STRATFORD—St. Mark School in Stratford recently held their 13th Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Cut-A-Thon. Students and faculty dressed in pink as they rallied together in support of the cause.
CKC Salon of Fairfield set up a mini hair salon in the school gym. Stylists shaved heads, cut hair and applied pink hair extensions. This year marks the fifth consecutive year the salon has partnered with St. Mark School in spreading cancer awareness.
The school community raised $2,500 for the Elizabeth Pfriem Swim Cancer Center at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport through pledge donations, dress down participation, and the purchase of pink hair extensions. To date, St. Mark School has raised over $27,000.
Faculty and classmates cheered in support as five boys shaved their heads, two girls cut their hair to donate to Wigs for Kids that provides free wigs to children with medical hair loss, and 60 girls applied pink hair extensions.
Matt Bonito, the Middle School Social Studies Teacher, decided at the last minute to join the students that shaved their heads. Bonito shared, “Breast cancer has unfortunately been a part of my family and it was my small way of placing myself in the shoes of others, an essential quality of any historian.” Bonito says it also presented him with an opportunity to live up to one of his favorite passages from the Bible, “Remember them that are in bounds as bound with them, and those physically suffering as yourself afflicted.” Hebrews 13:3.
Fourth grader, Fallon McCloskey, cut 15 inches of her hair to make a wig for a child with cancer. Her sixth grade sister, Maeve, was so moved by her actions, that she was brought to tears. “I’ve never felt this feeling before. I am really, really proud of Fallon and how she could make one little girl’s life light up like that just by cutting her hair,” explained Maeve.
Eighth grader Ashlyn Flaig cut 12 inches of her hair. Her mother, Christine Flaig, chaired the Cut-A-Thon for the past six years. Since Flaig’s daughter is graduating in June, she is thrilled to pass the Cut-A-Thon along to two new parents who will ensure the tradition will continue for years to come.
The Cut-A-Thon began in 2010, the year after St. Mark School earned the National Blue Ribbon of Academic Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Education. Every year since, the school has turned their blue ribbons pink in October, in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness month.
St. Mark School will host a Pre-K and Kindergarten Open House on Sunday, November 13, 2022 from 10 am-12 noon. Prospective families are invited to tour the school and meet the community. For more information, visit www.stmarkschool.org.
