Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Margaret's Students Staff Special Olympics
Tappahannock, VA (February 4, 2001) - St. Margaret's was one of only two schools in Virginia selected to volunteer at the Special Olympics Alpine Skiing Competition this January. SMS has been supporting the two-day event for more than five years.
Cathy Ryan and Sarah Muller, both of Tappahannock, were among the nine St. Margaret's students who participated as volunteers for this year's Special Olympics Alpine Skiing Competition. They are shown here with three of the competitors in the two-day event.
"Learning to value service is one of the most important aspects of the 'education for life' that St. Margaret's School provides," said Director of Studies ViAnn Farmer, who chaperoned the trip. "Opportunities like these prepare our students to be caring, contributing members of their communities."
Athletes with mental disabilities came to Wintergreen from all over the nation to slide, race and slalom. Members of the SMS chapter of the National Honor Society contributed 10 to 15 hours of service by accompanying participants to their events, cheering them on, and generally working to promote a healthy atmosphere between competitors, event organizers and supporters. The girls were unexpectedly - and amply - rewarded for their efforts, they said.
"I went thinking that I was going to teach kids how to ski, but they ended up teaching me," said senior Sarah Muller of Tappahannock. "The competitors have such a wonderful outlook on life. As teenagers, we complain about mundane little things, and here they are, dealing with huge obstacles every day."
A total of nine SMS students and two chaperones volunteered at the Special Olympics this year. In addition to Muller, Farmer and Athletic Director Sue Saunders, they included Olivia Longest, Cathy Ryan, Rachelle Slotnick and Claire Stephenson of Tappahannock; Kelly Proctor of Urbanna; New Zealand exchange student Toni Prebble; and boarding students Carol Combs and Carter Holloway.
