China is the InterSession theme for the 2018-19 academic year, and this year there are major changes in the program, including heavy student leadership in planning the week-long experience.

Each year at the end of the first semester, the FSS Upper School students and faculty put together week-long special programming called “InterSession.” InterSession, a program we have had at Friends Select for nine years, gives students an opportunity to take a break from regular classes and participate in four days of intensive learning in smaller project groups surrounding a particular theme/topic, usually focusing on a specific country or region around the world. On the fifth and final day, InterSession groups meet together to reflect on their learning and present their work to the student body.

The first InterSession took place in 2010 and was made possible through a grant provided by the Edward E. Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to support secondary schools around the country and provide them with the necessary resources needed to create innovative learning space for students to cultivate their interests and skills. According to Margaret Smith, Upper School History teacher, and past InterSession Coordinator, “the grant guaranteed FSS an annual award for a four year period,” and towards the end of the four years, FSS applied for and was awarded the grant to extend the program for an additional four years. The 2018-19 InterSession will be the last year of the second grant life.

Upper School Director, Chris Singler, notes that when InterSession first started, “it was very much administrators making all of the decisions.” As the years went by, the school decided to involve both the students and faculty in choosing a theme and project groups.

InterSession project groups allow students to sample many different disciplines and topics. These projects allow students to have an in-depth, hands-on exploration of one subject.  Project groups revolve around topics such as literature, theatre, language, calligraphy, environment, and architecture, to name a few. These projects are completely student-led this year with minimal advice from teachers. In the past, teachers and students were assigned a certain project group as opposed to giving them the freedom to choose one.

Two years ago, Margaret created an InterSession Student Committee that consisted of twelve students who would meet on a regular basis to discuss project groups, movies, and field trips, and to also make sure that students’ voices were being heard regarding how they wanted to shape InterSession.

Earlier this year, Head of School Michael Gary, Margaret Smith, and eight other adults in the community gathered together to decide this year’s InterSession theme. The committee was initially thinking of choosing Canada as the theme for the 2018-19 year but ended up voting for China. China was a popular choice among faculty members because of its relevance in our school community. Friends Select has a large population of international students from China who have been actively involved in the planning of InterSession.  

Both the faculty and students are excited to make good use of the city, specifically Chinatown as it pertains to this year’s InterSession theme. Kaiyuan Chen ‘20, an international student from China, said he is “certainly happy to have China this year,” because “students [will] get a chance to know more about China through their Chinese or Chinese-American friend’s mouth.”

Chris hopes that “students will spend the time to learn about the local businesses, organization, and history of Chinatown.” He believes that it is very important for students to get to know their neighbors since “we have seen a spike of hate around the world,” and went on to say that this year’s InterSession theme “feels very local [and] relevant.”

InterSession is a powerful way to enhance relationships with teachers, deepen friendships with peers, and expand the joyful learning that is central to Friends Select’s educational philosophy.