Summer Enrichment Opportunities

List of 18 items.

• Acting Workshop

  June 24-28, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  Open to rising 6th-12th graders; coed
  Cost: $195

   

  Join the Mount Saint Joseph Drama Program for our Acting Workshop! Performers will engage with character development through the exploration of analysis and technique. Teaching elements from Uta Hagen, Kirsten Linklater, and Anne Bogart will all be incorporated into the week. Industry standards will be reviewed to prepare the actors for success. Each day will focus on the holistic development of the actor through exercises and games. You will leave with new tools and skills to feel confident as you step on the stage for your next performance or audition!

• Algebra I Boot Camp

  Session 1: June 24-28 and July 1-3, 10:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
  Session 2: July 29-August 2 and August 5-8, 8:15-10:15 a.m.
  Open to rising 9th and 10th graders; coed
  Cost: $225
  
  Could your algebra skills use a review? Do you need to improve your understanding of polynomials, factoring, and algebraic equations? Do you need help finding X? Then the Algebra I Boot Camp is for you! You will revisit factoring, systems of equations, graphing equations, and even the quadratic equation. And, yes, we will definitely find X!
  

• Art with Adobe Photoshop®

  Date TBD
  Open to rising 6th-10th graders; coed
  
  In this week-long studio session, students will explore the variety of ways that artists create using Adobe Photoshop®. In this introductory course (no experience necessary), students will learn the basic functions and interface of Photoshop as they create dynamic pieces in response to art problems, each of which are designed to teach technical skills, encourage experimentation, and ask students to think and reflect critically. Students will learn to take dynamic photographs and edit them professionally, bend reality by manipulating images in digital collage, illustrate monstrous creatures and eventually even learn to make your very own gif animation. Artists should come with excitement and a desire to explore the possibilities of digital art creation.
  

• Civil War Battlefields Tours

  June 24-27, 8:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m.*
  Rising 7th-12th graders, coed
  $245
  
  

  *Final itineraries to be determined and shared with registrants at a later date.  Battlefield locations may include:  Antietam, Gettysburg, Manassas, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg.  School minibus transportation will be provided.

   

  Walk where soldiers marched on iconic Civil War battlefields; step onto hallowed ground and feel the weight of history. Teacher-led tours will bring the past to life as you discover hidden stories, understand diverse perspectives, and draw parallels to today's world. You’ll learn to honor the past, to challenge myths, and the importance of preserving factual historical narratives for our national community.

• Effective Professional Writing and Communication

  RETURNING IN 2025
  Open to rising 10th-12th graders; coed
  Cost: $195
  
  

  Ever wish you had a resume you were proud to hand to prospective employers? Ever send an email that gets ignored, or worse, gets an angry response? Does the prospect of an in-class presentation make your knees shake and your voice wobble?  Do you worry about how to interview well?

   

  Effective Professional Writing and Communication is the summer seminar you need! 

   

  This seminar teaches students to communicate work-based information effectively (even if your ‘work’ is currently high school!) The seminar's focus on critical thinking, synthesis, analysis, and the writing process helps students to inform and persuade their audiences through the composition of technical documents. In this course, we will produce a resume, several versions of email communication, a proposal, and a presentation. Reflecting a professional writing style and document design principles, these projects will demonstrate how text and visuals work together to reach different audiences with specific needs. 

   

  Students will build oral communication and collaborative skills along with technological and visual literacy. 

• English Boot Camp

  Session 1: June 24-28 and July 1-3, 8:00-10:15 a.m.
  Session 2: July 29-August 2 and August 5-8, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  Open to rising 9th graders; coed
  Cost: $225
  
  Review the skills you learned in middle school and learn new strategies for reading comprehension, grammar, and composition. During this course, you will read and write about interesting topics and draft your summer reading essay. Strengthen your skills so that you are ready for high school English.
  

• Environmental Leadership Camp

  July 15-19, Overnight July 15-17
  Open to rising 10th - 12th-graders
  Cost: $125

   

  *Thanks to a Youth Environmental Education Grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the programmatic elements of this camp can be offered without cost to participants.  The $125 tuition fee will cover food for the three-day trip and contribute to the budget for action project supplies. 

   

  This camp begins and ends at MSJ, but will include an overnight trip to Smith Island on Monday and Tuesday night.  Students arrive Monday at 9:00 a.m. and return on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. Day experiences Thursday and Friday run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

  
  Canoe through wetlands, stay overnight at Smith Island, eat what you catch, learn about local watersheds, and contribute to an environmental action project. The Environmental Leadership Camp offers all these experiences and more! 

   

  Students begin the Environmental Leadership Camp by participating in a three-day, overnight trip to Smith Island. During this time, students will participate in programming from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation which will include learning about the history and culture of Smith Island, as well as exploring and learning about the ecosystems around the island. After this trip, students will return to MSJ and explore our local Gwynn's Falls watershed. Finally, students will demonstrate their knowledge by designing an environmental action project to be implemented in the Fall of 2024. 

• Fire Protection Engineering

  July 15-19, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
  Open to rising juniors and seniors; coed
  Cost: $295

   

  Students will learn basic fire protection engineering principles. Students will begin with an overview of fire phenomena and learn about concepts including material flammability, compartmentation, ventilation, suppression, and detection. Once the foundation is established, students will work in teams to design a small-scale structure with fire detection and suppression systems designs. In this way, students will gain experience in creative design and construction while applying fire protection engineering fundamentals. The week culminates in a controlled burn test of the students’ structures (at facilities at the University of Maryland, College Park, if available). 
  
  

  Sponsored by UMD College Park. Corporate partner: LS Systems 

• FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics Camp

  July 22-26, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
  Open to rising 8th and 9th graders; coed
  Cost: $245
  
  The Mount Saint Joseph Robotics Camp affords students the opportunity to design, build, program, and drive robots with FIRST^® Tech Challenge (FTC) approved kits. Participants will work in teams, along with current MSJ student mentors, to create a robot of original concept and objective.
  

• Genetics & Genomics

  Returning in 2025
  Open to rising juniors and seniors; coed

  Cost: $245
  
  

  For years, bacterial threats were countered by antibiotic “superdrugs” with the power to counter nearly any infection. Today, ‘superbugs’ with developed immunity to our commonly used antibiotics threaten everyday practices in medicine, agriculture, and beyond. In this summer research experience, students will explore the challenges facing scientists attempting to counter antibiotic resistance. They will observe the evolution of antibiotic resistance in the laboratory, and challenge bacteria with environmental stimuli to modify mutation rates. Students will also isolate bacteria from water and soil samples on the Mount Saint Joseph campus and local community and test these bacteria for antibiotic resistances. Students will be challenged to engage in a primary research experience, developing and testing their own hypotheses with fundamental experiments utilizing skills, tools and techniques including maintaining a modern lab notebook, sterile technique, bacterial isolation and culturing, Gram staining and microscopy, bacterial classification, bacterial transformation with antibiotic resistance plasmid, PCR gene amplification, and bioinformatics/sequence analysis (using data sets from pre-existing projects).

• Jazz Camp

  July 15-19, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
  Open to rising 6th-12th graders; coed
  Cost: $195

   

  The summer music camp at Mount Saint Joseph is an exciting week-long camp for drummers, guitarists, pianists, bassists, brass and woodwind players (6th-12th) to learn and play rock, jazz, and popular music. All levels are welcome. Students will join a band and jam by exploring the music from bands such as The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Miles Davis, Tame Impala and more! 

• Middle School Leadership Camp

  July 29-31, 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  Open to rising 7th-9th graders; coed
  Cost: $125
  
  The MSJ Middle School Leadership Camp is a three-day program open to rising 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. The camp offers an opportunity for students looking to grow in areas of leadership in a fun and challenging environment. Led by Mr. Bianco, Director of Student Life at MSJ, and other Mount faculty members, this program seeks to develop skills in leaders faithful to Catholic principles and values and the Xaverian charism. Attendees will participate in seminars, small group discussions, and team-building activities, and will also have the opportunity to hear from guest speakers. This program emphasizes basic leadership theory, the development of leadership skills, and values-based leadership.
  

• Model United Nations

  July 8-12, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
  Open to rising 7th-12th graders; coed
  Cost: $100
  
  The MUN seminar will cover research, writing, parliamentary procedure, interpersonal communication skills, and public speaking. Students will take part in at least two Model UN conference simulations. The seminar will be tailored to accommodate all experience levels.

• Money $killz Personal Finance & Investment Camp

  July 22-25, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
  Open to rising 8th-10th graders; coed
  Cost: $195
  
  Maximize your money! Success starts early so join this summer enrichment program to learn about compound interest, investing, credit, banking, behavioral economics, cryptocurrency, blockchain, NFT's, taxes, and budgeting. Hands-on activities, games, and group work make learning fun and topics easy to understand. Set your future financials on the right track and build your confidence in money knowledge!
  

• National History Day

  July 8-12, 12:30-2:00 p.m.
  Open to rising 7th-12th graders; coed
  Cost: $100
  
  

  This NHD seminar will allow students of all experience levels to get a jump start on their NHD projects for the fall. The program will start with an examination of the yearly NHD theme and the possibilities that it presents for project topics. Participants will also learn how to develop a thesis, conduct historical research, compose an annotated bibliography and select an effective project format.

• STEM Camp

  June 17, 18, 20, 21, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  Open to rising sophomores and juniors; coed
  Cost: $95
   

  MSJ STEM Camp emphasizes fun while learning and will challenge students to exercise their creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they explore topics in physical and environmental sciences, biotechnology, engineering and applied mathematics through a variety of hands-on activities, laboratory investigations and contests, including but not limited to:  

  • Genetic Engineering 
  • Polymer Science 
  • Trajectory Motion
  • Nuclear Waste Disposal 
  • Cryptology 
  • Coding and Maker Space 
  • Model Roller Coaster Construction 

• Study Skills Seminar

  Open to rising 9th and 10th graders; intended for incoming MSJ freshmen; other students accepted
  Cost: $150
  
  Sessions Offered
  

  June 17, 18, 20, 21

  Session 1:  8:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

  Session 2:  10:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

   

  July 8-12

  Session 3:  10:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

   

  August 5-8

  Session 4:  8:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

  Session 5:  10:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
  

  
  The Study Skills Seminar is designed to introduce incoming 9^th grade and high school students to skills that are necessary for learning and lead to success in school. The program will focus on the effectiveness of these skills for many learning situations in everyday life as well as in school. For scheduling purposes, six different sessions of the same seminar are offered.

   

  Skills and topics:

  • Developing a positive attitude               
  • Setting goals                                        
  • Listening skills                                       
  • Time management                                 
  • Taking notes                                         
  • Memory techniques
  • Test-taking
  • Building vocabulary
  • Reading textbooks
  • Study techniques

• Xaverian Leadership Institute

  July 8-10, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
  Open to rising 10th-12th graders; coed
  Cost: $175
  
  The Xaverian Leadership Institute is a three-day summer leadership program open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors that is designed to be a challenging, fun, and enriching experience. Led by Mr. Bianco, Mr. Stromberg, and Ms. Burnham, the XLI seeks to develop 21st-century leaders faithful to the Xaverian charism. Attendees will participate in seminars, creative brainstorming, small and large group discussions, and team-building activities. Students will have the opportunity to hear from outside speakers while gaining practical skills in leadership. This program emphasizes:
  

  • Developing transformational and servant leaders
  • Evaluating personal strengths and weaknesses
  • Learning to fail and responding to failure
  • Practical applications of leadership
  • Catholic and Xaverian values and principles in leadership
  • Effective communication skills for leaders
  • Emotional intelligence: interaction with and impact on others
  • Conflict resolution
  • Importance of diversity in building teams
  • Goal Setting
  • Project planning and delegating
  • Developing soft skills: time and stress management, teamwork, critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, etc.