By Mary Frances McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 2/19/04)

The day before St. Valentine’s Day, St. Mark School students and staff all had one thing on their minds — Heart.

Last week the school gathered in the gymnasium to participate in the school’s first Jump Rope for Heart, raising money for the American Heart Association in the memory of Father Stewart Culkin, former pastor of St. Mark Parish. With less than 200 students, St. Mark School was able to raise more than $10,000.

St. Mark School is Father Culkin’s dream come true. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack in 2001 at the age of 58, two years before the school would open.

Msgr. Thomas Cassidy, a friend of Father Culkin’s, now residing at St. Mark Parish, thanked the students of St. Mark for raising money in memory of his friend to help others. Msgr. Cassidy sang, "You gotta have heart. All you really need is heart."

One wall of the gym was decorated with construction paper hearts made by the students. On the hearts were the names of individuals being honored at the jump-a-thon. Many hearts named Father Culkin, others listed parents, grandparents and other family members.

Each class gathered, one by one in the middle of the gym floor, to jump rope to energetic music. Some jump-roped, some skip-roped, some simply jumped. The purpose of the day was to simply have fun and show a little heart.