Inspire. Challenge. Entertain. We had all three this week at St Margaret’s College.

It is that time of year when Year 11 students and parents are faced with the decision of which of our two academic pathways to follow in the Senior School at St Margaret’s College. But of course, for many of our families, this decision-making process begins long before Year 11.

In Year 13 History, we deal with some very heavy topics. Over the last two terms, students have engaged with topics that delve into racism, international relations, disasters and the dynamics of control and power.

The term Social Intelligence refers to a person’s ability to know what makes other people tick. They’re aware of the motives and feelings of themselves and others, and how to fit into different social situations.

Every parent, I am sure, will appreciate the enormity of lost property at school if they stop and think about what goes on at home when one person in the household has misplaced something then multiply that by 800.

In recent months the issue of vaping has again been in the media and been brought into sharper focus. Adolescents are often exposed to and try new things when with their peer group.

It is always exciting to write about different sports that our students participate in. This week we are excited to showcase Bella Haggarty Y9, who is currently the youngest co-driver for her father, Sean Haggarty in his Subaru WRX. They now have two races under their belts and if you live anywhere near Ashley Forest you may well have heard them recently. Excellent work Bella and Sean. Please feel free to get in touch with us here at the Sports Office if you would like to share any sporting adventures of your own. louise.eder@stmargarets.school.nz

The Y11 and 12 NCEA Spanish students recently attended a Spanish Immersion Day organised by the University's Spanish Department, the Spanish National Advisor from the Embassy of Spain and local Spanish teachers including our senior Spanish teachers Katherine Tyson and Claudia Carreno.

This week's featured businesses are Jenny Gillies Costume and Fabric Artist, Christ Church Transitional Cathedral, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Whistle & Ride Studios and Bell, Lamb & Trotter. These are all local businesses that support St Margaret's College and we'd love you to support them back as much as possible.

The Y10 Visual Art Students have been creating photographic images and graphic design solutions using either the SMC virtues or Maori Hauora as inspiration.

Join us this Sunday for the planting postponed from last weekend.

Our Senior Learning Pathways evening will be held on Thursday 12 August (week 3 of Term 3), from 5.00pm - 6.30pm, in the Charles Luney Auditorium, Atrium and Gym.

A reminder to our current families, if you have any siblings you are still to enrol for 2022 places please contact our Admissions Manager.

SMC is hosting the annual Winter Quadrangular tournament this year with girls from Craighead, Columba and St Hilda's.

We have been contacted by Olivia who is an Old Girl of SMC and works for New Beginnings Preschool, a small community-based preschool in the heart of Linwood, Christchurch. They are a not for profit service driven by the needs of our community.

Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some these skills will come very naturally, allowing them to easily move between different friendship groups, sharing their experiences and opening up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate.

Here's what's on next week's menu.