Berkshire came together for its first Community Dinner of the school year—an opportunity for our Bears to meet new friends and connect with faculty over a meal together.
Senior Faculty Jesús Ibáñez shared thoughts on the beginning of the school year and read from the poem “New Beginnings” by Hamsa Elfarash:
Into each life will always come, a time to start anew.”
Join us under the Mountain, October 9-11! We’re looking forward to welcoming families for the Fall Concert, class visits, athletic contests, and more.
Make Sure to Check Out These Weekend Events!
An Introduction to the College Process
We are excited to welcome Maxwell Bartley, Senior Admissions Counselor at The University of Chicago, to lead an introduction to College Counseling for fourth- and fifth-form families with Berkshire's own Andrea Bowler, Director of College Counseling.
Friday, October 10, 9:30—10:15 a.m., Crawford Family Lecture Hall
Embracing Artificial Intelligence at Berkshire
AI expert Eric Hudson will discuss AI at Berkshire with Associate Head of School Allison Letourneau ‘07 and Dean of Academics Heidi Woodworth.
Friday, October 10, 10:30—11:15 a.m., Allen Theater
Fall Family Weekend Keynote Speaker: Exploring the Power of Emotional Intelligence
Plus, Berkshire is excited to be hosting a special presentation by Marc Brackett, Ph.D., author, Yale professor, and performance and leadership expert, as he shares his talk, "Exploring the Power of Emotional Intelligence" on Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
Friday, October 10,1—2:30 p.m., Allen Theater
Friday Night Football Under the Lights
Don’t miss our annual Friday Night Lights event. Cheer on the Bears as Varsity Football faces Noble & Greenough at 7 p.m. under the lights on Schappert Field.
Pro Vita 2025-26!
Pro Vita Programming has evolved this year to be an extension of Berkshire's values, mission, and motto.
One Saturday morning each trimester, the community will come together for thoughtfully designed conversations and activities that not only challenge and inspire, but build on one another throughout the year.
As this Bears' Den hits your inboxes, students are participating in this year's first Pro Vita Saturday. The Depth Mentoring Institute from the Summer Search organization will be leading the Resiliency: Thriving Together program by facilitating classroom workshops for Berkshire students.
Stay tuned for a recap of today's event in next month's Bears' Den!
Upcoming Parent's Association Zoom Meeting
Monday, September 29 | 6 p.m. ET
Please join us via Zoom for the first Parent Virtual Series of the year.
We will be joined by Pro Vita Director Patrick Donovan, who will share an overview of this year’s Pro Vita Roadmap.
We also look forward to connecting and sharing more about parent resources and involvement in the PA.
Classroom spotlight: AP Computer Science Principles
Dr. Hall joined Berkshire's math department at the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year. He brought his knowledge of computer science with him and is teaching AP Computer Science Principles this year. Read on to learn more about the class and Dr. Hall!
Why are you excited to bring AP Computer Science Principles to Berkshire? I am excited for the AP Computer Science Principles course because it is a true introduction to computing. The course is a complete overview of what computing is.
What subjects will the class explore? The curriculum we are using is from Code.org and is based on the AP course requirements. We start the course with a big overview of how computers (including smart phones, digital cameras, etc.) actually work and then move on to the internet, app design, data science, cyber security, and global impacts of computing. At the end, each student will complete a project that has some positive impact on computing. Most students will develop their own mobile app that shows a benefit to their community.
How does the course prepare students for real-world experiences? Probably the biggest skill learned in the course is problem-solving. Each lesson has a hands-on learning experience. In a recent class we talked about file compression types and why sometimes we are willing to give up the quality of a file for the sake of having many more files. An example of this is music on our phones. We give up quality to have more quantity.
We are working toward a project where students will determine whether or not digitizing information has made the world a better or worse place." -Dr. Hall
What has been your favorite part about joining the Berkshire? I am so glad to be part of the Berkshire community. My favorite part of Berkshire so far is the people. Berkshire is a welcoming community and is a wonderful place to be. The mountain helps as well!
What is a fun fact about you? Deep down, I am a nerd for all things technology. I played a bit of college football at Ole Miss and, when my career was cut short from injury, was fortunate to be in college when the boom in tech began in the early 1990s. My fascination has only continued to grow since then.
Academic Awards
The presentation of academic awards acknowledges the good work, personal achievements, and academic growth of our students. The recipients of Advanced Awards, Scholar Awards, and Honor Roll from the spring 2025 trimester were recognized at All-School Meeting on Monday, September 15.
Scholar Awards are presented to those earning the highest GPAs in the trimester. Congratulations to last spring's Scholar Award winners below!
Berkshire's Newest Residents: 70,000 Italian Honey Bees
Gus Chong '26, of New Jersey, brought 70,000 Italian honey bees to campus with the help of Environmental Science teacher Chris Meehan.
The colonies will serve as the foundation of Chong’s Advanced Environmental Science Research (AESR) project, which focuses on monitoring hive health. Gus hopes that eventually the hive will also be able to provide honey for the Berkshire campus.
Stay in the Know!
Want to know what's happening on campus? Visit the Parent/Guardian Hub, aka "the Hub," on our website.
Just log into the Parent Portal, then click the light green button that says "Parent/Guardian Hub." You'll find helpful info from the Student Life Office, weekend activities, and more!
College Counseling
Upcoming College Rep Visits
The College Office is excited to welcome representatives from St. Lawrence University, Bucknell University, American University, Smith College, Gettysburg College, and many more in the next few weeks. You can find the full list of visiting schools on our website.
Monday is All-School Photo Day!
All-School Photo | Monday, September 29 at 9:20 a.m.
We will gather for this year's all-school photo behind the Soffer Athletic Center, followed by photos of the Class of 2026 and the faculty on the Berkshire Hall steps.
Photographers from Highpoint Pictures were on campus on Friday, September 26. They captured photos of ALL students for our Fall Photo Day! Parents and guardians will receive email proofs prior to purchasing via email in a few weeks.
Join host Kelley Bogardus, Associate Director of College Counseling and Varsity Field Hockey Assistant Coach, for Episode 2, Season 3 of The Campus Loop. This week, Mrs. Bogardus caught up with Justin Torre, Spanish Teacher, Varsity Football Assistant Coach, and Varsity Boys Hockey Assistant Coach. Check it out!