2011-12 School Information
Dear Parents,
This will be my last summer letter to you as I prepared to retire in the spring of 2012. Every summer, I reflect on and am gratified by our record of accomplishment, but never ore so than this year. We have put in place essential elements for the continued success of St. Peter’s School. You will be hearing soon from the board about succession planning, but I want to reassure you now that the School has and will have my continued commitment for the year to come. The record of accomplishment for the past 11 years makes this School and the Head’s position one that will be highly sought after by well-qualified candidates. In terms of program, admissions, finances and reputation, we are strong. Trust it, support it, and welcome the new energy, ideas and sense of achievement it will bring.
I am pleased to highlight a few of the wonderful successes from the 2011-2012 academic year below:
Graduation
Our heartfelt congratulations go to the Class of 2011 of their graduation. Under the thoughtful and professional guidance of Mr. Weymouth, Upper School Director, our 13 Eighth graders, were admitted to the following schools:
Abington Friends School, Baldwin School, Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, Central High School, Chestnut Hill Academy, Episcopal Academy, Friends’ Central School, Friends Select School, George School, Germantown Friends School, Girard Academic Music Program, Haverford School, High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Julia R. Masterman High School, Merion Mercy Academy, Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School, Saul High School, Shipley School, Springside School, William Penn Charter School and Wyoming Seminary.
100% of this year’s graduating class was admitted into the school of their first or second choice. This strong placement continues a record of accomplishment stretching back more than a decade.
Playground
In our continuing efforts to improve the quality of the St. Peter’s School experience, swift action was taken to remedy the old playground with a new, vibrant playscape under the capable direction of Board Member Leslie LaRocca P’87 ‘90 with a committee composed of faculty, community members, and Besty Caesar, an architectural consultant who has designed a number of playgrounds in the area. The equipment has been ordered and will be installed during the summer and early fall. We look forward to welcoming you and your children to use and enjoy this impressive new facility.
New Faculty Biographies
Sandee Rekstad - Sandee brings not only school but business experience to the position of Upper School Math/Science Teacher. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University in Quantitative Business Analysis. She holds a Masters from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia in Information Management and is working on her Masters of Science Instruction at Drexel University. In addition, she holds Middle Level Teaching Certificates in science and mathematics from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining St. Peter’s she worked at Abington Friends School. In addition, she was a science instructor in two for-profit educational endeavors, Mad Science of West New Jersey and Build-a-Field Trip in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her references spoke about her commitment to students and their best interests. We found her warm, professional, and confident.
Cole Bowman - Cole joins the Upper School Faculty as our science teacher. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University in General Science. He is completing his Master of Science Degree in Science of Instruction at Drexel University. Prior to coming to St. Peter’s, he spent three years teaching a variety of high school level science courses at the Crefeld School in Philadelphia. In addition to his well-rounded science teaching, he was a community service leader, basketball coach, and advisor at Crefeld. His references describe him as the kind of teacher that engages students and gets them excited about his subject because of the quality of his lessons and his thorough planning. Those of us at St. Peter’s who met him found him to be thoughtful, mature, and enthusiastic.
Catherine Lake - Catherine is joining the Lower School faculty teaching one of the two Fourth Grade sections. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland and a Master of Arts in Education from Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Most recently she taught at the Primary Day School in Bethesda, Maryland. Prior to that, she was at St. Kevin School in Springfield, Pennsylvania and worked in the Enrichment Program at A Child’s Place at Devon Elementary. Her references describe her as committed to the well being of children and skilled in the art of positive reinforcement. She creates an atmosphere where children want to learn. During her interviews, we found her to be caring, committed and reflective.
Part time additions and rearrangements
* Monica Flory will be teaching the new ECD Storytelling class on Friday mornings. She is a director and playwright and has been teaching and directing plays for the last 15 years. In her classes, the children will learn about and practice social skills while engaging in dramatic play, theater games, and puppetry.
* Terry Bartolozzi will be in the Kindergarten classrooms this year lending her support to the teachers when needed. She has a long history with St. Peter’s, wearing many hats along the ways from classroom teacher to mother of two St. Peter’s graduates to Chairperson of the Board of Trustees to Lower School reading groups teacher.
* Jessica Cronin-Connolly will be the new Lunch Bunch teacher. Jessica is well-known to the children as she was the ECD’s “go-to” substitute teacher and an After School Care teacher during the 2010-2011 school year.
* Johanna Agnew will be also joining our ASCP staff. Johanna has almost five years experience working in after school programs with children of all ages. She is currently a graduate student at University of Pennsylvania.
* Monique Coval will be teaching French part time this year. Monique completed her student teaching at St. Peter’s last winter and was a perfect fit for us. She went on to receive her Post Baccalaureate Teaching Certificate from Immaculata University this spring. Monique has a bachelor of arts degree in French from Immaculata University and has completed graduate courses in French at Villanova.
I hope that summer was terrific for all of you. I am looking forward to the start of the new school year and seeing you all back at school!
Sincerely,
David Costello