The Mark Day School Literacies

Critical thinking, cultural competency, the ability to meet challenges and navigate differences, stewardship of our environment: We believe these are necessary to thrive, as students and as global citizens.

Throughout our program, foundational skills and competencies in traditional disciplines are interwoven with four cross-disciplinary "literacies": cross-cultural literacy; ecological literacy; media and information literacy; and social, emotional, and ethical literacy. Teachers integrate them in their own ways, and students often take the lead on an issue they feel passionate about, such as carpooling or energy use on campus.

• A 1st grade project about worms in our garden offers observable lessons in sustainability, and the class makes a book together that becomes part of our library collection.
• Visits to and from our partner organizations—from right here in Marin or from another country—offer all students a chance to learn from another's perspective and experience.
• The study of ancient civilizations in 6th grade history leads to examining perceptions and stereotypes about the Middle East today.
• The 8th grade participates in Media Literacy Week in the spring. Student teams choose topics to explore and look at how that topic is represented in the media, in the process creating a video, print, or audio project to express their findings and their educated opinion.

From these experiences and many more, Mark Day School students learn to draw connections between their learning and the world beyond our walls.

The Four Cross-Disciplinary Literacies