Category: faculty and staff

Back to School Message from the Principal

September 7, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Welcome to another blessed school year at St. Mary’s Academy as we celebrate our 130th birthday, making us the longest, continuously run all-girls Catholic school in Los Angeles! We are kicking off to a strong start as all the summer projects are now complete! New projectors are installed in every classroom to enhance the learning experience for all our students. Water fountains now have a refillable feature to encourage students, faculty, and staff to fill their eco-friendly water bottles and stay hydrated. The newly finished gym floors and updated bleachers are ready for our SMA belles to dominate on the volleyball and basketball court. School banners are up hovering over our prominent track proudly showcasing Some of the best features of St. Mary’s Academy. The school doors are now open and ready to welcome the 270 beautiful and bright young women on campus!


Senior red ties anxiously prepare for the college application season and junior blue ties are situating to the new challenges of upper division coursework. Sophomore green ties are now more accustomed to ‘the SMA way’ as they, along with the juniors and seniors, lovingly welcome the incoming future gold ties to the sisterhood community.

At St. Mary’s Academy, we are committed to providing the best opportunities for our students to grow and become powerful influencers to make positive social change. It is up to us to build up a generation of women filled with courage, faith, and love to use their gifts to tend to the needs of the world. Great leaders are formed by inspiring educators who model what it means to be good stewards of the world. At the start of the school year, our faculty and staff practiced what it means to ‘serve the dear neighbor’ volunteering at St. Joseph Center and Alexandria house to help men, women, and children transition out of economically difficult situations all while learning about the rich history and traditions of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. We plan to continue this momentum of service all throughout the schoolyear and into the future.


God has blessed us with limitless possibilities for our students. This past summer, many of our belles stayed competitively engaged completing prestigious internships and summer programs scattered all around the country in various career fields. Additionally, we now offer two Project Lead the Way (PLTW) pathways in our Engineering and Health Careers program that focuses on real-world, applied learning experiences to help students develop in-demand, transportable skills such as problem solving, critical and creative thinking, collaboration, and communication. St. Mary’s Academy is also at the center of Inglewood that promises great opportunities for our students in the areas of sports, entertainment, business, the arts, and so much more! I could not think of a more exciting time to celebrate our momentous 130th birthday than now. Join me as we celebrate the past, present, and future successes of St. Mary’s Academy!

 

 

-Mrs.  Mary Rose Batungbacal

Here’s a visual piece of what’s been happening at St. Mary’s Academy!  Thank you to all the students, faculty, and staff who helped plan, create, facilitate, and/or present in this video and to 2yuk productions for filming and editing this project.  Please enjoy!

A Faculty/Staff Reflection: How has Catholic Education at SMA changed my life?

February 3, 2017 / / 0 Comments

In preparation for #CatholicSchoolsWeek, the SMA faculty and staff were asked this question, “How has Catholic Education at SMA changed your life?”

This week, we began each morning with a daily prayer and shared faculty and staff responses with our students to show how the SMA community and Catholic Education has positively impacted our faculty and staff.  We show our #CatholicSchoolPride by thanking the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for establishing St. Mary’s Academy in 1889 and continuing to guide our faculty and staff to live and teach the CSJ mission by serving the dear neighbor and educating women to become leaders in their communities. 

Faculty and Staff Responses

“My Catholic education has led me to try my best to be a follower of Jesus. This means that I do my best to see God in everyone, including myself. It means that I am as kind to everyone as I can be. Finally, it means I always try to do the right thing.”

“Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter into it, take with you your all. -Kahlil Gibran.  Being a Catholic Teacher allows me to take my faith with me everyday and I am able to see my faith in my actions with students.”

“The mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet compels the faculty and staff to empower young women to find their paths in life. During their four years at SMA, our Belles are nurtured to become leaders and serve the “dear neighbor” in our communities. I was fortunate that I attended St. Jerome, a CSJ middle school, where the importance of developing character, leadership and service influenced me to pursue my professional calling to serve students and a community in a Catholic school setting.”

“It’s been really great to work at a school where the students seem to care so much about each other and their community.”

“Working at SMA has allowed me to integrate my Christian faith more into my daily life. I love that we can pray together and encourage one another, inspiring each other to love God and others more deeply.”

“Catholic Education at SMA has changed my life because it allows me to share the love of the Lord with my students. When we are stressed before a big test, we can pray. When we are faced with the harsh realities of the world, we can pray. When we have successes at school, we can say prayers of thankfulness. When my students are facing challenges, I can tell them, “I’ll pray for you.”

“I am old enough to remember when prayer was okay in Public Schools. I remember my principal praying on the loud speaker when someone was sick, the Shuttle exploded and prayers before we took state exams. Then in the late 80’s that all stopped. Fast forward to when I began working in public schools, I handled discipline and students in crisis. It was clear to me that issues could be resolved and hope instilled if we were allowed to pray. Today at SMA, when I deal with mild discipline and students in crisis we pray. Prayer makes the difference!”

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