Summer Studies Courses

Classes held at the Gates Mills campus that are open to all students from both Hawken high school programs and beyond:

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  • Critical Reading & Academic Writing – IN-PERSON FORMAT

    Students entering Grades 9 – 12
    June 15 – July 2 (3 weeks)
    10:00 am – 12:30 pm 
    $920

    Students will maximize success when dealing with reading and writing skills typically encountered in the classroom. The course will focus on critical reading through strategies like proper highlighting and annotating in texts, locating key words, building vocabulary, and mapping an argument from a text. Genres to be explored include short stories, poems, and analytical essays on current events. Students will also strengthen paragraph development and essay writing, including effective word usage, sentence construction, and topic sentence development, as well as the pre-writing and outlining phase of essay production. This course is recommended for students new to Hawken School but is ideal for any student needing to strengthen or enhance these skills.
Classes held at the Gates Mills campus that are designed for current and future Hawken Upper School students as well as students from other schools who are interested and qualified:

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  • Algebra II (Full Credit)– IN-PERSON FORMAT

    Students entering Grades 9 – 12
    June 15 – July 24 (6 weeks)
    8:30 am – 12:30 pm
    $1,875

    Summer Algebra 2 is a rigorous, fast-paced, full-credit course that expands on Algebra I topics and develops new concepts including complex numbers, systems in two and three variables, matrices, the fundamental theorem of algebra, and properties of function types including: polynomial, rational, radical, piecewise, sinusoidal, exponential, and logarithmic. The class emphasizes multiple representations of concepts, applications, and technology (graphing calculators, Desmos, etc.) through daily content sessions and collaborative investigations.  Students are expected to apply what they've learned in required work outside of class each day.  Because each day’s work is roughly equivalent to a week in the standard school year, missing class is strongly discouraged. Hawken students must have permission from the Math Department chair prior to taking this course for academic credit. Non-Hawken students need to check with their school to determine if the class will be accepted for credit. (Note: No summer math courses receive an honors designation.)

  • Geometry (Full Credit) – IN-PERSON FORMAT

    Students entering Grades 9 – 12
    June 15 – July 24 (6 weeks)
    8:30 am – 12:30 pm
    $1,875

    Geometry is a full-credit course in plane and solid Euclidean geometry, designed for strong mathematics students. This fast-paced course includes daily content sessions and collaborative investigations.  Students apply what they've learned in required work outside of class each day.  Because each day’s work is roughly equivalent to a week in the standard school year, missing class is strongly discouraged. Hawken students must obtain permission from the Math Department chair before taking this course for academic credit. Non-Hawken students should check with their school to confirm whether the class will be accepted for credit.

  • Chemistry Honors (Full Credit) – IN-PERSON FORMAT

    Prerequisite: Grade of A- or higher in Physics 9 (or other 9th grade science class if new to Hawken) and departmental approval.
    June 15 – July 24 (6 weeks)
    8:30 am – 12:30 pm
    $1,875

    The summer version of Honors Chemistry provides a fast-paced, in-depth and integrated study of introductory concepts that will earn students a full-year science credit. Students are challenged to reason about chemical phenomena from both conceptual and quantitative perspectives. As their fund of chemical knowledge grows through the course, students will be challenged to deal with problems that draw on multiple areas of chemistry. The laboratory component of the course provides students the opportunity to experience chemical phenomena first-hand, apply their problem-solving skills, and extend their knowledge. Successful candidates for this class are intrinsically motivated, self-directed learners who enjoy a challenging, fast-paced approach to science, and will have earned at least an A- in Physics 9 (or another freshman science class if new to Hawken) and at least an A in Algebra 1. Hawken students must have permission from the Science Department Chair prior to taking this course for academic credit. If there is a question about placement, the student’s 9th grade science teacher will be consulted. Non-Hawken students need to check with their school to determine if the class will be accepted for credit. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be well prepared for future AP-level classes in science.

  • Health I/Health & Wellness (For Credit) – IN-PERSON FORMAT

    Students entering Grades 9 – 12
    June 15 – July 2 (3 weeks) IN-PERSON FORMAT
    8:30 – 9:40 am, or 9:50 – 11:00 am
    $575

    This 3-week course is targeted toward students who would like to earn their upper/high school health credit over the summer. This course addresses current and lifetime issues such as stress management, nutrition, healthy decision-making, mental health, human sexuality, drug use and abuse, and other contemporary health topics. The course will involve both synchronous (in-person) and asynchronous (at-home) learning with the teacher, group/partner work during class time, and has a heavy focus on discussion-based participation. During the regular school year, this is the Hawken health class for 9th grade students. Health is a required Hawken graduation requirement and may be taken during summer. Taking this course will enable 9th grade students to have two 80-min blocks free in place of health class during one semester of the regular school year. It is also a great way to meet and work with fellow peers as you begin the high school journey. Non-Hawken students need to check with their school to determine if the class will be accepted for credit. Attendance Note: Due to the compressed nature of this course and focus on in-person participation, students should not register for a session in which they anticipate a planned absence. Since the course can simply be taken during the school year, there are no exceptions to the absence policy.
Classes held at the University Circle campus that are open to all students from both Hawken high school programs and beyond:

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  • Philosophy of Religion

    Upper and Mastery School students entering Grades 9-10
    June 15 – June 26 (2 weeks) (Note: not offered on June 19 in observance of Juneteenth)
    9:00 am – 2:00 pm
    $575

    NEED DESCRIPTION
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