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.

January 10, 2021
Dear St. Mark Families,

At this point, you have no doubt had a chance to hear of, process and respond to the events that took place at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021. As a Catholic school community, we affirm the statements made by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and leaders within our Church condemning the violence that took place, and recommit our families, communities and our nation to continued prayer and trust in God.

Although many of us may have already taken down our Christmas decorations, liturgically speaking, the Christmas season ends today with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Holidays like Christmas are highlights of our year, moments of great grace. This grace renews us and prepares us for our return to the season of Ordinary Time, to the continuing work of evangelization. In times of personal and national crisis, we rely on this sanctifying grace, or our personal relationship with God, to keep us strong. 

Finally, let us continue to pray for our leaders, for civil servants, for first responders and all who currently suffer and struggle as we continue to navigate a global pandemic. Let us be grateful that God has protected our students, and ask for His continued blessings on our families.

I wish you all continued good health and God's blessings.

Yours in Christ,
Melissa Warner 

© Loyola Press Sunday Connection

Please do not reply to this email. If you have questions, comments or concerns please email me directly. 
Snow Days and Weather Related Cancellations

St. Mark School administration continues to coordinate with the Office of the Superintendent of Schools and the Stratford Board of Education Transportation Department to plan for snow days, weather related delayed openings and early dismissals.

When Stratford Public Schools call a weather related school cancellation, it is the policy of the Board of Education Transportation Department that buses do not run that day. This includes buses for St. Mark School.

If Stratford Public School calls a delayed start or early dismissal, it will be posted and announced as usual, regardless of whether Stratford Public School students are in-person or remote learning. Buses will run for St. Mark School on delayed start or early dismissal days independent of the public schools' mode of learning.

So far this school year, we have had two traditional snow days that will be added on to the end of the year in June. Any snow days after January 4th, 2021, St. Mark School will transition to remote learning via Google Meet and Google Classroom on snow days.

Remote learning snow days will follow an early dismissal schedule with school hours from 8am-12pm. This adjustment will meet the state mandated 4 hour minimum that constitutes a school day while still giving children an opportunity to enjoy the snow and adults time to clean up snow!

On remote learning snow days, students will receive a combination of synchronous instruction via Google Meet and asynchronous assignments via Google Classroom. Classroom teachers will provide students and parents a "snow day" schedule via email. Specials classes will post asynchronous assignments depending on the day of the week and individual specials schedules. As snow day cancellations are sometimes unpredictable, our teachers have curated various resources to enhance their instruction without depending on traditional textbooks that may be in classrooms and not available on a snow day.

In the case of a school cancellation, delay, or unplanned early dismissal, you be contacted by our emergency alert system via phone call, text message, and email to the primary contact information provided to the Main Office. Please contact Mrs. Mannino cmannino@stmarkschool.org with any updates to your contact information.

If there is a delayed opening St. Mark School will open at 9:30 a.m. with class beginning at 9:45 a.m.

If school closes early for weather related reasons, dismissal will be at 11:25 a.m. Parents will be alerted through our emergency alert system. Our After School Program will not be held when there is early dismissal due to weather or emergencies.
AMEN Team Update

St. Mark School OPEN HOUSE (by reservation only)
Sunday, January 31, 2021 10A-12N

We are looking for parents who live on busier roads to put our St. Mark School OPEN HOUSE signs on their front lawns.

You can pick up the sign this Friday, January 15th at school or it can be delivered to your home. Please call Mrs. Mannino at 203-375-4291 if you can help.

To further promote our Open House, we are asking families to post a promotional ad to their social media page(s). We are happy to customize the post with a picture of your child(ren).

Please email our AMEN Team at AMENteam@stmarkschool.org if you are interested in participating and your customized post will be emailed to you.

Thank you in advance for helping in marketing our wonderful school!
Class Service Project

For their class service project, our Second Graders will be collecting pop tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald House of Connecticut. The Ronald McDonald House collects non-magnetic aluminum tabs typically found on soda cans, pet food cans, energy drink cans, canned fruits and vegetables, and soup cans. (You can determine if a tab is aluminum by using a magnet. If the tab sticks to the magnet, it is not aluminum.) The Ronald McDonald House sells the collected tabs and uses the money to help support the families staying with them while their child is undergoing medical treatment. For more information about Ronald McDonald House of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, click here.

To show your support of this service project, please remove the pop tab from each can before you recycle them and send to the Main Office in a ziploc bag labeled Grade 2 Service Project.

The Second Grade thanks you for your participation and support.
Models in Christ

Models in Christ is a new social and emotional learning program created by Ms. Flynn, school counselor, that is based on the Catholic Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Students in grades K through 8 will be recognized for demonstrating the character trait that is highlighted each month such as respect, kindness, responsibility/accountability, citizenship, perseverance, and trustworthiness.

Our vision is that this program will teach students the value of strong moral character and the positive impact of their actions do not go unnoticed. Our faculty and staff would like to recognize students who embody the ideals of St. Mark School through actions and attitude; those students who go above and beyond inside the classroom and school community to show they are models of Christ.
Progress Reports and Midterm Exams

As we are a little more than half way through the second marking period, progress reports will be sent home via backpack mail for students in grades Kindergarten through grade 8 on Monday, January 11th. Please use this information to check in with your child's teacher with any questions or concerns regarding his or her academic growth.

Midterm exams will be administered beginning Friday, January 15th through Friday, January 22nd, 2021 for students in grades 6 through 8. Study guides and exam schedules will be provided by our middle school team. Please contact your child's teacher with any questions or concerns.
HSA Service Hour Opportunities

Covid-19 has fundamentally changed the world as we know it and has impacted our traditional school activities that provide parents volunteer hour opportunities. While our students, parents, and faculty are resilient and have adapted, the pandemic has increased the school's expenses in terms of cleaning, office and classroom supplies.

Therefore, in partnership with St. Mark School's HSA Executive Board, we will periodically make requests for cleaning, office, or school supply donations in exchange for family service hours. Donations in exchange for service hours are optional. A family can choose to donate any or all of the items requested. Please send donations to school with your child attention: Main Office.

A family can choose to donate:

  • 3 containers of disinfecting wipes (75 count or more) in exchange for 1 service hour. A maximum of 3 hours will be awarded for disinfecting wipes donations. 

  • 5 rolls of paper towels in exchange for 1 service hour. A maximum of 3 service hours will be awarded for paper towel donations.

  • 2 reams of plain white copy paper for 1 service hour. A maximum of 3 service hours will be awarded for copy paper donations.

Please keep track of your own hours by completing the volunteer reporting form or emailing volunteerhours@stmarkschool.org
Student Chromebooks

Grade 8 students were among the first to use some of the new Chromebooks purchased for student use this year. This capital investment is part of St. Mark School's technology strategic plan to inventory student Chromebooks and classroom hardware and create an achievable and sustainable schedule to replace technology before they reach their “end of life.”
In the Classroom

This week, students in grade 2 and grade 5 read new fiction books from our Scholastic Leveled Library during their Personalized Learning ELA blocks. Students worked in teacher-led small groups, and in partnerships to deepen their reading comprehension and fluency skills.
In-person and distance learning students in grade 4 were introduced to new vocabulary words from a historical text during reading this week. In math, they practiced their multiplication skills of 3 and 2 digit numbers.
Kindergarten students practiced speaking and reading their color words in Spanish class this week.
On Friday, students in grade 7 spent time preparing for their Religion midterm exam next week. Students worked in partnerships and individually using various resources including textbooks, review guides, and online quizzes to review. In Science, grade 7 used microscopes to take a close look at a variety of microbiological samples including blood and dust.
Students in grade 3 practiced their close reading skills to take a deep dive into their Scholastic News magazine non-fiction articles.
Grade 8 students took history class outside on Friday to reenact the Battle of Gettysburg. Students were divided into 2 groups, each group taking a turn as Union and Confederate forces and reenacted battlefield maneuvers.
The Power of Prayer

If you have a prayer intention, please submit your request to St. Mark School's prayer line by clicking here. Your intention will be remembered during our Afternoon Prayers and Announcements.
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.
  • Friday, January 15th: Early Dismissal, 11:25am
  • Monday, January 18th: No School, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • Tuesday, January 19th: Scholastic Virtual Book Fair Begins
  • Thursday, January 21st: Dress Down Day, $1
  • Sunday, January 31st: Catholic Schools Week begins; Open House School Tours By Reservation, 10am-12pm
  • Sunday, January 31st-Saturday, February 2nd: Catholic Schools Week
  • Saturday, February 2nd: Bottle and Can Drive, 10am-2pm
  • Friday, February 12th: No School
  • Monday, February 15th: No School
  • Wednesday, February 17th: Ash Wednesday
  • Thursday, February 18th: Dress Down Day, $1
St. Mark School | 203-375-4291 | www.stmarkschool.org
500 Wigwam Lane, Stratford, CT 06614
The secret to happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us everyday in His goodness.
Saint Gianna Beretta