Vol. 12, No. 8 Tappahannock, Virginia, March 2010

Dear St. Margaret's friends and families,

Can you think of a more unusual way to see the world from a different perspective than this? Years ago, when I was first a teacher here, David and I organized student travel to England and France, but this was my first time as a participant, riding along on boats, buses, and camels beside our students during Minimester. What a richly rewarding ten days we spent together!

This time of year always reminds me of my own first life-changing, culture shock experiences. I grew up in two neighboring Chicago suburbs. Moving from elementary school to junior high then high school, the same friends accompanied me as the schools grew larger, but no more diverse. We shared a fantastic academic education balanced against long hours in the pool on a year-round swim team. For college I only ventured to Ohio. Not until my Junior Year Abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France, did I appreciate that life could offer a far wider range of possibilities than I could ever have imagined. Nine years of French study prepared me well to easily converse in another language but had not prepared me at all to appreciate the very different values and priorities of another culture or the adventuresome approach to choices embraced by the young British traveler I met in Madrid that year. And my first meaningful experience of racial diversity came even later when I was hired by an African-American boss to work on his team of computer programmers at Time, Inc.

So my passionate desire for our St. Margaret’s girls to broaden their world view earlier in their lives comes from my own life and my deep belief that the sooner they experience the diversity of our world and the rich possibilities open to them the more grounded they will be in their decision making. After 20 years of building a program that honors these beliefs, we see the impact it has had in the fulfilling and creative lives of our young alumnae.

Now, as I sit in my office writing these words, I see the osprey flying over the water carrying sticks, building new nests after their winter away. And very soon our students will follow bringing with them eyes newly opened by all they have experienced as their minds and travels have taken them beyond this river shore. I can’t wait to hear about the new possibilities awakened within themselves and for their lives. We’ll look forward to passing on some of what we learn!

Sincerely,
Margaret R. Broad,
Head of School



 

Minimester 2010:
From the Pyramids to the Grand Canyon......

Spring Family Weekend:
Springing Forward......

My River Views:
Features Lexie Bruzgul ‘13 on her 2nd year at SMS......

Did you know! March is Women’s History Month. Since we prepare our students for the rigors of college and beyond, we thank these women for blazing the trail for future generations. 1840 —Catherine Brewer becomes the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree. 1849 —Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to graduate from medical school. 1905 —Nora Stanton becomes first woman to graduate with a degree in Civil Engineering. 1968 —Barbara Liskov becomes the first woman to earn her Ph.D. in Computer Science. 2009 —Elinor Ostrom, professor at University of Indiana Bloomington, becomes first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Alumnae Association Upcoming Events Your event calendar is at www.sms.org/alumcalendar