Principal's Update

Dear Families,

It has been a busy and, at times, challenging fortnight of life and learning at St Margaret’s. This has certainly been the case for both staff and students, with many members of our community impacted by seasonal colds and flus. Despite this, there have also been many positive learning experiences and moments of celebration across the school community.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of meeting with many of our new Prep families for 2027. It has been wonderful to meet our future students and hear from families about why they have chosen St Margaret’s as the beginning of their child’s school journey. So many families have spoken about the excellent reputation our school has within the local community and the positive experiences shared by current families. This is something we should all be incredibly proud of and it reflects the strong partnership that exists between the school and our families.

Top Ranking: I was thrilled to read last week that St Margaret’s has been ranked as the 88th best private primary school in Victoria according to an article published in the Herald Sun on 14 May. This ranking considered a range of factors, including academic achievement and staff to student ratio.

Considering there are close to 800 private primary schools across Victoria, many of which charge annual school fees between $20,000 and $40,000, this recognition is an outstanding achievement. There are very few Catholic primary schools in Melbourne’s western suburbs to feature on this list, making this result even more significant. I would like to acknowledge the dedication and commitment of the staff at St Margaret’s in helping make this recognition possible. We truly are a special school community and this achievement is certainly worth celebrating.

Grade 6 Confirmation: Congratulations to our Year 6 students who celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation last Thursday evening. A tremendous amount of preparation and hard work goes into such an important occasion and I could not have been happier with how beautifully the evening unfolded.

A sincere thank you to all staff who supported the night, particularly our Year 6 teachers, Ms Parker, Ms Pickles and Mr Mammone, along with our Religious Education Leader, Ms Alison, for their outstanding work in preparing the students over many months.

Our students were truly alive with the Holy Spirit and I am incredibly proud of the reverence, maturity and commitment they demonstrated throughout the preparation process and on the evening itself.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Father Desmond for the important role he played in helping our students receive this Sacrament, stepping in at late notice for Bishop Rene to confirm our children.

New Building: Works on the final stage of the building project at St Margaret’s are almost complete. On Tuesday, we undertook our defect walkthrough which is one of the final stages before the building is formally handed back to the school.

I am absolutely thrilled with how the classrooms have turned out. The photos simply do not do the spaces justice. I look forward to seeing our students return to these wonderful learning environments and enjoy them for many years to come.

Walk to School Day: Last Friday, the school participated in the National Walk to School initiative. Although it was a foggy and chilly morning, it was fantastic to see so many students and families gathered at the Maribyrnong Cricket Ground ready to walk up to school together. The event created a wonderful sense of community and perhaps it is something we can look to organise more regularly in the future.

Whole Staff Faith Formation Day: Last Monday, all staff participated in a Faith Formation Day focused on Catholic Social Teachings at the Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre in the city. The day was facilitated by Sister Rita Malavisi, who is highly respected and experienced in this area. The school does not take the decision to close for professional learning lightly, so it was extremely pleasing that the day proved to be both meaningful and worthwhile for all staff involved.

Wishing all a great fortnight ahead,

John