The 2018 Saint Peter Catholic School Strategic Plan was released on August 26, 2018.  It represents about six months of work by many members of our school community. It will help guide all of us as we move forward together. The Strategic Plan is designed to be a living document with annual updates on progress as well as modifications to action steps as they are achieved and goals as they evolve.

The Saint Peter Catholic School Advisory Council met for the first time in the 2018-2019 school year on Tuesday, August 21.  The eleven members, along with Principal Doug Jones, met in the school library.

The group named the following members as its officers: Alicia Delamere, Chairperson; Dr. Vanessa Workman, Vice-Chairperson; Christine Fogarty, Secretary.

The new members to this year's Advisory Council are Charles Alford, Dana Gauland, Christine Kowalczyk, Julie McCaffrey, and James Zambardino.  Rubi Moreno also has joined the Advisory Council as a representative from Saint Gabriel Catholic Church in Greenville.  We thank them for their service to the school!

The new members replace Trish Blanchard, Heather Brockway, Scott Stanton, and Stephen Walter.

Members are selected at the end of each school year.  Current members nominate potential members, who then fill out an application.  After reviewing applications of the nominees, the new members are selected by a simple majority vote of the current members.  Members serve terms of three years.

In the governance of the school, the School Advisory Council assists and advises the principal who in turn is accountable to the pastor. The principal, with the council's assistance, is better able to provide quality Catholic education.  ​Members of the council are selected from the parish and broader community. Membership is not limited to Catholics since the enrolled students are of all faiths.

Minutes from each Advisory Council meeting are posted on the School Advisory Council page.  Emails to contact individual council members are also available there.

The Advisory Council generally meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Saint Peter Catholic School Library.  All regular meetings are open for attendance by parents of the school.   Those who wish to address the Council should submit a written request to the Executive Committee (Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary) to have an item placed on the agenda.  The item must be approved and deemed appropriate for Council consideration in advance of the meeting. 

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We have new maps to help you with some important safety-focused traffic pattern changes that will affect drop off and pick up.  

The first major change is the changing of the direction of traffic on Brother Patrick Drive.  Brother Patrick Drive traffic  will now be one-way from 4th Street south to 5th Street.  Parent volunteers will still help students in K-2 out of the cars on Brother Patrick in the morning, starting at 7:45 a.m.  Please see the maps for a visual explanation of the traffic pattern change. 

The second major change is that all students in K-8 will be dismissed from the cafeteria.  There will no longer be pick up along Brother Patrick Drive.  

We are in need of more parents to volunteer to help during morning drop-off on Fourth Street.  Please click here to sign up. 

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​Kindergarten – 2nd grade may drop off on Brother Patrick Drive sidewalk beside Primary School, starting at 7:45 a.m.

3rd - 8th graders and K – 2nd graders with 3rd – 8th grade siblings drop off on 4th Street sidewalk and enter through cafeteria.  Drop-off traffic enters 4th Street line from Laurel St., Hickory St., or further west.  Drop-off begins at 7:30 a.m., and students are dismissed to their classrooms at 7:45 a.m. 

4th Street Cafeteria drop-off traffic turns left on Beech or goes straight on 4th to avoid pedestrians on section of Beech between church and school. K-8th grade walk-up traffic may use church or rectory parking lots. Parents should accompany their children as they cross streets.
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PK3 and PK4 students should be walked to their back door, which opens at 7:45 a.m.

Please travel east on 4th Street for the safest way to drop off and pick up your students.

Half day PK3 and PK4 students are dismissed from their back door between 11:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Full day PK3 and
PK4 students are dismissed from their back door between 2:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

PreK students can be dismissed to the cafeteria after the first week of school if the parent chooses.

Students in grades K-5 will dismiss at 2:55 p.m. from the cafeteria. 

Middle school students dismiss from the cafeteria at 3:10 p.m. Students in grades K-5 who have siblings in middle school go to the holding room.  They are brought to the cafeteria for the 3:10 p.m. dismissal.

Parents may drive up to pick up students from the cafeteria for both the 2:55 p.m. and 3:10 p.m. dismissals.  Parents may also park and walk to the cafeteria doors if they prefer.  Please bring the student name car hang tags distributed by the HSA at the start of the school year (or something equivalent) so your children can be efficiently dismissed to you.  Many parents who drive up use a small hanger to display the name of their students.
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Please do not use your cell phone during drop off and pick up, to protect the safety of all.

Why is Saint Peter Catholic School dismissing one hour early on the first and third Thursdays of the month? The short answer is we want your child to be the best student he or she can be.

Saint Peter Catholic School is raising the bar on academic excellence, and we’re using a research-based and proven program to do that.  It’s called Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) through the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL).

During these bi-monthly workshops, the faculty at Saint Peter will learn how to shift the focus of their teaching style from what teachers do to what students need.  PLCs are instrumental in teaching our educators techniques to help struggling students succeed, and help students who excel to do even better. According to the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, research indicates “there is a strong correlation between the use of effective PLCs in schools and improved teacher learning and instruction and student learning."

Saint Peter is blessed with outstanding teachers, some of whom have been teaching for decades.  Students needs are changing, and so are the ways teachers can fulfill those needs.

Incorporating this training into the school day respects the teachers as professionals.  Like so many of our school’s parents, many are working mothers and fathers. Their work for the day does not end when the last bell rings.

While school will technically dismiss early on the first and third Thursday of each month, parents need not scramble to adjust their child care plans.  All students are invited to stay for a free hour of After School, which is both safe and supervised. Students in PK3 and PK4 will stay in their classrooms.  Students in Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades will gather in a Kindergarten classroom.   Students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades will gather in a 5th grade classroom.  Students in grades 6th, 7th and 8th will gather in an 8th grade classroom.  This is how all After School care days will be configured.

Other schools who have implemented PLCs and adjusted their school day schedule to accommodate it report that parents often use these early dismissal days to schedule doctor and dentist appointments for their students.

That’s the long answer.

It’s the short answer we hope you will remember when you adapt to this change to our school schedule: we want your child to be the best student he or she can be.

​For specific information on dismissal times, please click here.

To learn more about the Professional Learning Community (PLC) program our faculty will be taking part in, please click here. 
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Our school day will be lengthened each day this year by 10 minutes. This allows us to dismiss one hour early on most of the first and third Thursdays of each month for Professional Learning Community (PLC) time for our staff.  Parents who cannot pick their child(ren) up an hour early will receive one hour of FREE after school care on those days.
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On regular full days of school, dismissal times are as follows:

• PK3 & PK4:  2:40 p.m.
• Kindergarten - 5th grade: 2:55 p.m.
• ​6th grade - 8th grade: 3:10 p.m

On the first and third Thursdays of each month, dismissal times are as follows:

• PK3 & PK4:  1:40 p.m.
• Kindergarten - 5th grade: 1:55 p.m.
• 6th grade - 8th grade: 2:10 p.m.

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All Thursdays with early dismissals are indicated on the school calendar.  There is one exception; on Thursday, December 20, students will dismiss at their regular dismissal times. Additionally, Thursday, April 18 (Holy Thursday) is a half-day of school; students will dismiss at the traditional half-day dismissal times.  
Half-day dismissal times are as follows:

• PK3 & PK4:  11:15 a.m.
• Kindergarten - 5th grade: 11:45 a.m.
• 6th grade - 8th grade: 12 p.m.

To learn more about the Professional Learning Community (PLC) program our staff will be taking part in, please click here.

An updated version of the Saint Peter Catholic School Handbook is now available.  The handbook concludes with two forms that require the signatures of both Saint Peter Catholic School students and their parents.  Please print these two pages out and return to school by August 31. 

You can view the handbook here.