St. Mark's School

On Tuesday, April 7, St. Mark's hosted its first-ever virtual Revisit Day for prospective students and their families.

On Wednesday, April 1, at the first-ever remote all-school meeting, Dean of Students David Vachris announced Team Phoenix as the winner of the 2020 Quad Games. This year's Quad Games took place in early March, during the week before spring break. This is Phoenix's third Quad Games championship in the seven-year history of the annual intramural competition.

St. Mark's alumnus Sean Bellefeuille '15 is a talented entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of M3Dimensions, an innovative 3D-modeling company supporting veterinary surgeons. But the current concerns of these challenging times inspired a shift. Bellefeuille and M3Dimensions will now be creating lightweight, protective face shields for health care workers.

After an extended spring break, St. Mark's is back, albeit from a distance. Beginning today, classes resume through remote learning. The re-opening of learning at St. Mark's was launched by a morning chapel service on the Zoom platform, attended remotely by more than 250 members of the St. Mark's community.

Jack Griffin, a VI Former from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, has been selected as a delegate to the Society for Science and the Public's 2020 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for his project on polymer science.

While remaining at home like so many others during these challenging weeks, some members of the St. Mark's community are using their time to help make a difference. Two from St. Mark's—a student and a staff member—are among those making face masks to help address the shortage of those essential items, supporting the needs of health care workers and medical facilities.

With an overall record of 22-14-0 so far in 2020, the St. Mark's robotics team is ranked second in New England with 86 total points in the region's FIRST Robotics standings.

On Thursday, March 5, the Winter Athletic Awards ceremony took place in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Class of 1945 Hall. In addition to team awards, 28 St. Markers earned All-Independent School League (ISL) honors, highlighting a strong season for several St. Mark's teams.

Wednesday, March 4, was Tuition Freedom Day at St. Mark's, representing the day income from tuition is expended and philanthropic resources from the Annual Fund and the endowment kick-in to cover the School's operating costs for the rest of the year. Again this year, on Tuition Freedom Day students visited tables outside the dining hall to write more than 285 thank-you notes to donors.

On Monday, March 2, the St. Mark's School Orchestra, conducted by director Nathaniel Meyer, performed a concert for the entire School community in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Class of 1945 Hall.

From February 27 through February 29, the St. Mark's Robotics Team— #3566 Gone Fishin'—made a strong impression in its 2020 competitive debut at the annual Granite State New England District FIRST Robotics event in Salem, New Hampshire.

Eight individuals—seven athletes and a coach—along with two historic St. Mark's teams will be inducted into the School's Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, May 9, during Reunion Weekend 2020. The inductees include one of the most successful boys' varsity tennis coaches in St. Mark's history, a pioneering Southborough School grad who has seen national and international success as a racing sailor and triathlete, and athletes who played football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, softball, and field hockey; who wrestled; and who rowed crew. They achieved athletic success in both school and college, and they represent the best of independent school athletics. They will join the 41 athletes, nine coaches, one manager, and two teams already enshrined in St. Mark's Athletic Hall of Fame, which was first established in 2001.

The 2020 St. Mark's Quad Games kicked off on Monday, March 2, with an all-school lunch. Students and faculty were seated by teams, as teams Large, Phoenix, and Thayer get ready to attempt to topple defending champion Fearing. Lunch was followed by an official opening in the Putnam Family Art Center's Class of 1945 Hall. following a performance by the St. Mark's Orchestral. Head of School John C. Warren '74 declared the 2020 Quad Games underway, and the very first event-- the paper airplane competition-- was won by Team Phoenix.

After a two-year hiatus, St. Mark's hosted the 38th Peabo Gardner Alumni Hockey game on the evening of Saturday, February 29.

On Saturday morning, February 29, 60 VI Formers gave presentations on their research arising from their winter term St. Mark's Saturday class: Lives of Consequence.

After a successful winter Groton weekend, with three of four varsity teams winning over their longtime rivals, both St. Mark's varsity hockey teams are in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) playoffs.

This year's winter play, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis, tells an intriguing story wrapped around ideas. The St. Mark's production, which will be performed this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, February 27, 28, and 29, in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Black Box Theater, is a beautifully acted experience well worth seeing.

On Sunday evening, February 23, the St. Mark's choir traveled to Groton School, to join the Groton choir in presenting a traditional service of Festival Evensong in Groton's historic St. John's Chapel.

February has been an outstanding month for St. Mark's athletics.

For five days in February, St. Mark's alumnus Nicholas Braun '06 visited the School, meeting with students and faculty and working with students in Theater Arts classes and the upcoming winter play.

Ross Gay, a leading American poet, author, editor, and advocate, was the visiting speaker for the ongoing Gray Colloquium Series at St. Mark's on February 20. The theme of this year's Gray Colloquium is Civil Discourse.

The winter play this year will be The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Performances will take place Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, February 27, 28, and 29, in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Black Box Theater. Each nIght the show will begin at 7:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, February 12, Douglas Sutherland, the new executive director of Brantwood Camp, visited St. Mark's. He addressed the St. Mark's community at the all-school meeting that morning, and he made himself available for questions and conversation at lunch.

On Monday evening, February 10, St. Mark's presented its Winter Music Showcase. James Wallace, director of music and Arts Department head, hosted the annual event on the stage of the Putnam Family Arts Center's Class of 1945 Hall. An impressive lineup of talented performers displayed both skill and artistry over the course of the evening.

The St. Mark's New Hampshire Primary Club has continued its activities during the 2020 presidential primary season.

Wednesday, February 4, was Play for Haiti Day at St. Mark's. It was a day to raise funds to benefit St. Mark's longtime partner school: Ste. Marguerite's in Haiti, under the auspices of the Haiti Partnership Committee at St. Mark's.

On Monday, February 3, more than 150 members of the St. Mark's community traveled to New York City for the School's annual opera trip excursion. The large St. Mark's contingent had dinner and then saw Verdi's La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Six students from the Grange School in Santiago, Chile, are visiting campus this winter as part of an established exchange program with St. Mark's, through the SM Global Citizenship Initiative.

A capella music reigned at St. Mark's on Friday, January 30, and Saturday, February 1, as the 28th Annual Wick Choral Festival took place in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Class of 1945 Hall. Over both nights, the two St. Mark's a capella groups—the Royal Blues and the Marksmen—were joined by guest performers from both high school and college. Among the visiting acts were several talented St. Mark's alumni.

Heading into the midpoint of the winter sports season at St. Mark's, six varsity teams have posted records of .500 or better to date, and overall the School's varsity programs have a record of 43-30-2. Wrestling, boys' and girls' ice hockey, girls' squash, and boys' basketball are all looking strong.

It has been a music-filled January at St. Mark's, all culminating in the 28th Annual Wick Choral Festival: Friday, January 31 and Saturday, February 1 in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Class of 1945 Hall.

On Wednesday, February 4, at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena, St. Mark's alumna and current faculty member Casey (Pickett) Bates '09 will be inducted into the Women's Beanpot Hall of Fame.

Dr. Christopher Phillips, internationally known author, educator, lecturer on philosophy, and advocate for democracy, was the Gray Colloquium speaker for January 2020. As part of this year's Gray Colloquium theme of "civil discourse," his topic was "Reinventing Democracy."

On February 3, 155 students and faculty members will be going on the annual St. Mark's opera trip in New York.

On Friday evening, January 24, St. Mark's faculty member Showjean Wu was installed as the first holder of the new Antony and Elsa Hill Asian Studies Chair at a ceremony in the Putnam Family Arts Center's Class of 1945 Hall.

On Thursday evening, February 23, the St. Mark's Asian Student Alliance (ASA) hosted a Festival Dinner to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

In April 2019, Charles Brookby '20 received an Anthony A. Jones Family International Studies Grant to fund a proposed trip to Germany. There, said Brookby, "I will 'walk' Martin Luther's path of Protestant reformation." Upon returning to campus this past fall, Brookby asked Head of School John C. Warren '74 to oversee an independent study project (ISP) researching Luther and other protestant writers and theologians in a special course.

Over three days, from Thursday, January 16 through Saturday, January 18, St. Mark's honored and celebrated diversity with events sponsored under the auspices of the School's Community and Equity program.

On Saturday afternoon, January 11, the St. Mark's girls' varsity basketball team hosted the local Southborough sixth-grade travel basketball team for a special practice.

Yuang (Thomas) Li '22, a IV Former from Mountain House, California, has published an article in IEEE Xplore, the journal of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers. Entitled "Enabling Commercial Autonomous Robotic Space Explorers," the piece is an in-depth theoretical analysis of the possibilities regarding advance robotic space missions.

Congratulations to Nicholas Braun '06. At this year's Golden Globes, Succession, the HBO show in which he plays a key role, took home the top prize as Best Television Series-Drama.

St. Mark's alumnus Alex Smith, a doctoral candidate in Harvard's Mathematics Department, was recently awarded the inaugural David Goss Prize in Number Theory at the Journal of Number Theory (JNT) Biennial Conference in Cetraro, Italy.

Students in veteran art teacher Barbara Putnam's Studio 1 course recently researched and created impressive paintings examining the health of the marine ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea. Their work was exhibited in December at the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona, Spain, and is currently displayed in the Admission corridor gallery at St. Mark's.

Recently, St. Mark's Belmont Chapel echoed with the strains of that classic Christmas carol, "O Little Town of Bethlehem".

On Wednesday, December 18, the St. Mark's Wellness program sponsored the 4th annual Puppy Pet. Dogs belonging to faculty, staff, families, and other members of the St. Mark's community gathered on the Athletic Quad, where they were greeted by students taking a break during Assessment Week.

From December 15 through December 18, St. Mark's participated in a virtual Global Citizenship Institute collaboration with the NGO Educate Lanka.

The holiday season at St. Mark's is filled with wonderful traditions and celebrations.

On Friday, December 13, 14 students in the St. Mark's New Hampshire Primary Club attended a rally for Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. They were accompanied by veteran faculty member David Lyons.

This past week, St. Mark's held its annual Service of Lessons and Carols on Thursday evening, December 12, and again on Sunday afternoon, December 15. The service is considered a traditional Christmas event at many (if not all) Episcopal boarding schools, as well as numerous colleges and churches around the world.