IMPORTANT DATES & UPCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 18th No School
Feb. 21st No School - Presidents Day
Feb. 24th Vision and Hearing Screening
Feb. 28th No School
Feb. 28th - Mar. 4th Read Across America Week (Fyler)
VISION AND HEARING SCREENING
Those who have been referred for hearing by School Sight & Sound, Inc. at previous screens will receive yearly hearing monitoring as needed. Students who are new to the district, attend any special education classes, or are referred by a teacher will be screened for both vision and hearing along with the following grades:
Hearing Screens:
Preschool
Kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade (Only if remote last year)
Vision Screens:
Preschool
Kindergarten (If student has not had an eye exam for Kindergarten entrance requirement)
2nd Grade
3rd Grade (Only if remote last year)
8th Grade
AUCTION NEWS
Tickets for the St. Mark's School Auction to be held on March 12th, are now available! Check out our link to get yours!
saintmark.schoolauction.net/makingourmark
Please sign up to volunteer! We need many volunteers for the St. Mark’s School Auction. Some spots are only 1-2 hours long and some take place before, during, and after the event. Lots of options for all families to give just a little bit of your time! Here's how it works in 3 easy steps: 1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on SignUp: https://signup.com/go/zeHOXCQ 2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp) 3. Sign up! Choose your spots - SignUp will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy! |
If you have any questions or want to get involved, give us a call at 309-676-7131.
COVID PROTOCOLS
As masks are now optional, we are keeping the internal workings of the school the same. Rooms
will be cleaned, visitors will be allowed on a limited, scheduled basis and student safety protocols will be observed.
MENTAL HEALTH DAYS
“The superintendent has given approval for every diocesan school to schedule a “mental health day” for faculty/staff and students every month. That includes one day in February; one in March; one in April; and one in May. The days selected each month will be at the discretion of the pastor/chaplain and principal and will be communicated well in advance in order for families to make arrangements for their children who will be out of school. Furthermore, it will be a “free” day with no e-learning or remote learning.
– Dr. Sharon Weiss, Office of Catholic Schools, Diocese of Peoria”
The dates that we will NOT be in session:
February 28th
March 11th
April 14th (Holy Thursday)
May 27th (Note: Our last day of school will be a half day on May 26th)
We appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we provide this much needed time for our students and staff.
YEARBOOK COVER CONTEST
Students have the opportunity to design our 2021-2022 yearbook cover! Please find more information on the flyer. Our auction theme this year is Around the World, so a travel theme or Around the World theme is a BONUS! This is open for any student at SMS!
If you have taken pictures at any events involving our students and would like to share them with Ms. Gilbert for use in the yearbook please email them to lgilbert@saint-mark.net. Please send them anytime throughout the school year until February 25, 2022. Thank you.
WEATHER
Weather permitting, our students will have outdoor recess daily. Assuming other relevant conditions are conducive to outdoor recess, students will go outside when temperatures with wind-chill are 20 degrees or above.
Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor recess daily. In addition, the school can be a bit chilly when the temperatures are much lower. Also, we are opening windows in the rooms from time to time for air circulation.
PND SHADOW VISITS
Eighth
grade students are invited to experience a day in the life of a PND student by scheduling a shadow visit. Shadow visitors will have a chance to explore the PND campus, attend classes and lunch, and learn more about the activities that PND offers. Please visit https://my.peorianotredame.com... to schedule your visit.
2021 TAX DOCUMENTS
2021 Tax Documents for Tuition and Before/After Care are ready to be printed off in your FACTS Account. Hard copies of these documents are not sent home with your students. In order to print your tax documents please follow the instructions below. If you are looking for 2021 Church contributions, you will need to contact the parish office to receive that information. Login to FACTS SIS Parentsweb (formerly called Renweb Parentsweb)
2. Click on “Financial” on the left-hand side
3. Click on “Financial Home” on the right-hand side in the Financial Links box
4. Click on “View Details”
5. Click on “View Payment Summary” (please make sure that “2021” is the year selected)
6. To print off the tax information, click on the print icon at the top right corner
REGISTRATION FOR THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR
School families currently enrolled in St. Mark School must re-enroll annually for the next academic year and that (registration) process is now open. See below for more detailed information regarding tuition assistance.
To complete the enrollment packet:
· Log into your ParentsWeb Account. (District code: SM-IL)
· Select Apply/Enroll and then Enrollment/Re-enrollment (on the left side of the screen)
· Click on the “Click here to open Online Enrollment”
· You will be redirected to your enrollment packet, at that time select Start Application.
Feedback will be provided throughout the process to help you complete the enrollment packet. A yellow caution sign will appear in the menu next to forms that are missing required information. If a form contains all required information, a green check mark will appear next to the form's menu item.
You do not have to do anything in FACTS unless you want to change your bank/credit card information. All your existing 2021-2022 tuition fee/payment plans will roll-over. If any changes need to be made with your payment plan, please contact the office, at 676-7131. The 2022-2023 school year tuition payments will start in July. Depending on the date you choose it will either come out from your account on 5th or the 20th of the month.
FACTS has a one-time fee of $45.00 for a 12-installment payment plan and $20.00 for a 1 or 2 installment plan. This fee is billed and collected by FACTS. You will have an option as to when this amount will be pulled from your account.
After you have completed the enrollment packet, Submit Enrollment Packet and Make Payment form will appear. Please follow the instructions that will be provided to submit the enrollment packet along with the St. Mark enrollment fee payment of $50 per family if enrolling by March 1, 2022 or $75 thereafter.
2022-2023 ST. MARK FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Financial assistance for St. Mark School Tuition is available from four sources.
* All applications open in January and are due April 29th *
1. The Invest in Kids Empower Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship
2. The John Lancaster Spalding Scholarship Fund and
3. The Kremer Foundation
4. St. Mark Parish
*Note: All families requesting ANY financial aid must complete the FACTS Grant & Aid Application at
online.factsmgt.com/signin/42H08
1. The Invest in Kids Empower Illinois Tax Credit
The application for this scholarship is at empowerIllinois.org. Applicants must meet certain household
income criteria to be eligible. Application reservations opened on January 14, 2022.
2. The John Lancaster Spalding Scholarship
This is an endowment fund established in honor of Archbishop Spalding, the first Bishop of Peoria.
Tuition assistance scholarship grants are available to students enrolled/intending to enroll in grades
Kindergarten through 12 in any Catholic school located in the Diocese of Peoria whose families are
members of a Catholic parish in the diocese.
https://cdop.org/why-choose-catholic-schools/financial-assistance/
3. The Kremer Foundation
This grant that is offered to St. Mark may have up to $1000 scholarships for St. Mark students entering
K-8th grade. Email Dr. Dillon at ndillon@saint-mark.net for more details on these opportunities.
4. St. Mark Parish Scholarship
Families must complete a FACTS application and submit a letter detailing additional assistance needed
to be considered for additional assistance from St. Mark Parish.
Step by Step instructions for FACTS Grant & Aid Application
1. Complete the application
2. Upload your 2021 federal income tax return and supporting schedules
3. Upload your 2021 W-2 Wage & Tax Statements
4. Pay the application fee
5. Submit the application as soon as possible
Assistance with your FACTS Grant & Aid Application is available online or call Customer Service 866-441-4637.
All scholarship grants are issued for one school year. Families must reapply annually for
consideration. Families are encouraged to apply as early as possible to ensure ample time to
gather and submit any required documents. Assistance will be based on need and completing all the required steps.For new families who apply after the deadlines above, you may still apply for St. Mark Parish Scholarship, but funds may be limited or possibly unavailable.
*Note: If you are awarded the Empower Illinois Scholarship or the Spalding Scholarship, your
aid from St. Mark will be adjusted. If you receive the Empower Illinois Scholarship your Spalding
Scholarship will be rescinded.
TUITION ASSISTANCE WITH SCRIP
You can earn rebates for your SMS tuition by purchasing gift cards with our Scrip Fundraising Program. Create an account today and find gift cards for all of your favorite retailers- restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, and more. We even have Scrip for local businesses! Use these cards for your daily purchases, and earn back year-round for your family’s tuition. Email Pat Nedza at saintmarkscrip@gmail.com with any questions.