Stella Maris Academy

Specialties

Stella Maris is located in the heart of La Jolla and offers many programs and clubs. Here is just some of what we offer:

— band

— Junior Achievement

— inter/​intramural sports

— Robotics Club

— Academic Decathlon award winning team (1^st place last year)

— music/art/P.E./Spanish/library/tech.

We strive to provide an environment in which students can develop their intellectual abilities, learn to make moral decisions, and be formed in Christian values and attitudes.

As educators, we are dedicated to the holistic belief that the total child’s needs are to be addressed. We are concerned about meeting the individual needs of each student as a journey toward positive self-​esteem. Children who believe in themselves believe they can learn. Through a positive approach to learning, we try to challenge, support and facilitate the development of each student’s initiative, creativity and leadership potential. Stella Maris welcomes students of any race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin.

History

Established in 1947.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1944, Monsignor Joseph O. Clarkin, pastor of Mary, Star of the Sea, announced to parishioners that property at the northwest corner of Herschel Avenue and Kline Street had been purchased for the purpose of building a parish school. The tradition of the Easter Monday Ball began in 1946 as a means of raising funds for the building of the Mary, Star of the Sea Church parish school which was named Stella Maris Academy. The Easter Ball continued, with a brief hiatus, as a fund-​raising tradition at SMA. That tradition continues (under a new name) to this day as the major fund-​raiser for Stella Maris.

On March 17, 1947, the Feast of St. Patrick, as a result of the successful fund-​raising effort, ground was broken for Stella Maris Academy and in September of 1947, Stella Maris Academy opened its doors for the first time with an enrollment of 210 students in grades one through six, with four sisters of the Holy Cross Order serving on the faculty.