For more Halloween photos, visit Berkshire's SmugMug gallery.
It was a picture-perfect Fall Family Weekend! From visiting classes and cheering on our Bears, to coming together for gatherings and events, we are grateful to our families for spending time with us under the Mountain. 🍂
See photos from the Bears' win under the lights in our SmugMug gallery.
Classroom Spotlight
Chinese III, IV, & V
Students in Ms. Beattie's Chinese III, IV, and V classes took a field trip to Millbrook and Poughkeepsie, New York to learn more about Chinese culture and art.
They first visited Innisfree Garden in Millbrook. The property formerly included a Queen-Anne style mansion, but now is home to cup gardens which are self-contained landscapes created using natural elements such as rocks, streams, and plants.
These gardens were inspired by scroll-paintings by eighth-century Chinese poet and painter, Wang Wei. Students completed a scavenger hunt where they engaged with many of the elements in the gardens as a means of exploration and even left wishes in Chinese on the Wish Tree.
After eating lunch (and ordering in Chinese) at Chan's Peking restaurant, students went to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.
My highlight of the field trip was going to the Vassar College Museum. It was really cool to learn about Chinese culture through different pieces of art."–AJ Horosky '27
There, they engaged with both ancient and contemporary works tied to Chinese culture. Students learned about pieces such as a decorative, ceramic tower from the Han Dynasty (dated between 25 and 220 B.C.E), a scroll painting entitled "One Hundred Birds Turn Toward the Phoenix," and a photograph by contemporary Asian photographer, Tommy Kha.
Students were able to grow their language skills through practical application and expand their knowledge of Chinese culture and its influences right in nearby Dutchess County, New York.
The Warren Family Gallery Presents:
Three Centuries of Photography: From the Collection of Thomas K. Levine P'26
Friday, Nov. 1 - Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024
This exhibition features images from current parent Tom Levine's extensive and eclectic collection of original photography, including recent and contemporary works, as well as iconic photographs by historical figures such as Diane Arbus and Edward Steichen.
The selections in the exhibit reflect both the evolution of photography and many personal favorites of Levine's. There is even a photograph by recent Berkshire alumna Zamia Barradas '24 on display. " –Paul Banevicius, Arts Department Chair & Director of The Warren Family Gallery
Fall Play
Berkshire Theater presents: "The Memo" by Václav Havel
Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Allen Theater
The Memo is about a ridiculous synthetic language that's been installed at a generic workplace in order to streamline communications. The language aims to remove all possible misunderstandings in office communications, posing a hilarious and heartbreaking challenge to the agency's self-proclaimed “humanist” director. The language turns out to be so complex, convoluted, and utterly absurd that nobody has the slightest clue how to understand, speak, or write it!
A play full of twists and turns, double-crosses, and triple-speak, "The Memo" is clever and funny enough that you'll laugh despite your disbelief at the winding pathways of confusion the characters must endure!” –Jesse Howard, Theater Director
The Memo runs through Saturday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Allen Theater. There is a $2.00 suggested donation at the door. The play runs about one hour and 40 minutes with light refreshments available during a short intermission.
Poster designed by Chidera Okeke '26
THE Bears Keep the Sheehan Cup!
The Walter E. Sheehan Trophy is awarded annually to the overall winner of the athletic competitions that take place each year during Family Weekend between the Bears and the Canterbury Saints. This year, the Bears held onto the Sheehan Cup, winning 9 out of the 11 athletic contests.
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Berkshire Hosts Mountain Bike Race
The Ritt Kellogg Mountain Program (RKMP) Mountain Bike team hosted a Halloween race on Wednesday, October 30, welcoming more than 100 riders of all levels and eight teams competing in the Housatonic Mountain Bike League. Bikers enjoyed perfect riding weather, challenging trails, and a spooky-themed course put together by the RKMP coaches.
Congratulations to Cyrus Taber '28 for taking First Place in the Category 1 race and Marcus Lacy '27 who earned Third Place in Category 2.
GoPro footage courtesy Simon Wang '28
This year's Fall Festival was an evening filled with pumpkin decorating, cotton candy, and a pie eating contest! A big shout out to the Student Activities Committee for organizing such a great night.
Congratulations to the following Fall Festival winners: "Team Rohan" (Mirabelle, Bailey, Caroline, and Nora) for winning the potato sack race, Jonah and Ryan for winning the egg toss, and Billy and Markus for winning the pie eating contest!
Fall Dance Concert
Thursday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Allen Theater
This fall the dancers will be performing a variety of styles including contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, K-Pop, lyrical, and tap.
With the most dancers I’ve gotten to work with so far at Berkshire . . . I’m particularly excited for this larger group to share their work with the school. The choreography focused on layering choreography and intricate formations, which really pushed our dancers to elevate their levels across the board." –Madison Bagby, Dance Program Director
Dancers: Sophie Benjamin '26, Nuala Chee '27, Angel Fu '25, Chloe Howard '26, Claire Kim '26, Katherine Nelson '27, Angela Pham '25, Briana Pujols Castillo '28, Ciecee Qiu '28, Eleanor Rose '27, Lily Royce '27, Gabrielle St. Clair '27, and Chidera Okeke ‘26 (Stage Manager)
Ushers: Yuki Hu '26, Trevor Sullivan Weinstein '25, Emily Yang '27, Zoe Zhang '28
Election 2024
With the United States presidential election days away, students in Mr. Gappa's AP United States Government & Politics classes presented at All-School Meeting on a range of informative topics tied to the upcoming election.
Students shared information about voting trends, popular issues, Senate & House turnover, the electoral college and much more. They gave context to the election and explained the changes in voting over the past decade.
Thank you to Mr. Gappa and his students for an informative job well done!
Tian Family Endowed Lecture Series speaker
Established in 2018 by former Trustee Jane Yue and Joe Tian P’19, the Tian Family Endowed Lecture Series for AMSR and AI supports visiting researchers and industry leaders who share their expertise with the community.
This year, Berkshire welcomed alum Dr. Matt Crowson from the Class of 2005. A board-certified Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgeon, Dr. Crowson is also a Specialist Leader in Deloitte’s Healthcare AI practice, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and serves as the Director of Clinical Informatics and AI at Mass General Brigham.
He spoke at All-School Meeting this week about his nonlinear path from Canadian ice hockey player to medical school to the cutting edge of AI research in the medical field!
Asia Receptions
Berkshire is headed to Asia! ✈️ 🐻
Alumni, please join Head of School Pieter Mulder, Director of Advancement Andrew Bogardus, Director of Admission Allison Letourneau ‘07, and former faculty member Anna Romano, for a Berkshire School reception on Saturday, November 2, at the Shilla in Seoul and on Saturday, November 9, at The American Club in Hong Kong. We can’t wait to see you there!