School Events – Page 2 – St. Paul Preparatory School Blog

Big Events This Semester

From academics to extracurricular activities to our famous SPP Nights Out, we want to give our students the full American high school experience.

We’ve already held our year-opening camp, played our first fall sports, and ate some chicken at our all-school picnic in the first few weeks of school.

We wanted to give you a breakdown of what’s coming up for the rest of the semester. There will be changes, such as adding more SPP Nights Out, but this will give you a good chance to mark your calendars. You don’t want to miss out!

September 28, 4:30-6pm | College Fair

Since our goal is to prepare students for university and beyond, we want to provide every opportunity to explore your options for higher education. We’ll have over 20 representatives from schools across the country on hand to give you all the information you need to aid your decision on where to attend university.

October 7, 7pm | SPP Night Out #1: MN United Soccer Game

Minnesota’s newest professional sports team, MN United, is part of America’s highest pro league, MLS. The game is at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota’s campus, as MN United’s new stadium is constructed.

October 11 | PSAT Testing

The PSAT (Preliminary SAT) is much more than just a pre-test for the SAT. Students who perform well on this test are eligible for scholarships from colleges and universities around the U.S. The PSAT tests skills in reading, writing, and math, and takes 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete. Don’t miss out!

October 27 | Halloween Dance

Break out your best costume and dancin’ shoes! School dances are as American as apple pie, and this one you get to dress in your scariest attire!

November 22-24 | Thanksgiving Break

Your first big break from classes, Thanksgiving is a time for family and food in America. Fill up on turkey and forget about homework…for awhile, anyways.

December 7 | Art & Talent Show

Start planning your act now! Our talent shows are always a hit with students (and teachers get in on the fun, too!). We also get to show off the work of the talented artists of SPP, as works of art are on sale before and after the talent show.

December 22-January 8 | Winter Break (Travel Opportunity #1)

While not the end of the semester, Winter Break is the first chance our students have to return to their home countries to visit family and friends (and escape the Minnesota cold!). Make sure to have your visa in order before departure!

Click here to view the full academic calendar, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for any schedule changes.

Photo Gallery: Camp Tanadoona

Our back-to-school camp was a huge success! Enjoy these photos of our students and staff getting some quality bonding time together, courtesy of Camp Fire Minnesota. (Click the pictures for a larger view.)

Camp Tanadoona

We hope you’ve had a great summer, but it’s almost that time of year again: school. While that means homework, tests, and the like, it also means another thing here at SPP: CAMP!

A tradition that goes back many years at St. Paul Prep, our start-of-the-year overnight camp is just as important as testing day for new students! Since our student body changes so dramatically with each new school year, this camp is designed to bring students and teachers together to break the ice and get to know each other better.

Located on the shores of Lake Minnewashta, Camp Tanadoona features 100 acres of woods, trails, and fun!

This year, students will have the chance to participate in many fun activities, from swimming and boating to soccer, frisbee golf, and so much more! It’ll be just like the classic American camp experience you’ve seen in the movies, only with your classmates and teachers!

If you want more information, check out the Camp Tanadoona website!

We’re excited. We hope you are too! See you soon, Falcons!

Wanna Blog?

Are you a current or soon-to-be St. Paul Preparatory School student? Do you enjoy taking pictures, writing, or making videos? Want to share the awesomeness that is St. Paul Prep with the rest of the world?!

WE WANT YOU!

If you’re looking for a creative, fun way to document your time at SPP, let us know! We’re seeking a new batch of student writers for the SPP Blog for the upcoming semester/year!

Want to know more about this opportunity? Message us on Facebook or Instagram, or send an email to skoob@nacelopendoor.org and let us know you’re interested!

Not sure if it’s for you? Check out some posts (here, here, here, here) by Valeria from Venezuela, who wrote for the SPP Blog last spring.

SCHEDULE RELEASE: 2017 St. Paul Preparatory School Boys Soccer

As the start of school draws near, we are excited for the new year to start! From academics to athletics, we can’t wait to see our students succeed!

At this time, we are pleased to reveal the 2017 Falcons boys’ soccer schedule! (DRUMROLL!!!) Without further ado:

(Home games in bold)

September 13
@ Chesterton Academy

September 15
5pm vs. International School of MN

September 19
5pm vs. Liberty Classical

September 20
@ Learning for Leadership

September 26
@ Calvin Christian

September 28
5pm vs. Shattuck-St. Mary’s

October 2 & 6
Twin Cities Athletic Conference Tournament (Rain dates October 3 & 5)

Last year, the St. Paul Prep Falcons soccer team finished first in the Twin Cities Athletic Conference (TCAC) final standings and also took the runner-up trophy in the conference tournament. TCAC is the largest conference of public charter and private school competition in the Twin Cities area.

Be sure to check our Rschool page and stpaulprep.org for the most up-to-date schedules.

One Clean Field Trip

Why are these students dressed like this?

Nanotechnology.

Last week, SPP Summer School students toured the Nanotechnology Lab at University of Minnesota, which required that everyone wear protective suits. The tour was led by Professor James Marti. He showed them how the lab creates smaller and smaller microchips for our endless array of electronic devices.

After a brief talk with Dr. Marti, it was time to suit up!

As Mr. Wiggin put it, “(The suits) are to protect the work, not the students!”

Since the beginning of July, we’ve had students participating in our Summer School, which is a partnership with Nacel Open Door’s Short Term Program. Many of the students are from groups from France and Taiwan, though we have a few SPP students in the mix as well.

Want to see what else the Summer School Program has been up to? Read about it here, and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

Summer STEMmin’

While our regular student body is off exploring every nook and cranny of the planet and spending the summer with their families, there’s still plenty happening around the halls and classrooms of St. Paul Preparatory School.

During the month of July, we’ve got students from Taiwan and France taking part in a Summer School Program at SPP as part of Nacel Open Door’s Short Term Program. Students have been experimenting in the lab, learning in the classroom, and taking part in field trips around the Twin Cities.

Noodle Towers

One of the first lab challenges of the STEM class was building towers out of noodles in order to hold up a single, fat marshmallow. Students could use tape, but couldn’t anchor their towers to the table. The highest tower was over 100 centimeters!

Interstate State Park

Located just 49 miles from downtown St. Paul, this state park is known for it’s “potholes” formed by glacial meltwater at the end of the last Ice Age, along what is now known as the St. Croix River.

Rollercoasters

Back in the lab, students had to make a “rollercoaster” out of foam tubing, marbles, and duct tape, with requirements that the coaster have one loop-de-loop and a second hill. Gravity and physics won the day!

The Art of St. Paul Prep

One tradition that has lasted at St. Paul Preparatory School from back in the early days when we were still known as “Nacel International School” is an appreciate and talent for art. In fact, one of our special diplomas is in Visual Arts!

And this year was no different at SPP, as we had many great artists!

Since not everyone who knows, loves, and supports our students and school could be in St. Paul for the Spring Art Show/Performance Day, we wanted to share some of the wonderful and beautiful works of art made by the talented hands of St. Paul Prep students. Enjoy the photo gallery below! Yay art!

SAMSUNG CSC

#SPPinChina Photo Gallery

#SPPinChina Wraps up Amazing Trip

If you’ve followed along with our updates, you know it’s safe to say our students and teachers experienced a once-in-a-lifetime journey through China, learning the history, culture, customs, and more.

We have one last trove of photos to share, and we thank you for following along with us as we watched our group explore China.

#SPPinChina Update

As many of you know, we currently have a group of students and teachers wandering around China, learning about Chinese history, culture, and language, while exploring the many sights (and food) of the country.

The group just wrapped up Day 16 of the trip and returns July 14. Below are OVER 100 PHOTOS taken from July 5 to July 10. Enjoy!

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset

First Photo Gallery

(Originally posted July 3) Our group has been in China a little over a week now, and from the look of things, they’re having plenty of good food and loads of fun exploring the country and learning about Chinese culture! What’s your favorite photo? Comment below!

St. Paul Prep Class of 2017

It has been one amazing year at St. Paul Prep! If you missed our live stream of the graduation ceremony, you can watch a video of the entire event right here.

Below are some photos from the ceremony. If you have any pictures you’d like to share, email them to skoob@nacelopendoor.org or tag us on Facebook or Instagram.

Thank you seniors. You made 2016-17 an epic year at SPP!