Tom Kohan is the faculty advisor for the Senior to Senior Program.
During Thursdays in March, the hallways and classrooms of CEHS will be populated by students who already have their diplomas. The truth is, they received diplomas several decades ago. Cape Elizabeth High School’s Senior-to-Senior Program, with the help of Cape Community Services, is hosting our first-ever “Back to School” event in which senior citizens in our community get to attend a couple of classes while being escorted by one of our CEHS seniors. On Thursday, March 5, our first “class” of 10 senior citizens graced the halls and classrooms of CEHS to get just a little glimpse of what a high school really looks like in 2020.
From community members:
"I really enjoyed this experience! It made me want to go back to school! The students were great - very welcoming and engaged. Jackie Lombardo couldn't have been more friendly. She took me on a thorough tour of the building and I saw so many opportunities for students that I wasn't aware of including many electives like Robotics, Drafting, Holocaust Studies and Media and Film. Every tax payer in this town should visit the high school to see the wonderful resources available to students and meet the wonderful teachers who enrich our children's lives."
-Judy McManamy
"If I had another chance to attend a class, I certainly would! Hope word gets out quickly and more seniors sign up to take part. But, for this group, it's a winner!"
-Julie Ross
From students:
"I'm glad the day was such a success! I really enjoyed it. I could tell Ms. Pappas, my match, was very eager to see what high school is like today, to interact with the teachers and other students, and to learn. She seemed to especially enjoy my psychology class. The only thing I would change would be to have the visitors stay for another period or two, maybe through lunch, so that we could have had a little more time to converse and get to know each other. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I would be happy to do it again!"
-Meg Brewer
"I had such a great time today. Judy and I took a nice tour of the school, spent some time in an English class, and went to my government class. I think that it was a unique experience for both of us. Its not often that I get to share experiences and converse with someone outside of my generation, and I think that I benefited from it greatly. All of the senior citizens were so eager to see our classes and learn that it honestly put my classes in a different perspective. The idea that someone could learn for my everyday occurrences has given them some more value, in my opinion. Overall, I think that this was such a great experience. I would love to do it again. Thank you!!!!!"
-Jackie Lombardo
"Today’s “Back to School Day” went great! Mrs. Tinsley seemed like she had a really great time watching our theatre class as well as getting a tour of the school. It was really nice to be able to actually connect with them in comparison to just raking their leaves. I would definitely recommend doing this again! Thank you so much for all your hard work in coordinating this! Thank you!"
-Isabel Berman