One more week to go till winter break! Despite the late starts with snow (kind of) and ice last week, things don’t slow down much at SMA right before the holidays. Last week I participated in my first mini-mock trial at Multnomah County Courthouse, which was great. I’ve been taking the mock trial class after school since the beginning of the year, and I really liked seeing how all of my teams work and preparation came together.

This week during TA we are putting together our Christmas baskets. Every year each TA is matched up with a family in need, for whom we compile presents and grocery type items, which we then deliver to the family the day before getting out for break. It's a fun and communal way to give back to our community, one that I'm glad SMA has in place.

I’ve heard that these two weeks before winter break are the worst of the year for juniors, and I believe it! I've been incredibly busy writing multiple research papers, completing several other large projects, memorizing speeches and taking tons of tests. I'm so excited for the break, and it will be nice to come back to school in January well rested and prepared to finish up the semester. Wishing you all a happy holiday!

While November is infamous as "no school November" this month is still incredibly busy! I'm looking forward to this weekend, and getting through all the tests and projects I have due in the next few days. Right now I'm fully immersed in my AP English class' study of the Scarlet Letter, my honors chemistry class' study of anions and cations, and studying various Supreme Court cases in my AP government class.

In my last post I mentioned the Food For Thought luncheon. The event occurred last week, and it was a great experience. Jane McGonigal gave a very interesting talk that was similar to her TED talk, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to hear her speak live. The student speaker was equally impressive, and her speech brought all the attendees to their feet. Opportunities like this are one of the reasons I love being an ambassador, as is having shadows. I've had two shadows so far this year and both have been super sweet, and I hope to see them at SMA next year. I know shadowing really helped me choose St. Mary's, so it's interesting experiencing the other side of the day as the one being shadowed. I strongly recommend scheduling a time to shadow if you haven't already!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!  

November

Happy November! November is one of my favorite months, and I'm looking forward to having a four day weekend this week. This Friday we have a half day, and my friend Holly (another ambassador blogger) and I are going to a reading by Tavi Gevinson, the creator of Rookie, an amazing website, and now book series.

Next week I will be helping out at Food For Thought, a St. Mary's fundraiser luncheon. This year the guest speaker is Jane McGonigal, a New York Times best selling author known for creating amazing games meant to improve people's lives. I highly recommend watching her TED talk, and attending the event.

Next week is also exciting because part of my class will be at Junior Encounter, a retreat at Camp Collins. I am not attending the November encounter, but I am looking forward to hearing my friends' stories about it, as I've heard it is a great experience.

I can't believe it's the end of first quarter! This year is going by so quickly. I am loving my classes, especially AP US History and French. I feel like I'm learning more this year than ever before, and that my hard work in my classes is paying off. This year has also been exciting because I have joined new activities, including Mock Trial. SMA's team went to nationals last year, and I'm so glad I get to be part of such a passionate group of girls who really enjoy the activity. I've also enjoyed my new status as a member of NAHS, the National Art Honor Society. This past week we met to carve pumpkins, which was super fun!

This past weekend I helped out at St. Mary's Open House, one of the biggest events hosted at SMA each year. I had a great time giving tours, sharing my love of the school, and interacting with girls who might be future Blues. Did any of you attend? If so I hope you enjoyed the day as much as all of us ambassadors did, and that you got some good pictures at the photo booth!

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween, and go check out some pictures of the SMA staff all dressed up on the school's Facebook page!

October!

Things are ramping up here at St. Mary’s! This week we have testing, the PSAT for juniors, as well as the PLAN for sophomores and the EXPLORE for freshmen. I’m not only busy with homework and studying for my PSAT and SAT this year, but also fitting in as many college visits as I can. We’re fortunate that a number of colleges visit SMA so that we can hear about schools in a very intimate setting, versus the larger citywide college talks which attract huge amounts of people.

It’s not all hard work though! Last week was the Blues Bridge Walk, St. Mary’s student fundraiser, which cumulates in a 3 mile walk. Luckily it wasn’t raining, and it was an opportunity to relax a bit and socialize with friends while fitting in some exercise. Leading up to the walk was Spirit Week, which was secret agent themed. A highlight was definitely “undercover brother” day, when students dressed like boys, and some male teachers dressed as women. The week ended with an awesome skit filled assembly, and although my class, the juniors, placed last in spirit week overall, our grade’s skit came in second place!  

Back to School at SMA!

Despite the fact that I haven't even been in school for 2 full weeks, it feels like I've never left! The first day of classes was especially interesting for me, since this is my first real back to school experience at SMA. I attended another Portland high school my freshman year, and missed the start of sophomore year at St. Mary's because I was living abroad, so I've missed out on opportunities at SMA like joining first semester activities, and participating in back to school traditions like the welcome assembly, so I'm extra excited to see how this year unfolds! 

The first day was a whirlwind of reading syllabuses, teachers mispronouncing names despite their best efforts, and writing down the first assignments for the year. One thing I love about SMA is that the school gives you great opportunities to challenge yourself, for example, I am able to take 3 AP classes and 1 honors class this year, an option I wouldn't have had the chance to try at my old school. So far I'm really enjoying my schedule, even though the homework can be a little daunting! It's nice to know that all around me girls are taking challenging classes as well, and doing amazing extra circulars and activities. 

Hi Everyone!

Hi everyone! I can't believe I'm already back in school. This summer was great; I traveled, hung out with friends, went to concerts, worked, and of course, did my summer homework for my AP classes! While I'll miss sleeping in and the lazy days of summer, it's nice to be back in the SMA community, and I'm excited about my course load this year. 

It's only the second week of school but I can tell already that it is the year of the iPad at SMA, since the school just began its 1:1 student iPad program! I'm excited to see how my teachers utilize the new technology, and I loved seeing the teacher iPad dance at the welcome back assembly! If you happen to be by the SMA campus, see if you can spot the statue out front that has its own iPad, or if you're interested check out the infamous teachers' dance on the SMA Facebook page, or by clicking Here.