Interterm 2018
Watch slideshow of Interterm photos.
See Students Apply Civil Rights Learning and Goshen News story Bethany Students Finish Weeklong Projects.
Click on the links below to jump to a specific course.
| High School (grades 9-12) | Middle School (grades 6-8) | Lower School (grades 4-5) |
| March Madness | Mystery Behind the Game | The Power of Kids |
| Robotic Art: Programming Spheros | Eat This Not That | Messy Science |
| Film, Food, Philosophy, and Faith | March Madness | Exploring County Parks |
| Civil Rights | Word Crazy | |
| Airplanes, Model Rockets, and Drones | History of Rock and Roll | |
| Adulting 101 | Outdoor Sports | |
| Biking | Music and Media | |
| Eating Our Culture | Feathered Frenzy | |
| Readah's Theatah | Electronics and Coding | |
| Star Wars | ||
| Service |
High School Courses
March Madness
Leader: Brent Reinhardt
Travel: Wednesday - 2 pm to 2 am Milwaukee Bucks game; Friday and Saturday (11 am Friday to 3 pm Saturday overnight stay)
March Madness is all things basketball. The course will include basketball history, coaching lessons, planning basketball practice, taking a referee test, attending a Milwaukee Bucks game and the NCAA Women’s basketball Sweet Sixteen in Lexington, Kentucky. Class times will vary. There will be one overnight stay.
Robotic Art: Programming Spheros
Leader: Benji Hurst Program and code Sphero robots. Complete challenge courses, compete for the Bethany Sphero-golf championship, and create custom long exposure "light art"
Film, Food, Philosophy, Faith
Leader: Dale Shenk
We will watch movies, discuss the ideas, cook food that some of the movies talk about, and experiment with movie special effects. You will improve your abilities in movie analysis, cooking and filming. We will be watching movies from a wide variety of styles and types, including, action, romance, non-fiction, children’s, musical, etc. This interterm will meet at my house (1505 South Eighth Street in Goshen). Students will be responsible for their own transportation. Parents will need to sign the extra permission form about the types of the movies we will be watching, as well as transportation permission.
Civil Rights
Leader: Eric Kaufmann
Travel Tuesday through Friday Evening
We will mix some classroom and local travel on Monday with a plan to travel toward Raleigh, NC, by Wednesday. Along the way we will visit the Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Greensboro, NC, home to the "Greensboro Four" (1960) protestors. We will stay overnight in Cincinnati on the way south. Our time together will be guided by excerpts from two books "Blood Done Sign My Name", by Timothy Tyson and "The Trouble I've Seen, Changing the Way the Church Views Racism." by Drew G.I. Hart. Raleigh is home to a small Mennonite congregation where Eric and his wife Cynthia attended while running a Service Adventure unit from 2005-2008. While in the city of Raleigh we will stay with a local family and learn about local history as well as current efforts to bridge race divisions.
Airplanes, Model Rockets, and Drones
Leader: Calvin Swartzendruber
One day-trip returning between 5 and 6 pm
If it flies, we'll play with it! Design build and launch your own model rockets. Try your hand at flying a remote-controlled paper airplane, or the school's DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone. Ride the simulators at the AirZoo, and tour an airplane factory. Wrap up the week by taking the controls and flying a real plane at the Goshen airport!
Adulting 101
Leader: Michael Yeakey
Ever wondered how to change the oil in a car without drenching yourself in oil or losing a finger? Have you ever wanted to unravel the mysteries of electrical wiring without risking your life? Would you like to be able to cook a simple meal so that you don't have to survive on only mac and cheese in college? This class is for you. I will introduce you to the not-so-hidden mysteries of being a fully-functioning, independent adult, all without YouTube how-to videos.
Biking
Leader: Josh Weaver
Travel - Biking 3 days with 1 possible overnight
Get outside this interterm with Biking or Hiking and enjoy the first signs of spring. This interterm will first spend a couple days on campus to plan logistics and learn about safety, nutrition, and basic repairs. Then we will ride our bicycles for three days (possibly two overnights) through Indiana. Participants need a bike, helmet, and warm clothes and should expect to do some indoor training before March. We have a few options for locations but if wet or snowy weather is truly prohibitive, this interterm will become a hiking option instead.
Eating Our Culture
Leader: Tara Swartzendruber
The United States is full of diverse cultures and cuisines. In this interterm we will explore how history, climate, and culture have all affected the way we eat and how world cuisines have evolved here in the United States. We will explore different food cultures here in Elkhart County as well as the way our own family food cultures. As a group we will look at family recipes, explore local markets, cook together, eat out at local restaurants, and explore food culture through film and literature.
Readah's Theatah
Leader: Nina Fox
Join the the cast of this high-energy, mini-performing arts course that will explore processes of theatre including script-writing and performance! During the week, we will read and act out theatre scripts, attend a performance, write our own one-act plays and perform them for a small audience.
Middle School Courses
Mystery Behind the Game
Leader: Mrs. Grieser. Morning/afternoon
What is your favorite game? Some folks like strategy games and some like games of chance. In this class you will play many different types of games. We will find out about the countries where these games originated and the strategies needed to win! We will play group games as well as card, dice, and board games. You will plan, design, and create your own board game. We will also go bowling and hopefully spend some time playing games outside as well!
Eat This Not That
Leader: Mrs. Mast. Morning/afternoon
So what's the difference between a vanilla latte from Starbucks and Mrs. Mast's homemade- vanilla steamer with a shot of espresso. This interterm will explore different types of food...comparing fast foods to homemade healthier alternatives. We will look at a variety of aspects of different cultures and the foods that go with them and what makes them better to eat. We will plan, shop, cook and eat a variety of different foods.
March Madness
Leader: Mr. Miller. Morning/afternoon
One of the most exciting sports events each year is the NCAA Basketball tournament. For this class, we'll be participating in different types of sports writing, focusing around the basketball tournament and various other sports as well. Class writings include sports journalism and game analysis, writing a kid's book, and even dabbling in some poetry.
Word Crazy
Leader: Mrs. Nafziger. Morning/afternoon
In Word Crazy, students will enjoy playing and working with words. Word games, puzzles and stories will tease the imagination and call for creativity. Students will try their hands at writing riddles, mini-mysteries, reader’s theater, and character sketches. They will also have fun with brainteasers, tongue twisters, and puns.
History of Rock and Roll
Leader: Mr. Johnson
Students will explore the beginnings and development of rock and roll music through listening to, reading about, and creating rock tunes. This interterm will inform students on the societal and cultural elements and situations that helped to drive rock and roll to become the dominant musical style of the late 20th century, and one that continues to influence popular music today.
Outdoor Sports
Leader: Mrs. Hershberger. Morning/afternoon
Students will be exposed to a variety of games to play outdoors, including Pickle Ball, Cricket, Bocce Ball, Disc Golf, Crochet, Spike Ball, Kubb and possibly canoeing and fishing.
Music and Media
Leader: Mr. Thomas. Morning/afternoon
Music is all around us, but sometimes not in ways we realize! In this course, students will discover the usage of music in popular media (focused on film and video games) and how that influences our perception of that media. Experiential learning will be a key factor in daily activity. Students will create their own films and accompanying soundtracks, learn techniques of famous composers, and have guest clinicians come in to share about their field. How can music enhance entertainment? This course will answer that and more.
Feathered Frenzy
Leader: Mrs. Farran. Morning only
This Interterm class is all about birds! We will learn how to identify Indiana birds, learn of special adaptations that make each species unique and suited for our local climate, and learn how we can support bird populations. Hands-on activities will include bird watching, building birdhouses that you can take home, and field trips where birding experts will help us experience the wonder of these amazing creatures. We will take an all-day trip to Merry Lea which will include a very special presentation featuring live owls, hawks, and other raptors who are being rehabilitated by Soarin' Hawk Raptor Rehab. We will also view birds from the bird watching room at Rieth Interpretive Center and the surrounding Mill Race Canal Trail area.
Exploring Electronics and Coding
Leader: Mr. Shetler. Morning only.
Electronics and computers large and small are all around us. We depend on them and they are integral to our lives. But how do they work? You will begin exploring by building electronic circuits, then learn how to control how the circuits work by writing code for a small computer.
Star Wars
Leader: Mr. Willems. Afternoon only
This Interterm will take an in-depth look into the complete Star Wars saga and how it has influenced the world. We will watch Episodes I-VIII, Rogue One, The Clone Wars, documentaries on the making of the films and much more. Students will build with Star Wars Legos, do research on historic similarities and parallels, make videos, and play games based on the Star Wars movies. If you love Star Wars, this is the J-term for YOU!
Service
Leader: Mrs. Thut. Afternoon only
We will spend most of our time outside of Bethany doing service for the broader community. Possible service activities include (but are not limited to) working on bikes at Chain Reaction Bicycle Project, working in the horse barns at Loveway, visiting and playing games with elderly people at Waterford Crossing, and volunteering at a local park. We will reflect on how we can follow Jesus as servants both now and throughout our lives.