St. Mary's High School | |
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![]() St. Mary's High School in 2005
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Address | |
111 - 18 Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta, T2S 0B8 Canada |
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Coordinates | 51°02′12″N 114°03′50″W / 51.03662°N 114.06395°WCoordinates: 51°02′12″N 114°03′50″W / 51.03662°N 114.06395°W |
Information | |
Motto | Bonitatem et Disciplinam et Scientam Doce Me (Teach Me Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
Founded | 1885 |
School board | Calgary Catholic School District |
Area trustee | Lois Burke-Gaffney |
School number | 024 |
Principal | Frank Durante |
Principal | (Vice Principals)
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Grades | 10-12 |
Language | English, French |
Colour(s) | Green and White |
Mascot | Halo |
Team name | Saints |
Website | www |
St. Mary's High School is a Canadian secondary school in Calgary, Alberta, operated by the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD). The school is well known in Calgary for its historical significance. It attracts significant numbers of students from throughout the city, even those closer to other Catholic high schools, who wish to take advantage of programs not offered in their local high school. Also, for some, it is a tradition to attend the same school as their parents and grandparents.
St. Mary's is the oldest school in Calgary that is still in operation (the school, not the current building, which is relatively new). It was the first Catholic school, in what's now Alberta, to receive full public financial support. The history of St. Mary's School is a major part of the history of publicly funded Catholic education in the Calgary area.
District founding: The Lacombe Separate School District #1 was created by the government of the Northwest Territories to provide education up to grade 12 for the Catholic population in Calgary and the surrounding area. This was the start of public funding for Catholic education in the region. The district received funding from the territorial government (later the provincial government) and was granted authority to raise funds through property taxes. However, particularly in the early days of the system, the Church and voluntary contributions (of money and land), played a key role in providing education in the area.
School founding: The first St. Mary's School was opened by the Faithful Companions of Jesus, led by Mother Mary Greene. Initially, the school used shared facilities in the existing two-storey log cabin convent of the Sisters. It was located on land granted by the well known missionary Father Albert Lacombe, who lent his newly built mission and surrounding area on St. Mary Street in the francophone village of Rouleauville. That location later became known as 19 Avenue S.W., Calgary. The town of Calgary was where the largest number of students came from.
The elected trustees of the district were ultimately responsible for and in charge of St. Mary's School, which served as the heart of the district throughout its early history. Initially St. Mary's School taught grades one through twelve to children in Rouleauville, Calgary, and other nearby communities.