Summer Boost

In Writing for Middle School, students entering grades 7 and 8 practice creative writing by penning vivid, sensory descriptions and poetry. Critical writing skills include reinforcement of paragraph structure, using relevant supporting details, paraphrasing, and integrating quotations. Strong verb choice, sentence variety, punctuation, transitions, and editing skills will be emphasized.

In pre-Algebra, students entering grades 6, 7, and 8 study fractions, decimals, percents, positive and negative integers and rational numbers. The concept of solving single and two-step equations is a focus. Students become more proficient in using ratios, proportions and solving algebraic equations. We will also work to develop and expand problem solving skills, both creatively and analytically in order to solve word problems. For some students, this is a quick refresher of key foundational math concepts and it is an opportunity to hear an approach to learning important math skills from a different teacher.

Students entering grade 8 will spend the summer discussing topics related to money, wealth, finances and the economy. We will begin the course discussing the history of money/currency and how it has developed into the economic system we know today. We will then learn about different financial concepts, including: having a “wealth mindset”, debt/credit, affording college, careers/employment, taxes, income/expenses, and much more. We will play games, act out real life examples, and even purchase and follow stocks! By the end of the summer, you will be able to effectively understand and apply different financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, saving and investing.

In Writing for Upper School students entering grade 9 will focus on critical writing and argumentation both in paragraph and essay forms. Reading for inference and deep meaning; text annotation, selection, and integration; and argument structure will all receive explicit attention and be practiced in this class. Effective and varied sentence structure, compelling and precise word choice, and impactful analytic conclusions will also be emphasized.  Our work will focus on the analysis of a short story that will be handed out on the first day of class.

This course, for students entering grades 7-9, centers on using skills developed early in middle school to solve problems with graphing, two variables, linear equations, and inequalities, a deeper dive into the coordinate plane and exponents.  For some students, this is a quick refresher of material learned in 7th and 8th grade, and it is an opportunity to hear an approach to learning important math skills from a different teacher. 

This entirety of this course, for students entering grades 12, will be dedicated to developing, writing, and editing essays that will specifically be utilized in the college process. Have no idea where to start? We will talk about the purpose of the personal statement (and supplemental essays) in the college process, brainstorm ideas that speak to each individual and their unique experiences, how to tell that story of who you are to admissions counselors, and then get to the daunting task of writing the essay to completion. We will also spend time discussing and building early drafts of the supplemental essays that many colleges require.