Tartan Snapshots: Spring 2023
The latest news from around St. Margaret’s.
16 Upper School Students Conduct College-Level Research Through Partnership With UC-Irvine
Sixteen Upper School students with an interest in STEAM fields had a valuable first-hand look at a college research environment, as they worked with top minds in engineering, computer science, chemistry, robotics and more at the University of California, Irvine.
The partnership between St. Margaret’s and UCI Samueli School of Engineering is now in its 18th year, and the 16 participating students this summer was the highest number ever.
Lower School Starts ‘Scottie Snack Cart’ With Nutritious Food Options
St. Margaret’s unveiled its new health and well-being program, as Lower School students were able to snack on nutritious fruits and vegetables during recess from the “Scottie Snack Cart.”
The cart was made possible by a PTF grant in partnership with Upper School student Chase Springer and several professional community members. The fruits and vegetables were grown nearby at The Ecology Center, an educational partner of St. Margaret’s.
Holocaust Survivor Visits With Upper School Students to Share Remarkable Life Story
In a powerful and inspiring telling of a remarkable life story, students in the Upper School’s Holocaust and contemporary genocide course listened to a first-hand account of devastation, unthinkable loss and survival from the Nazi regime during World War II from a very special guest: St. Margaret’s grandparent Ruth Hermann.
Mrs. Hermann is the grandmother of Upper School student Carly Hermann. She was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1927, and at the age of 11 fled Nazi Germany as part of the Kindertransport program.
Grade 6 Students Explore Their Heritage and Enjoy a Feast
St. Margaret’s grade 6 students enjoyed a multicultural feast like never before, the culmination of a unit that explored each student’s family traditions and histories.
The Heritage Cookbook project was an interdisciplinary unit between grade 6 world history, taught by Rian Otto, and grade 6 writing, taught by Owen Beitner. The feast was just one of many activities students did to not only learn more about where they came from, but also to celebrate and experience a part of everyone’s unique story.
Large Tartan Delegation Attends NAIS People of Color Conference
St. Margaret’s had a delegation of 23 students and professional community members attend the 2022 National Association of Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference and the adjacent NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
The Tartan delegation consisted of six Upper School students and 17 adults. They participated in workshops and attended events over four days, advancing St. Margaret’s ongoing strategic work around fostering an inclusive school community and developing cultural competency skills to effectively engage across cultures, perspectives and backgrounds.
St. Margaret’s Expands ‘Digital Mentor’ Program for Middle School Technology-Use Education
St. Margaret’s Middle School students are learning valuable lessons in digital citizenship and responsibly navigating technology from those who perhaps best understand the world they are experiencing—fellow Tartans.
This year, St. Margaret’s expanded its “digital mentors” program, where Upper School Peer Counselors lead digital health and well-being lessons designed for Middle School students. This year, the program has expanded with 27 Upper School students—one for each Middle School advisory—leading lessons created by The Social Institute, St. Margaret’s partner in technology-use education.
Upper School Students Recreate Henry David Thoreau’s Famous Desk
As part of an interdisciplinary unit studying Henry David Thoreau and his American Transcendentalist philosophy, English and engineering students came together to build replicas of Thoreau’s 19th-century writing desk using only a set of antique hand tools.
The unit was conceptualized by Upper School English teacher Jamie Bunch and engineering teacher Eric Trumbauer as a way to better experience Thoreau’s self-reliant philosophy and how he lived it, while also offering students a new perspective on engineering and design as it used to be done.
Early Childhood School Teachers Present at NAEYC Conference
St. Margaret’s was well represented at the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., as Assistant Director and Pedagogista Sonia Yoshizawa presented while Early School teachers Jennifer Hardison and Sharon Benedetto also attended and participated in presentations and forums.
Dr. Yoshizawa’s presentation was titled “Inquiring Minds: Investigating STEM with Infants and Toddlers” which describes a new model for how infants and toddlers engage in inquiry learning and provides educators with ideas for exploring STEAM learning opportunities to support inquiry for the youngest learners.
24 Upper School Students Recognized by National Merit Scholarship Program
St. Margaret’s celebrated 24 Upper School who were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program, based on their performance in the PSAT taken as juniors. St. Margaret’s had seven students named National Merit Semifinalists, and another 17 students received commendation.
There are 1.5 million National Merit Scholarship entrants nationwide, with the top 3 percent receiving commendation, and the top 1 percent being named semifinalists.
Arts
St. Margaret’s Performing Arts Center Named in Honor of Darcy Rice
St. Margaret’s announced hat the Performing Arts Center has been named the Darcy Rice Center for the Arts, in honor of the school’s longtime director of the arts who retired in June after a 22-year career at the helm.
Naming the building after Mr. Rice had been in the works for a long time. The Nicholas family provided the foundational gift to St. Margaret’s to build the state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center, which was completed in 2012. As part of that gift, the Nicholas family retained naming rights for the building.
“From the very beginning, our family believed that Darcy Rice was the only person worthy of having his name on the Performing Arts Center,” said Stacey Nicholas, a St. Margaret’s Trustee Emeritus and parent of three alumni who were all involved in the arts. “We thought that when he retired, it would be the perfect time to make that happen.”
Tartan Writers and Artists Honored With Regional Scholastic Awards
St. Margaret’s talented writers and artists in the Upper School and Middle School were recognized in the 2023 Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Tartans won 73 art awards and 28 writing awards in the West Coast Regional At-Large Divisions. That total includes 23 gold key winners, which will be forwarded for judging in the national competition.
Tartan Dance Launches New Buddy Program to Bring Students of All Ages Together
St. Margaret’s dance program spans all divisions and all grades of the school, with more than 140 dancers participating this school year. This year, Tartan Dance launched the buddy program, a cross-divisional touchpoint matching a Lower School dancer with either a Middle School or Upper School dancer for a year of connection, mentorship and learning.
Student-Athletes Commit to Top Colleges During Signing Periods
The Class of 2023 has had 19 student-athletes commit to continue their academic careers and play intercollegiate sports in college. The list includes nine student-athletes during the winter period, five from the fall period and five from the spring period.
Tartan Scenes: Spring 2023
A look at community gathering happening around St. Margaret’s.
PTF Forever Plaid: All Hallows’ Evening
More than 400 members of the St. Margaret’s community came together for a spooky spectacle in support of the school in October, as parents, professional community, Trustees and alumni came to AV Irvine or the 2022 Forever Plaid: All Hallows’ Evening.
It was the first in-person Forever Plaid all-school fundraiser since 2019, and the energy and excitement was noticeable as attendees came together for a night of dinner, dancing and generous support of St. Margaret’s. In the spotlight was this year’s Fund A Need, a relaunch of the Student Commons project which aligns with the school-wide focus on community and student health and wellness. By the end of the night, more than $1 million had been raised in support of the initiative.
PTF Parent Up Speaker Series
St. Margaret’s PTF Parent Up Speaker Series pursued the theme of the “Helping Young People Thrive” in 2022-2023. The first speaker in the lineup was Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, who shared enlightening brain and attachment research to share how parents can best make a difference in the lives of children.
The second speaker was Dr. Nii Addy, who explored the science behind self-care and gave tips to support ourselves as we take on life’s numerous tasks.
PTF Tartan Family Fun Zone
The St. Margaret’s community gathered for an evening of great food, friendship, games and Tartan spirit, as the PTF Tartan Fun Zone welcomed more than 850 attendees to the Lower School Field.
The event was a warmup for the St. Margaret’s Homecoming football game later that evening, and it proved to be popular. Tables were full with Tartans socializing over delicious food, the Lower School field and Campaigne Center were filled with students playing fun games like sack races and dodgeball, and families were able to purchase Tartan gear from the PTF Boosters.
PTF Welcome Back Coffee and Winter Coffee
The PTF hosted two get-togethers this school year for the parent community to enjoy coffee and community and learn more about volunteer opportunities within the PTF. The annual Welcome Back Coffee served as the traditional kickoff to PTF activities at the beginning of the school year, while a second Winter Coffee brought families back together to look ahead to spring events and activities.
PTF Tree Lighting Ceremony
A cherished holiday tradition at St. Margaret’s brought more than 200 members of the Tartan community to the 15th annual PTF Tree Lighting Ceremony in the Fountain Courtyard.
Traditionally the kickoff event for the holiday season at St. Margaret’s, Tartans in attendance could visit with Santa Claus, decorate holiday ornaments to hang on the St. Margaret’s Christmas tree, listen to carolers and enjoy hot chocolate and holiday desserts. There was also an opportunity to write letters to Santa, complete with a special mailbox for messages to the North Pole.
Alumni Class Notes
A look at recent updates in the Tartan alumni community.
2002
Class of 2002 Reunion
20th Reunion: The ‘02s celebrated their 20th reunion in October in San Juan Capistrano, reconnecting, reminiscing and catching up on news from their classmates!
Michael Boyle earned his Master in Public Policy degree from Princeton University last May, and is currently working at The Pentagon.
2012
Class of 2012 Reunion
10th Reunion: The Class of 2012 celebrated their 10th Reunion in December, getting together in San Juan Capistrano to catch up and share stories. It was great seeing everyone there!
2015
Morgan Higgins
Morgan Higgins was recently cast in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical Bad Cinderella, where she plays Marie.
2017
Soon after completing his degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Nick Scheel was named 2022 Lifeguard of the Year by the City of San Clemente for his work as a lifeguard supervisor.
2018
Jaden Cloobeck graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and now works as a researcher at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, D.C. He recently joined Ian Thomas ‘09 on an alumni panel discussing college experiences and career paths with current St. Margaret’s students.
2019
Chris Chan was the recipient of the ROTC All American Student of the Year Scholarship, which was presented to him during the Military Bowl football game in December. The scholarship honors 3 ROTC seniors across the United States who embody the pillars of the ROTC program: leadership, military excellence, scholarship and service. Chris attends Villanova University and is part of the NROTC program.
Paul Boranian co-founded the company Golf Daddy and found immediate success when its top product, Divot Daddy, went viral on TikTok. Golf Daddy currently has more than 250 million views on TikTok and now has products in hundreds of retail stores around the country. He graduated from Pepperdine University in December.
In Memoriam: Wes Carr ‘19
The Tartan community was saddened to learn about the passing of Wes Reynolds Carr ‘19, who passed away in February in Dallas, where he was a senior and economics major at Southern Methodist University.
Wes had a joyful, outgoing personality and he was a kind and selfless person. He loved his family, friends and neighbors and had a special friendship with an elderly neighbor whom he helped with house chores and gardening. Wes loved sports and played both baseball and soccer while at St. Margaret’s. He was also a music lover and had a particular affinity for film. Wes was a good listener and an even better friend. He kept in close touch with his St. Margaret’s classmates, and made new friends during his years at SMU where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Wes will be deeply missed by all those who were so very blessed to know and love him.
2022
Xitlalic Rojas returned to St. Margaret’s this spring to speak to grade 8 students during the All-School Service Learning Project, which this year was a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley. Xitlalic spoke about her experiences at the Boys & Girls Clubs, which included being named the BGCCV Youth of the Year in 2022.
Notable: Alumni Christmas Party
Tartan Alumni from many classes returned to St. Margaret’s in December for the annual Alumni Holiday Party. It was great seeing so many faces! Here are a few photos from the night:
Save the Dates!
Tartan Giving Week: May 12-16
Homecoming: October 13