Cub Chronicles: January 23rd

Dear Families,

Words cannot express how grateful I am to share the exciting news that we have reached - and are continuing to build beyond - our goal for the St. Mark’s Annual Fund.

THIS IS A BIG DEAL! As you already know, the Annual Fund helps us meet our operational budget needs for the school year. Anything “extra” we raise allows us to dream bigger and do even more—the extra things that enrich daily life at St. Mark’s. Because of your generosity, we are investing in opportunities like sending teachers to the Rice University Winter Summit in February, adding new books to our library, and enhancing our learning and outdoor spaces in meaningful ways.

I recently asked our teachers to start dreaming about what they would love to add to their spaces—and let me tell you, they have ideas! Lots of them! Thanks to the success of the Annual Fund and our upcoming Lion’s Pride event, we are thrilled that we will be able to move forward with some of these dreams!  I cannot wait to share what we have in mind with you.

Because this achievement is truly a community effort, we celebrated today with a joyful “donut party” for all classes—a sweet way to mark such a meaningful milestone with our children. From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of all of our teachers, thank you. We are incredibly thankful to be part of such a supportive, generous, and engaged community.

“A strong community is built not just on shared goals, but on shared generosity and heart.”

That spirit is alive and well at St. Mark’s, and we are so grateful for each of you.

A quick note as we head into the weekend: as you know, an extreme cold watch/winter storm warning is in effect. Please remember that St. Mark’s follows AISD regarding school closures or delayed starts. We will notify all families via Brightwheel alert messages and social media should any changes occur. Thank you, as always, for your flexibility and attentiveness during weather events.

I hope everyone has a safe, warm, and cozy weekend at home. Thank you again for believing in St. Mark’s and for all the ways you support our school and one another.

With deepest gratitude,

Whitney Zisman

Head of School

Annual Fund Update: Otters for the Win!

The Otters pulled ahead in the final countdown of our Annual Fund classroom competition! Thank you to every family who participated and supported our school. Donations can continue throughout the year, and because it was such a close race, we celebrated every class with a donut party today.

**St. Mark’s Episcopal Day School is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 74-1473476). All donations are tax-deductible.

In the event school is canceled for the Austin Independent School District (Austin I.S.D.), St. Mark's Episcopal Day School will also close. If A.I.S.D. has a weather-related delay, we will communicate a plan of action as quickly as possible through Brightwheel. Stay warm!

Save the Date: Lion's Pride!
February 21, 2026 @ Bouldin Acres

Mark your calendar for our annual Lion’s Pride Fundraiser on February 21, 2026 at Bouldin Acres. This year’s theme is Giddy Up and Give, and we cannot wait to celebrate our school community together.

Tickets will be $75 per person. We are also excited to introduce a raffle this year. Raffle tickets will be $5 each, with chances to win a variety of local Austin favorites. Details about our pickleball tournament will be shared next week, and the ticket purchase link will be included in next week’s newsletter.

We are also looking for parent volunteers to help bring this special event to life. If you are interested in serving on the Lion’s Pride Committee, please sign up below. The roles listed reflect where we need the most parent support.
Lion's Pride Committee Sign Up

Thank you for sharing your time and talents to help make this a memorable and successful event for our school.

Save the Date: Re-Enrollment Opens
February 3

For the 2026-2027 school year, we will offer three pickup options: 12:30pm, 3:30pm, and a new 5:00pm option.  

Additional details will be shared prior to re-enrollment for current families, which begins on February 3, 2026.

St. Mark’s Day School Summer Camp will be open to rising 2’s through rising Kindergarten students. Details on camp themes and pricing are coming soon, and registration will take place in early March.

UPDATE: Day School Sunday is Currently scheduled for this Sunday, January 25 at 9 a.m. Please note that this service may be rescheduled due to bad weather. Any updates or changes will be shared with Day School families via Brightwheel, so be sure to check the app for the most up-to-date information.

Each January, we set aside one Sunday service to celebrate our relationship with our Day School. In some sense, it’s just a normal Sunday service. But a normal Sunday service at 9 a.m. at St. Mark’s is actually anything but normal. This is what I like to call our Family Chaos Service. It is a liturgy designed with families with young children in mind. It’s short (about 45 minutes) and kids take leadership in many roles: Ushers, Greeters, even Readers! There is a special children’s sermon; there are always plenty of crayons; and kids have a big dry erase board where they can list the names of folks they would like to be prayed for that day in the service. We also have a St. Mark’s Children’s Choir which will be performing the offertory song on this Sunday! It is a service designed for you.
 
If you have secretly been thinking you’d like to visit us on a Sunday but have been nervous that you won’t know anyone there, this is the perfect opportunity to come and try. (And of course it’s almost impossible that you wouldn’t know anyone anybody as most of the 9am congregation has gone through the Day School anyway!) Plus, after the service we enjoy coffee and breakfast tacos every Sunday. I’d love to see you there. - Father Zac

Hot Cocoa Shop- January 29th during Extended Care

On Thursday, January 29th, GreenJay Therapy is excited to host a kid-run Hot Chocolate Shop to give the kids a chance to show off their skills!  All after school kiddos will have the opportunity to visit the hot chocolate shop following rest time.  Fingers crossed for some wintery weather ❄️

Save the date for our annual Lion's Pride Fundraiser on February 21, 2026 at Bouldin Acres. This year’s theme is Giddy Up and Give, and we cannot wait to celebrate our school community together.

We are looking for parent volunteers to help bring this special event to life. If you are interested in serving on the Lion's Pride Committee, please sign up below. The roles listed include areas where we need the most support from parents.

Lion's Pride Committee Sign Up

Thank you for sharing your time and talents to make this a memorable and successful event for our school.

Another week of fun! We’re growing and learning more every day.

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

JANUARY:
Hearing Screening
January 30- 2026-2027 Church Families School Registration

FEBRUARY:
February 3-5- Current Famiies School Registration
February 5- Coffee Talk
February 9- Waitlist Registration Begins