More than a school, a community
The bonds between our families are, for many, the heart of the St. Peter's experience. A Montessori classroom is itself a small community, teaching children to greet, share, resolve conflict, and care for one another, and that spirit extends across the whole school through the traditions we return to year after year.
The rhythms of our year
The International Festival
One of our most beloved traditions begins in the classroom, where each child studies a country of their choosing, and culminates in a whole-school celebration of performances, presentations, and dishes families bring from around the world. It is diversity not as a lesson but as a lived, joyful day.
World Peace Day
On the International Day of Peace, our students dress in white, carry flags from around the world, and walk our labyrinth together while singing songs of peace, a quiet, beautiful day that our children carry with them.
Festivals, parades, and everything between
Our Fall Festival, powered by a small army of parent volunteers, brings families together each autumn. We have marched in the Christmas in the Park Parade with our own float, celebrated teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, and marked Dr. Montessori's birthday in every classroom. Summer brings themed camp weeks, from Space Week to Ocean Week, full of guest visitors and hands-on adventures.
Life in the garden
Three days a week, our Elementary students work alongside a Master Gardener in our outdoor classroom, planting, tending, and harvesting, then bringing their bounty inside to cook and share. It is community learning that happens all year long.
Honoring our military families
As the first Montessori school in Arizona recognized as an AZ Purple Star School, we hold a special place for our military-connected families, more than one in ten of our students. Just minutes from Luke Air Force Base, we welcome families from across the branches and around the world, and we honor their service throughout the year with recognition events, a Purple Up tribute, and Month of the Military Child celebrations.
An inclusive, faith-rooted home
St. Peter's is an Episcopal parish school, and the gentle rhythms of chapel are part of campus life. Guided by progressive Episcopal values of inclusion and open inquiry, we welcome families of every faith and background as our own. You do not have to be Episcopal, or of any particular faith, to belong here.
Why community matters
Traditions are not extras layered on top of learning, they are learning. They teach children that they belong to something larger than themselves, that different cultures are worth celebrating, and that a community is built by showing up for one another. That sense of belonging is exactly what we hope every child carries out our doors and into the world.
