While the summer months provide time for fun and relaxation, we also guide students to keep their minds active! Please note that each grade has a Required Read. There may be additional reading for students in Diploma programs. Summer Math is located at the bottom of this page.

Rising Grade 9: Summer Reading

1.  Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel

2.  One text from this list. 

When a student has chosen their book, they should submit their selection via this form.

Upon returning to school, students and faculty will meet in groups to join a book circle with other students and faculty members who share the same book. Students will not be “quizzed” on the reading, but they should be ready to join a lively conversation!

Please note: While the links on the list bring you to the publisher’s or author's description of the book, you do not need to purchase the book from the publisher or author's site; you are welcome to purchase or borrow it from the bookstore or library of your choice. Click here to learn more about accessing electronic or audio versions of these titles.

* Some of these texts include offensive language, descriptions of sexual encounters, violence, etc. Please email emily.auerswald@gcds.net if you have questions about determining what text is right for you/your student.

Rising Grade 10: Summer Reading

1.  Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

2.  One text from this list. 

When a student has chosen their book, they should submit their selection via this form.

Upon returning to school, students and faculty will meet in groups to join a book circle with other students and faculty members who share the same book. Students will not be “quizzed” on the reading, but should be ready to join a lively conversation!

Please note: While the links on the list bring you to the publisher’s or author's description of the book, you do not need to purchase the book from the publisher or author's site; you are welcome to purchase or borrow it from the bookstore or library of your choice. Click here to learn more about accessing electronic or audio versions of these titles.

* Some of these texts include offensive language, descriptions of sexual encounters, violence, etc. Please email emily.auerswald@gcds.net if you have questions about determining what text is right for you/your student.

Rising Grade 11: Summer Reading

1.  One text from this list. 

When a student has chosen their book, they should submit their selection via this form.

Upon returning to school, students and faculty will meet in groups to join a book circle with other students and faculty members who share the same book. Students will not be “quizzed” on the reading, but should be ready to join a lively conversation!

Please note: While the links on the list bring you to the publisher’s or author's description of the book, you do not need to purchase the book from the publisher or author's site; you are welcome to purchase or borrow it from the bookstore or library of your choice. Click here to learn more about accessing electronic or audio versions of these titles.

* Some of these texts include offensive language, descriptions of sexual encounters, violence, etc. Please email emily.auerswald@gcds.net if you have questions about determining what text is right for you/your student.

2.  In preparation for the Junior Thesis, rising 11th grade students are asked to read the following examples of long-form non-fiction writing, plus two of the 2024 Theses submitted by members of the class of 2025.  

Long Form Non-Fiction 

Fear On Cape Cod - As Sharks Hunt Again  (NYT)

Nikole Hannah-Jones's introductory essay in The 1619 Project  (NYT) and John McWhorter’s Response Essay (1776 Unites)

2024 Award-Winning Theses

Please read at least two.  Discussion of these, and the articles above, will form the basis of the first few weeks of Seminar 11 in the Fall.

STEM

“Strategy, Subterfuge, and Deception: How Cancer Cells Hide From the Body’s Natural Defenses” (Kai Harashima)

“Partial Differential Equations: How Mathematicians Revolutionized the Economy” (Bobby Jones)

Social Sciences

“The Property Tax and Education Inequality in Connecticut” (Jackson Anderson)

“The Neuroscience and Psychology Behind Equine-Assisted Therapy: Horses Are Capable of Inspiring Change” (Leena Aronson)

“Smog in Our Brains: The Correlation Between Increased Air Pollution and Anxiety and Depression in Adolescents” (Olivia Karanikolaidis)

Arts

“Growing Pains: An EP on Finding Maturity and Self as an Adolescent” (Daphne Hentsch-Cowles)

Humanities

“How Socialist was National Socialism?” (Kyle Bassalik)

“The Mental and Physical Healthcare Disparities of Women in the French Incarceration System” (Reminy D’Albert)

Rising Grade 12: Summer Reading

1.   One text from this list. 

      When a student has chosen their book, they should submit their selection in this form.

Upon returning to school, students and faculty will meet in groups to join a book circle with other students and faculty members who share the same book. Students will not be “quizzed” on the reading, but should be ready to join a lively conversation!

Please note: While the links on the list bring you to the publisher’s or author's description of the book, you do not need to purchase the book from the publisher or author's site; you are welcome to purchase or borrow it from the bookstore or library of your choice. Click here to learn more about accessing electronic or audio versions of these titles.

* Some of these texts include offensive language, descriptions of sexual encounters, violence, etc. Please email emily.auerswald@gcds.net if you have questions about determining what text is right for you/your student.

2.  One additional text of their own choosing.