Our School
At St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School, we are called to celebrate and nurture the God-given talents of each student as we serve with excellence in the light of Christ. We recognize our call to love and serve from our Master teacher Jesus Christ, and we are committed to creating a Catholic learning community under the protection of Mother Mary.
The Catholic Graduate Expectations are our foundation as we strive for academic excellence and the acknowledgement of those who achieve it. We recognize God as the source of all life and actively work to focus on social issues within our local and global communities.
We celebrate the diversity within our community with a collaborative approach to learning, in cooperation with parents, the Catholic faith community, and other organizations that recognize the value of our mission. Within the context of Catholic teaching and Sacramental living, our school community strives to demonstrate respect and reverence for all life, thus nurturing a safe, Christian environment for the entire school community.
School colours
Our school colours are navy blue and gold.
Patron Saint
Our patron saint is St. Mark. St. Mark was born in North Libya three years after Jesus' birth and was an educated man. Both Mark (also called John Mark in the New Testament) and his mother, Mary, were highly esteemed in the early Church, and his mother's house in Jerusalem served as a meeting place for Christians there. The Gospel of Mark (the earliest of the four gospels to be written down) is attributed to him. Although he did not witness the events of Jesus's life, he heard about them from St. Peter. The feast day of St. Mark is celebrated on April 25.
Our history
The first day of school in September 1992 was an exciting time for the students and parents who lived in the area near Dryden Boulevard, just North of Rossland Road, off Thickson Road, in Whitby. The doors of the school opened to 304 students that first year. They came from St. Paul Catholic School and St. Bernard Catholic School, whose classrooms were overflowing with students. That first year, there were only seven Grade 8 students, but there were 53 Junior Kindergarten students! There were 13 classrooms, an art room, a library, a gymnasium and a music room to serve the needs of the students.
Room to grow
An addition was built in 1999, while Mitch LePage was principal. Teachers moved into their new classrooms over the Christmas holidays so the students could start the new millennium in their new rooms.
Sunday, April 25, 1993, was the official opening and blessing of the school. A number of special guests attended, including Tom Oldman, Chair of the Board; Earl Lagroix, Director of Education; Beverly Freedman, Ministry of Education; Monsignor Breen, Holy Family Parish; Rene Soetens, MP; Drummond White, MPP; Marcel Brunelle, Deputy Mayor of Whitby; John Brown, Superintendent; Beryl Cameron, Principal; and Bishop Knight, who blessed the school.
The festivities included a ribbon dance, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and a slide presentation in the gym. At school, students were invited to wear blue and gold all week. There was a book fair, an opening mass, an open house, Jump Rope for Heart skipping, and a talent show. The week ended with a panoramic picture taken outside of all the students and staff, which has become a tradition at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School.
As we grow
So many exciting times happening now ... like Me to We, Fitness Friends, Rainbows, LEGO Club, Props, Sports Teams and Clubs, Social Justice Projects ... and many more to come!
In September 2013, St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School welcomed two new grades to its growing French Immersion/Extended French Program: grades 4 and 7. Presently, the French Immersion Program now includes Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 while the Extended French Program includes Grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. May St. Mark the Evangelist continue to guide us as we learn and play as a Catholic Learning Community!
Philosophy
As Catholic educators, we live according to our Father's code and to lead our students, by example, to live the basic truths of the gospel message. This is an awesome, yet inspiring challenge which we share with the parents of our young men and women.
Children learn what they live. Each day we have the opportunity to teach our students:
- to love by the way we love;
- to be generous by our generosity;
- to be passionate by our compassion; and
- to be forgiving by the way we forgive.
However, a person cannot give what he or she does not have. Unless we are living the Gospel message, we cannot lead our students to do so.
There are many hallmarks of a Catholic educator, including:
- Prayer - The challenges of our vocation, and indeed life in general, are great. To meet them we need to follow Christ's advice that we "ask the father in My name". Each Catholic educator has a duty to expose students to his or her particular style of prayer in order to assist students to recognize the value of prayer in daily life.
- Eucharist - Parish, school, and staff liturgies provide opportunities to celebrate our faith. Our example can testify to the Eucharist as a joyful source of strength and community building.
- Social Justice - This is the heart of the Christian message, that we "love one another as I have loved you". As our brother's and sister's keepers, we must be concerned about the aged, the poor, the oppressed, and any other marginalized group - both at home and abroad.
