On May 9, for the first time since St. Mark School in Vienna
was founded in 2003, students sang, prayed and knelt in the
center pews of St. Mark Church during a school Mass. After
being named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of
Education last fall, Father Patrick Holroyd, pastor, decided
“they’d earned it,” said St. Mark Principal Darcie Girmus.
“It was quite a big deal for them” to sit in the special
seats, Girmus said, explaining that since the school was
established nearly 40 years after the parish, students
usually sat to the side of the church out of respect for
parishioners.
Celebrated by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde – with Father
Holroyd and Father Paul M. Grankauskas, parochial vicar,
concelebrating and Deacon John P. Allen assisting – the Mass
was an opportunity to focus on the students’ academic
achievement as well as their efforts to grow spiritually.
“For a Catholic school, excellence in education, though very
important, is not enough; excellence in faith formation is
essential as well,” said Bishop Loverde in the homily.
“Because the goal of Catholic education is the development of
the whole person – body, mind, emotions and soul.”
St. Mark and Our Lady of Hope School in Potomac Falls were
designated a Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence last fall,
among 50 private schools in the country to receive the award.
The award is given to schools that have shown either dramatic
gains in student achievement or are academically superior.
More than 60 percent of Arlington diocesan Catholic schools
now have revived the honor.
Girmus said that behind St. Mark’s academic excellence is the
commitment and hard work of the pastor, the school families,
and “our highly collegial and committed faculty, who help
each student reach his or her potential.”
Waiting to take her seat in one of the center pews prior to
Mass, eighth-grader Alex Sechser echoed the principal’s
words. “They really care about each student here,” she said.
“If you need extra help with math for example, teachers stay
after school and help.”
“You really feel like teachers care deeply, and it feels like
a community,” added classmate Julia Mancusi.
Girmus said that along with a strong community, the school is
dedicated to reaching out “to all learners,” including those
with intellectual disabilities. St. Mark was the first
diocesan elementary school to offer a program for students
with intellectual disabilities through its Evangelist
Program.
When St. Mark learned of its Blue Ribbon status in September,
students and staff were treated to ice cream with blue
M&M’s. The school later held a thanksgiving prayer
service as a reminder of the school’s ultimate goal: putting
faith front and center.
“In the end, there is yet another ‘Blue Ribbon of excellence’
that we are seeking,” said Bishop Loverde at the close of his
homily. Ultimately we strive for the “blue ribbon” achieved
by “reaching our inheritance to live with the Lord forever in
complete happiness and joy.”
