Experiential Education
Our Middle School students travel throughout the region on curriculum-based Seminars designed to reinforce academic skills and teach life lessons via first-hand experiences.
Beyond the experiential focus provided on campus and within the classroom, Middle School Seminars provide students with in-depth, hands-on learning opportunities three times per year off-campus. During Seminars, students learn to apply academic principles in a practical, real-world setting. Students select from Seminars that align with their unique interests and goals, with topics ranging from Outdoor Education, Arts and Social/Current Issues to STEM and Life Skills.
What is Middle School Walkabout?
In the spring of their 8th grade year, as part of their transition from the Middle to Upper School division, students take an extended trip (seven to 10 days) to the southern desert in Utah. Known as the Walkabout, this experience serves as a time-honored tradition for CSS's Middle School students, and is often talked about by alumni for decades to come.
Through our focus on strong academics supported by experience-based learning, students:
- Learn subject matter more thoroughly and more deeply, and retain information longer than in traditional, passive learning environments
- Are active participants in a relaxed, focused atmosphere
- Gain a sense of responsibility and independence while also learning the importance of collaboration
- Discover how to apply learned information to new settings
- Learn about themselves, others, and the dynamic world in which we live
- Develop the confidence that comes only by doing
