St. Mark School
A National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
St. Mark School is a Christ-centered learning environment that teaches Gospel values and fosters academic excellence. Aware of the dignity and uniqueness of all students, we are committed to the spiritual, intellectual, moral, social, and physical development of each child.

May 16, 2020
Dear St. Mark Families,
 
Sunday's Gospel invites us to consider how the three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— work together so that God’s salvation is made known to us. As disciples of the Catholic faith, we have received this same Spirit through our Baptisms. The Spirit, living and working within us, reveals the mystery of God’s love for us. We remain in God’s embrace through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

During this troubling time in the world, we can pray to the Holy Spirit for renewed faith, continued strength, and comfort. While we are all coming to terms with what could be the "new normal" in different areas of our lives as Catholics, as parents, and as working adults, we can have faith that the Holy Spirit is with us and will guide us.

Yours In Christ,
Melissa Warner
© Loyola Press Sunday Connection
Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The English translation of the Prayer to the Holy Spirit from A Book of Prayers © 1982, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. (ICEL). All rights reserved.
Sunday Mass Schedule

Sunday Mass at St. Mark Church will be a live stream at 10:30am.

St. Mark Parish:

Diocese of Bridgeport, weekly Mass with Bishop Caggiano:

Weekly Audience with Pope Francis:

I look forward to celebrating in spirit with you and your family this Sunday. Please know that I continue to hold all of you in my prayers and I hope you will do the same for me and my family. Stay healthy and safe.
Keeping Our Traditions Alive!

Wednesday, May 13th was to be one of the happiest school day of the year, Grandparents and Special Friend's Day. A day of tradition, love and sharing when we would have come together as a school community to witness the May Crowning of the Blessed Mother.

Since we can not be together in person, our Second & Eighth Grade students put together a Virtual May Crowning of the Blessed Mother to keep our traditions alive. To watch St. Mark School's Virtual May Crowning 2020, please click here.

Thank you for submitting your Grandparents & Special Friends Photos and Videos. The video tribute, seen by clicking here, is a heartwarming testament those who are most near and dear to our students.

On Friday, March 15th, St. Mark School's Virtual Variety Show 2020 showcased the talent, charm, and special gifts our students have to offer, from culinary class, to instrumental performances, to their own late night talk show! All performances can be viewed on St. Mark School's Facebook Page.

Also on Friday, our traditional Grade 8/Kindergarten Buddy Interviews were shared via Facebook and on our St. Mark School website.

Please enjoy the grand finale, a tribute video and farewell from the Class of 2020 by clicking here. Though we can not be together physically, they are in our hearts, minds, and prayers as they prepare to move on to what God has planned next for them beyond St. Mark School.

If you are not on social media, St. Mark School's Facebook Page feeds to the school website homepage, found here, where all videos can be viewed. 

St. Mark School would like to extend its deepest gratitude to Mrs. Jennifer Tayman for working tirelessly to keep our St. Mark School traditions going strong. Thank you to Ms. Zenowich and Mrs. Miller for creating and facilitating the Virtual May Crowning and to Ms. Sarah Carrano for creating the Grandparents Day tribute, Kindergarten and Grade 8 Buddy Interviews, and Grade 8 Farewell Video.
Home School Association
Volunteer Hours

St. Mark School requires each family to donate 30 hours of service time each school year, as outline in the 2019-2020 Parent/Student Handbook, found here. While we recognize that we were unable to hold many any of our events after March 13, 2020, we still need to track the service hours that were completed up to that date.

All hours should be recorded on the Volunteer Hour Reporting Form and should be scanned and emailed to volunteerhours@stmarkschool.org. If you went above and beyond the minimum 30 hour requirement, we ask that you record ALL service hours completed. This will help us accurately collect data and plan for future events.

The deadline for submitting this school year's hours is June 1, 2020. Please note hours are not transferable. Charitable Donations such as food for the food drive does not count toward your volunteer requirement.  
Scholastic Virtual
Book Fair

St. Mark School's virtual Scholastic Book Fair will be open online from Monday, May 11th - Friday, May 22nd.

The book fair can be accessed by visiting our book fair homepage at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/stmarkstratford

Beginning on Monday, May 11th, families can click on the Shop Now link on the bookfair homepage to purchase high interest and engaging chapter books, graphic novels, and picture books.

All book only orders over $25 will ship free. Take advantage of this great shopping opportunity to build your summer reading collection at home!

Happy Reading!!
St. Mark School Community Update

I would like to take this opportunity to express a sincere Thank You for all of the prayers and well wishes for good health extended for the member of our school community that was affected by COVID-19. I am happy to share that the individual's health is improving and is in recovery at this time.
2020 Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair

Congratulations to the following 7th and 8th grade students for earning Honors Awards in the 72nd Annual Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair:

Matteo Cono, Grade 8
Second Honors, Middle School Physical Sciences
No Nitrates in the Housatonic?

Julia Lacasse, Grade 8
Third Honors, Middle School Life Sciences
A Big Fan of Turbines

Shannon Maconochie, Grade 8
Second Honors, Middle School Life Sciences Team
Egg-xraordinary Brine Shrimp

Isabella Tiberi, Grade 8
Second Honors, Middle School Life Sciences Team
Egg-xraordinary Brine Shrimp

Shaelyn, Averaimo, Grade 7
Third Honors, Middle School Life Sciences
The Replication of Food Allergens on a
Hand from Person to Person*

David Hefferon, Grade 7
Third Honors, Middle School Physical Sciences
Liquid Density and Magnetism

Sydney Lombard, Grade 7
Second Honors, Middle School Life Sciences Team
Sniffing Science

Olivia Szczerba, Grade 7
Second Honors, Middle School Life Sciences Team
Sniffing Science

*Winner: American Society of Safety Professionals, CT Valley Chapter Award
End of School Year Update

As we move ever closer to the end of the 2019-2020 school year, our administration, faculty, and staff are discussing and planning how to safely return any personal items from students that may have been left in classrooms or nurse's office (including student medications) and how to collect textbooks and loaned Chromebooks from students and families.

We appreciate your patience as we work through planning these details, as there are several logistical components, including timing and safety protocols, that need to be finalized.

Once we have a plan in place, it will be communicated to our school community.
Spring Cleaning?

If you are spring cleaning at home, please consider donating gently used children's furniture (shelving, book cases, easels, etc.) to our expanded Little Lion's Preschool classroom.

If you have the space and ability, please hold onto your items instead of bringing them to Goodwill or other donation center. We will follow up with a donation drop off day in the summer.

Thank You!
Edmentum Diagnostic Testing

The Diocese of Bridgeport testing window for our third Edmentum Exact Path Diagnostic Assessment begins on Monday, May 11th for grades K-8. Each classroom teacher will communicate the testing schedule for each of the three (3) components: Reading, English/Language Arts (ELA), and Mathematics.
 
The purpose of this assessment is to identify what students know and still need to learn so that we can best support your child. This assessment also generates your child’s online learning path. If the student receives help on the assessment the path will likely be too hard for the student to work on independently.

Please allow your child to complete the assessment as independently as possible. When your student logs into Edmentum Exact Path on the scheduled day, they will see their assessment. This assessment should take anywhere from 20- 90 minutes to complete depending on student age and grade level.

Students should take the assessment in a quiet place and/or use headphones and have a pencil and scrap paper - especially for the math section. 
 
To help ensure that the focus on this assessment stays focused on student learning and not on grades, this assessment is not graded and is not included in the students’ permanent record.

Please encourage your student to do their best on this assessment so that we know what skills your student needs to work on for the rest of the year, through the summer, and as we plan for the fall. 
 
Please contact your child's classroom teacher or contact the personalized learning team with any questions by emailing PersonalizedLearningTeam@diobpt.org

Virtual Help Desk For Families

The Diocesan virtual help desk is open for all of our families. A member of the Office of the Superintendent will be present in these virtual rooms for you to login, ask questions, and get support on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00am - 12:00pm and Wednesdays from 4:30pm-5:15pm.

You can join by Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81272322709 (password is dobschools) or by dialing into 646-558-8656 using the Meeting ID below.

Meeting ID: 812 7232 2709
For Parish information, visit:   https://www.saintmarkchurchstratford.org/

For important information and updates on COVID-19, visit the
Please visit our school website regularly at www.stmarkschool.org . Important school updates including copies of notices, newsletters, HSA links, and school calendars can all be accessed on the website.

Visit our social media pages for updates on our school community.
Dates: At A Glance

  • May 25th: Memorial Day, no Distance Learning Instruction

  • May 29th: last day of Distance Learning instruction for Grade 8

  • June 12th: last day of Distance Learning instruction for PK-Grade 7
St. Mark School | 203-375-4291 |  www.stmarkschool.org
500 Wigwam Lane, Stratford, CT 06614
Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayers.
St. Padre Pio