News from the St. Mark's Dean of Students, Dean of Academics, and Dean of Faculty
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Team Phoenix Wins 2020 Quad Games Competition!
This year's Quad Games took place in early March, during the week before spring break. This is Phoenix's third Quad Games championship in the seven-year history of the annual intramural competition.
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Remote Learning Week One
Our
Remote Learning
work is off and running. Our objective in this first week was for faculty to roll out their class plans, support students as they adjust to working in a new format, and troubleshoot issues of hardware or connectivity. This is a learning experience for all of us, and will require patience, flexibility, and grace from faculty, students, and families as we settle in to a new way of "doing school." We have been fortunate to draw on the wisdom of experts in the online/remote learning field, and peer schools and colleges across the country and worldwide, all of whom are making a similar transition. Despite the challenges and the new context, there is still the same joy in connection as our students and faculty come together in Zoom conference spaces. It is wonderful to see everyone together again.
The approach to remote learning will be different than our in-person learning approach on campus in substantive ways, most importantly the accommodations required as a result of the very challenging dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic. Best practices in remote learning favor a more asynchronous ("not at the same time") approach to classes, with some synchronous ("live and in person") elements included as touchpoints to preserve the relational quality of our learning. With some classes spread across 17 or more time zones, this approach will also be most inclusive for members of the St. Mark's community. We will be systematically assessing the experience of students, faculty and families and making necessary adjustments based on significant trends in the feedback.
Window Three Grades and Comments
As a reminder, grades and comments for Window Three will be posted to NetClassroom on
Monday, April 6
.
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Organization & Planning
Check out the planning template below to help you keep track of schoolwork!
The video explains 'how to.'
Laryssa Barbosa ’22 shared an excellent example of how she is using the Template. Note how she crosses off items when they are completed:
Parent Resource
Quaranteenager- Strategies for Parenting in Close Quarters
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Re-Enrollment Reminders
Parents of Current III, IV, and V Formers:
Student re-enrollment contracts for most returning students in 2020-21 have been issued online over the past few weeks. Contracts should be accessed again via School Forms Online powered by inResonance. Released re-enrollment contracts were sent out online from
[email protected]
via
sendgrid.net
(with an invitation link via email). Please make note that the subject line of the email you will be receiving for this is "St. Mark's School: Confirm your email". These have been sent to both parent email addresses for each household, if applicable. The email addresses utilized are the primary emails listed for each parent currently in our database (unless you share an email in which case these will be sent to only one). If you have not received your contract by now and are unsure as to why or have other questions or concerns, please reach out to Anne Behnke. Thank you for your continued support of St. Mark’s as we work through this difficult time together.
By April 20
please complete and submit your re-enrollment contracts and deposits. These are due by the end of this business day, unless otherwise specified.
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In the next week, members of the St. Mark’s adult community will be reaching out to our parents and families. In an effort to stay better connected, this outreach is meant to serve simply as a touchpoint to see how families are holding up during these difficult times. If you see a phone call from St. Mark’s, please pick up and let us know how you are doing and if we can be supportive.
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Parents’ Association News
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Parent/Faculty/Staff Book Club: New Date: April 22
Our book club will meet over a
private Zoom meeting on Wednesday, April 22, at 3:30 p.m.
We've changed the date so families have time to adjust to their new household schedules (and to even think about pleasure reading again). The time change is to minimize conflict with remote learning commitments.
Our discussion will be based around “What are you reading?” rather than
The Namesake
(the originally scheduled book) as folks may no longer have access to that book title.
If you would like to join the St. Mark's Parent, Faculty, and Staff Book Club Zoom meeting, please email Laurie Kalapinski at
[email protected]
, or Joanne Flathers at
[email protected]
for the invitation link.
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Members of the St. Mark's Community Making a Difference
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While remaining at home like so many others during these challenging weeks, some members of the St. Mark's community are using their time to help make a difference. Two from St. Mark's—a student and a staff member—are among those making face masks to help address the shortage of those essential items, supporting the needs of health care workers and medical facilities.
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International Science Fair Recognizes SM STEM Fellow
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Jack Griffin, a VI Former from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, has been selected as a delegate to the Society for Science and the Public's 2020 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for his project on polymer science.
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Remote Learning Kicks Off with Virtual Chapel Service
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After an extended spring break, St. Mark's is back, albeit from a distance. Beginning today, classes resume through
remote learning
.
The re-opening of learning at St. Mark's was launched by a morning chapel service on the Zoom platform, attended remotely by more than 250 members of the St. Mark's community.
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Entrepreneurial SM Grad Delivers Healthcare Support
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St. Mark's alumnus Sean Bellefeuille '15 is a talented entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of M3Dimensions, an innovative 3D-modeling company supporting veterinary surgeons. But the current concerns of these challenging times inspired a shift. Bellefeuille and M3Dimensions will now be creating lightweight, protective face shields for health care workers.
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April 7
- Virtual Revisit Day, Admission
April 22
- Parent/Faculty/Staff Virtual Book Club
May 18
- In-Person Return to St. Mark’s
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