Hi, Bears! We’re Gus Wilmore and Ellie Grimmett, and we will be your two Day Student prefects this year. As we eagerly await our return to campus, we wanted to take this opportunity to tell our incoming Day Students a bit about what to expect. We have both found that being a Day Student offers the best of both your school life and your home life. Day Students make up less than 10% of the student body, and yet we are still valued members of the Berkshire community and enjoy all of the same privileges as boarding students - but we get to live in our own homes! As Day Students, it is up to you to decide for yourself how much of a balance you need or want between school and home life, and finding the balance that works for you is key to enjoying your time under the Mountain. Day Students are permitted to leave campus after their last commitment (often afternoon activities) but are more than welcome to stick around for dinner, hang out with friends, or get some studying done during Study Hall. 

Gus’s Experience: Welcome new Bears! My name is Gus. I am a day student prefect with Ellie, and I will be a three year senior next year. I wanted to share my experience coming in as a new day student in sophomore year, and hopefully provide you with some advice around the transition to highschool. For me, the biggest challenge I experienced as a Day Student was finding my way into the dorms. I wasn’t sure if hanging out in the common room, or spending time in someone else’s dorm room would be considered weird. Especially coming in as a new sophomore, my grade had already been with each other for a whole year, and it seemed like everyone else had found their people. I would later come to realize that this didn’t really matter. I just needed to be around other people more often during unstructured free time. The best way to accomplish this was by having a presence in the dorms. As the year continued, I started to do my homework in the common room. Being around residential life helped me integrate completely socially. I started making friends through simple activities like playing ping pong or asking questions about school work. By the end of the year, I had made really close friends. I felt part of a tight-knit student body. I spent as much time on campus as possible, to the point where many people didn’t even know I was a day student. If I could offer any incoming day student a piece of advice, it would be: Find your way into the dorms. Don’t think twice about it.

Ellie’s Experience: Hi everyone! My name is Ellie and I am an incoming four year senior. I am so excited to be the day student prefect this year! Because the day student experience is unique to each person, Gus and I thought it would be helpful to share how we each approached day student life. While the adjustment to Berkshire your first year can be challenging for at times, for day students there is the additional challenge of not living on campus when all your peers do. My freshman year, I participated in dorm life as much as possible so I could establish strong connections with my classmates. I frequently went to breakfast and stayed over whenever I could in my friend’s dorm rooms. I spent as much time as possible in the dorm and became close with boarders and day students alike. As my time here has progressed, I spend the night less often but still remain very connected to dorm life. I spend time between classes in Stanley – the dorm I’m affiliated – and have good relationships with everyone in the dorm. I have also been able to have a friend group that is a mix of day and boarding students. The way that I approached day student life my freshman year helped set me up for my experience today and I truly feel like I have the best of both worlds. But, just because I like this type of day student life doesn't mean you have to follow the same recipe. What matters most is finding what works for you!

Food: Speaking of recipes, you might be curious about food and how often you can eat here throughout the day! Day Students are absolutely welcome to attend breakfast before class starts or hang out at dinner too, especially community dinners, but you are also welcome to eat those meals at home. In addition to that, we would both recommend trying out Shawn’s Place for some food off of the grill. 

Traditions: Berkshire has so many amazing traditions, from dances to winter carnival, weekends are always packed with events. These events are marketed to the entire community and Day Students are strongly encouraged to go! Some of the best moments I’ve spent on campus in my three years here have been at these events. Many of the traditions on campus take place later in the day or late at night. One of my favorite things to do after going to the Halloween dance, participating in Winter Carnival, etc is spending the night in a friend's room. A few of the traditions, like Winter Carnival, are founded in dorm participation and day students are more than welcome to compete with the dorm they affiliate with. Overall, day student participation in the many fun traditions at Berkshire helps build the community we so pride ourselves on. 

Dorms and Day Student Spaces: Dorms and day student places are very important because generally speaking, these will be where you spend your free time, do your homework, and socialize. The day student lounge is a one hang-out place that is unique because it is the only place day students will have that is for day students only. This means it may be a place you want to keep an extra change of clothes, a towel, jacket, etc. Day students may also invite any boarding friends into the day student lounge, meaning it can be a nice place to chill with friends. This being said, I think it is better that as a day student, you spend the majority of your free time in the dorm you are affiliated with. Being around residential life as much as possible is important because this is where social life at school is centered. Since most students are living on campus in dorms, this is where they spend most time together. By being in the dorm, you can ensure that you too will be a part of this social experience.

Orientation: Orientation is one of the things I remember most from my freshman year. It happens over the span of a few days and provides an amazing opportunity for new students to get to know campus and each other. One thing that really helped shape my freshman year experience was the fact that I spent the night on campus during orientation. I highly recommend spending as much time as you can on campus during orientation so you can start building strong bonds with your peers. It is so important to remember, especially as a new student during your first few weeks here, that you are wanted in the dorms and other spaces with boarding students. Take advantage of the time you spend on campus in the first few days and really get to know your peers.

Time Spent on Campus: At the end of the day, I would say that like anything else in life, your day student experience will be what you make of it. The best way to make something of your experience as a day student at a boarding school, is to spend as much time as you can on campus. This means making an effort to attend Saturday night activities, dances, community dinner, and sleeping over in a friend's room. For me, this meant making an effort to attend late night film sessions for the soccer team, never missing any concerts or fun performances, and staying late to watch movies with friends. Whatever it is, day students will have commitments outside of the school day - they might not all be mandatory, but it's beneficial to stay as late or as often as possible. For me, these commitments are fun. I enjoy spending time with my friends outside of the school day, and I enjoy involving myself in the community. Spending time on campus shouldn't feel like a burden or a chore, but rather something you want to do because it is so much fun.

We hope you have a great summer and we both look forward to seeing you on campus in the fall. Remember, your experience here will be what you make of it. 

Ellie and Gus

Hi New Bears, it's Noboru Tsuru and Yahav Barak! As we get closer to coming back to campus, we thought you might be curious about the leadership opportunities available at Berkshire. The following are just a few of the opportunities, but truly, there are so many different ways to become a leader, in big and small ways!

Co-Class Presidents (Student Council)

At the beginning of each school year, all forms will hold elections within each respective form to elect two co-class presidents that identify with different pronouns. There is a pair for each form that collaborates with the pairs from the other forms to help make decisions and plan fun activities throughout the school year. For example, two years ago, the Student Council worked with the student body, and various administrators, to create a more expressive dress code for our school. Each year there are re-elections, so if you feel inclined to put yourself out there and run for the co-class president role in your form, you can do that! 

All School Presidents  

Just like Co-Class Presidents, the All School Presidents (ASPs) are two students that identify themselves with differing pronouns, however, they can only be from the senior class. The ASPs are elected in the spring of their junior year by the entire student body. Next year's ASPs are Stella Demmert and Michkael McKenzie. They work alongside the co-class presidents to make changes and come up with activities for the student body to enjoy. Also, they get the privilege to lead our All School Meeting (ASM) once a week. The other ASM that week is led by the Head Prefects which we will talk about later. 

Green Key Heads 

Another way for students to get involved is as a Green Key Head. This position is open to rising and current juniors and seniors. Green Key Heads manage our tour guide program, assigning current students to give tours to perspective students visiting campus. They'll occasionally give announcements at All School Meetings to encourage students to get involved, which can also involve attending fairs and receptions or getting involved during revisit days. Students give tours during their free periods so it doesn’t conflict with their academic schedule. Students in this position planned or gave you your tour when you visited campus!

Affinity Groups

There are numerous affinity groups on campus to join, with people of similar backgrounds or shared experiences, or as allies of a common goal or communal efforts. These affinity groups have both faculty and student leaders that schedule meeting times, facilitate discussions, and organize activities. Of course, you can be a member of one or multiple affinity groups, and then you have the opportunity to apply to be a student leader of an affinity in the springtime for the following year.  

Trailblazers

As explained on Berkshire’s website, “Trailblazers is a mentorship and orientation program for incoming BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students. Our initiative is designed to support new BIPOC students to become acclimated to the community. New Trailblazers will connect with student mentors and learn how to access the services and resources they need to successfully navigate a residential academic setting and predominantly white institution”. Trailblazers help with New Bear orientation at the beginning of the year, assist in Adult/Student mentoring, set up social gatherings throughout the year, and help New Bears get introduced to the affinity spaces on campus. 

Clubs

Clubs are another way to have a leadership role here on campus! There are a variety of different clubs here at Berkhsire that you can join or even start. There is a club fair at the beginning of the school year where you can sign yourself up to different clubs and even the opportunity to start your own at Berkshire! Some of the fan favorite clubs are the fashion club, the 1907 club( which is where you help fundraise for the school!), and the cooking club! If there isnt something you re interested in you just need an adult to help sponsor your club and its all set! They meet throughout the course of the year and is another super fun way to get involved here at Berkhshire!

Green and Gray

Green and Gray is a special leadership program that is available to rising seniors. Green and Gray Captains are in charge of all student social events that happen on the weekends, such as school dances, holiday-themed events, and they help to execute various Berkshire traditions. My personal favorite Green and Gray event is the Last Bear Standing competition, which is essentially a big game of assassin with the whole school! Everyone gets an assigned target and you have to try and be the last bear standing on campus without getting out. It's so much fun because everyone in the school takes traditions like this so seriously, which creates such a fun environment! There are about ten to twelve seniors that are elected to represent the Green and Gray Captains for the school year. This is such a fun way to get involved with the social events here on campus while also having a leadership role at the same time!

Prefects 

That’s us! Just like many of the other leadership roles on campus, the application process begins in the spring. This position is only available to rising seniors, meaning you can apply in the spring of your junior year. The Prefect group is made up of roughly 25 seniors on campus. Our job is to be the conduit between students and faculty within the dorms and everyday residential life. There are at least two prefects in each of the dorms. We are there to solve problems, answer questions, and assist the dorm parents in running the dorm. We are always there to help. Outside of the dorm, we partner with various administrators in making certain decisions and by voicing the student body’s opinions. Additionally, we run the New Bear orientation at the beginning of the school year, so we'll all see you then!

Again, this is just a variety of ways to get involved with various leadership positions. You can also find leadership in the afternoon programs such as a team captain, as a leader in our arts program, or as study hall leaders and peer mentors. It's also possible to become a leader of various signature programs, such as within our aviation science program or RKMP, or if you care about mental health and wellness as a Peer Listener, or if you care about assisting with the international experience as an International Leader, or if you care about fundraising and philanthropy or working with alumni. The sky really is the limit, you just have to put yourself out there and play to your strengths!