Summer Institute at St Joseph High School 

 Our on-campus summer experiences are designed to maintain academic proficiency over the summer break, equip the new student with essential high school skills, and prepare advanced students for individual success. Register today!

Each course is $300, consisting of 10 ninety-minute sessions, or 5 three hour sessions. Registering for more than one course? Second and third courses are $275 each.  

Study Skills

Learning to Learn: Study Skills Essential for Academic Success

August  5th - August 16th, from 9 - 10.30am OR 10.30 am –12 noon, grades 6 - 9

The key to academic school success is having good fundamentals. That’s true whether you’re playing a sport, performing in the plays, or adjusting to the faster pace of high school life. Learning how to learn at the high school level is critical for your confidence and overall academic achievement.

In Learning to Learn, you will develop foundations in:

motivation and concentration • getting organized • time management • critical thinking • 
problem solving skills • memory techniques • class participation, listening and note taking • reading for information • test taking skills and test anxiety • oral and visual presentations • essay writing skills • technological research tools

Though the course includes an orientation to life at St Joseph High School, the program is open to all pre-high school students. Sessions are 90 minutes long and the course complements and runs on an alternate schedule with Math Camp's Algebra Prep course. Includes course materials.

Math Camp: Jumpstarting High School Success

Math Camps are two-week long programs for middle and high school students at a variety of levels. Each camp prepares students for success in the college preparatory curriculum. Our goals are to inspire and to build math confidence in a supportive, enjoyable environment. 

Algebra Prep

August 5th - August 16th, from 9 - 10.30am OR 10.30am - 12noon, grades 7 - 9

Algebra Prep will ready the advanced middle school student or in-coming freshman for high school level Algebra. It will provide a review of fundamentals including:

Operations with fractions • Order of operations and algebraic expressions • Variables • Solving equations • Polynomials • An introduction to the graphing calculator • Excel databases • Statistical presentation skills


At the end of the course the student will take an assessment test to measure strengths and weaknesses.

Pre Algebra 2 Prep

August 5th - August 16th, from 9 - 10.30am, grades 9 - 11

This enrichment course is designed to refresh the Algebraic topics essential to Algebra II success. This refresher course is designed for college prep students who have recently completed Geometry: 

Order of operations • Exponents • Operations on polynomials • Systems of equations • Radicals  • Rational expressions • Factoring  • Graphing linear equations

The course requires the use of the TI-84 graphing calculator applications. 

Pre Calc Prep

August 5th - August 16th, from 10.30am - 12noon, grades 10 - 12

Pre-Calculus is one of the more challenging high school courses you will encounter. The course is fast paced and not one where the instructor can easily slow the presentation to meet the need of the unprepared.

This course is designed to refresh the skills essential to Pre-Calculus success:

Real Numbers •  Series and Sequences • Functions and Graphs • Equations and Inequalities • Linear and Quadratic Equations • Exponents and Polynomials • Rationale Expressions • Radicals • Exponentials and Logarithms • Geometry and Trigonometry • Limits, Derivatives, Integrals • 

The course requires use of the TI-84 calculator.  

Writing Workshops

The College Essay

August 5th - 9th, 9am - 12noon grades 11 & 12.

With the all the busyness involved in selecting colleges and filing complex applications in the fall, the college admissions essay can easily be neglected. Yet, it is the one part of the application over which one has complete control. A unique essay will establish a compelling picture for the admissions staff and will distinguish you in the crowd. 

The course objective is to produce one polished college essay ready to go, and to develop a core of draft material for adaption to individual school requirements. We will focus on the finished essay, with attention to style, grammar, and format as well as originality, composition, and authenticity.

The course consists of five three-hour sessions which include individual writing and revision, and the course is limited to 25 students.  

Creative Writing

August 5th - 9th, 9am - 12noon, Grades 7 - 9

This course will focus on developing a student’s ability to express themselves creatively through varied writing exercises. Students will engage in exercises to develop observation skills, descriptive language, character, development of the narrative arc and poetic forms. Students will write on a daily basis as well as work in writing and peer editing groups. Students will produce a portfolio of writing prompts, poems and a short story.

If needed: Students should come prepared with a notebook, pencil and a red pen. A laptop computer is helpful.

World Languages

Mandarin

August 5th - August 16th, from 9 - 10.30am, grades 6 - 9

Immersive language and cultural instruction. This is an introductory summer course for students who have no background in the language, and will mainly focus on improving each student's listening and speaking abilities, as well as a basic foundation in reading and writing in Mandarin Chinese. At the end of the program, students will be able to engage in simple conversations introduce oneself and others, exchange information about oneself and one’s family, express likes and dislikes on a certain topics. 

French

August 5th - August 16th, from 9 - 10.30am, grades 6 - 9

Immersive language and cultural instruction. This is an introductory summer course for students who have no background in the language, and will mainly focus on improving each student's listening and speaking abilities, as well as a basic foundation in reading and writing in French. Students will learn French through games, songs, sports, and exploration of other countries. 

Spanish

August 5th - August 16th, from 9 - 10.30am, grades 6 - 9

Immersive language and cultural instruction. This is an introductory summer course for students who have limited to no background in the language, and will mainly focus on improving each student's listening and speaking abilities, as well as a basic foundation in reading and writing in Spanish. Students will learn Spanish through games, songs, sports, and exploration of other countries. 

Italian

August 5th - August 16th, from 10.30am - 12noon, grades 6 - 9

Immersive language and cultural instruction. This is an introductory summer course for students who have no background in the language, and will mainly focus on improving each student's listening and speaking abilities, as well as a basic foundation in reading and writing in Italian. Students will learn Italian through games, songs, sports, and exploration of other countries. 

Fine Arts

Pottery

August 19th - 23rd, 9am - 12noon, Grades 7 - 9

Students will explore the medium of clay through wheel throwing projects and hand building techniques. Coil, slab and pinch pots will be created along with small wheel thrown pieces. Students will glaze and decorate pieces upon completion.

Theatre: From Page to Stage

August 12th - 16th, 9am - 12noon, Grades 7 - 9

The purpose of this camp is to give middle school and freshman students, grades 7-9, with a budding interest in theatre arts, the experience of working a story from conception through to performance.

Students will begin each of the five three-hour sessions working with the fundamentals of writing a short story – plot, action, obstacle, resolution – and developing an ear for the spoken (as opposed to the written) word. Students will then work with the elements of performance, which mirror those of story but are specific to the individual character. 

Through the week, campers will collaborate to develop and refine monologues and short scenes for performance by one another.

Exam Prep Courses

SAT Exam Prep

August 5th - 16th, 9am - 12noon, grades 10 - 12.

This prep course begins with a review of the basic Math and English skills that are tested on the SAT exam. Building upon this foundation, students will then learn proven strategies to apply this knowledge to SAT-type questions through class discussions and practice exercises.  This is a great introduction for students beginning to prepare for the SAT or a great review of strategies and skills for the student looking to improve their existing scores.

Please note: SAT Exam Prep is a two week DOUBLE course, from 9am - 12noon daily. As such, the fee for this course is $575.  

Please note: all participants will need to complete the SJHS Summer Enrichment Program Medical Form, which can be downloaded directly here. This will need to be submitted directly to St Joseph High School by the first day of classes, August 5th.

If for some reason you prefer not to register online, you contact Mrs Chris Woods, Registrar, at 203-378-9378, or email at cwoods@sjcadets.org. Both registration and payment MUST be complete before the first day of classes.

For further information, please contact Dean of Students, Mr Martin Dempsey by telephone 203-378-9378 ext 301, or by email: mdempsey@sjcadets.org. We look forward to seeing you at St Joe's!