Mandy Hui ‘23, Madison Hoang ‘23, Ingrid Yeung ‘23
After a long and exciting few days at St. Mark’s, orientation week for the 2022-2023 school year has finally come to an end! In St. Mark’s tradition, every school year begins with orientation week, which is designed to welcome incoming new students to the school, and to provide preseason athletes for the fall season with ample time to move in and meet with their teams. Having arrived on Monday morning, the leadership team (consisting of monitors, house prefects, SDC prefects, Pathways leaders, etc.) at St. Mark’s – nicknamed the “O-Team,” short for “Orientation Team” – has taken on the task of welcoming new students, organizing events and activities, assisting new students, and keeping the school in shape throughout the duration of the week. Thanks to the hard work of Mrs. Taylor, Ms. Barila, and several other offices at St. Mark’s, orientation week was a success! New students experienced smooth check-in’s (receiving their class assignments, athletic signups, etc), moved-in to their dorms with little difficulty, found their ways around campus easily, and had the chance to participate in exciting activities and games with their prospective classmates. Keep reading for a detailed recap of this week’s most exciting happenings!
Following the first day of student leaders returning, new and returning preseason athletes began to arrive at St. Mark’s for registration. These athletes return to school earlier than other students because the school’s fall sports teams begin tryouts to finalize their varsity group, preparing for their upcoming season against other independent school league institutions (Groton, Brooks, Tabor, St. Georges, etc.). Returning preseason athletes were also allocated a new athlete on their team as their buddy, giving the buddy a mentor that would guide them around school and assist them in moving in. As more athletes started piling into their respective dorms, Mrs. Taylor and Ms. Barila taught the orientation team new field games for us to do with the new students: these games ranged from icebreaker questions to chuck the chicken. Student leaders then had lunch in the Small Dining Hall, and varsity athletes ate together as a team in the Main Dining Hall. Shortly after, while varsity athletes had their first practice, the orientation team had more training and campus preparation. The day ended with dinner, more sport team practices, then more leadership training.
Wednesday was filled with excitement and nervousness. Wednesday was the day new St. Mark’s students arrived on campus. In the morning, varsity practice continued, but the group of around 100 new students and families began congregating in Elkins gym to register, get their class schedules, and their room keys (for boarders). Then, lunch took place, where the orientation team sat amongst the new students and parents, helping them get to know St. Mark’s better but also for student leaders to get to know them better. Afterward, Mr. Warren, the head of St. Mark’s School, welcomed these new individuals in the Class of 45 Hall. He began by giving a speech on his own experience at St. Mark’s when he himself was a student back in the 1970s, hoping to give off an inspirational message to new students to be opened to new opportunities. The deans, director of community & equity, and director of athletics introduced themselves to the audience, informing the families their roles and responsibilities at the school. When the introductions concluded, the new students’ families were directed to their child’s advisors, giving them the chance to meet the advisor their child will have for the year. Orientation began for the students, beginning with an introduction game that involved finding new individuals that did certain things on a list that was given to them. This included having more than three siblings, vegetable garden, flying in a helicopter, and many more. The night then ended with a St. Mark’s tradition; returning students lit the new students’ candles in Belmont chapel, signifying the beginning of their St. Mark’s journey.
After registration and ice-breakers on Wednesday, we officially welcomed the New St. Marker into our community. The new students kicked off Thursday orientation with “Choose your own adventure” in, in which they get to select one activity and explore different parts of the campus. Choices ranged from physical activities such as Yoga and Cage Ball to board games and puzzles in the library. A 6th form student leader shared her experience leading and helping the new students familiarize themselves with the new environment: “It was a fun and great opportunity to meet many new students, have individual conversations and bond over puzzles. I get to check in with them and answer some of their questions and concerns about boarding school life”. In the afternoon, the Pathways leaders, Jonathan Hernandez, Angelica Hiraldo, Louise He, and Diane Kwon, hosted the Community and Equity (C&E) orientation session. The leaders introduced the program and the purpose of C&E in St. Mark’s, talked about the structure of the office, and provided new students with information about the affinity groups that they could join. Students then split into smaller groups and participated in activities that helped them realize the diversity in this community and find some intersectionalities in their own identities. In addition to the C&E introductions, the office also hosted the International Student dessert after dinner, during which all the international students came together and met with their peers from foreign countries. New students who are still new to this country had the opportunity to get advice and support from the upperclassmen.
Friday marked the end of the orientation session, which indicated that the school was officially beginning. In the morning, all the returning students arrived on campus and joined with the rest of the community. While the returning students registered, the new students continued their “Choose their Adventure” and had the opportunity to experience other activities. At the end of the day, the entire St. Mark’s community came together for the Convocation, which officially started the 2022-23 academic year. The new students were welcomed, new faculty were recognized, and students were recognized for their academic achievements. “This was when I felt my life here at St. Mark’s was really beginning.” A new student later remarked. That said, three days of orientation came to an end, leaving both the new students and student leaders with unique memories.
`Saturday kicked off with the first-ever school meeting of the year, where the new VIth form monitors were introduced to the school. With Saturday classes canceled for orientation week, students were instead asked to engage in different activities with their respective forms. While the IIIrd and IVth form students acclimated to their new lives at St. Mark’s with an “Academic Walk Through” and engaged in several all-form activities in the lower center, the 5th form traveled to Callahan State Park to complete a rejuvenating hike, and the 6th form remained on campus for a fun-filled pool party. Students were given free roam for the remainder of Saturday and Sunday; Ms. Kosow at the Dean’s office made sure to organize several exciting activities – such as Target trips, Natick mall, inflatable courses, and the Mentalist – which kept the weekend exciting for all students. Sunday brunch was also replaced by an SM Block Party cookout, which was hosted on the nearby fields. Overall, the weekend provided new and returning students with a much-needed break following a strenuous orientation week, and to socialize with the rest of the St. Mark’s community.
Given the many smiling faces and positive feedback from students, this year’s orientation was undoubtedly a success for St. Mark’s! Due to the hard work of the leadership team, faculty members, and several others in the St. Mark’s offices, both new and returning students found their ways easily around campus – socially, academically, and everything else in between! With such a successful orientation week for the St. Mark’s community, we can only hope that the festivities have set the community up for an exciting 2022-2023 school year!