CHS Blog

This past winter, on a particularly slushy morning where the start of school was just postponed, I received a text from a faculty member who had just broken the joyous news to her children that CHS was going to have a late start day. The response from one of the students warmed my heart on that classic Connecticut winter morning- “WHAT? NO! ARE MODS CANCELED?”

This fall, we launched our Mods program. In an earlier blog post, I described the various learning modalities (mods) that go into teaching well-rounded students. We don’t learn things in the best way for us, we learn things in the best way they should be taught. Imagine only watching cooking videos and never getting your hands dirty with egg yolk and flour. Visualize reading about your favorite sport instead of playing it. Have you ever had someone explain a movie scene only to say, “You know what, you should just watch it.” Our brain works in various ways, and the best way to learn about one topic might not be the best way to learn about other topics.

Fast-forward from last fall to today. CHS is wrapping up our first year of Mods, during which students were able to select monthly activities that took them out of the classroom and got them involved and engaged in other activities. Among lots of other things, students played futsal, learned about different cultures through food, took instrumental lessons, baked new and delicious recipes, participated in bible studies, or learned wilderness survival skills (and you can survive anything as long as you have access to a propane griddle, indoor plumbing, paper towels, and Dorito’s).

Mods gave our students opportunities for choice, agency, socialization, learning something new, and fun! I could bore you with education studies and doctoral thesis, but cutting to the chase, all of those things listed above are in the secret sauce for a good and meaningful educational experience.

We are so pleased with the little ways that our kids have embraced these new opportunities this year, and look forward to continuing and expanding on this program in years to come! 

Mr. Karl Simon is beginning his 23nd year in Christian Educational Administration and his fourth year at CHS. He enjoys reading, woodworking, watching the Patriots and Red Sox, and arguing with students who think the Yankees are better. He also coaches at CHS, where he enjoys spending time with kids outside the classroom on windy sidelines and on long car rides to away games. Mr. Simon feels serving as principal of the CHS Upper School is a great privilege, and he enjoys his relationships with his colleagues, students, and families.