St. Mary's School Fine Arts Academy (Gr 7-9)

To protect the integrity of the program, class sizes are capped and therefore often operate at full capacity. In these situations, students wanting to enter the program are placed on a waiting list and currently enrolled students must meet certain standards. Therefore, to maintain the integrity of the Fine Arts program, parents and students must continuously strive to meet the following: 

Fine Arts Program Standards 

1. All Fine Arts fees must be paid in full or be arranged to be paid in installments. In extenuating circumstances, arrangements may be made to have fees waived but these arrangements need to be made in advance. 
2. Students must maintain regular and punctual attendance at school including Fine Arts engagements which take place outside regular school hours. 
3. Students must be an active participant in all Fine Arts subjects. Active participation is considered to be the regular and ongoing participation in the activities of the Fine Arts classes, including engagements which take place outside of regular school hours. 
4. Students must maintain an exemplary attitude, effort, work ethic, and interest in the Fine Arts. 5. Students will maintain positive behaviour in accordance with the MHCBE Student Code of Conduct. This includes the responsibility of being an ambassador of St. Mary’s School. 6. Students must maintain a level of good academic standing or show evidence of academic accountability and improvement. 
5. Parents and students must agree to support and participate in the activities of the Fine Arts Parent Council. This includes the donation of a piece of student artwork, selected by a teacher-student conference, to the annual Fine Arts Wine Gala. 

Student performance in the Fine Arts program will be reviewed at the end of each reporting period, including the end of the academic year. Students found to be struggling with any of the above criteria may be required to meet with Fine Arts faculty, meet with administration, put on a period of probation, and/or

be removed from the program. The implementation of this process and interpretation of these standards are subject to the discretion of the Fine Arts Faculty and administration. Administrators reserve the right to have the final say in student programming. 

In the event that the number of students enrolling in a particular grade exceeds the capacity of the program, students in good standing (see Fine Arts Program Standards) will be selected in the following order: 

1. Current Grade 7 & 8 St. Mary’s School Fine Arts Academy students 
2. Current Grade 6 students registered at and attending a Medicine Hat Catholic school 3. Current Grade 7 & 8 non-academy St. Mary’s School students 
3. Current Grade 7 & 8 Notre Dame students 
4. New Catholic students to Medicine Hat Catholic once accepted into the division 6. All other new students to Medicine Hat Catholic once accepted into the division 

Once a class has reached capacity, all remaining students will be placed on a waiting list. In order to maintain a spot on the waiting list, students must be registered at St. Mary’s as a non-academy student. As spots become available, students will be transferred into the Academy Program. 

Registration opens on February 1. All selection process criteria (see above) remain in force during open registration. On March 1, any further registrations will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Administrators reserve the right to have the final say in student programming. Parents will be notified by email regarding acceptance into the Fine Arts Academy program each spring. 

The Fine Arts Academy is a program of choice, therefore a fee will be charged to be in the program. All fee payments and arrangements are processed through School Cash Online. Payments can be lump-sum or scheduled up to 10 monthly payments. More information regarding payment plans will be provided at the beginning of the school year.