St. Mark’s Strong : keeping the pride intact in difficult times

By Eve Elkins’21

No longer can we cheer around the bonfire as the monitors throw in a paper mache zebra. No longer can students pack the Lion’s Den and sing along to song after song. These school traditions were a much-needed outlet from the hard work and stress that academics and extracurriculars at St.Marks entail. In the hybrid version of St.Mark’s, where these traditions no longer stand, how do we keep our sense of togetherness- how do we keep the Pride strong? 

Whether you are remote or in-person this fall, the mindfulness practices and the check-ins with each grade foster strong community connections. I recently started going to these brief mindfulness practices over Zoom, and they are a great way to help retain connectivity and interactions that we took for granted. Talking about how I was doing with people who could empathize with me reminded me that I am not alone. As for going to the check-ins with your grade, we all know too well those periods of awkward silence on Zoom. Embracing that awkwardness is vital because when you go to these check-ins, you contribute to the St.Mark’s community. Libby Flathers, a sixth former, said, “watch for the small things. They may not seem like a lot, but the small things are what can really make or break a community.” Especially now, these small efforts you can make matter because showing up for each other is fundamental to maintain the community. The dreaded Zoom silence is worth it because it is uncertain when or if things will ever be completely normal again. Another Zooming tip I have found to be useful is to keep myself off mute as much as I can even when I am not talking. I find the flow of the virtual conversation to be much smoother and that I participate more. 

Focusing on short term goals for yourself is key to staying motivated and positive in times of great uncertainty. Focus on the immediate and internal factors you can change rather than worrying about the external ones. Keep the long-term goals in the back of your mind so that you can adapt when things do change. A goal that everyone should keep in mind is rebuilding their relationship with learning. Last spring, it was challenging to stay motivated because virtual classes were a huge adjustment for everyone. Also, in the pass-fail quarter, we no longer had grades as something to motivate us. Now that the grading system is back and teachers are more prepared for the challenges of virtual school, everyone should begin to regain the trust that we used to have in our education. Regaining the academic mindset and motivation is an essential step in keeping the community strong. When we have the right attitude and eagerness, we become intellectually curious and can provide meaningful contributions to the class, making it more engaging.

Those who are remote just passed their 60th day of attending classes on Zoom. If you are in person, reach out to all the remote learners this fall that you know. Even if you don’t have much in common, we are all going through the global pandemic, which unites us no matter how far apart we are from each other. 

https://www.columbiaspectator.com/search=education&size=10&from=0/

Reflections on Remote teaching and Learning

by suha choi’22

The realities of distance learning hold many difficulties and barriers. Despite unprecedented challenges, the St. Mark’s faculty have done excellent jobs this spring to promote learning for their students. Several faculty share their experiences of online teaching for Window 4 as well as some thoughts of gratitude and positivity.  We asked them what they have learned about themselves as teachers and their students as learners during this time we have been learning remotely.

Reverend Talcott

 “I have learned that St. Markers really have a desire to learn, and are not in it just for the grades.  It has been such an amazing gift to see that!  They did all the work they needed in order to learn deeply, and they did it with enthusiasm--it was incredibly heartening and rewarding to see that.”- Reverend Talcott

Mr. Palmer

“Remote teaching and learning has really reinforced for me how important actual human interaction is to my teaching and my ability to communicate with students: the feedback both verbal and nonverbal when face to face is so much better than through a video screen. I teach to be with people not to just tell them stuff.” Mr. Palmer

Ms. McCann

“I am daily impressed by the way students have adapted to these wild and painful times by dashing headlong, without hesitation, into a new (and hopefully temporary) normal of remote learning.  I had much more trepidation than any of my students, so they have bolstered both my teaching and my hope.  I have had confirmed a long-held belief of mine: humor is instructive, powerful, and healing.” Ms. McCann

Mr. Corliss

“Remote Learning has taught me about how much I miss all the small nuances of connecting in person: without really experiencing body language, eye contact, and small cues, it is really difficult to feel connected.”

Dr. Harwood

“I have been so grateful to have the technology and professional  support  needed to continue teaching and learning with my students during the Pandemic. So many other students and teachers in our country and the world are without these amazing tools and resources. A lot of individuals worked tirelessly behind the scenes to  make this transition possible. This time has made me even more appreciative of St. Mark’s; of the strong and supportive community of faculty, staff and students and the wonderful learning opportunities we can engage in with our students- even from a distance. ” Dr. Harwood

Things to Do This Summer

By Suha Choi ‘22

• Scroll through the App Store and discover some really cool apps

• If you’re missing the seniors… watch the recordings of chapel talks (up on Canvas) and read through this year’s online yearbook

• Make face-masks and share them with your frontline worker relatives (there is also the no-sew version)

• Make cookies and brownies, but give them a twist with unconventional flavors!

• Practice random acts of kindness to your family and friends

• Try reading from a news website that you normally do not read from, and see how you feel about it and if there is anything different from the news websites that you normally go to. 

• Do a book swap with your family or try reading your friend’s favorite book\

• Do a diet swap with your friend– text each other what each of you would typically eat in a day and try each other’s diet for a day

• Educate yourself more about racism (emails from Ms. Adams and Ms. Roussinos also provide very helpful resources)

• Toss out all of your expired products or search if there are any ways to reuse them (for example, you can turn your expired moisturizer into a body scrub)

• Sign up for cool online classes (and not more zoom math or English classes). Think of it as our Saturday classes, but only more diverse and self-paced!  Some of the coolest classes. Two recommendations are : Mental floss and Teachthought

• Have a campfire at back-yard

• Compare yourself to the teenage photos of your parents and/or grandparents

• Make your own book… like Dr. Harwood is doing right now!

• Make your own bath bombs and take a nice bath

• Take a virtual museum tour.

• Order cheap at-home movie projectors and set up a home movie theatre

• Tired of staring at the screen all day long? Go on a 24-hour digital detox (off your phone and social media for 24 hours) 

• Enjoy your summer!

Words of Wisdom from the Class of 2020

By Suha Choi ‘22

Although Chapel took place remotely this window, it remained a place of community building and connection for us all. The end of year Chapel that the new Monitors ran commemorating the class of 2020 was a wonderful tribute and a great example of what a caring, supportive community St. Mark’s is.

Here are some of the words of wisdom and positivity departing VI formers shared with us this year. Thank you all for your bravery and honesty!!! Thanks to Niki Noel ‘20 for assembling this list for her chapel talk, the last of the year.

“You are all amazing and beautiful people no matter what you look like.”

- Sierra Petties 

“Family and friends are some of the greatest things in life. Be grateful that you have them during this difficult time.”

- Paige LaMalva

“Pick up the phone and facetime someone who you haven’t talked to for awhile. If not now, then when?”

- Will Bundy

“I want to thank every single one of you for making the three and a half years at St. Mark’s the best.”

- Amy Kim 

“Do not give up on your dreams and be persistent.”

- Jordan Uzochukwu 

“The bonds that I have made with every guy in my grade is so close that I count them as my family.”

- Conrad Krapf 

“Even though you might be in a situation you don’t want to be in, there is more to be happy about than to stress over.”

- Julian Yang  

“You don’t know what you got until it is taken away from you.”

- Noah Robb 

“If we don’t give ourselves the chance to start something, then we will miss out on a world of opportunities.”

- Niki Noel

“I think it is important to realize that this community actually does matter.”

- Alex Sumner  

“With that said, in the nicest way possible, let’s all stop complaining.”

- Ashley Battiata 

“Your time at St. Mark’s is going to fly, far quicker than you realize, so please appreciate the time you spend here with the people you care about, and even the people you couldn’t care less about.”

- Connor Flaherty 

“Set propitiously high goals for yourself, and get mad when you don’t achieve them.”

-Will Appel 

“The biggest lesson to take away from my experiences is not only that failure is inevitable. It is, and it will be bad, but afterward, you pick yourself up, you improve, and you go on.”

- Charles Brookby 

“If you find yourself questioning these basic things ridiculous, there are plentier grandiose things to examine.”

- Lora Xie

“I can only compare my love for them with God’s love for us. It’s unconditional and takes control of your heart in the most fulfilling way.”

- Grace Zawadaski  

Different Holidays Around Cultures and Religions, Different Experiences

Written by Suha Choi’22

From Christmas, Winter Solstice, Hannukah, to  Lunar New Year, the list of holidays go on and on during this cold time of the year. As many people say, “Tis the season!”  Holidays often come in different forms, different religions, and different backgrounds. Everyone marks different days on their calendars. 

“Passover has always been my favorite Jewish holiday. For me, Passover is a time when I am with my family and get to remember my ancestors and all the hardships they endured. When I was younger, I looked forward to the holiday because when we discussed the 10 plagues, we had little toys that symbolize each one. After I sat down, I would eagerly wait until that portion of our seder, and then proceed to try my hardest to land the toy frogs (one of the plagues) into my dad’s drink. As I have gotten older, I have come to enjoy this holiday more than the others because it gives me time to reflect. I reflect on my own culture and am reminded of my family’s values. It gives me the opportunity to discuss both topics with my family, but most importantly, it is their presence and the smiles we all share that make Passover my favorite holiday.”

- Jocelyn Cote’22

 (co-leader of J-team, Jewish affinity group)

“My favorite religious holiday is Easter, and particularly the Easter Vigil service, which comes the night before Easter.  The service is long, and it starts in the dark and is very somber, because at this point in the story we are still mourning the crucifixion of Jesus.  But about halfway in, the Bible passage is related where the women go to the tomb and find out that Jesus has risen from the dead. Then the lights come up, tons of flowers are brought out of hiding, everybody rings bells loudly (we all brought them to church with us), the organ and the brass unfold its sounds, and we all sing songs of victory and joy at the top of our lungs.  Love has triumphed over Death! At college, right after the Easter Vigil service, I ran over to my boyfriend's room and left him a basket full of chocolates, because he had given them up for Lent and I wanted him to find them in the morning. And later he became my husband, and we left trails of chocolates and jelly beans for our children to follow Easter morning when they woke up, leading from their beds to their hidden Easter Baskets.  It's a seriously joyous time!”

- Rev Barbara Talcott 

(Head Chaplain and Religion Department Faculty)

“This year in 2020, the Lunar New Year begins on January 25 and marks the beginning of the year of the rat. The Lunar New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is a celebration that begins from the first new moon to the first full moon of the lunar calendar, which is 15 days later.  The Lunar New Year is celebrated in several East/South East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is a time for family celebrations, including religious ceremonies honoring ancestors, giving and receiving red packets containing money, and watching dances and fireworks. 

ASA traditionally hosts a Lunar New Year dinner every year to celebrate this special event, and every year the festivities get larger and more elaborate. We began celebrations on Wednesday, January 22 with a professional lion dance performance during school meetings and decorated the Small Dining Hall and main hallway with red lanterns, red packets, and Chinese calligraphy with the help of several SM students. On Thursday night, ASA hosted its largest dinner with over 100 attendees from ASA, the faculty and staff, parents, and Chilean students. The dinner consisted of specially-made Chinese food courtesy of Flik, student-led performances, a video of SM parents saying good wishes to their kids, and a raffle. On Friday night we held a movie screening of The Farewell. Saturday marked the official start of the Lunar New Year, so during the school meeting, the Chinese IV and V class said good-wishes, the ASA held a round of jianzi for SM students to play, and the faculty helped distribute red packets with chocolate coins to everyone. ASA ended the week with various Lunar New Year related weekend-activities such as providing Asian snacks and dumpling-making. 

As a co-head of ASA and as an Asian American, the Lunar New Year festival is special to me because it is a time where I really delve into my Chinese identity and celebrate traditions that my parents celebrated when they were in China. The Lunar New Year celebration at St. Mark’s allows Asians from different ethnicities and cultures to come together and celebrate the beginning of a new lunar year. There’s joy, laughter, and music. There’s happiness, contentment, and peace. The Lunar New Year is special to me because it’s the time when ASA truly becomes a family away from home. It’s an amazing experience that I’m eternally grateful to have had in my St. Mark’s career.”

- Helen Huang ‘20

(Co-leader of Asian Students Alliance group)

Community and Equity Day: Paths to Discovering Identity

The workshops on Friday, January 17th, marked the official start of Community and Equity Day, which celebrates the diverse and inclusive student body here at St.Mark’s. After a kickoff party earlier that morning, students proceeded to the different workshops by form. The four workshops were Gender & Leadership, 5Cs, Climate Change & DEI, and Mindfulness. Different from last year when workshops were led by St.Markers ourselves, all of these workshops were presented by speakers from the Global Youth Leadership Institute (GYLI). 

These workshops touched upon various topics respectively. The one on gender and leadership was led by Roxanne Kruger. Different terms such as sex, gender, and gender expression were introduced to the students. Furthermore, students were inspired to come up with and challenge many stereotypes of various groups of people. Another, which discussed identifiers and understanding, took place inside Taft. The speaker, Ingrid Valdez, brought up the 5Cs, which are context, character, culture, class, and color. Students stood up and presented parts of their own identity. Through this workshop, we were encouraged to explore how we identified ourselves. Thirdly, Matt Link shared his concern on the global environment and presented potential solutions. He encouraged students to think about what we can do to make an impact. Lastly, the workshop on mindfulness was facilitated by Ambrose WB. He talked about the roles stress affects our lives and what we should do to adopt a healthy mindset. Overall, these workshops focused on the connection between ourselves as individuals and the world around us.

Community and Equity day workshops introduced us to progressive ideas and various solutions to current issues. However, many believed that they didn’t do a good job of discussing the central theme—culture. The C&E day was created to celebrate different cultures and identities so that everyone would feel welcome in the St.Mark’s community. The workshops did explore personal identities, but they failed to explain how people connect with others from different backgrounds. Moreover, because of the audience’s size, most of these workshops were structured in a way that’s similar to lecturing. Although there were certain activities, I felt disengaged for the most part. I believe learning, especially on non-academic topics such as identity, is more effective through hands-on activities and interactions. Last year’s workshops which were led by St.Markers allowed participants to have small-group discussions and to interact in various ways. The ideas were not just told but explained to us through activities. In essence, the workshops did a great job of imparting their messages, but how they convey the central ideas could be more effective.

Tips for New Faculty

Dear New Faculty,

Welcome to St. Mark’s!

We know how difficult it can sometimes be to come to a new school, and so the St. Marker staff have put together a list to help you get to know our student culture a little better. We hope your year is off to a good start! Here are some things you should know about us and about life at St. Mark’s.

One of my favorite parts of St. Mark’s is being close to several faculty members. Get to know the students, whether you teach them or not. -Paige LaMalva, VI Form 

Please enjoy having informal conversations with the students! We love talking about more topics besides academics with the faculty and building stronger relationships with our teachers. - Amy Kim VI Form

Students definitely love the donuts you bring to class or the cookies you bake in the dorms! - Sam Wang V Form

Have conversations about philosophy even if you teach science; and about the big bang theory even if you teach languages--conversations on what seems to be random, crazy topics are oftentimes the most fun at SM. - Clara Hua V From

If you teach a class during Orange, consider changing up the classroom a little bit on Wednesdays so that you and your students could enjoy some sunshine in the dining hall and a delicious second breakfast while having great discussions about the course material. —Cathy Zhou, V Form

If you are looking for ways to become that teacher everyone loves, breakfast classes or out-to-lunch early class. There is no better way to earn love from hungry teens. Also, try signing up for many different weekend activities, there are all kinds of cool activities and places you can visit! –Suha Choi, IV Form

Brown is a really hard color block to teach. If your students are tired or abnormally quiet, it is not you, it’s the color block. -- Anni Zhang, V Form

Enjoy your time here! Take some time to appreciate the campus, to walk to nearby stores, and to soak in the close-knit community. -Sunny Li IV Form

You have to pace yourself. I received this advice from a veteran teacher my first year at a boarding school and it has proven extremely helpful. - Dr. Harwood

Phone Parking Policy: Is it Necessary?

—KATIE PARK ‘21

When I opened Mr. Waters’ email to check the schedule on the first day of school, I was puzzled. It was not because of the schedule, which has been the same since my third form year. Rather, it was because of the “Cell Phone Parking.” The short description of the new policy stated that students are now expected to leave or “park” phones on the rack in the center of the classroom. 

So many thoughts instantly came to my mind. I did not like the way how the school was taking too much control over the usage of our phones. As young adults, it is our responsibility to take care of our learning, and we should also learn the consequences of the misuse of our phones. However, it has been a few weeks since we had the Phone Parking Policy, and the experience so far has been drastically different from my expectations.

The premise behind this new policy is to create an environment in which students can be most focused during class. It was based on a research about the effects of cell phones on learning. In a study published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research titled, “Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity,” a group of students was given three options: phones on the desk facing down, phones in their bags, or the phones kept in a separate room. The result was that students who chose the third option learned the best and paid more attention during class because they were free from the temptations to use phones. After reading and discussing this research, the Academics Office decided to enforce the Phone Parking Policy. 

I see many positive changes in the classroom climate. For instance, some of my teachers let us take a short break during the long block. In the past, my peers and I stayed on our phones until the end of the break. With our phones “parked,” we are more present to one another and have conversations during breaks. This atmosphere is also carried out during class discussions. Also, the school recognizes that phones can be a learning tool, so teachers allow students to grab their phones when needed.  

It has only been a couple of weeks since the enforcement of the new policy, so there are mixed feelings regarding the policy. However, the main purpose of the new policy is to help students to learn better, so we should give it a shot and see how it slowly transforms our learning environment.

Tips for New Students

—PAIGE LAMALVA ‘20

Being a new student at a new school can often be difficult. If you are a new student coming to St. Mark’s, you probably will not know a lot of people, if any. You will be in a whole new setting, figuring out how to make friends, managing your academic workload,  fitting in your athletic team and trying to get some minutes. And on top of all of that, you probably should join some clubs and organizations while you’re here. I came in as a freshman at St. Mark’s, and I wish I had a list of tips that someone gave me when I stepped foot on campus. So here they are: 

1. Take Advantage of Deans Sponsored Events

Does Deans Sponsored really mean the Dean's Office is going to pay for you? The answer to this question is yes! If you want to go out but don’t want to spend any money, this opportunity is perfect for you! Whether it be a trip to Starbucks on Route 9 or AMC Dine-In Theatre in Framingham, all of these events will be well worth it! This opportunity is a great way to get away from studying for a few hours and to just get off of campus… for FREE!

2. Meet Your Teachers Outside of Class

One of the best things about St. Mark’s is that you have teachers who are available when they are on dorm duty! After all, about 90% of the faculty live on campus! I have found out that the students who meet with their teachers on a regular basis are some of the most successful students at St. Mark’s. Take advantage of this opportunity— you are not able to meet with your teachers this frequently at most schools! 

3. Join A New Club

There are SO many clubs at St. Mark’s, and most students are usually involved in two or three. Even if you were not able to sign up for a club during the Club Fair, that doesn’t mean you can’t sign up! You can pick from the SM Cornhole club to the French Club to the Photography Club! Personally, I think you should join the Haiti Partnership and Women in STEM, but I am being biased because I am one of the heads for both of those clubs. You can also talk about how often clubs usually meet.

4. Go On At Least One Trip

Believe it or not, students have opportunities to travel to almost every continent at St. Mark’s. Some of the trips that are offered include trips to Paris, Namibia, and Belize. The trips are usually at spring and summer breaks. If you want to learn more about the details, ask Dr. Warren or the global ambassadors.