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International Student Life
International Student Life
Hello again, new Bears! We are Kaleb, Jacob, and Run, three of your prefects this year. There are a lot of wonderful aspects about being international students here at Berkshire, and we're excited to share them with you. These are just some of the ways Berkshire helps students from other parts of the world feel at home and share their culture with the campus community. When you get to campus, please come find us! We'd love to get to know you and help you feel like you belong under the Mountain - because you do!
New International Student Orientation:
All new international students are invited to campus early, before everybody else arrives. This allows us time to adjust from our long travels and also to participate in orientation events just for international students. This is a great way to make connections, to learn what it’s like to be a Berkshire student, and to start making the most of your opportunities here. Our families will also be able to participate in some aspects of this orientation, but it’s also okay if you travel solo.
Long Weekends:
At Berkshire, there are two long weekends (also called family weekends) per school year, one in the fall and one in winter. This 3-day break is a chance for students to visit their families and enjoy some free time. Some families come to visit students during this week or travel locally, so make sure to plan your trips ahead of time. Reach out to Ms. McGovern, the International Student Coordinator (you've probably already heard from her!) if you don't have travel plans, as the School will support students staying on campus for these shorter breaks. It’s a great time to enjoy the Mountain and hang out with your friends!
Longer Campus Breaks:
During the Thanksgiving break, winter break, and spring break, all students are required to leave campus. If you feel traveling during these longer breaks is difficult, you can always reach out to your friends and roommate and see if you can travel with them. You can also reach out to the Student Life Office or Ms. McGovern about other opportunities to stay off campus during breaks.
Transportation Tips:
For the longer campus breaks, Berkshire offers a chaperoned bus service that travels to four destinations: Framingham, Bradley Airport, JFK Airport, and NYC/Penn Station. The sign-ups for these buses are open before the break, so contact the Student Life Office sooner rather than later (you'll also receive reminder emails from them about this). If you need to go somewhere other than these places, or have a flight booked, which does not match the bus service, it is important to arrange other car services or travel methods. You can ask the Student Life Office for information about these alternative options. They can help you find other students to share car services with, and that can be fun, too!
International Events:
International students and their cultures are supported through school-wide events such as Global Celebration Night, where students host their own cultural exhibit room and region-specific events like Lunar New Year and Ramadan. Also, at the start of the year, there is an international student orientation, which provides opportunities for new incoming international students to connect with one another. Berkshire also has various international-specific clubs and an affinity space, and if you don't find exactly what you're looking for, you can always start a new group. Chances are, if you're looking for a certain club or group, other people are, too!
Student Leadership
Student Leadership
Hello! It's your ASPs, Nathalie and Emman, again! 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!
Day Student Life
Day Student Life
Hey, it's Finn and Lena. We want to welcome you under the Mountain and share our day student experience with you as you prepare to become a bear!
There are around 50 day students, around half are faculty and staff children (many of whom live on campus) and the other half are students who live in the surrounding area and represent New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Day students have the best of both worlds - we get to live at home while being a student at a residential boarding school. As day students, we can stay on campus until 10 pm every weeknight and sleep over on certain weekends in the dorm, but you don't have to. As day students, we can vary it throughout the week depending on our commitments - staying for dinner and study hall a couple of nights and going home as soon as we're done with our afternoon activity (before dinner). Day students also can drive themselves to school, although there are restrictions associated with this privilege regarding where to park and who can ride with you. We're kinda getting into the weeds here, so before we overwhelm you with too many details at once, we'll introduce ourselves. And don't worry about remembering these details we've already mentioned (and will mention below) - day students have Ms. Luce, the Day Student Coordinator who helps us remember all of them!
Lena: Hi! I'm Lena, an incoming four-year senior, and I live in Sheffield. I am excited to share the day student prefect role with Finn this year. As a new freshman, the biggest adjustment for me was balancing my time at home with family and my time at school with friends. It was a transition for me getting used to the rhythm of attending a boarding school while not living there, but I quickly realized that Berkshire is a special place, and it became second nature for me to spend most of my time at school. I found that the first couple of months are important to spend a lot of time in the dorms, and after sports and classes, so you can meet new people and figure out the school's culture. I try to spend the nights and weekends in friends' dorms as much as possible, especially during weekend activities. As a day student, you will soon find a rhythm. I usually go to friends' rooms or the library during free periods. I will often come to school early for breakfast, especially if there is a team breakfast. My most important piece of advice for incoming day students is to bring multiple backpacks. It may seem funny, but as a day student, you have to prepare for many things that most people have access to in their dorm rooms, so you end up bringing a lot of stuff! It's great to store extra clothes or belongings in your locker int he day student lounge. When the new campus center was under construction, I often put my extra stuff in friends' dorm rooms. While being a day student at a boarding school can be a big adjustment, in the end it's easy to make the experience what you want it to be, especially in a fun community like Berkshire.
Finn: Hi, my name is Finn, and I’m a four-year senior from Sheffield, Mass, and this upcoming year I will be a day student prefect with Lena. I wanted to tell you a little bit about my experience as a day student here at Berkshire and hopefully give you some advice for your time here. I would say that one of the most important things about being a day student and one of the best ways to feel at home on campus is to be in the dorm as much as you can, whether this means spending the night on the weekends when there's a school event or just hanging out in a friend's dorm after classes. One of the most difficult things about being a day student, in my experience, is having to balance stuff for school, equipment for sports, and clothes for after school. The way I manage it is by taking advantage of the day student lockers as a place to put all my things for the day. My biggest piece of advice for new day students is to try to go to every event that you can and to spend as much time as you can in your affiliated dorm.
General day student knowledge: As a day student, you will “affiliate” with a dorm. As a freshman; you will be assigned to either Godman or Dewindt, but as an upperclassman, you will choose which dorm you want to affiliate with. This means you'll have key card access to this dorm and will be included in dorm activities like dorm meetings, winter carnival, and dorm bonding activities. Day students have an independent space, the day student lounge, in the new student center, where there are lockers and tables. Overall, it is a nice space to go during your downtime, keep your belongings, or hang out with fellow day students. We started a new day student tradition of having Thursday morning Day Student snacks just for day students in the Day Student Lounge. We hope to continue that and other fun traditions this year. New day students will stay overnight in their affiliated dorm during orientation. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and establish yourself in the dorm, while becoming more comfortable with the Berkshire community and culture. Welcome to Berkshire - we are excited to meet you!
Dorm Life @ Berkshire
Dorm Life @ Berkshire
Hi! We’re Celine and Maddy, and we are so excited to be your Godman prefects next year! Dorm life is one of the best parts of life at Berkshire and we are so excited to tell you about it!
Roommate Experiences
Everyone’s roommate experience will vary, but this aspect of dorm life is definitely a highlight of everyday life here. Roommates at Berkshire are genuinely so helpful and caring – they for sure will have your back no matter what, and it's a great way to make more friends (their friends become your friends and so on). If rooming with others isn't really your style, don’t worry! You can potentially opt for a single room in your future years at Berkshire, but we definitely recommend embracing the rooming process. Dorm parents and prefects are so helpful with this too.
Common rooms
Every single dorm has common rooms and it allows for a space to bring the entire community together. These are the places where things like dorm meetings and dorm snack take place. It is also a place where people can connect through board games, puzzles, colouring and watching of movies and games. Each common room has a T.V and other activities that people in the dorm can access.
After long days, you can find people gathered around the Dorm Parent on Duty during check-in, laughing and sharing moments of the day. It’s a great place to catch up with friends in the dorm after the school day, and also debrief to the adults and teachers outside of a classroom context, and as trusted adults instead.
Dorm Snack
Dorm snack takes place every Saturday night around 11pm check in. Dorm snack is provided by the teacher on duty that night. Dorm snacks come in a wide variety and are always different in each dorm. Some campus wide favorites are Mr. Howard’s Bagel bar in CGR, Ms. Bush’s Pop Tart nights in Spurr, and Ms Li’s Dino Nuggets in Godman. (For those with food sensitivities, don’t worry, dorm parents take everything into consideration, and often have non-allergen food options as well!) Dorm snacks can be very good bonding time for the dorm as everyone is brought together to enjoy a late night snack.
Prefects
In every dorm, there are 2-3 senior student leaders called Prefects who will guide you through your dorm life during your time at Berkshire. These people can and will help with anything from moving into your room, questions as you are transitioning into life at berkshire, or even to lend an ear, or just be a shoulder to cry on. These prefects are super useful resources to every student, and people you can trust to have your back.
The BEST dorm tradition... Winter Carnival!
Celine: My dorm (CGR) chose the board game “Game of Life.” We all got to dress like babies, career people, and the elderly, and made a fun ice skit to dance to in the Jack. Winter Carnival is a really amazing experience where you feel how connected everyone in the dorm is to each other and how invested everyone is in winning. While it was freezing, every single part of Winter Carnival was so so fun and totally one of my favorite times at Berkshire.
Maddy: My dorm (Stanley) chose the board game “Guess Who.” We all dressed up in different categories, I was a baby, and then we made our dance to seem like we were playing the game. I found winter carnival to be the best bonding moment for the dorm as it brought you together with everyone. While playing the outdoor games especially, everyone was brought together as you were all competing for the common goal of winning. Everyone cheered everyone on, and you were able to compete with people other than your best friends.
All of this is just a small slice of dorm life here at Berkshire! We're excited for you to learn more once you arrive later this month!
Affinity Spaces & Diversity at Berkshire
Affinity Spaces & Diversity at Berkshire
Hello, everybody! My name is Chidera Okeke, and besides being a prefect in Stanley next year, I’m also the BSU leader and a Trailblazers mentor. Hi everyone! My name is Sophie Benjamin, and I will be continuing my role as Queer Affinity Leader for next year. Additionally, I will be the prefect in the Gender-Inclusive Housing wing, a space that the former leaders of the affinity group, along with faculty and members of the board, worked tirelessly to implement. Hey everyone, I’m Jacob, one of the leaders of the Asian Affinity space as well as a prefect in deWindt.
We have opportunities for everyone on campus to have a better understanding and a deeper connection to their identity, as well as a greater respect for others. We are a community that reflects the world around us and the backgrounds of each person who goes here. One way we do that is through Affinity Spaces. We have 8 of them on campus, and they represent a range of identities on the Berkshire campus, including race, gender, sexuality, and religion.
Latin American Student Association (LASA)
Muslim Affinity Group
Asian Affinity Group
Queer Affinity Group
Black Student Union (BSU)
Jewish Affinity
Multi-Racial Affinity Group
White Anti-Racist Group
We also have clubs that serve a similar purpose. These are opt-in spaces based on how students identify. In addition to affinity groups, we also have Trailblazers and Seed. Trailblazers is a mentor program that allows all new students of color to come to campus early and understand how to navigate what it means to be a person of color at Berkshire. I was a mentor this year, which allowed me to welcome in new students of color, and we all discussed what it means to be a person of color. We also had fun as we went to laser tag all together. SEED, which stands for Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity, creates conversational communities to drive personal, organizational, and societal change toward greater diversity and belonging. SEED teaches students to connect their lives and society by acknowledging systems of oppression, power, and privilege. They meet monthly for this. We also have recognized events throughout the year to celebrate diversity on campus and help educate the community about diverse cultures.
Latinx Hispanic Heritage Month
Black History Month (BHM)
AAPI Heritage Month
Lunar New Year
Global Celebration
MLK Day
Holi
Ramadan
Passover Dinner
WinterFest (celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa traditions)
The Perks of Being a Bear!
The Perks of Being a Bear!
David Peracchia '26
“My favorite thing about being a Bear is the community, the people here make it feel like home. I was originally nervous about leaving the city and my family for boarding school, but from day one, everyone made this place feel like family.”
Alex Curnock '27
“What I love most about Berkshire is how easy it is to be involved in things that matter to you. Like sports, clubs, or just hanging out in the dorms, there’s always a way to find your place and connect with friends.”
Rory Perkins '26
"I love the close-knit community here at Berkshire, and it's amazing to be able to enjoy our fields and facilities, or to go up onto the Mountain at any moment. Get out there! You won't regret it!"
Evan Ballard '28
“The best part about being a Bear is all the little things that make life here fun. Hanging out in the dorm, great food, great teachers, and always having something to look forward to. It’s not just school, Berkshire is so much more than that.”
Kate O'Keefe '27
"My absolute favorite part about being a Bear is getting to meet new people from all over the world. This is going to be the start of some amazing relationships!"
Claire Kim '26
"I love the balance of independence, great guidance, and the new opportunities that exist around every corner. You feel empowered over your own growth."
Finn Gibbons '26
“My favorite perk of being a bear is playing Last Bear Standing! Last Bear Standing is a school-wide game that everyone participates in every spring. During LBS, there's a different buzz and vibe on campus.”
Carter Giese '26
"I can't say enough about our mountain, with so many trails to explore, amazing views at the top of South Pinnacle, and Gilder Pond to swim in after hiking. My friends love spending time on the mountain, and not just on Mountain Day!"
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