Blog & Calendar
Blog
Transitions to College: School Life, Academics, & Healthy Relationships
At CCES, we pride ourselves on getting our students “college ready.” This starts with conditioning in the earliest of grades, and culminates in the Upper School with three dedicated college counselors who work closely with each student to find their best college match.
Two years ago, Upper School administration took programming for seniors a step further with Transitions to College— focusing on School Life, Academics, and Healthy Relationships— things we all wish we’d known before we left for college, but no one ever told us. This year, they added self-defense classes as part of the programming!
On May 20th and 21st seniors gave just a few hours of their time, an investment that will pay them back in spades. Self-defense classes were held each day for two hours on the Hartness Performing Arts Center stage with the boys attending together the first day, and the girls the second. Terence Brister and Ashley Bickerstaff led the training. Terence is a self-defense trainer and personal trainer who is passionate about empowering people to fight for their lives and protect themselves. Ashley survived a home invasion herself 11 years ago. Since then she has been on a mission to empower others through self-defense.
Monday’s afternoon presentation included the entire Class of 2019, focused on healthy relationships, and featured guest speaker Dr. Melissa Holmes, CCES parent, M.D., and Girlology/Guyology co-founder. As these students are mature enough for a discussion on sexuality, Dr. Holmes covered topics ranging from consent, intimacy, harassment, and abuse, to birth control, STDs, and the effects of the choices students will make surrounding drugs, alcohol, and sex, on their college career path. She spoke to students about the idea of affirmative consent emphasizing, “the person with the tightest boundaries always wins.”
Tuesday afternoon’s presentation on school life kicked off with four CCES alumni in a Town Hall style forum. CCES Alumni from the Class of 2018, Emily Thomas (Clemson University), Will Bethel (Centre College), Jack Sanders (Wake Forest University), Catherine Hollis (University of Virginia), and Will Dolven (University of Pittsburgh) discussed the stressors, anxieties, joys and experiences they have experienced their first year in college in an open and honest format. There was lots of energy and excitement in the room, as the seniors eagerly anticipate their own college campus arrivals.
This programming was well planned by Upper School administration and College Counseling, well executed by our guest speakers, and thoroughly enjoyed by the Class of 2019! These students will soon graduate with not only a college-prep curriculum behind them and a clear path forward, but also a step closer to being college-ready in a much greater sense of the term.
Click here to view an album of pictures from Transitions to College.
Click here to view an album of pictures from Transitions to College.
No comments have been posted
Christ Church Episcopal School (“CCES”) admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at CCES. CCES does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, scholarship or other programs, or athletic or other school-administered programs and activities.