Principal's Update

Dear Families,

It has been a very busy and productive last two weeks as Term 2 has continued to gather momentum. We have had a number of excursions and hands-on learning experiences across the school that have created wonderful learning opportunities for our students. Some of the highlights have included our Year 5 students visiting Sovereign Hill in Ballarat to deepen their understanding of Australian history, our Year 2 students heading to the Melbourne Zoo and our Year 1 students enjoying an excursion to the Melbourne Aquarium. A huge thank you to our teaching teams who facilitated these outstanding learning opportunities for students. These experiences provide rich and meaningful learning opportunities and are only possible because of the planning, organisation and care of our staff.

Across the school it is also a significant time of assessment and reporting as teachers continue working on Semester One reports. While it may feel early in the term, the process of tracking and monitoring student growth and learning is ongoing throughout the year. These reports will be shared with families later in the term.

Our School Advisory Council (SAC) has also met over the last fortnight and I would like to acknowledge the excellent work the SAC continues to do in supporting both myself and the school leadership team. At our most recent meeting we met with representatives from Maribyrnong Council to discuss traffic flow and parking around the school to further support the safety of our community. Council will soon undertake a detailed audit of traffic and parking conditions around the school which will provide valuable information to help guide future actions. I would also like to thank Councillor Susan Yengi, who is also a parent within our school community, for attending the meeting and offering both support and insight from the Maribyrnong Council perspective. Pleasingly, a “Wombat Crossing” which is a raised pedestrian crossing, has recently been approved for construction on Barb Street. We are hopeful this addition will further improve safety for our community. Please keep an eye out for more information regarding these works in the coming weeks.

Mothers Day: A very big thank you to everyone who supported the Mother’s Day Breakfast on Friday morning. It was a highly successful event and it was wonderful to see so many mums in attendance. It was fantastic to see our community come together to celebrate and give thanks to the amazing mothers and special people in our community.

Events like this play a significant role in strengthening our community and building positive relationships with families, so thank you to everyone involved. I would especially like to thank our wonderful Parents and Friends Association, led by Vivianne Lang, for all of the hard work involved in making the event such a success. Thank you also for organising the Mother’s Day stall which allowed our students to purchase some very special gifts for their mums and loved ones. I hope everyone was able to enjoy a wonderful Mother’s Day on Sunday.

Cross Country Running : Congratulations to all students who represented our school at the District Cross Country event last Friday. Thankfully the weather held off, and it was wonderful to see our students represent the school in such a positive manner. Congratulations also to the six students who qualified for the next stage of competition.

I would also like to thank Mr Hogan for overseeing our students at the event. I received very positive feedback regarding the behaviour and sportsmanship of our students throughout the day, which is every bit as important as success in competition. Thank you also to the parents who attended to support and cheer on our runners.

Building project update: The second stage of our building project, which includes the extension and refurbishment of two Year 3 classrooms, continues to progress rapidly. The rooms are already almost unrecognisable from the spaces that existed only a month ago and we are expecting works to be completed by 1 June.

The outdoor learning space that will connect directly to the classrooms will significantly enhance the way our students learn by providing additional flexible learning areas and opportunities for collaborative work. We are very much looking forward to the completion of the project and the positive impact it will have on student learning.

I am also pleased to announce that next week the school will be installing new basketball and netball rings on the outdoor court. These will be permanent installations built to the correct specifications for both sports and will provide additional opportunities for students during break times and Physical Education lessons.

Confirmation Preparation: Our Year 6 students have been fully immersed in their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation which will take place next Thursday 21 May. Last week it was wonderful to work together with our parish sister school, St Mary’s, in conducting an information session relating to the sacrament. It was fantastic to see such strong engagement from both students and families throughout the evening.

We continue to keep our Year 6 students in our prayers as they continue their journey towards Confirmation.

Meeting our new Prep families: It has been a privilege to meet many of the families who will be commencing at St Margaret’s in 2027. The meetings have been extremely positive and I have greatly enjoyed hearing about our future students, their families and the reasons they have chosen St Margaret’s for their child’s education.

These meetings serve as a reminder of the wonderful school community we have built together and the strong reputation our school enjoys within the local area. We are also experiencing record enrolment numbers for next year which is a reflection of the outstanding work being undertaken across the school.

Schools Visits: Over the past two weeks members of the leadership team and I have had the opportunity to visit other schools to observe best practice educational strategies and innovative learning environments. It is always valuable to see the work being undertaken in other schools as it encourages us to reflect on and strengthen our own practices at St Margaret’s. Both visits were also very affirming as there was strong alignment between what we observed and the excellent work already taking place within our own school community.

Finally, I have thoroughly enjoyed the many students who have come to share their successes and achievements with me both within and beyond school. I have included some photos of these champions.

Wishing everyone a wonderful fortnight ahead.

John