The parents, teachers, students, and overall culture of St. Mary's are the reasons why we are so successful. Our parents care, our teachers are experts with commitment, and our students are interested in succeeding. This is in large part because they see the Christian, hardworking academic lives of the older students, and they aspire for the same. In addition, we have a student culture of generosity, hard work, personal responsibility, respect for others, and kindness.
St. Mary’s is a hometown school where students have achieved big things: City Art Contest winners, National Reading Contest winners, top sports teams in the Archdiocese, and successful graduates who have gone on to succeed in very diverse career fields.
Did You Know?
St. Mary's School . . .
- Assists our students to learn self-discipline and healthy study habits amidst a challenging curriculum.
- Provides a strong partnership with our parents regarding the faith formation of their children.
- Has a very active, respected, and successful Home & School Association (PTA).
- Provides for daily exposure to the Catholic faith, which is so important for developing a strong religious foundation.
- Uses technology effectively to enhance the education of our students.
- Has developed a "Buddy System" over the years, which matches up students from different grade levels - the students attend Mass together as well as complete special activities and projects.
- Instills in our students the value of service to others.
- Promotes reverence for the dignity of every person, which comes from recognizing Jesus Christ in themselves as well as others.
Academic Success
How does a small school with limited resources have so many students with such a high level of success? The secret is our drive for academic diversity and individualized learning. We subscribe to the teaching and learning theory that focuses on challenging different parts of the human brain in order to increase total learning power. That is why art, reading, spirituality, mathematics, music, technology, religion, drama, sports, reading out loud, and foreign languages are a part of the curriculum from Pre-K to 8th grade. This cross-brain stimulation results in children with incredible learning skills. In addition, from the earliest grades, St. Mary’s children are taught to work independently. For example, after direct instruction, in small groups or collaborative teams our Kindergartners are responsible for working on their mathematics and language skills at academic “stations” for development each day. They do their work in the order they desire. This gives them control and develops their own drive and natural curiosity to learn new things. This continues and expands in the older grades. Test scores of our students are routinely in the top 25% when compared to those of students across the nation.
Our complex curriculum is integrated and accredited by the State of Nebraska. In addition, we have outstanding electives, sports, and extracurricular activities for our students that are important to our holistic approach to student development. These include: band (taught through Music in Catholic Schools), Budding Botanists Club, Strategy Game Club, volleyball, basketball, Wits Clash, Book Bowl, Quiz Bowl, Spelling and Geography Bees, art education and contests, STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics), and drama. Middle school students also get leadership experience through participating in Student Council.
Student support doesn't stop at the end of the school day, though. All students, Pre-K through 8th, may attend our Extended Day program. We also offer an after school homework room for 6th-8th grades. This room provides a quiet space for students to work on any homework they may have in an environment that allows them to concentrate and with a teacher present to help with any questions they may have.
