When the redbuds and flowering cherry trees burst into bloom, a creative surge goes through the Upper School. Students knock off from their regular studies and delve intensively into one or two activities or topics for a week before spring break arrives. Some of activities involve hands-on projects that result in a product students can take home at the end of the week.

One Winterim offering was kayak-building, in which students assembled kayak kits in the woodshop at SPARC. They glued together pre-cut pieces of marine plywood, then trimmed, sanded, fiberglassed, and painted the boats.

“They’ll leave here with a boat they can put in the water,” said Tyson Trudel, who taught the course. He teaches kayak building at Camp Lutherwood in Bellingham, Wash., in the summertime.

Another workshop was building 3-D garden mosaics using tile and grout. The creations ranged from a ceramic globe to a tiled chess table. Other students created silk-screen prints, sculpted clay busts, or painted self-portraits from digitized photographs. One group made djembe drums and played them in a mini-concert on the last day of Winterim.

Some Upper School students undertake physical challenges during Winterim. They may cycle around the Napa Valley in California,or they may go surfing, sailing, backpacking, skiing, or golfing. Also offered are less arduous physical endeavors such as reading and writing at an Oregon beach house, lounging on sofas while watching Japanese movies, or learning about Oregon politics. International trips have explored Costa Rica, Montreal, Rwanda, France, Germany, Cambodia and other parts of the globe.

These and many other courses provide a stimulating break from the routine and many joyful hours of involvement.

See the Winterim catalog here.