The Gordon School Summer Series
Six weeks of academic enrichments for students to connect with learning, connect with teachers and connect with friends
Three two-week sessions
9am-11am, Monday to Thursday
Session 1: June 22-25 and June 29 to July 2
Session 2: July 6-9 and July 13-16
Session 3: July 20-23 and July 27-30
Dear Gordon Families,
I am excited to share these summer learning opportunities for students in Preschool to eighth grade, offered to you free of charge. This summer experience will allow students to practice and reinforce reading, writing and math skills in fun and engaging ways with their Gordon teachers and peers.
I am particularly proud of our faculty for their creative responses to the needs of this community. I appreciate their willingness to pivot quickly to create these options below.
Lynn Bowman
Assistant Head of School
The Summer Series is free of charge as part of your 2019-2020 tuition.
You may register a la carte for specific courses in reading, writing and math.
Space is limited in each course, and teachers will be considering the needs and interests of each student when developing the lessons, so please commit to having your child attend every class they sign up for. Drop-ins will not be possible.
Registration will remain open until the course is filled, or five days before the course begins.
Please register your child for the grade they will be in for the 2020-2021 academic school year.
Breakfast and Buddies
Start your day with Early Childhood teachers Ms. Sluss and Ms. Parsons for thirty minutes of learning and fun. Each day will offer a variety of activities to inspire our youngest learners, including Morning Circle, Word Mysteries, Math Fun, Storytelling and Music with Movement.
Monday to Thursday, 9:30-10am / all sessions / rising Preschool, Young Kindergarten and Kindergarten students
Frances and Friends
Now open to students entering Nursery!
Read along with Gordon School’s librarian Ms. Martindale for a joyful exploration of literature and illustration. Featuring special guest appearances from Gordon friends, this course offers a variety of read alouds, discussions and activities.
Monday to Thursday, 10:30-11am / all sessions / rising Nursery, Preschool, Young Kindergarten and Kindergarten students
Register now for Early Childhood
Reading and Writing
Get revved up about reading and writing with Gordon Lower School teacher Ms. Cahoon! Explore engaging stories together and express your excitement about these great literary works. Each session will delve into a different genre and theme.
Monday and Wednesday, 9:30-10am / all sessions / rising first and second graders
Music and Movement
Make a joyful noise and move your body with Ms. Baird of Gordon's music faculty and Trinity Rep's Matthew Bretschneider. This team draws from folk traditions from around the world. Some will be familiar to your child, some are guaranteed to be brand new!
Monday and Wednesday, 10:30-11am / all sessions / rising first and second graders
Español Extravagancia Cocina
Meet Señora Benitez in the kitchen to explore books, songs and recipes, all en Español! This course will allow students to practice the Spanish they already know and to acquire new vocabulary for the fall, all while creating some tasty treats.
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30-10am / all sessions / rising first and second graders
Tuesday and Thursday, 10:15-11am / all sessions / rising third and fourth graders
Lower School Math Club
Are you ready for a fun math challenge? Join Gators staff member and math enthusiast Ms. Plume to sharpen skills by playing games, solving puzzles, and working on brain teasers. Students will also work on mastering tricky problems from elementary school math competitions.
Tuesday and Thursday, 10:30-11am / all sessions / rising first and second graders
Monday and Wednesday, 10:15-11am / all sessions / rising third and fourth graders
Writing Workout
Get ready to exercise your writing muscles! Practice skills in a variety of writing genres as you respond, reflect and revise. Share your writing and get feedback from Ms. Zakin and your peers!
Tuesday and Thursday, 9-9:45 / all sessions / rising third and fourth graders
Lower School Book Club
Join fourth grade teacher Ms. Zakin for discussion, debate, and dialogue during this breakfast book club. Students will share thoughts and responses based on a variety of readings in fiction, poetry and non-fiction.
Monday and Wednesday, 9-9:45am / all sessions / rising third and fourth graders
Register now for Lower School
Library Adventures
Join Gordon middle school teacher Ms. Roterman to explore books in a variety of formats and genres.
Tuesday and Thursday, 9-9:45am / rising fifth and sixth graders
Session one: Graphic Novels
What is storytelling like when words and pictures come together in a series of dynamic, paneled scenes? Students in this course will read and discuss graphic novels in a variety of genres.
Session two: Meet the Author
What if school was a place where you felt you couldn’t be yourself because of your culture? Explore the themes of prejudice and finding your voice in the novel American as Paneer Pie by Supriya Kelkar. Students will also get a chance to meet the author for a special Q&A.
Session three: Art of the True Story
What makes a great true story? Students will read and discuss one of three non-fiction choices from the Summer Reading List.
Storytelling with Ms. Reenan
Monday and Wednesday, 10:15-11am / rising fifth and sixth graders
Session one: Getting the Write Shot
Students will learn to define and identify the rules of photography; create and write about digital images by applying those guidelines; explore the ways in which photography tells stories; create stories through written narrative and digital images; and then meet with a photojournalist.
Session two: The Art of Writing
In this course, students will learn to define and identify different genres of visual art; build critical thinking skills through the consideration of the varied ways in which people look at art and by reflecting upon who they are as viewers of art. Students will then use artwork as a springboard for creative writing in different genres.
Session three: Been There; Scene That: Playwriting
Students will learn about play and scene structure, deconstruct a variety of scenes from different plays, and then compose and perform original scenes based upon moments from their own lives.
Legendary Spanish
Read and discuss Latin American myths and legends—in Spanish—with Gordon middle school teacher Ms. Pezzulli. Each session, students will use different forms of creative expression to explore the themes and imagery from these tales.
Monday and Wednesday, 10:15-11am / rising fifth and sixth graders
Session one: ¡A leer e ilustrar!
Students will bring a Latin American story to life by interpreting it through illustrations.
Session two: ¡Luces! ¡Cámera! ¡Acción!
Students will perform a reader’s theater of one of the stories in Spanish.
Session three: ¿Qué me cuentas?
Students will write their own myth or legend in Spanish, and will illustrate scenes from their story to create a book. Students’ stories will be displayed in the Gordon School library for others to enjoy!
MathCounts
Learn what it takes to be a MathCounts champion! Alumni from Gordon’s MathCounts state championship teams will join math specialist Mr. Kravitz to lead this fun, challenging course for Middle School students. Solve problems, play games, and sharpen those math skills. This course is great for those students who want to prepare for competition in the fall, or those who simply enjoy math.
Monday and Wednesday, 9-9:45am / all sessions / rising fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders
The Craft of Writing with Ms. Garfield
Tuesday and Thursday, 9-9:45am / rising seventh and eighth graders
Session one: The Lost Art of Letter-Writing
Do you know how to address an envelope and place a stamp? What makes a good letter? Reconnect with the art of letter-writing by penning missives to your grandparents, friends, or the Mayor of Providence!
Session two: Evoking a Sense of Place in Writing
Have you ever felt you travel to a different place when you're reading? Practice sensory description and dig deep into how writing can center place as well as plot.
Session three: Expressing Opinions: Writing an Op-Ed
What do you feel passionately about? Learn how to make others care by sharing your thoughts and opinions succinctly and convincingly.
Explorations en Español with Ms. Garfield and Ms. Carrillo
Monday and Wednesday, 10:15-11am / rising seventh and eighth graders
Session one with Ms. Garfield and Ms. Carrillo: Turismo, aventuras, comida!
Students will have virtual adventures and tours of the Spanish-speaking world as they review and learn tourism vocab. Food is a direct path to the heart: students will learn why this saying is such an important part of the Spanish-speaking identity, while cooking, tasting and speaking Español.
Session two with Ms. Carrillo: Cine y arte
Students will immerse themselves in film and art from the Spanish-speaking world, and will recreate famous Hispanic masterpieces.
Session three with Ms. Carrillo: La influencia del Español
Spanish has had a big influence in the world and is more present now than thought. Explore the different ways in which Spanish is being used at the moment.
Reading Dramatic Literature with Ms. Massey
Tuesday and Thursday, 10:15-11am / rising seventh and eighth graders
Session one: Brush Up your Shakespeare - The Comedies
Get ready to laugh! Students will read sections of some of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, decoding the language and reading aloud as the text was meant to be. The course will focus on appreciating and enjoying the humor, depth, and meaning of Shakespeare’s language, while exploring his characters, themes, and the influence of his plays.
Session two: Bring the Drama - Tragic Heroes and Villains
Scholars have been fascinated by the notion of tragic heroes and villains as far back as Greek tragedy, and volumes remain devoted to the subject today. The idea of heroism has become particularly popular with the cult of the superhero, thanks to a seemingly endless parade of superhero blockbuster films. Students will read monologues and scenes from plays and create some drama of their own!
Session three: Storytelling and Playmaking
Stories build community and help us all make sense of ourselves and the world we live in. We need that now more than ever. In reading well-loved stories, students will explore the life experiences that have shaped and defined us as individuals, and then will read great plays that relate to those stories. The class will also explore page-to-stage development as a way of decoding this great literature.