WINS MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION Congratulations to our Mock Trial Team they are the winners of the ARBTAW 2019 High School Mock Trial Competition.

As part of its continuing efforts to encourage literacy, the St. Mary’s Academy elementary division has partnered with The Kiwanis Club of Pontchartrain (KCP) to implement a new program that incentivizes reading.  On Wednesday, January 16, members of the KCP will be on campus to kick off the Books for Bikes program which will run through May. Students in grades 2, 3 and 4 will participate in the initiative and will receive a free book  and book report form at the B4B kick off.

The Health & Physical Education Department at St. Mary’s Academy partnered up with New Orleans East Hospital to provide CPR training and certification for high school students. The students are now CPR & First Aid Certified. CPR is the acronym for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation which is a lifesaving technique.

St. Mary’s Academy elementary teachers know all too well the importance of hands-on activities that engage and inspire their students. They combine activities that require movement, talking, and listening, that activate multiple areas of the brain. Studies have shown that the more parts of the brain that students use, the more likely they are to retain information.

Developing the underlying cognitive abilities through an intensive individualized program is the goal of the BrainPower for Reading Program (BPR) at St. Mary’s Academy. Led by Sr. Mary Ellen Schroder, BPR represents the best practices in education, a result of the Sisters of Notre Dame’s 163 years of educational excellence and experience. Conducted three times a week in the elementary division, BPR strengthens foundational cognitive skills such as attention, long and short term memory, auditory and visual processing and logic and reasoning, all required as a foundation for learning.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, August 20, 2021 at 10:00 AM at The Sisters of the Holy Family Motherhouse. Visitation will begin at 8:00 AM, Rosary at 9:15. Seating is limited and only available to individuals with proof of vaccination or a negative COVID PCR testing within 72 hours.  MASKS ARE REQUIRED.

For over 150 years Saint Mary’s Academy has instilled in our children moral values, and a love of God and Community while receiving excellent academic preparation. The Sisters of the Holy Family is working with St. Mary’s Academy to raise funds for the school which is in urgent need of basic building maintenance, repairs, school supplies (e.g., paper, printing, science lab supplies, lunch), utilities costs, etc. Please help us help them by purchasing a brick or more now. All proceeds will go directly to SMA for the immediate needs stipulated above.

St. Mary’s Academy elementary students now have the opportunity to learn the game of tennis plus a whole lot more thanks to A’s & Ace’s, a non-profit founded in New Orleans in 2008. Students in grades 1-4 are given free tennis classes, life skills and academic assistance twice a week during their physical education class period.

St. Mary’s Academy will host young leaders from the Water Environment Federation (WEF) for a special event called Water Palooza on Friday, September 28 from 9am to 2:30pm at St. Mary’s Academy Elementary, 6905 Chef Menteur Blvd, in New Orleans East.

Sister Angela Theresa Smith, daughter of Ida T. Hawkins Smith and the late Arthur Frazier Smith, Jr. of Alexandria, LA (former Superintendent of the Rapides Parish School District) entered eternal life on September 22, 2019. She was 67 years of age. Sister Angela was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, and entered the Congregation of the Holy Family on September 8, 1971, made her first vows on August 15, 1974, and Perpetual Vows on August 15, 1974!