Upper School Intersession 2025

Friendships have so many benefits, and being aware of being a true, loyal, and good friend to people is its own reward. Practicing things that can make friendships stronger and allow people to mutually support each other in fun and natural ways could be something that is useful to be aware of. For instance, if you were great at something and your friend(s) wanted to learn that skill, wouldn't it be a compliment to be able to help them learn it, along with you being open to learning things that they may be skilled in? What if that superpower was related to easy and useful organizational skills?

Organizational skills might sound a bit boring but organically developing them can help people in all sorts of ways: making times for getting together and showing dependability and following through on the plans; people have confidence and personal control of their "time diet" for academic needs, social priorities, family needs, recreational/sports commitments and various other extra-curricular activities; calming down the sometimes anxious thoughts about "too much to do!" that many of us can have from time to time; and generally spending a little bit of effort ahead of time in order to have a more relaxed and enjoyable life over the long run. Being aware that you and they both probably have organizational skills that can be displayed and influence each other positively is a terrific expression the kind of mutually supportive relationship that deepens your connections!

California's official state dance, West Coast Swing, is a fun social dance that emphasizes improvisation (check out examples of competitive WCS here, here, and here). Originally a form of Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing has evolved into a modern partner dance which can be danced to almost any kind of music and is also degendered (anyone can lead or follow). It's increasingly popular thanks to social media: Learn how to "speak" WCS, and you'll have a community of Westie friends on college campuses and in cities all around the world.
No dance experience necessary. Wear pants and comfortable sneakers/flat shoes.

Biomimicry is the conscious emulation of Life’s genius. It is a design and innovation discipline that brings together science, engineering, design and business. Organizations and change agents around the world learn from nature at multiple scales: products, packaging and materials, processes, and systems like cities. Join this session to learn about biomimicry and "Life’s Principles" — nature’s overarching strategies for good design — and start using them. The session will include a presentation and a team exercise. Teams will apply Life’s Principles to address specific challenges.

Learn and practice tools to communicate confidently and compassionately with family, friends, and strangers about any topic, no matter how polarizing. Conversations between those with difference perspectives can quickly escalate and separate as we argue to be right rather than discuss for understanding. It is possible, however, to foster productive conversations across differences that build connection. We’ll take an experiential approach to do doing just that. We’ll play, challenge ourselves, move past the "Peace Blockers" (blame, guilt, and defensiveness), and use the “3 Keys to Peace” (listening, empathy, and assertiveness) to build connection and more peaceful communities. Learn also about The Mosaic Project's Youth Leadership program where you can mentor 4th and 5th graders who are learning these skills.

In this half-day stand-up comedy writing workshop, students will learn the fundamentals of crafting and delivering their own original comedic material. Through interactive exercises, group collaboration, and solo writing time, students will explore the art of joke construction, comedic timing, and finding their unique voice. The workshop will also emphasize the importance of storytelling and personal experience in comedy, helping students turn real-life observations into relatable, funny material. By the end of the session, participants will have developed a short stand-up set and gain the confidence to share their work with the group.

Do you like to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty? Do you have a bicycle? Would you like to know how to maintain your bike? This Intersession class will teach you how to change a flat tire, repair a flat tire, clean/change/oil/wax your bicycle chain,re-tape your bar, and change your brake pads. No prequisitie skills required.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own bikes! If they don't own a bike but want to learn these skills in preparation for future bike ownership, we will provide a few teacher-owned bikes to fix up.