St. Mary Academy – Bay View refreshes its Brand Identity. “At Bay View, She Can.”

On the occasion of its 152nd birthday, St. Mary Academy – Bay View announced the launch of a refreshed visual identity and brand campaign that honors the school’s legacy of Mercy education while bringing the Bay View story into sharper focus for today’s girls and their families.

At the center of the campaign is a simple, intentionally open-ended promise:

At Bay View, She Can. She can lead. She can question. She can create. She can discover. She can inspire. She can make history.

Bay View doesn’t finish the sentence for its students — and that open-endedness is the point. The words reflect a fundamental belief that every girl who walks through Bay View’s doors has the capacity to discover her strengths, find her voice, pursue what matters to her, and use her gifts in service to others. From the earliest grades through graduation, students are encouraged to develop their own sense of purpose and chart their own path. With 100% graduation and matriculation rates, the Class of 2026 alone collected 228 college acceptances and more than $7 million in merit scholarships and grants from colleges and universities across the country.

The effort is an evolution of the Bay View brand — not a departure from who the school is, but a clearer expression of who Bay View has always been. Its mission, Mercy identity, commitment to girls, and traditions remain at the heart of the community.

“This isn’t about becoming a different school,” said Amy Gravell, President and Head of School. “It’s about telling the story of who Bay View already is with greater clarity, confidence, and energy. For 152 years, Bay View has evolved while remaining unmistakably Bay View. We aren’t choosing between tradition and innovation. Bay View has always been both.”

Bay View was founded in 1874 by the Sisters of Mercy at a time when educational opportunities for women were far too limited. Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, and the women who followed her were trailblazers in their own time — women who saw a need in their communities and responded with courage, compassion, and conviction. They believed deeply in the power of education to expand opportunity and change lives. We are the beneficiaries of that bold vision. And we are called to carry it forward.

“This year, the Sisters of Mercy have called the Critical Concern of Women to the forefront of our shared mission, making this an especially meaningful focus for Bay View,” Gravell said. “As a school founded by the Sisters of Mercy to educate young women, our work has always been about more than academic preparation. It is about helping girls recognize their inherent dignity, develop their voices, understand their capacity to lead, and use their gifts in service to others. Our Mercy values remain foundational, but Mercy also calls us to action. We are called to carry forward the bold vision that brought Bay View into being.”

Sisterhood is central to that work. Bay View students are surrounded by peers who encourage, challenge, and celebrate one another. They develop their individual voices while drawing strength from a community of girls and women. At Bay View, a student’s voice is expected, not optional — and she grows alongside sisters who believe she can.

The refreshed visual identity draws directly from Bay View’s physical home and Mercy heritage. The shape of the school’s logo is inspired by the chapel window and incorporates the Auspice Maria — “under the protection of Mary” — from the school seal, which remains an important part of Bay View’s identity.

Mary holds a special place in the Mercy tradition as the patron saint of the Sisters of Mercy. The window also offers a powerful metaphor for a Bay View education: it allows us to see beyond what is immediately in front of us, to imagine what is possible, and to view the world from a different perspective. In this way, the new mark represents what Bay View seeks to be for its girls—a window to the world.

That idea extends throughout the visual system through elements inspired by stained glass, architecture, light, and movement. Like stained glass, the design brings together individual pieces that reflect the many interests, talents, and perspectives each Bay View student contributes to a larger community grounded in shared values. Together, these elements invite students and families to imagine their view of tomorrow.

The refreshed identity also comes to life through Bay View’s website, which launched with the start of the 2026–27 school year. More than a digital front door, the site offers another way to share the people, programs, traditions, and experiences that make Bay View special.

The rebranding process identified qualities that have long been part of the Bay View experience: Mercy, sisterhood, voice, courage, curiosity, leadership, service, creativity, confidence, and possibility.

“These ideas are not new to Bay View,” Gravell said. “The refreshed brand simply gives us a stronger language for sharing them. We are rooted in Mercy. We are confident in who we are. And we are ready for what comes next. At Bay View, She Can.”

About St. Mary Academy – Bay View

St. Mary Academy – Bay View is an all-girls, independent, Pre-K through Grade 12, Mercy Catholic school in Riverside, Rhode Island. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1874, Bay View provides an education grounded in academic excellence, innovation, creativity, and the Mercy tradition. The school is committed to empowering each student to become a confident, independent, compassionate, and socially conscious young woman who uses her gifts in service to others and fully lives her faith.