Dear St. Margaret’s Friends and Families,

Normally, at this time of year I find myself flooded with mixed emotions as the thought of some summer downtime is offset by the realization that our school community as we currently know it will never be the same again. It’s a time to say goodbye to the senior class and bid farewell to friends and colleagues, all the while knowing that in a few short months we will come together again, rejuvenated by time away with friends and family and ready to kick off another school year. I have always loved the cadence of the school calendar, and I have come to expect and even depend on the inevitable emotional ups and downs and the priceless opportunity for new beginnings.

The arrival of June is of course different for me this time. While I am greatly looking forward to summer and time with kids and grandkids, I am ever mindful that my career at St. Margaret’s is coming rapidly to an end. I am once again flooded with emotions, but this time I am acutely aware that this is now my time for new beginnings. As we load up the moving van and make the move across the country later this month, we will do so with an endless supply of wonderful memories and an enormous sense of gratitude for the privilege we have been afforded to be a part of the St. Margaret’s community.

The past ten years have flown by and I am enormously proud of the school we are today. It has been a joy to watch the school grow and thrive, to see new buildings rise from the ground, to witness the continued strengthening of all our programs, and to bid a fond farewell every year to seniors, prepared and ready for the next chapter in their lives. I have loved beginning each day in Lower School Chapel, and I have been rewarded beyond words by talented students who have deeply and profoundly enriched my life with their intellect, their curiosity, their passions and their kindness.

I am also grateful for the privilege of working with a dedicated faculty and staff and a diverse community of loving parents, joined together by a shared commitment to care for all our children. We each bring our own experiences, hopes and dreams to school every day and despite, or perhaps because of the inevitable differences of opinions and perspectives, we have been able and willing to keep ever present the reason we’re all here in the first place – to love and serve our children.

As I have said many times in the past ten years, this is an awesome time to be a Tartan and our future couldn’t be brighter. Yes, we will be different when we gather again in late August, but we’ll be ready! I have been honored to have been part of this school community and I thank each and every one of you for your friendship, your support and your presence in my life. Most of all, I thank you for your children and for the priceless gift they have given to me.

But now, summer is fast approaching and it’s time once again to let go of our little charges and return them affectionately to you for what I sincerely hope will be a summer filled with happy times and precious memories.

Safe travels and Godspeed. And save a seat for me in Chapel, you little Red Sweaters!

With gratitude and affection,

Marcus D. Hurlbut