Independent - Summer 2025

The Independent

SUMMER 2025

Strategic Plan: Year One in Review Laying the Groundwork for the Future The 2024–2025 school year marked the beginning of our five-year Strategic Plan. Rooted in our mission to honor childhood, cultivate joy, and inspire meaningful learning, the plan was developed in partnership with faculty, staff, families, and trustees. It outlines five interconnected Pathways: Students, Community, Teachers, City, and Facilities.

In Year One, our focus was on thoughtful planning, building momentum, and putting the right people and systems in place. It was a foundational year, and while many of our efforts remain behind the scenes, the impact is already beginning to show. Here’s a closer look at what we accomplished in each pathway.

Pathway 1: Students This year, we set out to more clearly define and support the whole arc of a student’s journey at SPS, from Preschool through 8th Grade. We began by mapping academic benchmarks across grade levels, starting with math and expanding into literacy and the arts. The goal: to ensure every child experiences growth that is purposeful, connected, and well-supported.

To achieve this, we brought together learning specialists and classroom teachers to better align academic and emotional supports, ensuring no

student slips through the cracks and that families and teachers are equipped with clear strategies and next steps.

We continue to develop personalized student profiles that integrate key information about academic progress, social-emotional development, and learning styles. This effort builds on the strong foundation laid by our uppergrade science teacher, Jenny Soriano, who has students build and manage their own digital portfolios—empowering them to take ownership of their learning.

Together, these steps are helping us create a more intentional and cohesive experience, so every SPS student can thrive today and be prepared for what’s next.

Pathway 2: Community This year, we launched a brand-new St. Peter’s School app to streamline communication and keep our community connected more easily than ever. Families and faculty can now access timely updates on school events, news, and essential announcements right at their fingertips, making it easier to stay informed about everything happening at SPS.

Alongside the app, we unveiled our refreshed website, offering a modern, user-friendly experience that better reflects our vibrant community and helps prospective families discover the SPS difference.

We’ve also expanded opportunities for students to engage in service learning projects and community-based activities, helping them develop a strong sense of civic responsibility and awareness.

To keep a pulse on our progress, we conducted multiple surveys throughout the year, gathering feedback from families and staff at various times to capture ongoing thoughts and needs regarding our communications. These insights are already shaping improvements in how we share information so that everyone feels informed, engaged, and connected.

Through these efforts, SPS students are growing into thoughtful citizens who understand and appreciate the city they call home.

Pathway 3: Teachers Supporting and empowering our faculty remains a top priority. This year, we focused on enhancing professional development opportunities aligned with our Strategic Plan goals. Teachers engaged in workshops and collaborative sessions designed to deepen their content knowledge and expand their instructional strategies.

We also worked to strengthen internal communication channels among staff, fostering more collaboration and shared resources across grade levels and disciplines.

By investing in our teachers’ growth and providing them with meaningful support, we are building a stronger foundation for student success and a vibrant learning environment at SPS.

Pathway 4: Our City St. Peter’s School continues to deepen its connection with Philadelphia and the vibrant community around us. This year, we advanced our City Curriculum by strengthening partnerships with local organizations and incorporating realworld learning experiences that bring the city’s history, culture, and diversity into the classroom.

Pathway 5: Facilities A significant focus this year has been on planning for the future of our campus. After an earlier collaborative building project with St. Peter’s Church did not move forward, our Buildings & Grounds Committee pivoted to explore new possibilities for expanding and enhancing our existing facilities.

We are excited to announce plans for a transformative building project on our current campus. This includes a dedicated gymnasium, fulfilling a longtime community goal, a rooftop play area to maximize urban space, and bringing our arts classrooms under one roof. Importantly, the project will add an elevator, making our building fully accessible and ADA-compliant.

These steps position SPS to meet the evolving needs of our students and community well into the future.

Looking Ahead to Year Two With foundational systems in place and early momentum established, Year Two of our Strategic Plan will focus on implementation, feedback, and iteration. We will continue to refine our academic maps and student progress tracking, deepen teacher learning through leadership opportunities, pilot new city-based experiences, and move forward with campus building plans.

As always, our work will be guided by a deep respect for childhood, a belief in the power of relationships, and a commitment to preparing students not just for what’s next, but for a life of purpose, curiosity, and joy.

You can learn more about the progress of our Strategic Plan by visiting: st-peters-school.org/strategic-plan

The Return of The Stairwell Basket

Celebrating Student Writing, Past and Present After years of dormancy, St. Peter’s School’s beloved student literary magazine, The Stairwell Basket, has made a triumphant return.

Led by Upper Grade Humanities Teacher and Writing Program Coordinator Josh Prichard, this year’s revival of the magazine was more than just a creative outlet. It was a chance for students to connect with the school’s legacy. “Creating some kind of publication was always the goal,” says Josh. “But it was the students who decided they wanted to honor the heritage and tradition of the past by reviving The Stairwell Basket.” The name may sound familiar to many alums who contributed their own poems, stories, and essays to its pages years ago, and its return signals a new chapter in an ongoing tradition.

The new edition features some of the best writing from across the Upper Grades, carefully selected by students who took the lead in shaping the magazine’s voice and vision. From selecting submissions to making editorial decisions, they embraced the opportunity to see their work, and the work of their peers, celebrated in print. “My main goal was to get students excited about writing,” Josh says. “To value it, to take it seriously, and to feel proud of it. Watching that happen in our first year was really exciting.”

Like any inaugural issue, there were some bumps along the way—namely the challenge of building a new process from scratch while keeping the magazine student-led. But with lessons learned, Josh is already looking ahead to next year: “We want to expand just a bit—maybe a few more pieces, and I’d love to include some student artwork as well. But we’ll keep it curated and special.”

With a fresh generation of writers behind it and a name that evokes a shared memory for so many in our community, The Stairwell Basket is once again a place where student voices shine.

Puppets, Playwrights, and Pure Imagination Working in small groups, students collaboratively write their own scripts before heading to the Art Room to design and build puppets that match their reimagined characters. The final result? A series of delightfully silly, surprisingly thoughtful performances shared with classmates, families, and teachers.

Each year, the Third Grade Puppet Play transforms the St. Peter’s stage into a world of fractured fairy tales, original characters, and boundless creativity. A beloved Lower School tradition, the project blends English Language Arts and Art into one magical, multidisciplinary experience.

In ELA, students learn the building blocks of classic fairy tales and then joyfully turn them on their heads—rewriting characters, setting, and morals to create entirely new narratives.

Third Grade Teacher McCayla Kenny has watched dozens of these creative visions come to life over the years. “Watching their fun ideas hit the stage is always my favorite part,” she says. “It’s an outlet for big imagination and learning to scale those ideas down into a four-page script is half the fun (and the challenge)!”

At its heart, the Third Grade Puppet Play is a celebration of childhood, friendship, and the magic of making something wonderful together.

And at SPS, that’s always worth a standing ovation.

Physics and Perseverance

Each spring, the Fourth Grade at St. Peter’s School takes on one of the most anticipated, and precarious, engineering challenges of the year: the Egg Drop.

Guided by Lower Grade Science Teacher Rachel Scalese, students put their understanding of energy, motion, and introductory physics to the test as they design contraptions to keep an egg safe from a high fall. But beyond the thrill of impact (or survival), the project is a deep dive into the engineering design process; modeling, testing, and refining every step of the way.

“The best part is Egg Drop Day,” Rachel shares.

“The students are excited and nervous in equal measure, and it’s a joy to see them cheering each other on.” Win or lose (or splatter), the experience is as much about learning from failure as it is about celebrating success. “It’s important that students see a ‘cracked’ result not as the end, but as a beginning—a chance to try again, tweak their design, and learn from the process,” Rachel says. In that sense, the Egg Drop becomes a lesson in resilience and problem-solving, as well as physics.

And of course, what better way to wrap up than with a celebratory breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon—a delicious nod to the hard work and cracked shells of the week.

A favorite among students and teachers alike, the Egg Drop continues to be a hands-on tradition that keeps students thinking, building, laughing, and sometimes cleaning up, a little mess along the way.

Milestones and New Beginnings

We are thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating Eighth Graders and share exciting news from our young alums who are now heading off to college. These milestones reflect not only their hard work and growth, but also the guidance of our faculty, the support of their families, and the strength of the SPS community.

Our Class of 2025 has been accepted to an impressive range of high schools that match their talents, interests, and ambitions. This year’s list includes: { { { { { { { { {

Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School Roman Catholic High School The Shipley School Moorestown Friends School Revolution School Archbishop Ryan High School The Agnes Irwin School The Baldwin School Friends Select School

Just as exciting, our Class of 2021 are now preparing to begin their college journeys. We are proud to share that they’ve been accepted to a remarkable group of colleges and universities, including: { { { { { { { { { { { { { { { {

Yale University Princeton University Columbia University Johns Hopkins University Vassar College New York University Penn State Brown University Carnegie Mellon University Cornell University University of Pennsylvania University of Maryland University of Delaware University of Rochester Spelman College Vocational School programs

We couldn’t be prouder of these students and all they’ve accomplished. Whether they’re heading into high school or college, they take with them the curiosity, compassion, and confidence that define a St. Peter’s School education.

Please join us in celebrating their success—and the bright futures that lie ahead!

Global Citizenship at SPS A Commitment to Sustainability In the spring of 2025, St. Peter’s School proudly became an official member of the Global Schools Program, an initiative of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). This partnership connects SPS with a worldwide network of educators committed to advancing the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education, particularly Goal 4: Quality Education.

Our participation in the program was made possible by the leadership of science teacher Jenny Soriano, who was not only instrumental in securing our school’s membership but was also recently recognized as the Global Schools Advocate of the Month—the only educator in the United States to earn this distinction. Jenny’s dedication to sustainability, global citizenship, and interdisciplinary learning continues to inspire both students and colleagues.

This recognition builds on the work SPS has long embraced through Project-Based Learning (PBL) and our City Curriculum, where students tackle real-world challenges in their local community while making connections to global issues like sustainable cities, responsible consumption, and good health and well-being.

By integrating the Global Schools framework, we are deepening this work—ensuring that students understand not only the complexities of global challenges but also the power they hold to create change.

We are immensely proud of Jenny and the ways our faculty and students are already engaging in sustainability and global awareness. As a forward-thinking institution, SPS remains committed to empowering students to think critically, act responsibly, and contribute meaningfully—both locally and globally.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this important work of shaping thoughtful, responsible global citizens.

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