WEEKLY SCHOOL BULLETIN November 20, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE
Reminders
What's Happening in Lionland
Important Uniform Change
Announcement
$2.00 Free Dress Day on 12/2 (details
below)
Become An Altar Server
Reminder For Mathfax Participants
No NET Youth Open House For
Two Weeks
2016 Sweethearts Gala & Auction
Parishioner Tuition Status/Parish
Donations
End of Year Giving
WATCH D.O.G.S. Sign-ups for
December
Applications For New
Students Available
"Learn To Pray As A Family"
Workshop
Ms. Williams Needs Bottle Caps
Holy Trinity Seminary News
French Masses at Cistercian
Home and School Association (HSA)
News
News From Athletics
DPL Scholarship Application
High School Open Houses
Don't Wait: Participate!
STEM Takes Center Stage at St. Mark
Seen and Heard Around St. Mark
In Alumni News ...
Follow us and stay connected!
A NATIONAL SCHOOL
OF EXCELLENCE
St. Mark Catholic School
is a two time recipient of the
U.S. Department of Education
"National Blue Ribbon Award." This means that our students consistently score in the top 15% in the nation on
standardized tests.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE

LION PRIDE!
Kindness
We Are Thankful
REMINDERS
Monday, November 23-Friday,
November 27: Thanksgiving
Holidays; No School For Students
Wednesday, November 25, 10:00
AM, Church: Altar Server Training
(details below)
Tuesday, December 1, 3:30 PM:
RLC Meeting-Respect for the
Poor/Missionaries
Wednesday, December 2:
-7:00 AM: Mathfax Test (details below; participants have been notified)
-8:15 AM: HSA General Meeting
-Progress Reports Sent Home
Friday, December 4:
-8:30 AM, Church: All School
Mass. All are welcome.
-HSA Family Movie Night
-Scrip Gift Card Sales End (details below)
Sunday, December 6:
-3:00 PM, McGivney Hall, St. Mark
Parish Center: Learn To Pray As A
Family (details below)
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN LIONLAND
Stewardship: Teachers discuss the Virtue of the Month with students by using stories and activities to engage them into seeing the virtue in action. Ask your child what he/she is learning about "Stewardship" this month. Click here for the full list of monthly virtues for 2015-16.
Calling all alumni ... join Lifetime Lions, our official alumni network! Keep up with former classmates, learn about mentoring opportunities, and volunteer for service hours.
Click here for more information.
Get your official LION gear here! Check in at the school office on Fridays from 7:30-8:15 AM and shop 'til you drop at the Lion's Den Spirit Store located in the Cafetorium.
Can't visit in person? Place your order online anytime !
This is a great place to stock up on St. Mark shirts for our Spirit Days, which are held on the first
Monday of each month!
WHAT'S NEW IN
THE LIONS DEN?

IMPORTANT UNIFORM CHANGE
ANNOUNCEMENT
Father Cliff has made the decision that, beginning in August 2016, the
St. Mark boys' uniform pants will change from dark green to dark gray in all grade levels. Boys' belts and shoes will change to black, and boys' sock options will consist of dark gray, black or white.
Optional dark gray walking shorts will also be available. All other components of the boys' uniform will remain unchanged.
Girls will also have the option of wearing dark gray walking shorts beginning in August 2016.
PLEASE NOTE: To provide families with a generous transition period, green pants, green walking shorts, brown shoes and brown belts will continue to be acceptable for two
more years.
Stay tuned for information about discounted green uniform pants and shorts through Academic Outfitters.
In the meantime, see the photo below which shows how well the new gray pants will coordinate with our existing uniform pieces.
Logo Flannel Pants ($23)
T-shirts ($10 Youth; $12 Adult) -- Perfect for
Christmas!
Minutes from the October 22, 2015
School Advisory Council meeting are now available on the school website by clicking here .
$2.00 FREE DRESS DAY ON 12/2
For a $2.00 donation, students may have a "Free Dress Day" on Wednesday,
December 2. Proceeds will go to the
Nashville Dominicans who are presenting the free "Learn To Pray As A
Family" workshop. Please refer to page
25 of the Parent Student Handbook for
"Free Dress Day" guidelines.
"LEARN TO PRAY AS A FAMILY"
WORKSHOP
There are still a few spaces available at the "Learn To Pray As A Family" workshop that will be presented by the
Nashville Dominicans on Sunday,
December 6 from 3:00-4:15 PM in
McGivney Hall in the St. Mark Parish
Center. This workshop is for adults only.
Free babysitting will be provided so that parents can attend. Topics of discussion will include obstacles to family prayer, drawing your family together through

PARISHIONER TUITION
STATUS/PARISH DONATIONS
Reminder: In order to qualify for the parishioner tuition discount, the annual minimum parish donation of $800 must be paid by
December 31, 2015. You can pay by check (made out to "St. Mark
Catholic Church") and submit it to the parish office, or to the school office in an envelope marked "parish donation." Or, you can use the church's electronic payment site by clicking here . Recurring payments can also be set-up using this link.
Please refer to page 11 of the Parent
Student Handbook for more information about the parish donation.
If you are unsure about your donation status, please contact
Nadya Collard in the parish office no later than December 23, as she will be out of the office from December
24-January 4. You can reach her at
972-423-5600, x 258 or prayer, praying with your spouse, and more. If you haven't yet sent in your
RSVP, you still have time to email stacy.oliver@stmcs.net
. You can also email her with any questions you might have. Click here for more information.
REMINDER FOR MATHFAX
PARTICIPANTS
A reminder to all Mathfax participants:
The next Mathfax test will take place on
Wednesday, December 2 at 7:00 AM.
Please meet in the Cafetorium.
APPLICATIONS FOR NEW STUDENTS
NOW AVAILABLE
Do you know anyone interested in a
Catholic education for their child? The
2016-17 application for new students is now available online at www.stmcs.net
.
NO NET YOUTH OPEN HOUSE FOR
NEXT TWO WEEKS
With our NET Team gone for the
Thanksgiving holidays, there will be no NET Youth Open House on Friday,
November 20 or Friday, November 27.
Youth Open House will resume on
Friday, December 4.
BECOME AN ALTAR SERVER
Is your child interested in becoming an altar server? Anyone in 4th grade or above who has received their First
Communion can be trained as an Altar
Server. The next training class will be held on Wednesday, November 25 from
10:00 AM - NOON in the church. Please arrive by 9:30 AM to sign-in. For more information, please

ncollard@stmarkplano.org
.
Contributions made during
Christmas week should be posted to 2015 contribution statements, as long as they are received by
December 31.
END OF YEAR GIVING
If you are considering an additional end-of-year donation, St. Mark
Catholic Church and School are nonprofit organizations that allow for you to make tax-deductible donations. As the end of the year approaches and you review your taxdeductible donations, please consider donating to your own St.
Mark community.
Please also check with your company to determine if matching funds are available. Some of the companies that provide corporate matching include 3M, AIG, Abbott,
BP Solar, Bank of America, Boeing,
Chevron, Cisco, Conoco Phillips,
Deloitte, GM, Gates Foundation,
Honeywell, Intel, Liberty Agency,
Lockheed Martin, Merck, Met Life,
Microsoft, P&G, PepsiCo, Raytheon,
Southwest Airlines, Texas
Instruments, Verizon, and Walmart.
- To make a donation to St. Mark
Catholic Church, click here .
- To make a donation to the St. Mark
Catholic School Gap Fund, click here . email Kathi@kathithompson.com
, or call her at 972-965-0563.
NEWS FROM ATHLETICS
*DPL Swim Meet Set;
Registration Open: The DPL has announced the details of the 2016 Swim
Meet. It will take place on Friday,
February 5 at North Lake Community
College located on MacArthur Boulevard in Irving.
Online registration is now open, and payments will be accepted at this time.
Please visit the Swimming page on the school website and review the prerequisites for team registration. DPL
Sports Physical Forms must be submitted to the school office, attn: Marlene Ehring, Athletic Director.
*Basketball Registration Now Open:
Basketball registration is now open for all 5th-8th grade students. PLEASE
NOTE: DPL has pushed back the registration deadline to November 30,
2015. If you have already registered your athlete, you should have received a confirmation email yesterday, and no further response is needed.
Please click here for more information about the teams, fees, uniforms, the upcoming season, and the registration instructions. A DPL Sports Physical Form must be submitted to the school office, attn: Marlene Ehring, Athletic

- To donate towards St. Mark
Catholic School's technology fund, click here .
- If you would like to make a monetary donation to a particular department or program at St. Mark
Catholic School (i.e. Athletics, Fine
Arts), please click here .
Enter the amount under
"Miscellaneous," and specify the program in the "comments" section.
You are cordially invited to attend
the
St. Mark Catholic School
29th Annual Dinner & Auction!
When: February 6, 2016
Where: Marriott Hotel at Legacy
Town Center in Plano
Tickets:
* $65 if purchased by 12/14/15
* $75 if purchased from
12/15/15 until sell out
Click here to buy tickets: www.stmcs.net/auction
DON'T FORGET TO DONATE TO
YOUR CLASS BASKET It is a tradition that each class donates a
Director, before team evaluations take place.
*Football All-Stars: Congratulations to our Varsity football players who have been selected to play on the DPL All Star team: Jake B., Dillon H., Antonio M.,
John N. and Regan K. Head football coach Rick Shannon has also been chosen as an All Star team coach! The All
Star game will take place on November
22 at 6:00 PM at Jesuit's Postell
Stadium.
DPL SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
Attention Student-Athletes: The Dallas
Parochial League offers an annual scholarship opportunity for 6th-8th grade student-athletes. Scholarship recipients receive $500 towards the cost of Catholic school tuition for the following year. The deadline to apply is December 11, 2015. Click here for more information and the application.
MS. WILLIAMS NEEDS BOTTLE CAPS
Art teacher, Ms. Williams, is in need of
YELLOW bottle caps only. If your child brings in a minimum of 20 caps at once, he/she will receive a "Caught Being
Good" certificate!
HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSES - ALL
ARE WELCOME!
Jesuit College Preparatory School: Visit
Jesuit's Open House on Sunday,
November 22 from 1:00-4:00 PM. The

themed gift basket to be auctioned at the event. We ask that each family give one item, gift card or cash donation towards their class basket. Click here for your class basket theme. Collection boxes have been placed in each classroom. For middle school students, there is a collection box located in the Library. Thank you for your generosity!
SAVE THE DATE for our Pre-Event
Mixers! These events will be hosted by our own St. Mark Catholic School families, and will be a great way to meet new friends and catch up with old friends. Watch for more information in the coming weeks via email and your child's school folder.
PK-TK: December 13
K-2: January 8
3-5: December 5
6-8: December 11
IMPORTANT UPCOMING HSA
DATES
Wednesday, December 2, 8:15 AM,
Cafetorium: HSA General Meeting
Friday, December 4: Deadline to
Order Scrip Gift Cards opening session takes place in the Terry
Center. Click here for additional details.
Ursuline Academy: Visit Ursuline on
Sunday, November 22 from 3:00-5:00
PM for Open House. Please pre-register online by clicking here .
St. Mark Catholic School has formed a special relationship with Holy Trinity
Seminary and takes great pride in supporting our future priests.
Following are upcoming opportunities to become involved:
*Join Us for Public Masses at Holy
Trinity Seminary @ 9:15 AM:
January - 24th, 31st
February - 7th, 14th, 28th
April - 3rd, 17th, 24th
Address: 3131 Vince Hagan Drive, Irving,
TX 75062
Questions about the Public Masses?
Call or text Agnes Denvir, VP of
Vocations, President-Elect Serra Club of
North Central Dallas. Cell: 214-607-2391, agnes.denvir@stmcs.net
or agnesdenvir@gmail.com
.
FRENCH MASSES AT CISTERCIAN
Mrs. Denvir extends an invitation to St.
Mark French students, and any students/families who are interested, to attend the French Masses at
Cistercian. There is an opportunity to do the readings, and to sample some French

Friday, December 4, 6:00 PM,
Lions Lair Gym: Family Movie Night
Tuesday, December 15, 4:30 PM,
Parish Center Great Room:
Teacher/Staff Christmas Party
HSA GENERAL MEETING -- ALL
ARE WELCOME: Join HSA for the next General Meeting on
Wednesday, December 2 at 8:15 AM in the Cafetorium. Enjoy some morning refreshments as Mrs.
Opon presents an update on school technology and how it is being utilized by our students. week, or click here.
SCRIP GIFT CARD
ORDERS: The deadline to order
Scrip Gift Cards is Friday, December
4. For more information, refer to the form sent home with students last
FAMILY MOVIE
NIGHT: HSA wishes to show our appreciation to all of our St. Mark families who have joined HSA this year, and who are helping to support all of our school activities and events.
As a thank-you, we invite all St.
Mark families to join us for a .... snacks at the end of every Mass. Masses take place at Our Lady of Dallas
Cistercian Abbey in Irving every 3rd
Sunday of the month at 10:30 AM.
Upcoming dates: November 22,
December 20, January 17, February 21,
March 20, April 17, and May 15.
DON'T WAIT, PARTICIPATE!
Chamberlain Performing Arts will present The Nutcracker at the Eisemann
Center in Richardson the weekend after
Thanksgiving. St. Mark students will be performing including Annabel M. as a cadet. For ticket information, please visit www.eisemanncenter.com.
STEM TAKES CENTER STAGE AT ST.
MARK
4th Grade Biome Games: Our 4th grade students are learning about biomes.
They were challenged to study the aspects of their chosen biome using the iPad. Then, they were asked to create a game using questions about each aspect of the biome. Way to go, 4th grade!
(photos removed)
5th Grade Builds Bridges: Our 5th grade science classes explored the difference in the strength of a flat surface versus an accordion design -- a big difference in bridge strength!
(photo removed)

Family Movie Night
Friday, December 4, 2015
6:00 PM
Lions Lair Gym
We will be showing The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and
The Wardrobe. Doors open at 6:00
PM and a complimentary dinner will be served at that time. The movie will start at 6:30 PM.
Here's a brief movie description:
Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it, with the guidance of a mystical lion.
For more information, and to register online for this event, please click here.
TEACHER/STAFF
CHRISTMAS DINNER: The annual
Teacher and Staff Christmas Dinner is coming up on Tuesday, December
15 at 4:30 PM. This event, hosted by
Father Cliff and HSA, is a way to show our appreciation for our amazing teachers and staff. Father
Cliff will be providing the main entrée and sides. HSA will provide the hors d'oeuvres, desserts, beverages, and tokens of appreciation. Please help by signing up to bring something for the dinner. Click here for the Sign-up
Genius. Thank you for helping to make this year's dinner an extra
6th Grade STEM Day: On Thursday, our
6th grade students participated in a daylong STEM workshop with representatives from Raytheon.
Students took on challenges where teamwork and personality profiles were keys to solving them. They silently assembled puzzle pieces to create perfect squares, and worked with catapults to see how they could make balls travel further while documenting results on a spreadsheet using an iPad.
Each team presented a summary of their findings at the end of the day, along with ideas on how they might use what they learned in other areas of their lives.
(photos removed)
IN ALUMNI NEWS ...
The John Paul II High School Drumline recently competed against drumlines from all over Texas in the TAPPS State
Drumline Competition and placed 5th.
Congratulations to Eric N. '12, who plays snare drum, and was part of this accomplishment.
The John Paul II High School Cardinal
Belles recently competed against drill teams from more than 30 schools across the state of Texas and not only won their division, but were the overall highest scoring team. Five St. Mark alums took part: Audrey E. '12, Caroline G. '14,
Lacey L. '12, Mary Kate T. '14, and Mary
W. '13. Nice job, girls!

special evening for our wonderful St.
Mark teachers and staff.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Auction
Volunteers
Needed: Want to help plan this fun night? Contact Eric Librea at eric.librea@sbcglobal.net
, or
Paola Colon at paolabcolon@icloud.com
for more information and volunteer opportunities.
REMINDERS
Attention Volunteers: All volunteers must sign and return a
"Volunteer Pledge Form" before the first day of volunteering. This form can be found in the Volunteer
Handbook . Also, volunteers must be
Safe Environment trained. Click here for more details.
Link Your Shopper Cards & Earn
Money for St. Mark: Remember to link your Kroger, Tom Thumb and
Target cards to St. Mark. Kroger cards need to be re-linked every year. Click here for more details.
Box Tops: Please continue to collect Box Tops and don't forget to put the grade level on the package before turning it in to
Mrs. O'Connor.
DPL Tennis Champs: The Dallas
Parochial League tennis tournament took place last weekend at Collin College in Plano. We are so proud of all of our players and thank them for representing
St. Mark at this event! Special congratulations to Katie S. who is the
2015 JV Girls Singles Champion, and to
Olivia S. who is the 2015 Varsity Girls
Singles Consolation Bracket Champion -- nice job!
Baseball Success: The St. Mark 2nd grade boys Allen Sports
Association baseball team won the ASA
Baseball 8U tournament championship last week. This is their second straight championship game appearance.
Congratulations to team members Andrew D., Brewer B., Eli J.,
Jack D., Jack J., Mikey T., Pedro R., Will
P. and William B.!
(photo removed)
Volleyball Success: An Allen Sports
Association volleyball team made up of some of our 4th grade girls came in first place in a recent ASA volleyball tournament. They were also the first place team going into the tournament.
The team is coached by Ryan Meyers and
Lori and Dan Gonzales. Members are
Taylor R., Scarlett J., Gia E., Grayson S.,
Sofia M., Alex J. and Marli H.
Congratulations, girls!

SEEN & HEARD AROUND ST.
MARK
Children's Book Week
Winners: Last week, our students participated in Children's Book
Week. Each morning during announcements, they were challenged to answer a question about a book and submit their answers to the Library. Daily drawings were held and winners each received a new book.
Congratulations to our winners:
Monday: Chloe S., Waverly M.,
Mikey T., Caroline B., Jeslyn T.
Tuesday: Tyler J., Laura M., Sydney
B., Aaron K., James K.
Wednesday: Joseph G., Louis T.,
Ethan K., Lucy D., Samira V.
Thursday: Kyle M., Jake R., Tia T.,
Jalen L., Antonio M.
Friday: Drayden A., Celeste T.,
Lauren N., Quyendi T., Gavin D.
1st Grade Giving Tree Mass:
Congratulations to the 1st grade on their wonderful performance of the "The Giving Tree" play at today's
All-School Mass. In the spirit of
Thanksgiving, our students present this play each year during the homily by acting out the story of "The
Giving Tree," written by Shel
Silverstein. This touching story illustrates the gift of
WE ARE THANKFUL
(photo removed)
Soccer Stars: Congratulations to the FC
Barcelona 3rd grade boys soccer team that won the Plano Sports
Authority Third Grade Fall Soccer
Season/Tournament. Team members are
Vincent O., Chase T., Sebastian C.,
Christian G., Ryan W., Alfredo R., Reagan
S., Anthony F., Cody T., Dycen A.,
Braden G., and Austin A. Coaches are
Troy Taylor, Alex Coto and Eric
Gallagher.
(photo removed)
KINDNESS
We recently had a persistent skunk on campus who was obviously trying very hard to come inside to learn more about
God. Thankfully, one of our school's extended family members is the Critter
Git'r. A big thank you to Cory Norris who saved the day and humanely relocated our friend to the environment that God intended!

giving and the capacity to love in return.
(photo removed)
1st Grade Stone Soup: 1st grade completed their "Stone Soup" unit this week. Throughout the week, students read different versions of the story, they made various thinking and bubble maps, wrote a
Stone Soup recipe and created their own chef hats. They also chopped ingredients and made "Stone Soup" in class on Wednesday that they all got to enjoy!
(photo removed)
3rd Grade Saint Reports: Our 3rd grade students have been presenting their saint reports this week. They researched their chosen saint, wrote a report, dressed as the saint, and presented their report orally to the class. Nice job,
3rd grade!
(photo removed)
3rd Grade Play: The 3rd grade classes performed a play entitled
"Pushing Up the Sky" for our second graders this week. This story is in their reading book and falls under the "drama" genre, so they perform it as a play each year. Every student plays a part. The story is a myth about why the sky is so far away, and why we see stars at night. They did a beautiful job!
As Thanksgiving draws near, we wish to express to everyone in our St. Mark community how very thankful we are for each and every one of you. We are so fortunate to be a part of such a vibrant parish and school, and are grateful to be able to share the gift of a Catholic education with your children.
For the past two weeks, our faculty, staff and students have been adding to our "Tree of Thanks" in the main hallway
(compliments of Ms. Williams). Students cut out handprints and faculty/staff cut out leaves and wrote what they are thankful for on them. From cool weather, to food, to our families and friends, and of course our students and teachers, we are all so grateful for our many blessings.
A blessed and very Happy Thanksgiving to all!

(photo removed)
Preschool Music & Movement Class
Celebrates the Thanksgiving
Season: Our Preschool students had fun in Music & Movement class with
Mrs. Schell this week pretending to be pilgrims and Indians. They learned that the Indians had to listen to their "chief."
(photo removed)
5th Grade at the Pines: Our 5th grade students return today from their annual trip to The Pines
Catholic Camp. There, they participated in The Pines'
Environmental Education program which covers principles of religion, science, math, language, and history, and is designed to enrich and enhance the current classroom curriculum through teaching in an outdoor classroom setting. Activity areas include forestry, archaeology, limnology, meteorology, entomology, and orienteering. The teachings of the Church, saint stories, and scripture study are integrated to enhance the knowledge of the students and open eyes to see how God is at work in our environment.
(photo removed)
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St. Mark Catholic School | 1201 Alma Drive, Plano, TX 75075 www.stmcs.net
| (972) 578-0610