September 24, 2021
Dear Members of the St. Mark’s Community,
I write today to share an important change to the St. Mark’s Visitor Policy. In an effort to further reduce the School’s overall risk—particularly with the expected increase in visitors to campus in the coming weeks—St. Mark’s will require COVID-19 vaccination for all visitors to campus, including parents and guardians, family members of students, vendors, contract employees, and other visitors, effective immediately.
The month of October, which includes Family Weekend and other events and activities, promises to bring a large number of visitors to our campus. By adding this protocol, which is supported by our external health and safety consultants at Environmental Health & Engineering (EH&E), I am confident that the School can welcome large numbers of visitors to campus while preserving the safest possible environment for all members of our community.
Fully vaccinated visitors may eat in our Dining Hall, provided they check in at our Main Reception desk or are part of an organized School event or activity in which they have registered in advance.
Exceptions to the vaccine requirement include those who are planning to remain outdoors at all times, such as an outdoor athletics game, individuals who cannot medically receive the vaccine, or those with a religious exemption in which the vaccine conflicts with their sincerely held religious belief. This information will be confirmed when signing in at our Main Reception desk or as part of pre-registration for events.
We continue to ask that visitors, vendors, and contractors sign in at the Main Reception desk, with the exception of those attending larger pre-planned events that include pre-registration. Guests planning to attend these events will be asked to complete an attestation in advance of the event, if pre-registration is required, and are asked to adhere to all other protocols within our Visitor Policy.
Thank you for your attention to this important change, and I look forward to seeing you on campus soon.
