March!

Hello everyone!

The sun is out, cherryblossoms are blooming, and its light out through the evening!
Spring is here (well...almost) and students here at St. Marys are enjoying sitting outside for lunch and the extra vitamin D.

For the past few months I've had an amazing time being in the cast of Beauty and the Beast. The Winter musical is a great opportunity to hang out with students from different classes and get to know some really great people. Its because of this that it is one of my favorite parts of the year. Although the weeks leading up to our performances were extremely stressful (3 days of staying at school until 10:30!) I would easily do it all again to spend time with the amazing cast and crew.

With the warm weather finally coming, I'm getting super excited for Dragon Boats to start. I love that St. Marys participates in such a unique sport. We practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and being out on the river when the sun is out is one of my favorite things. Although there are only a handful, the races are a blast. This year we are once again travelling to Vancouver, Canada for a weekend. This trip is a great opportuniy to bond with teammates and explore the city.

I hope you all enjoy the sunny weather and hopefully we can avoid the spring showers for a little longer!

Happy New Year!

These last couple of weeks have been crazy to say the least. After a relaxing couple of weeks of break we were thrown into the craziness that is finals week. Although stressful, I made it through finals alive and fairly unscathed. It always impresses me how helpful friends and family can be during this week and it always ends up being not as terrifying as it is built up to be.

That being said, I was extremely thankful for the three day weekend that followed. Thanks to the semester ending, I was completely free of homework and enjoyed the few days of relaxation. The first day of the weekend was Winter Formal. This is my favorite school dance of the year (I've never been to Prom but I assume it's pretty great too) and this was my third year going. I went with a group of friends and we had great time dancing and singing at the top of our lungs, which was followed by a movie night and an abundance of chocolate cake when we returned home for a sleepover.

Third quarter also means the start of the Winter Musical. This year's production is Beauty and the Beast which I was ecstatic about to say the least. Growing up, Beauty and the Beast was always my favorite Disney movie and I was Belle for halloween on more than one occasion. I pride myself on having practically the entire movie memorized. Although we have only been rehearsing for about two weeks I am already having a blast and am so excited for people to see the show!

Me and some friends before Winter Formal!

Hello Everyone!

This has been a very chaotic month! In the full swing of the holiday season, I've been busy singing around town with the Marians and rushing to finish homework assignments before break begins.

Some of the highlights of the Marian Christmas gigs included singing at the Grotto, and performing for the women at the Waverly Country Club. The school concert was also great and I loved getting to hear the concert choir perform (130 members!). The dancers and orchestra also did amazing at their concert.

The school is buzzing with Christmas spirit! Holiday decorations cover lockers and the front hall and there are plenty of Christmas cookies getting passed around. In our TAs we are preparing Christmas boxes for families in need. This is a great way to bond with the members of your TA while also helping to make sure everyone has a happy holiday season.
With all the festivities and the extra load of homework I am definitely looking forward to a couple weeks off to spend with family and friends.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a happy New Year!

 

 

Me and some of the Marians singing at Unitus Bank!

Hello everyone!

These past couple of weeks have been very exciting but also very busy! Last week I went to Food for Thought, an annual luncheon to raise money to support students who need financial aid. All of the Marian singers had the opportunity to leave school early and walk down to the Hilton to sing at this event. It was great to perform for so many generous benefactors.

Fall encounter, a three day retreat for the juniors, was this past weekend. I did not go this time, but I am going in the spring. I have heard from so many friends that it was an amazing experience and that you learn so much about yourself and become closer with classmates. I am so excited to go in February! The remainder of the Juniors who stayed behind had a couple days of relaxing classes.

Second quarter of Junior year has already proved itself to be more difficult than the first. I am very busy with school work and with outside activities. In the middle of all this work, having our annual movie day was quite a relief. Movie Day is a reward for raising money for our Blues Bridgewalk fundraiser. All the students who meet their goal get bussed out to the Hollywood movie theater to watch some films! This year I saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off (a long time favorite of mine) and Monsters University. It was so fun to take some time off from school to relax and hang out with friends while watch movies!

With Thanksgiving just a week away I have a lot to look forward too. We always host Thanksgiving at my house and I have tons of family and friends coming over to celebrate the holiday!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the remainder of November!

Hello everyone!

This week has been pretty relaxing for me thanks to conferences. Teachers are busy preparing to meet with our parents while the students get three half days! They don't call it "No-School-November" for nothing! Although the work load is less this week it was a bit of a scramble to make sure everything was in order for the end of first quarter.

Another exciting event coming up for St. Mary's is the annual Food for Thought Luncheon. This event raises money for the 41% of students who receive financial aid here at SMA! I'm lucky enough to get to go sing at this awesome lunch with the Marians! Recently the Marian singers performed at the Mount Hood Conference Treble festival which was held in the St. Mary's auditorium. This festival is a great opportunity to hear other all female choirs perform from around the district and is a great learning experience!

St. Mary's fall play, Twelve Angry Women, was performed a couple weeks a go. I saw it with a few friends on it's second night and we absolutely loved it! It was acted excellently and kept me on the edge of my seat. I hope you all had the opportunity to see it but if not, don't worry! There are two more opportunities to experience SMA theater. The winter Musical this year is Beauty and the Beast (my favorite Disney movie!) and in the Spring we have our One Act festival which includes plays that are written, acted, directed, and produced by students.

I hope you all are having a great November!

It's November!

November is probably my favorite month. Crunchy leaves, sweater weather, and of course Thanksgiving! Junior year has been really busy so far, but I've been able to make time to spend with my friends. I went to the zoo with some friends on a half day last week after school, whichbrought back many childhood memories. Halloween was also a great night to spend with friends. Although I didn't go trick-or-treating this year I had a lot a fun handing out candy and watching scary movies! With the holiday season just around he corner, the Marian singers have been working hard to learn all of our Christmas music. Christmas time in Marians is extremely busy with tons of performances. It is also my favorite time to be a Marian, I love caroling around the city!

I can't believe how fast the year is going. Second quarter started today! It's hard to believe that my Junior year is already 25% done!

Me and some friends at the zoo!

October!

It's already October! September went by so quickly and I am definitely back into the full swing of school. So far my junior year seems like it is on its way to being one of my favorites. I have some really exciting classes such as AP US History with the infamous Mr. Housley, biology (we got to dissect a pig!), and ethics. This month so far has been filled with college visits and test prep. Now that I have reached my junior year, it's finally time to start thinking about my future education which can be scary but also really exciting! Multiple colleges have come to do presentations here at St. Mary's  and my mom and I drove up to Tacoma to visit Puget Sound this weekend which really set the stage for my search for a college fit for me!

I've also been doing some fun activities outside of school. I play on a co-ed rec soccer team which I absolutely love because it gives me a chance to see some of my old friends who I don't go to school with. It's been a busy couple of weeks for the Marian singers as we are preparing for our first couple of performances this week. We are singing at the Founders’ Day mass on Friday and at the Open House this Sunday (October 20th).  Feel free to stop in between 1 and 4pm!

This year has started out great and I am looking forward to upcoming highlights such as the junior Encounter and future Marian gigs!

Hello Everyone!

Well it has been about two weeks since school started and it seems that everyone has gotten back into the routine of St. Mary's life. Both students and teachers are in a buzz over the instillation of the iPads. I for one was not sure how I would like this new piece of technology but I have been pleasantly surprised! I love taking notes on it and there are a bunch of cool features that I've never used before. I look forward to seeing what more ways we will be using them in class.

Another great part about the beginning of my year was the Marians retreat. This is my second year being a Marian singer and the beach retreat is always a great time. Spending the weekend with the choir was amazing and although it was a bit cloudy, we really lucked out with weather. It was a trip filled with friends, campfires, games, and lots and lots of singing.

I'm taking some awesome classes this year. Some of my favorites so far are AP US History and Biology which are both challenging but are subjects that I am really interested in. These past couple of weeks have really gotten me excited for the rest of my Junior year and I can't wait to see what lies ahead!

Some pictures from the Marians beach trip last weekend.