Lion Term
Lion Term 2024 Information
At the culmination of each school year, all students partake in a 10-day Form-based experiential learning course designed to provide developmentally appropriate challenges. Lion Term places increasing emphasis on individual student growth, centering their educational journey, voice, and choices.
The St. Mark’s Lion Term program offers the community an innovative opportunity for immersive, interdisciplinary, hands-on learning. Each course is rooted in the belief that experiential learning can profoundly transform understanding. Providing opportunities for exploration in natural, urban, and international settings is essential. Lion Term is integral to a St. Mark’s School education, equipping graduates with the knowledge and agency for healthy, impactful lives grounded in leadership and service.
Additionally, Lion Term serves as a celebration during the academic year's final weeks, where students showcase their learning and engage with critical societal topics. Alumni, parents, and experts collaborate with the school, bringing valuable insights and creating enriching field-learning opportunities. Please reach out if you are interested in partnering with us!
Lion Term starts on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
Classes generally take place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Spring sports commitments continue through Saturday, May 25, 2024.
All students present at the Exhibition of Learning on June 5; time slots will be assigned.
Lion Term progresses from year to year
Throughout their high school journey, students progress through age-appropriate growth and academic experiences within the Lion Term program. The opportunity for students to choose and design their projects or learning goals increases annually, allowing them to develop skills and pursue interests relevant to navigating real-world issues and systems.
At the outset, students engage in identity-conscious practice, recognizing that our identities and experiences shape our perspectives. This awareness informs how we learn, teach, create, and collaborate. As students advance, they transition from a focused exploration of self to a broader exploration of their roles within their communities and as global citizens.
The program facilitates this progression, guiding students along a continuum from self-exploration to a deeper understanding of their place within interconnected societies. By embracing their identities and experiences, students develop the awareness and agency necessary to enact positive change in their communities and beyond.
Form Themes and Core Concepts
Through Experiential Education...
We promote joyful wonder about the world and how it works.
We recognize and attend to the different ways in which students learn and develop, and they address all aspects of student development: mind, body, and spirit. The effectiveness of a student’s educational experience is rooted in meaningful relationships with caring, talented, and skillful teachers.
We have high expectations.
The process of education is more important than the products of it; and for this reason, we teach students how to learn and how to think. This prepares them for college, and more importantly, for a lifetime of learning.
We lift up the cultures and talents of everyone.
Multiple perspectives and a range of world views, in the face of differences, educates students to be compassionate and curious.
St. Mark's School is a proud
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE MEMBER
of ISEEN
What is Experiential Education?
Experiential education is a pedagogical process by which educators engage the whole student through a cycle of direct experience, reflection, analysis, and experimentation. These programs prioritize people, identities, and the environment, addressing justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Fostering personal connection to deep and applied learning and inspiring growth in both the student and teacher, experiential education engages participants to be active citizens working for a more just, equitable, and sustainable world where everyone belongs.
Semester Course Titles
