BVRx3 is a three-day immersive and interdisciplinary experience for Upper School students.
Over the three days, students:
- Explore new disciplines and industries;
- Engage in deeper learning through an immersive and focused approach;
- Have a meaningful experience outside of the structure of the daily schedule;
- Connect with outside experts and partner organizations on issues and topics in our community.
Winter 2022 BVRx3
November 30-December 2
8:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M.
The first two days of BVRx3 —as well as the morning of the third day—include community-building activities, field trips, guest speakers, and idea development. On Friday afternoon, there will be a closing reception and session showcase.
THE SESSIONS
Students pick a session and topic to be immersed in for the three days—researching, creating, and collaborating in ways that are intentionally focused on connecting their learning to the outside world. Sessions are led by BVR faculty/staff and in partnership with outside organizations and experts.
A Dog’s Purpose
How do dogs enrich our lives? Join this session to explore the many important roles dogs play in our society. We will travel off campus to the Animal Rescue League in Dedham to learn about responsible pet ownership and meet some of the animals seeking new homes there. On campus, we will meet Cathy Zemaitis and Service Dog Ambassadors Loring and Verna from NEADS who will demonstrate their impressive skills and how they help improve the quality of life of people with physical disabilities or hearing loss, as well as children with autism or other developmental disabilities. We will hear from other experts about how police departments work with comfort dogs to connect with at-risk communities and the essential role dogs play in comforting people during traumatic events. Finally, we will meet with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine to learn about the impact of irresponsible breeding. Activities will include making healthy dog treats and using photography to capture the essence of Beaver dogs (think: The Dogist).
Open to students in grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus
BioBuilder Learning Lab
In this workshop, synthetic biological systems will be used to teach the fundamentals of molecular biology, cell biology, and gene expression. Each day at the BioBuilder Learning Lab will include interactive lectures and hands-on labs that feature creative problem-solving, data analysis, small group work, and biodesign activities. Topics may include looking at cells as self-replicating machines; modifying cells with engineered DNA; interpreting data and planning experiments; designing cells from top down and bottom up; and predicting the behavior of synthetic biological systems.
Open to students in grades 11-12
Location: On and off-campus
Boston 2070: Designing for the Future
Students will explore, research, and discuss vulnerable areas of Boston that may undergo changes in the future due to climate change. After exploring the infrastructure and policy challenges, students will design their ideas and solutions for what they conceptualize and visualize Boston to look like in 2070 to address issues related to climate change. This session will focus on climate justice, transportation, urban infrastructure, engineering, and ecology.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus
Boston as a Port City
Join us for a deep dive (pun intended) into Boston as a port city: the past, the now, and what’s to come. How has Boston Harbor, with its marine life, many islands, and boat traffic, shaped the lives of Bostonians, and how do Bostonians think about the port’s future?
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off- campus
Build a Beaver App
Wish there was an app to see what’s for lunch today or check your standings in the House competition? Why not build it yourself?! Work in a small team and learn MIT’s AppInventor to create a real mobile app for the Beaver Community. You’ll go through a brief design process, work on your app, and share your progress with the community. No prior coding experience is needed, and there are opportunities for both coding and non-coding (graphic design, user research, testing) roles on each team.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On campus
Build the School You Deserve!
What school do you deserve? What should it look like? Here is an opportunity to visit schools, hear from and collaborate with experts, and design your own ideal school to present to the community: So, what would/will Beaver look like?
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off- campus
Capturing Content
Become a content creator for Intersession week! In Capturing Content, you will document other sessions through photos, videos, and interviews. We’ll also discuss different aspects of content creation, including how to use a branded voice, how to pick the correct platform, and the current landscape of online culture.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off- campus
College Road Trip
Go on the road with the college counseling office! As you gear up for the college process, we will explore a few campuses (UMass Amherst, Connecticut College, and Brandeis University) around the area to better understand what you should look for and identify as important as you start to consider your future plans.
Open to students grades 10-11 (preference to 11th grade)
Location: Off-campus
The Conscious Living Retreat
Have you ever had the desire to live more consciously? Does the idea of slowing down, being more present, and being aware of your surroundings sound interesting? Join Ms. Koch, Ms. Wildes, and Ms. Brooks for the Conscious Living Retreat. During our three-day session, we will explore the many ways you can live more consciously through yoga, food, self-care practices, and various mindfulness techniques. Students who participate are expected to engage in physical practices, participate in shared vegan/vegetarian meals, and practice tech-less mindfulness.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On campus
Cooking: Food Sources & Challenges
LATIN AMERICAN COOKING + JAPANESE COOKING + LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE INGESTING = COOKING: FOOD SOURCES & CHALLENGES. Now that we have your attention, this is a great opportunity to learn more about food from the beginning. Here are some questions you’ll be thinking, learning, and experiencing through our class: How is food grown? What are the challenges in American food consumption? How do you cook Latin American and Japanese cuisine?
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus
Creating a Greener Campus
Did you ever wonder how sustainable our campus is and if there was something that you could do to improve it? Learn how to assess our campus for energy efficiency, explore alternative architectural and engineering models, dream big, and make a proposal for our board. We’ll hear from experts, take a field trip, make changes to our facilities (inside and outside), and create short and long term plans for change.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus
Early Winter Active
Just because it is cold outside doesn’t mean we can’t be active. We will spend our time in this winter session enjoying activities such as hiking the Blue Hills Reservation, doing indoor rock climbing, and bike riding on the Minuteman bike path. We will discuss outdoor sports and sustainability as well as the impact of our efforts on ourselves and nature. Students should prepare to bring multiple layers of versatile clothing depending on the daily weather conditions.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus (mostly off campus)
Fables and Fairytales
Fairy tales and fables usually begin from a place of truth or lesson, before some become more widespread or “Disneyfied”. Why does that happen and how do the cultural roots of stories influence their changes? Students will spend their three days exploring origin stories, fables, and fairy tales from a variety of cultures, and going to the origin sites of some stories that may be well-known in our society today.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus (bus)
Forensics Crime Scene and Lab Exploration at Harvard MedScience
Do you like solving problems? Do you love crime shows? Do you want to problem-solve and solve a crime? This intersession explores how to solve a crime scene using interviews, crime scene investigation, and lab analysis. We’ll start at Beaver to learn the tools of crime lab analysis and then follow-up with a trip to Boda Borg to test your group problem-solving skills. Day 2 takes place at Harvard MedScience where you will be introduced to a crime. You’ll question the victim, investigate a crime scene, and analyze evidence.
Open to students age 16 and older
Location: On and off-campus
Furniture Building
Come build! We would be building furniture you can take with you at the end of the experience. No experience necessary! Come learn how to use tools and build designs. Stain or paint your furniture in your style and even add upholstery or cushions!
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On campus
Graphic Journalism: Wildness and Urbanity
Have you ever walked around JP Pond and been struck by the presence of nature in an urban space? In this session, students will explore the intersection of nature and urbanity in the Boston area. Students will visit the Emerald Necklace, Walden Pond, and other possible locations and then create “graphic journalism” to document their observations. We will also Zoom with an illustrator with the NY Times who has been a leader in the field of “graphic journalism.”
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus
History and Design of Moorish Tiles
Students will study the history and cultural significance of Moorish tiles. They will visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to see examples of these artworks and create their own tile using resources in the R+D center and sculpture studio.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus
Max # of students:16-18
Ideas with Impact
Can teenagers really make a difference? What unique challenges do you and your peers face that need improvement and innovation? Ideas with Impact will explore where good ideas come from and help you develop an early-stage product, service, experience or system with potential for meaningful impact. There will be a combination of hands-on workshops, local entrepreneurs sharing their advice and experiences, and opportunity for feedback from industry experts and investors. No prior skills required and DECA teams are encouraged to attend to continue workshopping their team idea.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On-campus
Live Music Recording 101
Students, who are musicians. will spend the morning and afternoon sessions, learning more about the recording process and BVRs recording studio.
Over our three days, we will spend time learning and working on
Day 1 – Set up, mic placement, begin tracking, learn DAW and audio plugin basics
Day 2 – Tracking a session (recording your music)
Day 3 – Mixing/Mastering and completing the recording
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On campus
The Non-Athletic Side of the Sports World
Want to work in sports, but have two left feet? Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in the world of professional and college sports? Explore the different marketing, ticketing, compliance, collecting, operations, development, analytics, and management roles that make Boston the greatest sports city.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus
Skate Culture & Design
Skateboarding is currently having a boom in popularity, and thus pop culture is beginning to pull from skate culture, and shift to be more in line with it. You can see examples of this from brands like Louis Vuitton sponsoring skateboarders, Balenciaga using skateboarders on their clothing, or Lanvin creating shoes based on classic skate shoes. But where are the everyday skaters in our culture? This intersession plans to answer that question by meeting with local skaters, artists, and designers to get a sense of what their work looks like, and how skateboarding influences this. We will meet with members of the community, and go check out spaces in the area that exemplify design. Students will also work over the course of the three days to design a graphic for a skateboard that they can display digitally or physically.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On and off-campus
Theatrical Lighting Boot Camp
Theatrical Lighting Boot Camp
Have you ever wondered “How they get all those lights way up there in a theater?” Have you ever thought to yourself “I miss Middle School Theater Tech!” Well, have I got the opportunity for you! In Theatrical Lighting Boot Camp, we will be reimagining the Bradley Hall lighting system using state-of-the-art LED lighting technology. We will set up, hang, circuit, focus, and program brand-new lighting equipment. You will learn about many of the tools used for lighting, work with setting up and operating specialty lighting equipment, and work with lights and cables and/or on scaffolding and ladders (working with heights not required). No prior experience is needed for this hands-on workshop, and students of all experience levels are welcome.
Open to all students grades 9-12
Location: On campus