Advisory Program

At CCES, we know that our students are whole individuals for whom all aspects of life are connected. The student cannot be separated from the person, and advisory time is intentional in nurturing and celebrating our students’ development as young persons of character. Through Advisory, a central part of the CCES Middle School experience, faculty and students learn about themselves, each other, and the greater world; it’s a time to focus on who we are and who we want to become.

Every middle school student is included in a group of students known as an “advisory,” which is facilitated by a core teacher (advisor) at their grade level. That teacher greets his/her advisees first thing every morning, and for the following twenty minutes of the day, the advisees is involved in group activities. On Mondays, advisory groups attend Middle School assembly, which starts with prayer and the pledge and then includes important student and/or faculty announcements and presentations. Wednesday mornings are chapel mornings, during which advisees sit together or provide leadership by serving as acolytes, reading scripture, and leading prayer.

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, advisory groups are focused on a specially developed grade-level advisory curriculum, customized by their own teachers to include discussion, games, and other activities that address character, group dynamics, and school success skills. Topics such as personal responsibility, bullying, cliques, and organizational skills are explored during these Tuesday and Thursday advisory times.

There are also times set aside for advisees and advisors to get to know each other through games or chat. Service Learning is also sometimes a part of advisory functions; advisory groups can be found helping at the Soup Kitchen, planting and mulching in our campus teaching garden, listening to a presentation about the needs in Haiti, or tutoring local school children.

Whatever the activity, the Advisory Program is an important element in helping teachers get to know their students as individuals, and in helping students to grow and mature as adolescents who are both responsible and engaged.