SMA Now: Online News
November 11 , 2007

MS Concert a Hit!

The St. Mary’s Academy Middle School Concert was held on Wednesday, November 7. Directed by Sharon Gayley, Roberta Hamilton-Griggs, and Cherie Swisher, with the help of guest musicians Dr. Robert Blaich and Michael Hall, the concert featured performances by the Choir (with the SMA High School Academy Singers as special guests), the String Ensemble, the Bell Choir, and the Concert Band. Some of the highlights of the evening were “Flix Are for Kids” an arrangement of songs from The King and I to Harry Potter and musical pieces including “Cripple Creek,” “Fanfare of Praise,” and “Sunset on the Sahara.” Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to put on a great performance! (photo, left)

Budding Meteorologists in Grades 4/5

Fourth and fifth graders are becoming experts on the weather! On Tuesday of this week, Dr. Matthew Taylor, professor at University of Denver and parent of a fifth grader, brought a HOBO weather instrument he has used to study weather and humidity in Guatemala.  After his presentation, SMA’s budding meteorologists got a chance to experiment with the instruments.

The next day Richard Ortner of Channel 7 Weather visited and spoke to students about various weather topics including lightning and weather safety.  One student acted as our model Earth and "tilted" to represent the axis of Earth.  Students were also called up to be quiet water droplets or "condensation nuclei."  Together, they became a storm cloud.  Another helped demonstrate a charged electrical field, where lightning would be likely to strike. Richard made a short video clip of all the students that is scheduled to air on the Sunday, Nov. 11, 5:00 p.m. news.

To apply what they’re learning, each morning students record temperature, precipitation, wind direction, wind speed and cloud types and then report their findings to the class.  To do this they use the HOBO data logger, so named because of its portability, and its ability to record temperature and relative humidity.

A meteorologist has visited each of the fourth/fifth science classes during their weather unit. Ask the students about the weather.  They are very knowledgeable! (photo top, right)

MS Actors Shine

The Middle School Performing Arts class performed two plays on Thursday, November 8. The first play was a lively, modern adaptation of the English tale “The Magic Mermaid.” The second play, titled And You Think You’ve Got Problems, was a spoof on radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger and her attempt to give romance advice to the wives and girlfriends of famous characters from history and literature including Juliet, Ophelia, and Katherine, wife of Henry the VIII (to name a few). Both plays were directed by Roberta Hamilton-Griggs. Thanks to all of the talented actors for their outstanding performances!

Godspell : November 15, 16, 17

St. Mary’s Academy High School will present the rock musical Godspell on November 15, 16, and 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Forum. Tickets are $6.00.

Godspell is based on the gospel of St. Matthew with the first half focused on Jesus teaching through parables and the second half focused on the events in his life from the Passover meal to the crucifixion.  Roberta Hamilton-Griggs, director, sugge

SMA Nuggets Night

Wednesday, January 23, 7:00 p.m.
Denver Nuggets vs. Atlanta Hawks

Tickets are now available in the Advancement Office. 

$53 Lower Level (That’s a $20 discount – specially priced for SMA)

$25 Upper Level ($10 discount – specially priced for SMA)

Flier about Nuggets Night

2400: A Perfect SAT Score

Senior Caitlin scored a perfect 2400 on the College Board SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). Last year of the 1.5 million students across the United States who took test, only 269 earned a perfect score, with slightly less than half of them being girls.

While Caitlin has not settled on a college, she is looking at many options including Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, and Pomona. “I want to use what I learn in college to affect change on a large or small scale. Political science, international relations, and English are top considerations.” 

For the present she is concentrating on the day to day activities at SMA such as being senior editor in chief of the literary magazine and secretary general in Model UN, and finishing up the seventh of nine Advanced Placement tests she will have taken by the time she graduates.

Caitlin is modest about her accomplishments. “I truly love learning for learning’s sake, and my scores reflect that and will helpfully enable me to learn in a wonderful place the next four years.”

Related media: Rocky Mountain News, Nov. 9

Channel 4 evening news: Nov. 7

Annual Fund Report: HS Parents in First Place

See how parents' contributions in their students' classes measure up to other classes in this month's Annual Fund Report.  Congratulations to the High School parents for being in first place with 48% participation overall!
Click for the participation chart.

Open House: SMA in Action

Families who attended Open House on Sunday, October 28, had an opportunity to enjoy our beautiful campus and meet some of SMA’s wonderful parents and students.  They were able to visit with our dedicated, caring faculty that continue to make St. Mary's Academy such a special place.
 
Over 75 parents volunteered to help at Open House or provide food for the faculty lunch in each division.  Tour guides in each division impressed our visitors.  Over 100 students from grades 4 through 12 volunteered their time to showcase SMA.
 
Special thanks to the parent coordinators from each division: Angela Reed and Lisa Flannery (LS); Dawn Kinard and Mary Sintek (MS); Sally Guglielmo, Yvette Redd and Cate Pagliuca (HS). (photo, lower, right)