SMAF

by Chelsea Cao ‘28

SMAF is an arts and music festival where different bands gather together to perform. This festival gives students a chance to show their talent in singing, instruments, and dance. From student-led rock bands to dance groups performing K-pop, SMAF showcases the many ways students can express themselves at St. Mark’s School. 

The music lineup has a great variety of performances. SpooodBeast performed songs such as “Disorder” by Joy Division, “Where Is My Mind” by Pixies, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show, and “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors. The Idealists brought us the performance “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Come As You Are” by Nirvana, “Black” by Pearl Jam, and “Nutshell” by Alice in Chains. Hawaiian Steak performed “Who Knows” and “Japanese Denim” by Daniel Caesar, “Kiss of Life” by Sade, “A Couple Minutes” by Olivia Dean, and “Amazing” by Rex Orange County. Other performers include Jamie Eslick, who played “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan, and Jamie Eslick, Malachi Robinson, and Harry Shin, who performed “Pride and Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Angus Eslick, Mr. Parks, and Mr. Eslick also performed “My Name is Mud” by Primus, while Radiotoes played “Creep” by Radiohead. Charlotte, Addie, and Kayda performed “The One that Got Away” by Katy Perry.  Besides live bands, we also have the dance group Dancing Lions, who brought us a performance of “Illusion” by Aespa. 

What makes SMAF special is that students get together to support each other, teachers can also get in on the action or cheer from the audience, and performers have an opportunity to share what they have practiced and care about. For many students, performing in front of peers can be nerve-racking, but SMAF provides a supportive environment that turns nervousness into excitement. 

Senior Spring: The Moments We Missed

by Serena Lin ‘28

In my time at St. Mark’s, I have never questioned the repetitive daily life. I wake up at 7:47, I eat breakfast, and I go to class. Day after day, month after month. I watch the snow fall from the sky and melt into the frozen soil, I watch the freshmen struggle to find their classrooms just as I did, and I watch every small dripping moment in St. Mark’s. I have never questioned the end of this tranquility. But when seeing that this year’s seniors are leaving, I realized that things are forced to roll in a school like this. Every year, ¼ of the school leaves and ¼ joins as well. Though the snow, the blossoms, and the air are repetitive, the people are not. As the school year trends through Senior Spring and towards the end, seniors are prepared to leave St. Mark’s and join the next part of their lives. But still, high school seems to end too abruptly. Suddenly, the friends, the teachers, and the familiar environment were cut off from daily lives.

As graduation approaches, many seniors find themselves caught between routine and departure. The familiar rhythms of St. Mark’s continue as usual — classes, meetings, meals, chapel — yet everything suddenly feels temporary. In a conversation with Catherine Zhang, her reflection on her final weeks revealed a shared awareness of how quickly ordinary moments become memories.

When was the first moment you realized high school was actually ending?

I think it honestly hasn't kicked in yet, but it will next week and when the final evening chapel takes place.

What part of daily life at St. Mark’s will feel strangest to lose?

 I think the jargon that I use around this place, like "small", "PFAC", and "quad".

Did senior spring feel slower or faster than you expected?

People always say that senior spring goes fast, so I expected it to go faster. In reality, time has been flying since coming back from spring break. It was nothing like the dreadful winter. 

What moment from this year do you think you’ll remember years later?

Small moments like hanging out with friends on the patio, getting ready together, and preparing for Songfest. Big moments like groton nights, umoja, senior sunrise and prom.

What feels unfinished as graduation approaches?

There's always something that is left undone and there's beauty in incompleteness. For me, I think the fact that there is still a lot that can be done for community affairs and C&E work is something that will be ongoing, and never truly end.

Which ordinary part of St. Mark’s do you think you’ll miss most?

Having all my classes in the same building, saying "thank you" to Flik staffs, having the trusted adults to talk to, running from meeting to meeting.

What surprised you most about your final year here?

I am surprised at the bonding and connections I built here and I, sometimes, wish that I could have become friends with some people earlier. I am also surprised by the initiatives I was able to take and the support I received.

Perhaps that is what Senior Spring truly is: not a dramatic ending, but a slow realization. The same bells still ring across campus, the same paths are walked every day, and the same conversations fill the dining hall. Yet for seniors, each ordinary moment quietly becomes a last. One last walk across the quad. One last chapel. One last late-night conversation with friends. And maybe the hardest part of leaving St. Mark’s is realizing that the moments we miss most were never the grand ones, but the small routines we once thought would last forever. 

But St. Mark’s will always remain as a welcoming and warm place for all the seniors to come back. After 10 years, 20 years, or even 50 years the seniors who graduate in this month will come back as alumni, watching students stream through the campus, talking about nominal events that upset them.