In opening the second semester, the entire high school gathered together in the Hartness Performing Arts Center to hopefully hear their name called for various academic honors and achievements. The students and faculty were also treated to guest speaker Dr. Sue Whorton.

The chapel ceremony started with Dr. Kupersmith and his opening speech. All students and faculty fell silent to listen to their headmaster make his address that instilled inspiration to continue to work hard on the last half of the 2016-17 school year.  Kupersmith also sparked a sense of school pride with his words that reminded students of “the whole package” that Christ Church offers including “an exceptional arts program, service learning opportunities, and an optimal education.”  Kupersmith then handed the podium over to the Upper School Director Pete Sanders. After much suggestion that he would make the best of his last semester here at Christ Church, Sanders ended his speech by emphasizing the fact that academic prosperity is the “core of our identity here at CCES.” Mr. Clarke then commenced the ceremony in calling the first semester honor roll and high honor roll students in all four grades of the Upper School.

Mrs. Linda Schulz introduced Dr. Whorton who serves as the Director of the Academic Success Center at Clemson University. Dr. Whorton offered her tips on academic achievement in high school and beyond. She opened her presentation with the idea that in the relationship between student and teacher, students should not find themselves as victims of  one teacher’s especially hard exam, but rather strive to continue to grow and develop into students that can take full responsibility for their failures. Whorton made her audience consider that there are two mindsets of learning; a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. As the name entails, a growth mindset is always aspiring to learn and challenge oneself whereas a fixed mindset is for someone who believes that he is as smart as they will ever become. Whorton discussed that it was the fixed mindset people that often feel compelled to show off how much knowledge they have on a certain topic, and when posed with an overly challenging situation, they become discouraged and often give up. The growth mindset people become excited at a new challenge and see it as an opportunity to learn something they were previously unaware of. Growth mindset individuals see failure as a course correction and always learn from experiences. Whorton also mentioned Deshaun Watson, the star quarterback for the Clemson Tiger National Championship team, and explained how he leveraged his potential to be successful on the field and in the classroom. Students left the presentation enlightened to continue to make “excellence a habit” at CCES and onwards into their future.