The school has been abuzz with chatter this week, as news of a ‘cellphone ban’ spread through the community like wildfire.

Exam stress affects the whole family. Everyone can feel like they are treading on eggshells at this tense time. At least the students can focus their nervous energy on exams, but what about the parents?

Thanks to a generous donation from the PFA, we now have two SpringFree trampolines for Junior and Middle School students to enjoy during breaks.

Resilience is key to addressing mental health issues. We need to allow our kids to experience adversity. There is a tendency to shield our kids because parents have become a bit over-protective.

Senior Visual Art students exhibit a stunning array of NCEA folios as we prepare for our Middle School Arts Awards Assembly, the Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival, Kids for Kids, and our Junior Cultural Celebration.

We are always so proud to be able to report on our SMC girls. Their achievements are second to none and the skill and dedication to their respective sports pay off. From horses to cars, rugby to gymnastics, we have it all here at SMC, with our talented and sporty school of girls. As always please email us with any news or updates you may have, louise.eder@stmargarets.school.nz

The storm clouds gathered towards the end but not before a sunny day was enjoyed by the Years 1 - 8 for their athletics day.

The first order of business is to warmly invite you to the PFA Christmas Party, a way of saying thank you to our regular volunteers but also a great way for parents who have not yet been involved to come along and socialise.

This week's featured businesses are Lizzie's Cuisine, Mandy's Horseradish, Molecheck Ltd, Pye Produce Ltd, Pip Sutton and Rough & Milne Landscape Architects. Full details on the offers they have available to the SMC community are here.

The SMC Foundation House and Garden Tour is on Sunday 10 November featuring six stunning homes and their gardens in Merivale and Fendalton and we're looking for volunteers.

We have a whole smorgasbord of Christmas treats perfect for gifts, family gatherings and Christmas parties, all without adding to the workload, and supporting the SMC Foundation at the same time!

Our cafe works to deliver healthy and delicious food for our girls. Here's what's on next week's menu.