- Early Childhood
In the Marlene Shaw Early Childhood Center, teachers and students mean business when it comes to playtime! In fact, imaginative play and hands-on exploration are the hallmarks of St. Mary’s early childhood curriculum.
Founded in 1847, St. Mary’s educates girls age 2 through 12th grade.
For nearly 175 years, our all-girls school has provided has provided girls in Memphis with the finest education possible. We are one of only nine Episcopal girls’ schools in the country and are a community of individuals from different neighborhoods, ethnic backgrounds, and faiths who respect one another's differences and honor our shared values. We invite you to see for yourself why you belong at St. Mary's.
St. Mary’s is a tight-knit community with a focus on academic excellence.
St. Mary's has long been known for its academic excellence. Here, every teacher, every lesson, every resource is dedicated to girls and how they learn best. We know that girls develop verbal skills early on resulting in a propensity for reading and language. An all-girls education provides a supportive, nurturing environment where girls can explore the boundaries of what is possible.
St. Mary's offers 40 athletic teams and over 20 clubs and organizations.
Read the latest news.
In the Marlene Shaw Early Childhood Center, teachers and students mean business when it comes to playtime! In fact, imaginative play and hands-on exploration are the hallmarks of St. Mary’s early childhood curriculum.
Congratulations to St. Mary’s basketball, bowling, and swimming teams for their impressive performances this winter. Several of our teams and athletes ended their season as champions or with top-five finishes in league and regional competitions.
Congratulations to Madison Brode ’20 for receiving the Marshall Scholarship, a prestigious award for graduate-level study in the United Kingdom given annually to 50 American college students. Brode, a senior at Mississippi State University, is the first student from the university to receive the award.
This month, St. Mary’s Upper School presented a fabulously fun performance of the award-winning musical Legally Blonde. Audiences had a great time following the transformational journey of Elle Woods as she tackled stereotypes and scandal in pursuit of her dreams.
Today, we inducted 49 Upper School students into the National Honor Society. The National Honor Society was founded in 1921 to recognize and encourage academic achievement, scholarship, character, service, and leadership. Senior officers, Averie Howell, Mary-Kate Kalodimos, Sarah Moon, Anum Raza, Reeya Sharma, and Emily Smith welcomed the newest members. Congratulations to these intelligent and hard-working students!
Throughout February, St. Mary's has recognized Black History Month. On the North Campus, students have read literature by Black authors, focused on influential Black Americans in their classrooms and special subjects, and listened to Chapel talks featuring stories of Black Americans.
While St. Mary’s is renowned for its academics, our signature character education program, the Bridge to Caring, is the heartbeat of our community. Over the past several years, St. Mary’s has sought ways to highlight students who exemplify the traits in our Bridge to Caring.
Congratulations to the 76 Upper School students who were inducted into The National Beta Club!
Intentionality is at the core of St. Mary’s academic curriculum. Our faculty and staff communicate regularly across grades and divisions regarding coursework, learning patterns, and educational advancements to enhance the learning experience for our students. One of the ways St. Mary’s showcases its academic intentionality is through a strategy called “vertical planning.”
As part of our Beyond St. Mary's series, we are catching up with recent alumnae. This week, we are checking in with Cam Hart ‘23, who shares how her time at St. Mary's prepared her for college life.
Seven St. Mary’s students were honored by the Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards. The annual competition, hosted by the Brooks Museum of Art, recognizes exemplary art by students in grades 7-12.
St. Mary’s will be CLOSED through Friday, Jan. 19. All on-campus activities, including athletics, have been canceled. A list of canceled events and the rescheduled dates are included here.
Each year, a nationally recognized artist visits St. Mary’s to work with students through the Louise T. Archer ‘40 Artist in Residence program. This year's artist is Morgan Beckford '06, an opera singer based in Boston. Beckford will work with students across all divisions. Her curriculum will highlight works by Black composers. Beckford will also perform a concert for the community.
Today, St. Mary’s Episcopal School announced the launch of a transformative capital campaign to elevate learning areas and provide space for a growing student body. The $10 million campaign preserves the iconic Moss Hall and adds 9,000 square feet to the building. The new Moss Hall addition will house Liza’s Library, new science classrooms, an expanded MakerSpace, and a nursery for children of faculty and staff.
In preparation for his new term, Mayor-elect Paul Young asked two St. Mary’s alumnae to join his transition team. Cara Greenstein ’10 and Anna McQuiston ’88 worked with other community leaders to help guide the priorities of the new administration.
The St. Mary’s Alumnae Board is thrilled to announce Jean Vaughan McGhee ’86 as the 2024 Outstanding Alumna. McGhee will receive the award and deliver remarks during St. Mary’s Alumnae Weekend on Friday, April 12.
When students, parents, and guests attend a Lower School Chapel for the first time, many are surprised to see St. Mary's fourth graders leading the service rather than fifth-grade students. This is a special privilege and responsibility that the fourth-grade classes have carried out for years.
When St. Mary’s seventh-graders first enter their requisite Life Science class, most of them think they will walk away learning the basic tenets of biology; however, what they don’t know is that science teacher Kate Fairless is going to equip them with essential lessons in organization and executive functioning, preparing them for Upper School – and for life.
As an Associate Professor of Religion at Clemson University and a historian of American religion, Elizabeth Jemison ’04, Ph.D. has made a career of researching and asking questions, focusing on the relationships between religion and race, gender, and politics during the 19th and 20th centuries.
For North Campus Art Teachers Lauren Cannon and Kelly Cook, the St. Mary's art curriculum is a way to reinforce concepts the students are learning in other classes, cultivate the creative process, and even help regulate students’ feelings and emotions
Learn more about our vibrant school community.
There is so much more to a St. Mary's education than what happens in the classroom. Three quarters of St. Mary's girls are athletes, and half of those are multi-sport athletes. More than half of the Upper School participates in music. We produce two plays a year in Upper School and one each in Lower and Middle School. Our Mock Trial team wins awards every year. Our girls don't have to choose between being students or athletes. They are both. And musicians. And thespians. And community volunteers.
Our alumnae are changing the world.
First Young Alumna Award Recipient Shows Extraordinary Compassion
For the last seven years, Chandler Roberts Cummins ’12 has dedicated her career to being a comforting presence to patients while providing the highest level of care. As a nurse, Cummins knows that patients are often in their most vulnerable state during a hospital stay or doctor’s visit and are in need of extraordinary empathy and compassion.
We’re thrilled to announce a $10 million capital campaign to transform Moss Hall, create Liza’s Library, strengthen science education, and add new classrooms. These investments represent St. Mary’s continued commitment to providing an excellent education through engaged and holistic learning, small class sizes, and meaningful student-teacher relationships.
The Light, Life, and Legacy campaign is an opportunity to invest in today’s remarkable girls as they become tomorrow’s leaders and world changers.