boys are being hosted by families of Churchie. At the conclusion of the school program, where the students are concentrating on improving their English language proficiency, the tour group will conclude with three days in Sydney before returning to France.
While the students are with us, they will experience a variety of classes, assist with the teaching of French, undertake visits to Mt Coot-tha Gardens, Alma Park Zoo, experience a St Margaret's Interhouse Swimming Carnival and attend History and Geography excursions to the City and Northern New South Wales, as well as living with Australian families and having a night in the Boarding House.
By all reports the girls are having a wonderful time and are fascinated by the St Margaret's uniform and remarkably, by the lunch boxes that the girls bring from home! A big thank you to Miss Di Marshall and Ms Anne-Marie Gerlach for arranging the visit, and thank you also to the families who are hosting our guests.
Year 8 Family Service
A reminder that the Year 8 Family Service will be held this Sunday 26 February in the St Margaret's Chapel from 5-6pm. The service is a lovely opportunity for the Year 8 community to come together in worship and for new families to the school to meet other parents in their year group.
Susan Shaw
Head of Secondary
CURRICULUM COLUMN
Scholar's Assembly
On Tuesday of this week, we had the pleasure of hosting a Scholars' Assembly to celebrate the success of the 2011 OP 1-5 recipients. It was fantastic to see these wonderful young ladies returning to school full of life and vitality, waiting eagerly for University life to commence. Most I am pleased to say, cannot wait for the study books to be opened again. Obviously they are well and truly over their senior year.
On the morning of the assembly, 18 of the 29 students who received at OP 1-5 returned to school. Some were absent due to illness, gap year and international travel commitments. It is an exciting time for these young ladies and I am sure that in future years, we are going to hear more about their success stories. It was also very exciting to hear that some students had been offered scholarships at various universities throughout Queensland and Australia.
The OP recipients were questioned by the 2012 School Captains on their tips for success. The current students loved hearing their stories especially when they recounted in detail, the hard times that they had overcome to gain their success. The most striking attribute that all of these students possessed were their outstanding organisational skills. All of these students were so heavily committed in the extra-curricular life of the school but they still had the motivation and desire to work hard to achieve outstanding results. Other students spoke of how they sought out extra assistance from their teachers when they did not understand and others spoke about the social life and Facebook pages that were neglected during the year. However, they were all so happy that they had achieved their goals.
Amanda Goh, the Dux of 2011 and the UQ Vice Chancellor's Scholarship recipient, stated that the quote that motivated her, was to leave school with ‘no regrets' and I am sure that if you attended the 2011 Speech Night and witnessed the numerous awards she received, it was obvious that she certainly achieved this.
Congratulations also to Amanda Goh and Fei Fei (Fei Xue) Jin who were awarded the UQ Vice Chancellor's Scholarship and Georgina Papworth who received the UQ Excellence Scholarship Award. It was very exciting to hear that St Margaret's received two of the forty-two in total of the UQ Vice Chancellor's Scholarships. As you can imagine, these scholarships are highly sought after.
Bake Sale
I would like to thank everyone who provided goods for the bake sale which raised $623.15 for the Archbishop's Flood Appeal. A special thank you goes to Mrs Sarah Collett who spent many hours assisting on the day as well as the boarders; Felicity Brumpton, Georgina Fernie, Sara Graham, Alice Mort and Carla Ulcoq. Thank you all... a wonderful effort.
Until next time, I wish you a safe and productive week.
Marcia Brumpton
Head of Teaching and Learning
Resilience
At the Parent Information Evening Ms Curtis spoke about resilience. There are many definitions of resilience, but as a school we are guided by Toni Noble and Helen McGrath who are highly regarded educators and authors within the education sector. In regards to the importance and impact of resilience they state:
"Student wellbeing is linked to student learning. Students with optimal levels of wellbeing and resilience are more likely to have higher academic achievement and complete their schooling, have better mental and physical health, be more resilient to stress and to engage in a more socially responsible lifestyle".
On Tuesday, Jenni Williams whilst presenting information about our Pastoral Care Program, You Can Do It, referred also to resilience and the research as to why children are less resistant today than in the past.
She quoted Martin Seligman (1995):
One of the major reasons why young people are less resilient today than earlier generations is the change in parenting styles. He argues that parents in the last 25 or so years have overprotected their children, and have focused too much on trying to make their children happy.
(Bounce Back - Teacher's Handbook Page 33 - Published 2003)
An email which is often sent around highlights this environmental shift. The abridged version is:
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s or even the early 80s probably shouldn't have survived.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no-one actually died from this.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Football had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Our actions were our own and consequences were expected. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovations and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
Dr John Irvine, a specialist in family relationships suggests the following questions that a parent can ask himself/herself if they wish to raise resilient children:
- Do you help your children solve their own problems or do you step in and solve it for them?
- Do you take your child's side in any dispute with a playmate or teacher or do you adopt an even-handed approach?
- Do you let your child learn that ‘no means no' or do you give in to avoid distress or tantrums?
- Do you let your child learn from mistakes or do you try to prevent any pain?
Modern Languages
This week Mrs Dodd's Year 4 French class welcomed Chantelle and Michelle from the Aix-en-Provence. These ladies are the teachers accompanying the French tour. Sophie Gerlach-Zuch's family is hosting Chantelle during their stay and thanks to Sophie, Mrs Dodd's class enjoyed a wonderful French lesson on Monday. Chantelle and Michelle arrived with a big bag of Sophie's soft toys which had amazingly taken on some very French habits over the weekend. The Year 4 girls had fun learning the French names of their new cuddly friends. Sadly we have now sent them home with Sophie. However, if any family has no further use for soft toy animals in good condition, the Primary modern languages department would love to give them a new home. A whole range of animals would be most welcome - from caterpillars, to monkeys, to frogs or even crocodiles, but no teddy bears please. Mrs Dodd has a few of those!
Family Fun Night
Final preparations are under way for our Family Fun Night. We encourage all families to attend this evening. It is a fabulous opportunity for both parents and girls to catch up with old friends and make new ones. The girls will enjoy the fun activities being organised for them.
Please return your slip and money with your raffle tickets to the Primary Office by Monday 5 March.
Thank you to the parents who have already donated raffle prizes but we are still in need of more.
Date: Friday 9 March
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Where: Eton Hall and Arts Centre Foyer
Cost: $10.00 per student (goodie bag and activities)
Interhouse Swimming Carnival
Date: Tuesday 28 February 2012
Time: 8:00am
Venue: Centenary Pool, Spring Hill
Please remember to return the slip regarding your travel arrangements to your class teacher.
After School Activity
The Worm Society is an innovative and exciting new after school program. This Book Club for kids is designed for middle to upper primary school children, providing opportunities for competent readers looking for further challengers. Kathryn Black, the founder and facilitator, is a highly experienced Melbourne trained Primary School Teacher with a special interest in the Literary Arts.
Operating from the belief that what we read forms us, Kathryn is passionate about exposing children to quality literature. Within small groups of approximately six children, Kate adopts current strategies to take reading comprehension to a higher level and build confidence with oral language and philosophical discussion.
If you would like to know more about this unique experience, please contact Kathryn Black via the below details.
Who: Middle to Upper Primary School children
What: Book Clubs for Kids
When: 4:00-5:30pm once a month
Where: Brisbane Powerhouse
Contact: Kathryn Black, Founder and Facilitator, Email: kathrynblack@live.com.au or Mobile: 0437 093 429
Help an Orphanage in Burma
The Primary Student Representative Council (S.R.C.) is supporting an orphanage in Burma. The S.R.C. is collecting children's and adult glasses. The children's eyes are tested and new glass is then fitted to the frames. The glass is inexpensive but the frames (particularly children's) are quite costly.
If you have old children's and adults frames which could get a second life please deliver to the Primary or Secondary office.
Angela Drysdale
Head of Primary
Open Day
Congratulations to all of our music students who gave many wonderful performances throughout Open Day. Encorah, Flute Ensemble, Clarinet Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, Rock Band, Brophy String Quartet, Sculthorpe String Quartet and Chamber Strings all gave performances throughout the day and this was no mean feat given the girls had only started rehearsals three weeks ago. Well done to all of our performers and special thanks to their conductors who prepared them for the day. A very big thank you must also go to all of the Music Support Group parents who provided wonderful assistance on the day. I feel very lucky to be part of such a dynamic Music Program!
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Music Support Group Meeting
The next Music Support Group Meeting will be on Tuesday 6 March at 5:30pm in SHOR (Sister Helen Orchestra Room). New parents are welcome!
Brad King
Head of Co-Curricular Music
PRIMARY MUSIC
Primary Choirs at Open Day
Last Saturday, the Junior Choir, Senior Choir and the Chorale gave their first performance for the year at Open Day 2012 to a large and appreciative audience. Congratulations to all singers for their fantastic presentation of ‘I Am Australian', to the Junior Choir who sang a ‘Mary Poppins Medley', the Senior Choir who sang ‘Go Down Moses' and the Chorale who sang ‘Song for the Mira'. Thank you to the Choral Captains, they sang beautiful solos, thank you to Felicity Mohr for her wonderful oboe playing during ‘Song for the Mira' and thank you to Mr Ng for accompanying the choirs.
Deb Cohen
Primary Music Coordinator
A new year always brings excitement and enthusiasm amongst our students, which can lead many of you as parents to ponder what should be the main focus of your daughter's upbringing and how should they spend their free time. It has long been known that sport has been found to be a vital element for healthy social, physical and emotional development as it exposes children to a range of differing situations allowing girls to grow and develop. Below are 5 key attributes that sport, and team sport in particular, will help your daughter develop.
- Commitment: When signing up for an activity, it indicates that students are making a commitment to stick with the activity for the entire season. This develops self-discipline and integrity, which are important character traits in all facets of life.
- Good winners and losers: Team sports teach children how to succeed and how to fail, since inevitably throughout each season of their sport their team will do both. With every win and loss, students will learn coping skills.
- Teamwork: Learning to work within a team dynamic and cooperate with others for the greater good is another important life skill that team sports instil.
- Friendships: Students learn to build friendships with a variety of different people developing communication skills, tolerance and listening skills.
- Fair play: Team sports teach students not only how to compete, but how to compete fairly within structured boundaries developing self-discipline and respect.
These attributes are important life skills and with parental support your daughter can experience and develop all of these within the St Margaret's Sports Program.
Wet Weather
In the event of wet weather early in the morning, there are two main ways to find out if sport is cancelled. Firstly, the Activities Information Line 3862 0850 provides up to date information on cancellations due to inclement weather. Secondly, cancellations along with results and upcoming events will be posted on the St Margaret's twitter site: http://twitter.com/stmargaretsags.
Bulk emails will also commence as soon as teams are finalised along with an SMS system.
St Margaret's and Clayfield College Invitational Swim Meet
On Friday 17 February, St Margaret's with Clayfield College hosted an invitation swim meet where 7 schools attended. Our squad once again swam well, indicating that we are on the right track for a possible 8th Percentage Cup in a row. The Meet ran smoothly and effortlessly due to the wonderful support of parents, girls and siblings who helped with the Home Bake and BBQ Stall, time keeping and raffle ticket selling.
Cross Country
Training has now started! The girls have been running now for the past week and a half.
Training times are as follows:
Monday: 6:30am-7:45am
Wednesday: 6:30am-7:45am
Friday: 6:30am-7:45am
Every girl at St Margaret's is encouraged to participate, whether it is to be a core part of the school Cross Country team, for improved fitness for their other sporting pursuits, or just for general health and wellbeing.
All levels of fitness are catered for, with most sessions being led by up to five coaches. All that is asked is that girls give 100% effort in all training activities.
Water Polo
The Water Polo season is nearing the end with 3 out of the 8 St Margaret's teams in the hunt for a semi-finals birth. The U16B, U15B and U15C team were all victorious and are now in the top four within each division. The results for all teams are:
U13B Moreton Bay B 5-3 St Margaret's
U14C Brigidine C 6-3 St Margaret's C
U15B St Margaret's B 14-1 Polo Bears/RiverCity
U15C St Margaret's C 10-9 St Peters
U16B St Margaret' 6-3 Barracudas B
U18B Mt St Michael's B 5-3 St Margaret's B
U18C Mt St Michael's C 7-2 St Margaret's C
Sailing
The St Margaret's Sailing Team 1 and 2 set sail last weekend and competed in the first round of the School's Team Sailing competition at Royal Queensland Yachting Squadron at Manly. Team 2 consisting of Skippers, Phoebe Duncombe, Alexandra Watson and Ellen Purcell and crew, Lucy Woodrow, Angharad Beach and Charlotte Thomas won their race. Meanwhile, Team 1 sailed extremely well but unfortunately did not place in the top 3.
Success at the State Athletics Titles
Several students participated in the State Athletics Titles on 18 and 19 February and experienced great success:
Isabella Smith - 1st in the Under 16 Years 800m and 1500m
Kate Savage - 2nd in the Under 18 Years Triple Jump
Georgina White - 5th in the Under 16 Years Javelin
Lucinda Crouch - 5th in the Under 14 Years 1500m
Congratulations to:
Teagan Kimeklis (Year 10) for placing 4th in the National Judo Championships.
Natalie Charlton (Year 12) for being selected in the 19 Years and Under Metropolitan North Volleyball Team.
Eloise Crouch and Sophie Malowiecki (Year 10) for being selected in the Metropolitan North Triathlon team.
Upcoming Events
- Swimming Support Group Meeting: Monday 27 February at 6:30pm in the Arts Centre Foyer
- QGSSSA Swimming: Wednesday 7 March
- QGSSSA Autumn Fixtures: Friday 9 March
- QGSSSA Swimming Dinner: Saturday 10 March
- Hockey Support Group Meeting: Thursday 15 March
Helen Lobegeiger
Head of Sport
2012 P&F Event Date Claimers
16 March 2012 - Fathers' Dinner
27 April 2012 - Father/Daughter Breakfast
11 August 2012 - St Margaret's Race Day
Mothers' Luncheon
St Margaret's P&F Association warmly thanks all mothers and friends of the School who were able to attend our annual Mothers' Luncheon at Portside Moda on Friday 17 February 2012.
The Mothers' Luncheon was a great success with fine wine, food and company enjoyed by all.
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Fathers' Dinner
Fathers of all forms are invited to attend the annual St Margaret's Fathers' Dinner on Friday 16 March. A most enjoyable evening for all dads and male role-models in the very pleasant surrounds of the Arts Centre with pre-dinner drinks overlooking the city in the new Eunice Science and Resource Centre.
Enjoy the company of our guest speaker, Dr Brett Robinson. Upon completing his medical degree at the University of Queensland, Brett played 16 tests for the Australian Rugby Union team (‘The Wallabies'); captained the ACT Brumbies in the Super 12 competition; completed a Doctorate of Philosophy in Clinical Orthopaedics at Oxford University; was the Australian CEO for Mondial Assistance; was Queensland State Manager of NRMA and was the General Manager of the Australian Rugby Union's High Performance Unit. Dr Brett Robinson is now the Project Leader of an oncology network; remains actively involved in orthopaedic research; is on the Board of the Australian Rugby Union and is heavily involved in a Foundation which mentors and assists disadvantaged children - all whilst the father of four young children himself.
This event, like the Father Daughter Breakfast is expected to be sold out! Book your table today by contacting the School Supplies Shop on 3862 0776 or email: events@stmargarets.qld.edu.au.
RBS Morgans is a proud sponsor of the Fathers' Dinner. RBS Morgans is one of Australia's largest full service retail stock broking and wealth management networks, with more than 340,000 clients, 490 advisers and 820 staff, operating from 60 offices in all states and territories.
The Chermside office was established in 1999 from a need to offer a unique and comprehensive investment service to our clients in Chermside and its surrounding suburbs. It is owner managed, which we believe differentiates us from many other financial planning groups. Stockbroking and Financial Planning services are available individually or can be offered as a package. Our aim is to deliver personalised advice to clients that best match their individual requirements.
P&F General Meetings
St Margaret's P&F Association invites the School community to come and support our School by sharing your views and ideas at the General Meetings, held in the Arts Centre Foyer from 6:30pm on the following dates:
14 March 2012
13 June 2012
12 September 2012
7 November 2012
P&F Committee for 2012
President - Catherine Cussen
Vice President - Peter Lane
Treasurer - Megan Peters
Secretary - Elizabeth Adcock
Member - Angela Dingle
Member - Michael Smith
Member - Kesree Jones
Member - Andrea Splatt
Member - Loretta Whyte
Member - Jayne Howse
Date Claimer: MAYO Festival will be held on 1 and 2 June 2012.
St Margaret's Calendar has all you need to know about what's on in the School Community.
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