One of the first schools established by the Catholic Church in Samoa is St. Mary’s in Savalalo. Run by the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (SMSM), St. Mary’s School started in a row of wooden one-story classrooms in 1864 and then expanded into a two-story coral block building, or falema’a, that still stands today. Construction of the falema’a started in 1880 and the building opened to students in 1882 and was still used as classroom space until the 1980s. Due to growing enrolment more school buildings were built on the grounds and the falema’a was deemed too small for classes, so in 1991 the SMSM Sisters decided to lease it out to private businesses. Today the falema’a houses a Chinese restaurant.