About Us
St. Mark School opened on September 9, 1964 with ninety students in Grades 1, 2, and 3. The opening of the school enabled the children of the parishioners of the newly founded St. Mark Church to receive a Catholic education. The school consisted of eight classrooms, a principal’s office, secretary’s sitting area, a faculty room and a small nurse’s office. Grades 4 and 5 were added in 1965 and Grades 6 and 7 in 1966. In 1967, all eight elementary grades were established. The school was staffed primarily by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth from Monroe, Connecticut, with the addition of lay staff in 1967. The Sisters maintained their presence in the school until 1992.
Since 1992, the teaching faculty has been totally composed of lay persons. In 2009, St. Mark School was honored with the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award. Currently, we serve nearly 250 students and their families from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8. St. Mark School is proud of its history and growth. Over the years, it has become a well-known and prestigious Catholic institution of learning in Stratford and the surrounding communities.
Today, St. Mark School remains committed to fulfilling the responsibility of educating students to the truths of our world through engaging academics, forming students with Catholic morals and virtues, and facilitating a daily encounter with Jesus Christ for every student entrusted to our care.
We are called to extend the Kingdom of God’s love among ourselves, the students we serve, and their families by accompanying them on their faith journey to Heaven through daily encounters with Christ.
Our Charism Statement bridges our past, rooted in the legacy of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, with our present and future.
Saint Mark
April 25th, Feast Day
Our patron, Saint Mark was an evangelist, or Gospel writer. In fact, he was the pioneer in Gospel writing. His is the shortest and the oldest of the Gospels. Little is known of Mark except from the New Testament. He was not one of the twelve apostles, but was a member of the first Christian community. Mark had firsthand experience of the early Church and apostolic life. He was a traveling companion and assistant of Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey.
Mark’s Gospel was a great contribution to the Church. It included oral and written tradition concerning the words and deeds of Jesus. He shows Jesus as the suffering Son of God. Mark knew that to accept the Risen Jesus meant to come to terms with the cross. Jesus was glorified because He willingly allowed himself to suffer death for our salvation. Mark writes that anyone who wishes to follow Jesus must accept the cross.
Over the years artists have given a symbol to each of the evangelists. Mark’s symbol is a winged lion because his Gospel begins with the story of John the Baptist who, like a roaring lion, called people to repent. © Loyola Press
Prayer to Saint Mark
O Glorious St. Mark, through the Grace of God our Father, you became a great evangelist, preaching the Good News of Christ. May you help us to know him well, so that we may faithfully live our lives as followers of Christ. Amen.
