The Daily Thistle, St. Margaret's School

From the desk of Linda May Shields of the Class of 1963: The School Viola found in 1950 was quite different from the one she left 34 years later. In 1950 etiquette classes were held weekly, along with faculty teas every afternoon. Teachers lived in dormitories and were expected to attend meals. Hats and gloves were worn to required church services, and sit-down dinners preceded mandatory evening c...

It’s a big testing day as we come to the close of the first quarter.  Testing today is American Studies, Introduction to Literature, World Literature, Geometry, and River Studies. Christopher Newport University will be on campus today. Volleyball will travel to The Miller School today. The wind turbine was installed on the River Classroom and will be operational later today.  Next comes...

On this Columbus Day, we host an admissions open house from 8:00 am to noon.  Visitors will attend classes and forums. We continue our third segment about Viola Woolfolk who served as Saint Margaret’s headmistress from 1950 to 1984. From the desk of Linda May Shields of the Class of 1963: This merging of school and home coupled with a sense of community so prevalent in small girls' schools fi...

The old tree that fell on the river lawn has already had visitors from the science classes who will be saving huge chunks of the tree for study.  One plan is to take the largest portion of the tree and make a dugout canoe with the expertise of the local Rappahannock tribe.  Students will be studying the age and health of the tree from their chemistry and biology classes.

To every man there openeth A Way, and Ways, and a Way, The High Soul climbs the High Way, the Low Soul gropes the Low, And in between, on the Misty Flats, The rest drift to and fro But to every man there openeth A High Way and a Low And every man decideth The way his soul shall go. That was a favorite poem of Miss Woolfolk by John Oxenham and was often shared with girls in the days of Viola Woolfo...

There is a small craft advisory in effect until this afternoon. Gail warning effect this afternoon until late tonight.  We are expecting to see waves at 3 feet. American Literature is testing today as well as Ancient and Medieval History. In Essex County there has been an increase in Covid cases.  Because of this we are only allowing Walmart pickups - so please complete your online order...

That sound clip was from Dr. Ni playing his harmonica at dinner last night as the weekend came to a close.  He also played it on a pontoon cruise to Fones Cliffs which is a stunning 4-mile stretch of white-colored cliffs rising more than 100 feet above the Rappahannock River. This nearly pristine and majestic site is the ancestral home of the Rappahannock Tribe and is only 11 miles up river....

On the River today low tide will be at 7:27 a.m. and high tide at 12:55 p.m. low tide will return at 7:30 p.m. the sun will rise at 6:56 a.m. and set at 7:03 p.m. it will be a waning crescent moon with only a 7% illumination.   Today there will be a gale warning in effect through the morning as well as a small craft advisory it will go into this evening.  The high will be 67 degrees...

Last night as our Alumnae Council gathered over Zoom, Mrs. Bell a couple of alums about their time at SMS.  From Mrs. Bell and a few of our SMS alumnae….

Yesterday, the Religion Class took time from their discussions to watch the historic funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.  For the first time in the history of St. Margaret’s the Union Jack was flown at half-staff in front of the school and on the B-House. For posterity, we thought we would mark this edition of the Daily Thistle with the sounds from London.

Last night Virginia joined with some friends to talk about some changes at St. Margaret’s, particularly the classrooms. In the humanity classrooms the individual desks were removed and replaced with discussion tables .    - it’s made a difference in our learning. That difference is profound in the wake of COVID where student socialization was significantly inhibited. But the tables bring...

I am Jesse Tucker . . . And this is the Daily Thistle for Thursday, September 15th, Two Thousand Twenty-Two

This signals that our Monday and Friday Chapels are back in swing as we follow the Book of Common Prayer’s Morning Prayer.  This year, the Head Prefect and Master Prefect are leading our services with Dr. Johnson.

If you look at yesterday's New York Times front page, you will not see any mention of the events of September 11th. If you watched CBS’s Sunday Morning with Jane Pawley - no mention. But for The Daily Thistle, we commemorate the 21st anniversary of 9/11 on this September 12th episode. "Yesterday at Memorial Plaza in New York City, mourners gathered at Ground Zero in Manhattan on Sunday to mark the...

It is an end . . . it is the end of an era that no English Sovereign, nor her subjects, nor those outside the United Kingdom will ever see again - at least not in our or our children’s lives.  She ruled the throne of England for 70 years - longer than any other English sovereign. She was stoic, humble, and dutiful. As the English Empire dissolved following World War II, the Elizabethan Age ma...

I spoke to a new student about her experiences at St. Margaret's. Ask any student, and market runs are part of the happiness here. As many boarding schools are more isolated in the woodlands, St. Margaret's is located in our town of Tappahannock. Today's Thistle is a little eclectic with part of a conversation between Ken Myers and Zena Hitz, who authored a book about intellectual life. Sure, it's...

Graduation Countdown is 8 days. Last night the Essex County Wetlands board approved the construction of our new dock. This was the last governmental requirement we needed, and construction will begin in July. Tonight the Juniors and seniors will celebrate their annual junior senior dinner in the dining hall.  The theme of the dinner is “Oh, the places you’ll go.” Today marks the last installm...

The graduation Countdown is 10 days. On the River today the sun will rise at 5:50 a.m. and set at 8:19 p.m. it will be a waning crescent moon with a 21% illumination High tide will be at 10:52 a.m. and low tide at 5:33 pm. High tide will return at 11:19 p.m. Last night we gathered in the CT Center to celebrate our spring athletic teams.  Here are some highlights from the evening. . . 

Graduation Countdown is 11 days. Tonight we celebrate our spring teams at the athletic banquet in the dining room.  Softball and Track will be honored. On the River today the sun will rise at 5:51 a.m. and set at 8:18 p.m. it will be a waning gibbous moon with a 32% illumination High tide will be at 9:54 a.m. and low tide at 4:42 pm. High tide will return at 10:25 p.m. Winds will be coming fr...

Today we celebrated Charms Chapel as alumna Gabrielle Van Kammaen returned to present the St. Margaret’s Charms to the Class of 2022.  It is a long standing rite of passage for St. Margaret’s seniors to receive their charms from the alumnae. We share some sounds from this mornings service . . . This is the last week of classes at St. Margaret’s.  Next week we will begin finals. In Friday...

Graduation Countdown is 15 days. Last night our Softball team lost in the State semi-finals in an 11-inning slugfest falling 4-7.  The Scotties were down 4-1 in the 7th inning when Jaydn hit a massive hit to the outfield driving in three runs.  Injuries and exhaustion took a toll, but the Scotties certainly played their hearts out.  Congratulations on a great season! Today our track...

The graduation Countdown is 16 days. Those were the sounds from the Seniors who are part of our music Ensemble.  It was a great event that brought Gianna, Helen, and Jenny to the stage for the last time. Autumn reports on the softball team's prep for the State semi-finals. On the River today the sun will rise at 5:54 a.m. and set at 8:14 p.m. it will be a waning gibbous moon with a 88% illumi...

Graduation Countdown is 18 days. Today softball will begin the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association Division 2 State softball tournament. The quarter finals will be held here at St Margaret’s today at 5:00 pm. The Scotties will take on number 7 Peninsula Catholic High School. St. Margaret's goes into the tournament ranked second. Admission to the game is $5. Next Tuesday St Margarets w...

Report on the LIS Championship Game: Our team got the early lead one zero in the very first inning. It was a thriller game with the Scotties and then tight Titans battling each inning. The game lasted all the way until the ninth inning when Gracie Byrd hit a home run over the right-field fence to seal the deal. For the walk-off win for the Scotties, we won the LIS championship. What a game. And th...

Graduation Countdown is 23 days. Today the softball team plays for the conference Championship for the Virginia League of Independent Schools.  Trinity Episcopal will travel to Tappahannock for a 5 pm start.  The two teams split their regular-season games as excitement builds for the championship. We finish with Ms. Harvey’s Digital Media class who found the girls taking photos/video and...