From the Principal - OGA eNews Issue 3, 2026

At the St Margaret’s Day celebrations this year (just prior to Reunion Weekend), I spoke about the impact of previous principals on the current St Margaret’s in the context of leaving a legacy.

Schools are living institutions. They are shaped not only by buildings, traditions, policies, and programs, but by the people who have walked the corridors and contributed to the school in some way. Among those people, previous principals hold a particularly important place. As the current principal of St Margaret’s, who has had the opportunity to work with the legacies of previous principals, I am so grateful to those who led the school in the past with vision, courage, and care.

I do not think that I am overstating the case when I say that a principal’s work is never confined to a single year, a single cohort, or even a single generation. The decisions they make, the values they uphold, and the culture they nurture continue to influence a school long after their formal tenure has ended. In this way, each principal becomes part of a much larger story – one that began before them and continues beyond them.

When we reflect on the legacy of previous principals, we are reminded that each principal brought their own strengths, hopes and convictions. They are all remembered differently by different students and parents. Some appreciated those who led through bold innovation, opening new possibilities for learning and growth. Others who led through steadiness, guiding the school with wisdom through times of change or uncertainty, will be remembered more fondly by some. Then there are those who are respected for the traditions they strengthened and the standards they kept.

Yet, regardless of their individual style, the most enduring legacy of a principal is rarely found in a single achievement. It is found in the culture they helped to build: the expectations they set, the relationships they valued, the belief they held in young people, and the sense of purpose they fostered within the school community.

Current students, staff, and school leaders inherit much from those who have gone before us. We inherit traditions that give us identity. We inherit standards that call us to be our best. We inherit stories that remind us of who we are. We inherit buildings, symbols, and rituals, but more importantly, we inherit values: our six core values, for example, were recorded during the time of the principalship of Vicki Waters and they have remained largely unchanged since 2002.

To honour previous principals is not simply to look backwards with nostalgia. It is to recognise that the present strength of a school is built on foundations laid by others. It is to understand that we stand on the shoulders of those in the past who made difficult decisions, imagined new futures, protected important traditions, and gave themselves wholeheartedly to the work of education.

At St Margaret’s, this legacy is not abstract. It is written into the fabric of the school itself. It can be seen through our respect for our founders, the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent (SSA). It can be seen in the buildings that have been imagined and constructed, in the traditions that continue to bind generations together, in the academic and co-curricular opportunities that have expanded over time, and in the values that have remained constant even as the world around the school has changed.

Mary Surtees, our Archivist, has detailed in previous OGA newsletters the achievements and influence of past principals, some of whom have been lay people and others professed Sisters.

At St Margaret’s Day, not only did we talk about past principals, we also particularly celebrated the work of Sister Mary, who was the longest serving principal (i.e. Headmistress) at 25 years. We are currently commissioning a sculpture on the school grounds to recognise this remarkable achievement.

The legacy of previous principals also reminds current and future leaders of an important truth: leadership is stewardship. A school does not belong to one person or one moment in time. It is entrusted to each generation of leaders, teachers, students, and families. Our responsibility is to care for what has been given to us, to strengthen it where we can, and to pass it on with integrity to those who will follow.

Previous principals helped shape not only what a school has been, but what it can become. At St Margaret’s, the collective legacy of past principals challenges us to ask: What are we preserving? What are we improving? What are we contributing? And what will those who come after us say about the way we cared for this school in our time?

As we acknowledge the legacy of those who have led before, we do so with gratitude. Gratitude for the SSA whose courage, faith and vision shaped the school culture and mission. Gratitude for the lay principals who guided the school through modernisation, expansion, global connection, and educational innovation. Gratitude for every leader who has carried forward the enduring purpose of St Margaret’s: to create a community where young people can learn, grow, belong, and flourish.

The best way to honour their legacy is not only in words, but in the way we continue the work: with humility, hope, and a deep commitment to the students at the heart of every school. For legacy is not something fixed in the past. It is something we receive, something we live, and something we pass on.

Per Volar Sunata

Ros Curtis AM
Principal