The Gift of Community
Lessons and Carols in December was one of the largest community gatherings in school history.
By Ryan Wood
It was a magical night at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School. A chill in the air gave the evening a wintry feel, as attendees curled up under blankets, hands stuffed in coat pockets. Lawn chairs faced north, where the front of the Performing Arts Center glowed with streaks of holiday green and red, and where talented students of all ages were ready to put on a show.
Off to the side, there was a donation drive benefiting Infant Pantry, the school and church’s newest program serving local families. Tables of Christmas-themed sugar cookies awaited the guests upon their exit. Professional photographers and videographers were on hand, as were hundreds of amateurs capturing the moments on their smartphones.
Lessons and Carols has taken place in all 43 years of St. Margaret’s existence, yet never had there been a night like this. Upper School students, with years of refinement and experience under their belts, singing renditions of classic Christmas favorites. Middle School students, quickly developing their musical chops, playing band and string instruments. And the Lower School students, kindergarten through grade 5, singing carols, reading lessons and Bible passages, and telling the story of Christmas under the backdrop of the St. Margaret’s Christmas tree, lit earlier in the evening by the Parent Teacher Fellowship.
Christmas is always a special season at St. Margaret’s, but never has all of the school’s favorite holiday traditions come together in one night. More than 500 students took part, with hundreds of family and friends watching from Chalmers Field. It was one of the largest gatherings in school history, a herculean effort involving school leaders, the PTF, maintenance and facilities, security, communications and more.
“Current times call for creativity and innovation to carry on these important traditions, and our students and professional community really put on an unforgettable show,” Head of School Will Moseley said. “It is always wonderful when our community is able to come together, and this was a special evening none of us will soon forget.”
When the ripple effects of a global pandemic took all of our lives down a path we never imagined, it was on that path where we recognized what we hold dear.
At St. Margaret’s, it was this: proud parents watching their young child deliver a Christmas reading flawlessly with hundreds looking on. Seeing the joy as students saw their favorite teacher outside of the normal school day. Lower School students sharing the stage with the Upper School students they idolize, unable to comprehend, as adults can, that they are not far away from being the ‘big kids’ themselves.
It was all this and more. Tartans with Tartans. Sharing the commonality of a vibrant St. Margaret’s education, and the love of one another that comes with that shared experience.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of social interactions in a person’s overall health and well-being,” said Patrick Bendzick, St. Margaret’s director of student wellness. “Although we were able to connect with people on a variety of digital platforms, nothing replaced the emotional benefits of interacting with friends and family in person. It’s something most of us took for granted, but it is refreshing to see how St. Margaret’s has emerged with a profound appreciation for this simple gift.”
“Although we were able to connect with people on a variety of digital platforms, nothing replaced the emotional benefits of interacting with friends and family in person.”
Community is an essential strength of St. Margaret’s. Alongside pillars like academic excellence, opportunities in athletics and arts, strong college matriculation, and a world-class collection of educators, community is a valuable part of the Tartan experience, every single day.
All of those pillars of St. Margaret’s continued on, but maintaining strong community connections is the glue of the transformative Tartan experience, and perhaps the most challenging to achieve when pandemic guidelines hamstrung the ability to just be together.
During the 2020-2021 school year, St. Margaret’s PTF—a driver of many important community-building events—had every reason to eliminate all expectations of community togetherness in their events. Instead, they forged ahead with the guidelines in place, hosting virtual get-togethers, cherished fundraisers and, near the end of the school year, the PTF Library Luncheon with tables decorated in backyards across Orange County. Speaking at the New Board/Old Board recognition at the end of the year, Mr. Moseley noted that “each of you have made what could have been a very quiet year for PTF activities into a year full of connections and programming.”
Heading into the fall of 2021, it was such connections that were a priority of school leadership. The community touchpoints must soon return. It is a key ingredient to the health, well-being, learning and growth of St. Margaret’s students.
One welcome return was in athletics, which is set to enjoy a full school year of competition. While the student-athletes bonded with one another during team practices, strength and conditioning sessions, and most of all, games, in the crowd were their peers—taking on an important role of their own.
The Kitchen, the Upper School’s spirited student cheering section, has been ranked favorably by local media as one of the most passionate student sections in Orange County. They have themed costumes at home games, lead timely and respective chants, dances and antics, and make sure that Tartan student-athletes have a home-field advantage when they play at St. Margaret’s.
More than ever, the Kitchen has enhanced the atmosphere around athletics this year, in its long awaited return to a normal schedule. They have made games at Tartan Field or Pasternack Field House can’t-miss community events, and contributed mightily to making St. Margaret’s a fun and spirited place that means so much to all St. Margaret’s students.
“The Kitchen provides a platform for every member of our student community to support our athletic teams,” said Chris Nordstrom, St. Margaret’s Upper School director of athletics. “Whether it is on the field or the court, this group demonstrates true Tartan spirit every day.”
Beyond Upper School student life, though, there is a uniqueness to St. Margaret’s preschool-grade 12 campus that invites an aspect of community which can’t be replicated elsewhere. School leaders have long valued the importance of bringing Tartans of all ages together for activities like all-school events. Yet such events were a logistical challenge considering the guidelines in place—a goal that required creativity, hard work, new solutions and doing away with almost all preconceptions of how things previously had been done.
With that, the Homecoming Pep Rally in the fall was a significant milestone. It was the first time the entire student body gathered since March 2020, and students of all ages watched as Tartan Field was transformed into Olympic Stadium befitting the Homecoming theme of “Tartans Go for Gold.” Organized and run by the Upper School ASB, there were performances by the Upper School cheer squad and the Tartan Dance Company, skits, fun Olympic-themed activities including a 50-yard dash with Early Childhood School students, a water balloon launch with willing faculty as targets, the introduction of the homecoming court and an inspirational speech by head football coach Kory Minor. Though the Pep Rally was limited to students and professional community, the parent community was able to tune in via live stream.
“It was such a moment for the entire school community,” said Lora Allison, Upper School director of community life. “I’m so proud of ASB and everyone involved, and we’re so happy we were able to bring the entire Tartan community together.”
The success of the Homecoming Pep Rally made all things possible, it seemed. As the school year moved along and more community-uniting events loomed on the calendar—events that were relegated to online presentations during 2020-2021—it made sense that the Homecoming Pep Rally would serve as a blueprint.
If 1,240 students could come together for a spirited pep rally, why not for November’s St. Margaret’s Day, an annual Eucharist celebrating the school’s namesake and reflecting on a theme tied to the school’s roots?
So on a beautiful Southern California day about a month later, the student body returned to Tartan Field. Maintenance and facilities stepped up to turn the field into a powered stage, where Director of Choral Music Adela Kwan performed on the keyboard, where St. Margaret’s chaplains and student leaders offered prayer readings, and where Mr. Moseley encouraged the student body to embrace a life of gratitude, even during challenging times.
“It takes courage to have gratitude,” Mr. Moseley. “Life is hard, yet we strive for equity, justice, health and prosperity for all. It is in the striving that we can find gratitude.”
In that moment, Mr. Moseley and many others in the school community were feeling gratitude themselves. The student body was back together again. Siblings hugged one another, Peer Counselors said hello to their little buddies. Upper School students were flooded with nostalgia as they watched the Early School students sing hymns that they remember singing in their younger years.
That’s what community looks like in a preschool-grade 12 school. In late 2020, a group of 3- and 4-year old Early Childhood School students climbed on top of wood tables to peek over the division’s wall, where Middle School students were walking around the perimeter of Chalmers Field. The young Tartans had a simple request: Won’t you come visit us?
It was a reminder that the wholeness of St. Margaret’s cannot exist inside a cohort, or contained to one part of campus, forever. It requires community, and teachers from all divisions embraced and sought out such cross-divisional connections. For a few examples, In the fall of 2021 alone:
Grade 6 led a math lesson with Early School and kindergarten students.
Grade 6 students dropped by the Early School as well as kindergarten classes to lead a math lesson.
Upper School science students helped kindergartners make volcanoes in the sand pit of the Lower School Outdoor Classroom.
Upper School astronomy students collaborated with grade 6 earth science students.
Grade 6 students shared their health and well-being books with grade 4 students.
Upper School students served as digital mentors to help younger Tartans make good choices with technology and social media.
Middle School technical arts students created a Halloween carnival for Lower School students to have an unforgettable holiday.
Upper School students visited grade 6 world history class to help students with their archaeology interview project.
Kindergarten students decorated pumpkins, and delivered them to the Upper School to bring a little extra joy to their school day, causing one senior to exclaim, “This made my whole week!”
Those little connections brought a little joy. The big connections created lifelong bonds and memories, such as Lessons and Carols where parents connected with parents, where they watched with pride as their children took to the stage, where they supported the Infant Pantry program serving others, and where they received a continuous reminder throughout the evening that the transformative Tartan experience is more than the importance of vigorous academics, teachers full of love and care, and opportunities to take the path of your choosing toward adulthood.
It’s also being in the presence of each other, forever bonded by St. Margaret’s and the unique and life-changing community in which it entails.