Bear in Mind: Summer Engagement and Exploration

Rising V Form: Writing Our Way Back
Instructor: Jim Norton

This course is intended for students who want to review writing and critical thinking skills found in the IV form to help prepare for expectations in the V form. While the primary focus will be on writing, this course will use short fiction, poetry, and essays to facilitate specific, skill-based activities. 

 

Rising IV Form: Writing Our Way Back 
Instructor: Sarah Pitcher-Hoffman

This course is intended for students who want to review writing and critical thinking skills found in the third form to help prepare for expectations in the fourth form. While the primary focus will be on writing, this course will use historical fiction and short stories to facilitate specific, skill-based activities. 

 

All Forms Digital Music 
Instructor: Clive Davis

Learn to create music digitally (or develop new skills if you already know how!). This class will cover various styles of music and will go over the construction of chord progressions, the creation of "beats," and how to develop a composition. Inexperienced musicians are welcome, and it’s a great opportunity for returning digital musicians. The Ableton Live software program must be purchased by individual students for about $260. However, there is also a 90-day free trial available to students who haven't used it yet.

 

All Forms Spanish 
Instructor: Jesús Ibáñez

Suitable for students with previous experience in beginning and intermediate level Spanish classes, this course will help students reinforce the material they have already studied in previous years, and it will enhance their proficiency in interpretive and interpersonal communication. The course covers elements of the language including pronunciation, reading, writing, presentation, conversation, and a number of selected topics of grammar. Some aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures will also be included taking into account the students’ interest. The overall goal of the course is to provide students with the opportunity to improve their language skills.

 

All Forms French 
Instructor: Justine Lenter

Bonjour! Would you like you to start learning French or brush up on your French? Then join us during this summer to learn and review French in distance learning mode! This course is a continuation of the beginning and intermediate level courses and is designed to help students practice their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through activities based on pedagogically proven methods of language instruction. The class will be developed based on students’ level, needs, and personal interests. A bientot!

Post Chem/Pre Physics Science Preview Course 
Instructor: Dan Cooper  

This class is a preview course designed to help students reinforce skills and develop proficiency in science practices. Content is based on the course into which students are entering in Fall 2020. Topics will include metric System units/conversion, graphing and use of Excel, experimental set-up, data collection, and analysis. Students will also strengthen their experience with the common lab report.

 

Rising IV: Writing our Way Into Modern World History 
Instructor: Nancy Lyon

This course is intended for students who want to review writing and critical thinking skills found in the third form to help prepare for expectations in the fourth form. While the primary focus will be on writing, this course will use topics in Modern World History to facilitate specific, skill-based activities. 

 

All Forms Photoshop 
Instructor: Dan Roe

Learn to create, enhance, and manipulate images with Photoshop software! This class is recommended for any returning digital art or photography student, as well as for the inexperienced artist. All the tools of the program will be covered, focusing on best practices for enhancing and embellishing pre-existing images. There will also be a deeper exploration into more complex tools for those students already experienced with Photoshop. 

Post Bio/Pre Chem Science Preview Course 
Instructor: Amanda Morgan

This class is a preview course designed to help students reinforce skills and develop proficiency in science practices. Content is based on the course into which students are entering in Fall 2020. Topics will include metric System units/conversion, graphing and use of Excel, experimental set-up, data collection, and analysis. Students will also strengthen their experience with the common lab report.

 

Rising VI Form: Preparing for College Writing in History 
Instructor: Sandy Perot

This course is intended for students headed into their sixth form year, with a specific focus on the analytical writing needed at the college level. Students will practice document analysis, critical thinking, and writing skills that will support their work in the discipline beyond their time at Berkshire. 

Rising V Form: Writing our Way Into U.S. History
Instructor: Sam Maher

This course is intended for students who want to review writing and critical thinking skills found in the fourth form to help prepare for writing expectations in the fifth form. While the primary focus will be on writing, this course will use topics in U.S. History to facilitate specific, skill-based activities.

 

Rising VI Form: Writing Our Way Back
Instructor: John Speer

This course is intended for students who want to review and enhance their critical thinking and writing skills in preparation for the sixth form. While the primary focus will be on writing, this course will use the essay form, focusing on personal narrative, argument, and description used by professional writers, to facilitate specific, skill-based activities that prepare students for college-level work in the VI form and beyond. 

 

Algebra I
Instructor: Sylvia Gappa

This is a summer review/preview course that introduces students to core concepts and content needed in Algebra I. Specifically, students will explore basic mathematical operations, expressions and equations, as well as the coordinate plane, and slope. This course is appropriate for students who want an introduction to algebraic topics as well as for students who have taken an algebra course but want some added practice.

Course Objectives

• Apply mathematical principles in problem-solving
• Review basics mathematics concepts
• Solve real-world problems

 

Algebra II
Instructor: Georgia Tuttle

This is a summer review/preview course that introduces students to concepts seen in an Algebra II course. Specifically, students will expand their knowledge of exponents, polynomials, and factoring as well as explore rational exponents, function operations, radical equations, exponential and logarithmic functions, rational expressions, and equations. Students will be further exposed to real-world applications of polynomial, rational, and radical relationships.

Course Objectives

• Perform arithmetic with polynomials and rational expressions
• Create, solve, and interpret equations algebraically and graphically
• Create and interpret functions that model relationships

Precalculus
Instructor: Rachid Farhat

This is a summer review/preview course that is designed for students to analyze functions seen in a standard Precalculus course. Specifically, students will primarily focus on functions that include linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions. Students will focus on key properties and graphs of these functions. This course does not include topics from trigonometry.

Course Objectives

• Perform arithmetic operations with polynomials and rational expressions
• Analyze functions using different representations
• Build functions that model relationships

All Forms Perspective Through Poetry
Instructor: Mari LoNano - A Block

Poetry tells the history of the world, from ancient times through the present. In this course, students will study numerous poets and their poems, through meaning, rhythm, and form. Students will also study the importance of context, time, and place that give poets their subject and voice. At the end of the course, students will write some of their own poems based on recent experiences. 

 

All Form Songwriting
Instructor: Tasia Wu - B Block

Learn to set your lyrics to music! In this songwriting class, students will analyze the rhythmic patterns in words, craft and develop melody lines, find chords to creative harmony progressions, and build their song through an effective structure. A keyboard or guitar/ukulele is required in order to take this class.

  

All Form Virtual Theater Production
Instructor: Jesse Howard - C Block

Rehearse and perform a virtual theater production with fellow students and Mr. Howard! The class will select a script (something fun!), cast the roles, and rehearse a short play in Zoom. Drawing on the experience of this spring's Berkshire Theater production, the class will continue to find fun, creative, innovative ways to make the best and most interesting use of the Zoom space to deliver the content of the play. This should be a great way to connect, be creative, and feel a sense of community over the summer! The course will culminate in the recording of the play and the sharing of the work with the larger community.

 

All Forms Modern Standard Arabic
Instructor: Mohammed Hetraf  - E Block

This course is designed for students with no prior knowledge of, exposure to, or experience with studying the Arabic language. This course will introduce students to listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills as the standard means of communication in the Arab world. It will also introduce students to many aspects of Arab culture. This course focuses on developing students’ vocabulary in contexts used in the textbook. Students will learn simple grammatical structures and will listen to authentic materials related to subjects featured in the textbook, newspapers, and other instructional materials.   By the end of the course, students will be able to read and write using Arabic script. They will also learn correct pronunciation, how to distinguish different sounds in the language, and how to verbally communicate on a basic level.