TJ’s Summer Discovery Academy classes offer a wide range of summer enrichment opportunities – including ACT Prep – for children in grades Pre-K through 12. The Academy is open to students from all schools in the 4-States area.
Scroll Down for Classes and RegistrationThomas Jefferson offers a full-featured Summer Discovery Program open to all students in the community, from Pre-K through grade 12. TJ’s established summer program includes workshops, classes, and exploratory camps. Included are our Lower School performing arts program, weights and conditioning, applied programming & robotics, ACT preparation courses, foreign language camps, a Middle School study skills course, and much more.
Summer Discovery Academy Quick Links:
Click the image below to see the full schedule:
Young Scholars Academy (9 a.m. – Noon) – Curious 3- and 4-year old children are invited to immerse themselves in a week of discovery. Students will engage in games and playful activities that introduce them to early literacy and numeracy skills. Each week will present a new theme, and students will make friends and find joy in learning in this academically enriching program.
Oceans Adventures- Grades K-2 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Calling all Ocean lovers! Students will explore all areas of the ocean and learn about various ocean creatures and all things ocean. Future oceanographers will use science, art, math, technology, writing, and reading to dig into the deep depth of the ocean.
Studio Art Academy – Grades K-2 (1-4 p.m) – Open to all students entering grades K-2 in the fall. Students will create works of art in various media, using a variety of techniques, while exploring different artists (Pollock, Koons, Warhol, Thiebaud, Haring) and what inspires them each day. They will have their own masterpieces to take home and display with pride.
Young Scholars Academy (9 a.m. – Noon) – Curious 3- and 4-year old children are invited to immerse themselves in a week of discovery. Students will engage in games and playful activities that introduce them to early literacy and numeracy skills. Each week will present a new theme, and students will make friends and find joy in learning in this academically enriching program.
Kids College Academy (9:00 a.m. – Noon) – Children ages 5 and 6 will engage in an academically enriching program designed to promote Kindergarten and 1st grade readiness skills. Through engaging activities and weekly themes, students will explore reading, writing, science, math, and much more. This program is designed for students with a love of learning who are ready to have fun and make new friends.
Magic School Bus Science Lab – Grades K-2 (1-4 p.m.) – Young students will transform into scientists as they participate in some wild rides on the mythical Magic School Bus. Join your friends – and make new friends – on a different science adventure each day. Curious students will enjoy these fun-filled STEM activities designed to teach scientific concepts while engaging in a full laboratory experience.
Wild Krats Week – K-2 (1-4 p.m.) – If your child loves learning about animals and nature, this class will discover hands on what it’s like to be an explorer! Based on the popular TV show, students will learn all about wildlife, how to protect them, and how they live in our world. They will learn interesting facts, construct projects, and work with others to build a sense of awareness about our ever-changing world.
Kids College Academy (9 a.m. – Noon.) – Children ages 5 and 6 will engage in an academically enriching program designed to promote Kindergarten and 1st grade readiness skills. Through engaging activities and weekly themes, students will explore reading, writing, science, math, and much more. This program is designed for students with a love of learning who are ready to have fun and make new friends.
Flavorful Journey: Cooking with Books – K- 2 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) – Cooking promotes independence, following directions, math, reading, writing and cause and effect. Each recipe is kid friendly and designed to go along with a book study.
Reading Extravaganza – Grades 1 and 2 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Students will dive into a world of literature, exploring various themes, characters, and storylines. Whether the goal is enhancing reading skills and expanding vocabulary, or simply joining other students who share a love of reading to explore new books, this class is certain to provide enrichment and summer fun for everyone.
Oceans Adventures- Grades K-2 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Calling all Ocean lovers! Students will explore all areas of the ocean and learn about various ocean creatures and all things ocean. Future oceanographers will use science, art, math, technology, writing, and reading to dig into the deep depth of the ocean.
Stem Immersion Grades 3-5 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Students will use science, technology, engineering and mathematical concepts to explore real life problems and phenomena. Each student will participate in different hands-on activities throughout the week to solve problems and practice using different STEM skills.
Journey Through Europe – Grades 3-5 (9 a.m. -Noon)- Get your passports ready! Each day, students will travel to a different country in Europe. They will learn what makes each place unique while also seeing what aspects are similar among different people. The young travelers will explore language, games, fairy tales, food, physical geography, and more!
Math Camp – Grades 1 and 2 (9 a.m.– Noon) – Calling all young mathematicians! Students with a love of numbers and math will enjoy this program that will allow them to take their numeracy skills even further. Through engaging games, activities, puzzles, and friendly competitions, students will enhance their problem-solving abilities and test new capacities in mathematics.
Lego Lab – Grades 1 and 2 (1-4 p.m.) – Students will explore engineering and architectural concepts through the creation of their very own Lego structures. Time will be allotted for individual skill building, group challenges, and creative free time. From the most basic structures to intricate designs, student will learn first-hand the basic concepts of engineering as they apply to the buildings they see in the world around them.
Oceans Adventures- Grades 3-5 (1-4 p.m.) – Calling all Ocean lovers! Students will explore all areas of the ocean and learn about various ocean creatures and all things ocean. Future oceanographers will use science, art, math, technology, writing, and reading to dig into the deep depth of the ocean.
Studio Art Academy – Grades K-2 (1-4 p.m.) – Open to all students entering grades K-2 in the fall. Students will create works of art in various media, using a variety of techniques, to learn the principles of design and the elements of art. They will have their own masterpieces to take home and display with pride.
Math Camp – Grades 3-5 (1-4 p.m.) – Students with a love of numbers and math will enjoy this program that will allow them to take their numeracy skills even further. Through engaging games, activities, puzzles, and friendly competitions, students will enhance their problem-solving abilities and test new capacities in mathematics, including concepts and skills in algebra, geometry, and statistics.
Reader’s Theater – Grades 3-5 (1-4 p.m.) – Welcome to our Reader’s Theater Summer Camp for 3rd-5th graders! In this exciting program, young actors will dive into the world of literature and bring stories to life through dramatic readings. Through fun activities and games, campers will enhance their reading comprehension, public speaking skills, and confidence. They’ll explore a variety of genres, from fairy tales to adventure stories, and learn to embody different characters using voice modulation and expressive gestures. Join us for a summer of creativity, imagination, and the magic of storytelling!
Showtime Musical – Rising 2 – 6 Graders (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.) – Lights! Camera! Action! Prepare for this summer’s musical. Young thespians will ready themselves with musical rehearsals, stage-blocking, and choreography. Participants must commit to dress rehearsal from 8:30 -9:30 a.m., and the public performance at 5 p.m. on Sat., July 20. There is a 30-actor limit. $350
Book Explorers Camp: Adventure Awaits Between the Pages– Grades 1-2 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Join us at our Reading Camp, where we embark on an exciting journey through various types of books and genres! From thrilling adventures to captivating mysteries, we’ll explore it all while having a blast. But that’s not all – we’ll also be fine-tuning our reading skills and implementing effective strategies to enhance comprehension and fluency. Get ready for a summer filled with excitement, discovery, and the joy of reading!
Applied Programming and Robotics – Grades 3-5 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Learn about science and technology by building real-world models and programming them to automatically carry out your commands. After reviewing the six classical “simple machines,” you will build, program, and test complex robots based on the Lego Mindstorm system. This robotics course is an excellent way to develop math, engineering, programming, problem-solving, and motor skills while building exciting, complex machines. Plan, program, test, and troubleshoot your robot, and use ultrasonic, light, sound, and touch sensors to program the robots to interact with their environment. (Limited to 16 students).
Wild Krats Week – 3-5 (9 a.m. – Noon) – If your child loves learning about animals and nature, this class will discover hands on what it’s like to be an explorer! Based on the popular TV show, students will learn all about wildlife, how to protect them, and how they live in our world. They will learn interesting facts, construct projects, and work with others to build a sense of awareness about our ever-changing world.
Magic School Bus Science Lab – Grades K-2 (1-4 p.m.) – Young students will transform into scientists as they participate in some wild rides on the mythical Magic School Bus. Join your friends – and make new friends – on a different science adventure each day. Curious students will enjoy these fun-filled STEM activities designed to teach scientific concepts while engaging in a full laboratory experience.
Wild Krats Week – K-2 (1-4 p.m.) – If your child loves learning about animals and nature, this class will discover hands on what it’s like to be an explorer! Based on the popular TV show, students will learn all about wildlife, how to protect them, and how they live in our world. They will learn interesting facts, construct projects, and work with others to build a sense of awareness about our ever-changing world.
Kids College Academy (9 a.m. – Noon) – Children ages 5 and 6 will engage in an academically enriching program designed to promote Kindergarten and 1st grade readiness skills. Through engaging activities and weekly themes, students will explore reading, writing, science, math, and much more. This program is designed for students with a love of learning who are ready to have fun and make new friends.
Spanish Studio Art Academy – Grades 3-5 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Students will spend a week immersed in Spanish language and culture combine with an exploration into art. Open to all students entering grades 3-5 in the fall. Students will create works of art in various media, using a variety of techniques, to learn the principles of design and the elements of art, while at the same time learning simple phrases, engaging in full conversations in Spanish. Students will expand their confidence and fluency in the Spanish language, learn about Spanish culture and work on art inspired from what they learn.
Spanish Studio Art Academy – Grades 1-2 (1-4 p.m.) – Students will spend a week immersed in Spanish language and culture combine with an exploration into art. Open to all students entering grades 1-2 in the fall. Students will create works of art in various media, using a variety of techniques, to learn the principles of design and the elements of art, while at the same time learning simple phrases, engaging in full conversations in Spanish. Students will expand their confidence and fluency in the Spanish language, learn about Spanish culture and work on art inspired from what they learn.
Flavorful Journey: Cooking with Books – K- 2 (1-4 p.m.) – Cooking promotes independence, following directions, math, reading, writing and cause and effect. Each recipe is kid friendly and designed to go along with a book study.
Weights and Conditioning – Grades 7- 8 (8 – 9:30 a.m. Tues., Wed, Thurs. only) – The summer weights and conditioning course is designed to help students improve both personal fitness and athletic performance. Additionally, the class focuses on several other aspects of fitness including running, jumping, flexibility, core strength, and agility.
Biology in the Wild – Grades 6-12 (1-4 p.m.) – Biology in the Wild is a summer course designed to engage students in Biology with the focus on the natural world around us. Students will spend the week exploring various fields in Biology such as Entomology, Botany, and Aquatic Ecology. Students will travel to a new location every day to learn how to collect, identify, and preserve their collections throughout the week. We will focus on engagement with the natural world through handwork, journaling, and various collection techniques. This is a week-long course, however, there are two week-long sessions offered back-to-back which will differ in content and focus. Students have the opportunity to spend two full weeks immersed in the natural world.
Applied Programming – Robotics (9 a.m. – Noon) – Learn about science and technology by building real-world models and programming them to automatically carry out your commands. You will build, program, and test complex robots based on the Tetrix Prime system and Arduino programming. This robotics course is an excellent way to develop math, engineering, programming, and motor skills while building exciting, complex machines. Plan, program, test, and troubleshoot your robot, and use ultrasonic, light, sound, and touch sensors to program the robots to interact with their environment while executing programmed instructions.
Creative Writing: Dungeons and Dragons Craft (9 a.m. – Noon) – Grades 6- 12- While in the depths of this course, students will learn and discover new ways to create and expand their Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. We will look at introducing quests and characters, figure out how to write rich backstories, contemplate setting and creating suspended disbelief for the players. We will also just have a good time like a bunch of satyrs around a campfire after a night of reveling. Join us, whether you’re a level one cleric or a level twelve rogue with a wicked sneak attack.
Biology in the Wild– Grades 6-12 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Biology in the Wild is a summer course designed to engage students in Biology with the focus on the natural world around us. Students will spend the week exploring various fields in Biology such as Entomology, Botany, and Aquatic Ecology. Students will travel to a new location every day to learn how to collect, identify, and preserve their collections throughout the week. We will focus on engagement with the natural world through handwork, journaling, and various collection techniques. This is a week-long course, however, there are two week-long sessions offered back-to-back which will differ in content and focus. Students have the opportunity to spend two full weeks immersed in the natural world.
Creative Writing: Poetry and Prose – Grades 6 – 12 (1-4 p.m.) – Students will spend the week learning about various forms of creative writing while simultaneously creating their own works. Investigations into poetry, short stories, memoirs, speeches, fiction writing, and even screenplays will keep students engaged and focused on expressing themselves through their imaginations. Students will work individually and collaboratively to improve their craft with direct guidance and feedback daily.
Studio Art – Grades 6-12 (9 a.m. – Noon) – This course is designed for students who want to explore the artists behind so well-known works; in both the visual/digital world as well fine art world. Students are exposed to what is happening right now in the art world and are able to experiment with a variety of methods, which may include drawing, sculpture, image transfer, collage, and acrylic/watercolor paint. The course starts out with several smaller exercises and demos combined with discussion to help students develop a larger final project that reflects their individual interests. Classes are supplemented with presentations of current art concepts and issues and the work of significant contemporary artists.
Showtime Musical – Grades Rising 2– 6 (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.) – Lights! Camera! Action! Prepare for this summer’s musical. Young thespians will ready themselves with musical rehearsals, stage-blocking, and choreography. Participants must commit to dress rehearsal from 9-10 a.m., and the public performance at 5 p.m. on Sat., July 23. There is a 30-actor limit.
Classic Video Game Programming – Grades 6 – 12 (9 a.m. – Noon) – This course will teach students programming skills by building classic arcade games and platforming games using the Scratch language from MIT. Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children and a coding language with a simple visual interface that allows young people to create digital stories, games, and animations. Young programmers will learn to write game logic and apply algorithmic behavior to their game assets. They will learn high-level programming concepts using Scratch’s visual programming tools. Scratch represents code structures as blocks. Students will use these blocks to ‘build’ their instructions and bring their games to life. They will create individual accounts on Scratch, so they’ll be able to keep and share their creations after the course is over! (Class is limited to 10 students)
Quiz Bowl Camp – Grade 6 – 12 (1-4 p.m.) -The Quiz Bowl (or Scholar Bowl) Camp will serve as an excellent introduction for beginners, as well as a camp for experienced players to prepare for upcoming matches and tournaments. We will cover essential strategies of Quiz/Scholar Bowl gameplay, practice buzzing, identify content strengths and weaknesses, find valuable resources for future practice sessions, and most importantly, have a great time!
Middle School Skills (9 a.m. – Noon) –Middle School is an important transitional season. This course is built intentionally to help students tackle school better. This course will focus primarily on study skills, providing practical strategies and tested methods to help students achieve long-term academic success. Specific emphasis will be placed on time-management, organizational skills, note-taking, and test preparation. Additionally, this course will also cover some basic life skills students should start to learn during this period, using the book How to Be a Person: 65 Hugely Useful, super-Important Skills to Learn before You’re Grown Up for reference. All rising and current Middle School students are encouraged to attend. Rising 6th grade students are strongly encouraged to attend.
May 28 – May 31
ACT Preparation (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.) – Students will develop individualized approaches to maximizing scores on the ACT. We will divide our class time evenly among the various portions of these tests. Each session will consist of a review of various mathematical, grammatical, or vocabulary concepts as we examine how these topics manifest themselves in a standardized test format. We will also spend a great deal of time taking and evaluating practice exams (often these will be completed outside of class), reviewing frequently occurring problem styles, and discussing strategies for taking the ACT.
Weights and Conditioning – Grades 9-12 (9:30 -11:00 a.m. Tues., Wed, Thurs. only) – The summer weights and conditioning course is designed to help students improve both personal fitness and athletic performance. Additionally, the class focuses on several other aspects of fitness including running, jumping, flexibility, core strength, and agility.
Biology in the Wild–Grades 6-12 (1 p.m. -4 p.m.) – Biology in the Wild is a summer course designed to engage students in Biology with the focus on the natural world around us. Students will spend the week exploring various fields in Biology such as Entomology, Botany, and Aquatic Ecology. Students will travel to a new location every day to learn how to collect, identify, and preserve their collections throughout the week. We will focus on engagement with the natural world through handwork, journaling, and various collection techniques. This is a week-long course, however, there are two week-long sessions offered which will differ in content and focus. Students have the opportunity to spend two full weeks immersed in the natural world.
Creative Writing: Dungeons and Dragons Craft – Grades 6- 12 (9 a.m. – Noon) – While in the depths of this course, students will learn and discover new ways to create and expand their Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. We will look at introducing quests and characters, figure out how to write rich backstories, contemplate setting and creating suspended disbelief for the players. We will also just have a good time like a bunch of satyrs around a campfire after a night of reveling. Join us, whether you’re a level one cleric or a level twelve rogue with a wicked sneak attack.
Biology in the Wild – Grades 6-12 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Biology in the Wild is a summer course designed to engage students in Biology with the focus on the natural world around us. Students will spend the week exploring various fields in Biology such as Entomology, Botany, and Aquatic Ecology. Students will travel to a new location every day to learn how to collect, identify, and preserve their collections throughout the week. We will focus on engagement with the natural world through handwork, journaling, and various collection techniques. This is a week-long course, however, there are two week-long sessions offered back-to-back which will differ in content and focus. Students have the opportunity to spend two full weeks immersed in the natural world.
Creative Writing: Poetry and Prose – Grades 6 -12 (1-4 p.m.) – Students will spend the week learning about various forms of creative writing while simultaneously creating their own works. Investigations into poetry, short stories, memoirs, speeches, fiction writing, and even screenplays will keep students engaged and focused on expressing themselves through their imaginations. Students will work individually and collaboratively to improve their craft with direct guidance and feedback daily.
Studio Art – Grades 6-12 (9 a.m. – Noon) – This course is designed for students who want to explore the artists behind so well-known works; in both the visual/digital world as well fine art world. Students are exposed to what is happening right now in the art world and are able to experiment with a variety of methods, which may include drawing, sculpture, image transfer, collage, and acrylic/watercolor paint. The course starts out with several smaller exercises and demos combined with discussion to help students develop a larger final project that reflects their individual interests. Classes are supplemented with presentations of current art concepts and issues and the work of significant contemporary artists.
Quiz Bowl Camp – Grade 6 – 12 (1-4 p.m.) -The Quiz Bowl (or Scholar Bowl) Camp will serve as an excellent introduction for beginners, as well as a camp for experienced players to prepare for upcoming matches and tournaments. We will cover essential strategies of Quiz/Scholar Bowl gameplay, practice buzzing, identify content strengths and weaknesses, find valuable resources for future practice sessions, and most importantly, have a great time!
Craft Your Own Corner of the Web: A Beginner-Friendly Flask Course – Grades 9-12 (9 a.m. – Noon) – Ever browsed a website and wondered how it works under the hood? This one-week course lifts the veil on the magic of web development, using Flask, a popular Python framework. We’ll bridge the gap between basic computer skills and building dynamic websites. While no prior coding experience is required, some familiarity with programming concepts (like variables and loops) will be helpful. Get ready to explore essential elements like routing, templating, and data handling. By the course’s end, you’ll have a solid grasp of Flask and be empowered to create your own interactive web experiences. Take control of your online presence – sign up today! (Class is limited to 10 students)
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Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School delivers a rigorous liberal arts college preparatory curriculum in a supportive and nurturing environment.
