St. Mark School Announces In-Person Classes For Fall

St. Mark School in Stratford recently announced that it will re-open in the fall with in-person classes, 5 days a week.

“At St. Mark, we recognize the need for students to attend school in-person to the degree that health conditions allow,” shared Principal Melissa Warner. “As such, we have developed plans to increase the safety of everyone in the school building by modifying the use of space and changing existing practices to ensure a safe, clean, and welcoming environment for students and teachers.”

In May, Diocesan Preschool and K-8 task force groups were created who, informed by parent and teacher focus groups and interviews, created a reopening plan framework to ensure that schools are prepared to welcome students back in the fall. In turn, a school specific task force is finalizing a plan to address how the daily routines of St. Mark School will be impacted by the pandemic and how teachers and school leaders will respond.

All K-8 classrooms have been reconfigured to have individual desks spaced apart, allowing for social distancing protocols. Pre-K will be grouped in cohorts and face masks will be optional for preschool students when they are in the classroom. Students are required to wear face coverings in hallways and common spaces and during times when social distancing cannot occur.

When feasible, St. Mark will also utilize outdoor space for classroom instruction, as the school property consists of nine acres of grassy fields and open space within a residential community in North Stratford. Physical Education class will utilize the gym and outdoor space and Lunch and Specials such as Music, Spanish, Art, and Innovation will take place in the classroom.

Hand sanitizers have been installed throughout the building and unnecessary furniture, rugs, and items that cannot be easily sanitized have been removed. Additionally, the school has hired professionally trained cleaning service personnel to be on hand during the school day to address high touch areas and bathrooms.

Upon arrival, all school personnel and Pre-K through Grade 8 students will have their temperature checked. In addition to a full-time nurse, St. Mark School will be partnering with MyCatholicDoctor, a national telehealth leader. With parent consent, MyCatholicDoctor can provide pediatric in-school telehealth visits that include the school nurse, child and parent and discussions on how best to meet the medical needs of the child.

“Recognizing that this has been a potentially stressful year for students and that some may experience levels of anxiety as they return to school, we are developing a social-emotional wellness plan that ensures that every student has access to a qualified and licensed social worker,” Principal Warner added. “This social worker can provide counseling to students and support to families as needed and will enable the school to provide student and parent access to a 24-hour call line as well as a cache of resources to help families through a crisis.”

Additionally, St. Mark School was awarded grant funding from Foundations in Education to implement a Second Step Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum program. Second Step is research based, teacher informed, and classroom tested program that directly supports the social-emotional development, safety, and well-being of students from Pre-K through Grade 8. Second Step units focus on 4 key areas: Student Learning Skills, Empathy, Emotion Management, and Problem Solving.

“We recognize the commitment parents make in sending their children to St. Mark School and the trust they place in us,” Melissa shared. “We are building a plan to ensure a faith filled, safe, nurturing and academically challenging school environment that is adaptable and agile in responding to new information. We know there will be challenges, but we will face them together.”

St. Mark School recently announced two opportunities for K-8 families to apply for tuition assistance, both available for a limited time only. New families can apply to the Bishop’s Scholarship Fund and families suffering from the negative economic impact of the pandemic can apply to the COVID-19 Emergency Tuition Assistance Fund. More information can be found on the school website, www.stmarkschool.org.

St. Mark School is a Nationally Recognized Blue Ribbon School of Academic Excellence, accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). For more information or to arrange a school tour, contact us at 203.375.4291 or contactus@stmarkschool.org.