Snow and Smiles

Hi everyone!
Happy Friday! As of now, everyone in St. Mary's is officially on Christmas Break, albeit a couple days early because of the weather. This snow has been so crazy - getting home Wednesday night took ten times longer than it normally would. However, although the snow made the ride home a little crazier than normal, it led to a superbly fun day yesterday in the snow with my siblings. We went sledding on the big hill behind my house, and my dog even went down the hill with me once!

Besides the talk of snow around school, our annual Christmas families has been big in conversations. Every year, each TA (kind of like a homeroom) is given a family to bring in gifts and food for. For example, the parents would provide a list and we would donate dolls, laundry soap, or clothes for the parents. It's a really powerful experience to be able to help a family celebrate Christmas, and this year has been especially emotional because it would be the last time our TA went through the process together. This year we had an spectacular assortment of gifts, and I can't wait until we can deliver all of the presents to the family. This time of year always fosters a wonderful sense of giving and gratitude which creates the loveliest atmosphere around school.

Along with our Christmas families, gifts for friends was another huge thing on my calendar. This year, I gifted my friends with a wooden letter from the first letter of their name. I decorated each one uniquely to my friends - for my friend McKenna I painted Weiner Dogs on it, because she loves them so much! Not only finding the perfect gifts for your fiends is rewarding, but also seeing what they have decided to gift you that year. It's always so much fun!!

Alright everyone, I'm going to leave it off here because I gotta go warm up my fingers with a hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. Yum!

See you next time!

Bryn 17'

Thankfulness and Stoicism

Hi everyone!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was filled with family, failed puns, and fantastic food. I've been using this break as a time to catch up on all the reading I'd been missing out on during the school year, as well as to hang out with my family. My brother had his birthday on Wednesday, and it was really fun laughing at his now thirteen-year-old level jokes. Before that, however, I was having quite a fun week of school!

Last week CMS was busy preparing for the Thanksgiving Service we did on Tuesday, where girls offered prayers in a huge variety of languages. It's an amazing experience that overall leaves the school feeling more unified than ever before. In order to prepare for this awesome service, CMS took their time to distribute little paper leaves to classes for students to write what they are thankful for. Then, we collected them again and pasted them onto trees that adorned the service and then lived in the hallway after school. Here they are!

 

Another thing that I've been up to this past week was the Latin Forum at Reed that happened this weekend. It's a super cool place where Latin students from as far as Seattle come to Reed and participate in panels with experts on a wide array of subjects. This year, I was able to go to a talk about Stoicism, which was very interesting! It prompted a lot of discussions about happy mediums in one's belief systems. It was a happy but bittersweet experience because it would be my last chance to go with my fellow Latin Four students from SMA. Definitely a fun day filled with bonding over what defines a Roman citizen!

Now that break is moving towards its end, I look forward to the wide stretch before Christmas Break!

See you next time,
Bryn '17

Coconut Oil

Hi everyone!

I hope that  you are all having a wonderful week so far. St. Mary's has been pretty busy lately! Conferences have been happening these past two days, where students' parents can come and meet the awesome teachers that lead their classes. For me, personally, something that has been on my radar is the Sock and Soap Drive that the National Honors Society helps run. I recently teamed up with another NHS officer to help organize the last tail end of the drive, where we drive to donate everything we collected. From socks and blankets to soap and razors, we had plenty to donate to St. Andre Bessette, Clay Street Table, and Right 2 Dream Too. It was amazing to see the school come together to support these wonderful organizations!

Another thing that has been really cool for me recently are the tons of SRM field trips my class has been going on. SRM stands for Scientific Research Methods, and it's where we learn about all kinds of different research methods, as well as the paths different scientists have taken to get where they are now in their career. A recent one that I found very interesting was our trip to OHSU's Bionutrition Unit, where we learned the steps behind the different ways to approach research about a population's health. Fun fact: it's a fallacy that coconut oil is better for you than butter. In fact, coconut oil is 90% saturated fat, while butter is only 64%! We talked a lot about how misguided facts about coconut oil come about, and why people can say things that aren't necessarily true.

As I move forward and decide what I want to study in college, it's so valuable to exposed to so many different areas of research!

Here's a quote (one of my personal favorites):

"Fairytales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
- G. K. Chesterton

See you next time!
- Bryn '17

Founder's Day Fun

Hi everyone!


Although not a lot of time has passed since my last post, a whole bunch of stuff has happened! The biggest thing that comes to mind was Founder's Day and the mass that happens. Founder's Day happens every year, and is an event where we honor the twelve sisters that founded St. Mary's as well as alumnae. Starting from the class that graduated fifty years ago, women came who graduated in 1966, 1956, 1946, and even 1936! I was volunteering for the event with Ambassadors, and had the job of checking coats and pinning the flowers onto their blouses and jackets. It may not seem like a huge job, but it was so rewarding to be able to meet all the women as they walked into the library and reunited with people from their class that were also attending. They were all so unbelievably happy to be back at the school that impacted their lives, and it was amazing to hear their stories of their own experiences here. Moving into the mass, we celebrated the alumnae by clapping as they entered the auditorium and as they exited. They were all so grateful, and it was very powerful to have such wonderful ladies come back to our school. It was definitely an experience I'll never forget.


Something I learned from these alumnae was to pay attention to the little moments and to hold them close to my heart. Time flies.


And, finally, here is my inspirational quote for the post:
"If Plan A fails, remember you have 25 letters left."


See you next time,
Bryn '17

Full Swing

Happy Friday everyone!

We are officially into the full swing of things here at SMA, with Open House, Frosh Immersion, the SAT, and college applications becoming a reality. Everyone's schedules are finalized and people are settling into their classes, as the school takes a collective sigh moving forward. Something important happening recently has been the Open House for Ambassadors, where I had been working with other girls equally passionate about SMA and everything we have to offer. Thankfully, the Open House went off without a hitch, and all the girls had a great time showing everyone around!
Moving from Open House, Frosh Immersion has been a big thing on everyone's minds. Frosh Immersion is an awesome experience that you can be a part of your Freshmen year here at St. Mary's where you work in groups with other girls, leaders, and teachers to walk around downtown Portland to connect to the homeless community around us. It is an immensely rewarding experience, visiting amazing organizations that do great work. Right now, a lot of my friends are training to help lead the Freshmen around downtown, and it is so inspiring to see them working to try and make the younger students' experience as great as their own.
The biggest thing for me, however, has been retaking the SAT and really getting into the college application swing. Although the idea of taking the SAT used to really scare me, I realized after taking it for the first time that it really isn't as bad as it seems. Definitely nothing to stress over too much - colleges look at way more than just your test scores! It's been reaffirming to go through this process with girls who support each other as we paddle through the ocean that is college application season.

Therefore, as we move forward through the beginning of the school year, I would like to impart my slightly, maybe, valid advice:

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
- Herm Albright

See you next time,
Bryn '17

Bring it on!

Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog following my life through my final year here at St. Mary's! Documenting my navigation through a sea of homework, extracurricular activities, and college applications, this will definitely be an interesting voyage, so hold on tight.

Walking into the school for the first time this year was a surreal experience. To be taking a left in Front Hall towards the famed Senior Hall seemed like a dream - one I was okay with not waking up from for a while. I greeted Ms. Thompson, and tried to find my locker that I was sharing with two of my best friends: Christina and McKenna. We had decided that this year would be the best for locker decorations, and we came prepared with the customary locker white board for daily inspirational quotes, magnets for group pictures, and hanging pockets for miscellaneous office supplies (in case of emergency).

After a reunion filled with hugging and "I haven't seen you in forever"'s, we split up to head to TA. TA is basically like Homeroom, where you are put in a group of about twenty or so girls and teacher that you stay with for all four years at SMA. It's an awesome way to meet other people, and keep amazing friendships! After receiving our schedules, there was a frantic period of comparing schedules with other schedules to see if anyone had any matches. It was so cool to see all the awesome classes that my friends were taking, include Music Theory & Composition, AP Biology, and Media Communications. Moving swiftly from TA, I transitioned into my first real school day of senior year at SMA. It was definitely hectic, but I am for sure looking forward to this year. After finding most of my classes throughout the school, my friends and I were able to embark on our first lunchtime adventure. We headed over to PSU Square, where we bought food at Rice Junkies, Starbucks, and Pizzicato (single purchases). It was a beautiful day outside, and we spent the sunny forty minutes catching up on each other's summers.

Finishing the school day off, I weaved throughout the girls in soccer and volleyball uniforms heading off to their respective practices as I went to the library to hang out and do what little homework I had with my other best friend Kaitee. We debriefed about Latin (our shared favorite class) and decided to be the best study partners ever.

The first week of  school was concluded with the Welcoming Assembly, probably one of the most exciting experiences as an upcoming senior. Everyone gathered in the Auditorium for a pep-filled assembly where all four classes were welcomed with love. This year's was probably the best that I've ever experienced, with the theme being the SMAlympics and balloons being dropped from the catwalks above the seats. Definitely memorable! Every was donning in their class colors, and it was so fun to shout and support our school together.

All I can say as I look forward to this upcoming school year is: Bring it on!

See you next time,
Bryn '17