With a bagpiper leading its community to a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. Margaret’s opened its 98th school year rejoicing. A diverse student body of girls from across the country and around the world attends St. Margaret’s as day or boarding students.
This year, the day student population of girls from the region grew to 39%, and a larger group of domestic students is enrolled than in years past. Admission is on a rolling basis and the school will continue enrolling students throughout the year.
Head of School Catherine M. Sgroi P’00 commented, “We are excited about starting this school year with a larger group of day students. It shows how our local community values quality education and supports empowering girls to succeed and become future leaders.”
St. Margaret’s School employs 67 full and part-time staff, including 25 teaching faculty and offers learning experiences unique to a girl’s needs through a readiness-based curriculum which encourages intellectual curiosity, fosters creative thinking, and challenges girls to push hard to achieve. Study skills development and tutoring through its Wheat Center for Innovative Learning ensure girls are appropriately challenged along with honors, advance placement, and dual enrollment courses offered through a partnership with Rappahannock Community College which provides the opportunity for students to earn college credit.
The community is largely student led; relying on its honor code to help girls develop integrity, strong character, and a commitment to service along with academic and life skills that prepare independent and morally courageous women to make a positive difference in the world.
Among the facility improvements made over the summer to prepare for the year was replacement of the roof on Brockenbrough House, a colonial home dating to 1763 that houses the office of admission.
The school is bringing back tennis as a competitive fall sport at the junior varsity level, and its innovative River Program has new leadership under alumnae Leslie Newman ’99 and Sarah Brooks ’79 with Cupper Dickinson.
The Reverend Johanna Baker, M.Div., joined the community this summer from Phoenix, Arizona, as the new school chaplain.
To request an interview with a member of the St. Margaret’s administration, faculty or staff or request more information about the school, please contact Patricia Brincefield at 804-466-3142 or pbrincefield@sms.org.
About St. Margaret’s School: Nearing its centennial in 2021, St. Margaret’s is an Episcopal girls’ school for boarding and day, grades 8-12 and postgraduate. Its historic campus on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Tappahannock provides a welcoming environment for students from across the country and around the world to learn, grow, and thrive in all areas of life.
