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Wildcat Weekly
A Weekly Newsletter from St. Mary's Academy 
The School year is off to a wonderful start!  The Wildcat Weekly includes news from the Academy and updates on events and activities. Watch for the Weekly in your email inbox every Wednesday afternoon.  If you have news to share, please email Nichole Battleday in the President's Office at [email protected].  And, be sure to click here to read my weekly blog
Deirdre V. Cryor
Academy President

 

In Celebration of Regina Drey
Regina Drey SL celebrated her 50th Jubilee as a Sister of Loretto in mid-August at a reception here on campus. Also celebrating 50 years were Mary McAuliffe, Cathy Mueller, and Mary Catherine Rabbitt; Trish Dunn celebrated 25 years as a Co-member of Loretto.  Inspired by the Sisters of Loretto who educated her at a diocesan High School in Mobile, Alabama, Sister Regina has spent all but one year of her career working in Loretto schools in Louisville, Kentucky, then El Paso, Texas and now at SMA.

Photo : (from left) Mary McAuliffe SL, Cathy Mueller SL, Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL, Regina Drey SL.  Seated, Trish Dunn CoL.

Regina ALSO celebrated her 35th year here with St. Mary's Academy.  Here are a few things High School Principal Kathryn McNamee had to say in honor of Regina:

"Regina is artistic, inventive, thoughtful, determined... Her passion for determining that we stay connected to all that is Loretto is impressive and vital... She has a love for the history of SMA as evidenced in the wonderful book that she worked tirelessly on for three years...

She loves to garden as each summer she provides us with the fruits of her labors. And this summer she could be seen at the various gardens manicuring the premises.  

Thank you Sister Regina for all you have done for SMA... your time here has been important and remarkable."

Congratulations Regina! 
New Faculty and Staff on Campus

Meet the new faculty and staff of St. Mary's Academy:

 

In order from left to right:  Vickie Penn, JK Team LS; Florence Swanson, LS Principal; Jordan Fouts '01, Annual Fund/Grants Coordinator; Shelley Ann Baker, HS Science; Julie Nowasell, Staff Accountant; Casey Zoellner '06, HS Math & English; Jason Jung, Cross Divisional MS/HS Art & MS Trip Support; Sabine Lerus-Watson, MS French; Megan Honig '06, 4th Grade Team; Ashley Knopp, HS French; Zach Steffen, Maintenance Staff; Bridget McGann, 2nd Grade; Kelli Logan, Athletic Director; Michelle Bruce Irwin '90; 2nd Grade. (Not pictured: Christine Jones, HS Science)

Community News
Our newly designed website has officially launched! 
Congratulations to Justin Wimbish, Tanya Komandt and Susan Hennessy. 
Use this link to view the site: http://stmarys.academy/

Artists of St. Mary's Academy
Our very own Andrew Beckham has an exhibition of new work opening Friday, September 11, at Goodwin Fine Art here in Denver.  To learn more click here.


There is also a wonderful new exhibition up at the Coyle Gallery, featuring the work of our Visual Art Faculty. Please check it out.  Below is a sneak peak:


Lower School News & Events
News:

Update From Florence Swanson, LS Principal:
 
Hello Lower School Parents,
I want to share with all of you about our "Late Start Great Start" days.  On a late start day, students arrive the same time as usual. Students will attend entertainment from 8-9AM in the LS gym.  During that time our faculty attends professional development training, school wide training, or meets cross divisionally or across grade levels to discuss student learning and curriculum.  Students may dress out of dress code if they donate to our school-wide charity for that month.  Students enjoy dressing down, or dressing up, on these special days.  Some of the charities are Denver Rescue Mission, Haiti collection, Operation Gratitude, Loretto Community Valentines and food donations.  Our first late start will be on September 9, and we will be collecting donations for Judy's House, supporting grieving children and families.  What a great opportunity for our students to participate in giving and sharing!

Upcoming Events:
  • September 3, 6-7PM, Lower School Back to School Night for Parents

Middle School News & Events
Upcoming Events: 
  • Tonight, 6:30-8PM, Back To School Night for Parents, see you in the Middle School Commons!
 
High School News & Events
News:
  • "A big thank you to Abby Clements, Maggie Dubus, Hannah Pogue, Meghan Kane, Julia Hartman-Teske, Angela Sofia Colorado and Miranda Loughry for being both standout students and educators.  As previously highlighted in the Wildcat Weekly, in July St. Mary's Academy hosted over 60 language educators as part of the National Organic World Languages (OWL) Bootcamp.  OWL methodology is characterized by a circle formation that increases student involvement, builds community and facilitates language productions. The above superstars graciously gave up a Tuesday morning to participate in French and Spanish demonstration circles and a panel discussion in front of 40 plus educators! Students described their OWL experiences as elucidating, energetic, preferred, encouraging, easy-going and fun. Moreover, they gave advice to teachers on how to engage students, on the challenging aspects of being an OWL student and the benefits of learning in a demanding but supportive 100% immersion classroom. Thank you to all students who participated. You are the best teachers, educators can ask for!  If you would like to read more about the student experience or about OWL in general, please take a look at the Bootcamp blog." -HS World Language Teacher Eliza Pfeifer
  • Iswari recently attended the 2015 NCGS Conference, From STEM to STEAM: Girls' Schools Leading the Way, at St. Catherine's School in Richmond, VA, June 22-24, 2015.  The conference provided educators with an innovative opportunity to engage in hands-on activities, participate in content-based discussions, share classroom materials, learn about web-based teaching resources, and exchange best practices for teaching girls.  Research shows that girls' school graduates are six times more likely to consider majoring in math, science, and technology and three times more likely to consider engineering careers compared to girls who attend coed schools.  "I had an amazing opportunity to be part of this conference and came back inspired and full of ideas." -HS Math Teacher Iswari Natarajan
Upcoming Events:
  • September 3-4, High School Retreat
Advancement News

12th Annual Graham Family Golf Tournament benefiting St. Mary's Academy
Monday, September 21, 2015
Columbine Country Club
Register now for the 12th Annual Graham Family Golf Tournament benefiting St. Mary's Academy!  The tournament is limited to 120 players and is filling up fast!  
Hole Sponsor opportunities are still available.  Click here for more information.

We need you!   
There are a wide variety of volunteer needs for the 2015-2016 school year.  Sign up for as many or few as you want.  Click here for Volunteer Opportunities!

Need gift cards?  Grocery cards?  
Support SMA at no cost to you!  We have a variety of grocery and other gift cards available for purchase in the Business Office and SMA receives 3-% of the purchase amount.  If you need more information, contact Carolyn Wilson at [email protected].

New Parent Events
Please join us:
  • September 4, 8:15 AM, Grades 1-8 New Parent Breakfast, HS Forum
  • September 8, 8:15 AM, Grades 1-8 New Parent Breakfast, HS Forum 
  • September 11, 8:15 AM, Grades 1-8 New Parent Breakfast, HS Forum
Carpool Guidelines
Some important reminders:
  • Please remember that parents should never park on University Boulevard when dropping off or picking up children.  
  • If the Lower School lot is full, park in the High School lot.
  • Middle School drop off is in the High School lot.  
  • Click here for our complete carpool guidelines.  Thank you!
Online/Mobile Directory
The SMA Online/Mobile Directory will be accessible today!  Your family will receive ONE email (sent to your family's primary email account) giving you secure access to the online Directory.  Please check your secondary email accounts and your Spam folder in case you do not receive the email.  If you need help contact Kelly Pearson in the Advancement Office at [email protected] or 303.762.8300 x285.
Alumnae News
Reunion Weekend 2015

October 2-4
Traditional events such as the Golden Graduates Luncheon, Blue & White Reception and Family Day at SMA will be held again this year.  We hope you can make it!  For more information, click here.

 


Athletic News
Congratulations to our SMA Wildcat Cross Country Team!

The team participated in the Tiger/Holy Family Invitational on Friday, August 28.  The Wildcats finished 4th place out of a field of 14 to start off the 2015 Cross-country season.  Led by Isabella Morrissette 17th place, Lauren Banko 19th place, and Laura-Kate Windler, 26th, the Wildcats scored 134 points.  Cross-country is a Fall sport where the contestants run 3.1 miles/5K around parks or often around lakes. One third of the Wildcat team is made up of first year runners this year!  The next meet for the SMA Cross-country team is Tuesday, September 8, at James A Bible Park for the Wildcat Invitational, at 5PM.

Come out and cheer the Wildcats on!
 

Seventh grader Minci Puskas competed in the USA T&F JO Region 10 championship in El PAso, Texas in July.  She qualified for Nationals with a personal best record in both of her events.  
2:28:97 on 800m 
5:09:09 on 1500m
 
Congratulations Minci!


For details and schedules, contact the Athletics Office, check the calendar on the St. Mary's Academy mobile device App, or visit the website.  Go Wildcats!
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