Assistant Principal 

A Message from the Assistant Principal

At St Margaret Mary’s, we value our partnership with families in supporting each child’s growth and wellbeing. 

When children share stories from their school day, it offers insight into their learning, friendships and emotions. Listening attentively helps them feel heard and valued.

It is also important to remember that a child’s account, while genuine, may not always include every detail or perspective. Like adults, children see events through their own experiences, so understanding often comes from considering all viewpoints.

Asking the Best Questions

When children share challenges from their day, asking the best questions can help parents understand what happened before a situation. This can provide valuable insight into what may have triggered their feelings or actions.

Try asking:

• “What was happening just before that?”
• “Who were you with?”
• “What were you doing right before?”
• “Did something happen that made you feel that way?”
• “How did it all start?”
• "What did you do or say?"

These questions help children reflect, build self-awareness, and develop problem-solving skills.

If your child raises a concern, we encourage you to listen carefully and then seek clarity with honesty, dignity and respect. Often, more than one stakeholder is involved and our role is to uphold policy and procedures that ensure procedural fairness and privacy. It is important to remember that staff are trained to deal with situations if they are made aware of them. 

What can you do to assist - 

• talk to your children about using kind words
• remind them that everyone has feelings
• hands are never to touch anyone else
• talk to a teacher if something has happened

Together, we aim to:

• assure the safety and well-being of all students
• maintain positive and respectful relationships between families and the school
• address concerns promptly and fairly before they escalate
• ensure transparent and consistent communication

By approaching challenges in this way, we strengthen the trust between home and school, creating the best conditions for every child to thrive.

Helping Ease School Congestion and Keep Our Students Safe

Transport for NSW has recently shared ways schools and families can help reduce congestion around school zones. One simple and healthy habit we can all adopt is to park a little further away and walk to and from the school.

This not only helps ease traffic but also encourages physical activity and safer movement around our school gates.

To learn more about the key rules for safe school drop-off and pick-up, please take a moment to watch the short video below: 

Safe school drop-off and pick-up

With gratitude,

Anthony Matthews

Assistant Principal