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St. Margaret's Celebrates Swallows' Day With San Juan Capistrano

Click Here for a photo gallery of the 51st Annual Swallows' Day Parade.

St. Margaret's Episcopal School celebrated the legend of the return of the swallows with the City of San Juan Capistrano at the 51st Annual Swallows' Day Parade. The parade is the nation's largest non-motorized parade, and it celebrates the mission and the equestrian and Western history of San Juan Capistrano, drawing worldwide interest. A time-honored tradition, St. Margaret's has participated in the parade for more than 20 years and has been a major division sponsor for the last decade.

"The Swallows' Day Parade is a treasured celebration in our historic community, and we are thrilled to be a part of it once again," said Headmaster Marcus D. Hurlbut, who rode in the parade for the sixth year with his wife, Pat; Tartans 2008 State Championship Varsity Football Coach Harry Welch; his wife Cindee; two lucky Lower School students; and the loyal and vocal St. Bernard, Ruby Welch.

"Service to the community is a core value of St. Margaret's Episcopal School, and we take seriously our commitment to civic purpose," said Mr. Hurlbut. "Sponsoring the Swallows' Day Parade and having our students come out and represent the school is a lot of fun for all of us and a meaningful way to be involved with and give back to our beloved San Juan."

The St. Margaret's Cheerleaders and the Tartan 2008 State Champion Football Team also marched in the parade. The LA Scots, a Scottish bagpipe band, once again partnered with St. Margaret's to perform in the parade, and third-grade students and their families came out in their St. Margaret's Pioneer Day attire. For the first time, St. Margaret's Special Camp for Special Kids participated, along with students and families of Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano, who came out for the third straight year.

Other popular sights in the 2009 Swallows' Day Parade were San Juan Mayor Mark Nielsen and his wife Stephanie, who walked with the San Juan City Council; Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens; the Mission San Juan Capistrano; rescue dogs from The Ark of San Juan; Charros Del Rio Equestrian Group; Shea Therapeutic Riding Center; the Unicycle Club of Orange County; the California State Firefighters, with their white-horse-drawn fire steamer; and lots of cowboys and cowgirls.

Schoolwide SMES Food Drive Supports Local Food Bank and Celebrates St. Joseph's Day

Click Here for a food drive photo gallery.

To celebrate St. Joseph's Day, St. Margaret's took part in the largest food drive in the history of Father Serra's Pantry Food Bank, located in San Juan Capistrano. Joining with three other area schools (St. Catherine's, St. Edwards the Confessor and the Mission Parish School) our school delivered a full-size school bus more than half filled with canned food, infant formula, diapers, toiletries and other items to restock the pantry.

Amanda Hudson, Middle School director of community service, said that "this service project helped our students understand that there are people here in our own immediate community who need help. This activity not only provided assistance to the local community, but it raised the students' awareness of the issue of poverty."

St. Joseph's Day, March 19, is the legendary day that the swallows first made their home at Mission San Juan Capistrano, and it marks the beginning of San Juan Capistrano's Return of the Swallows celebration that culminates each year with the Swallows' Day Parade. The food drive organized by the mission commemorates St. Joseph's Day and benefits Father Serra's Food Pantry.

All divisions participated in the food drive, and the collection was coordinated by a team of Lower, Middle and Upper School student council members. The team of 25 students and their faculty advisors loaded all of the collected goods onto a school bus during lunch Monday and rode to Serra's pantry to make the delivery.

The students were met by about 20 eighth-grade students of the Mission Parish School. Together, the St. Margaret's and Mission Parish School students unloaded the busload full of goods. The students organized an assembly line leading from the bus down the sidewalk and into the pantry, where goods were placed directly on the shelves to restock their supplies.

Marie Griffith, grade 8, Middle School Student Council president, remarks, "I honestly thought that the hardest part of the project was the loading and unloading of the items. However, I think that is a positive thing because it really shows how many kids helped by donating. I would say, overall, it took us about 45 minutes to load and unload the bus, but it was most definitely worth it."

The pantry received so many items as a result of the collaborative school collection that much of it went into storage and it will be used to replenish their supplies for the next month or more.

Many thanks to Upper School parent Vicky Carabini, who informed St. Margaret's of the food drive and coordinated details between the pantry and the schools that participated.

Contact:
Anne Mack
949.661.0108 x252
949.400.2055 (mobile)
anne.mack@smes.org