the Upper School division director gathers Cathedral School faculty to pitch and develop ideas, many of which stem from teachers’ personal passions and hobbies. Invariably, these initial concepts morph and distill into an array of eight courses that connect seemingly unrelated topics, such as “Let’s Make Some Dough,” a course co-designed by Juergens that marries the history and art of bread-baking with the challenges of managing a small business in the food sector. Over the course of the week, students create and test cookie recipes, meet local bakery owners, weigh financial challenges for their hypothetical businesses, and present their end-product to outside investors. “Inherently, there is a sense of ‘I’d better get this right because this is not just for me anymore’,” Juergens says. “There is a rigor in these classes that often doesn’t exist in the traditional academic environment,” adds Harlow. “Kids come up against things they can’t answer, that push
them to think outside the box,” observes Upper School Math Teacher Judy Hilbrich Sheppard who has led Intersession courses in sport management and podcasting. “It challenges them to think in a different way, so everyone — boys and teachers — is getting something from being outside the classroom.” For Jackson Moore ’24, who signed up for The Skreetch in 2023, a podcasting class, production proved to be far more involved than he initially believed: “I thought it would be a lot simpler: just do the research, make a script, and record,” he says. “But there’s extra stuff like adding in sound effects and audio editing; it’s a more involved process than I expected.” Intersession “encourages our students to look deeper into our city,” says Performing Arts Teacher Brandon Joseph, who co-led a Murals, Street Art & Politics course, which included a 360-degree study of street art, from the history of graffiti and
Intersession 2024: Bikes & Burritos
2024–2025 red & gold | 11
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