Welcome to the third edition of the OGA Newsletter for 2024. Since our last edition, there has been much excitement in our Old Girl community. Most notably, we hosted our Reunion Weekend across July 20 and 21, welcoming over 450 Old Girls back to St Margaret’s. It was a wonderful weekend, complete with our Old Girls’ Chapel Service and Morning Tea. I sincerely hope that all attendees had a wonderful time seeing old friends, and visiting the everchanging campus.

This year, the Old Girls’ Association was once again a matching donor for Giving Day, and I thank every Old Girl who contributed. This year’s campaign raised $431,037, with funds going towards either the restoration of Community House, which will be converted into a student wellbeing centre, or to the Panama Fund, to support needs-based bursaries to give every girl every opportunity to grow.

For many Old Girls, Community House and the Chapel hold very special places in their memories of St Margaret’s, and it was wonderful to see so many Old Girls reconnecting with these places, either on a school tour or at the Chapel Service. I had so many questions about the reredos in the Chapel, and think it opportune to share its history here.

Our reredos was designed by Father David Binns, Chaplain at St Aidan’s, and created by St Margaret’s teacher and notable patchwork artist, Jane Wilson. It was decided that the theme, “women from the Bible”, would be appropriate for a girls’ school Chapel, inspiring students to walk in life with their faith and guided by these women. The reredos was completed in 1991, and adorned our Chapel until 2014, when the marks of time, dust and light exposure became apparent. With the help of the Old Girls’ Association, the P&F Committee and our community, money was raised for the restoration of the reredos. Under former President of the Old Girls’ Association, Libby Black, the OGA donated $5,000 towards the restoration. In 2015, the reredos returned to the Chapel, now behind a Perspex frame for protection.

The figures include (commencing with Jesus and moving left to right in rows):

1. The risen Christ
2. The woman at the well
3. Martha of Bethany
4. Mary, Mother of Jesus
5. Mary of Bethany
6. Mary Magdalene
7. Deborah
8. Ruth
9. Naomi
10. Esther
11. Jochebed and Moses
12. Leah
13. Eve
14. Rachel
15. Sarah and Isaac

As always, I hope that you enjoy this edition of the OGA Newsletter.

Per Volar Sunata

Nicole Devlin (’90)
President, St Margaret’s Old Girls’ Association