Upper School Intersession 2025

Adults are often drawn to careers with a distinguished title, comfortable salary, and variety of benefits in an established company. On the contrary, when kids are asked what they want to be when they grow up, they simply think about what they LIKE to do!

Whether following a career path or pivoting mid-career, choose a career based on what you LIKE to do – a career that’s a good fit for you! Discover careers that apply everything you LIKE to do into one job, leading to finding fulfillment in a career that you sometimes didn’t expect to pursue.

This session will include storytelling to illustrate key takeaways. There will also be activities that help the audience brainstorm their career path, skillsets, and projects that give them fulfillment, reminding them of what they LIKE to do.

From street safety and awareness to full-force self-defense techniques, this 2.5-hour class lays a foundation of skills including intuition, situational awareness, body language and voice proven effective at increasing safety and confidence. Participants practice de-escalating dangerous situations, and get the unique and powerful experience of practicing physical techniques at full force in safe and realistic scenarios against a padded mock assailant.

This class is led by a Whistle Instructor, who is the lead coach, and a Suited Instructor, who plays the role of mock assailant and wears a padded suit to allow students to hit full force. Physical techniques include defending against attacks from the front, being grabbed from behind, and an introduction to fighting from the ground. You'll leave this class feeling strong and maybe surprised by your own power and courage!

What if talking was just a small part of psychotherapy? What if your body held more wisdom than your mind? Or if a set of postcards could help you discover connections you never noticed before? In this session, you’ll explore various psychotherapeutic techniques that integrate somatic awareness and creative expression, tapping into the body’s innate wisdom as a powerful resource for deeper self-understanding.

In the final third of the session, you'll be introduced to the art and science of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), an evidence-based therapeutic approach that uses bilateral stimulation to help individuals process and heal.

This is an experiential session, so please come ready to move, engage, and be open. Participants will take part in both group and individual activities involving movement and art. Curiosity and kindness are encouraged!

Students will be provided a one-hour orientation tour, and then will help with Farm Chores, Animal Socialization, and general AAH Smile Farm projects including some maintenance of the AAH Smile Farm. Student Volunteers should register in advance on the AAH website: https://www.animalassistedhappiness.org/youth-individual. Animal Assisted Happiness Smile Farm is located at Baylands Park, 999 E Caribbean Drive, Closed toed shoes are required while volunteering. It is recommended that volunteers where long pants and long sleeves; dress in layers for the weather.

This visit will count toward the volunteer orientation and qualify volunteers to help with future AAH Smile Farm visits serving youth with needs and Vocational Education programs.

Where did the concept of a restaurant come from? When did fine dining become available to those outside of the aristocracy? You’ll get a short history of the modern restaurant, its origins, some of the milestones in modern cooking and construct your own high-end dessert from an assortment of provided ingredients.
 
We’ll cover:
·       The origins of restaurants: taverns, inns, cafes, boarding houses.
·       The rise of fine dining in the late 19th century.
·       The impact of California, farm-to-table and nouvelle cuisine.
·       How technology is impacting modern dining.
 
Short topics will also be:
·       Formal dining settings.
·       When to eat with your fingers.
·       You’d be crazy to be a part of this industry.
 
No prerequisite, just an interest in the restaurant and dining out culture.

This session is perfect for students of any grade who are looking to build an art portfolio, especially for applications to college or art school. If you want to study fine art/studio art as your major and become an artist, having a solid portfolio is an essential. However, regardless of whether art is what you want to study in college, an art portfolio can be a great supplement to applications. I’ll be talking about how to approach building a portfolio and the process of it. I’ll also cover practical skills like documentation of art work and writing about your art.

This is an interactive boot camp for everyone who has questions about going to college! It's a crash course on everything you need to know to have a successful freshman year at college. I'll cover everything from making new friends to doing your laundry to choosing which courses to take/how to actually study for a midterm/final. It will be lighthearted and fun, so get ready to relieve your stress about college and get active!!! We'll also have food and drinks.

Open to all grades, but generally for Juniors and Seniors.