St. Mary High School (Lake Leelanau, Michigan)
Encyclopedia
St. Mary School is a co-educational private
, Roman Catholic high school
in Lake Leelanau, Michigan
. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord
.
nuns to staff his new wooden school, that was painted white.
1888 – The Benedictine
Sisters were replaced by three Dominican
Sisters from Grand Rapids, Michigan. After the Catholic pupils transferred to St. Mary School from the public school, there was only one pupil remaining at the public school. An arrangement was quickly worked out to allow non-Catholics to attend St. Mary School too.
The Dominican sisters advertised their school as a day and boarding school
, attracting students from miles away. The entire twelve grades were gradually added to the program and as time went on students from the surrounding areas of Leland, Suttons Bay, Gills Pier, and Glen Arbor attended this, the nearest high school.
1907 to 1921 – St. Mary’s did not have a graduating class. Apparently, the sisters did not have the credentials to teach advanced subjects. Also, they were not able to offer all the classes that the students needed to graduate from an approved high school. Students who wished to attend college transferred to St. Francis in Traverse City to complete their high school education.
1908 – An east wing was added to the wood school including two classrooms, a larger chapel, and a separate living space for the sisters whose previous living space had been classrooms by day.
1924 – The village of "Provemont" changed its name to "Lake Leelanau."
1925 - A stone convent was built on the site of the old church to give the sisters a private residence and supply more classroom space. (The current rectory and Parish offices.)
1925 – While the grounds were being cleaned up after the convent building project, the school grounds were improved with the addition of a baseball diamond and playground east of the school.
1938 - A "fire-proof" school building was built and dedicated - that structure is now known as the "academic wing."
1948 – St. Mary School became strictly a parochial school (i.e. supported by a parish), when the US Government stopped supporting all schools. The St. Mary Parish choose to become a private school
. Meaning students' families would now cover the costs of their childrens education.
1970 - Through the Dominican community’s decision, the sisters withdrew from the high school which continued with an all lay
staff.
1970s – Improvements included lowered ceilings, fluorescent lighting, gas-fired boilers to replace the heating plant, smaller insulated windows to replace the old, larger, drafty windows. This helped during the time of the nation-wide energy crisis
.
1982-1986 Sr. Lynn Tilson came to St. Mary to teach science and religion, and to coach girls’ basketball and girls’ softball. Since her departure, the school has had an all lay staff.
1993- The rectory
was sold and moved to another location in Lake Leelanau, providing off street parking for those attending services at St. Mary Church.
1993- A generous
donation from the Olson Family Foundation provided up to date computers used in computer class, journalism
, and by other students for writing papers.
2003 – Ground was broken on a $1.5 million building campaign. Additions to the existing 1938 school building included a gymnasium, kitchen/cafeteria, administrative offices, and large lobby area complete with trophy cases.
2004 – Completion of an up-to-date computer lab
.
2005 - A state-of-the-art science lab replaces the 1938 science lab.
2007 – Library remodeled and refurbished.
2009 – Chapel
refurbished.
The school system includes grades preschool through grade 12. The students have a dress code, consisting of blue and white clothing for all grade levels. The 2006-07 academic year student body included 250 students.
In addition to the school itself, the property includes a former convent
now used as offices, St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, a field stone gymnasium
built in 1923 with stones brought by local farmers, a modern gymnasium opened in 2005. A soft ball diamond, (boys baseball is played across the lakes' narrows off of S. Lake Leelanau Drive.) As well as barbecue pits used in the annual St. Mary Homecoming
and Chicken dinner fundraiser, held in the summer.
The schools' weekly bulletins' current name was chosen in a contest won with the suggestion of "The Scoop" by former student Spencer Korson (Class of 1991) in 1991. The schools' monthly bulletin is called "Eagles Wings."
Athletic Committee,
Building & Site Committee,
Curriculum
Committee,
Enrollment/Public Relations
Committee,
Finance Council
-Funding Committees:
Endowment Committee,
Guardian Angel Society Committee,
Grant Writing
Committee
-Fund raising Committees:
Golf-a-thon,
Golf Classic,
Key Campaign Car Raffle,
School Auction
,
St. Mary Parish Festival & Chicken Dinner,
Sweetheart Dinner
-Miscellaneous Committees:
Library Committee,
Meals to Families Committee,
National Catholic Schools Week Committee,
Spiritual Emphasis Committee,
Performance PlusTalent Show
Committee,
Teacher Appreciation Week Committee
English 4 years
Social Studies 4 years
Mathematics
3 years (unless attending the CTC program)
Science 3 years (unless attending the CTC program)
Health/Physical Education 1 year
Foreign Language
1 year
Computers 1 year
Fine Arts 1 year
Electives 3+ years to total 25 credits
BOYS
Cross Country
(7-12)
Football (7-12) co-op with Suttons Bay
Soccer (7-12) co-op with Leland
GIRLS
Cross Country (7-12)
Soccer (7-8 co-ed) co-op with Leland
Volleyball
(7-12) co-op with Northport
Winter Sports
BOYS
Basketball (4-12)
Alpine Skiing
(9-12) co-op with Glen Lake
GIRLS
Basketball
(4-12)
Alpine Skiing (9-12) co-op with Glen Lake
Spring Sports
BOYS
Baseball (9-12) Northport co-ops with St. Mary
Golf
(9-12) Leland co-ops with St. Mary
Track & Field (7-12) co-op with Suttons Bay
GIRLS
Soccer (7-12) co-op with Suttons Bay
Softball (8-12)
Track & Field (7-12) co-op with Suttons Bay
St. Mary 4-H club “Two by Two”
Choir
Drama Club
Little Flowers
National Honor Society
Odyssey of the Mind
Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts/Brownies
Spelling Bee
Student Government
Youth Advisory Council
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, Roman Catholic high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Lake Leelanau, Michigan
Lake Leelanau, Michigan
Lake Leelanau is an unincorporated community in Bingham Township, Leelanau County, Michigan, near the lake of the same name. It is situated along M-204 at the "narrows" that separate North & South Lake Leelanau.-History:...
. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Northern Michigan region of the United States. It comprises the twenty-one most northern counties of the lower peninsula of the state, and includes the cities of Traverse City,...
.
School history
1887 – Mother Benedicta from Chicago Illinois, a cousin of the Schaub’s, sent Fr. Bauer three of her most able BenedictineBenedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
nuns to staff his new wooden school, that was painted white.
1888 – The Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Sisters were replaced by three Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
Sisters from Grand Rapids, Michigan. After the Catholic pupils transferred to St. Mary School from the public school, there was only one pupil remaining at the public school. An arrangement was quickly worked out to allow non-Catholics to attend St. Mary School too.
The Dominican sisters advertised their school as a day and boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, attracting students from miles away. The entire twelve grades were gradually added to the program and as time went on students from the surrounding areas of Leland, Suttons Bay, Gills Pier, and Glen Arbor attended this, the nearest high school.
1907 to 1921 – St. Mary’s did not have a graduating class. Apparently, the sisters did not have the credentials to teach advanced subjects. Also, they were not able to offer all the classes that the students needed to graduate from an approved high school. Students who wished to attend college transferred to St. Francis in Traverse City to complete their high school education.
1908 – An east wing was added to the wood school including two classrooms, a larger chapel, and a separate living space for the sisters whose previous living space had been classrooms by day.
1924 – The village of "Provemont" changed its name to "Lake Leelanau."
1925 - A stone convent was built on the site of the old church to give the sisters a private residence and supply more classroom space. (The current rectory and Parish offices.)
1925 – While the grounds were being cleaned up after the convent building project, the school grounds were improved with the addition of a baseball diamond and playground east of the school.
1938 - A "fire-proof" school building was built and dedicated - that structure is now known as the "academic wing."
1948 – St. Mary School became strictly a parochial school (i.e. supported by a parish), when the US Government stopped supporting all schools. The St. Mary Parish choose to become a private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
. Meaning students' families would now cover the costs of their childrens education.
1970 - Through the Dominican community’s decision, the sisters withdrew from the high school which continued with an all lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
staff.
1970s – Improvements included lowered ceilings, fluorescent lighting, gas-fired boilers to replace the heating plant, smaller insulated windows to replace the old, larger, drafty windows. This helped during the time of the nation-wide energy crisis
Energy crisis
An energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles...
.
1982-1986 Sr. Lynn Tilson came to St. Mary to teach science and religion, and to coach girls’ basketball and girls’ softball. Since her departure, the school has had an all lay staff.
1993- The rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
was sold and moved to another location in Lake Leelanau, providing off street parking for those attending services at St. Mary Church.
1993- A generous
Generosity
Generosity is the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets or talents to aid someone in need...
donation from the Olson Family Foundation provided up to date computers used in computer class, journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, and by other students for writing papers.
2003 – Ground was broken on a $1.5 million building campaign. Additions to the existing 1938 school building included a gymnasium, kitchen/cafeteria, administrative offices, and large lobby area complete with trophy cases.
2004 – Completion of an up-to-date computer lab
Computer lab
A computer lab, also known as a computer suite or computer cluster is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use...
.
2005 - A state-of-the-art science lab replaces the 1938 science lab.
2007 – Library remodeled and refurbished.
2009 – Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
refurbished.
School today
The entire student body attends Holy Mass in the morning on Wednesday during in the academic school year.The school system includes grades preschool through grade 12. The students have a dress code, consisting of blue and white clothing for all grade levels. The 2006-07 academic year student body included 250 students.
In addition to the school itself, the property includes a former convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
now used as offices, St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, a field stone gymnasium
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
built in 1923 with stones brought by local farmers, a modern gymnasium opened in 2005. A soft ball diamond, (boys baseball is played across the lakes' narrows off of S. Lake Leelanau Drive.) As well as barbecue pits used in the annual St. Mary Homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...
and Chicken dinner fundraiser, held in the summer.
The schools' weekly bulletins' current name was chosen in a contest won with the suggestion of "The Scoop" by former student Spencer Korson (Class of 1991) in 1991. The schools' monthly bulletin is called "Eagles Wings."
- A former student of note is Fred Petrosky, a graduate of the school in the 1970s. He was a vice president of National Geographic MagazineNational Geographic MagazineNational Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
for part of the 1990s. His Uncle is local artist Mr. Fred Petroskey, and his aunt Mrs. Mary Petroskey was a teacher at St.Mary for over 30 years.She finished her teaching career in grade 6.
- A writer in residence was Kathleen Stocking, an author of several books on the area including Letters from the Leelanau. She taught writing at the school from 1994-96.
- During the 1994-95 school year, Will Case-Daniels, a Suttons BaySuttons Bay, MichiganSuttons Bay is a village in Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 589 at the 2000 census. The village was incorporated in 1898 and is located within Suttons Bay Township....
artist, taught art at St. Mary to all grade levels of students.
St. Mary School committees
School Advisory Council (SAC),Athletic Committee,
Building & Site Committee,
Curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
Committee,
Enrollment/Public Relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
Committee,
Finance Council
-Funding Committees:
Endowment Committee,
Guardian Angel Society Committee,
Grant Writing
Grant writing
Grant writing refers to the practice of completing an application processes for funding provided by an institution such as a government department, corporation, foundation or trust. Such application processes are often referred to as either grant "proposals" or "submissions". Successful grant...
Committee
-Fund raising Committees:
Golf-a-thon,
Golf Classic,
Key Campaign Car Raffle,
School Auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
,
St. Mary Parish Festival & Chicken Dinner,
Sweetheart Dinner
-Miscellaneous Committees:
Library Committee,
Meals to Families Committee,
National Catholic Schools Week Committee,
Spiritual Emphasis Committee,
Performance PlusTalent Show
Talent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
Committee,
Teacher Appreciation Week Committee
Saint Mary School graduation requirements
Religion 4 yearsEnglish 4 years
Social Studies 4 years
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
3 years (unless attending the CTC program)
Science 3 years (unless attending the CTC program)
Health/Physical Education 1 year
Foreign Language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
1 year
Computers 1 year
Fine Arts 1 year
Electives 3+ years to total 25 credits
Saint Mary School athletics
Fall SportsBOYS
Cross Country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
(7-12)
Football (7-12) co-op with Suttons Bay
Soccer (7-12) co-op with Leland
GIRLS
Cross Country (7-12)
Soccer (7-8 co-ed) co-op with Leland
Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
(7-12) co-op with Northport
Winter Sports
BOYS
Basketball (4-12)
Alpine Skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
(9-12) co-op with Glen Lake
GIRLS
Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(4-12)
Alpine Skiing (9-12) co-op with Glen Lake
Spring Sports
BOYS
Baseball (9-12) Northport co-ops with St. Mary
Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
(9-12) Leland co-ops with St. Mary
Track & Field (7-12) co-op with Suttons Bay
GIRLS
Soccer (7-12) co-op with Suttons Bay
Softball (8-12)
Track & Field (7-12) co-op with Suttons Bay
Extracurriculars
Business Professionals of AmericaBusiness Professionals of America
Business Professionals of America is a career and technical student organization that is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. BPA aims to develop leadership, academic, and technological skills in the workplace among students and leaders within the community...
St. Mary 4-H club “Two by Two”
Choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
Drama Club
Little Flowers
National Honor Society
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind, often called OM , is a creative problem-solving competition involving students from kindergarten through college. Team members work together at length to solve a predefined problem ; and present their solution to the problem at a competition...
Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts/Brownies
Spelling Bee
Spelling bee
A spelling bee is a competition where contestants, usually children, are asked to spell English words. The concept is thought to have originated in the United States....
Student Government
Youth Advisory Council