St. Mark's High School

St. Mark's High School
Address
2501 Pike Creek Road Wilmington, Delaware, (New Castle County), 19808 United States
Coordinates	39°42′48″N 75°41′4″W
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational, Diocesan
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic School Sisters of Notre Dame, and Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Established	1969
School district	Catholic Diocese of Wilmington
Oversight	Diocese of Wilmington
Principal	Mark John Freund
Asst. Principal	Timothy Neal Terre Taylor John Hannagan
Chaplain	Father William Coco Sister Sandra Grieco, IHM
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,500  (approx.)
Average class size	25
Student to teacher ratio	15:1
Color(s)	Dark Green and White
Mascot	Spartan
Team name	Spartans
Rival	Salesianum
Accreditation(s)	Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Newspaper	'Ultramark'
Yearbook	'Spark'
Tuition	$9,196.00
Admissions Director	Clarice Kwasnieski
Athletic Director	Matthew Smith
Website	http://www.stmarkshs.net

St. Mark's High School is a coeducational Roman Catholic high school located at 2501 Pike Creek Road, Wilmington, Delaware. The school is administrated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. It is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The current enrollment is approximately 1,600. The mission statement of the school is as follows;

Saint Mark’s is a Diocesan Catholic high school that educates young men and women to be leaders of the church and the world whose faith in God and service to others model excellence, humility, and integrity.

Background

It was founded in 1969 by the then Bishop Michael W. Hyle. Hyle's successor, Bishop Thomas Mardaga, chose the name of Saint Mark because of his "traditional depiction as a young man and an evangelist who was inspired to spread the word of God." The school was intended to serve the cultural and educational needs of Roman Catholic adults and youth in the Diocese of Wilmington. Construction began on the school in 1966, but did not finish until 1970. Classes began attending in 1969.

Facilities

The original building, completed in 1970, was improved upon in 1995 as part of St. Mark's Silver Anniversary Campaign. One of the most noticeable features of the building is its so called "fish hallway." Located in what would be the 160's corridor, students can enjoy a pleasant view of underwater life instead of the monotonous pale white bricks that cover the rest of the school. In 2006, the school began constructing new athletic fields on land given to it by the Catholic diocese of Wilmington. In 2011, St. Mark's finally decided to join all the other high schools in Delaware (seeing as they were Varsity Football State Champions the previous year) and add lights to the football stadium allowing for night home games to be hosted on site instead of at Baynard Stadium located in Wilmington.

Academic program

Saint Mark's provides an educational program for students of multiple ability levels with five levels of academic programs, known as phases, in most subject areas.

Fine and Performing Arts

St. Mark's has a legendary fine and performing arts department. This includes three bands (marching, jazz, and concert), many talented singing groups, and a strings ensemble. In addition to musical performances, St. Mark's puts on three plays every year. In the 2010-2011 school year, St. Mark's put on Arsenic and Old Lace, A Christmas Carol, and Bye Bye Birdie (musical). Finally, St. Mark's is full of talented artists who decorate the first floor hallways with their fabulous works of art.

Athletics

St. Mark's fields 47 teams at the freshman, junior varsity and varsity levels. The Spartans participate in: baseball, basketball, cheerleading, crew, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, indoor track and field, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. Ice hockey and roller hockey also exist as clubs.

Intramural sports participation is also an option. Some of these include bowling. In addition St. Mark's fields what is considered by many to be the most prolific ultimate team ever assembled. They have earned multiple awards and have remained undefeated since first being founded in late October 2009.

In 2010, St. Mark's Varsity football team went 12-0 for the season, going on to win the 2010 DIAA-Division 1 State Championship in addition to beating their greatest rival, Salesianum, twice. This is the first state championship victory for St. Mark's in the past 32 years.

Since 2010, the St. Mark's varsity football team has gone 3-0 against Salesianum. While finishing with an average record of 6-4 in the 2011 season, the Spartans did have an impressive showing at the Sallies game, coming back with 21 unanswered points in the 4th quarter, 14 of which were scored in the last minute of the game. In addition, that weekend, the junior varsity and the freshman football teams both defeated Sallies as well.

Trivia

• Saint Mark's historical rival is Salesianum.
• Saint Mark's mascot is the Spartan.

Notable alumni

• Nicole Bosso, former Miss Delaware USA who competed in the 2007 Miss USA pageant
• John C. Carney, Jr., former Delaware Lieutenant Governor, elected in 2010 to Delaware's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
• Tom Douglas, widely recognized Seattle Chef and restaurateur
• Meghan Eckman, director of The Parking Lot Movie
• Kevin Mench, a Major League Baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers (currently a free agent)
• Mario Pino, horse racing jockey (most notable horses are Sweetnorthernsaint and Hard Spun)
• David Plouffe, campaign manager for Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential campaign
• Keith Powell, an American television actor who is best known for his role as Toofer on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock
• Steve Watson, 353 career receptions as a Wide Receiver for the Denver Broncos from 1979 to 1987

Fostina Dixon--noted Jazz musician and bandleader
Diane Fratantoni Sutherland--veteran Broadway actress

External links

• St. Mark's High School
• Spartans Sports