High school seniors usually feel nostalgia, excitement and a bit of fear as they near the end of the academic year and graduation.

Historic St. Mary’s High School in Independence will be closing its doors at the end of this school year.

About 40 excited freshmen from both St. Mary’s and Archbishop O’Hara high schools gathered Aug. 30 on the summit of a hill on the site of a new Catholic high school expected to open in the fall of 2015.

It happens everywhere — some students have the latest technological devices and others don’t.

Two diocesan high schools with a combined history of 200 years service to the community are preparing to become one. St. Mary’s High School in Independence and Archbishop O’Hara High School are merging administrations as a first step in a three year plan toward joining together as a new high school in a new location.

By Kevin Kelly Catholic Key Associate Editor KANSAS CITY — The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph announced the purchase and donation of an 80-acre tract of land in western Lee’s Summit that could be, if plans fall into place, the site of a new $30 million Catholic high school. Steve Hilliard, diocesan director of strategic  Read more »

Walking through the halls at Holy Cross School on a Wednesday morning in late September, you’d expect to hear childish chatter emanating from the kindergarten and first grade classrooms.