Message from President OOMA

(Old Overseas Margaretian Association)

Story appeared in the 2015 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.

BY SHELAGH BOGGS (RANDEL, ’56)

Another school year has come to a close, and I have just come from introducing the guest speaker for this year’s Speech Day, Jennifer Turton-Molgat (’87).

As I looked out from the stage in Founders’ Hall on June 12th, I could see the visible legacy created by Miss Denny and Miss Geoghegan.

Students from my generation and each successive class were there to commemorate the Class of 2015 and their accomplishments. It was the embodiment of our three-linked chain: past with present, joining future. What a beautiful sight to behold!

This year’s magazine and school theme, “Connect and Create,” holds incredible relevance for our dedicated alumni. Over the past year, many of you have connected by sharing generously of your time and energy with the school and its present students, and in doing so, you have created a shared legacy. Despite the fact that our Old Girls and Old Boys range in generations, we all share an inheritance bequeathed to us by our Founders. On the surface, I may not share much in common with Mckaylee Catcher (‘15) or Jessica Knelson (‘15) (our Grade 12 OOMA Reps), but through our time at Queen Margaret’s School, the three of us share the values that were embedded upon us, and we are all dedicated to Queen Margaret’s School.

This year, there were many opportunities for the OOMA to “Connect and Create.” The OOMA celebrated the Golden Anniversary of The Link newsletter, participated in the School’s annual Christmas Bazaar, held a successful Old Girls’/Old Boys’ Weekend, and funded several scholarships at Speech Day. We attended the School’s annual gala in February and helped raise money for the QMS Archives, which will see our precious memorabilia and artifacts properly housed so that they can be shared for generations of QMS students to come. And we awarded our annual scholarships to deserving students here at the school, so that they may continue to build their own legacies of excellence here at the school. This year, our Grade 9 Scholarship was named for Molly Featherstone, the founding editor of The Link, and celebrated her dedication to capturing the life of the School through her observations and writing.

Although it seems as if the School is moving forward at a rapid pace, it continues to be anchored in the foundations set by Miss Denny and Miss Geoghegan. I look forward to working with all of you over the next year as we continue to build our shared future here at Queen Margaret’s School.