125 years of leadership

St Margaret’s has had a total of just 16 Principals since its establishment in 1895. The first two Headmistresses appointed were lay Headmistresses – Miss Isabella Caine and Miss Juliet Lyon. When Miss Lyon resigned in 1917, she was the last lay Headmistress until Mrs Margaret Kugelman’s appointment in 1978. Each Headmistress and Principal leaves a legacy – whether through programs implemented, the development that is stewarded, or sometimes even the fundraising undertaken to keep the school afloat, particularly in the early years. In the 120th anniversary edition of the Flyer, we featured Sister Elizabeth (1926 – 36) and the longest serving Principal Sister Mary (1940 – 64). In this edition we shine a light on other significant heads in the history of the school.

Miss Isabella Caine (1895 – 1907) St Margaret’s first headmistress – Isabella Moreton Caine – was born on the ship “S.S. Great Victoria” on 1 January 1866, in Moreton Bay. Born of educators, Isabella attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School and obtained her Senior Certificate through the University of Sydney. At St Margaret’s, Miss Caine oversaw a curriculum at Eton High which included English, Mathematics, History, Geography, Geology, Botany, French, German, Latin, Music, Divinity, Drawing and Drill. Miss Juliet Lyon (1907 – 1917) Miss Lyon was born in Australia but received most of her education in Scotland (University of St Andrews) and England (University of Oxford). She received her Diploma of Education First Class Honours and was admitted to the London register of Secondary Teachers. She taught at Oxford Secondary School and was Assistant Mistress at Toorak College Melbourne for 18 months. Miss Lyon was a keen oarswoman and introduced rowing to St Margaret’s in 1907, coaching the girls herself. Tennis, swimming and basketball were also played and, in 1908, St Margaret’s was one of the three founding schools of the QGSSSA of which Miss Lyon was President in 1911. In 1910, the school had moved to Community House (then ‘Donatello’) and by 1914 numbers had swelled to 140. When The University of Queensland opened in 1911, two former St Margaret’s students were among its first undergraduates. In 1912, Miss Lyon introduced the Dramatic Society, the start of a commitment to theatre and performance which continues to this day. Also in 1912, typewriting, shorthand, and bookkeeping were introduced as subjects to equip girls for employment and provide more independence upon leaving school. Miss Lyon steered the school through World War I in which, tragically, her brother was killed. Miss Lyon introduced two lasting legacies which have defined the school for generations – the Middy uniform and school motto – Per Volar Sunata. Sister Teresa (1918 – 1925) Born Nora Winifred Collison in England in 1885, her family emigrated to Tasmania where she was educated at the Collegiate School. Her early teaching career was in and around Melbourne and Victoria. When she moved to Queensland, she experienced a profound religious conviction and joined the Sisters, taking the name Sister Teresa. In 1918, she was the first Sister to be appointed as Headmistress. In 1919, the school moved to Mooloomburram (then known as Avoca). The Great War ended but the Spanish Flu began. “Everyone had to wear a mask and had to keep five feet away from everyone else,” reported the 1919 Link. Sister Teresa was a great innovator and, under her, many structures we recognise today were created, such as the House system, a Student School Council and the school Flower Show which lasted until the 1980s. In 1922, Sister Teresa introduced a modified version of the Dalton Plan – quite radical for its time. “This method of education encouraged students to take responsibility for their own progress,” (Per Volar Sunata 1895 – 1996) sounding very much like the philosophy of today’s Academic Advising Program.

Sister Jean-Marie (1965 – 70) [Miss Jean May Myers M.B.E.] The period between 1960 and 1971 was one of the school’s greatest growth periods. Sister Jean-Marie came to St Margaret’s as Sister-in-Charge in 1965 after postings in North Queensland including Head of St Mary’s in Herberton. In her time the first Olympic size school pool in Brisbane was opened in 1969, achieved by gouging out one side of the old quarry. Netball courts were also built on what is now the lower level of the Arts Centre. The third wing of Dalhousie was completed in 1967, containing science and language laboratories, and in 1968 Eton Hall was extended along with a new boarding dormitory – Winston – above it. In 1970, the school’s 75th anniversary year, Toorak was opened, which at the time consisted of the library, two science labs and a staff room. In 1965 two new Houses – Herrick and Lawson – were added and the school undertook its first overseas tour to Europe in 1969. In 1986, having left the order and retired from teaching, Miss Myers was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year’s Honours List, for her services to education. She passed away in 2006 aged 86. Mrs Vicki Waters (1997 – 2006) When Vicki Waters departed St Margaret’s in 2006 to take up the Principalship of Pymble Ladies’ College in Sydney, she was described by then Chair of Council Les McGrath as having given the school “a decade of absolutely inspirational leadership”. During Vicki’s tenure, the school acquired Windsor Park as a sporting venue and the rowing shed at Breakfast Creek was completed. The school’s signature program – the Global Exchange Program – was established as was the St Margaret’s Foundation – vital for the stewardship of school philanthropy to further develop the school. Events such as St Margaret’s Day, the St Margaret’s Run, Classics in the Cathedral and Race Day were established in her time, which all became favoured school traditions. She also instigated the school values and implemented Key Learning Areas. Mrs Waters retired from Pymble Ladies’ College in June 2019.

1969 Opening of the 50 metre Swimming Pool Ms Ros Curtis (2011 - ) Now in her 10th year at St Margaret’s, Ros Curtis has stewarded the school to the highest level of enrolments in its history. She has greened the campus and developed beautiful sanctuaries in the Barley Sugar Garden, Toorak Gardens and Ms Café. The transition to Year 7 in 2014 prompted the development of the Year 7 precinct in the old Toorak library and separate boarding dormitory for the Year 7s in West Wing. Dated classrooms in the Jackson Wing were transformed into a state-of-the-art collaborative lecture theatre and an Atelier maker space was developed in the old Dalhousie science lab. One third of the campus has been transformed into a modern sports precinct in a multimillion-dollar redevelopment. However, Ms Curtis tenure has not just been punctuated by physical development. Award winning innovations such as Academic Advising and St Margaret’s Plus have been implemented and bespoke education frameworks have been executed to guide the school’s academic and wellbeing programs. In 2019 the school was named Boarding School of the Year. The Flyer asked Ms Curtis about the delights and challenges of principalship.

What do you see as the role of a principal?

The principal is first and foremost the educational leader of the school. Everything the principal should focus on is the quality of the student experience and within that the teaching and learning program. That’s very broad which means the principal has a finger in every pie of the school, overseeing

everything from the quality of facilities, staff and food in the boarding house through to the effectiveness of programs. In one sense it’s simple: It’s the student experience and ensuring the right outcomes; however, many things feed into that making it a very complex operation.

Has the role changed over time?

The role has definitely changed. I think some people have a very 1970s/80s view of principalship, whereas today it is more like a CEO role where there’s oversight of all operations. Because of the wide-ranging nature of that responsibility, principals are often not as visible as they once were, out and about doing grounds duty etc, although I do try and get out of the office at least once a day to connect with the students – often at M’s Café which has proven to be a wonderful central gathering place.

How do you deal with the enormous responsibility of the role?

I don’t think of it a responsibility; rather, as a real joy. Teachers have a very linear progression, with each role having a greater influence on the outcomes of students. In my view who would not aspire to have the role that has the greatest influence on student outcomes, because their success brings the greatest joy. Teachers play that very important role in the classroom, while my job is to direct the teaching and learning and social and emotional wellbeing programs by choosing the teachers to facilitate the programs, and ensuring we have the resourcing to effectively facilitate that work. Teachers have one of the biggest direct influences on student outcomes, but if you don’t get the step above right, it can all fall apart. It’s an indirect influence on student outcomes but it’s still a very significant one because you work through teachers and other staff to achieve that success.

Did you always aspire to be a principal?

No, I don’t even recall the time when I thought I would put my hand up for principalship. What I put my hand up for was greater influence and say and that just happened to be principalship. When I started my career, I never saw myself necessarily as principal but never saw myself as not being principal. Every time I was in a role and saw the people above me like my line managers who were doing the job really well, I would think “I could do that” or “I’d like to do that” and so I always aspired to the next level.

What are the biggest challenges for school principals right now?

Handling the anxiety of young people, because everything stems from that. Even some parents have difficulty in knowing how to deal with their child’s anxiety and look to the school for guidance and it can be very tricky. I believe there is too much systemic and societal pressure on young people to perform at a very high level; but it also can come from parental expectations as well, and it’s having a huge effect on young people. The other is building resilience in the students (which has a close relationship to anxiety). We teach our students about it – they know all the theory, but they need to be able to build that resilience through practice. Too often they are rescued before they get the chance to flex their resilience muscles and, just like flexing your physical muscles, if you can’t move them, they won’t grow – or worse, they will wither. It’s the same with resilience. You need to endure some discomfort and demonstrate resilience to build it.

What is the biggest challenge at St Margaret’s?

One of the biggest challenges is trying to achieve greatness with limited resources. Very few girls’ schools have the financial support that boys’ schools can garner from their old boys’ network. My wish list is very long and there are many things I would like to be able to do and achieve in a much shorter timeframe but there are not the resources to do it all.

Can you name the proudest moment of your tenure?

There have been many highlights and proud moments but one thing I have really enjoyed is the acknowledgement we have received through the Innovative Schools Awards, in 2018 (for Academic Advising), 2019 (St Margaret’s Plus) and 2020 (Gidhal project). Many of these ideas have been the result of my going on sabbatical overseas and bringing back ideas based on some of the most successful educational institutions from across the globe. These have included an enrolment management plan, Academic Advising, and St Margaret’s Plus. Also, we were one of the leading schools with continuous reporting, which everyone is now doing; in fact, many schools looked to us for advice and guidance. Being innovative, inspiring staff to come on that journey with me and then seeing the benefits of those innovations to the school and student outcomes is exciting for me, and that goes back to being able to have that level of influence to be able to inspire and innovate.

Where do you want to take the school in the future?

I’d like to do more work in the careers space; we are overdue for more Arts spaces for music and performance; and we need to refurbish some of our older stock of classrooms. A longer term project is seeing more flexibility in the school day.

Last word

I think you would hear lots of staff in schools express this but working in a school environment does bring a lot of joy. At St Margaret’s there is a tremendous amount of student energy; by and large the students are happy, calm and engaged in what they are doing. It gives us all a younger outlook. The other thing I would say is that as an educator, you never know when the seeds you plant come to fruition. I often think that we are educating the 28 year old – they’ve studied, learned more about themselves and you see that St Margaret’s influence kicking in. That’s very satisfying in that you see the foundations for life and learning that you aspired to instil in them serving them well as they build their lives.