September 5, 2015
In This Issue…
- Arriving at School – When should my student arrive?
- Getting Ready for the 2015-16 School Year
- Health Forms and Famility Information Form
- Vacation Dates and Off Campus Plans
- Lion Card
- Academic News
- Parent Portal
Dear St. Mark’s Community,
Happy September! Labor Day Weekend is here and the faculty spent a number of days this week taking part in professional development meetings and preparing for the arrival of students and parents next week. The big news is that the STEM building is open as we put on the finishing touches and move furniture into this beautiful facility! Speaking a beautiful, the restoration of the woodwork in both the Main Dining Room and the Hinkle Room is also complete. We are getting ready, and we hope that you are as excited as we are for the start of the school year! Some reminders before next week:
Getting Ready and the SM Web Site
- Please check out the Getting Ready section of the SM Web Site for information about the beginning of the school year. Details about summer reading, laundry service options, forms and more are all available on the site.
Health Forms and Family Information Form (FIF)
- We ask that all Health Record information be complete prior to your student’s arrival at school. We are still looking for a number of the Health Form and Family Information Forms submissions, and 43 families have yet to turn in any materials and many folders (23) are still incomplete – make sure you hit SUBMIT (The Familiy Information Form was sent via email with the from address of: support@infosnap.com). We need to be at 100% as soon as possible.
If there is a problem completing your student’s Health Record, please call Health Services at 508-786-6372. Missing information can be faxed directly to Health Services at 508-786-6010. Students must have their health, business and FIF forms completed and submitted before they will be allowed to participate in leadership training, pre-season athletics, or any school activities next week.
Vacation Dates and Off-Campus Plans
- Students who need to leave early for vacation or return late from extended breaks will be automatically assigned detention hours providing a structured opportunity for makeup academic work. We hope that those of you who live at a distance will take care of travel plans for the year now, if you have not already done so. If you need to book flights or make transportation arrangements please check carefully the dates on the school calendar (available on the website). Similarly, local parents should not schedule off campus family, personal, or athletic events that would require a student to leave school early or return late from our vacation schedule. Thank you!
- The Lion Card is used as the official means of identification for students as well as a prepaid spending account to purchase textbooks, items from the bookstore or Lion’s Den … and now on the House washer and dryers! An email was sent earlier to all new families with information on how to register your child’s Lion Card. Here is the link to our FAQ page for instructions on registration as well as how to add additional money to the card.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to campus soon! Below is important information as you gear up for next week:
- Updated schedules and access to Student Info (where you can review schedules, grades, and teacher comments also known as Netclassroom) will be provided during registration as well as sent out via email on 9/10.
- As usual, there is an add/drop period for two weeks once classes start and it ends on Friday, September 25th. We ask that all students stay with the schedule they receive for the first day of classes on September 12th. The Academics office will publish a schedule for the add/drop sessions that will occur starting Monday, September 14th.
- Please be in touch with the Dean of Academics, lynettesumpter@stmarksschool.org, should you have any questions as you prepare for your arrival.
- The Parent Portal is now linked on the top left navigation of the website. Note the password protected section found in the right navigation that contains Student Info – Grades & Schedules (Netclassroom) is the same login used to access the Lion Hub previously. New parents will receive their log in information by 9/10.
- With back-to-school arrival plans, we ask that students adhere to the scheduled framework and guidelines that we have provided. Early arrivals or arrival times that are different than when a student is expected are very problematic for the School. Due to liability and safety issues, it is important that students come when we expect them. Here is a quick outline of arrival times:
Monday, 9/7– Monitors, Pathway Leaders, House Prefects, Peer Discussion Leaders arrive for Leadership Training before 12 Noon.
Tuesday, 9/8 – Athletes attending pre-season sports practices, and other student leaders (Tech Prefects, Student Activities Committee, Student Discipline Committee) arrive between 10-12 Noon. (Pre-season football players arrive at 8:00 am).
Wednesday 9/9 New Students arrive between 8:30 AM and 11:30AM for Registration and Orientation.
Friday, 9/11 – Returning students register any time between 9 AM and 11 AM.
Our first all school gathering in the PAC will begin at 7:45 PM (chapel dress required) with our Convocation service.
Saturday, 9/12 – Special class schedule with brief meetings of every class and sports practice. School/Closed Weekend.
Reminders about what NOT to bring to campus
We ask that all large screen televisions sets/computer monitors (over 26 inches), coffee makers, refrigerators (unless approved through the Health Center), video games and other unnecessary electronics stay at home. These extra electronic appliances are problematic and create a potential fire hazard. Please refer to the Community Life section of the Student Handbook for more details. In addition, please leave pets at home. For safety and health concerns, all fish, turtles, and multi-legged critters (with or without fur) do not belong in our dormitories. Thank you for your parental support with these expectations.
The campus is closed over Labor Day weekend – please do not swing by campus to drop off any personal belongings.
Enjoy the weekend.
All the best,
Dave