Who our Catholic School serves
St. Peter is the premier Catholic school in Camden County (NJ). We serve Catholic families from Merchantville, Cherry Hill, Pennsauken, Cinnaminson, Maple Shade, Delran, Haddon Township, and other surrounding areas in Camden County and Burlington County. Please review our school profile and over 70 updated family reviews of our website by clicking here! St. Peter is committed to offering affordable, high quality Catholic education for ALL Catholic families who desire a true Catholic education. Learn more about how our Catholic school might be more affordable than you think by clicking here. St. Peter is committed to offering faithful, high quality Catholic education in the Catholic liberal arts tradition.
What makes St. Peter different?
St. Peter School is different from other local private and public schools because it is part of a growing number of Catholic schools that are choosing faithful Catholic education within the Catholic liberal arts tradition. What does this mean? Many schools will follow the latest and most popular educational trends. Instead, St. Peter will always look first to our Catholic tradition to solve academic challenges. However, this doesn’t mean that we shun progress wherever it is found. To be sure, our Catholic school embraces innovation, and we seek our own traditions in what is good in current educational trends. Nonetheless, we are proud of our Catholic heritage and believe in the great wisdom of centuries of Catholic schooling in Western culture.
Specific Aspects that distinguish SPS:
St. Peter is unique because it combines the following elements that are usually only partially found in local private and public schools, if they are found there at all:
#1 Latin
First, we maintain the historical liberal arts position that Latin is the preferred way of improving reading and writing skills. We are the only elementary school in this region to offer a complete Latin program in our intermediate and middle school curriculum. To learn more about this program and its benefits, click here.
#2 Great Books approach to Literature
Secondly, we offer a Great Books Classical Reading curriculum for grades 5-8. Our middle school reading curriculum is a true literature curriculum that stresses the reading of the classics of Western culture. Because of this, our teachers engage in a variety of professional development workshops in Socratic, seminar discussion, as well as writing strategies. Additionally, overall student performance in writing is one of the core strengths of our Catholic school. Click here to learn more about this program.
#3 Strong commitment to the Arts
Next, we offer an excellent music and arts program because we believe it is important for a well-rounded Catholic education. Therefore, we require all students at our Catholic school to take music. All students participate in two concerts per year. We conduct an annual school musical, and students typically receive 1-2 days of art instruction. St. Peter is always looking for ways to expand the impact of the arts on its core curriculum. Another great feature of our school is our art expo, which we will launch in Spring 2020.
#4 Fully developed STEM Program
Beyond all of this, St. Peter features an incredible Pre-K through 8th grade STEM curriculum with a highly qualified, full-time STEM/Educational Technology leader. Students regularly use Chromebooks, mini-ipads, take 1-2 technology/STEM classes weekly. Teachers work closely with our STEM coordinator to integrate STEM activities into their instruction. Because of the use of technology, our teachers also engage in periodic professional development regarding best practices. Learn more about this outstanding program by clicking here. We have a truly remarkable program among Catholic schools.
#5 Liberal Arts Model
Last, St. Peter is totally committed to being a a Catholic school that is virtue based and focused on the liturgy. The goal of a true Catholic liberal arts education is the cultivation of virtuous students and a love of the liturgy. It has for its end self-mastery and freedom from sin. Therefore, our code of conduct, merit system (Virtue of the Week recognition), daily religious instruction, and reading curriculum each align with this end. Additionally, students are immersed in a full range traditional Catholic devotions. Click here to learn more about our commitment to faithful Catholic education. It is our conviction that a broad, well-rounded liberal education on the elementary level is the best preparation for success in high school, college, and adult life.
The Culture of a Catholic School Matters
In conclusion, there are many good schools, especially Catholic schools, in our local area that offer some or a few of these programs. However, St. Peter is unique in that it offers all of them in a powerful way that is at once traditional and tailored towards the needs of 21st century students. On top of this, there is an outstanding Catholic school culture. Our extensive positive online reviews and orderly school climate reflect this reality. For these reasons, our students are generally happy and feel safe when they are at St. Peter. Each class in our Catholic school consistently performs among the top 10-15% of peers on standardized tests nationally. Consequently, this illustrates that not only are we an outstanding Catholic school, but our students on average will typically outperform their peers, especially in the public sector.
