Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Queen Margaret Schools Bring World to Tidewater
Tappahannock, VA (June 29, 2001) - St. Margaret's School students and their families - many of them local residents - soon will have even more opportunities for international learning and travel through the Queen Margaret of Scotland Girls' Schools Association.
Heads of schools named for Queen Margaret of Scotland gathered recently at St. Margaret's School in Tappahannock for their first international conference. Left to right: Helen McDonald, St. Margaret's School, Berwick, Australia; Ann Mildenhall, Queen Margaret College, Wellington, New Zealand; Margaret Broad, St. Margaret's Tappahannock; Geoffery Chapman, St. Margaret's School, York, England; Marlene deVilliers, St. Margaret's School, Bushey, England; Claudia Wysocki, St. Margaret's College, Christchurch, New Zealand.
At their meeting last week on the Tappahannock campus, six heads of QMSGSA member institutions from Australia, England and New Zealand developed plans to strengthen ties between the schools that share not only a namesake, but also similar values. The QMSGSA is one of only two or three international secondary school networks, said SMS Headmistress Margaret R. Broad.
"Through the association, we literally can offer girls a world of benefits in a way that few others can," she said. "Our students are learning what it takes to succeed in today's global culture."
As a result of the meeting, the schools now plan to expand their joint offerings to include faculty and staff exchanges or "mini-sabbaticals," a service trip for students and teachers, and an expanded Web site.
Current programs include student exchanges with Queen Margaret College (a British term for secondary school) in Wellington, New Zealand, and with St. Margaret's School near Melbourne, Australia, as well as one-year, post-graduate intern exchanges with Australia and with St. Margaret's School outside of London, England. Day students from Center Cross, Irvington, Oak Grove and Tappahannock have participated in the exchanges over the last three years, both attending school abroad and hosting visiting students in their homes.
The QMSGSA was founded in 1999 and comprises 11 schools in Australia, Canada, Chile, England, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States. Its goals include fostering international relations, promoting a common heritage and coordinating events, such as the annual observance of St. Margaret's Day on November 16. The next association conference will take place in New Zealand in 2003.
