There’s something to be said for hands-on learning in the classroom… and something else entirely when hands-on learning extends beyond the classroom. That was exactly the idea behind Spring Session at its conception in 2013 - a joint creation between former Mathematics Department Chair John Guenther and then-Assistant Head of School Josh Bubar. The goal, according to current Dean of Faculty Maura Henry, “was to have a more experiential week of mini courses so students could engage with the world.”
Since then, Spring Session at CH-CH has taken students (and faculty) on countless “experiential learning” journeys each year, in the final week before graduation. Spring Session can be local or far-flung - this year had a record 97 students on the road - ranging from nearby towns and cities to Quebec and the Smoky Mountains. Past expeditions have taken students to Chicago, Disney World, the American Southwest, and more. But the week isn’t truly over until everyone gathers back on campus, culminating in the chance to present and share all the lessons gleaned.
Birds Birbs and Borbs Spring Session
Hands-on truly is the name of the game. Take, for example, the local “Birds, Birbs, and Borbs” trip run by Math Department Chair Karen Sokolow. It’s one thing to learn about the nuthatch, but another when it takes peanuts right from your hand to stash away for the winter. Hands-on can mean crafting in workshops like “Sew Crazy!” or baking your own granola bars to fuel the way up the next day’s hike of Monadnock in “Reset & Ramble”. Hands-on means not just listening to iconic Motown, but visiting the recording studios of Stax Records and Sun Studio, while digging deep into the “crossroads of Civil Rights and sound” on the Memphis trip. It means propelling your own kayak down the Charles River, as you explore the sites and sounds of Hidden Boston.
Reset and Ramble Spring Session
Because while it’s one thing to speak French in the classroom, it’s another entirely to attend workshops on local folk music alongside native speakers in Quebec. It’s one thing to appreciate the score of a Broadway musical, but another thing to see it come to life on stage (and to catch candy thrown to the audience by a cast member!). Says Joseph W. ‘28: “I loved the lighting and texture of the costumes.” That’s something a student simply can’t experience when listening to the soundtrack over airpods.
Quebec Spring Session
When asked if a memory stands out from all her years of Spring Session, Maura Henry recalls a student who organized a trash clean-up around a neglected monument at the African American Civil War Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Only once the student had handed out gloves and trash bags and ensured the site was clean did she declare they were ready to learn. “When unexpected leaders emerge,” Maura notes, “it really sticks with you.”
Spring Session locations change annually of course, but some aspects never will. Maura marvels each year at the “dedication of the faculty…and the way our students surprise us.” Faculty work tirelessly to make sure trips come together in ways that are both “meaningful and memorable.” Students, in turn, “make it worthwhile by surprising us with new-found confidence, leadership, kindness, and thoughtfulness.”
And of course all those hands-on moments add up to memories and lessons that will last a lifetime.
DIY Crafts Spring Session
Memphis Spring Session
Middle School Spring Session
Gloves On! Spring Session
Sew Crazy Spring Session
Broadway Adventure Spring Session