St. Mark’s School of Tex as
Third Grade New Family Information
2024–2025
From
the Head of Lower SchoolDear Third-Grade Families,
Welcome to St. Mark’s School of Texas! We are excited and eager to welcome you to our community. The Ice Cream Social is a special time for you to meet the teachers and other new families, and we look forward to seeing you there. It is the first of many community events we will share together in Lower School.
Enclosed you will find a letter from your son’s teachers and a list of topics that may be on your mind as you begin the transition from your current school to St. Mark’s School of Texas. We hope these items help answer some of your questions. If, however, there is a topic we have not covered, please do not hesitate to ask. Important contact information is included on the list for your convenience, as well.
We are eager to get to know you and your family better. St. Mark’s is truly a special place filled with people who value family, friendships, and community. Our relationships and our partnerships are at the forefront of all we do. The members of this community place a high value on character, leadership, courage, and honor.
Thank you for entrusting St. Mark’s with your son as we walk the Path to Manhood together. Enjoy the end of year celebrations at your current school, and we look forward to celebrating you and your family as we welcome you to St. Mark’s Lower School.
All the best,
Marion Glorioso-Kirby Head of Lower School
From Your Homeroom Teachers
Dear Parents and Marksmen,
Welcome to St. Mark’s! We look forward to personally getting to know each of you. St. Mark’s is a special school, and we hope that your time at 10600 Preston Road is very fulfilling. Hopefully, the friendships that you make as a third grader will last a lifetime.
We have an exciting year planned for the third graders. Some of the key events include a thirdgrade Halloween magic show, a third-grade musical, our year-long, community-wide service project (collecting and recycling aluminum and tin cans,) and an all-day field trip in the spring.
We know you will soon be enjoying a variety of summer activities and experiences. Many activities will occur just before School officially begins. These include a brief parent-teacher conference, a grade level back-to-school gathering, and yearbook photographs. Watch for information about these events as well as the specific dates and times in an early June email.
Third grade is a wonderful year filled with learning, friendships, and fun. We look forward to getting to know your family as the year progresses. We encourage you to explore, rest, read, and recharge during the summer break.
Sincerely,
Erica Hershner Tracey McKenzie Third-grade teachers
From The President of the Parents’ Association
Dear Third-Grade Parents,
On behalf of the Parents’ Association, I would like to welcome your entire family to the St. Mark’s community. We are so glad you chose St. Mark’s.
As a parent of a Marksman, you are an automatic member of the St. Mark’s Parents’ Association. We are an active group of volunteers partnering with the Faculty, Staff, and Administration to support the boys’ education and development and to build a strong community. Our parents participate on campus in a wide range of areas including the libraries, cafeteria, student store, Lions’ Closet, etc. There is a place for anyone willing to serve!
The St. Mark’s PA also organizes events throughout the year. A few to put on your calendar right now are:
Lion Pride Night – an All-School Spirit Night, complete with a cookout and a DJ before our home football game on Friday, August 30. This will also be Lower School Spirit Night where all new Lower School Marksmen will be invited to run onto the football field before the Varsity football game!
Fall Fun Day – a school carnival held with Hockaday for Daisies and Marksmen in grades one through six scheduled on Friday, September 27.
Celebrate – annual school community celebration scheduled for Saturday, April 5.
To get involved in these and many other events, you will volunteer through Sign-Up Genius. Please mark your calendar for July 15 after 12 pm to log on to the St. Mark’s website and click on the “Volunteer Here” button on the Resource Board. You will see many opportunities listed along with the activity description. When class lists are released in August, please return to the Resource Board for more class-specific volunteer opportunities.
Finally, if you have any questions during the summer months or the school year, please contact the following parent volunteers: Class
Keyuri Soni Keyuirssoni@gmail.com
Parents’ Association Athletic Liaisons:
Grant Ruckel (1st & 3rd grade)
Sean Allen (2nd & 4th grade)
grant.ruckel@energytransfer.com
sean.allen@fastsigns.com
214.284.8030
214.738.3562
512.483.1563
214.394.1161
Again, welcome to St. Mark’s, and I look forward to meeting you! Go LIONS!
Katherine Steinbrueck
St. Mark’s Parents’ Association President 2024-2025
ksteinbrueck@hotmail.com
214-906-6650
FAQs
• Contact Mrs. Glorioso-Kirby or Mrs. Mallick with any questions. Mrs. Glorioso-Kirby can be reached at 214.346.8216 or gloriosom@smtexas.org. Mrs. Mallick can be reached at 214.346.8210 or mallickk@smtexas.org.
• Uniforms can be purchased at Culwell & Son, 6319 Hillcrest Avenue, Dallas, 75205, 214.522.7000. Lion Tracks (in the Directory and online) lists all details about school uniform requirements for all grades. Please use a permanent marker to label your son’s uniform shorts, shirts, and sweatshirts.
• P.E. uniform must be purchased in the Student Store. Please use a permanent marker to label your son’s uniform shorts, shirts, and sweatshirts.
• Backpacks are necessary for all students and may be purchased anywhere. The Student Store carries backpacks, as well. No wheeled backpacks are allowed in Lower School. Be sure to display your son’s name on his backpack.
• Classroom supplies and books are provided to Lower School students.
• Back-to-School events begin the week before the first day of school. While these events are not required, your son will want to be in town to participate. There will be a back-to-school party for each grade in Lower School and yearbook photos will be taken that week, as well. In August, a “Back to School Basics” tab will be on the SM website Resource Board. First and second grade back-to-school parties are scheduled for Monday, August 19. Third and fourth grade parties are scheduled for Tuesday, August 20.
• Yearbook Photos are taken at School the week before classes begin. Boys should wear a dark sports jacket and any appropriate tie. These items are available from the photographer if you are unable to provide a jacket and tie for your son. Dates and times will be posted on the “Back to School Basics” tab on the SM website Resource Board.
• The Directory & Lion Tracks is distributed at Mini-School, scheduled on Thursday, August 22. You should familiarize yourself with Lion Tracks which is the guide to the School’s policies. Lion Tracks can also be accessed on the SM website Resource Board.
• Mini-School Parents’ Night is for parents only. This is an opportunity to meet your son’s teachers and receive an overview of curriculum for the school year. Mini-School is scheduled for Thursday, August 22, at 6 p.m.
FAQs (cont.)
• Class Lists will be posted on Class Pages in early August.
• Lion Pride Night is an all-school community picnic held the evening before a varsity home football game. This year, Lion Pride Night is scheduled for Friday, August 30, at 5 p.m. The Lower School grades will picnic together, and the new boys will be invited on to the football field before the game.
• Lower School Spirit Night occurs just before the home football game scheduled for Friday, September 8 (also, Lion Pride Night this year). The Lower School grades will picnic together, and the new boys will be invited on to the football field before the game.
• Fun Day is our annual Hockaday/St. Mark’s carnival. St. Mark’s boys in grade 1 – 6 and Hockaday girls in pre-K – 6 will meet on the St. Mark’s campus this year for an afternoon of fun and games. Fun Day is scheduled for September 27.
• Chess Club is open to all Lower School boys and meets throughout the year on Thursday mornings at 7 a.m. in Great Hall. A sign-up form will be in the summer email with more information about dates and club meetings.
• Cub Scouts is open for Lower School boys in second, third, and fourth grades. Detailed information about scouting and joining Pack 730 will be sent in the summer email.
• Carpool information, including information regarding SchoolPass, will be distributed at MiniSchool. Morning carpool drop-off is 7:35-7:50. Class begins promptly at 7:55 a.m. Boys are expected to be in class and ready to work at 7:55. Afternoon carpool pick-up is 2:45-3:10.
• Extended Day is our after-school program and is offered to all boys in grades 1-4. Boys are given a snack, complete their homework, and enjoy time on the playground with their friends. Pricing details and registration for the upcoming year will be sent in the summer email. Extended Day registration is by semester and does not include any drop-ins.
• Student Store will be open during the week of back-to-school parties and yearbook photos. P.E. uniforms and St. Mark’s swag will be available for sale throughout the year, as well. Regular Student Store hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., school days. Our online store is always open at smtexasstore.com.
• Lions’ Closet is a resale shop located on the 1st floor in the north wing of the Green Library. Gently used uniform shorts, shirts, sweatshirts, P.E. clothes, and sportswear are available for sale to all families. Lions’ Closet will be open to new families before the school year begins with times posting on your Class Page and Resource Board.
• Team Sports: Lower School Athletic Liaisons Sean Allen and Grant Ruckel will be emailing information about Lower School after-school athletic options as they become available through the Y and other sports associations. Watch for their emails throughout the summer months.
St. Mark’s School of Texas Third-Grade Summer Reading List
The authors listed below are suggestions only. Feel free to read titles by other authors. You must read five or more books. The final book to read is Third Grade Angels by Jerry Spinelli.
Please read Third Grade Angels in August and bring it on the first day of school.
Applegate, Katherine – The One and Only Ivan, Crenshaw and others
Auch, Mary – I was a Third Grade…series
Banks, Lynne Reid – Indian in the Cupboard series
Blume, Judy – Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing and others
Blyton, Enid – Secret Seven series, Famous Five series
Byars, Betsy – Blossom Family series, Tornado, and others
Christopher, Matt – Sports fiction (any)
Cleary, Beverly – Ramona, Henry Huggins, etc.
Conly, Jane Leslie – Racso and the Rats of NIMH, R – T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH
Coville, Bruce – Jeremy Thatcher: Dragon Hatcher, The Dragonslayers and others
Cowell, Cressida – How to Train Your Dragon Series
Dahl, Roald – Matilda, The BFG, and others
Davids, Paul – Star Wars series
DiCamillo, Kate – Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Magician’s Elephant, Tale of Despereaux, Because of Winn Dixie
DiTerlizzi, Tony – Spiderwick Chronicles
Eager, Edward – Half Magic and others
Erickson, John – Hank the Cowdog series
Fleischman, Sid – McBroom series and others
Funke, Cornelia – The Thief Lord, Inkheart, and others
George, Jean Craighead – My Side of the Mountain and others
Gibbs, Stuart – Spy School series, Poached, Space Case
Gutman, Dan – Honus and Me & other baseball Mysteries, Homework Machine, Genius Files, and others
Hale, Bruce – Chet Gecko Mysteries
Hale, Nathan – Hazardous Tales series
Holt, Christopher – The Last Dogs series
Howe, James – Bunnicula series
Hunter, Erin – Warriors series, Seekers series, Omen of the Stars, series, and others
Jacques, Brian – Redwall series, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman
King-Smith, Dick – Babe, The Waterhorse, A Mouse Called Wolf , and other animal stories
Konigsburg, E.L. – From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and others
Lawson, Robert – Ben and Me, Rabbit Hill, Mr. Revere and I
Levy, Elizabeth – Dracula is a Pain in the Neck and others
Lowry, Lois – Attaboy Sam and others
Naylor, Phyllis R. – Shiloh books, Bernie Magruder books, The Grand Escape, and others
O’Brien Robert – Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Osborne, Mary Pope – Spider Kane mysteries
Park, Linda Sue – The Kite Fighters, A Single Shard, and others
Patterson, James – Treasure Hunters series, House of Robots series
Paulsen, Gary – World of Adventure, Francis Tucket series, Hatchet series
Pinkwater, Daniel – The Hoboken Chicken Emergency and others
Polacco, Patricia – Pink and Say, The Art of Miss Chew, and many other titles
Prineas, Sarah – Magic Thief series
Pullman, Philip – Spring-Healed Jack, Count Karlstein, I Was a Rat (Not Dark Materials series)
Riordan, Rick – Percy Jackson series and others; also 39 Clues series by this author and several other authors
Sachar, Louis – Sideways School series
Scieszka, Jon – Time Warp Trio series
Selznick, Brian – The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck
Snicket, Lemony – Series of Unfortunate Events
Sobol, Donald – Encyclopedia Brown series
Spinelli, Jerry – Report to the Principal’s Office, Dump Days
Stilton, Geronimo – Geronimo Stilton series
Tarshis, Lauren – I Survived series (Fiction and non-fiction titles)
Taylor, Theodore – Trouble with Tuck, Tuck Triumphant
Van Draanen, W. – Sammy Keyes series, Shredderman series
Van Leeuwen, Jean – Great Cheese Conspiracy and others
Watson, Jude – Star Wars series
Wallace, Bill – Trapped in Death Cave and others
White, E. B. – Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan
Non-Fiction Subject Suggestions
Animals
Biography
Geography
History
Mythology
Poetry
Religion
Science
Sports
Technology
St. Mark’s School of Texas Third Grade Summer Read-Aloud List
Suggested novels to read aloud to your son are below. Feel free to choose from these authors or titles or choose anything you want. Don’t forget, picture books count too!
Avi, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Who Stole the Wizard of Oz
Babbitt, Natalie, Tuck Everlasting
Banks, Lynne Reid, Indian in the Cupboard
Baum, L. Frank, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Burnett, Frances Hodgson, The Secret Garden
Clements, Andrew, A Week in the Woods and Frindle
Coville, Bruce, The Monster’s Ring
Dahl, Roald, Danny, the Champion of the World
DiCamillo, Kate, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Because of Winn Dixie
Du Bois, William Pène, Twenty-One Balloons
Fleischman, Sid, The Whipping Boy
George, Jean Craighead, My Side of the Mountain
Henry, Marguerite, King of the Wind
Jacques, Brian, Redwall and The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman
Morpurgo, Michael, Kensuke’s Kingdom
Mowat, Farley, Owls in the Family
North, Sterling, Rascal
O’Brien, Robert, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Paulsen, Gary, My Life in Dog Years and The Haymeadow
Polacco, Patricia, Pink and Say
Pullman, Philip, I Was a Rat!
Selden, George, Cricket in Times Square
Smith, Robert K., Chocolate Fever
