Community Programs at The Hotchkiss School
Welcome to the Hotchkiss community events page featuring community programs offered by Hotchkiss students throughout the school year.
You'll find free coding and EFX Lab workshops, athletic clinics, dance classes, instructional chess, and much more. Programs, which are added continuously throughout the year, are held on The Hotchkiss School campus and are offered free of charge unless noted.
You may register for multiple offerings by completing a registration form for each. Locations of programs can be found on this campus map.
Please check this page often as new programs are added weekly. Questions may be directed to Director of Community Partnerships Caroline Kenny-Burchfield '77 P'08,'10,'18.
Thank you!
Community Programs-Please note: programs are suspended during Hotchkiss's spring break 3/7-3/24.
Waivers are REQUIRED for all programs and must be submitted for each program in order to participate. To register, please click the blue program titles below. Please register at least 24 hours before a program begins; registration is complete once receipt of your program waiver has been confirmed. Thank you!
Chess: Meets weekly on Saturdays from 1:15-2:15 p.m. in Main Building Room 108. Ages 7-12. No experience necessary. No class 2/8.
Free Instrument and Voice Lessons: Songs for Smiles, the music community service club at Hotchkiss, has launched a tutoring program open to children of the local community. The program provides free tutoring for all instruments, including piano, violin, voice, flute, and more. From sheet music reading classes to voice lessons, Hotchkiss student musician volunteers will teach children of all ages and levels. There is currently a wait list for this program; please email clburchf@hotchkiss.org with your child's musical interest.
Twinkling Little Star: Musical Appreciation for grades K-5. Sunday 2/16, 3/2, 3/30, 4/13; 2-3 pm. Main Building Music Classroom 137. The classical music tradition created a foundation for all modern music today, and the Twinkling Little Stars Project (TLS), led by two internationally recognized and award winning student musicians, introduces classical music to children. Engaging classical music performances and hands on learning will promote their imagination and creativity to spark a deeper appreciation of its unique qualities.
Coding: Meets every other week. 3/2, 3/30, 4/13, 5/4, and 5/18 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. in Main Building Room 108. Ages 7-12; Learn to code with advanced coding students; No experience necessary.
Dance: Meets every other week. 3/2, 3/30, 4/13, 5/4, and 5/18; 10-11:45 a.m. in the Main Building Dance Studio; Ages 5-10; Join Hotchkiss dancers to explore a variety of dance genres. No experience necessary.
Girls Who Code: Meets on 2/2, 2/16, and 2/23 from 1-2 p.m. in Main Building Room 119. Girls Who Code is a national non-profit that encourages girls to explore coding in a comfortable and supportive environment; Girls will build their own website.
STEM Sisters: Meets 2/2, 2/16, 2/23, 3/2, 3/30, 4/6, 4/13, 5/4, 5/11; 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (snacks will be provided) in the Science Building. 5th-8th graders (attendance at all sessions is not required).
Our coding and STEM programs have attracted many boys over the years, but rarely do girls participate. In response, several female coding and engineering students have created STEM Sisters, a series of dynamic weekly workshops developed just for girls. The goal is to provide a comfortable, safe, encouraging environment in which girls can explore with other girls and female mentors the exciting world of STEM. In the words of its creators: Discover. Lead. Create. Stem Sisters is all about teaming up with other girls, trying out cool projects, and tackling real-world problems with the support of female students at Hotchkiss. No STEM experience? No problem! Whether you're curious about science, enjoy hands-on projects, or just want to try something new, STEM sisters is for you.
Discovery Sundays: Meets 3/30, 4/13, 5/4; 3:30-4:30 pm in the Main Building; ages 8-12. A bi-weekly series of games, discovery and experiments! Enjoy games, explore chemistry (hopefully, without any explosions!), dive into bio and lots more! By girls, for girls and guaranteed FUN!
Fun and Games with Math: Meets online weekly on Sundays, 3/30-5/4, 10:30-11:15 am for 4-8th graders (and younger advanced or passionate math students). Do you love tackling challenges and playing with numbers? Dive into collaborative problem solving, challenging math puzzles, and team games! Students will be using AOPS resources.
Red, White, and You: Navigating the World of American Politics Meets weekly on Sundays, 2/16, 2/23, 3/2, 3/30, 4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, and 5/25, from 1-2 p.m. in the Main Building OR on Zoom. 5th-8th graders; Join for all 11 weeks or choose the topics that interest you most!
Junior Ink: Meets on 1/24, 2/28, 4/4, and 5/2 on Zoom from 4-4:30 p.m. Offered by an award-winning student writer, this workshop for 8-12 year olds, provides tools in a reaffirming environment to explore and build creative writing skills.
Culture Fair: April 12, 7:30 pm Main Building
Reading Buddies: One of our longest-running community programs, Hotchkiss Reading Buddies offers children the opportunity to read on campus with a Hotchkiss buddy! Whether non-readers or emerging readers, children can enjoy books and stories with a Hotchkiss buddy specially selected just for them. Once paired, you and the Hotchkiss student will schedule mutually convenient sessions either on campus or on Zoom.
Tutoring: Hotchkiss students offer on-campus or on Zoom tutoring to children in a wide variety of academic subjects. Once you register and submit your area of interest, we'll pair your child with a Hotchkiss student who will work with you to schedule mutually convenient sessions.