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Cary Christian School
Visit Our Campus
  • ABOUT
    • – About Cary Christian School
    • – Classical Christian Education
    • – Statement of Faith
    • – Administration
    • – Cary Christian School, Inc.
    • – Employment Opportunities
    • – Frequently Asked Questions
  • ADMISSIONS
    • – Contact Us
    • – Visit Our Campus
    • – Apply Now
    • – Tuition and Fees
  • ACADEMICS
    • – Lower School (Grades K-5)
    • – Upper School (Grades 6-12)
    • – College Counseling
  • STUDENT LIFE
    • – Fine Arts
    • – Athletics
    • – Student Leadership
    • – School Clubs
  • PARENTS
  • SUPPORT CCS
    • – Support CCS
    • – Knights’ Table Partners
  • CONTACT US

KNIGHTS’ FEST

By Dell Cook

As a teacher, I sometimes feel like I have the opportunity to be an observer of human nature. Like a tourist in an anthropological zoo, I have a front row seat into the natural habitat of the American teenager. It is certainly an interesting show.

One thing I’ve noticed is that people will make a game out of almost anything. Put an object in the midst of a group of students and in fairly short order they will develop some sort of competition to see how it can be manipulated and who can make it go furthest, fastest, or highest. Half-empty water bottles are instruments to be flipped, “capped,” and stacked. Mechanical pencils can be slid across a wall, and through static electricity the pencil adheres to the wall.

This tendency isn’t an example of “lazy kids these days”; far from it. It’s actually a manifestation of the image of God and their human nature. To play is to imitate, to discover, to create. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul exhorts believers to “imitate God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). To live well is to play.

An education is an exercise in play. It is an inquiry of curiosity into how the world works and a child-like imitation of God’s handling of the things of the world. So, a good education should include elements of play. Everything from jingles and motion-filled sound-offs to quiz games, project-based learning, dramatic presentations are examples of cutting with the grain of human nature and a child’s development to cultivate wisdom in a student’s mind, heart, and hands.

This is the method behind the madness of our annual Knights’ Fest activities. For a week in February we see a crazy manifestation of play. Students relive the dress and styles of the ’50s, ’60’s, ’70s, and ’80s on Decade Day. On Character Day, students dress in imitation of their favorite characters: everyone from Aragorn to Pikachu comes to school. Each day, House competitions range from obstacle courses to dodge ball. This culminates in the annual Trebuchet Competition in which representatives from each grade build from scratch a life-size and functioning medieval catapult.

It’s a hoot and holler with lots of kicks and giggles, and in the midst of the kookiness there’s a subtle but good bit of learning going on.

 

More Posts by This Author:

  • A Garden of Children
  • A World Turned Upside Down (Fourth Week of Advent)
  • Anatomy of a Great Parent-Teacher Conference
  • Beyond Cliché: Incarnational Education (Part 2 of 3)
  • Beyond Cliché: Resurrectional Education (Part 3 of 3)
  • Beyond Cliché: Trinitarian Education (Part 1 of 3)
  • CCS Biology Labs Are Glowing!
  • Christian Schooling and Sports
  • Coaches’ Corner: It’s More Than Just a Game
  • Common Core at CCS?
  • Conceptualizers
  • Cuban and Cook on Classical Education
  • Doing What We Are Made For
  • Latin, Alive and Well
  • Light in the Darkness (Third Week of Advent)
  • Search and Teach
  • Speaking Up
  • The (Hand)Writing on the Wall
  • The Father’s Land
  • Training Up Children, or Churning Out Widgets?


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KNIGHTS’ FEST

By Dell Cook

Knights’ Fest

    February 1 – 5, 2021

Knights’ Fest is a week-long celebration in the Upper School filled with dress-up days, games and competitions, a Renaissance Festival, and numerous opportunities for students to show their school spirit and support their houses. Read on for a note about how to get the most out of Knights’ Fest by dressing up each day, followed by a full schedule of activities for the week.

DRESSING UP

Students are not required to participate by dressing up. They may remain in their school uniform. If your child is participating, please make sure that he/she arrives at school in compliance with the instructions given for each day’s theme and the Dress Code Guidelines. If your student’s costume does not meet the Guideline standards, they will be required to change into their school uniforms. Check the Knightly News for each day’s theme!

Please send a school uniform with your child for the week that they can keep in their locker to avoid having to make a trip home in the event that an issue arises. Finally, if you have any uncertainty about the appropriateness of an outfit, please contact either Diane Hillsgrove or Steve Williams.

We look forward to a great week! Thank you.

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