CAPTAIN'S CORNER

Dear St. Margaret's friends and families,

By November, we have settled into the routines that give structure to our days. This is the month when those of us whose roles take us outside these routines and away from Tappahannock step up our travel. Leaving is never easy, but our outreach to families, alumnae and other professionals in our fields enriches our perspectives and provides valuable connections.

This month, I had the privilege of traveling to London to deliver the opening address at the first International Conference on the Education of Girls, an event co-sponsored by the Girls’ School Association (UK) and the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools. I was asked to document the renaissance of girls’ schools in our country over the last 15 years and to share research and best practices with the 270 heads of girls’ schools from 9 countries who were in attendance. The full text of my remarks, along with web links to the books and studies referenced, can be found at www.sms.org/gsa Take a look! You’ll be impressed by the facts that support the strength of our schools.

I was certainly awed by the caliber of the other speakers at our conference. Each woman sketched her life path from a girls’ school or woman’s college to the peak of her profession in science, business, sports or politics before offering her advice to us as educators and to the girls in our schools. Here are just a few of their comments; I have included others on the web site:

• The fear of failure is never a reason not to try. – Dr. Stephanie Cook, physician and 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the pentathlon

• If you don’t go for big things, you’re not going for enough. Dare to be excellent. Be prepared to take risks. Learn how to fail. – Barbara Cassani, founder of Go airlines and chair of the committee that secured London as the site for the 2012 Olympics.

I can’t wait to read the book I brought back, The Learning Brain, Lessons for Education, by Dr. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, the young woman heralded by the British press as the world’s expert on the adolescent brain!

Since returning, I’ve enjoyed sharing aspects of my experience and a few of these comments with the student leaders in class, with the whole school during morning announcements, and with the faculty in our morning meeting. From our small school in Virginia, we can trace links to schools around the world and to their commitment to girls’ growth in every aspect of their lives. We can be proud of our own leadership in this field and all that we offer in these conversations. Always, we are enriched by the perspectives of others.

We are also taking this year to engage in formal strategic planning, having completed nearly all of the initiatives outlined in the plan we developed in 2000. Already we have surveyed our parents and students, and our alumnae can look forward to hearing from us later this year. You can expect us to keep asking questions! Your answers are important to us. St. Margaret’s today is planning from a position of strength. I invite you to share our pride in this year’s school and our enthusiasm for the opportunities ahead.