Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Girl Scouts Celebrate Holiday With SMS Students
Tappahannock, VA (March 5, 2001) - More than 40 Girl Scouts from the Tappahannock-Warsaw area recently "traveled" to seven different countries in less than three hours. They weren't on the Concorde - they were on the St. Margaret's School campus, where students shared food, games and songs from their native lands.
The event marked the 75th annual "Thinking Day," a holiday celebrated by 10 million Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in 140 countries around the world. Its purpose is to honor the international nature of scouting and give girls the opportunity to learn about other cultures. Partnering with SMS to meet these goals made perfect sense, said Scout Leader Mary Alice Passagaluppi of Tappahannock.
"St. Margaret's brings such a wonderful diversity to our community," she said. "Why just read about other countries, when we can experience them first-hand with the help of the school's international students?"
The Girl Scouts participated in a range of activities developed by the students and coordinated by International Program Director Leslie Bohon and Athletic Director Sue Saunders. They included making Taiwanese snacks with Annie Chan and Maggie Lu, learning Kung Fu with Peggy Kwan of Hong Kong, making lanterns with Shu Jin and Yee Yan Lai from China, and folding origami with Miki Saito of Japan and American student Kat Price. Scouts also had learned how to write their name in seven languages, viewed displays of crafts and other cultural items, and played a variety of games from Mexico, St. Barth's and Korea. Game leaders included Paola Peralta, Mariana Heredia, Justty Cervera, Andrea Escudero and Maria Montes; Cariad Shepherd and Beth Brinkley; and Yoo Ri Jung, Jee Sun Lee, Hannah Lee and Emily Chang, respectively.
The program concluded with performances from Korea, China and Hong Kong. Yoo Ri Jung gave a vocal solo, Yee Yan Lai and Shu Jin performed to the dance music hit "Flower World," and Peggy Kwan demonstrated additional Kung Fu combinations.
"We hope to come back next year," Passagaluppi said. "It was a great event for both the Scouts and the students."
