SMAlentine's & Doernbecher Week

       The week of February 14th was a special one. Ladies writing valentines to one another, buying assortments of candy for friends, finding spare pennies around the house, and digging for clothes to suit the daily Doernbecher week attire. It was a conflicting time: exchanging gestures of love and appreciation with your fellow students while also doing your best to defeat the other classes in Doernbecher week. But really, what could be more fun? Doernbecher week is an amazing time where St. Mary's incorporates a spirit week with raising money for several charities. Every year has a new theme, this years being Portlandia (keep portland weird day, lumberjack day, as Portlanders we know what to do). While dressing up to win points for your class everyday there are also daily lunch events, like Doernbecher idol and dodgeball. The school was on their toes when witnessing the nail biting event of the last round of dodgeball, one math teacher standing alone battling it out with several sophomores. And throughout all the madness of Doernbecher week, we bring in all of our change to donate to the charities, pennies being points added to a class, silver change, cash and checks serving as points deducted from a class. Despite all the frantic fun that this week brought, the charities chosen are wonderful foundations that provide services to various groups of people. Doernbecher Children's Hospital with its phenomenal care and treatments, Gales Creek Camp with a supportive environment for children with diabetes, and FINCA with its outstanding economic support and services for women in underdeveloped countries. Having the opportunity to spend a week participating in fun events while donating to good causes is one of the reasons SMA is such a special place to be. 
        Alongside all of the Doernbecher week madness, on friday the seniors sported our proud color red while delivering valentines and sharing words of love. Whether the seniors win Doernbecher week or not, we enjoyed the time together so much and have loved the spirit that goes along with it every year. After four years we've learned the benefits of communicating our love for one another, making our community stronger and sweeter for everyone involved. With boxes of chocolate and roses to give to our fellow sisters also came words of encouragement and hugs of love to make Valentines day 2014 a great one.