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Dear parents,
CSS is a magical place to be in the fall, with bright colors warming our beautiful campus and leaves swirling around on the Quad. The sunlight is changing and the air is now crisp each morning. Our students love the cooler weather, particularly around lunch time, though the basement classrooms in the Trianon can be chilly in the early morning hours. I find myself saying, “It’s time to wear layers!” to our children when I see them each morning, yet smiling at the thought that they’re still hanging on to shorts and summer for as long as they possibly can. This is one of the things I love most about Middle School students; their desire to make independent decisions, while still looking toward their parents and trusted grown-ups for reassurance, is constantly endearing.
In my time as an educator, the best strategies – I’ve found – for helping tweens and young adolescents navigate this time of turbulent change is to offer our students multiple opportunities to take the risks and experience the novelties craved by their developing brains. When we show them the route to discovering positive moments of learning that satisfy their needs for grouping with and observing peers, we help them become the young adults we know they’re destined to become. At CSS, we devote a significant amount of time and energy to making sure our experiential education programming is robust and aligns with our high academic expectations. Our teachers find ways daily to engage and enrich students’ learning through action, exploration, and reflection. Their dedication and creativity is inspiring.
Another element that truly sets CSS apart from other educational institutions is the trips and experiences students encounter through our signature Seminar programs. Earlier this week, our Director of Student Programs Ann Petit reviewed with Middle Schoolers our plans for this year’s Seminar I trip. On Thursday, as I welcomed students to School at carline, I asked certain individuals how they were feeling about the trip. Some said they were nervous. Others said they were excited. I’m in agreement with them all.
The promise of learning in a zone that presents us with the unknown and requires courage can be both exciting and anxiety-inducing. I feel that frisson of energy every time I prepare for an outing with our students, and I relish the opportunity to help them find their own courage while maintaining their preferred level of comfort. Our faculty, after taking this same trip to Lathrop State Park in mid-August, is ready to have adventures with our students and to model the appropriate expansion of personal boundaries through new experiences. Together, we will return with stories to tell for the remainder of our lives. In my mind, those stories are the most important aspect of being in Middle School.
At CSS, we help our students build confidence, skills, and trust that we can ALL do hard things; that soliciting help from friends and mentors can play an integral part in our individual growth. Thank you for your partnership in allowing us to help these amazing young people grow.
Happy Autumn,
Ron Hamilton, M.A.Ed. Leadership
Middle School Division Director
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