Signature Programs & Partnerships

Bay View’s Advisory Program was established to meet the academic, personal/social and college/career needs of our students. Throughout the year, time is set aside to disseminate information on important topics, such as PSAT administration and results, safe driving, college and career planning and personal finance. Students are expected to be present during all scheduled advisories as indicated on the school calendar.

All freshmen are assigned an advisor with whom she will meet 14 times throughout the school year. Each freshman advisor works with 10-12 students in small groups during advisory. The advisor is another adult, aside from her teachers and school counselor, who the student can go to with questions and/or concerns.

Extended-Day Program
The Extended-Day Program is available for all Lower School students on school days from dismissal to 5:30 p.m. For the convenience of our families, child care is also available on all of Bay View’s professional days when classes are not in session. Students are divided into two groups (Preschool to Grade 1 and Grades 2 through 5). The younger students go to the S. Norma Fleming Playground or enjoy the playroom for supervised free play, reading or arts and crafts. Students in Grades 2 through 5 are given an hour of structured homework time daily and can participate in board games, art projects or supervised play on the S. Norma Fleming Playground. All Lower School students may elect to participate in formal programs like violin lessons, piano keyboard lessons, art class and yoga classes.

Summer at the Bay
Summer at the Bay runs for the three weeks following the last day of school from 8:00 a.m. until 3:45 p.m. (early drop off at 7:30 a.m. and extended care until 5:30 p.m. are available). All girls age three through entering Grade 6 are welcome to attend. The Extended-Day staff, teachers and Upper School student volunteers give campers the opportunity to participate in activities such as tie-dye, field and water games, nature, technology, nutrition/cooking, music, arts and crafts and more.

The Community Outreach Program is that forum in which the student is able to give active expression to her growing understanding of what it means to live her created uniqueness in the context of just interrelationships within the global community. To understand justice, to build justice and to be justice, within the context of the global community, is in keeping with the spirituality and vision of Catherine McAuley, Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy. The program gives expression to Catherine’s spirituality which holds that works of service are the outward manifestation of a life that is centered in God. A life so centered results in genuine love of self, others and the world. Of all the hours that the student serves, thirty service hours are required hours by which she will demonstrate her ability to independently identify needs within her community.

The student may complete up to ten hours in grade nine. During her sophomore year, she may complete up to an additional fifteen hours (or a total of twenty-five hours). The last five required hours of service must be completed by the end of the first semester of the junior year. The distribution of service hours through two and one-half years is to allow the student to demonstrate the expansion of her awareness of the needs of her community, as well as her maturing ability to meet those needs. A brochure is available to students to explain this progression. A Community Service folder is kept for each student’s documentation of her service hours. Though required for graduation, this program is not factored into the computation of the student’s grade point average. A grade of Pass or Fail is given.

With eight honor societies including the National Honor Society, the Upper School offers a wide variety of elite academic groups, dedicated to scholarship and service. They are:

Excalibur National Honor Society for Excellence in Science
Mu Alpha Theta Mathematics Honor Society
National English Honor Society
National Honor Society
National French Honor Society/La Société Honoraire de Français
National Italian Honor Society/Società Onoraria Italica
National Spanish Honor Society/Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica
Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society

Bay View Academy’s international program brings global perspectives right into our classrooms. Students from China, Korea, Japan, Italy and Brazil have enrolled as students at the Academy, from eighth through twelfth grade. Bay View partners with EduBoston, Roosevelt International Academy (RIA) and Nacel Open Door. Students live either in a dormitory setting or with host families.

Bay View has had a successful partnership with a high school in Novara, Italy since 2006, thus facilitating the annual Italian Exchange program. Bay View juniors and seniors who have studied Italian and are enrolled in Italian III or higher, are paired with a high school student from Italy. The Bay View student hosts her Italian “sister” in the United States for two weeks in September. During that period, the Italian students come to school every day and the Bay View students join the Italian Exchange group on cultural trips to museums and landmarks in New York City, Boston and Newport. In the month of February, the Bay View girls, accompanied by their teacher, travel to Italy for two weeks and are immersed in the culture by living with an Italian family, attending school and taking educational trips to Milan, Venice and surrounding areas.

Mercy. It’s the guiding principal of Bay View Academy’s Catholic life. A Bay View girl knows that her choices identify her beliefs, and that making informed decisions is essential as she assumes her role as a global citizen. As a school that is sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, Bay View students honor the affiliation by living the practice of mercy and compassion while expressing their beliefs through worship, prayer and service.

Bay View hosts a variety of additional Mercy-centric clubs and activities. The Lower and Middle Schools’ Friends of Mercy clubs are dedicated to enhancing awareness of the Mercy tradition among students and promoting personal and spiritual development leading toward service to others. Upper School’s Mercy Action club is a community service organization devoted to helping those in need within our local community. Academy-wide initiatives to address humanitarian needs on both a local and global level are incorporated throughout the school year.

Students entering seventh through ninth grades are invited to join Upper School science teacher, Janell Johnson, Ph.D., for a one week summer program focused on the study of DNA, RNA, and proteins. These are the molecules that control the function of all living cells and make each of us different from one another. Camp days are filled with hands-on laboratory activities which will allow for the study of molecules using a variety of experimental techniques commonly used by research scientists and forensic scientists across the globe.

The laboratory experience includes the opportunity to isolate and visualize DNA, amplify a gene (a segment of DNA) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and clone a gene into a bacterial chromosome. Students are also introduced to crime scene DNA analysis. Discussion-based instruction helps students gain a deep understanding of the scientific reasoning and application of each experimental technique performed. Molecular Biology techniques practiced during the summer camp included micropipetting, centrifugation, DNA extraction, DNA gel electrophoresis, PCR, bacterial transformation, using an Analytical Balance, bacterial cell culture and sterile technique, and restriction enzyme digest.

The Performing Arts program at Bay View gives students the opportunity to share their talents with others through performance mediums in the areas of Choral, Theatre, Technical Theatre, Dance and Orchestra. Students learn the importance of interacting with one another through on-going study of the craft for creative expression.

All Lower School students benefit from music classes, starting with vocal instruction and progressing to “introduction to instruments.” Middle and Upper School Orchestras, Junior Chamber, Chamber Choir, the fall musical production and the spring “Cabaret” production allow students of all ages to perform as soloists and members of an ensemble. Additionally, Bay View’s Annex serves as a professional quality scene and costume shop where students are able to design, create and build through our Technical Theatre program. These programs are supported by a rich curriculum that spans from Piano Keyboard and Music Theory to Theatre and Choral.

Bay View’s Upper School offers the unique benefit of custom-tailored schedules for each student. While our college-preparatory curriculum is divided into Level Two, Level One and Honors classes, no student is locked into one track. Students may be placed in multiple levels based on their strengths in each subject area. Plus there are Early Enrollment classes for college credit and an extensive selection of Advanced Placement courses.

The Ramp Up Program allows students entering ninth grade to reinforce math, writing and study skills prior to the start of Bay View’s rigorous Upper School curriculum. During Ramp Up, teachers work individually and in small groups with students for two weeks in the summer. Each student is given an educational plan of action prior to entering Bay View in August. Ramp Up students continue the program throughout their freshman year with the Study Skills Program.

The Rhode Island College Early Enrollment Program (EEP) is a concurrent enrollment program that offers college credit at Rhode Island College to students for certain courses taken at their high school, such as Calculus, Physics and Italian. The EEP provides the means for high school students to get a head start in college by obtaining college credits at Rhode Island College and transferring those credits to the institution that they attend. The EEP is also a formal program that fosters communication between high school teachers and college professors and creates an educational relationship between the high school and the college community. NACEP, the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships, of which Rhode Island College is a charter member, provides guidelines and standards to which concurrent enrollment programs must adhere in order to maintain membership. It is the adherence to these standards that maintains credibility and excellence among programs such as the EEP and will assure its students credit transfer among many colleges and universities in the United States.

St. Mary Academy Robotics Team (S.M.A.R.T.) blazed the trail for girls in robotics as the only all-girls team in the area at local and state

FIRST® Lego® League (FLL) competitions. The 2016 team was highlighted on WPRI’s The Rhode Show and then they excelled at the FLL State Championships at Roger Williams University in January 2016. The girls took 1st Place for Mechanical Design and 3rd Place for the Robot Table Challenge. Robotics is included in Bay View’s Lower School curriculum and is available as an elective course in Middle School. Robotics has become such a popular program that Bay View now has two S.M.A.R.T. teams. S.M.A.R.T. continues to stand out, qualifying for the state competition and bringing home awards each year.

Starting in the fall of 2016, FIRST® Lego® League (FLL) Jr. is offered for students in grade three. FLL Jr. focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/Creativity & Math (STEAM). While having fun, FLL Jr.’s program teaches children how to research, inspire creativity, engage in teamwork, engineer mechanical structures, evaluate design performance, learn programming and work on presentation skills.

Bay View Academy seniors are given the opportunity to venture into the work place to experience the daily rewards and challenges of a career. In 1973 Sr. Mary Bernard McCann, a woman of vision, established “Community Classroom,” Bay View’s original School-to-Career internship program. For over 45 years, this career-oriented program continues to link academic experiences with practical application at the work site.

Seniors are required to spend each Wednesday during the second semester of their senior year at an approved School-to-Career worksite. Included among recent internship placements are social service agencies, Rhode Island state government offices, law enforcement agencies and the Rhode Island court system, health care providers, financial services, sports management and marketing, performing arts, communications and broadcasting. Students are able to learn more about themselves as they are challenged to make decisions, develop self-confidence and explore interests in emerging as well as existing careers.

Jasmin Blackiston '16 at her School-to-Career internship with Judge Debra Olsson

Bay View Academy enjoys its designation as a 1st Team Safe Sports School by the National Athletic Trainers Association. The Safe Sports School Award Program recognizes secondary schools that provide safe environments for student athletes and reinforces the importance of providing the best level of care, injury prevention and treatment.

Prior to graduating, all students take part in Senior Transition Day, a day designed to assist and support seniors as they make the transition from high school to college and career. The day includes several different presenters and presentations ranging from healthy relationships to how to prepare for a job interview. The program concludes with a visit with alumnae from the previous year’s graduating class. Seniors meet in small groups with the alumnae for a Q&A session related to how to be successful during the first year of college.

The Women in Technology program is a collaborative effort between St. Mary Academy - Bay View and Johnson Controls (formerly Tyco Fire Protection Products). This unique program combines academic coursework with hands-on experience to introduce young women to careers in the fields of engineering, technology and business. Participating students are members of a select Bay View cohort during their sophomore year. Together they are introduced to engineering, technology and business practices with a globally-recognized, multinational corporation. Two times per month, from September through April, the students commute to the Lincoln facility to work as members of a small team assigned to investigate and solve a defined business/engineering problem under the direction of Johnson Controls' engineers and management. Together the students learn about teamwork, problem solving and technology from an industry leader in fire protection and safety. The year-long experience culminates with a formal, collaborative presentation of their team project to Johnson Controls management, Bay View faculty, and parents.

In 2016, Bay View Academy students earned the most Scholastic Art Awards in the State, including a “Best in Show” national honor. Graduates were accepted to top art colleges in the nation and abroad, such as RISD, Pratt, and Central Saint Martins University of the Arts - London. Bay View’s dedicated art wing holds spacious, light-filled classrooms, private studios for students, a ceramics room and a gallery. Permanent installations of student artwork create a lasting impact around campus.

The Visual Arts program challenges students at every level to develop their creative thinking skills as well as the technical skills necessary for effective visual communication and problem solving. The Lower School art program works in conjunction with RISD to enrich the students' understanding of artistic techniques as well as to expose them to the great artists. Middle and Upper Students are instructed on the elements and principles of design and guided through the design process with the goal of becoming independent decision makers. All students are welcome to explore, create, and appreciate art - no “talent” required! If a student expresses interest in a creative career when they move into the Upper School they are directed to the four year program geared toward helping them develop a portfolio for college applications.

Through the "Women In" conferences, Bay View aims to encourage, to inspire, and to engender the confidence of self-determination in girls from Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts. "Women In" seeks to demonstrate that gender should be neither a determining nor deterring factor for girls and young women as they explore their education and career opportunities.

Each conference, whether it’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) or Women in Creative Careers, follows a similar format. Girls from grades five through eight (both Bay View students and non-Bay View students) are invited for a free morning featuring three hands-on workshops led by women (predominantly Bay View alumnae) with distinguished careers. The small group workshops encourage interaction between the girls and the female role models who have pursued higher education and career paths in fields that the girls might otherwise feel are unattainable. WISE has included workshops in mathematics, astrophysics, cardiology, biology, physics, dental health and engineering. Women in Creative Careers has included workshops in dance, public reactions, jewelry making, culinary arts, improvisation and stage makeup.

Bay View offers students the chance to practice their world language skills in an authentic environment by visiting other countries. Through a partnership with EF Tours (Education First), we offer our students experiential learning through cultural immersion. Our tours combine the fun of traveling to another country with the educational advantage that such an opportunity provides. Teachers lead tours at least twice a year and our students have gone to China, New Zealand, Tahiti, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Dominican Republic, France, Italy, England and many other exciting destinations.