A group of School of St. Mary first through third graders recently engaged in a fun chess tournament to raise funds for the St. Mary Gala at the Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park. The Chess-Ed team was assisted by Shiva Maharaj, trainer of numerous national and local champions, and Alice Holt, a U.S. certified coach. Participants were awarded ribbons and four trophies were awarded to the top finishers.

  Fifth graders at the School of St. Mary traveled back in time to Ancient Egypt in their visit to Chicago’s Field Museum last month. After learning about Ancient Egypt in their social studies’ class, students took a field trip to see for themselves how the Egyptians lived. They explored the brand new exhibit called Opening the Vaults: Mummies and were able to see over 20 very unique mummies, including one of the oldest mummies on the planet. They witnessed tombs with hieroglyphics carved into the walls, saw artifacts galore, and learned more about how the dead were prepared for their burial…

  As part of the science curriculum, Rita Thurston, the eighth grade students at the School of St. Mary recently completed an Engineering Design Project over the course of several weeks. The students were challenged to recycle, reuse, and re-engineer everyday materials into a new invention, working either individually or with a partner. Their task was to follow the engineering design process to create a new invention made from at least two different recycled materials. During the project, students learned the differences between the design process used by engineers and the scientific method …

The School of St. Mary will celebrate students past and present with Homecoming festivities this week. On Friday, the students will cheer on their Crusader football teams with a pep rally at 9:15 a.m. at the Primary Grade Center and 2:40 p.m. at the Upper Grade Center. Saturday, families will gather in the Upper Grade Center parking lot at 7 a.m. to decorate their cars in school colors. A pep rally for families will follow at 8 a.m. to fire-up the teams for the big games. Football games will be held at Lake Forest High School, East Campus.  The junior varsity white team plays at 9:30 a.m., …

School of St. Mary's Class of 2011 gave a class gift of  donation of $2,170, which will provide new signs for the Upper Grade Center campus on the northwest and northeast corners, as well as the west side of the school building. *** The chicks are here!  For the past 21 days, St. Mary's second graders have waited with great anticipation for the six dozen chicken eggs to develop and hatch in their classrooms. During the incubation period, students learned how a chick develops within an egg, the life cycle of a chicken, and the different parts of an egg. Holding and observing the live chicks …

This spring, the School of St. Mary held several fundraisers to help the people of Japan in the wake of the earthquake. To help students gain a better understanding of the culture of Japan, Nicole Moward-Nassar, vice president of a Japanese firm, offered to come to both the upper and primary grade campuses to talk to students about Japan and its people. Nassar, who has children that attend the primary grade center, was accompanied by her Japanese colleague, Mayumi. During their presentation, students enjoyed a slideshow about Japan, learned how to make origami hats, and were able to ask …

For their recent unit on the human body, the eighth graders studied various medical specialties. After passing eighth-grade modified board exams and physiology tests, students became certified medical specialists. For the unit’s culminating activity, they participated in a mock Emergency Room (ER) April 15.  Students worked in medical teams at clinics to assess, diagnose, and treat patients that visited their clinic. Prior to the ER day, students had studied various ailments and diseases as well as the tests and treatment options available. *** Students at School of St. Mary recently …

This spring, School of St. Mary eighth graders are taking part in a unit of study on the Holocaust that integrates language arts and social studies. They have read and discussed excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank and Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau.  On April 6, the students attended a presentation given by a survivor of the Dachau concentration camp during a field trip to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. The students and teachers heard the speaker's testimony about the years he spent in concentration camps from the age of 14 until 20, when Dachau was …

A group of School of St. Mary primary grade students enjoyed a party hosted by the school's physical education, music, art and library teachers. The school gym was transformed into a disco complete with lights, sound system, karaoke stage and bubble machine. Students learned the macarena, electric slide, hand jive and chicken dance and boogied to classic kids' dance tunes. *** St. Mary's second graders have welcomed six dozen chicken eggs into their classrooms for a unit of study in embryology. The eggs will be incubated for the next 21 days as students learn about how a chick develops within…

Students and faculty at the School of St. Mary Primary Grade Center gathered March 23 for a prayer service to reflect on the virtue of patience.  Third graders from Jennifer Dziki's homeroom planned and led the service. They told the story of Noah and the Ark, complete with their own illustrations, to give a Bible example of someone who was patient and trusted God through difficult times. *** School of St. Mary held its annual talent show March 22.  Students wowed the audience with their skills in singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, doing gymnastics, drawing, cupcake decorating, …

The School of St. Mary annual gala took place March 5 at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort.  This year's theme was Celebrate Life's Flowers.  Guests attired in black tie and masks enjoyed dinner, dancing, live and silent auctions and a car raffle. *** St. Mary's third grade classes went on a field trip to the College of Lake County in Grayslake on Feb. 13 to see a production of the Christian Youth Theater’s (CYT) Disney’s High School Musical Jr.  CYT is an after-school theater arts education program for students aged 4-18 and offers students an opportunity to develop their talents, interact …

St. Mary's kindergartners recently visited “Kindertown”, an interactive museum experience in Lake Forest, to culminate a social studies unit on communities.  The students “traveled” to replicas of five different locations in the community: Lake Forest Pediatrics, Gerhard’s Bakery, Sunset Foods, the U.S. Post Office, and the Lake Forest Fire Station. Students were engrossed in shopping for and purchasing groceries, mailing letters to their homes,  getting a check-up at the doctor’s office, making a sweet treat while wearing a chef’s hat, and using a floor map to navigate cars throughout Lake …

The first and second graders at St. Mary’s presented a winter vocal performance Feb. 15 celebrating music in the school. Songs reflected themes of gratitude, joy, classical music and fun. *** Students in Room 11 participated in their second Fink’s Fair as part of a year-long study on the economy. The fair is an opportunity for students to bring in items they created on their own to sell to their classmates. They also made signs to advertise their products. Items were bought and sold using fake money called Fink’s Funds that the students have earned throughout the year. Photo (left to right): …

Bagherhat, a city southwest of Dhaka that has a historic mosque, is in the lowlands north of the Bay of Bengal in what country? Know the answer? Tommy Geschke did. The School of St. Mary seventh grader correctly answered Bangladesh to become the third person in his family to be crowned Geography Bee champion Wednesday. “I was thinking about countries that I knew in Asia and southeast Asia, and areas around there,” Geschke said of formulating his answer. Any doubts about the answer? “I was confident it was the right answer. I know that one,” he said. The contest was originally slated to take …

The third time really was a charm for Samantha Miller. The eighth grader came to the brink of elimination twice in the School of St. Mary’s spelling bee on Feb. 1. However, when sixth grader M.J. Finnegan missed in spelling the word, lackadaisical, after Miller had correctly spelled, anthropology, she ended the dramatics with the word, orthographize. The winner has to spell a second word correctly in order to be named the champion. A miss starts a whole new round. “I didn’t know how to spell it,” Miller said when she heard the word. “I sounded it out in my head.” When she pronounced the word …

Students at the School of St. Mary in Lake Forest gathered for a prayer service Dec. 14 to reflect on the virtue of joyfulness. Third grade students in Therese Wetherald's class presented an acrostic poem about joy and sang, "I've Got Joy Down in My Heart." Students learn about different virtues throughout the school year with an emphasis on joyfulness during November and December to coincide with Advent.                                                                         *** School of St. Mary Principal, Dr. Venette Biancalana, delighted primary grade students by dressing up in a clown…