St Mark Blog

I had the good fortune to be a part of a school visitation team yesterday that the Office of Catholic
Education does for various Archdiocesan schools. The school I visited was a Catholic elementary school
on the near north side of Indianapolis. The school had an enrollment of around 450 students K-8 and our
visitation team spent time interviewing teachers, support staff, parents and students to see what areas of
their school could be improved.

The school had just gone through a 2.5 million dollar renovation recently that included all classrooms
renovated, new technology throughout their building and various other upgrades. The school had students
that were friendly, parents that were involved and a staff that was dedicated to their students. Their test
scores were some of the highest in the state and they had alumni that did well at the high school, college
and professional level.

As I traveled back down Meridian Street and headed to the southside, I started to compare our school with
the one I had just visited. While the obvious comparisons are evident, I came to the conclusion that we
have so much going for us at St. Mark that is unique to our school and our parish. While we might not
have some material things that other schools have, we do have a tremendous spirit that is evident when
you walk in our building.

Our spirit comes from our parents, which work hard each day to send their children to St. Mark Catholic
School even when some months the ends do not always meet. Our spirit comes from helping those that
are less fortunate than us, even when we are tired, busy or tapped out. Our spirit comes from our students
that welcome other students of all kinds and treat them like a brother or sister. Our spirit comes from our
staff, who works hard to make students feel like they are special each and every day. Our spirit comes
from our parishioners who support our Catholic school, even when they do not have children that attend.
I would not trade our staff, students, parents and parishioners for any others. We have something very
special here at St. Mark Catholic School. It is hard to put a finger on what “it” is, but you know it is here
when you enter our building, when you go to an all school Mass, when you sit in a classroom, when you
walk our halls.

I heard from Chuck Weisenbach today, Principal at Roncalli High School, and he informed me that
Elizabeth Corcoran (SMCS class of 2008) was named a National Merit Commended Scholar (top 5% of
all high school seniors in the country) and Brian Rainey (SMCS class of 2008) was named a National
Merit Semi-Finalist (top 1% of the best and brightest seniors from all of the high schools in the country!).
Congratulations to these former Lions and their families! He also gave credit to our staff for such a great accomplishment.

We continue to work hard, to pray hard, to celebrate our faith and to grow in Christ. Thank you for being
a part of your child’s growth. Thanks for giving up to have your children at St. Mark Catholic School.
Thanks for instilling a spirit into our school and church. Have a great weekend and we will see you at
Mass this weekend!

God Bless

Rusty Albertson, Principal