News From the Hall
June 1, 2022
All-School
All-School NEWS
A message from Mr. Miller
Dear SMH Families,
I hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend. With school having been out now for over a week, perhaps like me, you’ve had some time to reflect more about the incredible work our students and teachers did throughout the year. In observing our students at the various end-of-year awards ceremonies, promotions, Baccalaureate, and Commencement, I was struck by how much they changed, matured, and grew. Each of the ceremonies—especially the Forms 5 and 8 Promotions and the Commencement of our Seniors—evoked lots of emotions from the students, as well as the faculty and parents. And, perhaps more than any in recent memory, these end of year activities were such a testament to the resilience and hope of our children.
In processing these events, I was particularly impressed by the growth and accomplishments of our seniors. The Class of ’22 experienced considerable challenges throughout its years, yet one of their strengths was the way that they supported and cared for each other. As a class and as individuals, they respected each other and the way that each of their classmates contributed something unique and irreplaceable to the success and experience of all. We were all so happy for them that in their last few months they enjoyed a spring that may have looked and felt like a “senior spring.”
We continue to look toward a time when all our students may not have to live in a world that can feel unsafe, whether due to Covid or living in a society filled with so much division. And yet, with the shootings last week in Uvalde, another heart-wrenching event saddens us to our core. Our emotions run deep, and our prayers go out to the families who experienced such unimaginable loss.
As a school community, we must continue to rise to the occasion and play our part in educating our future. As parents, teachers, and administrators, we must be committed to having strong partnerships that foster our sense of community and drive us to do the things that are necessary to make us even better. With that in mind, I would like for us at SMH to continue next year to reinforce our commitment to building community. We made some tremendous progress this year in finding ways to connect. We were able to return to some of our cherished traditions this year, and we were also able to establish some new ways.
One new way of community building that I would like to introduce for next year is a book club. Next fall, we will offer opportunities for conversation around some shared reading. The first will be a book by Stanford University Psychology Professor Jamil Zaki, titled The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fracture World. Professor Zaki shares the latest social science around empathy, and it is heartening news that has important implications for school communities like ours. The book club initiative is completely voluntary opportunity, yet another way we may be able to deepen our commitment to our mission and children.
I hope you have a wonderful summer. I wish the Seniors and those leaving the best and will look forward to writing my next letter at the start of the 2022-23 school year.
Major Dates Calendar
Major Dates for 2022-2023 calendar are announced! Print your calendar HERE!
Uniform Upcycle Sale - Save the Date!
Mark your calendars for the Uniform Upcycle Sale at the start of the 2022-2023 school year:
- Thursday, August 11 from 9:30-11:30 am
- Friday, August 12 from 8:30 am-1:30 pm
- Monday, August 15 from 8:30-11:30 am
Summer at the Hall
Saint Mary's Hall offers eight weeks of academic, arts, athletics, and enrichment camps for your students, ages 3-18, and camp is in session!
Click here to browse the full list of camps and courses. Many camps are already full, but be sure to ask about wait lists, and be sure to check out the suggested academic camps to help prepare SMH students for the upcoming school year.
Children from all over the San Antonio community and beyond are welcome to join, so be sure to tell your friends, family, and coworkers.
Summer at Saint Mary’s Hall is a great place to spend the hot summer days because here, CAMP IS COOL!
Upper School
Upper School
National English Honor Society
On Monday, May 2, NEHS members helped Mrs. Pierce’s Form 2 class prepare for their annual literary Pizzeria. Upper School NEHS students were served student literary masterpieces and savored each moment of the experience!
National Latin Exam
In early March, Upper School students took the National Latin Exam. The exam included Latin grammar, language, reading comprehension skills and Roman culture and civilization.
Beginning Latin
- Evaristo Derby Elizondo '25 – Silver Maxima Cum Laude
- Gaige Lipscomb '25 – Silver Maxima Cum Laude
Intermediate Latin
- Wynton Harris '25 – Cum Laude
- Ephram Cho '24 – Magna Cum Laude
- Lily Kelly '25 – Magna Cum Laude
- Sai Ono '25 Magna Cum Laude
- Sophia Nelson '25 – Silver Maxima Cum Laude
Intermediate Latin Reading Comprehension
- Emma Carter '24 – Cum Laude
- Sofija Dudhia '24 – Cum Laude
- Lainey Hopkins '23 – Cum Laude
- Sophia Junaidi '24 – Cum Laude
- Aarya Shah '24 – Cum Laude
- Will Carter '24 – Magna Cum Laude
- Rohith Siddabattula '25 – Silver Maxima Cum Laude
- Jay Vasan '24 – Silver Maxima Cum Laude
Advanced Latin Poetry
- Anish Beeram '23 – Cum Laude
- Miley Hamilton '23 - Cum Laude
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society Banquet on Wednesday, May 4, honored Chemistry Olympiad winners Leo Cheong '23, who tied for fourth place overall, Jonathan Tubb '23, 16th overall and Ephraim Cho '24, 17th place overall. Jonathan and Leo qualified to take the National Chemistry Olympiad exam April 24, a grueling six hour test, and both represented SMH well!
Head of Lower School featured as guest speaker
On Thursday, May 5, Dr. Hick’s Feminism and Literature class welcomed Lower School Head, Mrs. Khristi Bates. Mrs. Bates shared her experiences and expertise as an educator, leader, mother, and advocate for women. During the discussion, students reflected on leadership opportunities, building relationships with healthy boundaries, and empowering women through mentorship.
AP World History
Form 10 students worked diligently over the past few weeks to prepare for the AP World History exam. Mrs. Jill Severe, former SMH World History teacher, led a study session.
Charles Dickens Chapter of the National English Honor Society
Congratulations to the 2022-2023 officers:
- Anna Albrecht '23, President
- Grace Phillips '23, Vice-President
- Rachel Weissmann '24, Campus Service Coordinator
Middle School
Middle School
From Mrs. Visagie...
It has been a wonderful year in Middle School. In my second year at the helm, it was great to see some more “normalcy” and I look forward to even more next year! We are already planning some new initiatives for our students, such as the ability for Form 6 to play two sports in a season. We have others as well that will be unveiled as the summer and start of the 2022-2023 school year begins. I/we have appreciated your feedback (and your students') this year as we continue to enhance the Middle School experience. Your partnership with us is invaluable, so I welcome you to come sit by my fireplace for a chat anytime!
We are going to miss Mrs. Northington, Mrs. Warnecke, and Mrs. Renard next year, and wish them well on their next ventures. We look forward to welcoming three new faculty to the Middle School mix, and will be announcing new hires over the summer.
We will also be welcoming new students to our SMH Middle School and look forward to your help, parents and students, in making them feel welcome.
For now, I wish you all a wonderful, happy, relaxing, fun, and adventurous summer. See you in August!
Form 7 Port Aransas Field Trip
Form 7 visited the Texas coast April 2-4 and had an amazing time! It was truly a memorable time for all - from trampoline jumping at Get Air, to learning about stranded turtles and birds at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, to playing at the beach, to doing a scavenger hunt on the USS Lexington, to exploring the Texas State Aquarium, to making elaborate sand castles, to eating lots of pizza, and to touring the ship channel and intercostal by ship and seeing wild dolphins and all sorts of other critters!
Environmental Club Plant Sale
The MS Environmental Club had a wonderful morning on April 29th. The Environmental Club has been working hard all year preparing for this event and they did an amazing job. Students all wore their bee shirts; there was an advisory intramural involving collecting “pollen” tennis balls for advisory hives; and there was a plant, pin, temporary tattoo, seed, and cookie sale. We are happy to report that we are donating over $1000 to the Bee Conservancy and we will have over $700 to use towards our greenhouse, garden and landscape beds next year, helping to increasing our bee and pollinator habitat on campus. We want to thank H-E-B who made a sizable donation towards our cause, helping us provide prizes for winners, and allowing us to sell a greater variety of plants, along with helping to prepare our transplants for sale and our landscaping beds for next year. Finally, we are so thankful for all of our community’s support, all the people who created beautiful designs, purchased shirts, plants, tattoos, pins, seeds, everything else! We certainly could not have done it without you!
Student Spotlight on Bernardo Medina
Bernardo Medina '26, capped off an incredible season by capturing the city championship at Cedar Creek Golf Course. Bernardo shot a 3-over 39 to best the field by 3 strokes. This recent victory marks the fourth out of five tries for Bernardo this season. Please congratulate him on this incredible run!
Results for the 2022 National French Contest
The Middle School French IA and French IB students took the National French Contest in March. The French 0IA exam is based on 60 questions and the level IA exam is based on 70 questions which test students’ listening and reading comprehension skills and grammatical, vocabulary and cultural knowledge. The French IA students competed at the national level against 2,976 other French students. The French IB students competed at the national level against 11,145 students. This year’s recipients are:
7th form, Level 0IA
Gold medal:
- Lauren Thomas- 95th percentile, ranked 4th on national level and 1st on central Texas chapter level.
Bronze medal:
- Selamir Treviño- 82nd percentile, ranked 8th on national level and 4th on central Texas chapter level.
- Natasha Rainbow- 78th percentile, ranked 9th on national level and 5th on central Texas chapter level.
- Asher DeVillena- 78th percentile, ranked 9th on national level and 5th on central Texas chapter level.
8th form, Level IA
Bronze medal:
- Torrey Baker- 76th percentile, ranked 13th on national level and 11th on central Texas chapter level.
- Jordan Lee- 76th percentile, ranked 13th on national level and 11th on central Texas chapter level.
Saint Mary’s Hall Middle School Students Receive Recognition in the National Spanish Exam
The National Spanish Examination is administered each year in grades 6 through 12, and is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. It is the largest of its kind in the United States. Saint Mary’s Hall has a long history of high achievement on these exams and we are very proud of our students.
National awards are determined by the Total Percentile as follows:
ORO - Students scoring at or above the 95th percentile are awarded a Premio de Oro.
PLATA - Students scoring from the 85th through the 94th percentiles receive a Premio de Plata.
BRONCE - Students scoring from the 75th through the 84th percentiles receive a Premio de Bronce.
The categories are as follows:
- Classroom Experience
- Outside Experience
- Bilingual
Congratulations to all our students who have attained national recognition for excellent performance on this year’s exam.
Level 0I Bronze:
- Annie Altmeyer '27, Classroom Experience
- Hadley Bunch '27, Classroom Experience
- Joaquin Kypuros '27, Classroom Experience
- Lila Ogle '27, Classroom Experience
- Tristan Stowers '27, Classroom Experience
- Lela Tabatabai '28, Classroom Experience
- Mellie Ann Urban '27, Classroom Experience
- Myrka Alvarez '28, Outside Experience
- Veeraj Bajaj '28, Outside Experience
- Laura Vargas '28, Outside Experience
Silver:
- Steven Gates '27, Classroom Experience
- Benjamin Swaney '27, Classroom Experience
Gold:
- Ryann Arrington '27, Classroom Experience
- Karan Gyani '28, Classroom Experience
Level I Bronze:
- Mazreen Sanjana '26, Classroom Experience
- Meryl Jones '27, Outside Experience
- Devika Patel '27, Outside Experience
- John Paul El Hajj Moussa '27, Bilingual
Silver:
- Myles Baumholtz '26, Classroom Experience
- Dillon Daskevich '26, Classroom Experience
- Michael Davis '26, Classroom Experience
- Ellie Hunter '26, Classroom Experience
- Evan Liu '26, Classroom Experience
- Jahan Sayeed '26, Classroom Experience
- Sam Schwab '26, Classroom Experience
- Divya Beeram '26, Outside Experience
- Sofia Blanco '27, Outside Experience
- Jane Griffith '28, Outside Experience
Gold:
- Riya Jampana '26, Classroom Experience
Level II Silver:
- Annie Herff '26 (8), Classroom Experience
- Abi Sorensen '26 (8), Classroom Experience
Gold:
- Sohan Bhakta '26, Classroom Experience
- Axel Morgan '26, Classroom Experience
- Adrian Sorensen '26, Classroom Experience
- Kathryn Tubb '26, Classroom Experience
- Nicholas Morgan '26, Outside Experience
LS, MS, and US Join Forces to Benefit Serna Elementary School
Earlier this month, the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools held a joint Book Drive to benefit the students and families of Serna Elementary. Serna Elementary needed books for their little library and for students to take home and enjoy reading during the summer.
The generosity and kindness of our Saint Mary’s Hall families was in full display as the numbers of books donated exceeded our expectations. The books were delivered on Tuesday, May 11, and Serna Elementary Family Specialist, Leticia Farias, was filled with joy.
A big thank you goes out to Middle and Upper School mom, Izabara Wallisch, for helping us deliver the books, to our Lower School librarians, to all the teachers who encouraged their students to donate books, and to the Middle School NJHS Council and the Upper School Community Service Council for sponsoring the drive.
MS Councils Officers Lunch
Last week, the MS Councils celebrated their recent elections by uniting current officers with newly elected officers. The current and new officers met to discuss both challenges and opportunities, and to reflect over lunch. We are appreciative of the hard work and great effort of current officers, and are looking forward to the creativity of our new ones. Congratulations, officers!
Slideshow: Council Officers' Lunch
Middle School Sports Awards
On Thursday, May 5th, the middle school celebrated their spring activities and special recognition went to the following:
Softball
- MVP - Meryl Jones '27
- Coaches Award- Sofia Blanco '27
Baseball
- MVP - Noah Rodriguez '26
- Coaches Award- Sam Schwab '26
Golf
- MVP - Bernardo Medina '26
- Coaches Award - Sohan Bhakta '26
Tennis
- Form 6
- MVP- Karan Gyani
- MIP – Sarah DuBois
- Form 7
- MVP- Devika Patel
- MIP- Fiona Briggs
- Form 8
- MVP- Jay Huang
- MIP – Zain Ahmad
Lacrosse
- F5/6
- MVP - Renzo Morrill
- Coaches Award - George Smiley
- F7/8
- MVP - Myles Baumholtz '26
- Coaches Award - Lindsey Do '26
Track and Field
- MVP - Jack Whittington '26 and Lela Tabatabai '28
- Coach Award - Sawyer Beach '26 and Charlotte Holmgreen '27
Latin Students Finish the Year Strong
Salvete, omnes! Our Middle School Latin program has had a very successful year! In Junior Classical League Academics, our middle school placed 1st in overall Academic Sweepstakes at Area and 4th in Texas. Our Latin students participated in up to 5 different specialized contests, the results of which follow:
National Classical Etymology Exam
In December, 15 students chose to prepare for the National Classical Etymology Exam, which tests a student's ability to recognize Latin and Greek roots and understand how they govern the meaning of English words. The following students received awards.
Bronze
- Fiona Briggs '27
Silver
- Colston Book '27
- Bianca Rodriguez '26
- Reagan Warren '27
Gold
- Henry Ames '26
- Sebastian Bieler '27
- Jay Huang '26
- Megan LaMoy '26
- Amruta Patel '26
National Roman Civilization Exam
Also in December, 7 students chose to prepare for the National Roman Civilization Exam, a broad ranging test of students’ knowledge of Roman History and Culture. The following students received awards:
Silver
- Inaaya Wali '27
- Jacob Kollars '27
- Matthew Dubois '26
- Joshua Hoover '27
Gold
- Amruta Patel '26
National Latin Vocabulary Exam
In March, students took the National Latin Vocabulary Exam, which tests a student's knowledge of Latin vocabulary. The following students received awards:
Bronze
- Megan LaMoy '26
- Inaaya Wali '27
- Fiona Briggs '27
Silver
- Henry Ames '26
- Matthew Dubois '26
- Bianca Rodriguez '26
- Rabani Bajaj '27
- Jay Huang '26
- Zain Ahmad '26
- Sebastian Bieler '27
- Colston Book '27
Gold
- Amruta Patel '26
- Aarav Gupta '27
Pegasus Mythology Exam
In February, keen mythologists from Forms 6, 7, and 8 took the Pegasus Mythology Exam. The following students received rewards:
Bronze
- Eloise Oliver '28
- Andrew Bean '28
- Maddie Trader '28
- James Rodriguez '28
- Charlie Viccellio '28
- Jay Huang '26
Silver
- Alton Behrend '28
- Raj Isiguzo '28
- Fiona Briggs '27
- Jacob Kollars '27
- David Lim '26
Gold
- Krish Gupta '28
- Lucy Muhlig '28
- Henry Ames '28
- Aarav Gupta '27
- Zain Ahmad '26
- Rabani Bajaj '27
- Colston Book '27
- Inaaya Wali '27
Perfect Score
- Alex Manso '28
- Amruta Patel '26
Exploratory Latin Exam (Form 6)
The Exploratory Latin Exam tests knowledge of basic Latin categorized vocabulary, history, culture, and Roman gods, with 10 questions on a special topic, which this year was Famous People of the Ancient World. This year, 100% of our Form 6 Latin students were recognized!
Cum Laude
- Meggie Blecher '28
- James Rodriguez '28
- Andrew Bean '28
- Levi Pulis '28
Magna cum Laude
- Coco Kleberg '28
- Charlie Viccellio '28
- Raj Isiguzo '28
Summa Cum Laude
- Alex Manso '28
- Alton Behrend '28
- Krish Gupta '28
- Eloise Oliver '28
- Maddie Trader '28
Gold Medal for a Perfect Score
- Lucy Muhlig '28
National Latin Exam (Form 7-8)
In early March this year, Forms 7 and 8 students took the National Latin Exam. As well as Latin grammar, language, and reading comprehension skills, this exam demands an extensive general knowledge of Roman culture and civilization.
Cum Laude
- Megan LaMoy '26
Magna Cum Laude
- Bianca Rodriguez '26
- Henry Ames '26
- William Boylston '27
Maxima/Silver
- Zain Ahmad '26
- Matthew Dubois '26
- Henry Scott '26
- Jay Huang '26
- Rabani Bajaj '27
- Jacob Kollars '27
Summa/Gold
- Colston Book '27
- Fiona Briggs '27
- Aarav Gupta '27
- Inaaya Wali '27
Summa, Gold, Perfect Score
- Amruta Patel '26
- Sebastian Bieler '27
NJHS Councils Elect Officers
The Ewing Halsell Middle School National Junior Honor Society is very pleased to announce the 2022-2023 Officers:
- President: Max Elmendorf '27
- Vice President: Tharun Cheruku '27
- Secretary: Devika Patel '27
- Historian: Hadley Bunch '27
Sponsors, Lourdes Saks and Chase Hebert, congratulate these amazing students. We are confident that this group will work well together to serve NJHS and the greater Saint Mary’s Hall community!
We also want to recognize all those students who ran for office this year – you are all great leaders and we are looking forward to putting your talents and passions to work next school year on our various projects and leadership opportunities.
Finally, we want to express our gratitude to our outgoing officers:
- President: Dillon Daskevich '26
- Vice President: Jahan Sayeed '26
- Secretary: Lindsey Do '26
- Historian: Riya Jampana '26
You all showed tremendous creativity, energy, and drive as you brought NJHS to a new level under your leadership. Each of you clearly embodies the definition of leadership through service and this new class of officers knows that it has some big shoes to fill. We honor each of you for your yearlong service to this school and to NJHS – you have definitely left your mark here at Saint Mary’s Hall!
Lower School
Lower School
Form 4 & 5 Interdisciplinary Project is Complete
Forms 4 and 5 worked on a two-year interdisciplinary project through the McNay Museum and are ready to officially debut it along with other schools in the San Antonio area on May 19. This annual venture at SMH between art and language arts features Willie Cole's Sole Sitter and was visited by Forms 4 and 5 on the beautiful grounds of the museum last month. Utilizing work begun during the 2020-2021 school year, students integrated their work about this thought-provoking piece in a cumulative film produced by Ms. Kellen Stanley. Their film, along with other city-wide artists in grades K-12, will be available to view at the museum in a rotation from May 19-October 16.
As a special service project, the shoes donated by parents for this art installation are being donated to Dress for Success.
Form 2 Writing Projects Debut
Form 2 students entertained parents with their writing projects from the year with a “Pizzeria”. From individually created pizza menus, parents were offered a sampling of writing pieces that their children “cooked up” all year. Some of the “pizzas” were meaty and some were spicy. Others were sweet or just plain funny. All were one-of-a-kind. The pizzas were as different as the individual writing chefs.
Supporting SMH with Passport Fun
Form 5 teacher Claire Damarodas took Form 5 students Sofia Hernandez, Wynne Jones and Talia Reinsmith to breakfast at Mama’s Café for a Passport outing. Ms. Damarodas said, “Besides having a great breakfast to start off our day at school, we also had a great time visiting with one another. What a fun way to finish off this school year and look forward to the next!” Thank you to Sofia’s family for supporting Saint Mary’s Hall through this Passport purchase.
Upper School Math Teacher and Department Chair Jim Polito Visits form 5 Math
Upper School Math Teacher and Department Chair Jim Polito walked down the hill to engage Form 5 students in fun and challenging math problem solving activities and games. He had to prove he was a legitimate math teacher by showing off his “cheesy” socks. Form 5 math teacher Rachel Boster said, “The students thoroughly enjoyed their time with him!”
Making Brain Boost Puppets!
Kindergarten Continues Beatrix Potter Tea
Each year, Lower School Kindergarten students hold a delightful tea party to celebrate the culmination of their Beatrix Potter literature unit. Rabbits abound, garden-fresh treats and tea are served, and Mr. McGregor is nowhere in sight!
Active Learning in Form 5 Science
Students in Form 5 Science have been active learners as we continued to explore concepts involving force and motion (plus energy!). Finishing out this school year, students built three different types of electric circuits (simple, parallel, and series), collected data to help us to better understand variables related to pendulums, and built rocket cars. You can’t say we are “bored learners!” There is so much to learn…..so much to do!
After graphic artist/author Nathan Hale visited students in Forms 2-5, students in Form 5 created graphic designs of whales and included facts about them.
Lower School Library News
The Book Drive for Serna was a huge success with Upper School, Middle School and Lower School students participating. Over one hundred books were collected for the Serna Elementary Summer Reading for Kids.
Parent Iza Wallisch (Ines 10) Clara (7) spearheaded the event and delivered the books to Serna Elementary. (mp4 movie n folder)
All summer reading and math assignments are located on the Lower School Library webpage. The Summer Reading 1000 Minute Challenge is also there. A paper copy of the reading challenge was sent home but, if needed, you can print a copy from the library page. Lower School Library Newsletter.
Form 5 Sharks
Bishop's Day - Always a Blast!
Bishops’ Day 2022 is in the books! It was a great time, as always. Please watch the video to see who won this year. Purple or white?
Games and Activities Build Executive Functioning Skills
In the Lower School Learning Lab this year, Forms 4 and 5 students were introduced to all ten Executive Functioning Skills and practiced them in a variety of ways with online activities and board games. The final session was spent in a big Game Day! (Form 4-5 mp4 movie in folder)
Forms 1-3 students were introduced to the first five “Brain Boost” skills and their respective mascots. Each class time brought an animal and story to present a new skill and an activity designed to support that skill. As a culminating activity, the children made popsicle stick puppets of the mascots for storytelling about the skills next year. (Forms 1-3 mp4 movie in folder)
Learning Support Specialist Amy Read said, “One wonderful way to encourage growth of these new skills is through family game playing. The program we use is “Pathway 2 Success.” The website contains ideas for games and activities that will encourage executive functioning skills for children of all ages.” Get your family nights off to a great start by checking out the Pathway 2 Success website.
Executive Function website:
https://www.thepathway2success.com/parent-support-executive-functioning/ (EF general information)
https://www.thepathway2success.com/games-to-improve-executive-functioning-skills/
BLOKUS!
Fine Arts
Fine Arts
Fine Arts Photography and Video Recordings
Professional photography from arts performances this year are available for purchase from Davis Photography. To access photos visit: https://mrd.photoreflect.com/ Password: smh
Video recordings of performing arts events are available on the Fine Arts Vimeo Showcase at: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7761688 , which is accessible on the Fine Arts page of the public website.
Digital Exhibition and Online Screening
Did you miss seeing some of the artwork from One Big Show and screenings of the Fat Bird Film Festival. Fear not, the work is now available on the updated SMH Digital Gallery at: https://www.smhfineart.com/
Arts Mentorship Program Finalists Announced
A committee of arts faculty members made selections for the Arts Mentorship Program. Juniors Madison Feik, Miley Hamilton, Alex Riebe and Ethan Walsh were selected as participants, with sophomores Sophia Junaidi and Ines Wallisch selected as alternates. Particpants interviewed with local arts organizations for the opportunity to learn about the arts by working at the arts organization this summer. Participants will work this summer at the McNay, the San Antonio Museum of Art, ArtPace and Ruiz-Healy Gallery.
Congratulations to all our finalists and alternates!
Senior Artists at the Tobin Center
On Monday, May 16, Senior Visual & Media Artists were celebrated with and Senior exhibition and reception at the Tobin Performing Arts Center. Seniors also received a special token of remembrance for their time in the program from their teachers.
Alumni Guest Artist
Thomas Feuillet ('19) visited with the Honors and Senior Studio Sculpture and Design students to discuss his educational trajectory and work in the Industrial Design (ID) program at University of Houston. Thomas discussed his own projects from ideation to realization as well as the mechanics of the ID program from applications and portfolios to classes and studio time. He also shared general college advice from his experience over the last 3 years from personal organization tricks to challenging yourself and your ideas. Upper School Sculpture & Design Teacher Nate Cassie shared this about his visit: “Thomas's talk was extremely relatable and packed with helpful ideas for any college journey as well as the shift from SMH into university-level programs.”
Lower School Dance Celebration and Production Reveal
Lower School Dancers were celebrated in a special event on May 13. Form 5 dancers received a special recognition, and Intensive Ballet Dancers received their seal of completion of the Lower School Program. In addition, next year’s exciting Lower School Dance Production was revealed: “Under the Sea.”
Piano Students Participate in Guild Auditions
Students from the piano studio of Alexandra Kuperman participate in the National Piano Guild Auditions this month. Students perform several prepared pieces (the number varies by level) and are adjudicated by a certified judge. The auditions take a tremendous amount of practice and we are very proud of Abi Sorensen '26, Annie Altmeyer '27, Gray Altmeyer '25, Cici Yang Form '23, Leonora Leykum '24, and Jay Huang '26. This year, the auditions were held online.
Upper School Speech and Debate Dinner
On Friday, May 13, the Upper School Speech and Debate team celebrated their successful season of accomplishments at Paesanos Lincoln Heights and the annual Speech and Debate Banquet. Faculty members recognized Seniors with a “Senior Send Off”.
Upper School Teacher's Work Exhibited at McNay
Nate Cassie, Upper School Drawing and Painting Teacher, has work as part of the permanent collection at the McNay Museum of Art. His piece, Olmos III from Suite of Trees, is currently on exhibition as part of Donald Moffett + Nature Cult + The McNay. For more information visit: https://www.mcnayart.org/exhibition/donald-moffett-nature-cult-the-mcnay/
Fine Arts Director Selected for City of San Antonio Arts Funding Panel
Bethany Bohall, Wanda Wiley Atkinson Director of Fine Arts, was recently selected to serve as a panelist for the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture. She will be part of the committee evaluating funding for Individual Artist Project Grants in the Performing Arts category.
Ms. Bohall also recently served as a panelist judge for the Oklahoma University Arts Incubator.
Save the Date: Legally Blonde Auditions
Students in Forms 8-12 will have the opportunity to audition for Legally Blonde, next year’s fall musical, on August 23-25. Rehearsals are held from 4:15 pm to 6:15 pm Monday through Friday, and select weekends including fall break, through October. Performances will be held October 21-23. Due to conflicting schedules, Upper School fall athletes are not eligible to audition. Sides and music selections will be posted to the Fine Arts portal later this month. For information, contact director Joe Muller at jmuller@smhall.org
Looking Ahead: Private Music Lessons
Students at Saint Mary’s Hall have the opportunity to receive the gift of music through private lessons instruction in piano, guitar, strings and voice. Registration opens August 1 at: . https://www.smhall.org/finearts/music. For more information, contact Director of Fine Arts Bethany Bohall.
2022 - 2023 Dance Schedule
The Dance Schedule for next year is now available. Click here for details. Registration opens August 1 at https://www.smhall.org/finearts/dance/dance-academy
Lower School Artists Create Original Film
SMH Lower School Art classes collaborated with The McNay Art Museum’s Spotlight Program in the creation of an original film, which will be on exhibition at the McNay for the next year.
The students were prompted to observe the “Spotlight” artwork, Sole Sitter by Willie Cole, a piece in the Sculpture Garden at the McNay. They researched the artist, visited the sculpture in-person on a field trip to the museum, and listened to a lecture from a McNay museum educator in class. Because Willie Cole’s Sole Sitter is made with a collection of high heel shoes, the students also collected shoe donations from their families, which we utilized to animate, observe, and create drawings, cyanotype prints, Polaroid photos, and “quick sculptures” of stacked heels documented with photographs. The short film Walk In Their Shoes is the resulting artwork responding to our research with Willie Cole and creative experiments with high heels. Walk In Their Shoes is a story following the students trying on other people’s shoes by drawing, animating, and creating media art about the shoes we collected. Now that their artwork is complete, Lower School Art Teacher Kellen Stanley donated these high heels to Dress for Success, the local non-profit who provide interview outfits to women in need
Drama and Theater Students Shine
Congratulations to the Upper School Advanced Theater Project and the Form 6 Drama classes for their recent showcase performances!
Athletics
Athletics
Barons Track Races to State
Fourteen Track and Field athletes advanced to the South Regional Championship, where they competed at the Hart/Patterson Stadium in Waco, TX.
Our women's team was led by Ainsley Hunter '23, who finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.32, a season best for her. In the same race, Emily Ton '25 finished 7th with a time of 18.96, a new personal record (PR). The 4 x 200-meter relay team of Remy White '22, Abby Lee '24, Madison Winston 25, and Ainsley Hunter '23 ran a PR of 1:54.73, for 6th place. In individual events, Ria Mehta '24 tied her PR in Pole Vault at 8'6" and qualified for state with 4th place; Adele Davidson '23 also had a PR in that event at 7'0", and Winston tied her PR in the 100-meter dash at 13.47.
Nico Zavala '24 captured a bronze medal with his 3rd place performance of 10'0" in the pole vault. Many members of our men's team set personal records. Alex Alvarez '22 recorded a PR in the 100 Meter hurdles, taking 8th place with a time of 19.33, and Patrick Lang had a season best time in the 400 meters at 53.85. Other competitors were Chris Chan '24 in the 800 meters who finished 6th at 2:08.55 and the 4 x 400 meter team of Lang, Chan, and George Morrill and Ian Garza who finished in 5th place in a time of 3:44.49.
With other Barons benched with injuries, Ainsley Hunter was the lone SMH representative at the state meet. Hunter posted a strong 7th place finish, and a personal best 17.18 seconds in the 100m hurdles.
Congratulations to our regional competitors and State Qualifiers!
Barons Golfers Tee Up at State
After placing 5th and 2nd at the TAPPS Regional Golf Tournament, Sophomore Austin Ottmers(5th place) and Junior Julia Garcia(2nd Place), eyed the TAPPS State Championship. Traveling north the Glenn Rose, Texas, the two were prepared on the best field in the state at the Squaw Valley Course.
While the final outcome is not what they hoped for, the duo represented Saint Mary’s Hall well. Julia finished top five in the state, with Austin finishing top 30.
Please take some time to congratulate these competitors.
Baron Senior Golfers
Senior Golfers Honored
The Athletics Department would like to recognize our Varsity Golf seniors for all of their hard work and dedication to growing the Golf program at Saint Mary's Hall. Take a look and see what the seniors have in their futures plans, along with some of their favorite memories.
Jack Archer
- Jack has attended SMH for six years and has played golf for five years.
- Jack plans to attend TCU and major in Business
- Jack’ favorite golf memory is the chipping and putting competitions at practice
Andrew Fisher
- Andrew has attended SMH for seven years and has played golf for one year
- Andrew Plans on attending Texas A&M to major in agricultural business
- Andrew also participated in Football
- Andrew’s favorite memory from golf is eating Whataburger with the team before tournaments
King Kleberg
- King has attended SMH for 7 and a half years while playing golf for two years.
- King plans on attending Texas A&M University to major in agricultural business
- King’s favorite golf memory was getting his first birdie in a tournament.
Lauren Strauch
- Lauren has attended SMH for 15 years, a lifer, and has golfed for 7 years.
- Lauren was awarded Academic All-state as a member of the 2021 State Champion Team
- Lauren Plans to attend Duke University to study biomedical engineering
- Lauren also participated in Musical Theater, Research Science Scholars Program UT Health Internship, community service, was the SMH Science Bowl team captain and was the Science National Honor Society President.
- Lauren’s says this regarding her favorite memories. “Apart from having a blast at state freshmen and junior year, my most memorable times in golf were spent at the awful tournaments like Wolfdancer last year and Plum Creek this year. The freezing cold, wind, and rain were torture to play through at the time, but now I look back on those memories and laugh. In particular, it was hilarious to observe Jack’s lack of warm clothing at those tournaments and witness his dance moves while we waited in the rain before Sonterra. My favorite memory from practice was the team meeting that followed the Golf Club of Texas Tournament sophomore year. The list of quotes shared at the meeting by Coach Myers and the punishment work-out we had in two days later made this time particularly special. Also significant was the fact that Brandon skipped the exercise day and then won a lag putting contest during the next practice. As a reward, Coach Myers let him count push-ups for the rest of the team, and he shouted each number with such pride, oblivious to our pain from the day he had missed.”