The St. Mary School mission statement asserts, “As students develop their individual gifts, they become competent, responsible, socially-conscious, respectful, life-long learners.” The Student Learning Expectations (SLE’s) further define this statement. The Student Learning Portfolio (SLP) is designed to address these basic premises, and provide graduating students with the means to understand how these premises are integrated in their academic studies at St. Mary School.
The Student Learning Portfolio is a self-directed collection of each student’s schoolwork. The work each student chooses to put in his/her portfolio reflects the mission statement and Student Learning Expectations as outlined in the school handbook and their own assessment of their learning. Students are given class time for self reflections, creating responses for the interview questions, organization of their portfolio, and also are provided with storage space to accumulate evidence of daily work. In addition, students practice interview techniques and receive helpful tips on the interview process. The culmination of this two-year portfolio process is a formal interview of each 8th grade student, in which students have an opportunity to discuss and share their learning.