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Student Leadership

Leadership Program Overview

The St. Mary’s Leadership Program is seamlessly integrated into the core academic program through projects, discussions, student involvement and practical application. It focuses on four main principles which form the cornerstones of a strong community: Attitude, Commitment, Engagement and Service (four ACES). Students in Preschool through Lower School learn that leadership is a characteristic which anyone can display. Leaders are everyday people who lead by example and inspire others to become better individuals.

Leadership opportunities abound through experiences in the classroom, participation in the arts, music and athletic programs, involvement in student government and initiation of service learning projects which allow students to experience leadership at the practical level. Students are able to develop a self-awareness as they learn their individual strengths through daily participation in the program. Direct instruction on leadership and global awareness occurs through our Communities, Chapels and Advisory curriculums.

Students are able to further their acquisition of leadership skills through involvement in the following programs:

List of 5 items.

  • Lower School Leadership

    Lower School Leadership is designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop their leadership, communication, planning and collaboration skills during the school year. Lower School Leaders will be able to reflect the student body of St. Mary’s and provide a positive experience for visiting students and guests as hosts. Students will be selected by the teacher from each grade level class to serve in the position for the school year.

  • Associated Student Body - Middle School

    ASB provides the student government for St. Mary’s with an opportunity to meet on a bi-weekly basis with elected officers and committee members from the Middle School. The purpose of ASB is to promote good citizenship, to encourage a high standard of scholarship, to arouse a spirit of pride within the school, to demonstrate the practical application of leadership and to contribute to the general welfare of the school and community. Students are responsible for the yearlong planning of pep rallies, intramural tournaments, assemblies, social activities and philanthropic opportunities.

  • Ambassadors - Middle School

    The Student Ambassador Program is designed to provide Middle School students with the opportunity to develop their leadership, interpersonal communication, and public speaking skills during a one-year commitment.  St. Mary’s Student Ambassadors reflect the student body of St. Mary’s and provide a positive experience for visiting students and guests while supporting those new and incoming students making the transition to St. Mary's.

  • Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award – Middle School

    The culminating event for the Leadership Program is the Tribute to Leadership Assembly and presentation of the Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award. The Legacy Award, which is given annually, honors a St. Mary’s Grade 8 student who demonstrates and represents the highest standards of St. Mary’s Four Aces of Leadership through their involvement in school, local organizations and the community.

    Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award Recipients: 
    • 2023 Lacey DiNicola
    • 2022 Luke Friedl 
    • 2021 Maibre Edwards
    • 2020 Sidney Morales
    • 2019 Katrina Lattin
    • 2018 Brad Orcutt
    • 2017 Alexia Taylor 
    • 2016 Angie Yogaratnam
    • 2015 Alex Audette
    • 2014 Kaylin Martin
    • 2013 Devin Walsh
    • 2012 Abigail Jackson
    • 2011 Kristen Walker
    • 2010 Alex Gonzales
    • 2009 Liviya James
    • 2008 Hayley Ritterhern
    • 2007 Drew Phillips
    • 2006 Trevor Cutler
    • 2005 Lauren Cullen
    • 2004 Michael Fice
    • 2003 Michelle Pellizzon

  • Advisory Program – Middle School

    The St. Mary’s Advisory Program helps to meet the unique needs of our Middle School students during a time of significant change and growth in their lives. Students are assigned to a St. Mary’s faculty member who serves as an advisor to meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of the student. With Advisory’s emphasis on communication and relationships, students are supported in their growth and development throughout the three-year Middle School experience with the advisor and a small, co-ed, grade-specific group of students. 

    Weekly meetings between the advisor and advisee group will allow students to set goals, develop service learning projects, practice leadership and social skills, and advance personally and academically with close guidance. By focusing on the developmental growth of our Middle School students, a strong relationship and partnership develops between teachers, parents, advisors, and students.
Essentials of the Advisory Program
  • Goal Setting: Students will learn how to set and obtain goals to develop and understand their responsibility and ownership of social, emotional, and academic objectives.
  • Social Contact: A smaller community for more individualized communication is created and supported by the teachers, parents, student, and advisor.
  • Weekly Reflection: Meetings will allow for assessment of progress to demonstrate growth and progress toward goals.
  • Behavior Modification: Students are able to discuss with their advisors ways to demonstrate behavior which make them a positive member of their school community.
  • Service Learning: Students will develop a greater knowledge of their surrounding community through ongoing planning, leadership opportunities, and problem solving in developing their own service learning project.

    • 2022 Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award Winner

ST. MARY’S SCHOOL

7 Pursuit
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 448-9027


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