Tartans in the News: Poetry Readings, Music Shows and More!

St. Margaret’s talented students are turning heads around the world, as they have been seen on TV, at in-person events and on the big stage recently.

 

Here are a few Tartans that have made headlines this fall:

 

St. Margaret’s junior Tina Mai is serving as the first-ever Orange County Youth Poet Laureate, a yearlong role which includes events, readings and other programs around Orange County. The Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate positions were created by LibroMobile Arts Cooperative in partnership with Orange County Public Libraries and the National Youth Poet Laureate Program. 

Tina read her poetry in August at the LibroMobile Bookstore in Santa Ana, alongside OC Poet Laureate Dr. Natalie Graham, and assisted with the Orange County Public Library’s 100^th anniversary campaign. She was also invited to participate in the annual Passing the Mic festival, collaborating with other young artists in a variety of creative disciplines.

 

Tina has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and is currently working on a zine featuring a collection of her poetry.

 

“I first started my writing journey at St. Margaret’s back in Middle School, and over the years I’ve had some incredibly supportive teachers who have fueled my passion,” Tina said. “I’m grateful, and am looking forward to the opportunities this position opens.”

 

St. Margaret’s senior Will Weiss performed in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently with his rock band WHIT3 COLLR.

 

The band was one of the featured acts during the ‘Welcome to Rockville’ Festival at Daytona International Speedway. The four-day music festival featured bands on four different stages, with WHIT3 COLLR performing two different 30-minute sets on day two. Other bands that performed at the show included Metallica, Social Distortion, The Offspring, Staind and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

 

WHIT3 COLLR won an online vote against more than 3,000 bands for the chance to perform at the festival.

 

“The whole experience was epic,” Will said. “We rode the Daytona Motor Speedway track into the infield, and took the main stage for our first performance. It was incredibly exciting. Our second set began around midnight as fireworks went off at the end of Metallica's headlining show. I was grateful to be part of such an awesome festival with amazing artists.”

 

At St. Margaret’s, Will plays guitar and bass for the honors jazz band.

 

A St. Margaret’s grade 4 student was part of a segment on the BBC children’s program “Newsround” which aired ahead of COP26, the United Nations’ summit on climate change. Patrick was one of many students from schools around the world who shared their thoughts on climate change and what they are most concerned about in their home countries. Patrick spoke about drought conditions in California and the need to be mindful of water consumption, which was inspired by the United Nations Sustainable goals used by the Lower School as guideposts for project-based learning. 

 

The segment, which you can view here, featured students from the United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, China, Oman, Lebanon, Australia, Spain, Portugal and Ecuador.