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PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT
Senior Kernissa Robinson ’23 earns College Board National Recognition
Congratulations to our own senior boarder Kernissa "Nissa" Robinson ’23 of the Commonwealth of Dominica� Nissa is one of 62,000 students from across the country to earn academic honors from the College Board’s National Recognition Programs! She earned this recognition for excelling in her classes and on College Board assessments� More than 180,000 students were eligible to apply for the College Board National Recognition Programs, which grant students academic honors that can be included on college and scholarship applications� Students eligible for this honor have a GPA of 3�5 or higher and have excelled on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 or earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams�
Saint Mary’s students win Top Rating at 2022 Young Artist Piano competition
Congratulations to Morgan Kerr ’24, Caroline (Yue) Yu ’25 and Amy (Yi) Lu ’24 (pictured left to right), who received the top honors evaluation of “Superior” with high numerical ratings in the 2022 Young Artist Auditions piano competition, held in-person this year, with over 600 students and 76 teachers participating from across the Triangle Area�
Adjudicators were from colleges, universities, and professional studios from around the state�
Saint Mary’s Garden Club donates harvest to Plant-a-Row for the Hungry
Saint Mary's Garden Club planted, harvested, and donated 20 pounds of Romaine lettuce and bok choy to Logan’s Garden Shop's Plant-a-Row for the Hungry program this spring� This was the largest donation from one organization that Logan’s received so far this year and will be enough for 35-40 families�
Plant A Row for the Hungry (PAR) is a national program that focuses on reducing hunger by encouraging community and individual gardeners to plant an extra row in their gardens� The produce from those extra rows/containers/beds are donated to local food collection systems (food banks, shelters, families in need)� Logan’s introduced PAR to Raleigh in 2008 and partners with the Interfaith Food Shuttle to distribute the donations directly to local families in need� Since 2008, Logan’s has collected over 350,000 pounds of fresh produce�
Stagecoach staffer Ainsley McCurry ’22 receives photography honor
Congratulations to Saint Mary’s Stagecoach yearbook photographer Ainsley McCurry ’22, on receiving a third-place award in the feature photograph category in the Statewide Media Contest sponsored by the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill, for her cover photo for the Student Life section of the book�
The contest judges yearbooks from public and private schools across North Carolina in both overall publication and individual categories� Congratulations, to the entire Stagecoach staff on a great yearbook this year!
ATHLETICS
Varsity lacrosse ranked in HSOT top 25
Saint Mary's varsity lacrosse team made the top 25 in The High School OT rankings for the 2022 season, coming in at number 22 for girls’ high school lacrosse teams in all public and private/ independent schools in the East region of North Carolina� Congratulations to the team on a great season!
Golf team ranked 51st in nation
Saint Mary’s 2021 golf team was ranked 51st in the nation in the recently published National High School Golf Association rankings for 2021-2022� Congratulations to Coach Guzzo, Coach Sandridge, and our outstanding golfers on this outstanding achievement�
NEWS
Patricia Sasser named Assistant Head of School
Patricia Sasser is Saint Mary's School's new assistant head of school and residential faculty member effective July 2022� Ms� Sasser served most recently as the head of the upper school at the Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, Florida� She worked previously at the Loomis Chaffee School as a dean of students and was heavily involved in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the school� Prior to Loomis Chaffee, Sasser worked at The Madeira School in several roles, including as a major gifts officer, director of student activities, special assistant to the head of school on diversity, and the assistant dean of students for residential life� Before transitioning into education, Ms� Sasser worked at ESPN as an associate producer, where she was a two-time Emmy® nominee and a 2006 Emmy® award winner�
Originally from Washington, D�C�, as the daughter of a U�S� Foreign Service mom and Nigerian dad, Ms� Sasser spent her elementary and middle school years living overseas in Nigeria, Haiti, and Niger� She graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and in African American Studies� She also earned a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from The George Washington University�
Ms� Sasser is a member of the South Miami Chapter of Jack & Jill, Inc�; the Junior League of Miami; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc�, a Black Greek organization including a lifetime of service where members may join as undergraduates and as post-graduates to serve, impact, and uplift the community� She formerly served on the Grace Academy of Hartford, Arts for Learning Connecticut, and UVA Young Alumni Boards� She also served on the Association of Junior Leagues International’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and chaired the Junior League of Hartford’s first Diversity and Inclusion Committee�
Ms� Sasser enjoys playing volleyball, reading, traveling, and going to the movies� She lives on campus with her husband and son�
Jessica Campbell is the new dean of academic innovation and a residential faculty member at Saint Mary’s School� Prior to Saint Mary's, Ms� Campbell was the director of the Center for Global Studies at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Illinois, where she also taught English� Ms� Campbell knew in high school she would pursue a career in education because she likes working with adolescents and wanted a job that would be different every day� She most enjoys the opportunity to explain to her students that they will be the leaders of the future and have the power and responsibility to decide how to make this world a better place�
Ms� Campbell has previously served as the Academic Dean at Duchesne Academy of The Sacred Heart and as a social studies teacher and class moderator; a middle school Humanities teacher for Overseas Family School in Ontario, Canada; and as a high school English teacher for the Halton District School Board, also in Ontario, Canada� She also volunteers with Travel to Teach and Malakai World Missions�
Prior to teaching in the United States, Ms� Campbell spent five years teaching in Singapore�
She holds an M�Ed�, curriculum and instruction - digital literacy specialization, University of Texas; a B�Ed�, I/S English and history, University of Western Ontario; B�A�, humanities, McMaster University; certificate, teaching ESL or foreign language, Queen's University; certificate, MYP Humanities Level 2, International Baccalaureate; and a certificate in nonprofit management, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management�
NEWS
Pictured left to right: Scarlett Strickland ’23, Jaki Shelton Green, Annabel Semens ’22, Destiny Ellington ’23, Yara Escamilla Jimenez ’24
Saint Mary’s welcomes North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Greene to campus
Mary Virginia Swain ’77C Director of Public Relations and Publications
Saint Mary’s School was honored to welcome North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green to campus Wednesday, April 20, 2022, for an all-school assembly in recognition of National Poetry Month� A luncheon was held immediately afterwards in Smedes-Emory Parlor for the English Department, Black Student Union, Bookmark Club, and Creative Writing Club members and Inclusion Ambassadors, who sponsored this special event�
Ms� Green read some of her poetry to the students in assembly and offered the context for each one inspired by events and people and the oral history passed down to her in her family as well as her own life experiences� “Your life’s work and your story find you,” she said� She spoke about the power and responsibility of storytelling and truth telling and encouraged the students to “Be your own Muse�
At the luncheon, Saint Mary's junior Destiny Ellington read one of her original poems� Destiny and classmate Mahari Bennett also presented Ms� Green with the first copy, hot off the press, of Saint Mary's new literary magazine/journal, The Epilogue. Jaki Shelton Green, ninth Poet Laureate of North Carolina appointed in 2018, is the first African American and third woman to be appointed as the North Carolina Poet Laureate and reappointed in 2021 for a second term by Governor Roy Cooper� She is a 2019 Academy of American Poet Laureate Fellow, a 2014 NC Literary
Hall of Fame Inductee, a 2009 NC Piedmont Laureate appointment, and 2003 recipient of the North Carolina Award for Literature� Jaki Shelton Green teaches Documentary Poetry at Duke University Center for Documentary Studies and is the 2021 Frank B� Hanes Writer in Residence at UNC Jaki Shelton Green Chapel Hill� Additionally, she received the George School Outstanding Alumni Award in 2021� Her is the owner of publications include Dead on Arrival, Masks, Dead SistaWRITEproviding on Arrival and New Poems, Conjure Blues, singing writing retreats a tree into dance, breath of the song, published by for women writers in Sedona, Blair Publishers. Feeding the Light, i want to undie you published by Jacar Press, i want to undie you English /Italian bilingual edition published by Lebeg Arizona;Martha’s Publishers. Juneteenth 2020, she released her Vineyard, first LP, poetry album, The River Speaks of Thirst, Massachusetts; Ocracoke, North produced by Soul City Sounds and Clearly Records and released a CD, i want to undie you in 2021� Carolina;Northern Jaki Shelton Green is the owner Morocco;and Tullamore Ireland. of SistaWRITE providing writing retreats for women writers in Sedona, Arizona; Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; Ocracoke, North Carolina; Northern Morocco; and Tullamore Ireland� In 2021, The Arts Club of Chicago premiered a commissioned body of work in collaboration with Flutronix for the Black Is Series� In April 2022, the poem will be performed by Flutronix and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra� In 2022 Jaki Shelton Green was appointed as the Poet Laureate in Residence at the North Carolina Museum of Art�
Five students confirmed this spring in Saint Mary’s Chapel
Five Saint Mary’s School students were confirmed today in Saint Mary’s Chapel by the Rt� Rev� Anne Hodges-Copple, bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, Tuesday, May 3, 2022� Those confirmed included Mahala Bell ’25, Eliza Gugenheim ’25, Bella Howard ’23, Bess Myers ’23, and Borden Vermillion ’24� The students were guided and mentored through the confirmation process by Chaplain Maggie Stoddard� Confirmation is a significant sacramental rite in the Episcopal church�
Many young people and adults find it a profound opportunity to deepen their relationship with God, affirm their identity as an Episcopalian, and recommit to participating in God’s mission� Confirmation is a longstanding tradition throughout the 181-year history of the school with an untold number of girls choosing to be confirmed in the Episcopal Church while students at Saint Mary’s�
Saint Mary's earns GuideStar's Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid
Saint Mary's School is proud to announce that it has earned GuideStar’s 2022 Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid� GuideStar profiles give donors detailed information about an organization, aiding them in their search for trusted organizations� Less than five percent of the 1�8 million non-profits registered with GuideStar are recognized with a Gold Seal�
A Gold seal on a profile denotes a higher level of transparency, including comprehensive details about finances, board of directors, staff, and overall demographics� A Gold Seal status is the leading symbol of non-profit transparency and accountability� Thank you to our generous donors and supporters who put your trust in our school, as we remain committed to being good stewards of Saint Mary's!
