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Deirdre V. Cryor
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Click here to order lunch today!
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Challenge Foundation
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Wildcat Weekly
A Weekly Newsletter from St. Mary's Academy
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The Wildcat Weekly is a weekly newsletter for our St. Mary's Academy families published every Wednesday. Look for it to include information, updates and good news from the Premier Academy of the West!
Deirdre V. Cryor
Academy President
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SMA 2012 SAT Scores Exceptional!
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The 2012 S AT scores for St. Mary's Academy exceed the state and national mean by an average of more than 75 points in in Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing. The scores exceed the national women's mean by almost 100 points. An indicator of excellence, the scores reveal the students are prepared for the tests and are prepared for higher learning.
High School Principal Kathryn McNamee said, "We are dedicated to enhancing our curriculum so that students are acquiring the skills and talents for use in the 21st century. At the same time we try to help them with a knowledge base so that they will perform well on standardized tests. Each year these girls' scores improve on these tests. When we look at the comparison with our SMA High School students and those across the state, one can truly say these scores are impressive!"
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SMA Semifinalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program
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Two St. Mary's Academy seniors, Blair Batky and Paige Stock, have been
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named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist standing and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Paige has been attending SMA since 9th grade and is involved in the Ambassador and Yoga Clubs. She also dances and plays the violin and piano. Paige hope to attend Colorado School of Mines and major in engineering.
Blair has also attended SMA since 9th grade and is involved in theater, SAIMARAAC and the Ambassador Club. Blair hope to attend NYU to study music.
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Get Your Re-Loadable Gift Cards!
| All SMA families and employees have received a re-loadable King  Soopers gift card with a $2.50 balance. If you shop at King Soopers, please re-load your card and and use it when you buy groceries and/or gasoline (Kroeger gas pumps only, including Loaf and Jug). When you participate, 5% of every dollar you re-load will benefit SMA. Last year, with just 10% of our families re-loading, we had net proceeds of $20,152. Imagine what we could do if every SMA King Soopers shopper starts re-loading! (If you want other gift cards such as Vitamin Cottage, Tony's, Sprouts or Safeway, please check in with our Business Office in Sanders House.) |
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9th Annual Graham Family Golf Tournament a Huge Success!
| Monday, September 17 was a beautiful day at Columbine Country Club,  where 107 golfers came out to support St. Mary's Academy at the 9th Annual Graham Family Golf Tournament. Thank you to all Sponsors, Players, Volunteers and In-Kind Contributors for making the day a success!
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SMA Fall Festival Volunteers Needed
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Sunday, October 7 
12 Noon - 3:00 PM, SMA Campus Quad
Make plans to attend! Fall Festival is a day of fun for the whole family. There will be arcade games, crafts, face painting, food, music and much more.
If you would like to volunteer please click here to sign up! Or contact Lisa Cowden at tcowden6@comcast.net or Yo Brooks at ms.yo@sprint.blackberry.net.
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Community News
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- SMA has a team again this year for the Komen
 Denver Race for the Cure on October 7. Participate, support, send thoughts and prayers!! Please click here for more information.
- The SMA Prayer Group, a monthly prayer group and 24-7 email prayer chain, has started meeting again, every first Tuesday of the month at 8:15 AM in the chapel next to the HS choral room. All petitions are honored and kept confidential.
- Empowering Parent Workshops hosted by Knippenberg, Patterson, Bordelon and Associates, instructed by Angie Rothkamp, MA, LPC. Click here for more information or email Angie at rothkamp@hotmail.com.
- The ACIS Circle of Influence (the ACIS counselor's group) presents, Helping Your Child with Life's Frustrations: A Primer in the Latest Techniques. Wednesday, October 7, 9:00 - 11:00 AM at Graland Country Day School. The forum is free and open to all ACIS school parents Questions and RSVP email Craig.Knippenberg@comcast.net.
- SMA Astronomy Club First Quarter Moon Star Party, September
 22 from 8:00 to about 10:30 PM behind the Middle School (weather permitting). Astronomy Club members will be on hand to answer questions and help with the telescope. For more information contact Pete Sniegowski, Astronomy Club Advisor at psniegowski@smanet.org.
- Thank you to all who came out to support the Loretto Community at the Opening Reception of the Loretto 200th Jubilee Exhibit at the
 Denver Central Library on Sunday. The exhibition runs from September 16 through December 31. Click here for more information.
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Lower School News & Events
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News:
- CARPOOL REMINDER - On assembly and event days, please park in the North Lot once the spaces in the South Lot are full. Parking on curbs and in fire lanes is not allowed! NEVER park on University Boulevard. Cherry Hills police will write tickets.
- Parent Volunteers are needed for the Scholastic Book Fair,
 October 10-12 in the Lower School Gym. Please click here to sign up.
- LS 4th and 5th graders are sending 100 painted "tree cookies" (tree
 trunk slices) to the White House to serve as ornaments on our National Christmas tree. Ms. Kasberg's science students were invited to participate in this project through Project Learning Trees Fire Ecology Institute, a week-long professional development course attended by Ms. Kasberg this summer. Ms. Barksdale, SMA Art teacher, instructed students on proper painting techniques to create Colorado's blue spruce or poplar cottonwood tree as a theme for the ornaments. Click here for more photos.
- Ms. Kasberg's 4th and 5th science students have also installed a rain gauge to help assist CoCoRaHS, which stands for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. CoCoRaHS is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow). CoCoRaHS is used by a wide variety of organizations and individuals, the National Weather Service, meteorol
 ogists, hydrologists, emergency managers, city utilities (water supply, water conservation, storm water), insurance adjusters, USDA, engineers, mosquito control, ranchers and farmers, outdoor & recreation interests, teachers, students, and neighbors in the community are just some examples of those who visit their web site and use the data.
- 4th and 5th graders organized this September's Late Start Great Start community
 service project. The Lower School brought in arts and crafts supplies for the Mount Loretto after-school program.
Events:
- September 21, 8:15 - 8:45, Assembly, OLWEUS Banner Presentation
- September 27, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM, 2nd Grade Field Trip
- September 28, LS Picture Day
- September 28, 8:15 - 8:45 AM, Assembly, 2nd Grade Presentation
- October 1, 8:30 AM - 12:05 PM, 5th Grade Visits the Middle School
- October 3, 12:15 - 2:15 PM, 1st & 2nd Field Day
- October 4, 8:00 - 9:00 AM, 5th Grade Parents Coffee at the Middle School
- October 5, 8:15 - 8:45 AM, Assembly, 1st Grade Presentation
- October 5, 10:30 AM - 2:45 PM, 3rd, 4th, 5th Field Day
- October 10, 3:30 - 7:30 PM, LS Conferences
- October 11 - 12, LS Conferences/NO LS Classes
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Middle School News & Events
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News:
- The MS Robotics Teams is off to a roaring start! Teams will begin meeting this week at 7:15 AM in
 Mr. Gesler's room. There are three teams, each assigned a different morning. The first team 'event' is Saturday, September 29th at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science from 11am to 5 pm. Positions will be chosen based on skill, teamwork, attitude and availability.
- Middle School Overview Night is coming up! Be sure to attend on September 27 at 7:00 in the High School Forum.
- The Eighth Grade students and teachers are in Pueblo de Cochiti in
 New Mexico this week for a trip that is sure to be awe-inspiring and life-changing. Click here to read their blog!
Events:
- September 17 - 21, 8th Grade to Cochiti Lake, New Mexico
- September 26, MS Pictures
- September 27, 7:00 - 8:00 PM, MS Overview Night, HS Forum
- September 28, 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM, Family Lunch & CAT Games
- October 11 - 12, MS Conferences/NO MS Classes
- October 16, 7:00 - 8:00 PM, World Leadership School Peru meeting
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High School News & Events
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News:
- Dr. Jensen, the Associate Dean of the School of Engineering at
 Marquette University, and Molly Savage, a Mechanical Engineering graduate, recently spoke to Ms. Sharp's High School science classes. Ms. Savage spoke about all kinds of engineering degrees offered at Marquette and what kind of career paths an engineering degree can lead to. The visitors then guided the girls through a NASA Challenge to design a craft to help find ice on the moon. Click here for more photos.
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 Rehearsals are well under way for the HS Fall Play, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Zindel. The play runs October 25 - 27 in the High School Forum.
Events:
- September 19 - 21, HS Conferences
- September 25, 7:00 - 8:00 PM, 10th Parent Meeting
- October 9, 7:45 - 8:30 AM, College Information for Juniors
- October 12 - HS Community Service Day
- October 16, 9:55 AM, HS Mass
- October 19, 8:00 PM, HS Dance sponsored by the Diversity Club
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Admissions News
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Calling all SMA families...
We are looking for Ambassador Families to welcome our new SMA families.
Ambassador families serve in two main capacities: as welcoming partners and as communicators to a family who is new to the school. The Ambassador Family reaches out to the new family and provides them with support, social opportunities, resources, answers questions when possible and helps to foster connections to the school.
Top Four Reasons to Become an Ambassador Family:
- Meet and develop relationships with new families.
- Provide new families with another resource to find information, support and a sense of belonging in our community.
- Enjoy social and informational events that will assist the new family in assimilating into SMA.
- Contribute to the enhancement of a strong school community.
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Expectations:
- One-year commitment
- Call new families after they have been accepted to SMA.
- Reach out once new families have officially enrolled.
- Attend Accept Party Events
- Buddy with New Family
If you are interested in becoming an Ambassador Family please contact Seely Greenberg in the Admissions Office at sgreenberg@smanet.org. We will be scheduling an Ambassador meeting in November.
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Advancement News
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- BINGO Night at SMA, Tuesday, October 30 from 5:30 - 8:00 PM in
 the HS Forum. This is a community event, not a fundraiser. Bring the whole family! All ages welcome. Prizes & fun all night long. No charge for BINGO - one card per player per game. Have dinner with us, pizza, snacks and beverages available for purchase
- From Advancement Committee Chairman Byron Haselden:
Many campus improvements have taken place during the summer to make sure that we have the best possible learning environment for our children at SMA. Annual Fund contributions, the cornerstone of our fundraising efforts, make many of these improvements possible. During the month of September you will receive in the mail two informational pieces related to this year's Annual Fund. Please take a few minutes to review them. Our goal is 100 percent participation by December 31, 2012. We look forward to your support and welcome your questions and input. Thank you.
- Academy Parents Certificates Booklet available for purchase in each Division office or online by clicking here.
- Fall Festival is Sunday, October 7. This is an All-Academy event from 12:00 - 3:00 PM on our campus. Volunteers are needed, please email Yolan Brooks at ms.yo@sprint.blackberry.netto sign up to volunteer.
- Academy Parents are looking for Parent Volunteers, please click here to check out all the opportunities!
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Alumnae News
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Alumna Paige Regan '06 has begun her year-long teaching assignment in  Ghana; teaching at the school in Akokoamong, Ghana. This is the school the Sisters of Loretto helped to establish, and SMA students have raised funds to help build. The school is run by the Sisters of the Most Blessed Trinity. While she is learning the language, adjusting to the food and teacher uniform (!) and meeting her colleagues, Paige is keeping a beautiful picture blog of her experience. Check it out at paigeinghana.blogspot.com!
- Sarah Castle '02 was captain of the Women's Basketball team at the 2012 London Paralympics Games! Click here to read more.
- Reunion Weekend 2012, October 5 - 7. Return to St. Mary's
 Academy beautiful campus this fall for Reunion Weekend. Click here for more details
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Athletic News
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- JV Field Hockey beat Cheyenne Mountain 2-0 on Friday and JV Volleyball beat Platte Canyon 2-0 on Saturday! Congratulations!!
Upcoming Games: 
- September 19:
- 3:30 PM, Coed MS Golf @ South Suburban Golf Course
- 4:00 PM, 7th Grade Cross Country @ Panther Invitational, Denver Botanic Gardens-Chatfield
- 4:00 PM, Varsity & JV Field Hockey vs. Cherry Creek HS @ CCHS
- 4:00 PM 6th Volleyball vs. Stanley British @ SMA
- September 20:
- 5:00 PM, C Level, JV $ Varsity Volleyball vs. Holy Family @ SMA
- September 21:
- 5:45 PM Cross Country @ John Martin Invite, Fort Collins HS
- September 25:
- 4:00 PM, MS Tennis vs. Kent Denver @ KD
- 4:45 PM, MS Cross Country @ Runner's Roost, Addenbrooke Park
GO WILDCATS!!! |
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Inclement Weather Policy
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St. Mary's Academy encourages parents to use their own judgment about the safety of roads on snowy days. Teachers waive late arrivals and tests on severe weather days.
In the event of inclement weather, St. Mary's Academy might call a "Delayed Arrival" for the campus. On a Delayed Arrival day, all classes will begin at 9:05 a.m.
For students who might arrive earlier than the 9:05 a.m. start time, school personnel will be present in the school buildings beginning at 8:00 a.m. In the Lower School, students should go to the gym.
The decision to announce a Delayed Arrival day will be made according to the following factors:
- quantity of snow fallen or forecasted;
- ability of students and staff to travel to school;
- ability to clear and maintain parking lots and pathways;
- ability of school function (heating, water, etc.)
As soon as the decision is made to change the schedule, we will put a message on our main phone line: 303.762.8300, and on our website, www.smanet.org. Usually this decision is made and posted by 6:00 a.m.
Further, we will announce any school closing or schedule change due to weather or other emergency by 6:45 a.m., as best we can, on television stations including: KCNC (TV) Channel 4, KDVR Fox 31 (TV) Channel 31, KMGH (TV) Channel 7, KUSA (TV) Channel 9, KWGN (WB2 TV) Channel 2; and on radio station 850 KOA Storm Center.
When school is in session and we have inclement weather, decisions related to activities/athletics will not be made until after 1:30 pm. Weather changes quickly in Colorado, and we will do our best to make the decisions as efficiently as possible. If school is cancelled due to weather concerns, activities and athletics will be cancelled. Information about cancellation of events or school closing is available by calling the school at 303.762.8300.
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Carpool Reminders
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Arrival times for morning drop-off:
Lower School: 7:45 South Lot
Middle School: 7:30 a.m. North Lot
High School: 8:00 a.m. North Lot
Arrival times for afternoon pick-up:
Lower School 3:00 pm South Lot
Middle School 3:15 p.m. North Lot
High School 3:45 p.m. North Lot
Lower School Carpool Guidelines:
- Always exercise patience and drive slowly when on Campus.
- Only K - 5 students should be dropped off in the south parking lot.
- Form two lines; do not change lanes. Two lanes is essential to stop cars from standing on University Boulevard.
- Students must be dropped off in the carpool lanes, not before. Carpool lanes are indicated by orange cones. Students enter school through the LS gymnasium.
- In order to keep the line moving have students ready to get our of the car (coats on, backpacks in hand, etc.). Please be considerate.
- The driver should not get out of the car. If this is necessary, please park in a parking space.
Friday Assembly: If you plan to stay for Lower School Friday Assembly please park in the North Lot once the South Lot parking spaces are full.
Parent volunteers and members of the SMA Advancement Team will be assisting Lower School Principal Mary Jane Frederick with carpool every morning beginning at 7:45 a.m.
Middle and High School Carpool Guidelines:
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