Summer Programs  |  Elementary School  |  Middle School  |  Upper School  |  Outdoor Courses 

During the Middle School years students have opportunities to strengthen their skills, enrich their understandings, engage in new experiences, and make new friends. It is an age of exploration itself, and their summer experiences should reflect that.  As a result, Community School Summer Programs offer Middle School students opportunities to create a portfolio of visual art, improve their Spanish, build study skills for success in high school, learn to kayak or fly fish and improve at rock climbing.

Registration Process

You may download a registration form by clicking the image to the right, or you may request a registration form by e-mailing mwade@communityschool.org.  An electronically fillable form will be sent to you immediately.  Fill out the registration form and return it via e-mail or mail it to:  Mike Wade, Community School Summer Program Director, Box 2118, Sun Valley, ID 83353.  If any course you have registered for involves off campus travel, an "Assumption of Risk" form and an "Emergency Release" form will be sent to you separately.

Academic Offerings - for credit

Art and Music

Academic Offerings - not for credit

Study Skills for the Middle to High School Transition
 
Expeditions in Math and Science
 
Introduction to Spanish  
First in Math  
Technology Camp  
Creative Writing  
Mad Scientist Chemistry Camp  


Enrichment Offerings

Backpacking in the White Clouds
 
Rock Climbing: Beyond the Top Rope
 
Learn to Kayak
 

Make your own iMovie

Sports Camps

5B Lacrosse Camp
 
5B Middle School Basketball Camp
 


Study Skills for the Middle to High School Transition
This course is designed to enhance study skills for students as they transition from middle to high school. Study skills covered include: time management, reading comprehension, annotation of texts, grammar, note-taking, notebook organization and public speaking. This is a great opportunity for students to hit the first semester of their high school career with the skills required for academic success.
Instructor:  JoEllen Collins, B.A., M.A., U.C.L.A.
August 13-17
Monday-Friday, 12:30-2:30pm

$230
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Expeditions in Math and Science 
Middle school students will explore and extend fundamental math and science concepts through projects, experiments, and games.  Join Community School 7th grade Science and Math teacher Travis Vandenburgh and Middle School Director and math guru Ben Pettit for a week of math and science that will resonate throughout the school year.
Teachers: Ben Pettit, B.A., M.A., and Travis Vandenburgh, B.S., M.S.
August 13-17
Monday-Friday:  9am-Noon
$260
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Introduction to Spanish
This course is designed for beginners.  Students will develop basic conversational skills and build a solid grammatical foundation.  Students will be prepared to communicate in Spanish within the basic vocabulary, topics and situations covered in during the first term of Spanish I.  This is great course for students to hone basic Spanish skills or for students new to the language to gain confidence before entering a formal course in Spanish.
Open to middle and high school students .

Teacher:  TBA

Dates:  July 16 to July 27
$600

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Art and Music - winter term, for-credit course
This course will cover the winter term in Middle School Art and Music classes and enable students to drop those classes during the regular school year.
Art portion: The Art of Encaustics -
Encaustic is medium composed of beeswax infused with damar resin and colored pigments.  Layers are fused with heat from a torch.  This course will offer a history and exploration of this exciting art medium.  Drawing, collage, transfers and carving techniques will all be studied.
Music portion: Technology in Pop Music - Students will learn basic chords and techniques on guitar, piano, bass and drums. Each student will write and record a track on each instrument, then use various digital editing techniques to enhance the recordings and put it all together. The class will also choose a song to cover and work on as a group.
Open to middle school students only.
Teachers: 
Alyssa Hershey,
B.A., College of Idaho
Zoey Pierce,
B.F.A., Boise State University, M.A., Southwestern College
June 18 to June 29
Monday-Friday:  2:00 - 5:00pm
$1,000
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First in Math
This on-line math course develops and supports appropriate, grade level math skills and problem solving for students in grades 1 through 8.  Concerned that math skills may have deteriorated over the summer?  This course is the answer.  Take this opportunity to brush up on your math with veteran teacher and Community School Chair of the Math Department, Kathy Gibson, right before school starts.
Instructor:  Kathy Gibson, B.S., University of Utah, M.S., Ohio State University
August 13-17  (Mon-Fri)
Grades 7-8: 9:00-10:00am
Grades 4-6: 10:15-11:15am
Grades 1-3: 11:30am-12:30pm

$110
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Technology Camp (ages 9-12)

Veteran teacher and camp leader, Tom Nash, leads this exciting, challenging and one of kind technology focused camp
that is designed to advance critical thinking skills, promote fluid intelligence and improve problem solving skills.  Depending on the week you join us, we will build robots, rockets, write a book, illustrate and publish it, create photo collages, go geocaching, direct movies, learn about the science of weather and first aid, and make a little "magic."For full camp details, click here.
Instructor:  Tom Nash, B.A. University of Denver
Monday-Thursday, 8:30am-1:45pm
Session I: July 9-12 Robotics, Build It! & GeoCaching
Session II: July 16-19 Rockets, Movies, Magic & the Science of Weather
Session III: July 23-26
Computers, Books, Photography & Build It!
$425 per one-week session, $800 for two weeks
(all equipment included)
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Creative Writing

Calling all students entering 6th, 7th and 8th grade! Do you like to write? Would you like to make your stories more interesting, descriptive and engaging? Is it hard to get started with your writing or get organized or actually finish your story? Join us for this weeklong course in creative writing.  You will create new and fun stories and in the process learn how to get those ideas onto paper more easily.  We work on structure, description and editing, and we will read some wonderful examples of great writing and play some fun writing games! By the week's end, you will have some polished gems to take home.
Instructor:  Kathleen Uberuaga,
B.A. Middlebury College, M.Ed. Columbia University
Monday-Friday, 9:30-11:30am
August 6-10

$210

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Mad Scientist Chemistry Camp - open to rising 5th through 9th graders

Join the Mad Scientist herself, high school chemistry teacher, Jen King, in the Community School's state-of-the-art chemistry lab for this fun camp where kids can "get their hands dirty" performing real chemical experiments. Everything that happens in life depends on chemistry, and it's exciting to see -- especially when it involves color changes, lighting things on fire and (small) explosions! Students will learn how to conduct experiments safely, use lab equipment, learn different experimental procedures and gain an understanding of chemical concepts. Some of the experiments will include:  How do fireworks work? Build Your Own Solar Cell, MicroMole Rockets, and The Wacky World of Polymers. (maximum class size of 10)
Instructor:  Jen King,
B.S. Rocky Mountain College, M.S. University of Oregon
Monday-Thursday, 12:00-2:30pm
August 6-9

$280
(includes all equipment and supplies)
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Backpacking in the White Clouds
Travel through the high-mountain lake country of the White Clouds with veteran Community School teachers and outdoor educators who know where the lunkers live. This trip has become a tradition for our summer program and a rite of passage for those who love to fish and camp in the backcountry. Students are encouraged to bring their fly rods; instruction in fly casting, selection and presentation is an integral part of the course. You don't want to miss the opportunity to spend time with some of our most avid outdoorsmen. This course will fill up quickly.
Trip Leader:  Pete Webb, B.A., M.A., Middlebury College
July 23-26
$520
Course details and packing lists

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Learn to Kayak
Community School Summer Programs in partnership with White Otter Outdoor Adventure invite you to spend four days learning to whitewater kayak safely and competently. We'll meet at 8am on July 30th at the Community School in Sun Valley and travel north to White Otter Headquarters in Sunbeam, Idaho, on the Salmon River. We'll spend the next four days and three nights learning the skill and art of whitewater kayaking. The class will camp together at Sunbeam. We will return to the Community School by 6pm on August 2nd. Open to kids ages 12-18. No experience necessary.
July 30 - August 2
$450
(includes all boating equipment, food, transportation, instruction and supervision)
$400 (if you provide your own boating equipment)
For additional information, please contact Rob Landis at the Community School (208.622.3960, ext. 121) or Doug Fenn at White Otter Adventures, (208.788.5005)

Course details and packing lists

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 Rock Climbing: Beyond Top Roping
The Community School Summer Program invites you to spend four days learning the skills to go "beyond top-roping" to multipitch climbing and lead climbing. We will meet at the Community School in Sun Valley at 7am on July 16th and drive to City of Rocks National Reserve in southern Idaho for four days of rock climbing instruction and camping. We will return to Sun Valley by 7pm on July 19th. Open to kids ages 12-18.
July 16-19
$450
(includes all climbing gear, food, transportation, instruction and supervision)
For additional information, please contact Rob Landis at the Community School (208.622.3960, ext. 121)

Course details and packing lists

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 Make Your Own iMovie
In this introduction to iMovie, the Tom Nash will introduce students to the art of storytelling, storyboarding and filmmaking. Each student will leave the class with a finished film they have directed and edited and with skills to make future films. Students will have access to school cameras and computers. No prior experience is necessary. Unleash you inner Steven Spielberg! This class is open to students entering grades 5-8.  Enrollment is limited to the first 8 registered.
Instructor:  Tom Nash, B.A. University of Denver
June 23-26
Monday-Thursday, 9am-12:30pm,

$290
- includes all equipment, cameras, computers and software
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5B Middle School Basketball Camp (boys & girls, grades 6, 7 & 8)

Former Division III standout and international player, Liz Clark, leads this fun camp that focuses on developing the skills needed to play the wonderful game of basketball. Each session will be filled with enthusiasm, teamwork, friendly competition and interactive drills that focus on further developing fundamental skills from shooting and ball handling to how to play defense the right way. This is the perfect camp for rising 5th through 8th grade players gearing up to make that huge transition to high school basketball.  (Waiting list begins after the first 12 campers have registered.)
Head Coach:  Liz Clark, B.A., George Fox University, M.A.T., Concordia University
Mon-Thur, 1:00 - 4:00pm

Dates:  July 9 - 12
$120
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5B Lacrosse Camp (boys - grades 6 to 12)

Learn the game of lacrosse at the Community School's remarkable Sagewillow facility with former University of Denver, Division I lacrosse player, Tim Price, as well as a full staff current college players and experienced coaches.  Whether you are new to the game or building on years of experience and looking to push it to the 'next level', this camp will provide both the fun and the individualized instruction you would expect from the 'fastest game on two feet'.Players provide their own equipment: stick, gloves, helmet, mouthpiece, elbow and shoulder pads, cleats.  Bring a sack lunch each day.
Head Coach:  Tim Price, B.A., M.A. University of Denver
Monday-Thursday, 9:00am-2:00pm
July 9-12

$190

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To download a PDF of the registration form, please click on the image above. This is an interactive form that you can fill out and return via e-mail. Please note that Adobe Acrobat Reader provides the best software platform for filling out PDF forms (for Mac users, forms filled out using Preview will not work). To download the latest version of Acrobat Reader, please click the icon below.