Saint Mary's School: Academics

Academics

Saint Mary’s School is an interconnected community where intentional and collaborative teaching and learning promote critical thinking about the world. Teachers challenge you — as you and your fellow students challenge each other — to examine ideas in new ways. Students at SMS are expected to question, to debate, to probe, to defend. You learn to voice your opinions with confidence.

An interdisciplinary approach ensures that no subject exists in isolation at Saint Mary’s School. Courses are interwoven so that students understand the links between different areas of study. Teachers and students in World Studies, Western Studies and American Studies classes make all sorts of connections among literature, history, art and other aspects of the cultures they study.

Here the faculty know that learning has no boundaries. Accessible both in and out of the classroom, they take a personal interest in you, understanding that young women learn best when they feel part of a shared experience. Our approach is deliberate: together we learn more.

What the Research Shows

"Women Graduates of Single-Sex and Coeducational High Schools: Differences in their Characteristics and the Transition to College" - Final report from a study conducted by the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies

"The Benefits of Independent Schools" - Pat Bassett, president of the National Association of Independent Schools, addressess parents about the benefit of independent schools.

SMS is a member of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Association of Episcopal Schools, the Southern Association of Independent Schools, the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools, and The Association of Boarding Schools. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools.

Academics News

Quiz Bowl: nimble minds make connections

Posted January 3, 2013

“What is Quiz Bowl?” Students have asked for an explanation of Quiz Bowl in various ways over the years. Futile and somewhat inaccurate, or at least clumsy, attempts to answer that query have offered analogies to a Team Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit, but the basic answer—an academic competition club—never seems to properly explain the concept, so students are often just told to join us for practice. Our practices—at dinner on Monday and Tuesday evenings in an often-loud corner of Chan-Poyner—tend to be lively affairs. Students and teachers alike will often ask, “How do you know what to study?” While there are specific topics which we can go over, and the students do a good job identifying areas of focus, there is no set list of topics we are able to study before a specific tournament with any sense of security that any of that review will provide points at a competition. However, that does not stop us from practicing other questions, keeping our minds limber, and always seeing “just what we know.”
Saint Mary's and the Triangle Diversity Alliance

Posted November 30, 2012

Each year, Saint Mary's School participates in The Triangle Diversity Alliance's student conference. The Alliance, comprised of Carolina Friends School, Cary Academy, Durham Academy, Ravenscroft School and Saint Mary's, recently hosted its annual conference, "Pieces of the Puzzle: Where Do I Fit In?" with a theme focused around identity. Fourteen students from Saint Mary's attended this year with chaperones, Ms. Schweizer, Ms. Holmes and Ms. Pabis. The following are reflections on the conference experience by Shade Ayodele '14 and Mariama Lusack '12, respectively.
An education in the political process

Posted November 2, 2012

Like much of the United States, the SMS campus is buzzing with election talk. In keeping with our mission and core values, Saint Mary’s faculty and students have seized the opportunity to use this year’s election as a learning opportunity. From government students educating their peers on the Electoral College, to a mock election and bipartisan activities planned together by the Young Democrats and Young Republicans on campus, Saint Mary’s is engaging and collaborating this election season.
SMS Dean of Students Presents at Wake Young Women's Leadership Academy

Posted October 26, 2012

Recently, Saint Mary’s Associate Head and Dean of Students, Josette Huntress-Holland, was invited to the Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy (WYWLA) to talk about best practices around girls and discipline. Since its inception as Wake County’s first public school for girls, WYWLA has been embraced by Saint Mary’s as a fellow educator of girls, and Saint Mary’s has reached out to lend its expertise, offer its support and work in partnership with WYWLA for the benefit of girls and girls education. Dean Holland’s presentation, “Navigating the Grey: Effective Discipline for Girls” to the WYWLA faculty this month, was just one example of the growing relationship between these institutions.
Community Service Week at SMS

Rev. Ann Bonner-Stewart

Posted October 12, 2012

“One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something.” -Henry David Thoreau

Community Service Week starts at Saint Mary’s School on Monday, October 15. Every Saint Mary’s student must complete 20 hours of community service for each year she is a student here. During this week, our Community Service Committee will be using a variety of venues to talk about the ins and outs of community service.