Summer Courses

Admissions

"Westminster School seeks curious and engaged students who want to grow and learn in a challenging and supportive environment. Students who are motivated to become their best selves both in and out of the classroom, taking advantage of the myriad of opportunities Westminster has to offer."

Miles Bailey ’94

Dean of Admissions

About

“At Westminster, we aspire to an extraordinarily ambitious commitment to secondary education, a commitment to nurture the participation of our diverse school community across our entire program — from academics, to studios and labs, gyms, fields and rink, and service to our Hartford community partners. Westminster students are inspired by opportunities to make a difference in all their endeavors.”

Elaine White

Head of School

Arts

"Visual and performing artists at Westminster gain an understanding of traditions and methods while gaining confidence, analytical thinking and public presentation skills. Students also learn self-expression, collaboration and leadership while supportive faculty instill a lifelong appreciation of the arts."

David Chrzanowski
Head of Visual and Performing Arts Department

Athletics

"Athletic success at Westminster is measured not only by wins and losses, but through the bonds created between teammates and coaches, individual and team improvement, and personal growth. When students learn how to be competitors and how to cooperate with one another, they are better prepared to be citizens of the global world."

Tim Joncas '00
Director of Athletics

Hartford Partnerships

"Driven by a desire to serve young people and aware of the obligation of a private school to serve a public purpose, Westminster School's mission statement concludes with the call ‘to commit to a life of service beyond self.’ Westminster's Hartford partnership programs are the outgrowth of that mission with a direct impact on the young people of Hartford."

Kathleen Devaney
Executive Director, Hartford Partnerships and Horizons at Westminster

Student Life

“Involvement will be the key to your success at Westminster School. Get involved with the arts, try a sport you've never played, start your own club, run for student council. You will get out of this experience exactly what you put into it. Do these things early in your life — keep seeking more opportunities for growth.”

A-men Rasheed

Dean of Student Life

Online Summer Learning

New and returning Westminster School students have the opportunity to take one academic course for credit during the summer. In addition, qualified students from outside Westminster can also participate. These pass/fail courses, taught by Westminster faculty on Zoom, can help students prepare for the upcoming academic year, improve academic skills and grow intellectually.

Courses are offered in a distance learning format through the Zoom for Education platform during the summer. Classes meet Monday through Friday for two hours per day and students are expected to spend one-to-two hours per day preparing for class. Students must earn a minimum exam score at the end of the term to earn pass/fail transcript credit. Daily meeting times are determined by faculty to best accommodate the location of students enrolled in the class.

Courses from this past summer are listed below.

Summer 2022 Course Offerings

List of 5 items.

Algebra 1

This first-year course introduces the fundamental concepts of algebra. Its aims include mastering basic algebraic skills and developing competence with the graphing calculator. Students are introduced to variables, order of operations, algebraic expressions, functions, and equations. Properties of signed numbers and other axioms lay the foundation for solving first-degree equations and systems of equations. Students study linear and quadratic functions, their solutions and graphs, and investigate word problems modeling these functions. The year concludes with a study of polynomials, inequalities, and the properties of exponents.
Algebra 2

This course reviews the basic skills of Algebra 1 while building on the notion of a function. Problem-solving and graphing the following types of functions are emphasized: linear, quadratic, polynomial, exponential, logarithmic, radical, and rational. Topics first introduced in Geometry and Algebra 1 are further developed. The graphing calculator is used regularly to enhance and support comprehension.

Prerequisites: Algebra 1 and Geometry
Computer Programming and Coding

This course follows the AP Computer Science A curriculum and assumes no prior programming experience. Students will learn to code in Java, a general-purpose programming language that is one of the most popular in use today. For the first unit, students will work in the JKarel programming environment, a stepping stone to Object-Oriented Programming. From there, we will move on to Java, where students will be introduced to the core principles of objects and classes. Java objects can be used to represent everyday real life objects, such as a car, while classes are like blueprints for making a specific model of that car.

As students master the syntax and vocabulary specific to Java, they will learn general software principles applicable to any programming language, including Python and Ruby. An emphasis will be placed on algorithms, general methods or step-by-step recipes used to solve a specific task.

Students will have nightly reading assignments from the text and exercises corresponding to the topic covered that day. To supplement these assignments, students will also view 8-10 minute videos which summarize the day’s lesson. Weekly problem sets, consisting of longer programming activities, will be due each Monday.

At the conclusion of the five week session, students will be well prepared to transition into the full-year AP Computer Science course.
Geometry

This course consists of the study of shapes in two- and three-dimensional space using the formal language of definitions, postulates, and theorems. Students develop inductive and deductive reasoning skills and learn to construct two column proofs. The properties of parallel lines, congruent and similar shapes, ratio and proportion, the Pythagorean Theorem and right triangle trigonometry, special quadrilaterals, circles, geometric probability, and areas and volumes of plane and solid figures are the primary topics in the course. Alongside this agenda, there is also an ongoing review and enhancement of algebra skills. Specifically, we focus on solving linear and quadratic equations and systems of equations, manipulating and operating on fractions and radical expressions.

Prerequisite: Algebra 1
Pre-Calculus

This course reviews the functions studied in Algebra 2, deepening student comprehension of these functions and their applications. The course thoroughly investigates polynomial and rational functions, trigonometric, logarithmic and exponential functions, as well as power models, with a focus on transformations and graphing. The graphing calculator is used extensively throughout.

Prerequisite: Algebra 2

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