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St. Mark School
A National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
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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.
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Dear St. Mark Families,
Mother's Day has been celebrated as a national holiday in the United States on the second Sunday of May since 1914. But Catholics have been celebrating a sort of mother's day since the first few centuries of the Church.
In Catholic tradition, the month of May is dedicated to Mary. Chosen by God above all other women, Mary's faith and obedience paved the way for the Incarnation. Her example teaches us faith, obedience, humility and most of all, how to love.
According to St. Thomas of Villanova, "If in this world any creature ever loved God with whole heart, with whole soul, and with whole mind, she was the creature.”
I would like to take this opportunity to wish a very happy and blessed Mother's Day holiday to all our St. Mark family mothers, grandmothers, Godmothers, and mothers to be. May your day be blessed with love of family and friends.
Yours In Christ,
Melissa Warner
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Mother's Day Prayer
"I thank you, Creator of us all, for my mother.
I thank you that she gave me life and nurtured me all those years.
She gave me my faith, helping me to know you and to know Jesus and his ways. She taught me how to love and how to sacrifice for others.
She taught me that it was okay to cry and that I should always tell the truth. Bless her with the graces she needs and which you want to give her today.
Help her to feel precious in your eyes today and to know that I love her.
Give her strength and courage, compassion and peace.
Bless her this day with your love."
Amen.
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Sunday Mass Schedule
As a reminder, Sunday Mass at St. Mark Church will be a live stream at 9am.
This Sunday, May 10th, is the children's Mass
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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.
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Giving Tuesday NOW | FOR A BRIGHTER AND STRONGER TOMORROW
We are overwhelmed by the incredible response to our Giving Tuesday Now campaign. Because of the generosity of our current parents, grandparents, families, parish, alumni, alumni parents, School Advisory Board, faculty and staff, we raised $4,820 for the St. Mark School 2019-2020 Annual Fund in just 14 hours and have surpassed our Annual Fund goal of $12,000!
THANK YOU!!
The loving support of our school community is clearly not defined by our school building. While we may not be together physically, we are more united then ever!
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Calendar Update
Please read carefully and note the following important adjustments to the 2019-2020 school year calendar:
- Monday, May 25th remains a Federal Holiday, no instruction.
- Friday, May 29th is the last day of Distance Learning instruction for Grade 8 students, as the second to last week of school is traditionally Grad Week.
- Friday, June 12th is the last day of Distance Learning instruction for PK-Grade 7.
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Scholastic Virtual
Book Fair
St. Mark School's virtual Scholastic Book Fair will be open online from Monday, May 11th - Friday, May 22nd.
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!!
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St. Mark School Building Update
During the shuttering of St. Mark School building over the past 14 days, the church/school main office vestibule, school building, and Parish Center have been deep cleaned by our janitorial service contractors. In consultation with Dr. Steven Cheeseman and the Stratford Healthy Department, the school building will be reopened to faculty and staff on a limited basis after Friday, May 8th. Teachers, particularly those for grades PK-4, will follow up with their individual classes regarding continuation of paper/pencil Distance Learning assignments.
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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.
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St. Mark School Family Kahoot!!
Congratulations to the Baird family for winning Kahoot Disney Trivia!!
Tonight, test your Christmas knowledge and engage in a family-fun activity together at 7pm this evening, Friday, May 8th.
To play you will need a computer screen to see the Kahoot! questions (broadcasted over a Zoom video conference call) and as many hand-held devices as there will be players. We are limited to 100 participants on the Zoom call, so please limit one Zoom call per family. An unlimited amount of players can play within the family on their devices.
Please
click here or check your inbox for our Home School Association email with more information to participate in St. Mark School's Christmas Trivia Game.
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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.
Meeting ID: 812 7232 2709
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Mother's Day Plant Sale Pick up
Thank you to all who placed orders for St. Mark School's Mother's Day Plant Sale!!
To pick up your order, arrive at St. Mark School parking lot between 10 am - 2 pm on Saturday, May 9th. Cars will form a line pulling up to the Parish Center doors (much like student drop off in the morning at school) and your order will be placed in your trunk.
No need to even leave your car!
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Virtual Variety Show
The St. Mark School Variety Show is one of our most beloved events of the year and while it can be a lot of work for the coordinators, to see the pride in the children's eyes makes it all worth it.
Due to our current situation, we cannot be together this year to be entertained by our students. In an effort to keep our community bonds and traditions strong, we are planning a Virtual Variety Show. The Virtual Variety Show will take place throughout the day on Friday, May 15 on our school website and Facebook page. We will let you know what time your child's performance will air. We will complete the day with the Gr. 8 farewell to St. Mark act.
Please
click here or check your inbox for our Home School Association email with more information to participate in St. Mark School's Virtual Variety Show 2020.
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Community Service Opportunities
HOPE Cards
Yale New Haven launched a new program to invite the public to send cards, notes, or homemade pictures to the patients in their hospital. The hospital is seeing the impact of visitation limitations on many of their long-term hospitalized patients. Most of the patients are not able to see their family or have any visitors. Your well wishes will bring some much appreciated cheer!
Snack Drive for First Responders
St. Mark School Snack Drive on Saturday, May 9 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Snack donations may be dropped off in the school parking lot during our Mother's Day Plant Sale Pick-Up. Snacks will be delivered to area First Responders. To make it convenient, there will be collection boxes in front of the playground, please put snack donations in bags and drop off in the designated boxes.
For a list of suggested snack items, and mailing address for HOPE Cards, please
click here or check your inbox for our Home School Association email.
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First Holy Communion
This Saturday, May 9th, our 2nd grade students, along with students of the St. Mark Parish Religious Education, would have received the sacrament of First Holy Communion.
Unfortunately, this milestone in their Spiritual lives had to be postponed due to the Pandemic. I know this is disappointing for our First Holy Communicants and their families, as this was to be a time of celebration.
Please keep the Second Graders in your prayers while they continue to prepare for the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion.
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National Teacher Appreciation and Nurses Day 2020
On Tuesday, May 5th we celebrated National Teacher Appreciation Day and on Wednesday, March 6th, we celebrated National Nurses Day. Thank you to all our St. Mark students and families who sent cards, emails, and messages of gratitude to our teachers and Nurse Frate, and especially to those that participated in our St. Mark School teacher appreciation video 2020.
To all our parents and family members that are teachers and nurses, our school, community, and society owe you a huge debt of gratitude for the selfless work you do each and every day.
Thank you
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For important information and updates on COVID-19, visit the
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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.
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- May 25th remains a Federal Holiday, no instruction
- May 29th: last day of Distance Learning instruction for Grade 8 students
- June 12th: last day of Distance Learning instruction for PK-Grade 7
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500 Wigwam Lane, Stratford, CT 06614
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I am the way and the truth and the life.
John 14:1–12
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