The Arts program at St. Peter’s Secondary offers a wide array of creative opportunities for students. Both in the classroom and in an extra-curricular setting, students are able to explore, create, showcase and take risks in a safe, nurturing and celebratory environment. Courses in Visual Arts, Drama, Instrumental and/or Vocal Music allow students to achieve their required Arts credit for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (O.S.S.D.) in an area of their interest. Many students discover that the program is diverse, rich and most of all, fun and often decide to pursue other courses in the Arts throughout their four years. Our courses are open to ALL pathways and offer students a chance to share their many skills, gifts and talents with others. 

Not only does our Arts program provide a rich socially-aware and stimulating curriculum, many extra-curricular activities highlight and showcase the wide range of artists in our school community. In the past, our Arts Gala night allowed parents and members of the public to visit and tour student creations of paintings, sculpture, drawings, pottery, stained-glass, printmaking, photography and works in many artistic mediums. Our annual grade 12 Drama performance, which is also open to the public, is often an original creation written by the senior-level Drama students. Presentations of comedy, drama, commedia-dell'arte, restoration theatre, realism and theatre-of-the-absurd feature the diversity and versatility of our actors. This production is performed in our black-box studio space which is fully-equipped with surround sound and a programmable theatrical lighting grid system. Students are responsible for the conception and complete execution of on-stage and backstage components of putting together a stellar piece of theatre. Our music students share their incredible talents throughout the year in play-a-thons, annual Christmas and Spring concerts, compete locally at Kiwanis music festivals and travel internationally every other year to perform on global stages in such cities as New Orleans, Paris, New York, and Rome. Students enrolled in any of our instrumental music classes are able to participate in extra-curricular school bands and as a result, explore modern music, jazz, swing and blues to name a few. 

Perhaps our greatest showcase of our Arts program is our school musical which takes place every other year. This involves acting, dancing, set building, set painting, props, musicians for our pit-band, costuming, scenic design, artistic marketing, lights, sound and many other elements. With over 200 members involved from our school community, St. Peter’s has become famous for its top-quality, professional-level musical theatre. Students have the opportunity to experience working and performing in a professional theatre as we move the entire production downtown to partner with Showplace Peterborough or Market Hall Performing Arts Centre for a week-long run. Thousands of community members scurry to buy tickets before it sells out in order to help celebrate an Arts program which is alive and well at St. Peter’s!

Musicals