The 2008 SUMMER INSTITUTE PROGRAM will offer some challenging and entertaining courses.Dowload an application here. (PDF file)
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The College for Youth Summer Institute is a selection of courses designed to challenge, excite, and stretch the minds of academically talented middle school students. These enriched learning experiences have been deliberately scheduled near the end of the summer school break to serve as a “springboard” to re-enter regular school classrooms.
Each course is designed to develop four skill sets that educa-tors and employers have found to be important for success:Critical analytical thinking,
Effectively communicating,
Working in teams, and
Using technology.
Who Should Participate
Benefits to the Students
Tentative Dates of the Program
2008 Courses
Social and Recreational Activities
Eligibility for the Summer Institute
Need-Based Scholarships
Application Distribution
Contact Person
Who Should Participate
The College for Youth Summer Institute is a selection of courses designed to challenge, excite, and stretch the minds of academically talented middle school students. Students currently in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades are the target audience. Talented students moving from the 5th grade into 6th may find these classes especially beneficial as the classes model the middle school classroom style and pace of material, thus better preparing them for the transition.
Benefits to the Students
Students in the Summer Institute will take only one course, which will last two weeks. This will allow for intense immersion in the subject area and extensive interaction among the students in the course. There will be no more than 15 students in a course. The course structure will encourage students to share academic abilities and foster a love of learning.
All students in the program will also have the opportunity to come together for a group learning activity. The definition of these activities will depend on the courses being taught.
An additional key component of the program will be an individualized student evaluation provided by the course faculty member at the conclusion of the session. This evaluation will identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for the student in future studies.
Dates of the 2008 Program
The Summer Institute 2 week courses will be held Monday through Friday, July 28-August 1 and August 4-8, 2008. Classes will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. There will be a 25-minute lunch break followed by an activity period.
2008 Courses
Examining the Evidence
FUNdamentals of Physics
Be a member of the Morningside Crime Scene Investigator (CSI-Mside) team as you delve into the real world of forensic science. In this two-week session, you will explore the daily life of a CSI investigator. As a forensic scientist, you will recover evidence from mock crime scenes. Using high-tech molecular biology techniques and other procedures, keeping records, and working in teams, students will narrow down suspects and determine who is the perpetrator of the “crime.”
Explore science like you’ve never seen it before! Get your hands on high-tech tools, dig into cool labs, and interact with fascinating demonstrations. Cover the basics of kinematics, dynamics, and more. Meet some famous historical scientists, ride a hovercraft, use high tech computer sensing equipment, and design your own lab.
Patterns, Fractals, and Chaos
This will be a hands-on course where students will discover the hidden number patterns in nature. Students will learn how to program graphing calculators to see the fractals (geometric structures comprised of repeated shapes) produced by these number patterns. Other related topics will be covered. Students will develop a deeper appreciation for the wisdom and beauty contained in mathematics.
Physics of Space Flight
Explore Rocket Science and Space Flight through scientific inquiry, involving hands-on experiments in rocketry, and all of the introductory physics necessary to explain why rockets fly, why astronauts appear weightless, and why spinning satellites (and spinning footballs) fly straight. Utilizing High Powered Water Rockets (HPWR), students will conduct experiments to test how well theory matches observation in a quest to design the ultimate rocket.
The Writer's Experience: A Workshop
Students will experience, first-hand, writing as a process in which a writer calls upon literacy skills, critical thinking, creativity, technology, personal knowledge and communica-tion with others to develop the art of the written word. Students will experience writing more thoughtfully, intensively, and creatively. Students will publish an on-line magazine of their works. (Students enrolled in this course will need signed parent permission for on-line Internet activities.)
Dynamics of Military EngagementThrough the exploration of key military battles fought on American soil, students will learn about leadership, strategy, tactical decision-making, probability theory, topography, and meteorology. Students will sharpen their analytical skills to determine why history unfolded the way it did. Battles will be re-created in miniature by students to gain hands-on familiarity with the elements that can determine the outcome of a battle.
Social and Recreational Activities
Students will have daily opportunities to meet and interact with other students in the Summer Institute. Students will quickly get to know the other students in their course, but, in addition, all students will eat lunch together and have a group learning activity.
After lunch students will have a supervised recreational activity. The activity may vary from day to day, with students being supervised by coordinator, faculty and/or instructional assistants.
Eligibility for the Summer InstituteA student currently in the 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th grade is eligible for the program if he/she meets a combination of the following (see the application for full details):
- For Math or Science Courses: has scored at the 90th percentile or higher in Math & Science for a Summer Institute Math or Science course; or has scored at the 85th percentile or higher for the Writing or Military course on the most recent test of basic skills (ITBS, Dakota STEP, California TBS).
- Is currently identified as a TAG student.
- Has a CAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) composite score of 115 or greater. (If your school administers this test, you must contact your school for a copy of these test scores.)
- Obtains two letters of recommendation from science or math teachers reviewing the student’s past and potential performance; only pertains when applying for a math or science course. (See application for more details.)
- In the past year has taken the SAT and received a minimum composite score of 900 or the ACT and received a minimum composite score of 19; submit copy of the score sheet.
Need-Based Scholarships
A limited number of full or partial scholarships are available for those who are in need. To apply for a scholarship, com-plete that section of the application and submit the requested documents with the application. Requests for a need-based scholarship will remain confidential.
Application Distribution
Application packets are targeted to be distributed in March 2008.
Download an application here. (PDF)
(Click here for the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
Contact Person
Inquiries may be directed to:
Summer Institute Program Coordinator
Morningside College
1501 Morningside Avenue
Sioux City, IA 51106(712) 274-5150