Passion Meets Knowledge at Hausner Upper School's Annual Intersession

Hausner Upper School Intersession: Conference-style presentations and sessions led by students, teachers, and community members

Hausner's annual Intersession is an opportunity for Upper School students in grades five through eight to step up and teach something to their peers in a conference-style format, as well as learn from their peers, teachers, parents and community members. This year, we had almost 40 students teach about something they are passionate about, ranging from chess to lacrosse, Renaissance Poetry to learning how to crochet.

Our teachers also taught about their interests. Students learned about Plato's Allegory of the Cave from Jerry (Upper School Math), Israeli Dancing from Meira (Upper School Hebrew), made Roman Mosaics with Lauren (Upper School Humanities) and Ahuva (Lower School Jewish studies), and more.

Parents and community members took valuable time out of their busy schedules to share their expertise and passions with the Upper School students. Dr. Jon Bernstein, an alumni parent and Doctor of Pediatrics at Stanford, taught students in a session called "Clinical Genetics," while Amber Rosen, a Superior Court Judge, spoke about how wisdom relates to judging. Deborah Vasquez, a sixth-grade parent, had students designing a city in her Urban Planning session, and seventh-grade parent Melissa Gordon and her colleague Coco Mao talked about using AI. Zack Bodner, the CEO of the OFJCC and a parent of a sixth-grader, spoke to students about "Doing Jewish," and students learned that it's never too early to be fiscally responsible and plan ahead with Mark Gurevich, a fourth-grade parent.

Each year, our students demonstrate kavod (respect) and a commitment to learning as they take in new ideas and learn new skills during Intersession. For students who step up and teach a session, they gain important presentation skills and are able to take a risk because the school provides space for this step, and they feel safe to try new things. By taking the time out of our regular curriculum as we move to the second semester, Intersession programming allows students to make increasingly complex interdisciplinary connections and introduces them to new ideas and concepts that aren't part of the middle school experience in other schools.

Intersession is one of the highlights for Hausner Upper School students and is a tradition that we value for its intellectual rigor and community.
 

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