A Day in the Life of the New Community/Technology Center
The showcase-building from our successful capital campaign has completely changed how we live and work at St. Margaret's School. Here is "A Day in the Life of the Community/Technology Center" to show you how:
6:00 a.m. As a member of the Maintenance Staff unlocks the eight doors of this building for the start of the new school day, he pauses to say good morning to the Food Service Staff who are already in their new kitchen preparing breakfast.
Ai Akahori, of Tokyo, Japan, enjoys a bagel one morning before class.
7:15 a.m. Breakfast begins. The best seats are in the riverfront corner on the side by the pool. The sun comes slowly over the horizon and casts the pale yellow walls golden in first light. Breakfast is required for all students except seniors. As the girls come in, some ready for the day and some just barely opening their eyes, they are greeted by a faculty member sitting at one of the large round tables with the morning sign-in sheet. Breakfast is also a family affair now that we have opened morning and evening meals to all faculty families, resident and day. With the Aylett Country Day School bus stop in front of the gym, St. Margaret's is a great spot for a quick breakfast with no clean up before parents and children go their seperate ways.
7:45 a.m. The only sounds are the rattle of dishes as the kitchen staff cleans up. Everyone else has headed for chapel or announcements in St. Margaret's Hall.
8:20 a.m. The academic day begins! The lower level of the Community/Technology Center buzzes with the energy of morning classes. All four classrooms open onto the river. In the biology lab, closest to the pool, the "Save the Bay" projects extend beyond the wall of windows to the beds outside that hold grasses which will be replanted in the river. The middle two rooms hold mostly math classes. Plenty of white boards and desks that can be reconfigured in numerous arrangements bring the rooms alive. At the end of the building, nearest Latane Hall, the chemistry/physics lab with its built in chemical storage room and safety equipment, sees students engaging in the highest levels of high school science. In this year's senior class, 30 of the 39 students are taking science, and 36 are taking mathematics; in each case more than 70% are taking courses beyond our graduation requirements.
Ginny Moncure works on the computer in first period physics class.
10:00 a.m. Second period has ended, and break finds the classrooms quickly emptied as students head for the Velletri Faculty/Student Center. Every Wednesday Juniors sell donuts, a popular alternative to the snack machines!
10:20 a.m. Classes begin again. The environmental science class has moved across the hall to the computer lab to enter data from yesterday's lab project. Another teacher moves across to the faculty office ot grade papers during her free period. Across the hall, a student sits in the windowed student study room making up a test she missed yesterday when leaving early for her basketball game.
11:30 a.m. Classes continue, but activity is picking up again in the dining room as staff members arrive early for lunch. I guarantee you will not find a better ambiance for lunch and food anywhere in Tappahannock. We now have enough room for visitors and would love to have you join us, so just call and let us know!
11:50 a.m. Seated lunch! Now that we can comfortably seat everyone at round tables which seat eight, we have replaced seated dinners with seated lunch. On Wednesdays, advisors and advisees sit together and catch up on each other's lives. On Mondays and Fridays, we sit in assigned seats that rotate each month. As the students say, "Finally I'm getting to know more people."
The rear tables of the dininig room offering serene views of the Rappahannock River. The pool nearby is a popular warm weather spot.
12:30 pm School President, Sara Pirtle, takes the microphone, "Are there any announcements?" The excellent sound system and clear lines of sight make this an easy opportunity to announce last minute sports schedule changes or class activities. Everyone can see and hear!
12:45 pm Back to class for three afternoon periods. With windows to both the hall and river, it is easy to walk past the classrooms and get a flavor of the activities taking place. The acoustics are excellent so that the student tour guide taking the prospective family through the building does not disturb the work going on in front of them.
3:10 pm Teacher Available Period and teachers are in their classrooms meeting students to clarify assignments, give make up tests or quizzes, or answer a student's qustion at greater length. This is a busy time with plenty of activity as students move from room to room.
The new CTC computer lab is a popular place to send e-mail to family and friends before afternoon activities.
3:50 pm The official end of the academic day means that students can now use computers for e-mail, if they have time before sports practice begins. The large computer lab is a popular afternoon stop.
5:30 pm Dinner. This is a very relaxed student/faculty/family time. Highchairs come out for the newest babies, while those a little older crawl quietly in the front corner. Students stop at the faculty table to sign in and speak with a member of the evening duty team. Friends congregate after a very busy day. Families catch up. Everyone winds down before evening study hall.
6:30 pm Dinner is officially over, but faculty and families linger over coffee. At one table, the evning duty team meets to exchange information. At another, a group of juniors continues their animated conversation. The dinner meeting of the Diversity Committee that has been taking place in the private dining room just inside the front door is coming to a close. Upstairs, on the Mezzanine level, the international students are meeting with their advisor to plan the international dinner during minimester.
7:15 pm Study Hall. Activity shifts again to the lower level where those in required study hall are divided among the three largest classrooms and the computer lab (for those with passes!) with the faculty proctor supervising from the hallway. The senior proctor is next door in the library for those needing to do specific library research.
9:15 pm Fifteen more minutes of study for anyone who arrived late or did not work productively!
9:45 pm The end of another busy day in the Community/Technology Center!
Can you see how this magnificent space has transformed our lives? Thank you to so very many of you for making this possible. The Community/Technology Center definitely translates the St. Margaret's mission in bricks and glass, and the view is absolutely breathtaking!(from the Fall/Winter 2000 edition of St. Margaret's alumnae magazine, The Thistle.)
