St Margaret's Anglican Girls School

Recently, our Year 11 Design students had the exciting opportunity to visit the transformative $2.5 billion 'Waterfront Brisbane' project at Eagle Street Pier and Waterfront Place, giving them an insight into urban development and planning.

Guided by Dexus Project Director and St Margaret’s parent, Matthew Beasley, the students experienced a firsthand look at the significant changes underway, including the construction of two new office towers, a riverfront retail precinct, and expanded public spaces - including the riverwalk and CityCat terminal, as well as understanding important design considerations such as stakeholder engagement, future planning and consultation with First Nations perspectives.

The experience was a valuable, real-world opportunity to inspire students’ future design thinking.

One of the distinctive aspects of a St Margaret’s primary education is our instrumental music immersion program which sees students in Years 3 and 4 learning a string instrument, Year 5 students learning a band instrument and Year 6 students learning to play the guitar. The program delivers benefits well beyond learning an instrument though, impacting the whole child’s development by improving academic capabilities, strengthening wellbeing, building confidence and resilience and fostering collaboration and a lifelong appreciation of learning and the arts.

The program allows students to progress in their music learning from the developing stages through to their senior years of schooling with excellence pathways for those students who wish to further their music studies.

Recently, all students in Years 3-5 and in Archetti Strings (our early beginner string ensemble) had the opportunity to take to the stage and share their musical journeys thus far with an adoring audience of fans (parents and friends) at our Winter Wonders concert.

It was a special opportunity for our primary musicians to perform to a live audience on stage, and it was wonderful to see the joy on their faces as they proudly shared their music-making.

Last Friday, our Year 1 students had the most magical day out at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary!
The excursion brought their Science and HASS units on Australian Animals, Living Things and Natural and Managed Environments to life in a celebration of learning. The girls experienced hands-on encounters alongside koalas, kangaroos, emus, turtles, and snakes, plus two showstoppers on the day, the thrilling Raptor Flight Show and the popular Sheepdog Show.
A standout moment for the girls was feeding the sleepy kangaroos and getting to meet a koala up close!
Wandering through the various habitats, our students soaked up so much about the animals and the surrounding environments, sparking curiosity, connection and excitement along the way.
Huge thanks to our fantastic staff and parent helpers for making the day such a success!

Last year, we celebrated Jemima who achieved The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award - Australia – the highest level of the prestigious international program.

This month, it became official, and the Year 12 student was formally awarded her Gold Level certificate by the Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young at a special awards ceremony.

Jemima developed skills through her involvement in Duke of Ed – communication, interpersonal, teamwork, cooperation, leadership – that will place her in good stead for her future, particularly with universities and employers who recognise the initiative and life skills developed beyond the classroom that contribute to the well-rounded development of individuals. These skills are reflected in her St Margaret’s+ profile.

Jemima’s accomplishment reflects dedication, resilience and a commitment to personal growth and we couldn’t be prouder of all that she has achieved.

Congratulations Jemima!

Two weeks ago, our Prep students marked an exciting milestone, 100 days of learning, growth and discovery! To celebrate, they enjoyed a day packed with fund, hands-on learning activities. They cooked, crafted their own 100 Days crowns, and took part in a range of maths and STEM challenges, including creating a 100-link paper chain and building impressive creations with Lego and other materials using exactly 100 items. 👩‍🏫🍎🏫✏️

They also enjoyed a teddy bear's picnic and story time with our Head of Primary Mrs Drysdale and her much-adored pup, Daisy. 🧸🐾📖

In just 100 days, our young learners have settled into new routines, built friendships, developed confidence and independence, and made remarkable progress in their learning. Every day has brought new opportunities to explore, create, question and grow. 🙋❓

We're so proud of all they have accomplished and can't wait to see what the rest of their school journey holds. ✨

This year’s school theme ‘optimism’ fuels our school community’s belief that our actions can make a positive difference, and the Ponytail Project exemplifies this theme in action.

145 students and three teachers, Mrs Buckingham, Mrs Braham and Ms Shepherd, recently cut their hair, raising over $135,000 for Cancer Council Queensland and the Minotti Trust while also donating their ponytails to Sustainable Salons to be repurposed to support individuals experiencing hair loss.

Optimism isn’t just a personal trait – it’s collective – and the Ponytail Project has, since its inception 12 years ago, inspired our community of current students, families and Old Girls to take communal action. Together, we have raised over $1 million for Queenslanders impacted by cancer, and proudly, the movement has rippled outwards motivating other schools across the state to make a difference in the lives of others.

The Ponytail Project is a powerful legacy, one that is grounded in the philosophy of our school’s founders, the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent, who sought to make a difference in the lives of people in need. While it stems from a difficult reality, the initiative embodies the belief that empowering our St Margaret’s students can turn hardship into collective hope and long-term change. Thank you to all who participated in this year’s Ponytail Project.

It is with a heavy heart we share the news of the passing of Sister Gillian SSA yesterday morning.

All within the immediate and wider communities of the SSA schools, St Margaret’s and St Aidan’s, will share the grief of her passing.

Sister Gillian was professed on 22 July 1995. She led the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent briefly in 2006/2007 and again from 2017 to 2023 after Mother Eunice stepped down. In her usual humble fashion, Sister Gillian insisted that she still be referred to as Sister, in honour of Mother’s longstanding leadership of the order. In 2023, under the new constitution of the SSA, Sister Gillian became co-leader of the order with Sister Gillian Moses and Sister Jan Crombie.

It is a blessing that Sister Gillian, in recent years, lived to see the restoration of the Sisters Chapel and the renovation and repurposing of Community House at St Margaret’s. With great vision, together with Sister Sandra, she instigated changes to the SSA constitution, which meant that the SSA will continue to live out their ethos in innovative ways, holding firm to their commitment to the spirituality and leadership of women and girls.

Whenever she could, Sister Gillian attended St Aidan’s and St Margaret’s school events, especially enjoying the wonderful musical performances by both schools. She was a faithful attendee at St Aidan’s annual Ascension Day celebrations, and in recent weeks, Sister Gillian attended the 2026 St Margaret’s Day celebrations and the reunion weekend.

Sister Gillian’s familiar and gentle presence, her quiet strength, her deep faith and her enduring service to the SSA and to St Margaret’s and St Aidan’s will be greatly missed but forever remembered.

We will advise of funeral arrangements once known.

Please keep Sister Gillian, her three children, the Society of the Sacred Advent and all who loved her in your prayers at this time.

Rest eternal grant to her, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her.

Our Year 10 Geographers recently swapped their classrooms for Sandgate's dynamic foreshore for a hands-on fieldwork excursion to analyse coastal change. 📍🌏🌊

Students stepped into the shoes of real-world coastal managers to investigate local flooding risks and coastal processes. Throughout a busy day, they collected vital primary data along the Sandgate Foreshore and Second Avenue.

Skills developed included:
✏ Local Field Sketching: Sketching the coastline from Arthur Davis Park to the Shorncliffe Pier, identifying the social, economic, and environmental values of our foreshore.
🌊Topographic Profiling: Mastering the use of dumpy levels to measure land elevation and calculated local tide heights, analysing how King Tides and rising sea levels might threaten the area.
🏠 Housing Resilience Audits: Conducting a comprehensive housing survey to evaluate the flood resilience of local properties and identify homes most at risk.

They are now using the geographical inquiry process to analyse their findings and prepare a formal Field Investigation Report, proposing evidence-based actions to improve local coastal resilience and sustainability.