6th Grade Opportunities
First, welcome to the Academy for Science & Design! This page specifically lists all the exciting opportunities for incoming 6th graders. Part of what makes ASD so successful is our tightly knit and supportive school culture. The courses listed below are all specifically tailored to include 6th graders.
Our summer offerings for 6th graders have expanded this year, and we are excited to share the opportunity with you. When you've read through the options, you can jump over to the REGISTRATION FORM.
Week 1: July 8 - July 11
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Incoming 6th Graders Math Prep and Welcome to ASD! (Two Week Course: Week 1)
Grade Level: Incoming 6th
Course Description: Get to know the school and your 6th grade math teacher, Mr. O'Connell! He will review concepts key to your success this upcoming year! You will not only review math, but tour the school, hear about the schedule, and get to know your classmates! This course runs for two weeks. It is expected that you also sign up for week 2. If you also sign up for the Week 3 "Organize Yourself!" course, you will receive $20 off your registration!
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Organize Yourself!
Grade Level: 6-8
Course Description: Students can learn how to best organize themselves in order to be successful! They will participate in organizational activities, and also learn some tips and tricks about staying organized. This will also give them a head start on knowing what materials are required for their classes next year. Signing up for this course automatically gives to a $20 discount on the Week 3 & 4 "Building Math Skills for Incoming Grade 6"! That's more than 10% off!
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Drawing: A Comprehensive Course
Grade Level: 6th - 12th
Course Description: A walk through basic, through advanced drawing techniques, intended to give students a clear understanding of the skills and principals of drawing as related to the everyday world around them. This course is intended to bring clarity and understanding to the art of drawing through means of succinct aesthetic connections and explanation. Students will learn how to accurately represent the world around them through visual cues translated through what they see and filtered down through their implements. Looking at the world is an essential part of life and learning. This course, while being innately an art course, teaches about looking at the world and understanding what you see, a monumentally important aspect of life, and then accurately transposing vision into drawings. Students are welcome to bring any drawing materials they are comfortable with. Charcoal and paper will be provided.
Week 2: July 15 - July 18
Incoming 6th Graders Math Prep and Welcome to ASD! (Two Week Course: Week 2)
Grade Level: Incoming 6th
Course Description: Get to know the school and your 6th grade math teacher, Mr. O'Connell! He will review concepts key to your success this upcoming year! You will not only review math, but tour the school, hear about the schedule, and get to know your classmates! This course runs for two weeks. It is expected that you also sign up for week 1. If you also sign up for the Week 3 "Organize Yourself!" course, you will receive $20 off your registration!
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Storytelling and Public Speaking
Grade Level: 6th - 12th
Course Description: Story Telling and Public Speaking - A journey through various mediums of storytelling including, oral storytelling, speeches and comedy. Improvisational games will be a small section to get students comfortable with talking in front of a crowd. Each students will eventually give a speech or tell a story using the methods taught in the class. Materials are not necessary but a notebook is encouraged. This course fills quickly, and will be given on a first come, first served basis.
Week 3: July 22 - July 25
There's Philosophy Everywhere! A Life Lesson a Week with Calvin and Hobbes
Grade Level: 6th - 12th
Course Description: A look into the brilliant philosophy of Bill Watterson through his enduring comic strip. Bill Watterson created a voice through which the world could be understood, often so clearly it is as if that understanding came from oneself. At the beginning of every class a Calvin and Hobbes strip will be passed out for students to read. Their job will be to then analyze and muse upon the topics in an open class discussion. Often the topics in a Bill Watterson strip focus on major life dilemmas or simply meaty universal questions. This class is intended to incite critical thinking over those topics and the philosophical themes therein, while using a visual language that creates a comfortable environment in which to learn often thick topics of ethics and other general philosophy. There are no materials for this class except the willingness to participate!
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Organize Yourself!
Grade Level: 6-8
Course Description: Students can learn how to best organize themselves in order to be successful! They will participate in organizational activities, and also learn some tips and tricks about staying organized. This will also give them a head start on knowing what materials are required for their classes next year. If you also sign up for the Week 1 & 2 "Incoming 6th Graders Math Prep and Welcome to ASD" , you will receive $20 off your registration!
Week 4: July 29 - August 1
The Art of the Graphic Novel
Grade Level: 6th - 12th
Course Description: In this class students will read various works and learn to understand what happens in the imagination while reading a graphic novel. Tradition and technique will be discussed while making connections to other forms of visual storytelling. Students will learn about storyboarding and how many closely related to cinematography comics and graphic novels truly are. As well as reading and understanding the form of a graphic novel, the class will get to choose or create a short story to turn into a one page scene in the form of a comic strip.
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Getting Ready for Middle School Writing for Incoming Grade 6
Grade Level: Incoming 6th
Course Description: Spend some time practicing the art of writing before entering middle school. During this course we will cover many types of writing including expository, argumentative, descriptive and narrative writing. We will also have some time to do some creative writing. This course will be suitable for a student needing to brush up on writing skills as well as a student who simply loves to write.