News

St. Mary's recognizes faculty and staff members for their hard work and dedication at the end of each year. As this school year has ended, we would like to congratulate seven remarkable individuals from our faculty and staff who have been awarded for their commitment to St. Mary's students. These women are creative, empathetic, and hard-working, and we are thankful for their devotion to our students. Congratulations to:

The VEX Robotics World Championships brings together the top VEX IQ Competition teams from around the globe to celebrate their accomplishments and participate to be crowned champions.

The arrival of spring brings one of St. Mary's most cherished traditions, Springfest, where members of the junior and sixth grade classes select a classmate to serve as Queen and Princess. Students are asked to identify a peer who represents the ideal qualities of a St. Mary's girl: kindness, compassion, positivity, involvement, hard work, and leadership. 

Instead of visiting "a galaxy far, far away," last week 6th graders brought outer space to the South Campus. With guidance from 6th-grade science teacher Rachel Giampapa and Innovation Lab Director Meagan Michael, students researched, wrote, filmed, and produced short educational videos about specific astronomy topics. Then, once their videos were compiled, the students held a watch party inside a planetarium they constructed themselves!

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Lower School Science & Robotics Teacher Mekea Johnson's students have spent the last month learning about chickens' gestational cycles and contemplating this age-old question.

"Bringing in the eggs not only supports our science curriculum, allowing the girls to learn about gestational development, it also fosters the students' love for animals and teaches them to care for all living things," said Mrs. Johnson.
 

What are the secrets to a successful Middle School transition? Lower School Head Dr. Marcisha Brazley-Keith says one element is creating a Middle School experience enveloped within a fifth-grade bubble.

For Upper School AP Chemistry teacher Rose Dunlap, teaching chemistry is about practice, application, and hands-on demonstrations. Ms. Dunlap uses a flipped classroom setting where students read and watch lectures prior to class, and then spend class time working through practice problems, discussing lab demonstrations, and performing experiments. 

Last week, we celebrated the Class of 2023 at St. Mary's 138th Commencement. Congratulations to the 63 deserving graduates. This impressive class earned acceptance to 157 universities and will venture to 45 different colleges and universities in 23 states.

For more than eight years, St. Mary’s students have chronicled the restoration of local historic buildings for the Legacy Project. A brainchild of Upper School Art History Teacher Nancy Prillaman, the project's goal is to document the restoration of neglected sites in Memphis through photos and notes.

The arrival of spring brings one of St. Mary's most cherished traditions, Springfest, where members of the junior and sixth grade classes select a classmate to serve as Queen and Princess. Students are asked to identify a peer who represents the ideal qualities of a St. Mary's girl: kindness, compassion, positivity, involvement, hard work, and leadership. 

For Upper School AP Chemistry teacher Rose Dunlap, teaching chemistry is about practice, application, and hands-on demonstrations. Ms. Dunlap uses a flipped classroom setting where students read and watch lectures prior to class, and then spend class time working through practice problems, discussing lab demonstrations, and performing experiments. 

Last weekend, 41 St. Mary’s students traveled to Nashville to participate in the Youth in Government Conference (YIG) organized by the YMCA of Middle Tennessee Center for Civic Engagement. St. Mary’s students shined at this year’s conference, earning several accolades and leadership positions. 

Earlier this month, we celebrated the winners of the Mays Writing Contest, the school’s annual fiction-writing contest, where students in grades 1-12 submit creative writing stories. Submitting to the contest encourages students to explore creative writing, challenge themselves, and try something different and possibly outside their comfort zone.

The summer before her senior year, Dowling spent six months working on a research project with a team at Rhodes College. She’s one of nearly a hundred students who, in the last 10 years, have conducted high-level research alongside local experts as part of St. Mary’s Honors Independent Research Study (HIRS).

Do you ever wish you could go back to the simplicity of first grade? Last weekend, members of the Middle School cast of Junie B. Jones, The Musical did just that, taking audiences down memory lane through the eyes of a rambunctious first-grader. The cast brought Barbara Park's best-selling books to life, showcasing the adventures and antics of Junie B. Jones.

The VEX Robotics World Championships brings together the top VEX IQ Competition teams from around the globe to celebrate their accomplishments and participate to be crowned champions.

The arrival of spring brings one of St. Mary's most cherished traditions, Springfest, where members of the junior and sixth grade classes select a classmate to serve as Queen and Princess. Students are asked to identify a peer who represents the ideal qualities of a St. Mary's girl: kindness, compassion, positivity, involvement, hard work, and leadership. 

Instead of visiting "a galaxy far, far away," last week 6th graders brought outer space to the South Campus. With guidance from 6th-grade science teacher Rachel Giampapa and Innovation Lab Director Meagan Michael, students researched, wrote, filmed, and produced short educational videos about specific astronomy topics. Then, once their videos were compiled, the students held a watch party inside a planetarium they constructed themselves!

What are the secrets to a successful Middle School transition? Lower School Head Dr. Marcisha Brazley-Keith says one element is creating a Middle School experience enveloped within a fifth-grade bubble.

Earlier this month, we celebrated the winners of the Mays Writing Contest, the school’s annual fiction-writing contest, where students in grades 1-12 submit creative writing stories. Submitting to the contest encourages students to explore creative writing, challenge themselves, and try something different and possibly outside their comfort zone.

Director of Libraries Jeanine Akers and Chair of the English Department Shari Ray began what felt like an impossible task. Their goal: selecting a title for an all-school summer read. Identifying a book that would resonate with all members of the St. Mary’s community—from 1st graders to faculty and staff—was a challenge.

This quarter, second graders immersed themselves in learning about inspiring women from U.S. history. The selected women spanned generations, from Simone Biles to Amelia Earhart to Katherine Johnson. By studying trailblazing, remarkable women, St. Mary's students learn important lessons about being inclusive and inquisitive. 

Look for St. Mary's girls to top the Country Music charts! Our fifth-graders recently returned from a Nashville field trip where they collaborated with the Country Music Hall of Fame's "Words & Music" program on a songwriting workshop.

The Words & Music program, part of the fifth grade literature curriculum this quarter, connected St. Mary's students to Nashville's music community by pairing classrooms with professional country music songwriters.

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Lower School Science & Robotics Teacher Mekea Johnson's students have spent the last month learning about chickens' gestational cycles and contemplating this age-old question.

"Bringing in the eggs not only supports our science curriculum, allowing the girls to learn about gestational development, it also fosters the students' love for animals and teaches them to care for all living things," said Mrs. Johnson.
 

What are the secrets to a successful Middle School transition? Lower School Head Dr. Marcisha Brazley-Keith says one element is creating a Middle School experience enveloped within a fifth-grade bubble.

Earlier this month, we celebrated the winners of the Mays Writing Contest, the school’s annual fiction-writing contest, where students in grades 1-12 submit creative writing stories. Submitting to the contest encourages students to explore creative writing, challenge themselves, and try something different and possibly outside their comfort zone.

Director of Libraries Jeanine Akers and Chair of the English Department Shari Ray began what felt like an impossible task. Their goal: selecting a title for an all-school summer read. Identifying a book that would resonate with all members of the St. Mary’s community—from 1st graders to faculty and staff—was a challenge.

Our Lower School students participated in the annual Maker Fair. A tradition in its eighth year, the Maker Fair offers an opportunity for students to spend the morning exploring, creating, learning, and leading. ⁠⁠

St. Mary's Junior Kindergarteners have made learning the ABCs look as easy as 1-2-3! Throughout the year, JK students studied the alphabet by devoting a week to each letter. Last week, Junior Kindergarteners participated in the culminating alphabet activity, a tradition called the "QU Wedding," followed by the Alphabet Parade.

Every year, Early Childhood students have the opportunity to turn trash into treasures during the Tinker Fair. Senior Kindergarten, Junior Kindergarten, and Pre-Kindergarten students demonstrate their creativity by crafting imaginative items from recycled materials.

Director of Libraries Jeanine Akers and Chair of the English Department Shari Ray began what felt like an impossible task. Their goal: selecting a title for an all-school summer read. Identifying a book that would resonate with all members of the St. Mary’s community—from 1st graders to faculty and staff—was a challenge.

This year, St. Mary’s Athletics launched a swim team for students in grades SK-5. Organized and led by Assistant Athletic Director Kendall Visinsky, the team aims to teach fundamentals and techniques to the youngest Turkey swimmers.

Throughout February, students across campus celebrated Black History Month, studying how Black Americans have contributed to history, society, and culture. In each division, the faculty incorporated Black history into the curriculum in various ways.

The highlight of North Campus Counselor Lauren Mitchell’s week is presenting the Caring Turkey award to Lower School students on Tuesday mornings. Each week, a student from each grade is recognized by her teachers or peers for demonstrating one of St. Mary’s Bridge to Caring character traits: respect, responsibility, thankfulness, kindness, self-control, honesty, courage, and cooperation.

Each day is an adventure of wonder and discovery for students in our Early Childhood program. From the strong foundation to our flexible schedule, St. Mary's is a great place for young girls.

This year, St. Mary’s Athletics launched a swim team for students in grades SK-5. Organized and led by Assistant Athletic Director Kendall Visinsky, the team aims to teach fundamentals and techniques to the youngest Turkey swimmers.

Turkey swimmer Grace Ciaramitaro ’23 will continue her athletic and academic career at Vanderbilt University. This month, Ciaramitaro signed with the Commodores swim team. Ciaramitaro has had an accomplished swim career at St. Mary’s and has been an essential part of the Upper School team. She earned seven first-place medals over three years at county and state meets.

Theirs was a season seven years in the making, and a championship won with only 17 seconds left on the clock. For the seven seniors who helped clinch the 2021 state championship for St. Mary’s Episcopal School varsity lacrosse, their final season of play reflected the girls’ strength, determination, and mutual trust as a tight-knit team.

It’s a new era of Turkey basketball! Two seasoned basketball coaches recently joined St. Mary’s Episcopal School’s athletic department. Jerry Dover is the new varsity basketball coach. David Norton will lead the junior varsity team. Sarah Williams will continue to support the program as an assistant coach.

What an incredible week for our Middle School teams! We will go into fall break with three runner-up trophies and a championship. MS Golf finished as the runner-up in the Shelby League Championship on Tuesday. MS Tennis won the Shelby League Championship. Congrats to 6th grader Jaiya Siffrard who led the way as a singles finalist. Both the Blue and White Soccer teams won the runner-up trophy in the Shelby League Championships.