The goal of our Enrichment and Electives Program is to support and enhance the ECS mission and to support a resource-based, real-world, active learning curriculum. We provide leadership in and support of collaborative partnerships between students, teachers, parents, and the community. ECS students are exposed to a variety of activities beyond the classroom. Research has shown that it is in creative, service, and team activities that students encounter situations that challenge, excite, and inspire them. Education does not consist of academic endeavors alone; therefore, by providing extensive enrichment opportunities, ECS is able to encourage each student to extend his or her boundaries beyond the ordinary and discover his or her talents wherever they lie. It is by finding one’s place in a community that one is able to develop confidence and strength.

Model United Nations                  

Each fall, the YMCA of Middle Tennessee sponsors a Model United Nations conference. At the conference, Tennessee high school students learn about the real world operation of the United Nations by participating in a reenactment of the organization's activities.

Most students form delegations and represent member countries' interests in the General Assembly by drafting and debating resolutions. These resolutions cover a wide variety of topics of international concern. Other students have the opportunity to represent their countries on the Security Council, and to participate in a model International Court of Justice.

Youth in Government

The Tennessee YMCA Youth in Government Program is an annual conference designed to offer high school students a hands-on experience with state government. Each year, over 2500 students from across the state converge on the State Capitol, taking the places of our real government officials. Program participants can serve as senators or representatives, as justices and lawyers, as department commissioners and lobbyists, or even as press corps members.

Government Club

Government Club is part of the Model UN and Youth in Government program. Students work specifically with the Middle School Model UN and YIG students to create proposals and write position papers. Members of the club also recruit members to the program and lead training sessions for all our middle school members. The president of the club will chair the Upper School training sessions for both conferences and instruct participants on correct debating procedure.

The Eagles Eye Newspaper 
November 2023 Issue
December 2023 Issue
February 2024 Issue

Engineering Club

The Engineering Club promotes engineering and STEM careers. They participate in E-Day at the University of Memphis. Meetings involve “instant challenges” and small projects that combine mathematic and scientific principles with creativity.

S.W.A.T. (Students Working to Advance Technology)

This club introduces students to the robotics, drone and 3D printing technologies to enhance their curiosities within this field.  The SWAT Club is planning on participation in local engineering events, having professional speakers on campus, and competing in a local robotics tournament.

CANstruction

CANstruction is a unique competition that showcases the excitement of the civil engineering field to high schoolers while helping feed the hungry. The competition is held at the University of Memphis. Students are required to design and construct giant sculptures made entirely out of canned goods. Each team is allowed to have five students building at one time, and they have three hours to complete their structure. Each team is paired with a professional civil engineer and civil engineering student to act as mentors. At the end of the competition, all of the food used in the structures is donated to the Mid-South Food Bank. To date, the "canstruction" event has donated 106,000 pounds of food to the Mid-South Food Bank.

Debate Club

The purpose of the Debate Club is to give our students the tools to be able to work through topics in a healthy and respectful way. Our goal is to give our students the tools to be able to work through topics in a healthy and respectful way. In debate club, we will look at how you form and respond to an argument, how to support an argument using evidence and facts, and how to divorce personal belief and emotions from a topic. We will do this by practicing and staging debates both on the pro and con side of arguments. The goal is to give our students the tools to respectfully state their opinions and discuss them with other students.

Key Club

Key Club is a service organization that encourages and tracks student service hours both on and off the campus of ECS.  Some of the service opportunities include assisting teachers during in-service, serving in a Special Olympics bowling league, showing teachers appreciation through treats and encouraging notes, and more. 

Best Buddies

Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). It is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with IDD. For individuals within this community, Best Buddies helps them form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communications skills, and feel valued by society. The IDD community that Best Buddies serves includes, but is not limited to, people with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and other undiagnosed disabilities.

The aim of the Best Buddies Chapter at ECS is to spark new friendships and generate genuine happiness among students with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout our community. The chapter presidents (CPs) organize, lead and maintains our Best Buddies chapter and ensure that the members fulfill the mission of Best Buddies for one academic year.

Faces & Our Cultures Program

The Faces & Our Cultures Program is a Cultural Exchange Program between Guatemala and the USA. Young Guatemalan Cultural Ambassadors, between the ages of 11 and 17, travel to the USA to share and learn from the American Culture. They bring Cultural Projects to share with their community in order to promote Bilateral Cultural Enrichment.

Faces & Our Cultures offers an enriching experience through the exchange of cultures within an educational and family environment. It provides tools for learning and achieving human and cultural development. The Guatemalan participants must create a profile and be selected and screened, in order to represent their country as Young Cultural Ambassadors.

Professional Speaker Series

During the first semester, we invite select professionals to present their career to the junior and senior classes. The purpose is to expose students to different careers and enable them to appreciate the vast amount of choices they will have once they leave school and head to college. Our belief is that God has provided each student with a variety of gifts and abilities. Through the opportunities provided by ECS, students can now discover their gifts and pursue courses and careers to develop those gifts.

Shadowing Program

The Shadowing Program exists to assist ECS students in finding certain occupational field(s) of interest they may want to pursue. Shadow Partners are ECS parents, alumni and board members that can give a half, or full day, at their work location to host one to two ECS students who have done due diligence by researching and determining an interest in a particular profession. The goal is to involve as many parents as possible to participate as Shadow Partners so that they have a glimpse of the teachers, doctors, mechanics, lawyers, pilots, veterinarians, and architects, etc. that they will become in the not-so-distant future.

In preparation for the student’s Shadowing Visit, we want to make sure they are completely prepared and equipped to make the most of both the Shadow Partner’s and the student’s time and efforts of the visit. The student will determine what area of interest he/she wants to pursue and then attend one of our business etiquette classes at school so they are well prepared for the Shadowing Visit. Afterwards, the student contacts Michelle Brown, and she will coordinate the Shadowing Visit with an appropriate Shadow Partner on a mutually agreed upon time. The student will arrive at the Shadow Partner’s work location with a few questions/goals he/she wants to achieve during the Shadowing Visit. A certificate will be given once all follow-up tasks have been completed.

Knowledge Bowl

Knowledge Bowl is the high school’s academic team which competes in tournaments with other schools in the Mid-South, both in weekend tournaments and the Channel 3 Knowledge Bowl TV Tournament.

The team consists of up to 10 members, with the top 5 (as chosen from tryouts and practice sessions) competing in the TV tournament. All 10 can compete in the weekend tournaments, of which there are usually 2 or 3 per semester.

Knowledge Bowl is a great opportunity for top students, who have a broad range of knowledge in current events as well, to compete against the top students from other schools, private and public.

World Peace Game

The World Peace Game, created by John Hunter, is a hands-on political simulation that gives players the opportunity to explore the connectedness of the global community through the lens of the economic, social, and environmental crises and the imminent threat of war. The goal of the game is to extricate each country from dangerous circumstances and achieve global prosperity with the least amount of military intervention. As their teams venture further into this interactive social setting laced with highly charged philosophical issues, the skills needed to identify ambiguity and bias in the information they receive will be enhanced. More specifically they will rapidly perceive that reactive behavior not only provokes antagonism, it can leave them alone and isolated in the face of powerful enemies. Beliefs and values will evolve or completely unravel as they begin to experience the positive impact and windows of opportunity that emerge through effective collaboration and refined communication.

Art Club 

Students explore more in-depth art projects and get guidance as they work on pieces to enter into contests. Students must commit to working on these projects outside of school to finish the work.

Baking Club

Baking Club is headed by Jody Lewis, owner of Confection Perfection Bakery. Once a month, students will gather in the White House kitchen and bake seasonal favorites.

Book Club 

Every month, we choose a new book to enjoy together and meet on Tuesdays to discuss. Books range from the classics to modern fiction.

Bible Study 

Bible Study offers a fun time of learning and fellowship with peers in the Upper School. Middle School students are given the opportunity to get advice from older students who have struggled with similar issues.   

Creative Writing Club

Students meet twice a month to perfect their skills by responding to idea prompts or free-writing projects.

Eagle’s Eye Newspaper 

Students will write articles, conduct interviews and take pictures for a quarterly newspaper.

Pickleball

America’s new favorite sport! Students will learn the basics of the game and compete against each other in an in-house tournament.

Yearbook

Yearbook Club will meet and learn some basics of making a yearbook. Most of our focus will be on taking and collecting photos of MS activities for the yearbook.  

2023-2024 Lower School Enrichment Offerings

• Q1: August 21-September 22 (make-up dates September 25-29)
• Q2: October 23-December 1 (make-up dates December 4-8)
• Q3: January 22-February 23 (make-up dates February 26-March 1)
• Q4: April 2nd-May 3 (make-up dates May 6-10)