- 1 -

Falcon Files

I am pleased to be a part of the St. Paul Preparatory School (SPP) team of educators and to kick-off the 2014-15 school year. I have been excited about the recent changes made to the SPP school facility, educational curriculum, and programming that has provided focus and substance to our educational efforts. We have strategically directed SPP student learning toward specific abilities that provide increased opportunities to all students.

Our school programming engages our students in university preparation not found in any school in America. More than 80% of the student body at SPP has a first language other than English. We look at this as an opportunity to provide world-class teaching and learning in a global community that mimics the world where we live.

SPP is positioning itself as the leader in international education by offering highly skilled professional teachers and focusing our academic endeavors in three distinct program areas: The International Business Diploma, The Visual Arts Diploma, and The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Diploma. All are designed to challenge students who fulfill requirements of each program.

We have strategicly hired staff and made improvements to the academic curriculum by building a STEM laboratory for the STEM Diploma program. Offerings of AP Calculus, AP Environmental Science, AP Computer Programming, and AP Statistics are components SPP provides for the STEM program.

SPP also has initiated a dynamic Visual Arts Diploma program for students who possess skills in drawing, painting, art history, book arts, world art and ceramics. This program

offers student-specific advantages for university study that apply not only to visual arts programs, but architectural design, engineering, and technical areas of business that require arts applications. The Visual Arts Diploma encourages all phases of academic artistic learning, from creative design to production and commercial applications. Students develop a portfolio of work that is peer reviewed for elements of rigor, artistic creativity, and marketability.

SPP has vastly expanded its offerings in Business Education to encompass an International Business Diploma that prepares students for further university study in the areas of leadership, entrepreneurship, human resources, finance, communication, management and accounting. This program is designed to address basic and advanced skills in the world of business that could be used to gain entry into university programs that have developed International Business programs.

While SPP welcomes students from all countries who demonstrate scholarship and independent academic discipline, offering diplomas to students who complete our 2-4 year programs in STEM Diploma, Visual Arts Diploma and International Business Diploma, has focused our recruitment toward those students who bring a qualified set of skills to our school.

Matching instructional skills with a focused and rigorous program, while engaging highly motivated students in one of the three fields of learning, will provide the best educational model for students seeking entry into a highly-rated American university.

The 2014-15 school year is one that clearly promises to be exciting, challenging, and rewarding for every student attending SPP. We are hoping that the excitement we generate is contagious and that you will find something of interest that stimulates you to help out with the success of SPP students.

John Belpedio

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

In This Issue:Message from the Principal................1

Specialized Diploma Programs...............2

Service Learning: Teaching and Serving at SPP....................6

St. Paul Preparatory School

- 2 -

NEW SPECIALIZED DIPLOMA PROGRAMS

International Business DiplomaThe world has become a global marketplace, and many businesses have either expanded or are looking to expand worldwide. In order to ensure that their business succeeds overseas, many companies are hiring individuals who have an education and an understanding of the global market.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2014-15 Occupational Outlook Handbook, business administration jobs are expected to have an above average job growth in the next 8 years. SPP recognizes the need for International Business majors in American universities and wants to help prepare those students who are interested in studying business.

The SPP International Business Diploma (IBD) introduces students to the complexities of relationships between countries’ politics, economic policies, and business practices. The diploma program is a dynamic two-year, six

course program that enhances the high school core curriculum by providing additional academic courses, which emphasize customs and cultures, marketing, business, and international studies. The curriculum prepares students for advancement into post-secondary education and beyond in the highly competitive and constantly changing global economic environment.

Additionally, The multi-cultural structure of SPP makes it an ideal learning environment for any student who desires to pursue a degree within International Business. The IBD program is a wonderful enhancement to the exciting opportunities that are available at SPP, including our strong college preparation program.

For more information about the International Business Diploma, please contact P.J. Wiggin at pwiggin@stpaulprep.org.

St. Paul Preparatory School Falcon Files

S tarting at the beginning of the 2014-15 academic school year St. Paul

Preparatory School (SPP) introduced three new specialized diploma programs to its curriculum. SPP now offers diploma programs in the Following subject areas: STEM (Science, Technology, Economics, Mathematics), Visual Arts and International Business. Each program is beneficial in giving students the skills and experience needed for university entry.

Falcon Files

- 3 -

STEM ProgramIn an age of rapidly changing technology, the best current and future career options will be in STEM related fields.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, STEM occupations are growing at 17%, while others are growing at 9.8%. There has never been a better time than now to teach our students about the four main disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. With an award winning teaching staff and a newly remolded laboratory, SPP is a leader in STEM education.

The SPP STEM Program is available to all students and recognizes those students who dedicate four years to this rigorous course of study. By pursuing the SPP STEM option, these students show interest in mastering critical thinking and problem solving skills, and increase their ability to creatively collaborate to achieve measurable results, which will make them a valuable part of the 21st century workforce.

Jim Walker, SPP’s STEM Director, was a main force in implementing the new STEM Program. He is excited to see students learn and succeed through the program. “At St. Paul Preparatory School we have worked hard to design a STEM Program that will provide our students with a strong STEM background.” said Walker, “With an SPP STEM Diploma in hand, our students will have shown that they can achieve success at a demanding academic level across all of the STEM disciplines. They will have the opportunity to enter a university having already obtained college credit for courses in math, science, engineering and computer technology. This, in turn, will serve to

make them attractive candidates for the school of their choice as they pursue their post secondary education,” Walker said.

SPP students are taught under a teaching staff that has multiple years of real world experience in aeronautics, robotics, and technology. Walker is one of those teachers. He is a graduate of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), the Treasurer of the Minnesota branch of the Computer Science Teachers Association, and was named the All State Math Coach for the 2014-15 academic year. A successful STEM program requires teaching staff with this kind of education and expertise who can bring their real world experience to students in the classroom.

For more information about the STEM Program please contact Jim Walker at jwalker@stpaulprep.org.

St. Paul Preparatory School Falcon Files

St. Paul Preparatory School

- 4 -

The SPP Visual Arts Diploma Program is one of the first programs of its kind, allowing high school students to create without limits. With a state of the art ceramic studio, student art showings and an expansive art curriculum the program is a stand out in the established art community of downtown St. Paul.

The Visual Arts Diploma Program provides students of all abilities and backgrounds to pursue creativity no matter their skill level. The program can assist students with a variety of different objectives such as preparing an art portfolio, discovering new art mediums and learning the history of art. Students who decided to dedicate themselves specifically to the study of art will

create a body of work and acquire the necessary skills that are vital for college admissions.

What makes SPP’s Visual Arts Diploma so unique is the features of the program. Students within the program experience the effort and time it takes to be a full-time college student who is studying the arts, an attribute that is rarely seen in other high school art programs. Students are also taught in a culturally diverse environment which allows for them to connect and create with international high school students, bringing a new perspective to their art.

The Visual Arts Diploma takes two years to complete and will allow SPP students

to collaborate with other artists, work hard individually, and get involved in the art community. There are currently 11 students who are on track to graduate with the Visual Arts Diploma, one of which will graduatethis coming Spring.

For more information on about the Visual Arts Diploma please contact Kate Woolever-Martinez at kate@stpaulprep.org.

Visual Arts Diploma

NEW SPECIALIZED DIPLOMA PROGRAMS

Falcon Files

- 5 - Fall

2014

: Iss

ue IThis newsletter is a publication of St. Paul Preparatory School. For more

information about SPP please call 651-288-4606, or visit our website at www.stpaulprep.org.

TeachersTiffany Good, M.A. - ELL/English Writing/FrenchLauris Grundmanis – ScienceYe Han - TOEFL/Chinese/ELLShai Hayo, M.A. - Spanish Erik Iverson - Physical Education/Health/Director of AthleticsSonja Johnson - ELLBonnie Larson - MathWanda Ostlund, M.A. - English/MathKristin Radermacher - MathKara Redding, M. Ed. - Social StudiesSheila Stormont - EnlgishKyle Treddinnick - Social StudiesJim Walker, M.A. - STEM Director/Math/TechnologyP.J. Wiggin - Social StudiesKate Woolever-Martinez - Art

AdminstrationJohn Belpedio, Eds - PrincipalJennifer Braulich, M.A. - Admissions DirectorAnnika Bowers, M.A. - Homestay Program CoordinatorKim Devlin - Dean of Student LivingRebecca Gibbons - Short Term Program Placement Coord.Ginger Hasche - Administrative Assistant/ReceptionistTrudy Hill, M.S. - International School CounselorBrianna Samson - Mkting & Community Outreach Coord.Nienke Wijnia - Admissions & Enrollment

ST. PAUL PREPARATORY SCHOOL TEACHERS & STAFF

St. Paul Preparatory School

- 6 -

St. Paul Preparatory School 380 Jackson Street, Suite 100

St. Paul, MN 55101 USA

T: 651-288-4606F: 651-288-4616

www.stpaulprep.orginfo@stpaulprep.org

www.facebook.com/StPaulPrep

Co

nta

ct US

Service LearningTeaching and Serving at SPP From picking up trash at the local park to building a home for a family in need, SPP students have done their fair share of giving back to the local Twin Cities community.

This academic year, SPP wants to take the school’s volunteering to the next level through service learning.

Service learning, according to Learn and Serve America National Service Learning Clearinghouse, is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. The most important part of this definition is the “teaching and learning strategy.” In the past, community service events were arranged by SPP teachers and staff. This year, SPP wants the students to organize and arrange service learning opportunities themselves.

Student Council has come forward as the service learning coordinators for SPP. Student Council members are currently working on choosing an overarching issue that they would like the student body to focus on for the 2014-15 academic year. Current issues of interest are homelessness and the environment.

Efforts have already been made to help clean up a local park—

St. Paul Preparatory School Falcon Files

Students came together on Tuesday, October 14th for an hour to pick up trash in and around Mears Park in downtown St. Paul. The highlight of the whole experience was the gratitude that many local residents showed to students as they picked up trash.

Student run organizations and classes have started their service learning efforts. Student Council is spearheading a volunteer opportunity to build a home for a family in need through Habitat for Humanity in November, while SPP’s Ceramic class will be donating their handmade bowls and time at the upcoming Powderhorn Park Empty Bowls project. The event will raise money for a local food shelf or homeless shelter.

The importance of each one of these projects is not just the time spent volunteering, but what is learned during the volunteer experience. Student Council is set to choose a specific area of need in the next few weeks. Once an issue is decided upon Student Council will help arrange a Service Learning Activities Fair. This fair will give SPP students a chance to explore different service learning opportunities in the community and learn about the importance of giving back.

To learn more about Service Learning please visit www.stpaulprep.org.