Pro Vita Winter Session

Pro Vita – Extending our curriculum

Just before March break, constituents from a wide spectrum of the Berkshire community gather on campus for a week to challenge and stretch students in ways beyond what is offered in the traditional high school curriculum. With over 80 courses on topics ranging from Intellectual Property Law and Chaos Theory to Landscape Design and Aviation Science, students explore the larger world around them and practice applying the school motto, Pro Vita Non Pro Schola Discimus (Not just for school but for life).

Beyond the three 90-minute daily classroom sessions, Pro Vita week features a variety of evening programs. Guest speakers have included Fred Newman, a contributor to NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, professional mountain climber and outdoor adventurer Jake Norton, and environmental activist Marion Stoddart. In addition, students have the option of pursuing site-based courses by travelling off campus. Last year’s excursions included a trip to New Jersey to install dry wall at a Habitat for Humanity Project, an eco-tourism trip to New Orleans to assist with rehabilitation efforts post-Katrina, and a nine-day visit to China.

Four off-campus trips are offered for Pro Vita 2013, February 25 - March 2: a hiking trip in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, a trip to the Island School in Cape Eleuthera in the Bahamas, a trip to a monkey sanctuary in Costa Rica, and a trip to Lakeland, Florida to participate in flight training school. Click here to learn more.

Pro Vita provides an opportunity for both students and faculty to explore, cement, share or discover a lifelong passion. Whether it is delving into chaos theory and nonlinear dynamics or critically analyzing the archetypal hero in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, students obtain a skill set that, directly and indirectly, serves them well beyond their time at Berkshire.

Click here to view the 2013 Pro Vita Course Catalog.