News

Emma Garcia, a 10th-grade student at SMA, recently completed an internship this summer with Lockheed Martin, Inc. Watch CBS news story below!

We are thrilled to introduce several new faculty members at SMA for the 2018 - 2019 school year. They each bring with them unique skills, enthusiasm, and new ideas. Click on the link below to read all about them!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XUsvHmOxA5rvfBJt3AV-X5eDEE8DY1fZFxHHqDQP7yA/edit?usp=sharing

For an unprecedented fourth year in a row, 100% of the young women in Iswari Natarajan’s AP Calculus classes received the highest score of 5 on the National AP Calculus exam administered by the College Board.   A total of 15 students in the AP Calculus AB and BC classes followed in the footsteps of previous students and, through hard work and thorough preparation from Ms. Iswari, excelled on the rigorous exam. 

Although some may have worried about the pressure to succeed again this year, “Ms. Iswari” helped them by focusing on the fundamentals she has relied on every year. She teaches beyond the content and spends a considerable amount of time building confidence in her students. "The heart of teaching math is to engage the students in a fun and meaningful way and to shift the focus from getting the right answer to solving a problem. The main objective of my classes is to build the confidence of students so that they can fearlessly approach any problem (math-related or otherwise).  My goal every year is for the girls to learn a lot more than calculus.  I want them to learn to be risk takers, develop the courage to fail and the belief that they can conquer anything.”

AP Calculus students are full of gratitude for their experience in Ms Iswari’s class.  Gabby Grant, a recent SMA graduate, credits St. Mary’s Academy with her success saying, “Ms. Iswari's constant encouragement and accessibility made it possible for me to understand calculus as well as learn how to overcome difficult subject matter. Additionally, Ms. Iswari's love of calculus and passion for teaching always shone through in her lessons, which allowed our class to learn calculus while having fun.” 

Ms. Iswari has new challenges ahead in the High School: she became the principal on July 1.  In this role, Ms. Iswari is focused on empowering her students through the development of analytical skills, confidence, and generosity to make a difference in the world around them. As the High School Principal, Ms. Iswari will continue to foster a culture of excellence that inspires leadership, social justice, and change. She is committed to working together with the faculty to create trailblazing educational experiences that are boldly innovative, intuitively collaborative and thoroughly transformative.

Congratulations to Middle School teacher Kathy Rosborough for being elected by her peers to the Colorado Science Teachers Board for the Denver region, representing lower and middle schools.