Principal's Update

Dear Families,

The past two weeks have been an extraordinary time at St Margaret’s, filled with learning, celebrations, and achievements across so many areas of school life. It has been wonderful to see our students engaging so positively and our community coming together to support them.

100 Days of Prep: A heartfelt thank you to our families and teachers who went all out to help celebrate this special milestone. Our students (and teachers!) looked fantastic in their dress-ups, and the day was a wonderful celebration of the children’s start to their school journey. The sense of achievement and joy was felt by all.

St Margaret’s Football Team: On Monday, our Football Team proudly represented our district at the Western Region Football Championships. Our players were outstanding, winning all three qualifying matches to make it through to the Grand Final. While we finished runners-up to Montpellier Primary School, the current Victorian Champions, I could not be prouder of the way our boys played. A huge thank you to our coach Mr Mammone and to Mr Hogan for their guidance and support, and to all our parents who cheered us on throughout the district and regional finals.

St Margaret’s Athletics Team: Friday 1 August was a history-making day for our school. At the Ascot Vale District Athletics event, St Margaret’s was crowned champion school for the very first time! This incredible achievement is a testament to the talent, hard work, and dedication of our students and staff. Special thanks go to Mr Hogan, whose organisation and leadership played a big role in this success. I even overheard one student talking about the “Hogan Era” of sporting excellence—long may it continue!

Year 3 Enrichment Day: Last Thursday, our Year 3 students enjoyed a full day of enrichment activities, starting with breakfast at school and finishing with dinner together. This experience is part of our program to build independence and prepare students for future camps. It was wonderful to see the students fully engaged, and I am grateful to our Year 3 teaching team and supporting staff for their exceptional planning and care in making the day so special.

Year 3 Reconciliation Commitment Mass: It was also lovely to see our Year 3 students and families at our Reconciliation Commitment Mass on Sunday morning. This marks an important step in their sacramental preparation, and I am thankful for the commitment shown by families in supporting these significant moments.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL): St Margaret’s has officially commenced its PBL journey as one of ten schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne selected for the 2025 intake. This new approach will see positive changes in how we support the behaviour and wellbeing needs of our students. Our PBL team, made up of staff from across the school, is working together to ensure a smooth and impactful implementation of this initiative. There will be opportunities for family involvement and engagement as we implement PBL over the next 12 months so watch this space for more information!

Building Project Update: Demolition works have now commenced, and I’m pleased to share that so far the impact on student learning has been minimal. In fact, this experience is helping our students build resilience. This week, while checking in with our Year 4 classes, who are located closest to the works, I was pleased to see how well they were adapting despite occasional noise. We expect to be past the noisiest stage by the end of next week. Well done to our students for their flexibility and positive attitude.

The weeks ahead promise even more excitement, with our annual Book Week dress-up parade this Thursday, the Feast of the Assumption on Friday, and our Year 5's heading off to Camp Campaspe next week.

Wishing everyone a joyful and inspiring fortnight ahead.

God bless,

John