One thing we really appreciate is the convenience for dual income professional parents!Every upper school child receives their own Chromebook.There are hot lunches available 5 days a week.The Before & After School programs allow you to extend the school day to match parents' work hours.Our kids can walk, scooter, or bike to and from school.Mass is only once a month, but Catholic students can prepare for Holy Sacraments directly through the school - no extra Sunday schoolrequired for Confession, Communion, Confirmation.There is a rich offering of special classes, extracurriculars, clubs, and activities built in, (which reduces so much registering and running around town to supplement): Spanish (grades 1-8), Art, Music, P.E. (they love walking to the YMCA for gym), cross country and track, basketball, yearbook, Student Council, Kids Test Kitchen, Kidstock (theatre), band, chess, and a live enactment of Christmas and Easter pageants. Upper school students go on week-long sleep-away field trips to learn about the environment and our nation's history. And I may be forgetting some!For sports that aren't offered, the Melrose Recreation Department groups SMS kids together so you're seeing St. Mary's families in the bleachers at little league, soccer, basketball, football. Because SMS parents tend to also be service-oriented leaders, we're well-represented in Scouts, or at cheer, gymnastics, and dance studios in town. It's been better than we'd expected.