St. Peter's School

Second, Third and Fourth Grades Visit Wyebrook Farm

wendye — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:41:16 +0000

On Thursday, May 10th, the students in Second, Third, and Fourth Grades visited beautiful Wyebrook Farm in Honeybrook, Pennsylvania. Dean Carlson, father of a student in Second Grade, owns and operates this picturesque and historical spot stretching over 350 acres in Chester County. The land here has been continuously farmed for over 200 years. Wyebrook Farm provides an alternative to the industrial food supply. By creating a diverse polyculture on their farm, they produce the healthiest animals and best food without the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, hormones or antibiotics. On our visit the students learned about sustainable agriculture, a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities. Characteristics of this type of agriculture include: Conservation and preservation, biodiversity, animal welfare and economic viability. The children had so much interacting with the animals in this stunning rural setting, doing everything from finding tadpoles to holding baby chicks. Students ran alongside the herds of cows as they grazed, picked up eggs as they walked among the chickens in the green pasture, and admired pigs and adorable small piglets as they ate. What a lovely spring day to visit Wyebrook Farm!

Storytetter, Ms. Belluomini, Visits Lower School

wendye — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:03:18 +0000

On May 8th, the Lower School was happy to welcome back storyteller, Ms. Belluomini. All of the children enjoyed hearing her tales about Anansi the Spider and How the Camel Got Its Hump. Ms. Belluomini has a BS in Education from Temple University where she majored in English and Speech Communications and a Masters in Library and Information Science from Drexel University. She worked in various capacities at the Free Library of Philadelphia for twenty years. Ms. Belluomini has done storytelling at various schools, libraries, churches, museums and festivals for the last 15 years. In 2006 at the National Storytelling Conference — “Fringe Stage”– she performed a one-hour show, Stories to Heal the Earth. Ms. Belluomini will be performing again this year on the Fringe Stage for the 2012 National Storytelling Conference. She has been a performer for Philadelphia Tellabration a number of times, and she has also performed at the Lehigh Valley Story Fusion Festival (2011) and the NJ Storytelling Festival in the Fall of 2011. As Blue Deer Storytelling she is a University of Pennsylvania Outreach Program presenter through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Lecture Program. Ms. Belluomini is a member of the National Storytelling Network and Patchwork: A Storytelling Guild, based in Philadelphia.

Second Grade Insect Science Fair

wendye — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:15:45 +0000

On Tuesday, May 15 the students in Second Grade were proud to present their insect projects at their Insect Science Fair to the entire school community. The creative and colorful displays included clay models, posters, dioramas, and cardboard cut outs. The variety of insects studied included the praying mantis, dragonfly, jewel beetle, and grasshopper. Students told visitors where their insect lives, what it eats, and what kind of metamorphosis it goes through. The children shared the most fascinating facts that they learned about their insect. Did you know that there are 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs or that the cicada is the loudest insect?

New Head of School Announcement!

jess — Tue, 08 May 2012 02:09:18 +0000

We are excited to announce the appointment of Shawn Kelly as St. Peter’s new Head of School! Please read the announcement below from Richard A. de Wyngaert, Board of Trustees Chair, and Jim McGivern, Head of School Search Committee Chair.

Dear St. Peter’s School Community,

We write with exciting news. On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the Head of School Search Committee, we are pleased to announce that Shawn Kelly has been named Head of School, effective July 2012. Read more here…

First Graders Transform St. Peter’s Theater into a Rain Forest

wendye — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:26:26 +0000

The First Grade created its own “rain forest” in the theater on April 26th as a culminating activity for a month-long study of the rain forest habitat. The students made vines, leaves, and flowers, and drew pictures of animals, which were hung on columns and draped from the ceiling. The First Graders used this environment to showcase the reports and dioramas on rain forest animals that the students had produced in their classrooms.

In the weeks leading up to this presentation, the First Graders used books and other resources to find facts about their animals. The students recorded the facts in their own words, and then they organized their information into a formal report. In addition, each First Grader created a large diorama that showed his/her animal as it might be found in the rain forest habitat.

On the day of the presentation, the two First Grade classes welcomed their parents and the other St. Peter’s students to the “rain forest.” They sat next to their dioramas, read their reports to those who stopped by their table, and answered any questions. The St. Peter’s First Grade students were very pleased to have this opportunity to showcase their hard work!

Kooky Concoctions

wendye — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:47:16 +0000

On Tuesday, April 17th the Lower School was so happy to welcome Jupiter Jen back to St. Peter’s! We all had so much with her at Science Night last year! In 1999 Jupiter Jen started Science Explorers with a mission to make science fun! Science Explorers is an innovative, hands-on science company dedicated to providing an opportunity for children ages 4 through 11 to become engaged in the wonders of science.Science Explorers can make science cool and exciting through their interactive, hands-on format. They have a motto - If it’s not fun, we are not doing it! Jupiter Jen presented her program titled “Kooky Koncoctions” What does H2O + MnO2 + KI + C18H36O2Na equal? An uproar of thrilled children! We used scientific powers to unleash a genie in a bottle, create a foamy concoction of “elephant toothpaste”, and experiment with CO2 to make floating bubbles and a rainbow of color changes. Our Lower School students had a wild time watching this kooky array of experiments. Who knew steam could be so much fun?

Third Grade Class: A Winner in National Contest

wendye — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:25:54 +0000

Mrs. Bahnck’s Third Grade class has been named the Pennsylvania state winner in this year’s Disney Planet Challenge, an environmental and science competition for Third-Eighth Grade classrooms. Their project “Litter Stinks,” focused on litter clean-up around the city and fundraising for Hug it Forward, an organization that builds schools in Guatemala from plastic bottles stuffed with litter. On April 19, 2012, the class made an official announcement to the Lower and Upper School students. To honor their project and Earth Day, many classes picked up litter on the blocks surrounding the school.
St. Peter’s School and Albert Bean Elementary School (New Jersey state winner) are featured in an article on Metrokids.com:
http://www.metrokids.com/Blogs/FYI/April-2012/St-Peters-and-Albert-Bean-Kids-Win-Disney-Planet-Challenge-Awards/

Upcoming Admissions Events

jess — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:11:20 +0000

We have two admissions events coming up for families interested in finding more about St. Peter’s School! On Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:30 am parents will learn about the admission process, our school programs, and our community during a Talk and Tour. On Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 9:00am we are having a Playground Play Around when parents will have an opportunity to learn more about our Early Childhood Division and children will have a chance to play on our new playground. RSVP here or check out more admissions events here.

Hands-On Science

wendye — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:28:52 +0000

On Tuesday, March 27^th, the Lower School was pleased to welcome two very special guests, Ms. Gerri Trooskin, the Director of the Philadelphia Science Festival and Ms. Elizabeth Kelley, the Public Programs Manager at The Franklin Institute. Using very eager student volunteers, a roll of toilet paper, and a leaf blower, Ms. Trooskin and Ms. Kelly created a fun and exciting demonstration of Bernoulli’s Principle for our children!

According to their website, The Philadelphia Science Festival is a ten-day, community-wide celebration of science that takes place annually in April, featuring lectures, debates, hands-on activities, special exhibitions and a variety of other informal science education experiences for Philadelphians of all ages. The Philadelphia Science Festival aims to provide opportunities for all Philadelphians to positively engage with and build a community around science, engineering, and technology by showcasing the role that each plays in the city and region. More information can be found here: http://www.philasciencefestival.org/

New Google Chromebooks are Here!

jess — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:21:24 +0000

Our faculty sought a way to update our hardware for a host of reasons. Firstly, we wanted to have improved access to resources outside of school, especially primary resources, real time science data, and the like. We also wanted a good way for students to work on projects at school and efficiently save documents so they are backed up in “the Cloud.” Soon we will roll out many Chromebooks which will be an elegant solution. With a quick start-up time and a 9-hour battery, these hardy little laptops will help us teach typing, publishing, and research skills in any classroom. As we continue to explore the meaning of being a 21st Century School, the Chromebooks will help us progress. Thanks go to Mr. Lucek for helping us get these flexible tools up and running.