St. Mark Catholic

School Information

Principal: Mrs. M. Kelly

Vice-Principal: Mr. J. Ferrusi

Superintendent of Education: Mr. G. Pizzoferrato

Parish: St. Helen Roman Catholic Church

Pastor: Rev. Krzysztof Szczepanik

Website: stmark.niagaracatholic.ca

Location: 4114 Mountain Street, Beamsville, On, L3J OJ9

Phone: 905-563-9191

On Thanksgiving Day we’re thankful for

Our blessings all year through.

For family we dearly love, For good friends, old and new.

For sun to light and warm our days,

For stars that glow at night.

For trees of green and skies of blue,

And puffy clouds of white.

We’re grateful for our eyes that see

This beauty all around.

For arms to hug and legs to walk,

And ears to hear each sound.

The list of all we’re grateful for Would fill a great big book.

Our thankful hearts find new delights

Everywhere we look.

AMEN

Welcome to October! We have had a fantastic start to the school year, and it has been wonderful to see our school community come together with such energy and enthusiasm. Over the past few weeks, our students have been busy participating in a variety of school activities, including our Terry Fox Walk, soccer teams, cross country, picture day, as well as coming together for our school Liturgy and honoring Orange Shirt Day.

We are deeply grateful for the ongoing support and partnership of our parents and families—your involvement makes a meaningful difference in everything we do here at St. Mark Catholic.

Looking ahead, October brings even more exciting events, including Bus Safety presentations, our Halloween celebrations, and more! With Thanksgiving just around the corner, on behalf of the entire staff at St. Mark Catholic Elementary School, I want to wish all of our families a blessed, restful, and joyous holiday. May we take this time to give thanks to the Lord for our many blessings. Thank you for being such an integral part of our St. Mark community. We look forward to all the wonderful moments the rest of the fall season will bring!

Warmest wishes and Happy Thanksgiving!

Mrs. M. Kelly - Principal and Mr. J. Ferrusi - Vice Principal

October 4th is dedicated to honouring the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and supporting families who have been tragically touched by the loss of a loved one to violence. Vigils take many forms: a rally, a candlelight vigil, a workshop, a moment of silence, a walk, or a gathering of people to share memories and a meal. Together, the October Sisters in Spirit Vigils have become a movement for social change and a reminder that our sisters will not be forgotten.

A thank you to our Student Senators, Adrian and Gilles for taking the lead on our Thanksgiving food drive. We will be collecting and organizing food for our Thanksgiving food drive from September 28th to October 8th. All donations are being brought to Community Care of West Niagara in Beamsville and the Grimsby Benevolent Food Bank.

Thank you for your support!

This school year students are welcome to wear their costumes or orange and black in the spirit of Halloween on Friday, October 30th. Please remember costumes that are intended to scare, have blood, or weapons are not allowed. Halloween at school is for fun, and scary costumes are not fun for some of our younger students or students with special needs. Halloween activities will be taking place in each classroom throughout the day. Please remember that we have many students with food sensitivities and allergies, including life threatening anaphylaxis, so we ask that NO food items are sent into school. Thank you for your understanding.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14)

When we do something kind or stand up for a friend, we are like a bright light that everyone can see. We can be witnesses of our faith in our words and in our actions. When we use kind words, play together, and support one another we are being light for the world.

We are very excited to welcome back sports with Cross Country and Soccer!

Students in Grades 4 to 8 were able to sign up for Cross Country and practices have begun. Junior soccer tryouts will take place this week and next.

Cross Country meet will be taking place October 6th at Southward Park in Grimsby.

Junior Boys soccer will be held at Blessed Trinity on October 21st.

Thank you to all of our coaches for helping with our sports teams.

Our Intermediate Boys and Girls Soccer Teams had an outstanding day at the Blessed Trinity Family of Schools Soccer Tournament! Both teams played with tremendous skill, effort, and determination while demonstrating excellent sportsmanship throughout the tournament. Their teamwork, positive attitudes, and commitment to one another were evident both on and off the field. We are incredibly proud to celebrate both teams earning a 2nd place finish! Congratulations to all of our players on an amazing tournament. Mr. Costantini and Miss Sirianni are extremely proud of you!

We are excited to invite you to attend St. Mark's Meet the Teacher Open House on Thursday, October 1, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 6:00pm. We will have the Knights of Columbus serving hotdogs and hamburgers (preorderd on Cash Online) and Bliss Gelato truck will be on site for you to purcahse a sweet treat that evening. There will be an opportunity for you to meet your child's teacher as well as see your child's classroom.

On Friday, September 25th, our students took part in our annual Terry Fox Walk. Through online donations, we have collected over $1,000 to support this worthy cause. We thank everyone for their generous donations.

Once again we will be creating a yearbook for families to purchase. All classes from kindergarten to grade 8 will be showcased in the yearbook. Each class will have 2 pages dedicated to them, and many pages will showcase special days and celebrations throughout the year for all students. Information on ordering copies of the yearbook and opportunities for purchasing advertisement space will be communicated at a later date.

Just a reminder that students are not to be using cell phones or other personal mobile devices during school hours. All classrooms have phones that dial out in case of an emergency. If you need to contact your child, please call the school at 905-563-9191. Students are also able to call home from the main office if needed.

In accordance with PPM 128 (The Provincial Code of Conduct and School Board Codes of Conduct-PPM No. 128 Issued August 29, 2019-Effective November 4, 2019) the use of personal mobile devices during instructional time is permitted under the following circumstances:

· for educational purposes, as directed by the teacher

· for health and medical purposes

· to support special education needs

This document addresses common questions that parents and guardians may have about the restriction on the use of cellphones and other personal mobile devices during instructional time. www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/cellphone-mobile-devices.html

The kiss and ride area is for families to drive to a dedicated area in the parking lot and drop their child off who will be directed by school staff to the front of the school. The kiss and ride area allows for the driver to stay in the car, while a staff member assists their child. This is an efficient way for families to drop off their child(ren) at school. For families who prefer to park and walk their child(ren) to the front of the school, there will be a parking area dedicated for you to park. For this to run smoothly and efficiently, we ask parents to please park in the family parking zones only (white lines). All numbers parking spots have been allocated for staff parking.

Parking in no-parking zones creates congestion and increases the risk of a child being hurt.

A reminder that students are expected to adhere to Niagara Catholic’s Standardized Dress Code. An additional copy of the Dress Code is attached below. According to the Standardized Dress Code, the following items are not permitted:

• Black Pants

• T-shirts of any kind (spiritwear exempt)

• Faded or torn Jeans. (Jeans must be dark blue and in good condition)

• Shorts and Skirts must be knee length

Please note: if your child is not in dress code they will be addressed and parents will be notified to bring dress code to school or dress code items will be given to your child for the day.

Your cooperation is important and appreciated.

The Niagara Regional Police Service has reminded residents that electric kick-scooters (e-scooters) are currently not permitted for use in public places anywhere in the Niagara Region, as local municipalities have not passed by-laws authorizing their operation by individuals of any age. Riders may be subject to fines for operating e-scooters on public roads, sidewalks, parks, or trails.

To support student safety and compliance with local regulations, Niagara Catholic schools do not permit e-scooters on school property. Students should not ride, bring, or store e-scooters at school.

We appreciate families reviewing these expectations with their children and helping us maintain safe and respectful learning environments for everyone.

St. Mark is rooted in Catholic and Christian values. Our goal is to create a safe, kind and loving environment for all who work, learn, and assist with our school community. Aggressive or hostile behaviour or language toward, staff, students or our community helpers will not be tolerated. While we welcome feedback, concerns and opinions it is the expectation that all staff, students, parents, guardians and community helpers communicate their needs and concerns with one another in a respectful and peaceful manner whether through email, on the phone or face-to-face. Adherence to this expectation is vital in order to create a community which can solve problems and help one another achieve success.

Regulations state that school personnel cannot administer any drugs, without written permission from the parent and a doctor. If there is a need for such medication, please contact the school to obtain the forms which must be filled out and signed by both the doctor and the parent. This record is required by School Board Regulations and must be kept on file. Please notify the school if medication distribution stops so that all medication can be returned to the family as soon as possible.

Please remember that St. Mark School is an Allergen Aware School. Please do not send products with nuts or nut traces with your child.

Please ensure that use of School Cash online for the purchase/payment of food days, field trips, donations etc. This is a safe and easy-to-use online program that allows you to make convenient and secure payments from the comfort of your own home. To register, please click here

All lunch orders are to be ordered through School Cash Online.

St. Mark School and all schools throughout Niagara Catholic use the Safe Arrival program to manage student attendance reporting. The Safe Arrival program reduces the time it takes to verify student attendance by making it easier for you to report your child’s absence and easier for staff to respond to unexplained student absences. The Safe Arrival program allows parents to report their child’s absence quickly and conveniently in one of three ways:

1) Use the SafeArrival website, https://go.schoolmessenger.ca. The first time you use the website, select Sign Up to create your account using your email address. After logging in, select the Attendance tab to Report an Absence.

2) Using your mobile device, download and install the SchoolMessenger app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store (or from the links at https://go.schoolmessenger.ca). Use your new login information to access your account. Select Attendance to Report an Absence. If you would like to receive attendance notifications on your mobile device please enable Push Notifications in the Settings area of the app. The document Using the SchoolMessenger app will give instructions for using the App.

3) The toll-free number 844-287-6287 will allow you to report your child absent without creating an account.

Please do not call the school to report your child's absence.