Saint Mark Catholic School

School Calendar

2007-03-14T07:35:00.000-12:00

During the 2006-2007 school year teacher in-service days were scheduled every other month on Mondays and Fridays. The goal was to make arrangements easier for families. Half days were eliminated to provide for a better environment for the teacher training. As we sit down to make next year's schedule what are your concerns and recommendations? In your opinion was it better to take a whole day off as opposed to a half-day off? Love to hear your thoughts.

Homework Help and the Lower Grades?

2006-12-09T03:01:00.000-12:00

Beginning in November a test program was initiated with the junior high students called, "homework help". This program has been based off of similar programs at Holy Family Catholic School and local area public schools. The goal of the program is to increase student achievment by decreasing the amount of late and missing homework assignments. The program operates by increasing school - parent communication and student accountability. In practice when a child fails to present their assignment they are sent to the office to notify their parent and are expected to either stay after school that day or the next to complete the missing work. So far the program was had solid success in the Junior High. We are considering rolling this program out the to 3rd through 5th grade at the start of the next semester in mid-January. We would love to hear your thoughts.

Halloween Parties and Trunk or Treat. All Saints Day?

2006-11-03T10:27:00.000-12:00

Halloween is an exciting part of every year for a child. Our Trunk or Treat event hosted by the PTO is a fabuouls event every year for our parish school community. Is it a little bit redundant to have a room party to celebrate Halloween when "trunk or treat" was a few days before? Should we as a Catholic School try to put more of an emphasis on All Saints Day and move the Room Parties to All Saints Day? I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter.

The Length of Basketball Season

2006-11-03T10:25:00.000-12:00

I would like your input regarding the length of the basketball season for the PACC. At a recent Regional Principal's Meeting the topic came up. In general most of the principals were in favor of shortening the PACC schedule. What are your thoughts and comments?

New St. Mark Facilities Options

2006-08-21T10:45:00.000-12:00

Over the past year much progress has been made in working towards a new school at St. Mark. The REID Consulting Group will soon be delivering their report to Bishop Jenky and Brother Wililam. Much talk lately has focused on different types of building options. Many call for a brand new school on our current footprint. Many call for a total rehab of our current facility with the addition of a gym, science lab and a few classrooms. Never the less either project would certainly bring much excitement to Catholic education in the West Bluff. What are your thoughts? Should we build a brand new building? Should we remodel and add on? How much of a difference does available funding make? As always we would love to hear your thoughts.

Catholic High School in Peoria

2006-06-20T02:41:00.000-12:00

Recently the Journal Star ran a proposal from Fr. Terry Cassidy regarding the future of Catholic education at the Secondary level in Peoria. Fr. Terry advocates the selling of the land received by PND and their current campus. Money would then be used to purchase Manual High School. District 150 is cash strapped and facing the consolidation of some of its high schools already. The remaining balance could be used to fund scholarship endowments. This central location would be well served by the 474 overpass and also allow the Church to practice its social justice teachings as well. Please post your thoughts on the idea. God bless!

May Crowning and Awards Ceremony

2006-05-12T12:12:00.000-12:00

On Friday May 12th Saint Mark Catholic School celebrated Award's Day and May Crowning. Any thoughts or comments on this year's format to award's day and May Crowning. Anything that could be improved, anything that should be dropped? As always, love to hear your comments.

The Musical - Annie Junior

2006-04-30T15:25:00.000-12:00

This past weekend St. Mark students performed our fifth musical "Annie Junior". All in all the performances were great. Our students certainly deserve a great deal of accolades for their hard work. Special thanks to our director and her wonderful and talented staff.

Baseball at St. Mark Catholic School

2006-03-06T16:13:00.001-12:00

Would there be any interest on the part of St. Mark students and families for St. Mark School to pursue establishing an IESA boys baseball team. The IESA schedule begins with practices around August 1st with regional play beginning around September. It is a rather short season but all in all alot of fun. It would draw some students away from soccer and cross country but could we maintain all three?

Reflections on the Auction

2006-03-06T16:13:00.000-12:00

Congratulations to the hard working families of St. Mark School and the tradition of pulling off greatness. This year's auction was a great success. As with any new venture (moving the auction off site) there are always things to learn to improve upon. Love to hear your comments on the auction. Congratulations again to all who helped with the auction. You are too numerous to list.

Athletic Eligibility Requirements? An F, two Ds, what should it be?

2006-02-19T04:01:00.000-12:00

Currently students are ineligible for intersholastic athletics or other co-curriculars when their cumulative grade for a counted subject drops under an F as recorded Friday at noon. Some concern has arisen over the fact that students who earn high marks during the first semester can academically coast for the remainder of the year. A few possible solutions have arisen.

One line of reasoning promotes changing inelgible standing to be any F or two cumulative D's. In this scenario a student receiving two Ds, an F, or an F and a D would be ineligible.

Another line argues that instead of using cumulative grades to determine ineligibility the quarter or semester grade should be used. The benefit is ongoing accountability but the drawback consists of fewer points/assignments with which to determine the grade.

The goal is to promote commitment to academic excellence while viewing participation in co-curriculars as a privelege not a right.

Love to hear your thoughts on the subject...

Fees and combining with tuition?

2006-02-10T11:48:00.000-12:00

As the budgeting process unfolds, one item being considered is the issue of combining fees into tuition. Is it easier for our families to budget with fees being rolled in throughout the rest of the payments? Or would our families prefer to keep things the way they are and pay a large lump fee over the summer for books etc. Let me know and thanks for your input.

Fencing at St. Mark

2006-01-26T15:38:00.000-12:00

Recently an idea has been brought forth to consider adding fencing to our cocurricular list of activities. Fencing is a classic sport that teaches self control, sportsmanship, discipline, while increasing strategic thinking skills. Fencing also helps build strong bodies and provides a great outlet for physical activity. The costs of starting such a program are relatively low. Would such a program with a possible weekly commitment be something our students would be interested in? Possible AM practices could be considered to prevent interference with other athletic activities. Comments please?

Gym Shoes and P.E.?

2006-01-19T08:54:00.000-12:00

What are everyone's thoughts on allowing gym shoes to be worn to school. I realize it doesn't look as classy as dress shoes. The benefit is saving the minutes each day that it takes to change shoes for P.E. The older the students the less time it takes. It also eliminates classroom space being used to store gym shoes, less scuff marks in the hallway, and overall less expensive for parents? Any thoughts and comments? Please share and thanks for all your previous posts.

Summer Programs

2006-01-10T15:28:00.000-12:00

A handful of local schools and schools across the nation have devised summer programs for students. Usually these summer programs take one of two forms. They are either a daycare type program for younger students peppered with valid learning excursions and physcial activities or a series of camps for older students focused on certain academic areas. Examples of the latter include camps like Math or Science based programs. The school makes some money, the kids gain some valuable experiences, working parents are provided with a safe, instructional, daycare alternative. Would the St. Mark School Community be interested in the creation of such programs?

New Uniforms?

2006-01-05T03:32:00.000-12:00

A handful of local parochial schools are switching school uniforms to go with a single vendor. The most populat package is opting for a navy or khaki pant with a polo shirt complete with school emblem in one to two colors. The benefits includes one stop shopping, easy enforcement, and good prices for quality clothing. The draw back would be increased immediate costs for the first year of implementation. Notre Dame High School switched to this format two years ago and St. Thomas' Junior High will be adopting a new dress code next fall. Any comments or concerns?

What to do with all the students who are tardy?

2005-12-29T12:26:00.000-12:00

For various reasons we have a high percentage of families who are chronically tardy to school. A survey of area schools reveals that there is a wide range of approaches to handling this problem. Many schools simply document the late arrival and leave it at that. Some schools assign detention to students who are chronically tardy while others levy fines. What are reasonable consequences? What are reasonable expectations for arriving on time?

Underhill One Way? Yes, No May be So!!

2005-12-14T14:00:00.000-12:00

Steps have been taken to zone Underhill one way. The zoning would allow Underhill to flow North to South. Traffic would enter from the Bradley / Underhill corner and exit through the alleys south of the school. Would this be beneficial for the flow of traffic before and after school? Would it make traffic during basketball games easier to manage?

Christmas Program

2005-12-10T17:44:00.000-12:00

This year the Christmas Program returned to the Church. The Eucharist was removed prior to the show. How did the program sound? Was the Church a more accomodating environment? Should the Christmas program stay in the Church? Should the Christmas program be longer? Should the Christmas program be shorter? Comments please!