Rohan Rajogopalan ’14: Episcopal Academy’s summer programs are undergoing revisions to offer several new courses, including higher level Math courses and a continuation of the J-Term App Challenge course.
Dr. Cathy Hall, Assistant Head of School, who is overseeing the new summer curriculum, described the courses as exciting opportunities for “students who really want to go further in Math, Science or Technology.” Likewise, athletics will be another focus as several varsity coaches are offering summer programs to build upon success during the school year.
“What we are trying to do is to build a better connection point so that what we do in the summer really articulates what EA does well during the school year,” explained Hall.
The program, Hall believes, is an extension and expansion of Episcopal’s core principles. The summer program “is a great entry point for students from other schools to see who we are. It is a great chance for EA students who want to be on campus to push themselves and go in some neat directions.” Hall also noted that the courses would have a wide age range with opportunities for “three year olds all the way to seniors in high school.” EA’s own programs will be run alongside ESF and NXT both of whom have had longstanding EA affiliations.
The new academic courses will cover a wide range of subject matter. Hall detailed several possible areas of study including Math, Science, Programming and Technology, and Creative Writing. Hall said of the academic courses, “These new courses are not for credit but for personal benefit.” However, Hall suggested that expanding the for-credit offering was a possibility for the future. The courses themselves will be taught for the most part by EA teachers.
“The teachers have the opportunity to bring their talent to bear during the summer and it can become a great outlet for some of their interests and passions around the discipline.”
The new courses present students with a chance to explore areas of study that they rarely encounter during the school year. One of the EA faculty and technology department members, Matt Memmo, will be teaching two courses: the “iPhone App Camp” and the “Makers Camp.” According to Memmo, the former provides a chance for students to “discover how to create apps and learn the process of submitting apps to Apple.” The latter is a chance for students to “make interactive robots, learn how to program microcontrollers, and create 3D models which can be printed out as parts for the projects.”
Thomas Goebeler, a member of the math department, will teach the new courses “Problem Solving” and “Math Exploration.” Goebeler explained the first will “revolve around problem solving techniques and on solving a few ‘live’ problems.” On the second offering, Goebeler stated, “There are several mathematics topics that students could appreciate but that are not part of the standard curriculum. We’ll choose (to study) from among Combinatorics, Probability, Topology, Geometries, Abstract Structures and Cryptography.”
science courses will join the existing ESF and NXT programs offered during the summer.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Leslie
In addition to Goebeler and Memmo, many other faculty including Lower School Technology coordinator Maggie Powers and Creative Writing Chair Lindsay Coleman will be offering courses.
The plans for the revamped summer program have developed quickly with the departure of some of the old Summer at EA staff. Previously, ESF Summer Camp, Summer at EA, and several other programs have shared EA’s campus during the summer.
“With the departure of some of the Summer at EA staff, and with our new head [of school] coming in, we had the opportunity for some really exciting programming,” Hall explained. Hall also noted the success of the previous Teachers Workshop during the summer had encouraged her to offer similar programs for students.
“I think it is important we keep our focus. It is probably easy to take on more than we should.” Hall continued, “I want to make sure what we do we do really well and with a high quality.” Hall mentioned the logistical challenges from “classroom space to schedule timings.” Nevertheless, Hall says she is very optimistic that with the full release of the program, student response will be strong.