Mary Behrends

Bonjour et Bienvenue à la classe de français!

Je m'appelle Mary Behrends. I have been teaching French language courses at St. Peter High School since 1990. For the past several years, I have also taught in the Middle School. I currently teach all levels of French (I - IV) as well as a senior high Academic Enrichment course.

I am also the advisor to the SPHS Academic Decathlon team, which earned state championships in both 2010 and 2011. We were proud to represent Minnesota at the United States Academic Decathlon National Finals in Omaha, Nebraska in April, 2010, and in Charlotte, North Carolina in April, 2011. Both years our team finished in the middle of the small schools division and brought home a national medal each time.

The photo shows me (third from the left) with a group of students in Paris. As of June 2010, I have led ten study tours to France with SPHS students. I also enjoy taking students for weekend French camp programs at Concordia Language Villages, which I have now done for 29 years!

I grew up in Duluth and came to St. Peter to earn my B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College. Since then, I have earned a Master's Degree from Mankato State University in Gifted Education and have done further coursework in Teaching English as a Second Language. Before coming to SPHS, I taught at Mankato East, Loyola and Gustavus. I live in St. Peter with my family. My interests include reading, travel, music and my cabin near Duluth.