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.

March 27, 2020
Dear St. Mark Families,
 
Jesus’ promise of eternal life is a central element of our Catholic faith. Even though Easter is still two weeks away, Sunday's Gospel invites us to acknowledge Jesus’ power over death, evidenced in the raising of Lazarus, and to anticipate Jesus’ conquering of death once and for all in his death and Resurrection.

We sometimes use examples from nature to help describe this mystery of our faith. Jesus himself talked about the seed that dies when planted in the ground in order to produce new life (John 12:24). Using that image and others, we find hope and confidence in Jesus, the Resurrection and the life.

During this unprecedented and troubling time in the world, I pray that our faith remains steadfast and strong that our Lord will bring us into a "new life", an even stronger and more faith filled community, after this crisis has passed.

I encourage all our families to join Father Birendra, and our St. Mark Parish community for a Face Book Live streaming of Sunday Mass on Sunday, March 29th at 10:30am. Visit St. Mark Church on Facebook for more information.

Additionally, Sunday Mass with Bishop Caggiano is taped and made available on the Diocesan website ( https://www.bridgeportdiocese.org). Videos of Mass will be posted each Sunday at 8:00 AM.

Yours in Christ,
Melissa Warner

© 2020 Loyola Press
A Prayer for Hope and Peace

Heavenly father,
I am your humble servant,
I come before you today in need of hope.
I need hope for a calm and joyful future.
I need hope for love and kindness.
I pray for peace and safety.
Some say that the sky is at its
darkest just before the light.

I pray that this is true,
for today seems stormy and dim.
I need your light, Lord, in every way.
I pray to be filled with your light.
Help me to walk in your light, and live
my life in faith and service.

In your name I pray, Amen.
© 2020 Loyola Press
Distance Learning Update

As week 2 of St. Mark School's Distance Learning Initiative comes to a close, we hope students and families have found a routine that works for you. Our teachers continue to collaborate, self reflect, and refine their practice to deliver the quality Catholic education that is the tradition of St. Mark School.

We realized that students are now “going to school” in a new and different way and we appreciate how parents are contributing to the success of their children as they are engaged in helping their children access their lessons online.

Please be advised that in keeping with Governor Lamont’s directive to public schools, Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Schools has moved our tentative return to the school building date from April 1st to April 20th. click here to read more .

Below is a list of digital resources for parents to help navigate some of the digital platforms used by classroom teachers to deliver virtual instruction.

Digital Resources

The Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Schools utilizes Rediker PlusPortals, a cloud-based PK-12 student information system, that handles attendance, report cards, etc.

The ParentPlus Portal Web Application User Guide provides an overview of the web app and describes common tasks for parents:

ParentPlus Interactive Guides:

Other helpful links:

Notes App on any IPhone or IPad can be used to scan and email documents in place of taking a picture:

Parent's Guide to Google Classroom :

Parent/Student Guide to Google Classroom Functions :

How to join a Zoom session :


If you are a room parent for your child's classroom, kindly forward this and future communications regarding Distance Learning to your parents, ensuring all St. Mark families have the most up to date information.
Spring/Easter Break

Please be advised that St. Mark School will adhere to a revised schedule for Spring/Easter Break.

In adherence to the Diocese of Bridgeport Catholic Schools policy, Spring break will run from Monday, April 6th through Friday, April 17th, with classes (either in person or virtually) to resume on Monday, April 20th. Click here to read more.

As a reminder, you can find up to date information from the Diocese including resources for parents, communication from the Office of the Superintendent, and a virtual help desk for parents on our Catholic schools resource page:

Virtual Community Service Project

St. Mark School is attempting to produce an inspirational slideshow/video that we can share with nursi ng home patients - a video to let them know we are thinking about them and that we care. If you would like to participate, please have your child draw a picture of the following (see below) and email a horizontal picture of your child holding their picture to homeschoolassociation@stmarkschool.org by noon on Saturday, 3/28/20. Click here to read more.

Pre-K - sun or moon
K - heart
Gr 1 - trace a hand
Gr 2 - cross or anything religious
Gr 3 - earth/globe or rainbow
Gr 4 - clock
Gr 5 - children/families playing            
Gr 6 - children holding hands showing unity
Gr 7 - thank you signs (can be personalized to 1 st  responders, health care workers, teachers, etc.)
Gr 8 - short, generic inspirational quotes
Student Attendance

During Distance Learning, daily student attendance is being recorded by classroom teachers based on task completion.

If your child is sick, please communicate that with Nurse Wendy Frate fratew@stratk12.org, Mrs. Mannino cmannino@stmarkschool.org, and your child's classroom teacher.
Virtual Help Desk

In order help navigate digital platforms utilized by students and families, the Office of Superintendent of Schools is offering Virtual Help Desk hours to parents via Zoom video conferencing.

Help Desk hours for families are 10am-11am every Tuesday and Thursday.

Zoom Help Desk link: https://zoom.us/j/5486743995
Quarter 3 Report Cards

Quarter 3 for grades K-8 closes on Tuesday, March 31st. Report Cards will be distributed via email to families on Friday, April 3rd.

If you have recently changed your email address, and have not communicated it to the Main Office, please contact Mrs. Mannino at cmannino@stmarkschool.org.

St. Mark School reserves the right to withhold report cards from any family with an outstanding account balance, per our Parent/Student Handbook. Decisions to withhold report cards will be made on a case by case basis.
School Building Entrance
Revised Hours

Please be advised that the St. Mark blue awning door will be unlocked from  9:30am-7:00pm Mondays-Saturdays and 8:30am-7:00pm on Sundays to accommodate pick up/drop off of student work.
K-4 Families

Due to St. Mark School's Distance Learning initiative being extended past the initial 2 week period, we will begin to transition away from paper/pencil assignments and move towards a mainly digital platform for grades K-4.

When we return from Spring/Easter break, assignment for classroom teachers and specialists will be posted in the classroom teacher's Google Classroom. It is our goal to streamline delivery of instructional tools, eliminate the need for multiple daily emails, and centralize learning tasks in one place for students and families.
Modified Office Hours

During the temporary school building closure, St. Mark School will be operating on a modified office hours schedule.

Office staff will be available by phone at (203) 375-4291 between the hours of 8:30am-11:00am, Monday thru Friday.

Mrs. Carolyn Mannino cmannino@stmarkschool.org and Mrs. Evelyn Lesko elesko@stmarkschool.org are also available via email until 3pm Monday-Friday.
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.

For Parish information, visit: https://www.saintmarkchurchstratford.org/

Please also visit our social media pages for updates on our school community.
St. Mark School | 203-375-4291 |  www.stmarkschool.org
500 Wigwam Lane, Stratford, CT 06614