Our daughter has attended St. Peter’s Lutheran School since Kindergarten…
The education our girls received prepared them…
Our experience at St. Peter’s has been an incredible journey…
Our daughter has attended St. Peter’s Lutheran School since Kindergarten, and will soon complete 8th grade. Over that time, we have watched her grow from a shy, fearful little girl to an outgoing, compassionate young lady. First and foremost, we love that each class has the Bible included in its academic subjects. There is added potential for spiritual growth that is not found in public schools. Prayer was also a regular part of every day. From a more practical perspective, the small class size helped transform her. While the public schools have gone from 30+ class sizes down to 20, and now back up again, St. Peter’s has maintained class sizes through the past nine years. This allowed our daughter’s teachers to nurture her, and help her through her times of uncertainty. We also love that the school has a weekly chapel service. This provides an opportunity for the students to experience being in front of a large group, as each class has a turn to lead the service during the year.
Another aspect of St. Peter’s that we appreciate is the extra-curricular activities. These include spelling bees, speech meets, choir, and a variety of sports. Given the small size of the school, each student has a multitude of possibilities for participation compared to what we have experienced with public schools. Sports are given proper perspective. They were not over-emphasized, nor overlooked. They were another opportunity for the students to learn and grow. While we will miss the St. Peter’s community, we are confident that our daughter is well-prepared for high school, emotionally, spiritually, and academically.
Brad & Melinda Burford
“The Best Kept Secret”
As we searched for the school with the perfect combination of a Christian based education and a nurturing environment that would provide opportunities to build strength of character, we stumbled upon St. Peters. After 10 years at St. Peter’s we realized that we didn’t stumble upon St. Peters. It was a part of God’s plan for our family; a plan for which we will be eternally grateful. Our children’s lives have been touched in ways that we as parents could not ever have done alone. St. Peters is so much more than just a school; it’s a family in every sense of the word. There is a daily Christian influence and deep caring for every child that is hard to replicate. The size of St. Peters provides the opportunity to participate in band, choir, sports, student council, math Olympics, spelling bee, talent show, Christmas program, class chapel programs, class cheers and so much more.
St. Peters allows children to experience childhood a little longer because of its size which is a good thing. It’s an environment where children build confidence, thrive and test limits in a safe environment. My children felt loved, cared for, and an integral part of a community…a loving and supportive environment that is difficult to describe until you experience it. I’ve always felt a great sense of comfort in knowing that if my child ever got off track that there would be someone who would notice and get involved. It could be a teacher, an assistant, custodian, a schoolmate or fellow parent but our children do not go un-noticed. St. Peters embraces our children and challenges their level of faith and responsibility to God. They provide an opportunity to grow as a person, student, a Christian, and a friend. St. Peter’s holds its mission statement close to its heart and instills honesty, integrity, character, personal responsibility in staff members and students.
Our sons, now a sophomore in high school and an 8th grader, are so well prepared for the next step. St. Peters has grown our children’s faith, shaped their character and set a solid spiritual and educational foundation to handle life’s success and strength to endure life’s disappointments.
Our memories are plenty and will always have a special place in our hearts. I still shed tears thinking back to the Christmas program, watching all the students sing and sign, “Mary Did You Know”, the excitement of the first day of school, and the last day of school. A heartfelt thanks to Ann Cunningham, under her guidance has provided a loving and supportive environment for St. Peters to grow and thrive, where our children can benefit from her experience and wisdom. How would we describe St. Peter’s Lutheran School?
The best kept secret in Elk Grove!
Kyle & Diana Hedum
Like all parents, Bruce and I wanted the very best for our three girls. We chose St. Peter’s with hope and anticipation.
Looking back, we have been pleased and blessed beyond our expectations.
The education our girls received prepared them well for high school. We wondered how they would transition to a large public high school with thousands of students. Both of our daughters loved Elk Grove High School and even started out with honor classes which
they did well in. The values and spiritual nurturing along with a strong education gave them the solid foundation all children need to succeed. They have each been well loved by their teachers at St. Peter’s, encouraged in the gifts God gave them and stretched in any areas where they were weak to become more of whom God created them to be.
At home, Bruce and I were doing our best to raise our girls in a way that maximized their potential in all areas. The best part of all was that the very things we believed in were being taught and reinforced at school each day.
We wondered if school would snuff out the creativity we saw in our girls or their love for learning. But that creativity grew and was encouraged, and they continue to be excited about learning new things.
The Christian education at St. Peter’s has been invaluable, teaching them how much they are loved by God and that He cares so much about us. St. Peter’s taught the girls to care for others through a variety of activities like Operation Christmas Child and spontaneously supporting current needs around the world. The school has also built loving communities within the classroom, caring and praying for each other as difficulties arose. Having “buddies” with the younger children also built relationships and helped the girls focus on others as they passed along encouragement and T.L.C.
We’re trying to live our lives with as few regrets as possible. St. Peter’s was one of the best decisions we ever made. We will always be thankful for St. Peter’s and how it helped shape our girls into the successful, well rounded women they are becoming.
It is with much appreciation that we watch our youngest daughter graduate 8th grade, knowing that the good foundations that the girls have built at St. Peter’s mean everything!
With love and thankfulness,
Bruce and Vicky
Katie, Lauren and Rebecca Oliver
Our experience at St. Peter’s has been an incredible journey. St. Peter’s was recommended to us by a friend whose daughters were currently attending. I had never heard of the school, but was desperately trying to find a good fit for our son. We had recently pulled him out of another Christian School and were hoping to find a well structured, warm environment where our child would not get lost, would be challenged academically, and have lots of opportunity to try different things. Our first experience was with Mrs. Wacker and Mrs. Bieker. What a great team to represent all the school has to offer. I honestly thought we just got lucky having these great teachers as our first experience, but as the years progressed, we not only learned that every teacher and every grade had something unique to offer, but we also saw more opportunities for our son. He has been lucky enough to participate in basketball, volleyball, and softball. He has attended the speech meet, math Olympics, science fair, and learned how to operate the sound equipment during chapel. He’s made lifelong friends and has learned about great people, great ideas, and most importantly how to be a great person. We truly believe this is because of the examples he has had from his teachers, mentors, and coaches at St. Peter’s.
We owe our child’s love of reading, sports, math, and music to his teachers and friends at St. Peters. We would like to give special thanks to Mr. Oliver and Mrs. Stewart for making math fun and interesting. We would also like to thank Mrs. Wacker and Mrs. Bieker for their extremely warm welcome and loving care of our son on his 1st day of school and throughout; Mrs. Mitchell for teaching him the beginnings of how to be organized (it is no easy task to teach 3rd graders how to keep a weekly planner); Mrs. Dahle for teaching “life lessons” like looking someone in the eye when you shake their hand and holding the door open for a girl; Mrs. Kennicutt for her many fun projects, namely the state report. Our son picked Alaska, and still has his binder and a letter from Sarah Palin; Mrs. Beasley, the BEST science teacher ever; Mrs. Stewart for her uncanny ability to relate to 7th graders taste in music; and last, but not least, Mrs. Adams for seeing all these great kids through the end of their journey. We would also like to acknowledge the coaches Mrs. Bunting, Mr. Lucca, and Mrs. Nicolos, and all the parents at St. Peter’s who welcomed us from the start, shared rides, stocked the snack bar, and who allowed band practices and sleepovers. We could not have anticipated this fabulous experience and we are thankful and blessed to have been a part of this great school and Church. May God bring his choicest blessing upon St. Peter’s and all the 8th grade graduates and families!
