This Wednesday, Lower School students congregated in Sillers Hall for the Icky Yucky Gross Bug Show, presented by the Parent Teacher Fellowship Arts Alliance. There were gasps of amazement when educational performance artist David Herbelin presented the assembly with the Madagascar hissing cockroach, oohs and aahs as the introduction of the bug-eating blue-tongued skink, and wide-eyed stares at the Chilean rose-haired tarantula. Throughout the performance, the children saw, touched, and learned about these animals, their habitats, and the reasons for their appearance and behavior.
Reasons for animals’ behavior, as the Lower …

Last Friday we announced to Lower School faculty and parents that Dr. Regina McDuffie will be the permanent Principal of the Lower School effective immediately. We are thrilled with her decision and feel this is in the very best interest of the school. This move does have some all-school implications, but we feel that the situation is quite different from two years ago when Dr. McDuffie served as the Interim Lower School Principal for the entire year. The primary difference this time around is that she has done this before …

Watching our young Lower School athletes race around tracks on Gateway Field last Thursday, it was easy to understand why this PTF Booster Club fund-raiser was so successful—it depended on our little athletes doing what they do best: running around! Music and sunshine set the tone for these groups, displaying enough energy to run a marathon, to make laps to raise money for our athletic program at St. Margaret’s. In all, more than $14,000 was raised at the 2009 Tartan Trot.

The Tartan kids are an active bunch and the Tartan Trot is a great way to involve our students in raising money for our athletic program at St. Margaret’s.

Children from the Preschool and Lower School paraded through their school “haunts” as ghosts and goblins (and even Santa Claus!), as St. Margaret’s celebrated Halloween 2009.

St. Margaret’s spoooooky week of Halloween celebrations began with a Preschool parade on Wednesday and an encore on Thursday, giving all children an opportunity to take turns smiling and waving as they showed off their good “spirits” for their teachers, visiting parents, friends and classmates. Even Director of the Early Childhood Development Center Ingrid Andrews was dressed up, emceeing the parade in doggie ears.

With sticky hands and chocolate smiles, the second-grade classes lined up to receive their much-deserved Ice Cream Social choice of chocolate or vanilla as a sweet reward for reaching 90 percent participation in the 2008–2009 Annual Fund. The kids, teachers and parents enjoyed an array of toppings, from whipped cream to gummi bears, served up by the Advancement staff. They capped off their last day of school with a little treat and a chance to say goodbye to their classmates. Thank you again to all who participated, and we hope you have a wonderful summer!

On Wednesday, the class of 2016 gathered with their friends, family and the St. Margaret’s community in the Chapel for Fifth Grade Recognition.

After opening remarks by Headmaster Marcus D. Hurlbut, Middle School Principal Jeannine Clarke welcomed students to the Middle School, reflecting on the challenges awaiting them, and on how their experiences in the Lower School production of Alice in Wonderland, Jr., might compare to the changes ahead. Lower School Principal Kristen Voeltz made the closing remarks, bidding the Class of 2016 farewell from the Lower School.

This Tuesday, June 9, we had the great privilege of witnessing the impact that learning about the importance of these Character Traits has had on our St. Margaret’s students. During Chapel, the Lower School students and teachers, Headmaster Marcus Hurlbut, and parents gathered for the Character Counts presentation. We observed how each group of students proudly displayed their decorated parachute banners during the processional. We watched and listened as they smiled, laughed, sang, clapped and shared the truth and joy of such knowledge.

Last week in Sillers Hall, 17 Upper School Students of the Theatre 1 class performed before the entire Lower School the American classic Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. They performed under the direction of Theatre Arts teacher Nathan Wheeler as their final project.
Theatre 1 is an introductory course that explores a wide range of theatrical areas in which students expand their imaginations, strengthen their communicative skills and gain an appreciation of theatre as a living art form. This was clearly portrayed in this performance. Although most of these performers had…

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This year’s Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day, held May 8 at St. Margaret’s, was a huge success.

The morning’s breakfast was well received by all guests, but of course that was not the highlight of the day. Leaving the festively decorated greeting area, grandparents and special friends entered the Pasternack Field House for a Chapel service followed by a greeting by Headmaster Marcus D. Hurlbut and outstanding musical performances from each of the grade levels, from Kindergarten to grade 5. Lower School Principal Kristen Voeltz gave the closing remarks, and after the service, our fifth-grade student ambassadors were available to lead guests back to their respective grades for classroom visits.