A Monthly News Update From the St. Margaret's Campus

Vol. 2, No. 7 Tappahannock, Virginia, March 2000

CAPTAIN'S CORNER

Dear St. Margaret's families and friends,

Spring Break is always, for me, an important period for reflection. I enjoy these quiet halls and buildings, but only because I have time to think about the girls, teachers, and activitities that usually fill them. Over the last month I have spent as much time off campus as on, attending and speaking at national conferences, visiting alumnae and parents to discuss our Capital Campaign, talking with prospective members for our Board of Governors. Today it feels good to have time to reflect on how all of these are related.

At the annual coference of the National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls, University of Connecticut professor Dr. Sally Reis spoke on Obstacles, Challenges and Choices Faced by Smart Girls, a topic she develops fully in her book, Work Left Undone, Choices and Compromises of Talented Women. I will share both the talk and the book with our faculty as we continue to evaluate our programs. I was particularly impressed with anohter girls' school speaker whose focus was on parent/school connections. As we look at the draft of our new strategic plan, this is an area of high priority for us. We would like to combine parent programs with our fall and spring family weekends, reach out to our local community more regularly, and be sure our communication sequences are effective. If you would like to be involved in this initiative please let me know. I would love to have a small parent-planning group. You know the best issues of importance to you.

On Monday, March 20th, when the girls are again outside my door, we will be able to begin new conversations. Our third trimester of classes and our spring athletic and activities seasons will propel us toward Spring Family Weekend when we look forward to adding our parents to the conversations, too.

Thanks for a wonderful year!!

Sincerely,

Margaret R. Broad, Headmistress

    COMPASS POINTS

    Seniors Conduct Indpendent Study Projects- ISPs Cover Wide Array of Professional Fields
    Thirty-three seniors left the SMS campus during minimester (February 23-March 5) to participate in two-week independent study projects known as ISPs. ISPs generally take the form of serving an internship with an organization, institution or business in which a student has a special interest. Examples of various study projects that were arranged by this year's participants include the following topics.

    Spring Family Weekend - Family Weekend Set For May 5-6
    Spring Family Weekend is fast approaching. Taking place on Friday, May 4-Sunday, May 6, it is a time to honor the senior class and also a time to reflect on how the year is going. The weekend is one that students and parents alike look forward to.

    New Academic Course Offerings For 2000-2001 - Academic Update
    What will be new in St. Margaret's classrooms next year? Each year we consider how to enhance our academic program. This year, we used the surveys completed by our faculty, students, parents, and Board of Governors to hear your interests. We also considered entrance requirements to colleges and universities and the particular skills we would like our graduates to possess. For 2000-2001, we are excited to add a number of trimester electives.



    THE CURRENT

    2000 Senior Independent Study Projects

    Social work, Alexes Anderson; recreation, Garnett Ashworth; museums, Laura Austin; elementary education, Lauren Cannon and Kendall Pettigrew; radio broadcasting (Alexandra Cornwell); law (Chase Craven); fashion design Lauren Cupp; internet services, Mary Emery; government, Jessica Fram; physical therapy, Bo Hammond; diagnostics, Katie Hawks; presidential campaign administration, Yin-Chien Hou; Chinese art, Ellen Hsieh; outdoor adventuring, Sara Pirtle, architecture, Catherine Redfearn; meteorology, Kym Register; parenting, Emily Reich; interior design, Cameron Sgroi; business management, Jamie Shelor; photography, Pie Terry; science, Ellen Totten and Sara Wagner; journalism, Carver Weakley; fiber optics/accounting, Margot Whisnant; desktop publishing, Beth Wilson and Lacey Wright, a travel agency.




    THE FORECAST

    Important Dates:

     March
  • 19 - Spring break ends
  • 20 - Classes resume
  • 23 - Winter athletic awards luncheon
  • 26-27 - Prospective student overnight
    • April
  • 14-15 - Alumnae Weekend
  • 20-24 - Easter Break
    • May
  • 5-6 - Spring Family Weekend