April 10, 2020

I hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy! Watch the video above and email me my location for a prize! Age Quod Agis, Dean Vachris

Some Reflections From Head of School John C. Warren '74

on Remote Learning in the Time of COVID-19

Please Note: Patriots' Day (Monday, April 20) - Remote Classes Will be Held

Classes will be held on Patriots' Day, Monday, April 20.

Parent Remote Learning Survey

Please use   this survey  to send us feedback about your family's experience with St. Mark's remote learning. Feedback from this survey will be shared on an ongoing basis with the Academic Council, Community Life Council, head of school, Senior Administrative Team, and others as appropriate. You can return to this survey and submit additional responses at any time. If your feedback varies by child, feel free to submit separate responses. Take Survey .

Week Two of Remote Learning

Week two of remote learning is coming to a close, and students and faculty are adapting slowly but steadily to the new rhythms and approaches. The faculty met in peer-to-peer workshops on Wednesday afternoon to share effective strategies for course planning and student support, as well as to learn more about designing engaging online and offline remote learning spaces. We are sure that lots of great learning will translate to the weekly plans that teachers post to Canvas each Sunday evening! On Friday afternoon, we circulated a survey to students and faculty to collect feedback on their experiences of remote learning, and are at work on a similar outreach to families. We are confident that our approach aligns with the national and global conversation about best practices in remote learning, and as we live into remote learning, we are also committed to looking closely at feedback. We encourage you to visit the  Remote Learning Website   to learn more about  our guiding principles  (including details on Window Four assessment),  student and family roles , and answers to  frequently asked questions .  

Window 3 Grades

Window 3 grades and comments were posted to  NetClassroom  in the   Parent Portal on Monday, April 6. Please also note the "C3" grade, which reflects each student's cumulative performance over the course of the year or semester. If there are any questions regarding access to grades and comments, please contact the Technology Department at 508.786.4001 or  [email protected] .  If you would like a paper copy of grades, please contact Claire Messier, registrar, at  [email protected] . 

As always, please be in touch with your student's advisor for any questions regarding academic progress and their work in classes. While we are at a greater distance in our Remote Learning format, advisors are still checking in with students, and well-positioned to serve as the link of connection between students, families and the school. 

5 Ways to Deal with Coronavirus-Induced Anxiety

Watch this quick video on how to deal with stress and anxiety during these trying times.

Here are six tips to help structure your day.

Tips for Remote Learning

Google Doc: Remote Learning Planning Template

Video:   Using the Planning Template to Manage Tasks

Tools: 10 Online Tools for Better Attention and Focus

Re-Enrollment Reminders

Parents of Current III, IV, and V Formers: 

Student re-enrollment contracts for most returning students in 2020-2021 have been issued online over the past few weeks. Contracts should be accessed again via School Forms Online powered by inResonance. Released re-enrollment contracts were sent out online from [email protected] via sendgrid.net (with an invitation link via email). Please make note that the subject line of the email you will be receiving for this is "St. Mark's School: Confirm your email". These have been sent to both parent email addresses for each household, if applicable. The email addresses utilized are the primary emails listed for each parent currently in our database (unless you share an email in which case these will be sent to only one). If you have not received your contract by now and are unsure as to why or have other questions or concerns, please reach out to Anne Behnke . Thank you for your continued support of St. Mark’s as we work through this difficult time together.

 

By April 20 please complete and submit your re-enrollment contracts and deposits. These are due by the end of this business day, unless otherwise specified.   

2020 Recruitment News

St. Mark’s will be welcoming new students from the following states and countries in September! Please note that today, April 10, is decision day and enrollments are still coming in. Congratulations to the Admission Office on their great work.  

New St. Markers coming from these U.S. states: MA, NJ, NY, VA, ME, CA, CT, AZ, RI, KY

And new St. Markers from these countries: Canada, South Korea, China, Singapore, Ukraine, Spain, Hong Kong, Vietnam

Advisor Reminder

Please make sure your student is checking in regularly with their advisor…at least twice a week (through email, ZOOM, phone, text, etc.).

Student Leadership Selections

We are starting the student leadership selection process for next year. Kicking off the season with Monitor elections. Interested VI Formers submitted their leadership applications and attended SMLeads sessions. Last week, we held our traditional Meet the Monitors event with questions and answers over a Zoom meeting. It was different, but the candidates did an awesome job presenting themselves to the SM community. Not an easy thing to do. We hosted the Monitor elections on Monday, and we will announce the 2020-2021 Monitors on Wednesday during School Meeting.

After the Monitors selections, we move into the process for selecting students for the Student Discipline Committee, House Prefects, Peer Discussion Leaders, and Pathway Prefect. We will explain more about each of these processes in next week’s Deans' Weekly Newsletter.

Housing Lottery

The housing lottery takes place in early to mid-May. All St. Markers should have a conversation with a classmate whom they feel they can room with for the coming academic year. While some singles may be available, they are first granted to House Prefects followed by VI Formers. Most of our students for the duration of their time at St. Mark's have roommates. As the process nears, encouraging honesty and an open mind are very helpful. Students will receive more detailed information in late April.

Parent/Faculty/Staff Book Club: New Date: April 22

Our book club will meet over a private Zoom meeting on Wednesday, April 22, at 3:30 p.m. We've changed the date so families have time to adjust to their new household schedules (and to even think about pleasure reading again). The time change is to minimize conflict with remote learning commitments.

Our discussion will be based around “What are you reading?” rather than  The Namesake  (the originally scheduled book) as folks may no longer have access to that book title. 

 

If you would like to join the St. Mark's Parent, Faculty, and Staff Book Club Zoom meeting, please email Laurie Kalapinski at   [email protected] , or Joanne Flathers at  [email protected]   for the invitation link.