Upper School

Last week, St. Mary’s inducted many Upper School students into Extracurricular and Academic Honor Societies. These honors included Art, Tri M, M Club, Thespian, Cliosophic, Mu Alpha Theta, Latin, French, and Spanish societies. The students given these honors go above and beyond what is required in an average school day. They push themselves to excel in various subjects and outside activities.

The “Manie Musicale” competition was started by two French teachers in Maine in 2017, in an effort to foster greater interest in French-speaking musicians among students globally. St. Mary's Upper School French Teacher Dr. Brandy Brown and Middle School French Teacher Leanne Hinkle have both led this activity for their classes over the past few years.

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.

This month, students in the Honors Independent Research Study (HIRS) program and a participant in the St. Jude High School Student Summer Fellowship presented their final projects. The HIRS program offers a unique opportunity for rising seniors to conduct an original, engaging research project of their choosing.

Upper School Art Teacher Andrea Fletcher hopes that St. Mary’s art courses will spark a passion in her students and encourage a lifelong interest in art and the many lessons it espouses. In fact, the Upper School offers visual art courses for every grade level, allowing students the opportunity to opt to take art courses throughout the course of their high school career.

When Michele Loden started teaching at St. Mary’s 10 years ago, she remembers being surprised at how many of her students were anxious about higher-level math classes. “My mission became: How can I help girls reduce their anxiety and recognize they can be excellent at math?” said Loden, who serves as Math Department Chair.

Over fall break, 24 Upper School students and faculty traveled to Spain for an immersive week-long trip as part of St. Mary’s Global Education curriculum. The trip took the students on a tour of central and southern Spain, starting in Toledo with stops in Córdoba, Sevilla, and Granada before reaching their final destination of Madrid.

We're proud to share that 11 Upper School students were recently recognized nationally for their academic achievements as National Merit Semifinalists, National Merit Commended Students, and National African American Recognition Award recipients. 

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.