Educators and Administrators at St. Mark recognize that we are preparing students for the world of tomorrow, not the world of today. With technology growing and changing at an exponential pace, we understand that teaching students how to be flexible, adaptable, creative, and collaborative is of utmost importance. Our Electives program is an integral part of the learning experience. It is designed to give students the opportunity to only explore a variety of interests while developing the critical skills they will need to thrive throughout their educational years and beyond.
Students choose from Electives Courses that are grouped into 4 Collections: Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Communications, and STEM.
Visual Arts electives allow our students to express themselves creatively through the production of physical artwork. Some electives will also dive into interpreting works of art to discover meaning and understand the artist’s purpose. These electives develop skills like: Creativity, Collaboration, Innovation, Self-Direction, and Global Awareness.
Performing Arts electives include everything from center stage to back stage. Some offerings give students the opportunity to strengthen their public speaking skills while others give students the skills necessary to perform in our Middle School Musicals. Through Performing Arts, students develop confidence and learn skills that translate well into their academic classes, like: Presentational Communication, Perseverance, Leadership, Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Global Awareness.
Electives in our Communications Collection allow students to sharpen their ability to think on their feet, tell a captivating story, write more effectively, or track down and understand information with more ease. The competencies learned in these classes translate directly into academic classes. Depending on their choices, students get ample practice with a wide variety of skills including: Interpersonal Communication, Presentational Communication, Innovation, Creativity, Design, Collaboration, Leadership, and Critical Thinking.
Our STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) electives provide experiences that will challenge and captivate our middle schoolers and require them to dig deep to solve problems. Students can discover new ways to use technology, strengthen their understanding in math, or experiment with new inventions and creations. The competencies acquired in these classes are numerous and include practice with Critical Thinking, Media Literacy, Digital Literacy, Problem Solving, Innovation, Self-Direction, Perseverance, and Collaboration.