Saint Peter High School

Saint Peter High School is fortunate most school years to have foreign exchange students attend classes here. These students provide a valuable opportunity for our students and staff to learn about a new country and culture, as well as teaching them about life in the U.S.

This year SPHS has one exchange student attending classes in Iris Panteghini from Italy, who is living with Marcia and Ben Ranft’s family for the 2024-25 school year. The following is an exchange student Q&A profile with Iris Panteghini:

Parents & family members names back home - mom- Elisabetta Gasperi; sister-Sara Panteghini

St. Peter host family members - host parents - Marcia & Ben Ranft and host siblings - Ryan and Isabella.

Hometown & population - Porte di Rendena, Italy (pop. 1,819)

Hobbies and interests - I play volleyball and I love to read and hang out with my friends. I love listening to true crime podcasts and watching crime movies.

Are you here for the full school year or just the semester? I’m here for the full school year.

What is/are your favorite class(es) here at SPHS? Choir and English.

What activities are you involved with here? Volleyball, theatre (crew for the SPHS fall musical) and Mock Trial.

Have you visited the U.S. before? No. This was my first time visiting this country.

What was the biggest adjustment(s) you had to make when you moved here for this school year? The school system is completely different from the one I’m used to. In Italy, I don’t have lunch at school, I go to school on Saturdays and me and my classmates stay all day in the same classroom and the teachers change it every hour. We can’t pick subjects every semester, but when we start high school we pick a course that will determine what we will study for the next five years. For example, I study languages so my course focuses on English, German and French.

Are there any new things you've tried here that you've really enjoyed? I tried a lot of new foods that I loved, for example cheese curds!

What do you miss most about life in Italy? - My family and friends of course, but also my favorite foods.

Will you have to return to high school back in Italy, or will you move on to college/post-secondary school? Since we have five years of high school in Italy, I will have to do one more year when i get back before going to college.

Is there anywhere here in the U.S. you'd like to visit before returning back to Italy? – I already visited New York right when I arrived here, but I would love to visit other big cities. One day I hope I will be able to visit the coast too and all the beautiful beaches.