St. Peter's College (SPC) in Muenster is gearing up to welcome back students for another school year in September.
"All our programs continue (the same) as for last year," said Special Projects Coordinator Rebecca Cross. "The numbers are looking good, we have lots of students registering for fall."
SPC is in a unique position to offer University of Saskatchewan (U of S) courses to first-year students in a rural setting. Students can choose from four different programs in the fields of Arts and Science, Kinesiology, Commerce, and Agriculture. The only stipulation is that they must be registered with the U of S to attend SPC.
"Most students who come to St. Peter's College come from within a 50-mile radius," Cross said, "but there are students that come from the bigger cities, even Saskatoon."
Cross says she finds those students often come to SPC for the campus experience and because the class sizes are smaller.
"We offer university classes in a small environment with one-on-one attention," she explained, "so it's a different experience from city campuses."
As the variety of courses SPC offers develops over the years, so does the quality of instructors the college attracts.
"Take for example our music history instructor, Neil Currie," said Cross. "Not only is he Sheepdog Ewan Currie's father, Neil Currie is an accomplished musician himself, plus he has a PhD in Psychology and teaches music history."
In the Canadian music scene, Neil Currie is known as both a composer of classical music, and as a pianist specializing in jazz.
While the rural setting of St. Peter's College, its smaller classroom sizes and the diverse course offerings may do a lot to draw students to Muenster, the new look and state-of-the-art facilities at the college really put the icing on the cake.
Since September 2011, staff and students have been able to reap the benefits of two years of extensive renovations the college was much in need of.
"The renovations began in April of 2009," remarked Cross. "By September 2011, we were pretty much ready for the school year ahead. For example, the Student Lounge was ready by the time the students came back last fall."
Cross says the nice thing about the renovations is that the designers kept the old-style look of the interior - such as wooden window frames and hardwood floors - but made the building more energy efficient.
"They installed a cooling system," she said. "Also, things like the science labs and the classrooms are now up-to-date, which is really nice for the students to have the facilities they need for learning."
All of the classrooms have large windows that let plenty of light in. The library offers individual carrels where students can study alone, as well as tables where two or more students can work together.
Cross said the college is planning a formal open house on September 14, to offer people the chance to see the renovations now that they are completed.
For new students, the college will be holding its orientation day on September 5.
The first day of classes begins on September 6.
