Arts, Arabic, Academics and Adventures!

The annual E-Term week at Eastern Mennonite School creates opportunities for experiential learning through new encounters and diverse environments. During April 14-17, students and teachers from grades 6-12 participated in a variety of skill development, academic expansion, and community building activities.

“Our school is unique in that we can provide out-of-the-ordinary educational experiences like our E-Term program,” says high school principal Justin King, “And I think it’s one of the things we do best!  Our students often talk about E-Term as a highlight of their time with us.” 

E-term, historically called mini-term, has options for all different interests.  Teachers work diligently each year to craft a variety of opportunities for learning, whether it is doing a deep-dive into a local topic or traveling to a unique location.

Karen Suderman and husband Andrew, collaborated with Mennonite Missions Network (MMN) to explore and trace the southern route of underground railroad with a group of students.  Their travels took them from DC to Raleigh, Savannah, and down to St. Augustine, Florida.  Along with museums, historical sites, and new people, they also enjoyed some amazing food such as key lime pie! 

Another group participated in skill building, service work, and cross cultural experiences by partnering with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in Damascus, Virginia.  They worked side by side with Amish from Ohio and Pennsylvania to rebuild homes devastated by Hurricane Helene.  

A packed bus of juniors and seniors went on an epic road trip led by teacher and coach, Chafin Vrolijk.  They started in the mountains and ended on a beach while camping, kayaking, hiking their way across Virginia and North Carolina. 

Other groups enjoyed a local experience and opportunity to sleep in their own bed each night!  Flower Power explored the local flower scene and was co-lead by Abigail Cook and Rebecca Shelley (Friendly City Florals), which included the project of making a cut flower garden for the school.   Patsy Seitz and Maria Lorcas took students on a tour of the local arts with pottery, Forbes Theater concert, JMU orchestra, and salsa dancing!  Nathan Hershberger invited students to learn more about the Arabic culture through language, film, food, restaurants, and guest speakers to expand their sense of the world by connecting with parts of Harrisonburg that come from the Middle-East 

One of the most lasting impacts of E-Term are the connections that formed between students, teachers and community members who are involved.  Effie Eads recalls,  “With both E-Terms that I’ve done, it has allowed me to create friendships with people with whom I do not normally interact.” 

This value of community building is one of the driving reasons behind a major shift for E-Term.  Beginning in Fall of 2025, E-Term will now take place in November between the fall and winter sports seasons.  “We’ve heard from our parents that the friendships formed in the spring by E-Term are really valuable to have earlier in the year,” explains Julianne Ross, E-Term coordinator.  “We spent a lot of time processing as a faculty and decided together that a Fall E-Term will create fewer disruptions to learning as well as boost relationships early on.

There will be a tight turn around from E-Term Spring of 2025 to the Fall of 2025 for this coming school year.  Teachers will announce fall E-Terms at the end of this May and students and families will have the summer to sign up for their top selections.  Rosters will be announced in September for a November 10-13 schedule.

Ross emphasizes, “Our teachers and leaders are really drawing on their creativity, flexibility, and energy to make this a high impact program.  We hope this shift in schedule can enhance what we are already doing and provide some new experiential learning opportunities that really brings together our school community.”

See the list of E-Term Offerings for Spring 2025 and some photos from these exciting trips and experiences! 

Local Water Exploration (6th Grade)

Williamsburg Exploration (7th Grade)

Philadelphia Exploration (8th Grade)

Lawn, Table, PE Games

Arabic Food, Film and Culture

Mountain Biking

Arts in the Valley

Local Adventures

Flower Power

MDS-VA: The Amish Experience

Mountains to Sea Road Trip

Golfing

Baseball

Underground Railroad

Touring Choir MSEC Trip