By Sophie Chiang ‘23
St. Mark’s Saturdays have been an integral part of the St. Mark’s experience since its inception. Having a wide array of courses to choose from and take for two and a half hours every Saturday morning provides an opportunity for experiential learning and stepping out of the St. Mark’s bubble. These courses are designed to be rooted in collaborative, exploratory, immersive, and innovative learning. They are courses that a high school student could never imagine taking as part of their curriculum and offer a fresh perspective to the traditional core classes one takes at school. Some example courses a St. Marker could elect to take are Songwriting & Recording, Geometric Pysanky, Introduction to Jiu-Jitsu, Philosophy and Science of Yoga, East Asian Culture Through Film, Museum Exploration, and many more. These courses allow the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning with students from all forms and teachers from all departments.
Saturday classes have garnered such rapport that the deans and academic administrators have decided to implement another mandatory experience: St. Mark’s Sundays. These courses complement St. Mark’s Saturdays by allowing students to choose from and take corresponding courses. These will last for two and a half hours on Sunday mornings and be followed by a half-hour of School Meeting. Sunday classes are designed to match whatever a student elects to take on the day prior but take on a more practical perspective. For example, Songwriting & Recording will be matched with Making it in Hollywood. Introduction to Jiu-Jitsu will be followed by Advanced Jiu-Jitsu. East Asian Culture Through Film will be matched with Western Asian Culture Through Film. Art Curation will follow museum Exploration. The academic department believes that these courses will complete St. Markers’ experiences and will be “an academic sensation.” There are high hopes that Sunday Classes will provide students with a more complete perspective of the world and prepare them for the world beyond Southborough.
