myIntersession Homepage (#JTerm2023)

Originally published 04/06/23

Upper School Parents,

We are excited to announce our Intersession (01/03/23-01/13/23) courses. For those of you new to CHCA, the purpose of Intersession is to broaden students’ educational experience through hands on, experiential learning that takes place outside of the classroom. This helps them grow in all kinds of ways as they engage God’s world and become better leaders and thinkers. For some, this means traveling to a place they’ve never been before. For others, this means serving right here in Cincinnati and making new friendships and learning new skills that opens their minds in creative ways.

The goals of Intersession can be accomplished locally, domestically or abroad. Over the last few months, we’ve wrestled significantly with the question of whether to offer international courses next January. We have spent time talking through all sorts of options and issues and have been tracking the COVID restrictions as well as the unrest in Russia and the Ukraine. We’ve also been talking to travel vendors about their pivot capability and to teachers about their comfort level for traveling internationally. Additionally, we conducted a survey which reflected a very low number of parents that were comfortable having their student travel abroad. 

We are living in a time of great uncertainty. During the last Intersession we encountered multiple international trips that were canceled which meant a loss of the experience for some students and a financial loss to some families. We had a teacher that was quarantined out of country and away from his family for a significant amount of time. International travel right now is still very unpredictable, and the United States is still requiring a negative COVID test to re-enter.  In January 2022, our domestic trips and local course options created the best experiences for our students and allowed us to execute travel plans with the excellence that reflects a CHCA experience.

In light of this, we have broadened the number and kinds of domestic trips we are offering this year (along with local courses) and have decided to take a one year hiatus from international courses. This is so that we can 1) give your student the best, well-planned experience possible, 2) significantly limit the risk that an international trip will be canceled which can result in a loss of money and experience and 3) eliminate the issue of teachers and students quarantined outside the United States. We have been very intentional about choosing some U.S States and Territories that feel very different from the Midwest and offer unique experiences for our students, including St. Croix, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

The courses for our next Intersession are some of the most creative yet. I know that God is going to teach our students incredible things and move in ways we could have never imagined. I’m excited for what’s to come. I’ll be praying as you talk through the best options for your student and I’m looking forward to hearing the stories of how God worked in each of their lives.

Heather Wilkowski, J.D. ▪ Upper School Principal