St. Mary's Central High School
Address
5802 Ridgeland Dr Bismarck , North Dakota 58503 United States
Information
Other name	SMCHS
Type	Private high school
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1878
School district	Light of Christ Catholic Schools
Oversight	Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck
NCES School ID	01042651[1]
Principal	Connor Doll
Chaplain	Father Jake Magnuson
Teaching staff	20.8 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9–12
Gender	Co-educational
Enrollment	336 (2021-2022)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	16.2[1]
Color(s)	Blue and white
Athletics conference	North Dakota High School Activities Association
Nickname	Saints
Newspaper	SM Messenger
Website	www.smchs.org

St. Mary's Central High School (SMCHS) is a private, Roman Catholic, co-educational high school in Bismarck, North Dakota, United States. It is part of the Light of Christ Catholic Schools district and is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck.

Originally at 1025 North 2nd Street, it moved to a new campus in the far north of the metro area in 2019.^[2] The previous campus is now St. Mary's Academy, a dedicated middle school (grades 6-8).

In 1878, four religious sisters from the convent of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, arrived in Bismarck to staff what was then the St. Mary's Academy and Boarding School. In 1916, the first high school classes were offered and the Spring of 1922 produced the first graduating class at St. Mary's High School. ^[3]

In 1951, a new school campus was built at 1025 N 2nd Street and called St. Mary's Central High School. For 68 years, this campus was home to high school students. The final graduating class was the Class of 2019.^[4]

In Augusts of 2019, a new campus was opened for SMCHS in North Bismarck. Located at 5802 Ridgeland Drive, this new state-of-the-art campus features four centers: St. Thomas Aquinas Academic Center, Athletic Center, Our Lady of Victory Chapel and the Myron Atkinson and T. Clem Casey Fine Arts Center.^[4]

In the Fall of 2013, St. Mary's Academy was established as a middle school in the basement of the high school building. The middle school still resides in the 1025 N 2nd Street campus.^[4]

SMCHS currently sponsors 24 varsity sports with 12 of them being co-ops with surrounding Bismarck and Mandan high schools.

SMCHS also has a co-op which allows students from the School of the Holy Family in Mandan, North Dakota to participate in sports and activities at SMCHS.

SMCHS is a member of the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) and the Western Dakota Association (WDA)

• Cross Country (Co-op: Bismarck, Century, Legacy)
• Football
• Soccer (Co-op: Mandan)
• Tennis (Co-op: Bismarck, Century, Legacy)
• Basketball
• Ice Hockey (Co-op: Bismarck)
• Swimming and Diving (Co-op: Bismarck, Century, Legacy)
• Wrestling
• Golf
• Track and Field

• Cross Country (Co-op: Bismarck, Century, Legacy)
• Golf
• Swimming and Diving (Co-op: Bismarck, Century, Legacy)
• Ice Hockey (Co-op: Century)
• Wrestling (Co-op: Bismarck, Century, Legacy)
• Soccer
• Softball (Co-op: Bismarck, Century, Legacy)
• Tennis
• Track and Field
• Cheerleading

SMCHS has 7 different competitive activities which students can participate in under the NDHSAA.

• Debate (Co-op: Bismarck)
• Band
• Orchestra (Co-op: Century)
• Choir
• Play
• Speech
• Student Congress

Along with these activities SMCHS also offers Jazz Band, Steel Drum Band, Jazz Choir, Science Olympiad, Knights of Virtue, Leo Lions, SM Messenger, Vera Forma, Assistant Chaplains, Science Club, Robotics Club, Student Council, Art Club, Catholic Athletes for Christ, National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and many others.^[7]

Steel Drum Band is unique as SMCHS is the only high school in the state of North Dakota with a steel drum band. Students are given the rare opportunity to perform music on steelpan instruments which trace their origins to Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.^[8]

• State Class 'A' boys' Basketball: 1951, 1972, 2004^[9]
• State Class 'A' Football: 1951, 1959, 1988, 1991, 1994^[10]
• State Class 'AA' Football: 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020^[10]
• State Class 'A' Boy's Wrestling Team: 1964^[11]
• State Class 'A' Girls' Golf: 2016^[12]
• State Class 'A' Speech: 1996, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015^[13]

• Britta Curl, Current professional hockey player for PWHL Minnesota
• Tim Olson, Former Major League Baseball Player for the Diamondbacks (2004) and Rockies (2005)
• Dave St. Peter, Current President and CEO of the Minnesota Twins

• Official website

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck
Bishops	John Baptist Vincent de Paul Wehrle Vincent James Ryan Lambert Anthony Hoch Hilary Baumann Hacker John Francis Kinney Paul Albert Zipfel David Kagan
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of the Holy Spirit Parishes St. Mary's Church, Hague St. Mary's Church, Medora Saints Peter and Paul Church, New Hradec Saints Peter and Paul Church, Strasburg Chapel Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel
Education	Higher education University of Mary High schools Bishop Ryan High School, Minot St. Mary's Central High School, Bismarck Trinity High School, Dickinson
Priests	Sylvester William Treinen Austin Anthony Vetter
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