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.

And the weekend was filled with a variety of activities as students traveled to Richmond to roller skate and head to the University of Virginia to see a women’s volleyball game.  One student was bold enough to go tubing with Ms. Krupa and then work with her on getting water samples for chemistry class.

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 with mostly clear skies but there will be a great deal of wind today.

Two days a week, 10 girls join our coach from William and Mary to learn how to row a 65 ft crew shell.  The club will soon become a team as the shells will be moved to our new floating dock in the coming week. From the dawn skies of the Rapphannock, we share some of the sounds from the river's edge

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 us all together to learn in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

As we are coming to learn, “honor the table” and come prepared to discuss in class.

I am Jesse Tucker . . .

And this is the Daily Thistle for Thursday, September 15th, Two Thousand Twenty-Two

I am Cailes Garcia, sitting in for Virginia Ferguson . . .

And this is the Daily Thistle for Tuesday, September 13th, Two Thousand Twenty-Two

From the road we received a report from Virginia Ferguson who traveled to Charlottseville, Virginia to open the tennis season against St. Anne’s Belfield.

From her travels on I-64 as she headed back to campus here is Virginia in her talks with 9th grader Alyssa and 11th grader Silvy

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 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania."

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 managed to see the island nation face new uncertainties with dignity and courage - and it was largely due to a woman who stood 5’ 4” tall, and whose resolve was unshakable and remarkable.