Welcome from the Head of Junior School, Ms Louise Sayar – 15 February 2019

A warm welcome to all St Margaret’s parents and children to the 2019 academic year. It is an honour and privilege to serve this community as your new Head of Junior School. I have already begun to meet many families and children. Please do come and introduce yourself to me when you see me in the playground.  I hope to also meet many of you on Thursday 21 February at the Meet the Head of Junior School evening at 7pm in the Lecture Theatre. You would have received an invitation to this via email.

My first impressions of St Margaret’s are very positive and glowing. I am in awe of the beautiful gardens and environment at this school. The gardens are colourful and quite spectacular; your children are so lucky to be at a school that is so large and has plenty of spaces for the children to work and play in. The teachers and support staff are a very happy bunch of professionals. They are friendly, approachable and take the care and education of the children very seriously. The children have warmly received me, offered me advice, proudly telling me about their school and helping me to settle in. One child has referred to me as the Prime Minister – hopefully that title will be debunked soon!

We have had a settled start to the year with class teachers reporting that the children have transitioned back well into the school year. This is especially so with the Prep children.

The Year 6 students got straight into the camping program at the beginning of Week 2. They spent an action-packed week in our nation’s capital, visiting places such as Government House, National Portrait Gallery, War Memorial. It is a great example of experiential learning where the children experience first-hand what our Westminster system of government is all about. A highlight had to be meeting the Governor General, the Honorable, Sir Peter Cosgrove!

Thirty nine Year 5 students headed down to Flinders for 3 nights to their Outdoor Education program. Highlights of their week included: dolphin research, surfing, initiative activities, archery and  orienteering. These activities bode well for their future OEG experiences at this school.

Many parents attended the Parent Information Sessions on the Thursday of Week 1.  This is a good way to begin formalising the parent-teacher relationship and it helps set the year up for you as parents. This is further forged at the Parent Information Sharing exchange between classroom teachers and parents on Wednesday 13 February. The teachers want to hear about your hopes and goals for your child for 2019. The parent teacher partnership is crucial; building not only a positive but a productive relationship, with open and honest communication, will benefit your child and ensure a successful year for all.

Playgroup for 2019 has relaunched and is held on Friday mornings. It is an opportunity for children and their carers from birth to School age to mix together under the supervision of Stacey Reid, a qualified Early Years teacher. Playgroup meets in one of the classrooms in the ELC; if you are interested in joining in, please contact reids@stmargarets.vic.edu.au

Junior School hosted three children from China who visited for a week. Thank you to Mr Lay and his class of Year 3 children who hosted these students. Cultural exchanges such as these build relationships, break down barriers and open the world up to our children, as global citizens.

We welcome back Ms Amy Wishart from Maternity Leave to work part-time in Learning Enhancement and farewell Mrs Marleen Stansfield who is my Executive Assistant. We thank her for her contribution to the school. We have had an exciting beginning to the term, and I look forward to reporting to you fortnightly in Campus News about our unique Junior School.

Ms Louise Sayar
Head of Junior School