St. Paul's School Concord NH

Where to see the pictures? Thank you!

You can follow the SPS instagram and facebook accounts.

There is also a video on the SPS website: https://www.sps.edu/page#video/548723

Is there any place for parents to ā€œhang outā€ when visiting SPS and waiting for their student? Other than the Admissions building, every place seems to be locked.

Similarly, is there anywhere for parents and students to relax together outside of the dorm? (Community Center isnā€™t an option, per my kid.) On a nice day, sitting outdoors is fine but SPS seems to have a limited number of benchesā€¦

At other schools, Iā€™ve been able to wait/work in the library, cafeteria and on the porch of one of the administrative buildings. I havenā€™t found anywhere similar at SPSā€¦(but being new, maybe we just havenā€™t found the right places.)

Why not the library? Itā€™s gorgeous. Just tell the front desk you are a parent. No biggie.

There is the reading room in the Schoolhouse. There is the lounge area of the upper just outside the dining hall but the Upper may require a card as it also contains student housing. There is lounge space in the athletic center. I liked upstairs under the Calder mobile. The science building has nice lounge spaces as well.

I wouldnā€™t hesitate to reach out to the Parent Relations office if you need more help.

@doschicos Last time I was there, the library entrance required a key card for entry. I believe most of the academic buildings and the Upper require cards as well but I will confirm with my kid to be sure.

@HMom16, Iā€™m not there very often, but Iā€™ve sat in the athletic center. It seems that the Alumni House is open too. It may be best to reach out to Karen Burgess. This would be good info to include in the parent newsletter and other parent communications.

@GoatMama Thanks, good ideas. Iā€™m heading up next week for a few days and will try the AFC and Alumni House. I also sent a note to Karen Burgess.

Kids want to join the orchestra but do not want to take Applied Music class, is it OK?

FYI - Karen Burgessā€™ responses -

"You arenā€™t the first parent to bring this up! Both the library and community center (parents and their students are always welcome) are great options, and you can always feel free to contact me and I can easily get you in, or any other faculty member could also let you in. We keep these spaces open during big weekends, like Family Weekend and Graduation, but the School feels itā€™s necessary to keep them locked for the safety and security of our students during regular school days. Please know you are welcome in all of our spaces, itā€™s just a matter of touching base with an adult on campus to give you access.

Also, our athletic facility has several comfortable chairs and tables in the reception area upstairs, and parents are welcome here as well. "

"We do actually give out passes at our security office, which is located in the alumni building (first brick building on the right), which is always open during business hours. We just havenā€™t advertised this, and probably shouldā€¦ if you stop into admission first, I know they would be happy to help.

The AFC is also locked, I was just suggesting it as another space in which to relax. "

ā€œKids want to join the orchestra but do not want to take Applied Music class, is it OK?ā€

You may wish to ask the music department directly to be aware of the exact, current policy, but Iā€™d strongly speculate you would need to take some form of ongoing music instruction. Both my kids were in orchestra. One took applied music and the other took private classes as that childā€™s schedule was full with other arts related courses.

Thank you very much for your reply. Your information helps. My understanding is that, for example, if you want to take other art classes, such as drawing or painting, but you also want to continue to be a member of orchestra, then youā€™d better take private music lessons. But if you do not want to take either Applied Music or private lessons, they might not let you in the orchestra?

Thatā€™s my understanding but my info is dated, @jminmother. I can understand that policy, however, because just playing in orchestra 2x a week wonā€™t keep students practiced and trained enough. BTW, I was always super impressed by the talent level and performances of the SPS Orchestra as well as by the quality of the instructors. My guess musical instructors not only provided great instruction, they were very present in my kidsā€™ lives as adult mentors and unofficial advisors always there supporting and encouraging my kids in many ways beyond just musical. Canā€™t say enough good things about them.

I agree with you @doschicos. One concern is that students seem to keep the same music teacher for the whole year in Applied Music. Not sure their teaching style. Musical instrument teaching is kind of different from academic teaching. Regarding private classes, I noticed itā€™s not offered in the fall term, but in the winter and spring terms.

@jminmother In many instruments, there are different instructors so Iā€™m sure a student could switch if it wasnā€™t a good fit. We never had that issue. My kids had the same instructors all 4 years and really developed a strong teacher/student bond with them. Iā€™m sure the one on one instruction helped with that as well.

I might have misspoke on my opinion before because I went to look up info on the private instruction on the website because it was always each term, full-year, when my kids were there. In doing so, I found this:

ā€œParticipation in at least one School ensemble (Choir, Wind Ensemble, Orchestra) is a requirement for enrollment in Applied Music. However, any qualified musician may participate in any ensemble without being enrolled in the Applied Music class. In such cases, we strongly encourage students to take non-credit private lessons. A fee is charged for non-credit music lessons.ā€

And in terms of private lessons, this, which basically seems to mean it is offered for the full year but a student can start any term but has to continue for the remainder of the year. I would imagine it is because they make hiring commitments with the instructors on that basis.

"Full Year
May be taken for more than one year

Private, year-long instruction is available to all students who want to study music for no credit/no grade. Daily practice is required. Music studied in this course is based on individual needs and abilities and may include a broad spectrum of styles and genres, based on personal interests. A fee is charged for these lessons. As the School retains contracted music teachers annually based on the full academic year registrations received, early withdrawal from these music lessons does not release the family of their financial obligations for the remainder of the academic year. Please know that students may choose the options of Non-Credit Music lessons for the full academic year, for the Winter and Spring Terms, or for the Spring Term only."

Source: https://www.sps.edu/page/curriculum-detail?fromId=188726&LevelNum=98&DepartmentId=7418

This may add to the confusion, but my kid has been taking Applied Music for two years now without participating in ensemble. The Music Dept is quite flexible with that. She did do choir her first term, but the scheduling was very inconvenient for a group of Applied Music kids playing non-orchestra instruments (mostly piano and guitar), so they allowed them to continue taking Applied Music for their instrument without having to be in choir. They do juried performances that count toward their grade.

@HMom16 thanks for following up with Karen. This info is really helpful.

@jminmother, in addition to FB and Instagram, you may want to follow the multiple SPS Twitter accounts: @StPaulsSchoolNH, @spsadmissions, @SPSParents, @spsalums, @spsathletic, and the sport-specific Twitter accounts of interest (basketball, volleyball, squash, softball, etc).

I feel itā€™s not easy for a private applied music teacher to assign a grade to a student. Whatā€™s the range? Since it is not based on a class of students. How do you feel their grading? Very strict? Thank you very much for the information.

Itā€™s good to continue to learn and play piano. But it was said that the pianist position in the orchestra is very competitive and itā€™s not easy to be involved with any ensemble. Do you think kids would feel be isolated?