Minimester 2010: From Pyramids to the Grand Canyon

The last week of February and the first week of March had St. Margaret’s students spanning the globe from the Pyramids of Egypt to the Grand Canyon in Arizona and in between. With so many different choices, it’s no wonder that our students reported back positively about all they saw, learned and experienced!

View the Egypt Photo Gallery 1
View the Egypt Photo Gallery 2
Read the blog: SMS Minimester Trip to Egypt

From Egypt, sophomore Virginia Sawyer’s entry on that trip’s blog one day read “Today we went to a temple in the morning…tonight is our Galabya party. We all are wearing Galabya dresses and listening to Egyptian music. :)” Fourteen students traveled the Nile via boat, visited pyramids and learned about Egyptian culture.

“We saw cliff dwellings and had a beautiful view at the canyon. At the end, we cracked rocks to see what the insides looked like. It was so cool,” reported Isis Daniel ’13, blogging from the road. Isis was one of nineteen students who participated in the Arizona Road Rules: An RV Experience class. These students flew into Las Vegas, Nevada and traveled via RV through many spectacular sites in Arizona from the Grand Canyon to the petrified forest. Members of this trip took some time out from site seeing to volunteer with the Navaho community.

Read the blog: SMS Minimester Trip to Arizona

View the Hammer & Nails Photo Gallery

While those in Arizona and Egypt visited the sites and learned local history, members of the Hammer and Nails trip and the campus based Service for Life group learned a different kind of lesson, one of giving back. Eleven students traveled to South Carolina to work on a habitat for humanity house where their main project was to replace the roof on a home. Meghann Dintino ’14 said of the experience, “It wasn’t just bringing a can of soup to someone, it was actually helping to rebuild a house. It’s not something I’m going to forget and I’m really glad I did it. It was definitely rewarding knowing I helped someone less fortunate.” She also mentioned how she thinks this trip helped her grow as a person, “I used to be the quiet one on the trip, just doing my own thing, but then I was the one motivating people and never being away from the group. I was very quiet when I was younger, but coming [to St. Margaret’s] you learn how to not be quiet.”

Service for Today is Service for Life was comprised of fourteen students who stayed on campus while traveling around the greater Central Virginia area to lend a hand to a variety of community service projects. One of the major projects they took on was helping The Haven, a shelter in Warsaw for women and children who are victims of domestic violence, prepare the space for their newly opened thrift shop—the proceeds of which will go to support the shelter. Of the student volunteers, Joni Lawler P’09 said, “They did yeoman’s work. The girls were so helpful, in addition to painting and organizing, they brought a unique perspective to things. They helped us see how to set up the space in a way that would appeal to them.”

View the Service for Life Photo Gallery

A group of seventeen juniors devoted their weeks to learning the ins and outs of the college application process in the yearly Next Steps course.

In addition to taking an SAT prep course, they visited a variety of colleges to get a feel for different types of institutions. They also began work on their college essays.


View the Next Steps Photo Gallery

Through the Looking Glass: Virginia Adventures offered a group of ten students the opportunity to learn about local history and folklore. Ninth grader Lindsay Longest proudly proclaimed, “Ms. Velletri told us the real story about the Grey Lady” (the ghost purported to haunt Brockenbrough House). The group also visited Mt. Vernon and the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

In Zen and The Art of... the final Minimester course, students got in touch with their inner creativity through various mediums, including food, art and fun crafts. Seniors who spent their two weeks conducting Independent Study Projects will present after Spring Break.

Email comments about site