Guideposts
A Message from the Head of School Will Moseley
Message from the Head of School
Dear Friends,
Much can be said about the challenges of the past two years, and I am certain it will be studied and documented by researchers and historians for many years to come. What I hope St. Margaret’s Episcopal School will be remembered for during this time is what most lifted us up and nurtured our young people: our strong sense of community and the deep commitment and bonds we share with each other as Tartans.
Even at our most physically separated times, we tapped into our connections and the power of our love for St. Margaret’s and our children to remain true to who we are and reassuring us of brighter days ahead along the way. As soon as possible, we found creative ways to bring our community back together physically, knowing the true value of our togetherness as our bedrock that enabled us to persevere as a community and our children to thrive in their learning, growth and well-being. How truly extraordinary!
I am pleased to introduce this new issue of our Highlander magazine with the cover story exploring the myriad ways St. Margaret’s community and togetherness was made possible and made the difference as we pushed through these unprecedented times. Throughout this time, we re-discovered the significance, meaning and enduring impact that being a part of this loving and dedicated community has on each of our lives and our families.
Please also spend time with the two-part feature story detailing how we gather and analyze school performance data and research findings to ensure we are delivering on our mission, living our core values and to innovate and design the future of St. Margaret’s to meet student needs especially as we embark on new ethnographic research this spring. Visit the life science curriculum alive in the Early Childhood School Outdoor Classroom, hear from recent alumni on their St. Margaret’s experience and preparation for college, and get to know our wonderful new Director of Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano Elizabeth Eusebio. Lastly, revisit our 2022 State of the School report that was issued earlier this year that outlines the progress of our school across student academics and programs and operational areas.
Tartans, I couldn’t be more honored and humbled to be a part of this exceptional community strengthened by these past few years and beautifully documented and illustrated in this edition of the Highlander. I am eternally grateful to each and every Tartan, for the many ways you contribute to our community that shapes our collective and will live in our hearts and minds every day, forever.
Sincerely,
Will Moseley
Alumni Profile: Recent Tartan Graduates Reflect on St. Margaret’s and Their College Preparation
St. Margaret’s recent alumni gathered on campus recently to share their reflections on their St. Margaret’s experience, preparation for college, and the next chapter of their lives.
St. Margaret’s Classes of 2021 and 2020 had very successful college admission experiences and outcomes despite new considerations and uncertainties caused by the pandemic. Students engaged in a thoughtful search process and utilized new virtual tools to explore prospective colleges and universities. Guided by the expertise of the college counseling team, students focused on the very personal process of finding the match that has always been the hallmark of St. Margaret’s college counseling program.
St. Margaret’s recent alumni who are currently in college gathered on campus recently to share their reflections on their St. Margaret’s experience, preparation for college, and the next chapter of their lives.
The special conversation, recorded to share with the St. Margaret’s community, included alumni:
Lauren Bosambrio ’21, who currently attends the University of California-Los Angeles
Italivi Diaz ’21, who attends Cornell University
Eli Bernstein ’21, who attends Lehigh University
Angela Mendoza Ortega ’20, who currently attends the University of Southern California.
Logan Wojcik ’21, who currently attends Brown University.
President of the Tartan Alumni Association Mattingly Messina ’13, who graduated from University of California, Berkeley, moderated the discussion.
Tartan Scenes: Winter 2022
What’s happening in the St. Margaret’s community? Check out photos from the latest events on and off campus.
Forever Plaid: We’re Still Cookin’
The St. Margaret’s community gathered together to celebrate and support the school and its students at Forever Plaid: We’re Still Cookin’, an exciting virtual program viewed by nearly 300 Tartans.
The one-hour event was the culmination of several programs that brought the school community together, including the One Epic Auction and the Tartan Chili Cook-Off. The events netted more than $200,000, with proceeds from the events benefitting the PTF Grant Enrichment program, which provides educational and student grants that will enrich the learning environment of the entire student body.
PTF Welcome Back Coffee
More than 200 members of the St. Margaret’s community gathered on the outside patio of San Juan Hills Golf Club, as the annual Parent Teacher Fellowship Welcome Back Coffee event brought parents together to reconnect and learn more about volunteer opportunities within the PTF.
The traditional start-of-the-school-year gathering returned after a one-year hiatus, and it was the first in-person PTF event in more than 18 months. The eagerness for reconnection had parents enjoying a hot cup of coffee with old friends, meeting new friends and signing up to serve the school in one of many volunteer opportunities.
PTF Parent Up Speaker Series
The 2021-2022 PTF Parent Up Speaker Series kicked off in October with Dr. Lisa Damour, a clinical psychologist and author of two bestselling books on mental health in children. Dr. Damour gave an insightful virtual presentation to the parent community which reexamined the definition of mental health, illustrated how the pandemic has redefined mental health, showed how children express their mental health struggles, and gave tips on when and how parents can help.
In addition, there was a separate discussion specifically for Upper School students led by two Peer Counselors—junior Kaitlin Tam and senior Trey Kingsley—who asked student-specific questions on topics from teenagers living through the pandemic to comforting peers with mental-health struggles. Dr. Damour also led a presentation for St. Margaret’s professional community, sharing her observations of the mental health challenges educators have faced through the pandemic as seen through the experience of her spouse who is a classroom teacher.
The Ecology Center Workshops
In connection with the Parent Up Speaker Series, the Parent Teacher Fellowship started a series of workshops with St. Margaret’s parents at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano, an extension of the Speaker Series’ focus on health and well-being.
An October workshop brought parents together in creating hand-tied flower arrangements, while parents got back together in December to assemble holiday wreaths.
Tartan Snapshots: Winter 2022
What’s happening around St. Margaret’s, from Early Childhood School to Upper School
What’s happening around St. Margaret’s, from Early Childhood School to Upper School.
By Ryan Wood
Middle School Innovates Grade 6 Enrichment Courses for New Interdisciplinary Possibilities
St. Margaret’s Middle School reimagined its approach to grade 6 enrichment courses, complementing core subjects with a rotation of enrichment topics divided into two semester-long subjects—health and well-being, and art and technology.
The idea is to synergize similar enrichment topics together to introduce interdisciplinary possibilities.
Read more at smes.org
Tartans Conduct College-Level Scientific Research as Part of UC Irvine Partnership
Working with top academic minds in chemistry, computer science, mechanical and aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering and more, 14 St. Margaret’s Upper School students took part in a valuable internship in a college research environment last summer, through a longstanding partnership between St. Margaret’s and the University of California, Irvine.
Read more at smes.org
Constructivist-in-Residence Engages Professional Community and Parents on Nurturing Creativity
St. Margaret’s welcomed author, presenter and early-childhood expert Sonia Yoshizawa to campus as constructivist-in-residence. Ms. Yoshizawa led a full week of professional development, conversation and observation in the Early Childhood School as well as meeting with arts faculty, diving into the importance of creativity for individual and societal growth.
Read more at smes.org
Retreats Start School Year With Relevant Skill-Building in Fun Ways
Upper School and Middle School students started the school year with fun, skill-building, class-bonding retreats in a variety of Southern California locales. Upper School students conducted retreats at places like Camp Stevens, the University of California, Irvine and Doheny State Beach, while Middle School students had a day of activities at Dana Point Harbor.
Innovation Block Mini-Courses Introduce New Learning Opportunities in Upper School
Whether they were painting landscapes in Sillers Hall, grilling chicken by Tartan Field, hiking in Caspers Wilderness Park and caring for houseplants in the Tartan Courtyard, Upper School students have immersed in nontraditional learning opportunities through the Innovation Block mini-courses.
The Innovation Block mini-courses debuted in 2018 in response to student feedback and in support of strategic goals around expanding experiential learning, developing student health and wellness programs and cultivating important life skills.
Read more at smes.org
Lower School Students Visit The Ecology Center for Experiential Field Trips
Many of St. Margaret’s Lower School students have taken field trips to The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano for experiential learning opportunities around history, culture and the land.
Grade 1 and Grade 2 students visited in November as part of an educational program centered around Mesoamerica culture and farming techniques. Grade 3 students also took a field trip to The Ecology Center in October.
St. Margaret’s and The Ecology Center are longtime community partners, coming together many times each school year for both educational initiatives and service learning.
St. Margaret’s Launches ‘Digital Mentor’ Program Led by Upper School Peer Counselors
Several Upper School Peer Counselors have fanned out to Lower School and Middle School classrooms this year, leading a lesson created by The Social Institute, St. Margaret’s partner in educating and empowering students to have positive relationships with social media and technology. The lesson included an online survey that posed questions about safe and responsible technology use, and what students would choose to do when faced with tough situations in their digital lives.
Read more at smes.org
Kindergartners Visit Tanaka Farms, Bring Pumpkins Back to Surprise Upper School Students
St. Margaret’s kindergarten students went on a field trip to Tanaka Farms in Irvine before Halloween, where they had the chance to harvest fall crops, learn more about farm animals, and pick out pumpkins from the farm’s expansive patch.
The pumpkins, however, were not for them. Instead, the students brought the pumpkins back to St. Margaret’s, decorated them with silly faces and uplifting messages, and delivered them to Upper School students as a way to serve their older Tartan peers by bringing a little extra joy to the school day.
Read more at smes.org
ARTS
St. Margaret’s Launches ‘Tartan Dance Company’ for Advanced Upper School Dancers
St. Margaret’s dance program has grown over the past several years and now has four levels of Upper School classes. That growth led to the launch of the Tartan Dance Company, featuring 12 dancers performing together both at school events and dance festivals across Southern California.
“This is a natural progression from our highest-level dance courses, including advanced dance and composition honors,” Mrs. Harvey said. “The company gives the dancers the opportunity to work together outside of school, as well as work on larger choreography and performance projects.”
Read more at smes.org
‘The Great Indoors’ Project Explores Nature’s Positive Effects on Interior Spaces
Visual arts students in St. Margaret’s Upper School are working on a project that incorporates nature into an interior space—part of a larger discussion on how to make indoor spaces positively affect one’s mood.
It’s a concept that’s being implemented in several visual arts classes, as students learn more about how environments can be influenced artistically to positively influence behavior, health and frame of mind. “The Great Indoors” project was conceptualized by photography teacher Amanda Albanese and visual arts department chair Jesse Standlea, and was introduced in several Upper School classes, including intermediate clay handbuilding, advance study: photography, advanced clay handbuilding and architecture.
Read more at smes.org
ATHLETICS
Girls Golf Wins CIF-SS Team Championship
St. Margaret's captured its first-ever CIF team championship in girls golf, scoring a 427 at El Prado Golf Course in Chino to top the field. Gabby Eifrig carded a 78 for the Tartans' lowest score, and was complemented by solid rounds from Maddie Lewis, Kate Lee, Makenna Cox, Rianna Ke and Joy Mao. “What an emotional win for such a wonderful group of incredible golfers,” girls golf coach Rocky Parker said.
Read more at smes.org
11 Seniors Commit to Play Intercollege Athletics During Fall Signing Period
Eleven student-athletes from the Class of 2022 committed to play intercollegiate athletics during the fall national signing period. The list included Hayden Chester (Monmouth University, lacrosse), Riley Chester (Monmouth University, lacrosse), Sebastien Chicas (Virginia Military Institute, lacrosse), Seth Forstot (Rhodes College, lacrosse), Matt Groeninger (Bryant University, lacrosse), Jack Hanna (United States Military Academy, tennis), Grace Karstetter (Johns Hopkins University, lacrosse), Caroline Sele (Clemson University, volleyball), Will Stahl (College of the Holy Cross, lacrosse), Celeste Taylor (The University of Chicago, track and field) and Makai Todd (Drexel University, lacrosse)
Read more at smes.org.