NEW: St. Mark's Saturdays Classes Will Meet This Week

St. Mark's Saturdays classes are scheduled to meet this Saturday, May 7.

The remaining Saturday classes for the spring season will meet May 14 and 21.

NEW: SM Leads Welcomes MGH's Nora Yasumura Friday Night

This week, SM Leads will welcome Nora Yasumura, a collaborating faculty member with the MGH Center for Cross Cultural Student Emotional Wellness (https://www.mghstudentwellness.org). MGH CCCSEW faculty have been partnering with St. Mark's since 2017 and have come to the School for faculty development and Family Weekend presentations; they have also supported some of our students and families on an individual basis. 

On Friday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Taft, Nora will present a workshop open to all students, faculty, and staff entitled: "What I Wish My Teachers and Peers Understood: Raising the Visibility of the Pan Asian Student Experience in Predominantly White Institutions."

NEW:  Sign Up for the VI Form Formal by Friday, May 6!

Details for this year's VI Form Formal on Thursday, June 9, can be found here.

NEW: Housing Selection for Next Year

The housing process continues this week with information sessions and the housing number draw this Friday, May 6, at 8:45 p.m. in the Lower Center. To date, students attended two information sessions and submitted housing questions using an online form. Advisors have been working with students to discuss housing and roommate intent forms, which are due soon. Students who are still seeking roommates are encouraged to connect with their advisors. Questions can be directed to Ms. Caron.

NEW: Advisor Selection Process for Next Year

The advisor selection process for next year begins this month. Returning students will be completing advisor preference forms. Students are guaranteed to be able to keep their current advisor if they wish to do so (and of students whose advisors are returning, around 80 percent usually opt to do so). Students who wish (or need) to change advisors are required to provide five names, in order of preference, of those they would be comfortable having as an advisor. Using those lists of names, we do our best to match. Forms will be distributed and available next week. Parents, click here for a helpful overview of the advisor selection process.

NEW: Weekend Activities for May 6—8

Want to know what's happening this weekend? Check out the Weekend Activities Google Doc for events on campus and trips to off-campus locations.

NEW: Student Directed One Acts Next Week

This year, the student directed one acts will be a 24-hour Play Festival where actors and directors will be paired with short scripts 24 hours before their performances. The performances will take place Friday and Saturday, May 13 and May 14, with new plays performed each night. We would love to have as many folks as possible participate, as actors and audience, for this fun-filled event. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! If you have ever thought of auditioning for a play or dreamed of performing on stage, or want to step way outside your comfort zone, this is a great opportunity for you. In a spring sport? You can still be in the one acts! Never acted before? This is your chance! If you have questions, please email Mr. Kent at christoperkent@stmarksschool.org We look forward to seeing everyone in the Black Box Theater on Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, at 7:00 p.m. for our performances! 

NEW:  SALE at the Online St. Mark's School Store!

The online St. Mark's School store is currently having a 20 percent off sale on decals and magnets for the month of May. Shop the online sale here.

CHANGE: Virtual Speaker Series for Parents #4: State of the School

St. Mark’s parents are invited to attend virtually on Tuesday, May 10, at 7:00 p.m. when Head of School John C. Warren ’74 shares highlights from the 2021-2022 academic year, and discusses what lies ahead for the School and students, as we plan for the future. The event will now be held virtually only via Zoom. Submit questions in advance and register here by Sunday, May 8.

NEW: ¡Tequila! A cultural and historical overview...and a recipe.

Marshall Farrer ’89 and Jerry Kral P’24 of Brown-Forman invite parents and alumni to learn about tequila in this virtual presentation on Monday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Global Brand Ambassador Ruben Aceves, and Tequila Brand Ambassador William Brooks will lead you through an informational journey and will demonstrate the mixology of a special drink. Ingredients will be shared in your registration confirmation. A Zoom link will be shared the morning of the event. Register here.

Please join us for this informal gathering to connect and catch up on Friday, May 6, at 8:00 a.m. We will meet at NY Bagel Factory, which is located at 20 Turnpike Road in Southborough (Eastbound on Route 9).

St. Mark's School invites prospective applicants and their parents/guardians to join us for our Spring Open House on Saturday, May 7, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Please spread the word to families and friends who are interested in learning more about St. Mark's!

Class of 2023 Parents and Guardians: Please join the St. Mark's College Counseling Team for a Zoom webinar: "Preparing for the Need-Based Financial Aid Process." Director of Financial Aid at Swarthmore College Varo Duffins will join us to share his advice and outline the steps of the financial aid process on Tuesday evening, May 10, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Find the Zoom link here.

The St. Mark’s Parent/Faculty/Staff Book Club will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, May 11, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. (EDT)

The title selected for discussion in May is The Reading List by Sarah Nisha Adams.

Interested in attending? Please email your interest to co-chairs Laurie Kalapinski at lauriekalapinski@stmarksschool.org, Joanne Flathers P’15, ’19, ’21 at joanne@flathersfamily.net, or Shalini Yerabothu P’20, ’23 at shryer@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link invitation the morning of Wednesday, May 11.

Summer book titles will be selected at the end of this meeting by those in attendance. 

Music lovers, join us Sunday, May 15, at 3:30 p.m. in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Class of '45 Hall for "Joyous Celebrations!" with Julia Churchill on violin and Emma Churchill on cello. Tickets are free for students, $20 for seniors, and $25 for adults, available at www.symphonypromusica.org or by calling (978) 562-0939. Masks are mandatory, as is vaccination or a negative COVID test. Here is the link to the livestream: https://events.locallive.tv/events/80050 

We will begin utilizing our FACTS tuition payment system to show student payment details for all families, including those who pay tuition in advance on the A Plan. There is nothing required on your part at this time, but know that we will share more detailed information on access to this system in the coming weeks. For those who selected the B and C Plan, you will continue to utilize your existing login credentials. For immediate questions, please contact Marcus McDonald in our Business Office at marcusmcdonald@stmarksschool.org or at 508-786-6281.

Thinking about summer already? Wondering where to store all of your student's school stuff? OnDemand Storage will offer off-campus storage for the summer. Interested families should see the attached flyer for details.

Prize Day is just around the corner! At St. Mark’s, we are preparing for our 157th Prize Day ceremony on Saturday, June 11. The Prize Day Committee sent an email to VI Form families and students on Wednesday, February 16, that provided preliminary information on our Prize Day ceremony and the schedule leading up to the big day. Select this link to learn more. We look forward to seeing you next month!

Parents should notify Health Services (particularly in the mornings) of any health-related student absences, missed classes, or St. Mark’s commitments by calling 508-786-6372 or emailing healthservices@stmarksschool.org.

Please visit Health Services or contact Adria Pavletic (508-786-6372) if you are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. It is imperative that all symptomatic students, faculty, and staff take an antigen test before returning to in-person activities on campus.

To download the most up-to-date Essential Dates calendar, select this link.

Important messages from Head of School John C. Warren '74, as well as additional details pertaining to COVID-19, can be found on our website.

All Deans' Weekly newsletters can be found here on our website.

Upcoming PA Events 

Parent Coffee

8:00 a.m.

NY Bagel Factory

Located at 20 Turnpike Road in Southborough (Eastbound on Route 9)

Virtual Speaker Series for Parents #4

State of the School with John C. Warren '74

7:00 p.m. (EDT)

Parent/Faculty/Staff Book Club

1:00 p.m. (EDT)

7:30 p.m. (EDT)

You can read all St. Mark's news stories on our website here.