Various local agencies were helped by student community service work during PLAN Day.
photo by McCallie
With the sophomore class busy with a day of testing, the rest of the Upper School students took a day away from traditional classes to focus on planning for college, learning how to successfully navigate their upcoming college years and working to improve the Chattanooga area through community service projects.
Known as “PLAN Day,” Monday, Feb. 8, was a change of pace during the cold winter weeks before spring arrives.
“PLAN Day is a way for our campus to take advantage of an unavoidable disruption to our normal academic schedule,” said Dean of Students Bob Bires. “The day of testing for our sophomores gives us an opportunity to give our other students a different experience for a day. We can spend some time preparing for life after McCallie, looking at good decision-making practices and putting our values into practice by giving back through service.”
For juniors, the PLAN Day was spent getting a start on the college-search process.
Director of College Guidance Jeff Kurtzman and his colleagues Brian Beckley and Abbie Roberts hosted a program of mini-seminars with representatives from several private and state colleges. The schools represented at the event were Wofford, Union College, Vanderbilt, George Washington, Georgia Tech, University of Tennessee and Beloit College.
Topics of discussion at the College Seminar included Finding Hidden Gems in Your College Search, How Colleges Make Decisions, The Liberal Arts College and Careers: How it Works, The College Essay: Tips and Truths and Making the Most of Your College Experience.
For seniors, the college-decision process is nearing an end, but the excitement of graduation and increased independence in college comes with risks, said officials. To help these soon-to-be alums with the challenges they will face, seniors spent the morning in the Chapel for the “What Every McCallie Man Should Know” seminar.
Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Christie Sell — mom of freshman Thomas Sell — told the seniors about the legal problems that they could face if they make bad decisions once they have more independence as college freshmen.
With advice such as “The trouble with trouble is it usually starts out as fun,” Judge Sell gave advice on how to live responsibly as a young man in college, and the penalties that could result from a lack of responsibility.
On the financial side of young adulthood, Mike and Debbie Brown — parents of senior Michael Brown and vice presidents at the Chattanooga branch of Raymond James and Associates — provided advice on keeping a budget and avoiding falling into debt after heading off to college life.
In the afternoon, the freshmen and some seniors came to Chapel to screen the documentary film “The Mask You Live In,” which addressed issues of bullying, lack of emotional support among peers and stereotypical understandings of masculinity that can cause problems as boys grow up.
Freshmen and seniors also had the opportunity to perform community service as part of PLAN Day. In the morning, freshmen visited students at Orchard Knob and Westside Elementary schools to spend time as classroom assistant and read to younger students, providing strong academic role models for these children.
Seniors hit the streets in the afternoons to provide assistance to service organizations and develop strategies for how the McCallie community can work to benefit the residents of the neighborhoods surrounding campus.
A group of 24 senior leaders gathered at Barking Legs Theater on Dodds Avenue to meet with community leaders from the Ridgedale neighborhood to brainstorm about community outreach projects that could include the neighborhood surrounding campus. Ideas were discussed with an eye toward strengthening McCallie’s connection with these sometimes underserved areas of town.
But much of the afternoon was devoted to putting service into practice with local organizations. Students cleaned up the Brainerd Art Garden, did landscaping and maintenance work at Signal Centers and Hope for the Inner City, and sophomores — free after finishing their testing — traveled to Chickamauga National Battlefield to pull up privet hedges and help clean up the grounds at the history park.
“So much of our time at McCallie is devoted to academics and athletics, and these are important activities and the primary reason we exist,” said Headmaster Lee Burns. “But it’s good for our students and faculty to take a day away from the books and playing fields to focus on giving back to the community and life after graduation.
“PLAN Day gives us that time to take a breath and reconnect with our neighbors and each other before the final push to Spring Break and the end of the school year.”