High School Newsletter

SEPTEMBER EDITION

Dear St. Mary’s Academy High School Parents/Guardians,

Here we go! The new school year of 2020-21 has begun and it is with great pleasure that on behalf of the whole high school team and my own behalf I welcome you to a new and unique fall semester at St. Mary’s Academy. A special welcome to the new students to SMA and to the grade 9 students joining the high school. We are looking forward to an exciting year for everyone.

As a global pandemic continues to impact our world, we want to recognize how COVID-19 is also impacting you, your families, your community and in particular, your SMA student. This is a challenging time. However, we know our SMA community is resilient. We also know our SMA students are diligently caring for one another this fall as they make decisions to wear masks, keep a social distance, learn online, engage with one another virtually and find innovative ways to build community.

I would like to take a moment to introduce myself, my name is Adriana Williams, I’m married to Richard, we have two daughters, Tiffany in 11th grade, and Anna Sophia ‘19 alumna currently attending SDSU.

I have been part of the school’s Academy Parents (AP) Board for several years serving in various roles. My role this year is to be the Community Outreach Coordinator for the school, the SMA Parents in Prayer Group leader (where a group of parents virtually prays once a month), and I am also the Newsletter Coordinator for High School.

To help you keep up-to-date on other important information, dates, and events during the year, a link to my monthly newsletter will be sent electronically to your email address at the beginning of each month. I look forward to getting to know you and your families better as the year progresses. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. Thank you!

Adriana Williams

Late Start Schedule

Wednesday, September 9

Fall Production Rehearsals
Wednesday, September 9
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Field Hockey and Volleyball Practice (voluntary)
Wednesday, September 9
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Academy Parents Meeting
Thursday, September 10
8:15 AM - 9:30 AM

Grade 9 Back to School Night
Thursday, September 10
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Welcome Week
Monday, September 14-18

Grades 10 & 11 Back to School Night
Tuesday, September 15
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Late Start Schedule
Wednesday, September 16

Grade 12 Back to School Night
Wednesday, September 16
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

SMA Golf Tournament
Monday, September 21

11th Grade College Info Meeting - virtual
Monday, September 21
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Late Start Schedule
Wednesday, September 23

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, September 23
4:00-7:00 p.m.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Thursday, September 24
12:00-7:00 p.m.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Friday, September 25
7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

No Classes
Thursday, September 24

No Classes
Friday, September 25

Academy Closed
Monday, September 28

HS Picture Day
Tuesday, September 29

Late Start Schedule

Wednesday, September 30

Fall Production Rehearsals

Wednesday, September 9 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Rehearsals for Midsummer Night’s Dream play, for future rehearsal times and dates, or if your daughter would like to be a crew member, please contact Mrs. Roberta Hamilton-Griggs. Here is some information about the play:

“We are doing Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream...Though we are rehearsing as though it will go live, we have yet to determine if it will be live stream or filmed...or, when the release date will be. So far, it is just great to be with these amazingly talented students again, and we are having fun and working hard. Stay tuned everyone...and thanks, as always, for your support of SMA's Performing Arts.”

Field Hockey and Volleyball Practice (voluntary)

Wednesday, September 9 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Sport voluntary practices will continue until Thanksgiving break, weather pending. Voluntary practices for both field hockey & volleyball will take place from 4:00-6:00 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEYField Hockey voluntary practices will take place on the turf field every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Sarah Jacobs will lead our voluntary practices. If you are not currently in contact with Sarah and want your daughter to join the voluntary practices please email her

VOLLEYBALLVolleyball voluntary practices will take place outside or in BESC every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Our new JV coach, Christy Statema, will lead our voluntary practices. If you are not currently in contact with the volleyball coaching staff and want your daughter to join the voluntary practices, please email her.

The coaches and students will be following the same protocols at sport practices we are following in the academic setting. All students must remain 6 feet apart throughout indoor and outdoor practice, during drills, and during water breaks. When practicing outside, masks will not be required as long as we all remain 6 feet apart. When practicing in BESC, masks must be worn at all times.

If you have any questions please contact our sports director Kelli Logan

Academy Parents Meeting

Thursday, September 10, 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM

Monthly Academy Parents Board meetings are now being held virtually, from 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. These meetings are casual, and all are welcome. No need to RSVP, just join the zoom meeting if you can! Considering joining the meeting to hear about all the exciting things happening in the high school!

Grade 9 Back to School Night

Thursday, September 10, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

This is an important opportunity to have a big picture vision of the school and hear from all of the ninth grade teachers. Join the zoom meeting and learn where your daughters are learning and preparing themselves for their futures. Please note that a zoom link will be sent by email.

Welcome Week
Monday, September 14-18

The senior and freshmen classes show their creativity and school spirit while building community during their annual "Freshman Welcome Week”. At the beginning of each school year, every senior is assigned a "little sister" in the freshman class. The senior student works as a "big sister" to help acclimate her 9th grade sister to SMA and all of the unique and fun traditions that is part of the school

But perhaps her most important and exciting role is helping to initiate her little sister into the Upper School during "Freshman Welcome Week." A long-standing tradition at St. Mary’s Academy, this week is dedicated to welcoming the freshmen and creating a strong bond between the sister classes. A schedule of activities will be sent out this week, be sure to check the info provided via email

To stay in line with the state and federal regulations regarding social gatherings due to COVID-19, students will be following the same protocols in the academic setting. All students must remain 6 feet apart throughout indoor and outdoor activities. When an activity will be held outside, masks will not be required as long as they all remain 6 feet apart. When the activity is inside the school, masks must be worn at all times. We understand and recognize that this is both a challenging and unprecedented time, but we still would like to provide the most fun and safe experience for both incoming and current students when it comes to in-person activities.

Grades 10 & 11 Back to School Night

Tuesday, September 15, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

You are cordially invited to attend a virtual Back-to-School Night. We believe this evening is an excellent chance to become acquainted with one another and to establish a partnership between your family, our school, and our community.

This is an important opportunity to have a big picture vision of the school and hear from all of the ninth grade teachers Join the zoom meeting and learn where your daughters are learning and preparing themselves for their futures. To join click on the zoom link.

Late Start Schedule
Wednesday, September 16

Grade 12 Back to School Night
Wednesday, September 16, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

This is an important opportunity to have a glimpse into the college counseling process as well as information about the vision of the high school. Join the zoom meeting and learn where your daughters are learning and preparing themselves for their futures. To join click on the link .

SMA Golf Tournament
Monday, September 21

SAVE THE DATE for the St. Mary's Academy Hopper Family Wildcat Classic on Monday, September 21, 2020 at Valley Country Club! For further information please click here, or contact Lea Frank

11th Grade College Info Meeting - virtual

Monday, September 21 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Join the zoom meeting and learn about the college counseling process that will occur throughout your child’s junior year so you know the steps that will be taken throughout the year to assure your daughter is ready to apply to colleges in the fall. This event is hosted by Mr. Phil Gentry and Mrs. Pamela Applegate, to join click on the link.

Late Start Schedule

Wednesday, September 23

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, September 23-25

Parent Teacher Conferences are an important way for teachers to learn more about their students from families, and provide feedback to families about students’ academic performance. Our school’s usual parent teacher conferences happen in the fall. It’s like speed dating where each teacher is in their classroom and parents move from one teacher to another. However, COVID19 means we can’t run our parent teacher conferences in our usual way. So we decided to use Zoom.

The upcoming Parent Teacher Conference is an important opportunity for teachers to hear from you about how your daughter is doing, and also for those who have chosen remote learning how the learning supports are working for them. These past weeks have been an unprecedented time in all of our lives. During this uncertain time, it is critical that we hear from you about how your daughter is doing and how the school’s supports are working.

Mrs. Lillian Forward will send a link for you to sign up. Conferences are recommended, student and parent(s) should attend the zoom meeting together.

Please note that if your daughter is taking “World Visions” this semester, the teachers for this class encourage you to sign up for either Mr. McFall or Mrs. Harnar once you get your link for conferences, and if you cannot get in with either of them then try to sign up for Ms. Horning.

The following is the schedule for days of conferences:

Wednesday from 4:00-7:00 p.m.

Thursday from 12:00-7:00 p.m.

Friday from 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

No Classes

Thursday, September 24

Friday, September 25

Academy Closed

Monday, September 28

Picture Day

Tuesday, September 29

Creating lasting memories. One picture at a time. We know how important picture day and yearbooks are for school and your families and DR Photo provides schools with high-quality photography and a polished Picture Day experience from start to finish.

Picture order forms will be provided to your daughters; in the past these forms were available in the high school office, this time we are giving you the option to order ahead here in case your daughter never brings the form home. Mrs. Forward will also send an email ahead of time with all the information.

Would you like to save this calendar for your personal use? You may click on the "calendar" tab on top of this page, where you can save the events on google calendar.

Parents please make sure to check out the rest of my website, specially the "news and events" page. As well as the "articles" page, where you will also find interesting information.

While navigating through the website should you require a password, make sure to enter sma please do not share this password, the website contains information intended only for the St.Mary's Academy community. Thanks!

SMA 2020-21 Reopening Plan

Readiness to Reopen FAQ This FAQ follows up on questions raised from our Reopening Plans, and shares our latest improvements on campus.

SMA Family Handbook: It is important for students and parents/guardians to refer to the handbook with any questions. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to reach out.

SMA Calendar : This is a good resource for upcoming events; it doesn't necessarily have all the details but it has all the big stuff.

Community Portal Everything you need as an SMA family - in one place.

PCR PCR is used for all student billing. Please note that later this fall, we will be be providing upgraded services, including 2021-22 admissions contracts, renewals/re-enrollments, and student billing, through SchoolAdmin. This will take the place of PCR and will be accessible here. Watch for more information..

Powerschool PowerSchool offers access to student schedules, report cards, and transcripts. New students and parents will receive PowerSchool account/login instructions later in the summer.

Canvas Canvas is a learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers to provide instructional support, class calendars, assignments, and resources for students in a safe online environment.

SchoolDoc SchoolDoc is our new, powerful and secure website to manage essential health-related data, along with other SMA parent authorizations that you can now complete online! It replaces PCR Forms.

High School FAQ

High School Daily Schedule

Digital Tutoring Services (we have 30 SMA High School students ready to help!)

High School Lunch Information

Naviance Naviance helps students reach their goals by developing skills critical for college, career and life.

St. Mary's Academy Prayer Requests Have any prayer requests? You can send them here confidentially and the SMA Prayer Group will pray for your intentions.

Athletics Teams & Schedules.

Athletics Calendar Includes all the games.

SMA latest news Find out the latest news.

All Girls High School Full information about High School.

High School Academics Information about the curriculum.

High School Resources All the High School resources.

Volunteer opportunities All School volunteer opportunities.

SMA Apparel SMA Online Apparel Store is Always Open!

Performing Arts

St. Mary’s Academy Important Dates 2020-21 Calendar of all school important dates

Inclement Weather Policy

Health Authority Updates: