DOWNTOWN PORTLAND: AN EXTENSION OF ST. MARY’S ACADEMY’S CAMPUS
St. Mary’s unique location in downtown Portland allows our 625 young women to experience life in a metropolitan city and to connect with their larger world. Says a St. Mary’s student, “Being downtown is one of the amazing benefits of attending St. Mary’s, because it provides us with many educational and recreational opportunities – not to mention great lunch options!” The central location also allows the school to draw a diverse group of young women from over 30 communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
In the past few months, our students have not only visited the local barista and shopped at Pioneer Place, but they also took advantage of a wealth of educational resources. Art classes had assignments to visit the Portland Art Museum and local galleries during First Thursday events. Graphic Design students walked the Park Blocks capturing the beautiful autumn colors with their digital cameras. Four art classes visited Oregon Ballet Theatre at the Keller Auditorium in October for a “Photo/Art Encounter” to draw and photograph the company during rehearsal.
“With Portland State’s library within walking distance, our history and English students learn to use a college library, preparing them for future classes,” says St. Mary’s Librarian Cindy Daniels. “The nearby Multnomah County Library and its School Corps Department have acted as an extended hand to our students….[and] they have proven to be a great resource – expanding the amount of books and electronic resources to which students have access.”
Students in some of St. Mary’s government classes have visited Federal Court Judge Anna J. Brown and her courtroom to learn the intricacies of our legal system. Judge Brown and a host of other Portland area alumnae have faithfully mentored our students and provided excellent role models for career choices beyond high school.
Physical Education classes use St. Mary’s urban location as an advantage to vary their workout routines. They complete 60-70 minute power walks up the OHSU Hospital Hill, quickly weave through the downtown bridges and along the Esplanade, bowl at PSU, and play flag football, soccer, and softball at Duniway Park. Health classes have visited Portland State University and attended the Great American Smoke Out Day conference where they learned the ills of smoking and how young women are being targeted by cigarette companies’ advertising campaigns.
English and Science students have benefited, as well. Seniors had their own private showing of Beowulf opening week which culminated their study of the novel. Students in the Science Research Methods class visited two labs at OHSU, two at PSU, one at University of Portland, and viewed the facilities at the Primate Center.
Service is an important part of what it means to be a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy and this important call is made easier by our downtown location where the economically and emotionally poor and disadvantaged are so accessible. “I take the bus home from school and it has really made me appreciate the diversity in the Portland area,” says a St. Mary’s student.
Students have given their time to our underserved neighbors at the Downtown Chapel, Blanchet House, MacDonald Center, and in our Friends Across Generations program, where students regularly visit a senior citizen in the downtown community. The day of required service, Hands Full of Heart, almost exclusively uses walking and the TriMet system to get to its locations. “As a parent, it made me chuckle when I signed a field trip permission slip that said ‘transportation mode: by foot’,” says former parent Sharon Ivey.
Education at St. Mary’s may begin in the classroom, but it soon extends to our vibrant downtown playground.
