May 29, 2020 | A Message for New St. Mark's Families Dear New St. Mark's Families,
Welcome to St. Mark's! School is typically a place of stability, consistency, and predictability for our children and families. The current environment surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic creates unpredictability and inconsistency for all of us. It is our top priority to attend to the health and welfare of everyone in our community; students, faculty, staff, and families. It is through this lens we make all decisions. Our current plan is to follow our original calendar for the 2020-21 school year. The first day of school for everyone will be Wednesday, August 19. We do not anticipate changing our start date, but we also realize there are variables that could call us to adjust. As the summer months evolve, we will be watching closely and will maintain communication with our families to ensure clarity. In addition, the COVID-19 page on our website will continue to provide families with updated information.
STUDENT RECORDS ON THE PORTAL The St. Mark's Portal provides everything from contacts to classes to calendars in one place with tools that allow you to easily filter and find what is most important to you. The Portal includes announcements and assignments, athletics schedules, and allows you to customize your notifications, contact card, directories, and calendars. With an intuitive dashboard and easy navigation, you will be a Portal pro in no time. Portal access was established for each parent during the enrollment process; if you do not yet have access to the portal, please contact helpdesk@stmes.org.
MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS FROM ST. MARK'S Our School Nurse, in partnership with the rest of our school leadership team, is carefully monitoring the COVID-19 situation. We are evaluating and creating various plans for maintaining the physical health and safety of our students, families, faculty, and staff as we look toward a return to campus. Throughout the summer, we will maintain communication with our families about any updated protocols and procedures.
All forms are collected electronically through Magnus Health, and online help resources located within Magnus Health will show you how to upload your documents.
New families will be able to access Magnus Health in late June. Stay tuned for an email alerting you that your Magnus Health portal is now available.
FINANCIAL REMINDERS As a reminder, tuition for the 2020-2021 school year is due June 1, 2020. Regardless of which payment plan you selected, the first payment will be due in June. Remember to log into your student account in Smart Tuition via the Portal to pay all outstanding balances. Smart Tuition does assess a late fee five days after the due date if the payment has not been made. Any outstanding balances will prevent progress reports, teacher evaluations, transcripts, grades, and/or diplomas or certificates of graduation from being released. Questions? Contact Chau Vu or Eve Grubb in the Business Office.
SUMMER ASSIGNMENTS Summer assignments for all rising 1st-8th grade students can be found online. Looking to shop local while buying your books for summer assignments? We encourage all families to buy from Brazos Bookstore. You can shop online through the website they developed just for St. Mark's here. A portion of the profits will benefit St. Mark's; this online sale is serving as our spring book fair!
UNIFORMS At St. Mark's, we have two uniform vendors, Lands' End and Flynn O'Hara and students in Preschool 3s through 8th grade wear uniforms. Check out the full list of our uniform requirements and learn how to order online. Our Parent Guild is planning to host a Used Uniform Sale in August; this is a great way to stock up on gently used uniform items for the year. Stay tuned for more details!
DINING SERVICES We are happy to continue our partnership with Flik Independent School Dining for the 2020-20210 school year. Rest assured that we are partnering with Flik and planning for a variety of dining options that we could see in the fall to maintain the health and safety for all in our community. All Pre-K through 8th grade students are enrolled to eat lunch on campus. If your child is in Preschool 3s, he or she may opt into the dining program by contacting the Business Office. The Dining page of our website provides more information about what to expect at lunch. Questions? Please contact our Director of Operations, Eve Grubb.
We are so excited to have you join the St. Mark's community. The New Family Guide is a great resource to you over the summer, as is the New Family page of our website. If we can be of any assistance, please reach out to us. Have a happy, safe, and healthy summer!
Headmaster |