Good to Go Blog
At St. John's, good knows no bounds. It's greater than great academics. Here are snapshots of what it means at the Prep. Something amazing happens when you're open to good!
Why Cooperative Learning Works
It’s a classroom technique that goes by a number of aliases—peer-to-peer, small-group and team-based learning, to name a few—but at its core, the concept is rooted in cooperation—a classroom priority at St. John’s Prep that’s been proven to work.
A synthesis of 168 studies conducted over the course of 73 years by researchers at the University of Minnesota found that cooperative learning is almost 150-percent more effective than instructor-focused learning in ……
Staying Power
The lessons from a summer read three years ago are still fresh for Conor Beswick ’22
It’s been a couple months since St. John’s students completed the community-wide summer reading discussion, but if Conor Beswick '22 is any indication, engaging in the themes and principles of a summer read can leave a lasting impression. In fact, the Prep summer read just before he entered the Middle School in 2015 still drives some of Beswick’s thinking.
The Andover resident’s ……
How should students define success? Learning.
A growth mindset is rooted in the belief that we can learn from our mistakes. There are important lessons to be gained when we fall short of expectations, our own or those of others. Everyone can grow by applying the insights we gain when things don’t go as planned.
Teacher practice has a big impact on pupils’ mindset, which is why at St. John’s Prep, teachers encourage students to view personal success in terms of the journey toward becoming their best selves. Why is this so ……
Three Skills for Lifelong Success
Today we want to talk about outcomes. Once St. John’s Prep graduates leave campus, what lessons do they draw upon time and again?
Prep alumni consistently tell us they’ve developed essential skills and habits here that would be hard to live without. Here are three they single out on a regular basis.
Adaptability — The ability to handle change may be the most useful skill they develop at St. John’s. Why? Over the course of a lifetime, one of few certainties is continual …
Three Social Media Starter Tips
Demonstrating and reinforcing common-sense social media engagement is important, especially when it comes to adolescents and teens. Kerry Gallagher, St. John’s assistant principal for teaching and learning, is leading the Prep’s emphasis on developing best practices when using social media.
“Mentoring healthy guidelines like ‘Think before you post,’ ‘be kind and respectful’ and ‘be mindful of who you friend’ are key, but we need to foster&……
Winning Isn't The Only Thing
At St. John’s, we’ve devoted ourselves to building an athletic culture that lives and breathes by one principle: Winning is not about what the scoreboard says at the end of any contest. The way we see it, being a student-athlete is all about learning. Just ask our coaches.
“The student-athlete environment at St. John’s completely aligns with my own priorities as a coach, and in terms of what I’m looking for in a team,” says math teacher and volleyball head ……
Teachers Who Know Their Students Part 1
A teacher’s mastery of subject matter is central to student success, but teachers who know their students as individuals can transform the learning experience. Engaging students who come to class with their own experiences, perspectives, adversities and accomplishments—in short, leaving space for students to have voice—creates a more productive, good-natured and responsive environment.
By drawing on students’ personal experience and taking an interest in their ……
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