.gif)
St. Mark's Episcopal School (West University Place, Texas)
Encyclopedia
West University Place, Texas
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of the city was 14,211...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
St. Mark's has a Houston address and is across Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard
Bellaire Boulevard is an arterial road in western Houston, Texas, United States. The street also goes through unincorporated areas in Harris County and the cities of Bellaire, Southside Place, and West University Place....
from the city of Southside Place
Southside Place, Texas
Southside Place is a city in west central Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,546 at the 2000 census.As of 2000, Southside Place is the 13th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income....
. The school, which serves pre-K (ages two and up) and Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
through Grade 8, is a part of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas
Episcopal Diocese of Texas
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the largest dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all ECUSA congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, Galveston, Houston and Waco.The 153 congregations...
. The current head of the school is Merrill Hall, who is an interim head. The new school head will be Garhett Wagers.
St. Mark's graduates go on to many high schools, private and public. The private high schools include Awty International School, Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, Episcopal High School, Houston Christian High School, Incarnate Word Academy, North Christian High School, Second Baptist School, St. Agnes Academy, St. John’s School, St. Pius X High School, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, St. Thomas High School, St. Thomas Episcopal School, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory High School, and The Kinkaid School.
Students who opt to go to public high schools usually attend Bellaire High School
Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas)
Bellaire High School is a secondary school of the Houston Independent School District, and its campus is located in Bellaire, Texas ....
, Lamar High School
Lamar High School (Houston)
Mirabeau B. Lamar Senior High School is a secondary school located at 3325 Westheimer Road in Houston, Texas, United States, with a zip code of 77098...
, High School for Performing and Visual Arts, and DeBakey High School for Health Professions
DeBakey High School for Health Professions
Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions is a medical secondary school located in the Third Ward area of Houston, Texas, United States....
.
History
St. Mark's Episcopal School was created in 1960 as an educational ministry of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. The school operated as a nursery school for years then gradually began adding elementary grades. The first eighth grade class graduated in 1988. The school received its initial accreditation from the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools (recognized by the Texas Education Agency) in 1990..Student life
Early childhood students at St.Mark's have chapel every Wednesday. Lower and middle school students have chapel every Thursday.In middle School there are eight classes every day. St. Mark's teachers use Smartboards in the classrooms.
In a regular school day students will arrive at 8:00 and leave at 3:00. Students are tardy if they arrive after 8:00. Middle school starts at 5th grade. Middle school students leave at 3:15. They have 8 classes a day, not including lunch and break. At break middle school students get ready for the next class and eat a snack.
St. Mark’s students have a wide variety of classes and clubs. St. Mark’s students also have many fun and exciting classes including, math, science, P.E. (gym), religion, literature, and many more. Students enjoy clubs like origami, knitting, film club, dance, and many more. The clubs are held one day of the week after school.
St. Mark's School has a campus made up of two playgrounds one for very small children in the court yard and one for bigger children on the southeast side of campus. All of the buildings are connected in one big zig-zag shape. The science rooms are on the far side west side of campus. The campus also includes a gym, a cafeteria, an art room, and a music room.
7th & 8th Grade Middle School students also attend school dances every few months. 5th & 6th graders attend school socials. 8th grade had a special and private dance at the end of the year to celebrate their graduation.
7th & 8th grade middle schoolers must take exams at the end of every semester. The exams are challenging, but the teachers at St. Mark's prepare the students for them well.
The library arranges for authors to come to school when they have a chance to visit. The author talks to the students and answer their questions. Many times the school has books available for students to purchase so the author can sign them. Students have a lot of fun asking the authors questions about writing a book or what their next book will be on. It is especially important to the students at St. Mark's school who plan to be an author. The students at St. Mark's love to write. having an author come over to this school is a very fun and educational experience to the students who go here
When students are in upper middle school, students take an elective. These electives include dance, art, yearbook, vocabulary, and Mayan history. The students create the yearbook. In dance elective the students put on a performance at the end of the year. This performance includes all dance routines that they have choreographed all year.