Letter from the President of the Alumni Association (OOMA)

(Old Overseas Margaretian Association)

Story appeared in the 2014 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.

BY DOLA BOAS (MITCHELL, '59)

Those of you who belonged to the QMS family have your own individual experiences to remember, your own stories to tell. What do you remember?

The old days in Main, with creaky stairs, shared cubicles that measured 2 x 2, and six bathtubs for 75 girls? Ewers and wash basins? The furnace breaking down during the worst of the winter weather? The chemistry lab with no more equipment than a Bunsen burner and some test tubes? The meals? The Naas March? The other students and staff?

Do you remember the openings of new building, updated teaching facilities, moving into the new dormitories, upgrading the stables? QMS was our second home and family, and the staff were not just teachers, but part of that second family who shared our lives. Yes, there have been huge changes to bring QMS to where it is today. Every time I come to the school, I’m awed by the whole campus—the buildings, stables, dining hall, classroom facilities, and just recently, the new Learning Centre.

While many things have changed, others like the Chapel and the Fine Arts Building remain as the link between “then” and “now.”

We were fortunate that our parents saw the value in what QMS offered and were willing to send us, at great sacrifice in some cases. It became our duty in turn to pass that luck along and help others in need through our annual scholarships and bursaries. Through our efforts, we are living as the Founders taught us—in such a way to make this world a better place than we found it.

The 2013-14 OOMA Board:
(l-r) Back: Dawn Fox, Jan Green, Chris Compton, Nicole Bond. Front: Shelagh Boggs, Dola Boas, Trudy Byers.
Missing: Kirsty Grant and Rita Mayer