Why Intersession
Exploration makes explorers.
Intersession gives students room to explore, take risks, travel, engage with their communities, and build leadership skills, all through hands-on, experiential learning.
Students can go deeper into a subject they already love, or try something they had never considered. The week is meant to be fun, and to spark interests a typical school day doesn’t leave room for.
Each year brings many on-campus and local options, plus international courses through the Passport Program.
Three ways to spend the week
On campus, nearby, or abroad.
Every student chooses a course. Some stay on campus, some head out into Northern California, and some travel the world.
On campus
Make
Studio art, music production, engineering, coding, and cooking, in our studios and labs.
Close to home
Explore
Field science, service, backpacking, and camping across Northern California.
Around the world
Travel
Study and service abroad through the Passport Program, free for every student once.
Recent courses
A sample of recent Intersessions.
Courses change every year. Here is a taste of what students have done recently.
01
Documentary filmmaking
Students produced their own short documentary films.
02
Original music
Students composed, recorded, and mixed original music.
03
Making for nonprofits
Students designed, built, and delivered handmade items to local nonprofits.
04
Coastal ecology and service
Students studied coastal ecology while doing service work in Northern California parklands.
05
CrossFit and cooking
Mornings of CrossFit paired with afternoons of cooking and baking.
Real-world learning
Learning that happens out there.
Intersession courses are real world: learning happens in real environments and builds practical skills.
Recent courses ranged from scientific observation in nature to backpacking, yoga and meditation, sports journalism, murals and metal sculpture, and engineering and programming projects.
Passport Program
Take Intersession abroad.
Thanks to an anonymous donor, every student can join one international Intersession during their four years, free.
Trips are immersive and focused, from sciences and sustainability to art, culture, service, and language.
Visit
See it for yourself.
The best way to understand an SA education is to sit in on a class. Join us for an Open House or Visit Day.