Dear Parents,

Saturday night saw many students descend on the Hinkle Room ready to try their hand at poker, roulette, bingo and blackjack. Similar to last year, Casino Night was tied into the year-long House Cup Challenge, with students earning a chance to win individual prizes (mostly food) as well as house points. We had numerous dedicated parents who gave up their Saturday night to serve as dealers. Many thanks to those parents (who seemed to have a fun time as well). Their efforts in creating a festive and fun atmosphere for the students were truly appreciated in creating a great community event!

For those who are interested, the top 5 House Cup Challenge Dorms are currently:

1st Coe
2nd Marr/Coolidge
3rd Maple/Elm
4th Sawyer
5th Gaccon.

Martin Luther King Day
With the goal of having students better understand Dr. King's dream of equality and true social justice, we have scheduled a special program with a variety of morning workshops. Students will begin the day at 8:45 in the PAC and then will attend a faculty sponsored workshop for the entire morning. Student can choose which workshop they would like to attend – some examples include:

• Multimedia Exploration of MLK's I Have a Dream Speech
• Service Trip to Project Just Because an organization that accepts and then redistributes clothes, school supplies, toys, toiletries and household items to families in financial need
• Food from a Different Culture and the Math of MLK speeches
• The Dream Flag Project
• The Psychology of Prejudice
• Bias and Implicit Associations – watching the movie Crash
• And a number more ….

News on the web site
•Stephen Kiernan and his Gray Colloquium talk on authentic patriotism.
•The St. Mark trip to Ghana this December
•Students traveling to New Hampshire to visit the political news television show, “The Week.”

More news …
The Varsity Girls’ Hockey team had an outstanding week defeating two ISL opponents, Thayer Academy and St. George’s School. On Thursday against Thayer, Teal Gosselin scored two goals, while Hannah Bartlett and Kara Violette scored one goal each for the Lions for a 4-2 win. With St. George’s, the 5-0 win was the third shutout of the season for St. Mark’s goaltender Lindsay Hulley. With the two wins, the team expanded their win streak to four games. Ian Martin stepped between the pipes to help the JV Boy’s hockey game beat Cushing Academy 10-3 and St. George’s 7-6 last week. The games were Martin’s first two ever, and he had only put on the goalie pads a few times before.

Exam “Week” is coming! Please know that we have altered this upcoming exam period for mid-year exams. We have shortened this testing time to only two days as opposed to the traditional full week of exams. Some academic departments believed that they did not need two-hour exam block exam date and would prefer to hold classes. History and Math will hold exams on Thursday, January. 26th and on Friday, Jan. 27th. Other AP courses will also hold exams on those days. After their last exam, students may depart for the winter long weekend. If you have transportation questions, please contact Sue LaFreniere in the Deans’ Office. For international students, we have a few options:

• We can help connect students with a local day student family or help students with transportation to their guardians.
• We are talking about sponsoring trips to stay overnight at a ski resort or downtown with faculty chaperones if necessary.
• Students are welcome to stay campus and take advantage of our weekend events. The Dining Hall will be open and smaller daily local trips off campus will occur with our faculty chaperones.

Please email David Fuller at davidfuller@stmarksschool.org for any questions or to let us know what your international son/daughter’s plans are for the winter weekend. All boarding students will need to return to their dorm room by 7:00pm Tuesday Jan 31st.

The time is now to sign up for Confirmation and/or Baptism preparation! Meetings begin right after we return from the mid-winter weekend, and will be held on Sundays at 4:30pm at Rev. Talcott's house (the first meeting is February 5th). The Service will be held at 6:30pm on Sunday, April 29th, in Belmont Chapel on campus, and families and extended families are welcome to attend. Let Reverend Talcott know soon if your St. Mark's student is interested. If you prefer Roman Catholic confirmation contact Rev. Talcott as well at barbaratalcott@stmarksschool.org; she can set that up for you through St. Anne's, in town.

Stay warm and all the best,

Dave

Weekend Highlights