A Unique St. Mark’s Tradition: Blessing of the Animals

Lauren Laskowsky ‘29

From the outside, you may wonder why people’s beloved critters or furry companions roam the chapel with their student and teacher owners. This chapel service starts promptly at the beginning of the day, unlike our other services, which take place after the second period. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see the adorable, cute, and chubby pets of the St. Mark’s community? If you like to sit in the back and doze off during the regular weekly chapel services, you definitely don’t want to miss this opportunity to sit in the front row for this special service! A hands-on, interactive chapel is certainly a nice change once in a while.

The Blessing of the Animals is a unique annual tradition at St. Mark’s School. During this morning chapel service, owners may bring their pets to be blessed by our head chaplain, Reverend Katie Solter. Catholic and Episcopal schools nationwide observe this tradition on the day of St. Francis.

This day is commemorated in the Christian faith to honor St. Francis of Assisi. Here at St. Mark’s, Reverend Solter says, “For the Feast of St. Francis at this chapel, we celebrate his belief in the interrelationship of all creatures, and especially as he called her 'Our sister Mother Earth, ' and the beloved animals”. She refers to the Canticle of the Creatures, by St. Francis, as a reference for why we practice this tradition each year.

Meet one of our award-winning and astounding four-legged friends: Storm, an award-winning Newfoundland owned by Connor Moore ‘27! Storm won first place for Best of Breed at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show!

Blessing of the Animals, Photographer: Jenna Nastri

St. Mark’s Welcomes New Dining Hall Service

Kristina Gao ‘29, Ahana Saluja ‘29

This year, St. Mark’s welcomed a new dining hall service, Rebecca's Culinary Group. With high anticipation for a better dining experience than in previous years, Rebecca’s did not disappoint! The new dining group is constantly open to feedback, offers more options throughout the dining hall for people with different dietary needs, serves fresher food, and provides different cuisines each night. As a result, more people eat in the dining hall and the community feels heard. Recently, students were upset about the long lunch lines. Ms. McCann’s English classes even wrote emails to Rebecca’s asking for this issue to be resolved. Rebecca's was proactive about this feedback and was able to fix the problem within three days. There are now three separate lines: one for the main lunch dish, one for pizza, and also one for “Mane Streat”! The servery now even has a board where the community can leave feedback!

The “Mane Streat”, a small dining hall option, has notably improved since last year. Rebecca’s has done a wonderful job of providing a second option for those looking to skip the main meal option. Having recently served açai bowls, mac n cheese, dumplings, and poutine, the Mane Streat station offers a diverse selection of foods, whether sweet or savory!

Notably, this year the dining hall offers a wider variety of options, from fresh fruit throughout the day to more diverse options for students with dietary restrictions. For example, there are more vegetarian options than just tempeh and tofu, as well as fresher vegetables and more diverse flavors. Rebecca’s has also been attentive to the needs of students with allergies. By opening a separate station for students with gluten allergies, the group has made dining more accessible to the members of the community without having to worry about possible allergic reactions.

Rebecca’s has also exceeded expectations with the new Lion’s Den menu. A few noteworthy options include the chicken sandwich, cheeseburger, wings, smoothies, and personal pizzas. The Lion’s Den has also introduced DenDash, an ordering system similar to Doordash that allows students to order ahead and schedule a pickup time, making it easier to grab food between commitments. The staff in the Lion’s Den are also amazing. (Shoutout Alex!) In addition to being incredibly kind and welcoming, he often goes the extra mile. If you ask him to make your smoothie extra sweet, he’ll happily customize it for you. With the extended menu and warm service, the Lion’s Den has definitely become a favorite. The current Lion’s Den schedule is as follows:

Wednesdays: Noon to 5:00 p.m. Grab & Go only)

Thursdays—Sundays: 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. Full Menu