Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357 (w); 804-443-2703 (h)
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Margaret's Hosts Australian Exchange Students
Two summers ago, in 1997, the heads of several Australian girls boarding schools met at a National Coalition of Girls Schools conference. At this conference, Virginia Henry, Principal of St. Margaret's School, Berwick, (Victoria) Australia, introduced the idea of an exchange program between international boarding high schools. E-mail correspondence on the subject ensued between St. Margaret's School Headmistress Margaret Broad, in Tappahannock, and Virginia Henry. The possibility of an exchange program between the two St. Margaret's Schools was discussed for over a year. It was decided that two St. Margaret's School, Berwick students would spend a trimester studying in Tappahannock, followed by two St. Margaret's School, Tappahannock, students traveling to Berwick for a trimester of study in Australia.
(l. to r.) Australian exchange students Hilary Duffy, Nina Van Rooijen, and Adrienne Richards (far r.) stand with SMS Headmistress Margaret Broad on the school's back lawn overlooking the Thomas Downing Jr. Bridge (background).
This January, Principal Henry's vision became a reality. Sophomores Hilary Duffy and Adrienne Richards arrived in Tappahannock to spend three months studying at St. Margaret's School. Duffy, a day student, is living with tenth grade class president Britt Faulkner at her home in Whitestone, VA. Richards, a boarding student, is living in Latane dormitory, rooming with sophomore Carol Combs, of Statesboro, GA.
In March, Combs and Faulkner will accompany Duffy and Richards back to Australia, where the four girls will resume their studies at St. Margaret's School, Berwick. Hilary Duffy will host Britt Faulkner at her home in Pakanham, Australia. Likewise, Carol Combs will live at home with Adrienne Richards and her family in Berwick, Australia.
St. Margaret's School, Berwick, a day school, began in 1926 in the manse of the Presbyterian church, Toorak, with eighteen pupils. A year later, the school moved to Malvern where it remained until its closing in 1940. In 1930, however, a country branch for boarders and a limited number of day students had opened in Berwick. Thus, upon the closing of the Malvern site in 1940, the whole school moved to Berwick. St. Margaret's, Berwick is known today for its proud heritage and, particularly, as one of the first Melbourne-established schools to relocate from the city to a less-confined country setting.
Girls participating in the exchange program had to demonstrate sound academic achievement coupled with the desire to represent their respective schools abroad. "We are looking for girls who are leaders, strong academically and perhaps too, adventurous," noted Headmistress Broad. The tenth grade was selected as the ideal year for a study abroad program since it occurs prior to the commencement of the more focused college preparatory cycle the students face during their junior and senior years.
In 1998, St. Margaret's School, Tappahannock completed a previous exchange with St. Margaret's School in Bushey, England. Alumnus Ashley Porter, a freshman at Cornell University, spent her senior year studying abroad at St. Margaret's School in Bushey, England. Conversely, Nicole Kaufman, a "gap" student taking a year off between high school and college, worked as an intern for one year at St. Margaret's School in Tappahannock.
Two weeks ago, Nina Van Rooijen, a recent Berwick graduate, began a six month internship at St. Margaret's School in Tappahannock. Van Rooijen, who lives in Emerald, (Victoria) Australia, will travel to Holland this summer to further her work experience abroad. Of her first days in Tappahannock, said Van Rooijen, "I asked directions to 7-11 and they told me to walk down the sidewalk, but in Australia we say 'path', so I was a bit confused."
The essence of the philosophy behind the cooperative exchange program is to broaden the opportunities available to students at both schools. The girls experience something far beyond the familiar confines of Berwick and Tappahannock. Hopefully, the educational exchange will provide the girls with increased global awareness and understanding that will lead them to greater achievements in the future.
