School Seal

School Colors: Blue and Gold 1954 - First Graduating Class Anchor Cross - Symbolizes our hope anchored in the Cross of Christ Motto: "Monstra Te Esse Matrem" - This Latin expression is addressed to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and means: "Show yourself to be our Mother." It is taken from the ancient hymn "Ave Maris Stella" (Hail, Star of the Sea). When Jesus was dying on the Cross, He said to His beloved disciple: "Behold your Mother." This ancient Latin prayer expresses our desire to receive Mary as our spiritual Mother too.

"Stella Maris" - This Latin title meaning "Star of the Sea" was first attributed to the Mother of Jesus by St. Jerome in the 4th century A.D. The title is also used of Mary by other early fathers and writers of the Church: St. Isidore of Seville (d.636), Alcuin (d.804) who inspired Charlemagne's intellectual renaissance, and Rabanus Maurus (d.856) who was abbot of Fulda and the probable author of the hymn "Veni, Creator Spiritus." St. Paschasius (d.865), a Benedictine abbot near Amiens, wrote in his treatise on the Holy Eucharist that "Mary, Star of the Sea, must be followed in faith and morals lest we capsize amid the storm-tossed waves of the sea. She will illumine us to believe in Christ, born of her for the salvation of the whole world." Hermann the Lame (d.1054) of the monastery of Reichenau wrote the hymn "Alma Redemptoris Mater" in which the church still prays today, "Loving Mother of the Redeemer...Star of the Sea, assist your people who have fallen, yet strive to rise again." The fullest development of the theme of Mary as Star of the Sea came with the homilies of St. Bernard (d.1153) who said, "If the winds of temptation arise, if you are driven upon the rocks of trials and tribulations, look to the Star, call on Mary. If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the Star, call on Mary." Mary, under her title of "Stella Maris" has been the patroness of Mary Star of the Sea parish for over 100 years. She continues to guide and watch over the people of the Harbor Area and the students of our school today.

Heart in Center - This is the symbol of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who staffed the school until 1992. The Immaculate Heart is wounded by the sword of sorrow prophesied by Simeon in the temple (Lk. 2:34-35), surmounted by flames of burning love and encircled with a garland of roses reminiscent of the fragrant beauty of the Mother of God.

School Nickname: "Stars" - Some of the definitions of "star" offered by Webster's New World Dictionary: 1) any of the luminous heavenly objects seen as points of light in the sky, 2) a conventionalized flat figure usually having five or six symmetrical projecting points, regarded as a representation of a star of the sky, 3) a star-shaped emblem often used as an award, symbol or rank of authority, 4) a constellation or planet regarded as influencing human fate or destiny, and 5) a person who excels or performs brilliantly in a given activity, especially a sport.