Mini Courses. Big Impact. Devoting Time to Topics that Enhance the Educational Experience

This year, a very intentional approach was taken towards the development and implementation of the additional courses offered to our students in Grades 5-8 outside of their core subjects and specials. The goal was to better align these courses with the core program initiatives while also exposing students to new subject areas to better meet the needs of our middle school-aged students.

STUDY SKILLS WITH MS. MILLER

Fifth Grade

Students are introduced to the concepts of goal setting and executive functioning, learning organizational skills with regards to homework. Topics also include how to independently set up notebooks, plus how to take notes and study for assessments.

Independent Study Project

Fifth – Eighth Grades

Students engage in a project-based learning project which allows them to conduct research on a subject, design a project, and develop a deeper understanding of a topic of their own interest and choice. They will present their findings to members of the School community in the Spring.

Health Class With Nurse Hill

Fifth – Eighth Grades

Crucial to the larger picture of our students’ overall health and well-being, topics covered in Health

Class include an overview of the human body, social determinants of health, healthy habits, mental and social health, drugs and alcohol, human growth and development (puberty and adolescence), healthy relationships, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation & identity, and respect & consent.

Coding With

MS. MILLER & MR. HOFFMAN

Fifth – Seventh Grades Students explore the basic principles of coding, including algorithms and logic then engage in various programming interactivities that will reinforce their learning, creativity, and understanding and they are asked to write and test their own code.

VALUES IN ACTION WITH MRS. SHAFER

Sixth – Eighth Grades

Students identify and define their personal values, as well as those of their family and school and to consider and discuss other values and their sources, as demonstrated in different countries and cultures, religions, and political systems.

LEADERSHIP IN ACTION WITH MS. NALLY

Sixth – Eighth Grades

Students work to develop their personal leadership style while also cultivating leadership in others. With a goal of becoming engaged leaders of the school and community more broadly, they will become involved in a variety of service projects throughout the year.

WRITING LAB WITH MS. GOODMAN

Sixth – Eighth Grades

With explicit writing instruction and ample opportunity for practice, the Writing Lab gives students exposure to a variety of genres – nonfiction chapter books, persuasive letters, reviews, poems –with a focus on spelling, conventions, and the qualities and strategies of good writing. In the workshop model, students cycle through the writing process as they write: rehearsing, drafting, editing, providing feedback and publishing their writing.

DESIGN THINKING WITH MR. EVANS

Sixth – Eighth Grades

Students work to understand the process necessary to solve problems and explore the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a part of their larger understanding of global challenges and solutions. Assignments require both time management and collaboration and students are assessed on their project “process,” the communicated value of their final projects and the ways in which they make the group’s success more likely.

RHETORIC WITH MS. SACHER

Seventh & Eighth Grades

The goal of this course is to provide students with the skills and techniques to communicate clearly, effectively, and confidently in a variety of settings. Students will also develop the tools to be a more analytical listener.

THE PLAY WITH MS. SACHER

Seventh & Eighth Grades

Students learn various creative drama techniques to build ensemble, stimulate imagination, movement, and role-play with an emphasis on stage presence. Students will understand and follow stage directions, and use proper techniques for body and voice control. Students will work towards putting on a performance for the St. Peter’s community.

SECONDARY SCHOOL PLACEMENT WITH MR. HOFFMAN

Eighth Grade Guidance and support is provided to students and their families about the search and application process as a whole, submission deadlines, and how to identify the needs and goals of the child as it relates to their school selections.

Class of 2020 Alumni Highlight

Theodore Linde-Stamos Performs at NYC’s Carnegie Hall

On Saturday, May 7 2022, Theo had the honor of playing the piano at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall in a Winners Recital hosted by the Philadelphia Music Teachers Association. From Tchaikovsky to The Beatles, some of the world’s most renowned musicians have taken the stage at this legendary monument to musical excellence. The recital featured Theo and seventeen other winners, who all proudly exhibited their advanced musicianship skills during their performances.

Theo performed Hungarian composer Franz Liszt’s famous piece, Sonetto 104 del Petrarca.

St. Peter’s School alumni have a long standing reputation of being very devoted to their studies and achieving excellence in their endeavors. Theo Linde-Stamos ’20 is representative of such dedication, and we are proud to report on his continued accomplishments as a young musician.

While attending SPS, Theo had daily access to a piano, which helped him grow his talent and bolster his confidence to perform in front of others. Congratulations to Theo for being recognized for his great talent- we cannot wait to see what else he accomplishes in the coming years!

Class of 1988 Alumni Highlight

Sam Shaw and Her South Street Treatery

After spending over two decades as an executive in professional tennis with World TeamTennis, co-founded by Billie Jean King, Society Hill native Sam Shaw moved back to Philadelphia six years ago and began working as a freelancer in the sports management and marketing space. “But COVID changed all that, and when I was no longer freelancing, I found myself faced with the question: What’s my plan B?”

Having grown up in, and feeling such a deep connection to, Society Hill, Sam looked around at the business landscape and thought about what was missing, and what could she do that would help reinvigorate the retail corridor of South Street. “Plus,” she adds, “I missed the Koffmeyer’s Cookies near Headhouse Square, where my friends from school and I would stop on our way home from St. Peter’s!”

So, Sam embarked on a journey to enter the retail and culinary space, jumping “head first into the shallow end,” and putting her “blood, sweat and tears” into the opening of Sam Shaw’s Treatery, which celebrated its first year in business in January of 2023. The space is intentionally designed to be welcoming with bright colors and wonderful scents, inviting patrons to browse her selection of sustainable and fair trade goods sourced from around the globe, from serving bowls and blankets, to pottery and puzzles, before heading to the cookie case!

She has been truly touched by the amount of support she has received from the community and her neighbors –including SPS families (and many fellow alum from the class of 1988) who she loves connecting with when they come into her shop. “It’s been so wonderful to be in such close proximity to the School!”

Memories of her time at St. Peter’s School are among the most vivid from childhood - from declamations recited, her role as Miss Havisham in the Dickens’ play Great Expectations, and the “orange drink” given out to students on May Day. “St. Peter’s is such a special place and gave me a great education,” remarks Sam, who went on to Springside School (now SCH Academy) then to Lafayette College, where she played D1 tennis.