Welcome to St. Margaret of Scotland Parish School. I hope as you browse our website you will feel as drawn to SMOS as I am.  Our current families already know the excitement about learning and building friendships that happens here.  Guests browsing through the website will get just a hint of our excellence in academics, our dedication to God and all of God’s creation, and our strong sense of community.

St. Margaret of Scotland has long been known for its vibrant and life-giving presence in south St. Louis.  As a parish and school we have committed ourselves to the Shaw neighborhood and to our surrounding neighborhoods.  We are committed, also, to the diversity that comes with being a city school: diversity in color, diversity in economics, diversity in culture, habits and beliefs.  We belong to this little piece of the city and it belongs to us.

As principal of our school, I promise our parents a safe, faith-based, outstanding learning environment for their children in our Montessori pre-school through Eighth grade.  I can’t keep such a huge promise alone.  Our faculty and staff are amazing in their dedication to each student’s success in the classroom, in their dedication to partnering with parents as educators, and in their dedication to supporting and caring for one another.  Our faculty and staff walk with me as we live out that promise to our parents.  But, even we can't keep such a huge promise all by ourselves.  Our students live up to the call to look after one another, whether it is how they treat their peers or how they watch out for their younger “buddies” – our students walk with us in keeping the promise that ensures a safe, faith-based, outstanding environment.  But, even I partnered with our faculty, our staff, and our students can’t keep such a huge promise without the help and commitment of our parents.  Our parents give generously of their time, talents, and treasures, not just for their child’s education, but for all of our children’s benefit.  It is a community focused together that creates the St. Margaret of Scotland outstanding, learning environment.

Enjoy our website, it offers a glimpse into who we are.  But better yet, stop by and see us in person.  We love company.

SMOS Website – A Tool for Communication
The words communication and community both share the same root; if community is to happen then clear, open, and continuous communication must be in place.  At St. Margaret of Scotland School we are dedicated to building a community that

1. honors our patron saint and Christian faith

2. invigorates our learning environment

3. sustains our neighborhoods

In order to build that community, we hold ourselves to a high standard for communication.  The flow of notes and phone calls between teachers and parents and the scheduled and unscheduled conferences keep parents and teachers in touch with one another concerning individual students.  But, it is the Thursday Newsletter that keeps families informed from week to week as to events concerning the school at large. 

The Thursday Weekly Newsletter consists of a letter from the principal and helpful reminders from the office manager – both of these are also posted on this website.  Simply click on ABOUT US and select Thursday Newsletter or click on NEWS from the menu at the top of this screen.  The Thursday Newsletter also contains fliers for all the big upcoming events, for example the PTA General Meetings, The Highlander, Picture Day.  Anything of importance that concerns the school as a whole will come home in the Thursday Weekly Newsletter.  Parents learn to watch for the Thursday Weekly Newsletter.

Inside our website are a variety of “pages” dedicated to a variety of organizations and events connected to the school.   Of constant interest to our parents are the teachers’ web pages on which they post dates and rubrics for long term assignments, dates for upcoming tests, and information about their curriculum and instructional methods. Teachers use the web tool as one of many means for communicating to parents about the learning expectations for their children.

If you are a school family – use our web to stay in touch, but don’t forget to visit, write and call.  We love keeping our community alive and personal. 

If you are not yet a school family – feel free to browse our website.  If you like what you see, maybe you will want to schedule a tour and visit in person to see our community at work and play.