Sweet learnin’ in So. Minnesota
October 4, 2017
Southern Minnesota is becoming a hot-bed for educational awesomeness. With New Ulm just having their new high school built 2 years ago, and now having St. Peter build theirs, Minnesota is becoming a popular place for different styles of learning. Iyanna Wieland and Adabelle Wright visited St. Peter’s new school on September 21st to interview students and learn about the school. We were greeted at the front entrance by Mrs. Engeldinger, the principal of St. Peter High, who had a welcoming smile. As we toured around the school, we had many questions to ask, including how long it took to build the school.
“It seemed like a lifetime honestly,” Mrs. Engeldinger said. “We had our referendum 3 years ago and it took two years to build.” She was very excited that she had a say in all the furniture selections. We also asked about the new programs that would be opening up to the students. One of them is the culinary arts program,
“The culinary arts program isn’t in a classroom environment – it has more of a professional feel. The Agriculture-Science room is actually featuring live animals that are being used for educational purposes.” And we also found out that they had an anonymous person donate $100,000 to their new Chemistry Lab, which by the way is amazing and very high-tech.
Then we were handed off to a Senior named Alex to see other new features at St. Peter like the new gymnasium and weight room. The gym has 3 courts, fresh new hardwood floors, and a vastness that is almost alarming. And the weight room has all brand new equipment that is in the color of Saints blue, plus a new strength coach from Gustavus. Signey Alger, a Junior at St. Peter, gave us her opinion, “All of the equipment is a lot nicer and it’s awesome that all of us as a team can practice at the same time. There is also a lot more squat racks.” And Aaron Hunt, a Senior at St. Peter says, “It’s very high-tech and will help improve our record in football because more people will want to lift.”
Another new aspect of St. Peter is that the students have the opportunity for “Saints Time,” which is when they get a break from classes to see friends or go to teachers and ask questions. They also have flex study halls where they meet in the cafeteria for attendance and then are allowed to go somewhere else in the school. St. Peter also wanted to expand their arts programs at the school so they have a brand-new auditorium with an exclusive orchestra pit and many small practice rooms for students to practice singing or band lessons.
New Ulm and St. Peter have always been great places for schooling and they now have the opportunity, with new schools, to expand their ways of learning and widen their horizons to many students.