8 minute read
Whole School Events
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Festive four legged visitors to St Margaret’s
On the last day of school before the Christmas holidays, the Nursery and junior school were delighted to meet some furry four legged visitors. The children enjoyed some festive fun activities with the adorable donkeys called Major and Lilly.
International Women’s Day Celebrations
s part of our International Women’s Day celebrations in March, we were delighted to welcome GP and St Margaret’s A mum Dr Adaeze Ifezulike MBE to our senior school assembly. Aliyah and Emily interviewed Dr Ifezulike about her work in addressing health inequalities in Scottish minority ethnic groups, and the whole school was inspired by her encouraging and enabling words about self-belief and wellbeing.
The theme of International Women’s Day this year was #BreakTheBias, the symbol for which was demonstrated by Dr Ifezulike during the assembly. The spontaneous and rapturous applause from the school community was an indication of how well her message was received.
We have long benefitted from and seen the value in introducing our pupils to inspirational women and men at St Margaret’s, and it was wonderful that we were able to hold such an event in-person once more.
Easter Inter-house Hockey Tournament
Despite the dismal weather, over 30 pupils braved the rain and played in the inter-house hockey tournament. A few bunny rabbits turned up as part of our Easter theme!
oth senior and junior pupils worked hard for their house with Dunnottar winning the competition overall and Kildrummy and Crathes coming B joint runners-up. We were very grateful for the hot drinks and some sweet treats to enjoy after our matches which were provided by Miss Tomlinson, Mrs Goodwin and Mrs Miller.
Earth Day 2022 –Litter Picking
In the spring term, as part of an ongoing community initiative and in celebration of Earth Day 2022, girls volunteered to assist local Councillor Jennifer Stewart litter pick in Rubislaw Terrace Gardens, a park which many of us enjoy. Thankfully the sun was shining, the park was looking splendid, and the girls did a super job.
Learning for Sustainability Day
18TH MAY 2022
ON 18TH MAY, ST MARGARET’S SCHOOL HELD ITS FIRST LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY (LFS) DAY FOR IS-IIIS PUPILS. LFS IN SCOTLAND ENCOMPASSES SUSTAINABILITY, GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP AND OUTDOOR LEARNING AND THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD.
It is a right of every pupil to receive Learning for Sustainability education, which is designed to tie in with the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (a global action plan to end poverty, combat climate change and fight injustice and inequality by 2030) and the UNCRC. Our world is an increasingly crisis-driven place and LfS aims to equip our pupils with the knowledge, skills and values to enable them to navigate complex issues successfully.
Our LfS day focussed on five themes which directly affect our pupils in their everyday lives: food supply, fashion, mobile phones, fair trade and climate justice. The girls selected their preferred topic and followed this for the day, and our academic staff undertook training in global citizenship education which centres around participatory learning. The tasks and learning activities used were designed to foster questioning, openness and a willingness
to express views, listening to others and to consider different perspectives in complex issues. Developing skills in critical and creative thinking, empathy, self-awareness and reflection, communication, cooperation, managing complexity and uncertainty and taking informed and reflective action. Through their activities the girls learned about social justice and equity, diversity, globalisation and interdependence, sustainable development, human rights and power and governance relative to the topic they chose. Global citizenship education also provides a space where girls can consider their own values and attitudes toward self-identity and self-esteem, commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion, respect for people and human rights, value diversity, concern for the environment and a belief that people can bring about change.
It was an exciting programme of fully interactive activities with valuable input from visiting speakers and regular social media updates and engagement. The girls worked in small groups of mixed ages which then led to consider possible solutions and actions in response to their learning. All groups gathered at the end of the day to share their learning and ideas with each other in the school gymnasium. We look forward to seeing where these conversations take us in the future, and which direction the girls would like the school to go in relation to their chosen topics.
Abby Miller Head of Biology
I am going to buy more fair
trade products. I will try to eat less meat.
I will look at the story behind my clothes and if the workers were paid fairly.
I have started not charging my phone overnight.
I learnt a lot on this day, I realise how much my actions can affect others. I have stopped using my phone so often.
I will be more conscious of where my food comes from and waste less.
Jubilee Assembly and Celebrations
St Margaret’s celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II with a day of special celebrations, starting with a Jubilee Assembly. Assembly was led by pupils in the Junior School, with classes presenting on each decade of the Queen’s reign since her ascension to the throne in 1952.
We were delighted to welcome a former pupil, Mrs Mary Troup, from the class of 1962 as our special guest at assembly. Mrs Troup shared her memories of school life during the period when Queen Elizabeth came to the throne including the school uniform worn by pupils at the time and the games they played in break. She shared a particularly special memory from 1953 when, to mark the coronation, her 5J class planted the beautiful cherry tree outside No.15 Albyn Place.
The assembly concluded with a performance by the specially formed Jubilee Choir who sang at the lighting of the beacon at the Town House the following evening. After assembly, Junior School pupils enjoyed playing traditional games from each decade since 1952, followed by a special picnic lunch in the playground.
And to mark this unique occasion, the PTA gifted each pupil and member of staff a commemorative Platinum Jubilee pin.
Sports Day 7th June 2022
We enjoyed glorious sunshine for our school sports day on 7th June with pupils, staff and parents enjoying the house games and friendly competition.
The day began with the traditional March Past with the pupils all competing to win. Miss Tomlinson chose Crathes as the worthy winners. This was an opportunity for our athletes to shine with some excellent performances.
Many thanks to the school PTA for organising the delicious refreshments. Congratulations to all the girls who competed; the final results were very close with only a few points between each house.
Karen Norval Head of PE
