St. Mary's High School (Calgary)


St. Mary's High School is a secondary school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is operated by the Calgary Catholic School District. 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.

History

St. Mary's is the oldest school in Calgary that is still in operation. 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.
1820A group of Catholic Sisters, Faithful Companions of Jesus, was founded in Amiens, France. Its mission included the founding of institutes of education for children.
1884Calgary was incorporated as a town in what was then the Northwest Territories
1885
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 and was granted authority to raise funds through property taxes. However, particularly in the early days of the system, the Church and voluntary contributions, 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.
1893The Sacred Heart Convent building was completed, and St. Mary's School was moved out of the log cabin, and into the new convent.
1894Calgary becomes the first city in the North West Territories, but hasn't yet expanded to include St. Mary's.
1905Alberta becomes a province, separating from the North West Territories. The province continued the practice of public support for Catholic education, that predated it.
1907Rouleauville was annexed by Calgary. The area becomes known as the Mission District of Calgary. St. Mary's Street became 19 Avenue SW, as various street names were eliminated to conform to Calgary naming/number system for roads.

1909-1956

With the construction of a new building, St. Mary's serves as the hub of the district for decades. Throughout much of this time, the number of young families in the area continues to grow.
facade of the 1909 St. Mary's building was re-used in this school, opened 2005.
1909A new St. Mary's School building was built at 1912 - 2nd Street S.W. This was the first building dedicated exclusively to the school. This is the most famous of the buildings used by the school throughout its history. It was built of red brick and sandstone.
1910The new building opens to students, which becomes the sole building used for classes. The school employs nine teachers who teach grades one through twelve. This is the only building used for Catholic schooling in Calgary.
1911The province of Alberta, renamed The Lacombe Separate School District #1 to be the Calgary Roman Catholic School District #1.
1918Senior boys' classes are moved to the newly created St. Mary's College for Boys nearby. Younger boys remained at the existing 1909 building. However, since most remaining students were female, the 1909 building became known as St. Mary's Girls School from this point on.
1918–1919The global outbreak of the Spanish flu forced the temporary closure of this and many other schools.
1924The head offices of the school district were located St. Mary's Girls School
1952While continuing to be significant, St. Mary's progressively becomes less and less central to the Catholic system in Calgary. A sign of this is when the head offices of the school district are moved out of the school to a more central location.

1957 - present

In modern times St. Mary's no longer plays a central role in the district. The number of young families in the area declines and school progressively relies more on students coming from across the city.
1957–1958St. Mary’s Boys' School was built on 111 - 18 Avenue S.W, which takes all St. Mary's male students, leaving the 1909 building exclusively female in all grades for the first time.
1959With the construction of new elementary and junior high schools in Calgary, St. Mary's is changed to only provides instruction in grades 9-12.
1969
St. Mary’s Boys’ School was expanded, to allow it to become coeducational. Classes were moved from St. Mary's Girls' School to St. Mary’s Boys’ School; making a single coeducational facility. St. Mary’s Boys’ School was renamed St. Mary’s High School School and remained the permanent home of the school at 111 - 18 Avenue S.W..
1970The 1909 building permanently ceases use as a senior high school. It is converted into a junior high, which was named St. Martin de Porres.
1979The building built in 1909 ceased functioning as a school altogether, and was turned into a Catholic Pastoral Centre and Daycare. St. Martin de Porres Junior High School was relocated to
1995The building built in 1909 was shut down completely, and left permanently unused.
2002The old 1909 building is demolished after great controversy and efforts to save it.
2005
A new school called Our Lady of Lourdes is opened on the grounds of the old 1909 building, The new building used much of the facade the old 1909 building, including the engraving of "St. Mary's School" on the entrance. However, the new school has an entirely new interior. Also, it is operated as a distinct school apart from St. Mary's High School nearby.
2013
The school suffered extensive damage from the 2013 Calgary Floods. The impact of the flood was localized in the basement of the school with many classrooms and labs left in ruin.

St. Mary's High School at the 111 - 18 Avenue S.W. location remains an active senior high school, teaching grades ten to twelve. Generally, students from all the "St Mary's" school buildings, are considered alumni of the school, which is seen as a single historical institution, which happened to have multiple buildings over time.

Special programs

Extracurricular sports: