Summer Institute Upper School

All Students: Grades 9-12

Prerequisites: Completion of Algebra 1

June 13-July 1 | 8:30-11 a.m.
Fee: $825

This course is designed to help students strengthen their existing algebra and geometry skills prior to entering Geometry in the fall. Mastery of concepts related to functions and trigonometry often eludes students as they progress through two years of algebra. Providing students with a focused review of these topics gives them the best opportunity to feel confident and prepared as they enter Geometry.

This class covers geometry basics, logic and proofs, parallel and perpendicular lines, congruent triangles, polygons, circles and volume and surface area.

Homework is not assigned but students will be given opportunities for practice.

The goal is to have examples of all types of formulas and problems students will encounter, culminating with a comprehensive review guide for students to use when they take Geometry in the school year.

All Students: Grades 9-12

Prerequisites: Completion of Geometry

June 13-July 1 or July 5-July 22| 8:30-11 a.m.
Fee: $825

This survey course is designed to help students solidify the concepts and skills learned in Algebra 1 and look ahead to their upcoming Algebra 2 class. Students will practice and review their understanding of past skills and be introduced to important new topics and problems that await them in the fall. Getting Ready for Algebra 2 covers a variety of topics including: graphs, systems of equations, powers and roots, quadratic and logarithmic functions, complex numbers, probability, coordinate geometry and matrices. Some trigonometry concepts will also be covered towards the end of the session. Lessons, activities and explorations will support deeper understanding of important math concepts and improved math confidence.

All Students: Grades 9-12

Prerequisites: None

June 13-July 1 or July 5-July 22 | 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Fee: $950

The Creative Writers Workshop is for students who are eager to spend three intensive weeks stretching their talents in writing fiction and poetry. In these weeks, students will become better at reflecting on the world around them and will learn strategies for bringing these reflections brightly to life on the page. Students will feed their imaginations by exploring several prompts each day and developing poetry, short stories, scenes and drama. Students will also read and discuss a range of writers and types of writing. The class is run in a supportive workshop atmosphere, with students sharing and critiquing one another's drafts along with the instructor. By the end of the session, students will be more confident and knowledgeable writers – and will probably have built some meaningful friendships as well!

All Students: Grades 9-12

Prerequisites: None

June 13-July 1 or July 5-July 22 | 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $1,090

This course will introduce students to basic rhetorical modes. Using model essays, students will learn to identify effective patterns of writing and to apply those patterns in their own writing. Students will practice paragraph composition using narrative, descriptive and comparative structures. Writing and revision will be emphasized. The course will cover the following grammatical topics: parts of speech, types of clauses, verb forms, verb tense consistency, active and passive voice, subject and verb agreement, pronoun case and agreement, phrases and verbals, dangling and misplaced modifiers, subordination and coordination, and punctuation usage. This course will prepare students for the grade 9 English course at Harker's upper school.

Note: Laptop or tablet required (PC or MAC).

All Students: Grades 9-12

June 13-17| 1:30-4:30 p.m. Breakfast
June 20-24| 1:30-4:30 p.m. Lunch
June 27- July 1| 1:30-4:30 p.m. Dinner
Fee: $350

The Chef’s Institute: Breakfast

Spend the week discovering how to make all manner of delightful breakfast fare. Highlights will include scratch-made bagels, apple sage breakfast sausage, curing and smoking our own bacon, eggs (so many ways!), juices, yogurt, granola, and an assortment of baked goodies, including scones, biscuits and croissants.

The Chef’s Institute: Lunch

We will delve into making tasty lunch fare, with units on bread making, sandwiches, soups and chilis, pasta and fruit salads, pizza (both baked and grilled), great picnic-friendly foods, and a variety of cookies and dessert bars.

The Chef’s Institute: Dinner

What’s for dinner? So many things! We will explore a variety of dinner preparations including fresh-made pastas and sauces, roasted chicken with some amazing side dishes, enchiladas, a killer steak, hand-made pot stickers, cedar-planked salmon on the grill, and a variety of amazing dessert options (a variety of cakes and ice cream).

PLEASE NOTE: These courses will deal with recipes which may include meat, seafood (no shellfish), dairy, gluten and nuts. Allergies will be accommodated but high sensitivities must be reported to minimize exposure. Although there will be some dishes that are vegetarian/vegan, this class is designed with an omnivore perspective.

All Students: Grades 9-12

Fee: $825

This course is for students who feel like they’ve learned a lot about the ancient past, but don’t know much about the recent past; feel like there’s an entire world of popular music, movies, fashion, consumer culture and television they know little about; feel like their teachers make jokes that they don’t get! Students will take a step toward being culturally literate. This course will take a look at pop culture from the 1960s to the 2000s, from Chuck Berry and the Beatles to Michael Jackson and Beyonce, from Alfred Hitchcock to Pixar, Atari to Xbox, “I Love Lucy” to “Friends.” Bring your Pet Rock and some Uncrustables.

All Students: Grades 9-12

Prerequisites: None

June 13-24 or June 27-July 8 or July 11-22 | 1:00-3:30p.m.
Fee: $550

Science Communication is for students who are fascinated by the world around them and want to tell everyone how amazing science is, whether they want to be a publishing academic scientist, or the next Bill Nye. Students will push their ability to communicate scientific concepts by learning how to read and interpret scientific articles, how to make sense of science news, and how to communicate to different audiences. Each class features a lesson taught by science video producer Patrick Kelly, followed by a workshop where students apply the skills presented in class. By the end of the session, students will have produced a portfolio of blog posts, podcasts, videos and social media posts.

Note: Laptop or tablet required (PC or MAC).

All Students: Grades 9-12

June 13-July 1 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Fee: $950

We often take for granted our basic ideas about ourselves and the world, and we therefore wander aimlessly, with little sense of what is true, what is good, and what is valuable. This course introduces the methods of philosophical inquiry to explore some of the discipline’s fundamental questions: What does it mean to be human? What is consciousness? How do we know the truth? What makes communication with others possible? What is freedom and should we pursue it? Does life mean anything? The class’ emphasis will be on cultivating clear expression and careful thinking.

All Students: Grades 9-12

June 13-24 or June 27-July 8 or July 11-22 | 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $950

This course is designed to provide students with the foundations necessary to be successful in future business courses, competitions and business endeavors. No matter what career choice students make, they will be able to apply this summer course to enhance their potential and maximize their contribution. The class is designed for and will take a project-based, learn-by-doing approach. The course consists of lectures on business topics accompanied by hands-on activities, case studies, group challenges, and a capstone project. Additionally, the course draws from DECA curriculum to help prepare students for DECA competitions in the year ahead. Active participation, group collaboration, and anchoring curriculum with project assignments will surely help prepare students to become emerging leaders, future business professionals, and successful entrepreneurs.

All Students: Grades 9-12

Prerequisites: None

July 5-22 | 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Fee: $950

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to explore a combination of history, theater, art and fashion. It will be broken into epochs based on a Western point of view starting from the prehistory to the late Elizabethan period, with an emphasis on textile, silhouettes based on constructions and primary sources in sculpture, to painting, frescos and photography. Conversations with students will also address the socio-politics surrounding dress and classism that are inherently a function of fashion. Framework and structures will be created to describe costume history from non-Western cultures to create a new understanding of the non-traditional societies and cultures in history.

Applications to theater design and character development are bound to take place. Activities will include design, illustration and color theory. Within the discussions, source material will include movies, photography and other media. The instructor, Brent Tyler Sjodin, has extensive experience as a freelance designer and wardrobe master and holds an MFA in technical theater. Mr. Sjodin has worked for theater and opera companies such as Utah Festival Opera, where he designed “The Desert Song,” directed by Dottie Danner and “Die Fledermaus,” directed by Jack Shouse. Other design credits include “Oleanna” by David Mamet, “The Winter’s Tale” by William Shakespeare, and the tour design of “Sun Yet Sen: In the Mouth of the Dragon” by Edward Emmanuel for the Taiwanese Educational Ministry in summer 2000.

All Students: Grades 9-12

Prerequisites: None

June 13-24 | 1:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Fee: $550

This course teaches many of the life skills that aren’t typically taught in academic programs. Adulting doesn’t have to be tough. Learn from others who have adulted before you. Here are just a few of the topics that we will explore in this course:

• What will I do if I get a flat tire on the interstate during a rainstorm?
• How much money am I going to need salary-wise to have what I really want in life?
• How do I save up for big vacations, gifts for family, more education, etc.?
• What the heck is insurance? Why do I need it?
• Why doesn’t my insurance cover everything I own?
• How am I supposed to know how to do my taxes if I’ve never done them before?
• How do I know when to get new tires on my vehicle?
• What if I travel to another country and lose my wallet?
• How do I explain the car issue I’m having to a mechanic?
• I’ll only be 21-ish when I graduate from college. Why would I need to start saving for retirement now, if I can just have a larger paycheck instead?
• I put a security deposit on an apartment. Now what?
• I have a job interview and it’s at a formal restaurant with a group of potential colleagues. What should I do and not do?
• I got the job, and now I have to pick the benefits I want to pay for. What are all these benefits and what do they potentially do?
• What are the human resources dos and don’ts for communicating professionally at my job?
• How do I buy a car and know I’m getting the best deal?
• I’ve never done laundry, and I dropped coffee all over my favorite shirt. What do I do?

These are just a few of the conundrums that will be mastered in this course. Each day, we will also cover questions that are anonymously created by our students and, as a group, figure out how to handle those questions as well.

This course is taught by upper school library team member Kelley McCoy.

All Students: Grades 9-12

Prerequisites: None

July 5-22 | 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Fee: $950

This course will help students learn how to work in groups and manage time to complete a large project. The upper school library will be the “client” – students are to create a hypothetical community-inspired art installation that will be in the library for the next three years. Students will learn how projects are managed, from brainstorming to outcome evaluation; how to negotiate; how to communicate with clients; and how to inspire a team. They will also learn group work techniques that will help empower the others in the group to do amazing work – skills which students will be able to utilize no matter what career they pursue.

Do you love to create art? Are you excited to get your hands on new books when they hit the library? Are you a dreamer who likes to inspire others? Does the thought of doing a group project always feel daunting? During this 3-week project, you will learn the ins and outs of making group work more fun, much easier, and way more efficient. Gone will be the days when you feel like you have to take the biggest chunk of work to get the project done on time.

After earning her Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration, Kelley McCoy worked in the corporate world, earning national awards while specializing in large-scale case management, as well as contract negotiations and conflict resolution. Before joining Harker’s Upper School Library team in 2021, Kelley McCoy worked in public libraries, both rural and urban. All of these experiences led Kelley to do what she really wanted – to be surrounded by books and people that are passionate about learning.