Summer Camps & Programs

Program Description

Brewster Academy Summer Session

The Perfect Summer
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

		Program Description Program Overview Visit Web Site Get Free Info See Photos

For More Information, Contact
Brewster Academy Summer Session
80 Academy Drive
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire 03894
603-569-7155
Fax: 603-569-7050
http://www.brewsteracademy.org

Type of Program: Academics, instructional support, English as a second language (ESL), adventure education, and technology enrichment
Participants: Coeducational, ages 12–18
Program Dates: Six weeks, June through August
Head of Program: Bill Lee, Director

Location

Brewster Academy, on Lake Winnipesaukee, is located where the lakes meet the mountains in one of New England’s most picturesque areas. The campus, adjacent to the safe and quaint village of Wolfeboro, is on 80 acres of playing fields and rolling hillside overlooking miles of waterfront on New Hampshire’s largest lake.

Background and Philosophy

The Brewster Academy Summer Session provides summer fun while teaching important skills that serve students well in school and in life. Brewster takes full advantage of its beautiful site and the extraordinary resources that serve both academics and athletics on its campus. In the outdoor adventure program, participants climb, hike, paddle, and play in one of the most spectacular geographic regions of New Hampshire. Brewster has high expectations concerning the amount of academic material that can be covered in a six-week summer program. There are similarly high expectations for having fun in the beautiful New Hampshire summer. Everyone works hard when they work and plays hard when they play.
    Brewster’s Summer Session is designed with the belief that there are things that every successful and happy person needs to know and be able to do. In addition to the skills of reading and writing and/or mathematics, there is an emphasis on study, organization, and time-management skills. There are three other skill areas that are essential for success in secondary school, college, the workplace, and life: the skills of critical thinking and problem solving, the skills of collaborative teamwork, and the skills that lead to technological literacy and fluency. The first two are taught both indoors and outdoors; the third is taught on Brewster’s technologically sophisticated campus, where students are able to access the network from anywhere on the campus using laptop computers that are provided as part of the program.

Program Offerings

Core Courses Everyone takes one core course: English (reading and writing), math (prealgebra, algebra I, algebra II, or geometry), or English as a second language (ESL), level one through five (level five is identical to the English course for American students). These courses meet for 2 hours each morning, Monday through Friday, supported by daily 90-minute study sessions conducted by qualified teaching assistants who work collaboratively with the core classroom teachers. These courses can be taken either as accelerated classes or as makeup for those seeking or requiring remedial work. Up to a full year’s academic credit can be granted to those who demonstrate mastery. These courses are intensive; the primary purpose is not to issue credit but rather to teach important concepts and to meaningfully advance student knowledge, especially about themselves as learners, in the six short weeks available.
English In this course, students learn, practice, and master some of the essential skills needed to succeed in the study of English. These skills break down into two major areas—reading and writing—but Brewster’s approach also includes the promotion of critical thinking. In terms of writing skills, students learn how writers use language to communicate human experiences. Students learn elements of descriptive, analytical, and persuasive writing and practice these skills by producing multiple forms of essays. In terms of reading, students add several powerful tools to their tool kit of reading skills, including the ability to locate clues in a text, distinguish the explicit from the implicit, make predictions, comprehend factual and inferential information, and locate and draw conclusions from character clues. These are taught in small classes in the context of an intentional, sequential skills-building curriculum and focus on the relevance of reading and writing to the lives of the students.
Mathematics The summer math courses are prealgebra, algebra I, algebra II, and geometry. The classes are intensive, but they have an individualized tutorial aspect as well. A great deal of material is covered, and no one gets left behind. Instructors change the pace, the approaches, and the perspective often to keep things interesting and to make sure that everyone really understands what are, sometimes, abstract principles.
English as a Second Language The summer ESL program is an integrated system of learning where students participate in various classes and activities that are intricately connected. An unusually rich and intensive set of daily offerings is provided, resulting in as many as 4 to 6 hours a day of directed English learning as well as a full immersion in English-only classes, recreational activities, and dorm life for the remainder of each day. The ESL academic program includes three courses: ESL language, ESL communication, and an innovative ESL video-editing course. Each student also takes an elective class with native English speakers.
Non-Core Courses Everyone takes two elective courses, choosing from computer graphic art and design, experiential science, video production, and/or instructional support (IS). IS, a program for which Brewster is renowned, offers one-on-one instruction that focuses on the learning needs of each student (see details below). These courses meet for 1 hour each morning.
Instructional Support A very popular option, instructional support employs a tutorial approach to guide students to better understand how they best learn and to develop improved study, organization, and time-management skills. The IS program is directly linked to the student’s core curriculum (reading/writing or math skills) as a collaboration between the teacher, the IS teacher, and the student.
Science This course, taken for enrichment and enjoyment, provides students with a refreshing new way to approach the discipline of science. There are no boring “stand-and-deliver” lectures. It is a get-involved, hands-on, experiential class in which the basic principles of scientific investigation are learned by doing.
Computer Graphics Led by an energetic, popular, and experienced teacher, the computer graphics program consists of the manipulation of student-generated digital images using a variety of sophisticated software applications in several challenging and engaging projects.
Adventure Recreation These courses are fun, but they are also purposeful and important and are not just for recreation. Adventure recreation courses are designed to build skills. Confidence, critical thinking, judgment, precision, teamwork, and leadership skills are just some of the benefits derived from engaging in outdoor adventure. The courses include rock and wall climbing, rappelling, flat and white-water canoeing, kayaking, hiking/camping, and a few surprises.
Technology Enrichment “Brewster is probably the most innovative and successful school using (information technology) on this planet . . . The success of their students has been enormous,” says Steve Kessell of Curtin University of Technology. Summer session students use laptops, provided by Brewster, in every class and learn firsthand how powerful technology can be when purposefully integrated into the curriculum.

Enrollment

Students from throughout the United States and many other countries attend Summer Session. Brewster does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin in administering its programs. Demonstrations of motivation are criteria for inclusion.

Daily Schedule

Classes and study halls meet five days per week until 2:30 p.m. Adventure recreation lasts until 5:30. Adventure trips, with some overnight stays beginning on Friday, are scheduled on Saturdays.

Extra Opportunities and Activities

Three nights a week, everyone goes to the spectacular Athletics and Wellness Center for games and to learn fitness regimens. Sundays are set aside for trips that take advantage of New England’s scenic, recreational, and cultural opportunities, including the mountains, the seacoast, and Boston.

Facilities

Brewster enjoys modern dormitory and dining facilities, innovative classrooms, a campuswide network that provides network and Internet access from every dorm room, a multipurpose boathouse, tennis courts, and a modern fitness center.

Staff

All classes are taught by teachers who have many years of experience. Teacher interns, who are recruited from America’s top universities, oversee study halls, adventure activities, and dorms. All are American Red Cross–certified in CPR and first aid and in basic water safety and rescue. Rock-climbing instructors are qualified, certified, and experienced.

Medical Care

There is an on-campus infirmary, and a hospital is ¼ mile from the campus.

Costs

The 2008 tuition was $6395 for U.S. boarding students, $6595 for international students, and $3995 for day students. Instructional support fees are additional.

Transportation

Transportation from air and rail centers is included.

Application Timetable

The admissions process is rolling and ongoing.