While St. Peter CES is one of the older continuously operating schools in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, it remains one of the youngest at heart!

Opened in September 1961, St. Peter was originally built as a six-classroom French-speaking school and transitioned to English-speaking in 1969 to accommodate a rapidly growing student population in what was then known as Galt.

By 1977 the school had been substantially enlarged and was home to 785 students!!

The construction of several new south Cambridge schools since then has allowed the student population to settle into a more comfortable 270 students now.

A visitor entering the school today is immediately struck by an audible hum, the sound of excited activity and engagement.

As Principal E. J. Hunt explains:

“It is our goal to continue to provide a warm, welcoming, and safe learning environment in which our students build persistence, resilience and learn to work to the best of their ability in mutual respect and trust.

We pride ourselves on being a school with a big heart. We have learned through the many comments we have received that the way in which we uphold each person as an individual, but work together genuinely as a team, is important to our parents, our students, our staff and our parish community.

We are dedicated to meeting the needs of the whole child – intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally. We are committed to helping all students develop the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values necessary to strive for academic excellence in all areas of the curriculum and to become self-disciplined, life-long learners.

We want to maintain and enhance support programs and partnerships between home, St. Peter School, St. Patrick Church, the community and among staff members”.

In short, St. Peter CES (a Silver certified EcoSchool) is a vibrant example of the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations (OCSGEs) in action.

The OSCGEs are what makes Catholic schools “different” from public schools, inspiring confidence among stakeholders that a Catholic education goes much deeper than just the 3 R’s.

Parents and educators alike want each Ontario Catholic school graduate to be:

  • A discerning believer – formed in the Catholic Faith community who celebrates the signs and sacred mystery of God’s presence through word, sacrament, prayer, forgiveness, reflection and moral living.
  • An effective communicator – who speaks, writes and listens honestly and sensitively, responding critically in light of gospel values.
  • A reflective, creative and holistic thinker – who solves problems and makes responsible decisions with an informed moral conscience for the common good.
  • A self-directed, responsible, lifelong learner – who develops and demonstrates their God-given potential.
  • A collaborative contributor – who finds meaning, dignity and vocation in work which respects the rights of all and contributes to the common good.
  • A caring family member – who attends to family, school, parish, and the wider community.
  • A responsible citizen – who gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice and the sacredness of human life.

This is achieved both inside and outside the classroom.

The “St. Peter Cooking Club” is an excellent example of this.

A collaborative effort between Grade 1 teacher Samantha Ribeiro, FSL / French Immersion teacher Katie Hines and Region of Waterloo Public Health (ROWPH) nurse Sabrina Martin, the club helps students from a wide diversity of backgrounds learn basic, transferable cooking skills and the importance of healthy eating habits as part of an active lifestyle.

On March 6th the club was thrilled to learn they will receive a $2,000 grant from the Catholic Community Foundation of Waterloo Region to fund the purchase of “healthy snack food preparation equipment”!

At lunch break on March 9th, the focus was on knife safety in the kitchen. Students honed their skills preparing salads and egg-based breakfast pinwheels.

Nurse Sabrina — who is based at St. Peter as part of a partnership between the WCDSB and ROWPH — set the students up for their tasks with a list of knife safety tips and then coached them (assisted by teachers Samantha Ribeiro and Katie Hines) through the food preparation process itself.

Regarding her role within the school, Nurse Sabrina explains:

“My role is to engage with students, staff & parents/caregivers at St. Peter’s to listen and learn about the school’s assets, strengths & health equity needs and the surrounding neighbourhood. I then work with the school to mobilize resources and support collective action to generate solutions to reduce the identified health inequities”.

In so many ways, St. Peter CES truly is “Heart of the Community”!