St Margaret's College

We had a great morning at our Y7&8 Parents and Friends Association Breakfast, with St Margaret's College Old Girls' Association alumna and professional netballer Josie Seymour joining us as our guest speaker.

Josie, who now plays for the Tactix, shared her journey from school netball through to the professional game, including the setbacks she has faced along the way and what continues to drive her. Our Middle School girls loved hearing what life as an athlete really looks like, from training and fitness sessions to the discipline, resilience and commitment needed behind the scenes.

A huge thank you to Josie for sharing her story so generously, and to our PFA for bringing our community together for another special morning.

Know a young woman aged 11-18 who is making a real difference in her community, in the arts, in STEM, in sport, or anywhere else?

Nominate her for a Canterbury GirlBoss Award.

St Margaret's is proud to support the Community Award again this year, recognising young women who show heart, courage, and real initiative.

We are especially proud of our SMC GirlBoss alumnae: Lucy Butterfield, Millie Edwards, Julia Holmes and Kyra Mayers, who have each shown what is possible when young women back themselves.

Entries close Sunday 2 August. Nominate a girl who deserves to be recognised at girlbossawards.com/canterbury

Speech is hardwired into the brain. Reading has to be taught.

Our Year 0–3 parents have joined our Junior School teachers at a Building Readers workshop to explore how Structured Literacy works and what it looks like in the classroom. St Margaret's introduced Structured Literacy well before it became the national standard in New Zealand, because the evidence for how children learn to read and write was clear. Reading and writing are taught together, in a deliberate and carefully sequenced way. And parents are part of that.

Some of the simplest things make a real difference at home: talking together in real conversation, reading aloud every day even after your daughter can read independently, mixing up what you read (chapter books, picture books, poetry, the newspaper), storytelling, dress-ups, singing and rhymes.

Our Junior School and our parents are partnering to build mastery of reading and writing in our girls, and a love of literature that will carry them through the rest of their lives

In Memory of Grant Belcher.

St Margaret’s College mourns the passing of Grant Belcher, a much-loved teacher, leader, colleague, and friend, who dedicated over 30 years to our community.

Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui-a-Tāne.

Grant joined St Margaret’s in 1994 as a teacher of Humanities and Social Sciences, later serving as Deputy Principal. Although he retired in 2023, Grant remained closely connected to the College as a regular reliever and as someone who continued to step in, support, and serve whenever he was needed.

Grant touched the lives of many of our students and alumnae and their families, bringing a sense of fun to his teaching with his special brand of humour.

Our thoughts are with Grant’s family and his loved ones. If you would like to share your condolences and contribute your memories of Grant for his family, please comment, message us, or email [email protected].

Congratulations to Tessa, who has been selected for this year's National Shakespeare in Schools Production, on the back of a stand out performance at the SGCNZ National Shakespeare Festival. Tessa performed a comedy scene from The Merry Wives of Windsor, together with students from Christ's College, Canterbury, demonstrating the dexterity of her acting ability following a lead role in our recent production of Les Misérables

What an amazing day we had supporting the Tactix last weekend. Thank you to our Senior Dance Company and Theatre Dance Academy for the fabulous half-time show, and all the St Margaret's girls who contributed to the day.

Thank you to Sideline Studios NZ for the halftime show photography, and to the Tactix for having us

Our Year 7 girls have been taking part in the Butterfly Effect, a day focused on self-worth, resilience and positive identity. Getting this foundation in place at the beginning of Middle School gives our girls the inner compass to guide them through adolescence, with the conversations they have started here ones they will keep returning to throughout their Middle School years and beyond

Sharon Torpey is a leading voice in delivering high-impact, evidence-based drug education to parents and caregivers.

Parents and caregivers are invited to join us on Monday 29 June to hear how Sharon equips young people with the knowledge, confidence, and tools they need to make safer, healthier decisions.

Visit SMC Connect for more information and to let us know you're attending: https://bit.ly/4odduYV

Students from across St Margaret's have presented thoughtful, well-researched and original speeches for this year's Myers' Cup competition, covering everything from using your voice, online influence and everyday kindness, to golf, comparison, resilience and growing up. A great showcase of student voice across our Junior, Middle and Senior schools.

Special congratulations to our 2026 winners, and to our rock bands who provided the entertainment.

For all the photos visit SmugMug with your 2026 password: https://bit.ly/49G3Tnu

There was a lot of aroha on our campus this week. Thank you to every grandparent and special friend who came along to spend time with our girls, we loved sharing St Margaret's with you. And to our performers, thank you for making the day so memorable.

For family photos, please refer to this week's newsletter.