What's New at St. Mark's Lutheran School?

St. Mark's Lutheran School students in Eureka begin the 2011-2012 school year today by celebrating a new theme: "Lighten Up!"

"The theme reflects that God is the light of the world, and that by lightening up to recognize that having Him is so awesome, then we also become the light of the world," said principal Sue Templeton.

She said the theme was meant to focus on relaxing and enjoying education from the Christian perspective. "At our back-to-school celebration last Wednesday, we launched this new theme, and it provided such a positive air and climate. It was really nice."

St. Mark's has 177 students enrolled, ranging from 2 years old to eighth graders. There presently is a dozen educators on the teaching staff.

Templeton said they opened a second prekindergarten class this year, due to the number of students who moved up from preschool.

She said a new teacher, Katie Gulley, joined the staff. She will teach second grade and a combination of first and second grade in the afternoons.

Templeton joined St. Mark's staff as principal in July of 2005.  She graduated from Concordia University, NE, with a bachelor's degree in elementary education/special education. She completed her master's degree in elementary administration also through Concordia University.

She said every St. Mark's class now is fully equipped with SmartBoards, and all of the teachers have committed to ongoing training about more of their uses.

Each year, Templeton said the school's curriculum is reviewed. A new element they added is a program called Art Attack for the fine arts curriculum, which will enable them to increase technology and integration aspects. As a parochial institution, St. Mark's is accredited through two entities:  Missouri NonPublic School Accreditation and the National Lutheran Schools Accreditation programs.

She said they use the same state and national educational standards as public schools to balance the educational expectations of students with the religious components, which they secure from Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis. "Our students are fully prepared, no matter where they go for high school."

In fact, Templeton said St. Mark's students typically are a year ahead developmentally of their physical grade in math. "We teach high levels of math, and have one eighth grader this year who is dually enrolled at for his math classes," she said.

Given the tight U.S. and local economic environment, one might think enrollment at parochial schools would decrease, due to the tuition costs. But Templeton said St. Mark's offers financial assistance, based on need and extenuating services. She said scholarship assistance is offered from two sources at the school:  a Building Blocks Endowment Fund from the Lutheran organizations of the St. Louis area, which is solely on financial need and follows a specific formula, and the St. Mark's School Fund, which is based on a combination of financial need and special family circumstances, such as disasters, job loss, or health issues.

"We've remained pretty even for the past six years, including this year," she said, citing that they have not exceeded $15,000 to $20,000 in financial assistance to families each year.

Every year, they lose some families and gain some for financial assistance, she said, so it remains surprisingly steady overall.

Templeton said all students received home visits from the teachers prior to today's first official day, which is a "little perk" and lessens typical back-to-school anxieties. "Our students come excited, and maybe a little apprehensive, but certainly ready to move forward," she said.