St. Mary Catholic Secondary School

Please join us for our St. Mary Christmas concert featuring St. Mary's finest musicians. The show starts at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria. Please click here to see the flyer for more details.

Please click here to learn about making a donation to support a family in need at Christmas time. Donations are due December 12th on school-cash-online.

Study and Travel in Italy July 2025: If your child is interested in studying in Italy this summer and earning up to 2 Ontario High School credits see the attached Flyers. Use the QRC code to sign up for the Parent/Student virtual information meeting on Wednesday, November 27 at 7:00 pm via zoom.

We are excited to share an important initiative being led by our Catholic School Council: The Restoration of the St. Mary Biblical Gardens at the main entrance of our school on Whitney Avenue. This project will help strengthen our community and promote good stewardship of God’s creation. We are organizing another garden clean-up event scheduled for Saturday, November 30th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. We are inviting ALL students to volunteer and participate, particularly from leadership groups such as the Eco Club, Student Council, and Prefects. Students will earn up to 5 Christian service hours for their involvement, and snacks will be provided. We have reached out to the City of Hamilton to provide us with gloves, bags, and other materials, but we would appreciate donations of these items as well. Please complete this form to indicate your interest in volunteering for this event.

This is the fifth consecutive year that our students will be writing Christmas letters and making cards for the residents at St. Joseph's Villa. We also look forward to also writing Christmas letters for the St. Joseph's Home Care residents in both supportive community living and a local retirement home. Students interested in participating will earn Christian Service Hours. Please contact our chaplain, Mr. Hall for more information at [email protected]

Our Deca Students are happy to announce that they have organized a community giving initiative - The Pocket Library!!! Please see the flyer for details on how to donate gently used books.

Parents of our future Crusaders are invited to join us at St. Mary CSS at 6:00 p.m. on Wed. Nov. 27th for an Open House and Activity Fair. Please view the flyer for more details. We hope to see you there!

Anna Ptaszek of the St. Mary Crusaders led the way among Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board finishers at the 2024 OFSAA cross-country championships.

Please see the Board website for more details on the Professional Activity Day scheduled for November 22, 2024.

McMaster's Faculty of Health Science's Black BHSc Association's High School Information Night will take place on November 23rd (delivered both on McMaster's campus and online), which aims to promote McMaster's esteemed Honours Health Sciences (BHSc) Program to aspiring Black high school students who may have an interest in pursuing a career in healthcare. Please click on the link for more information and registration.

Students from St. Mary Catholic Secondary School are helping our local food banks feed the most vulnerable. Click on the PDF below for more information.

The St. Mary Catholic School Council invites all families and friends from the St. Mary Family of Schools to join us on the evening of November 20th for an exciting event - Be Not Afraid: An Evening for Parents with Father Gregory Merkley. Please see the flyer for more details about the event and on instructions on how to register.

Dear Students of St. Mary, I am happy to share an exciting and very important initiative being led by our Catholic School Council: the restoration of the St. Mary Biblical Gardens at the main entrance of our school on Whitney Avenue. This project will help strengthen our community and promote good stewardship of God’s creation. The first step of the project is a garden clean-up event scheduled for Saturday, October 26th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. We are inviting student volunteers, particularly from leadership groups such as the Eco Club, Student Council, and Prefects, to participate. Students will earn up to 5 Christian service hours for their involvement, and a light lunch will be provided. Students can sign up to volunteer by clicking here. In preparation for the event, we are also asking for loaned gardening tools. If you are able to lend tools, please ensure they are labeled with your name so they can be returned. Additionally, I have reached out to the City of Hamilton to provide us with gloves, bags, and other materials, but we would appreciate donations of these items as well. This initial garden clean-up marks the beginning of a longer-term project. We may require additional dates for clean up this fall given the size of the garden. In the spring, we plan to continue reaching out to community partners, such as local nurseries and garden centers, for donations to help us further revive the garden. We also intend to honor Indigenous traditions by dedicating a portion of the garden in recognition of Indigenous practices. We will seek guidance from seedkeepers or knowledge carriers from Six Nations or Mississauga to incorporate traditional planting methods and practices. Once the garden has been cleaned and restored, we will invite our local parish priests to bless the space, continuing our school’s tradition of caring for the earth. We look forward to your support in promoting this initiative to students and encouraging their participation. Together, we can help make this project a success. Blessings. You can sign up to volunteer using this QR code as well....

Click on this message for information regarding grad photo bookings

Please see the attached information regarding the PA Day scheduled for November 1st, 2024.

St. Mary Catholic Secondary School’s Homecoming on Friday was a vibrant day of community, pride, and connection, welcoming Future Crusaders—Grade 8 students from feeder schools—to experience the spirit and warmth of the St. Mary family. The event offered these students a glimpse into life at St. Mary, highlighting both its academic opportunities and its inclusive, welcoming environment.

On Wednesday, November 6, 2024, Grade 9 students from Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic secondary schools will have the opportunity to spend the day job shadowing a parent/guardian, relative, or friend as part of Take Our Kids to Work™ (TOKW) day. Students and their parent(s)/guardian(s) are responsible for selecting an appropriate workplace and making the arrangements for the student to attend. To participate, a consent form must be completed by a parent/guardian and the student, and then returned to the school. Consent forms and are being printed centrally and will be provided to schools for distribution to students.

The St. Mary CSS community will once again be participating in the WE SCARE HUNGER campaign on Oct. 31 (Halloween Night). Staff, students, and community members will be collecting food donations from Dundas, Waterdown, Carlisle, Freelton, Greensville, Caledonia, Ancaster, and Hamilton. See the attached flyer for more information on how the community will come together to serve.

Happy World Teacher Day to all the amazing teachers at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School. Please click on the link below to view a beautiful message to all our teachers that touch the lives of our students every day.

September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day is an opportunity for education, reflection, truth-telling and taking action, but we must recognize that reconciliation is a continuous process that needs to be incorporated into everyday of the year. We invite the members of our school community to continue learning about how to practice reconciliation in our daily lives - within ourselves and our families, and in our community. On September 30th, we invite staff and students to wear orange shirts to recognize the experience of those who went to residential schools, to honour them, and show a collective commitment to ensure Every Child Matters.

Please click on the link to view more information on the guest speaker/presenter that will be facilitating an interactive dance workshop for our senior drama students.

In light of today's extended power outage, it was decided to conduct an early dismissal for all students at 11:15 a.m. Please review the communication that went home to parents for more information.

On Friday September 13 the St. Mary Crusaders hosted its second annual Homecoming game. The St. Thomas More Knights went on to defeat the Crusaders 38-6 on a beautiful misty evening in front of a huge crowd. The game on the field was highlighted by outstanding, hard-working and athletic play from start to finish but it was the homecoming festivities, which welcomed back dozens of St. Mary Football alumni, which made the night so memorable. It was an opportunity to reminisce and appreciate the past and recognize how being a member of a football team, program and community is to be cherished.

This Friday, September 13th at 7:00pm, St. Mary will be hosting our Senior Football season opener against St. Thomas More. There will be a special pre-game tribute to our 1992 St. Mary Crusaders HWCAA and GHAC Champions. We welcome back alumni to the community to honour and celebrate their past successes and to cheer on our 2024-25 senior team. Each family member and student planning to attend the game must purchase a $10.00 ticket via school cash on-line. There will be no money collected at the gate, so please purchase your tickets on-line if you wish to attend. Upon entry, please provide proof of purchase (receipt) and receive a wristband. The cost of entry will be used to offset the cost of security and Hamilton Police who will be on-site to ensure the safety of students, staff, and families as well as the security of our building. Please note that portable washroom facilities will be located at the field to eliminate the risk of people entering and exiting the school building at night. Thank you for your ongoing support!

We are delighted to invite you to a special event at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Waterdown on September 10th from 7:00 P.M. to 8:00 p.m. Dr. Josephine Lombardi, Associate Professor of Pastoral and Systematic Theology, will present “A Great Symphony of Prayer: The Our Father as a Programme of Life.” See the flyer for further details. The Saint Vincent de Paul Society is holding a fundraiser featuring Canada's Tribute Band to the Beetles on Sept. 7, 2024. See the flyer for more details.

The new school year is quickly approaching. We look forward to welcoming back all students and staff on Tuesday, September 3rd. Please refer to the welcome letters that were sent out to families on August 19th for important start-up information.

Catholic School Council (formerly Parent Council) meets monthly. Please join us for our inaugural meeting on Monday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. in our conference room located in the forum. Consider serving on our Executive or as a member-at-large. A nomination form should be submitted and can be found below or by clicking on 'Menu' on the toolbar above and selecting Catholic School Council.

Let us join together and pray for a safe and joyful return to school for all students, staff, and families of St. Mary CSS.

St. Mary teachers and students are incredible champions for the poor and marginalized.