J-Term 2023

CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS places a high value on excellent academic preparation of its students, but also equally values their holistic development. One of the intentional opportunities through which the faculty addresses this is CCS’s January Term (J-Term) program. January 2023 was the school’s second year offering J-Term at the Junior/Senior High Campus.

J-Term takes place a week prior to the students’ return to their regular second semester classes, and allows them to participate in enrichment courses or service opportunities. Students in the senior high may choose a fullday course, two half-day courses, or a domestic or international trip. This year, some students and chaperones traveled to the Dominican Republic to serve at CCS’s sister school and in the surrounding village. Another team served with Samaritan’s Purse in Houma, Louisiana rebuilding homes destroyed by hurricane Ida in 2021. Yet another team of students served each day in the greater Cincinnati area with Habitat for Humanity. A men’s retreat took a group of young men to Indiana where they participated in spiritual disciplines and a variety of activities such as paintball and axe throwing. Still other students with an interest in learning more about a potential career worked with a professional in a Career Shadow course. The Church Worship Behind the Scenes class gave students experience with the technical and practical components of planning and implementing a worship service.

At the JH/SH Campus, students in the Bountiful Blessings course participated in local service, as they made mats for the homeless and collected clothing and supplies. Other classes included on-campus and off-campus components, such as Fitness for Mind and Body and another class that served at Matthew 25 Ministries, participated in a week-long Bible study, and had a field trip to the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky.

Additional J-Term courses included T-Shirt Quilts and College & Scholarship Prep. The Gym Rats & College Knowledge course explored aspects of college basketball. The Escape Rooms class worked on puzzles, visited escape rooms, and then constructed an escape room for the Family Game Night classes to participate in. Students in a Home Repairs & Construction class learned design, drywall, plumbing, and electrical skills. The Creative Writing class spent time writing and visiting with several authors. Greek Week offered students the opportunity to learn components of the Greek language and visit Greek restaurants as well as a Greek Orthodox Church and the art museum. The Journalism 101 class spent the week learning components of journalism and then created a newspaper detailing each of the J-Term courses.

Junior high students also participated in J-Term. Students selected four oncampus courses and rotated through those 90-minute sessions each day of the week. Junior high courses included Outdoor Survival Skills, STE(A)M Building, Math in Sports, Family Game Night, Bountiful Blessings, History of Basketball, Musical Theater, Homestead Science, Candy Making, and Preparing for Your Future.

As CCS students participate in these diverse J-Term experiences, they have the opportunity to gain new knowledge, learn new skills, and develop new perspectives. They experience camaraderie and the value of teamwork, many times developing connections with other students whom they may not know as well. They give of themselves in service, take skills with them that they can use for a lifetime, and have fun in the process!