Most folks hear “summer school” and tune out unless they or someone they know has failed a class during the school year. However, R-MA offers a chance to take those courses as new courses for full credit, and also offers a few unusual classes during the summer. I asked Don Williams, who is R-MA’s Assistant Academic Dean and the Upper School Summer School Director, which R-MA classes are the most unusual. Here’s his response:
The five most unusual summer school courses at R-MA are:
Art
Digital photography
The college admission journey
Study skills
Spanish I or II
All of these classes are unusual because they are all considered elective courses by the public schools and are not offered in summer school sessions. These courses give a student an opportunity for enrichment in the arts field or to accelerate study in Spanish by being totally immersed in the language for 8 hours each day for four weeks.
The college admission journey gives students taking this course a head start on the application process by beginning the personal narrative, a resume, and lots of practice on writing a college essay. They will also learn how to navigate the Common Application online program that over 400 colleges and universities use during the admission process. The college course will also focus on college and career exploration by trying to match personality types with what to look for in careers and colleges. R-MA College Counselor Mary Gamache hopes to be able to set up a college visit or two that will assist students with their college visits and what to look for and ask about when visiting a college.
As for study skills–many students don’t really know how to study so this course will provide students will a variety of different options on how to study for tests, take notes, organizational skills, and time management. With the accountability testing going on in the schools, this is an area that is taken for granted by many teachers.
So there you have it. Five—well, six, since there are two Spanish courses—summer school classes that could make a difference in your life or the life of your child. Find out more about R-MA’s summer school, which starts June 26th.