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Wildcat Weekly
A Weekly Newsletter from St. Mary's Academy
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We Are on Our Way to a Great Year!
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Welcome to the 2016-17 academic school year!
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 JJ Cleaver in the President's Office.
Please welcome our new faculty and staff to St. Mary's Academy!
Pictured left: Karen Smith, 4th-5th grade team.
Pictured right: Victoria Fernandez, MS Language Arts and Joe Riehl, MS Social Studies.
 Pictured left to right: Rosemary Rehmer, HS Math; Amy Von Canon, HS Spanish; and Judith Current, HS Registrar.
Not Pictured: Andy Blair has moved from MS to HS Social Studies.
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Community News
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Screenagers! 
SMA Academy Parents is proud to sponsor an on-campus viewing of SCREENAGERS - a film that explores the impact of screen time on kids AND offers solutions on how we can help kids find balance. SMA sixth grade - twelfth grade parents and students are invited to see the film and participate in the post-screening discussions.
SCREENAGERS
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
6:30PM
High School Forum
Please RSVP to Kathleen Hogan to reserve your spot. Space is limited so please respond promptly.
Volunteers Needed!  We want you! There are several volunteer opportunities for the 2016-2017 school year across all divisions. Click here for more information and to sign up. Thank you!
 Don't forget! Order SMA Apparel! Click here for the SMA Apparel Order form. Please fill out and return with payment to any division office. All orders are due September 7 and will be delivered to your child's classroom the first week in October.
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Lower School News & Events
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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 may sleep in and arrive for a 9:05 AM start time. (If you need to drop off at the regular time, we will entertain students in the gym.) During late starts our faculty attends professional development training. Students may dress out of dress code only if they donate to our school-wide charity for that month. Students enjoy dressing down, or dressing up, on these special days. For example, we collect coats for the homeless, funds for orphanages and send Valentines to the Loretto Community. What a great opportunity for our students to participate in giving and sharing!
Events:
- Tonight! August 31; 5:30 - 6:45 PM: Junior Kindergarten/Kindergarten Parent Dinner
- Tonight! August 31; 6:45 - 7:45 PM: Back to School Night
- Friday, September 2; 8:15 AM: Friday Assembly
- Wednesday, September 14; Late Start!
- Wednesday, September 21: Picture Day!
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Middle School News & Events
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Welcome back to school!
Please remember to turn in all forms to the Middle School Office.
Events:
- Thursday, September 8: Back to School Night
- September 12-14; Seventh grade visits Diamond Tail Ranch
- September 14-16; Sixth grade visits Diamond Tail Ranch
- Wednesday, September 21: Picture Day!
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High School News & Events
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Welcome back to school!
 Please see below for some important upcoming dates.
Events:
- Thursday, September 1; 5:30 - 7:00 PM: Ninth grade and New Parents Dinner
- Wednesday, September 7; 6:30 - 7:30 PM: Ninth grade Back to School Night
- Saturday, September 17; 6:00 - 9:00 PM: Father Daughter Dinner Dance
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Admissions News & Events
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Welcome back, Wildcats!
We invite you to join us for our upcoming Admissions events!
Friday, September 9; 1:00-2:00 PM: Friday with Florence
Invite your neighbors, family and friends to meet Lower School Principal, Florence Swanson. She will share our unique educational philosophy, give prospective parents a tour of classes in action and offer visitors an opportunity to ask questions about our community and curriculum. To RSVP, please email Lindsey Lopez or call 303-762-8300 #241.
Wednesday, September 14; 6:30 PM: SMA High School Parent information Night
Location: 470 Race Street, Denver 80206
Take this opportunity to meet HS principal Ms. Kathryn McNamee and three High School seniors for an informative and fun evening about what it is like to be a SMA High School student. To RSVP, please email Gracie Carr or call 303-762-8300 #205.
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Our Fantastic Students!
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 Eighth grader Abbie Huckaby (pictured right), a highly competitive equestrian, recently competed in the Equestrian Vaulting Nationals. She placed third in the nation. Wow!
- Tenth grader, Gabby Grant, attended World Youth Day in Poland. Way to go Gabby!
- Eighth grader Anabelle Stevens competed in the U.S. Open Taekwondo Hanmadang winning three gold medals this summer for creative forms, team poomsae with older sister, Abigail and breaking a board nearly two feet over here head! Congratulations Anabelle!
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They Did it Again!
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Congratulations to the AP Calculus classes of 2016, Iswari and St. Mary's Academy!
For the second year in a row, the entire AP Calculus class received 5's, the highest score possible in a 1-5 range. This unprecedented result shows the hard work, dedication and drive of these students, guided by their enthusiastic and deft teacher, Iswari Natarajan. When asked about this achievement, Natarajan credits the girls willingness to ask questions, take risks and slowly build a level of confidence to master these skills. "At St. Mary's Academy, girls are empowered to be who they are. They learn that they excel in higher level math and that it can be fun!" Their growing confidence can be seen beyond their math class, whether in other classes, the arts, public speaking, athletics or interviewing for college.
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Pray to End Gun Violence
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This year St. Mary's Academy will again join the Loretto Community on the first Monday of the month and spend 20 minutes to pray in silence for an end to gun violence. Because the first Monday is Labor Day, the September prayer date is Monday, September 12. Parents and staff are invited to join Sister Regina Drey at 8:15 AM in the Community Center for up to 20 minutes or to join in spirit sometime during the day.
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New Student Information System, PCR
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Thank you for being supportive and excited about the launch of our new Student Information System, PCR (replacing Infinite Campus this school year). This system will have the great advantage of assembling all household information (grades, billing, admissions, directories, advancement, and more!) in one robust application. As a result, we have prioritized the rollout of the system with students as first priority. Students are now able to access the portal from the Resources tab on our website, and teachers are subsequently able to add both assignments and grades. The Parent Portal will roll out in mid-September, and we believe you will be excited by its ease of use. In the meantime, we encourage you to access the Student Portal with your student/s, particularly for middle school and high school students. We will keep you informed as the month progresses!
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Advancement News
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Annual Graham Family Golf Tournament - Sign Up Today!
Click here here for more information.
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New Parent Events
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The Board of Trustees and St. Mary's Academy Interim President Vicki Schwartz SL invite you to join us for one of our New Parent special events listed below. You will meet other new parents and learn about the structure of an independent school.
Please join us at one of the following events:
- Wednesday, August 31, JK/K New Parent Dinner, Community Center (followed by Lower School Back To School Night)
- Thursday, September 1, 5:30 PM, Grade 9 and New to Grades 10-12 Parent Dinner, HS Forum
- Wednesday, September 7, 8:15 AM, Grades 1-8 New Parent Breakfast, Community Center
- Friday, September 9, 8:15AM, Grades 1-8 New Parent Breakfast, Community Center
- Thursday, September 15, 8:15 AM, Grades 1-8 New Parent Breakfast, Community Center
Please RSVP by email or phone no later than Friday, August 19 to Kathleen Hogan or at
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Alumnae News
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Thank you to everyone that came to our annual Alumnae Volleyball Reunion!
Over 40 alumnae and their families as well as current SMA volleyball players gathered in the BESC for a competitive game. The alumnae team put up a strong fight but in the end the student team was victorious. After the game, everyone gathered for a casual dinner.
Special thanks to our sponsor, Laura Grisenti de Luna '89.
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Athletic News
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SMA fall sports are here!
Please join us in congratulating our SMA Wildcats on competing in their first matches this week!
- Our field hockey program started out strong with a well fought 0-0 tie in overtime against Grandview.
- Volleyball dominated their first games in the CatDome v. Manual on Tuesday C-Team finishing 2-0 and Varsity finishing 3-0!
- Cross country finished strong with a sixth place in their meet on Saturday, in addition to achieving successful personal record times!
- Volleyball v. CA on September 8th; 4:00 PM, 5: PM, and 6:00 PM.
- Field Hockey v. Mountain Vista on September 9th;4:30 PM and 5:45pm.
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