CATALYST SUMMER LEARNING
June 16, 2014 – August 8, 2014
For more information or to enroll in any of the classes, please contact Outreach Director Meredith Preston at or 303.604.6512. Download the Summer Program Registration Form here.
A variety of exciting classes are available this summer at Catalyst. The possibility for academic credit exists for these courses except for the music camps run by the Colorado Music Festival and Center for Musical Arts – please call for details.
This year the Colorado Music Festival and Center for Musical Arts will be operating out of Catalyst High School while their building undergoes renovations. Their camp runs from June 6th – August 9th, 2014, offering music camps, classes and workshops for all ages, abilities, cultural backgrounds and financial means. For more information or to register for their classes, please go to: http://www.comusic.org/summer-at-the-school/
| The following three Science Courses are taught by Plett Gerardy, a longtime teacher at Catalyst. Please click here for Plett’s biography. |
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PHYSICS FOR FUN (ages 13 – 15) $150 July 28 – August 1 2:00 – 4:00 This class explores basic physics principles in a manner that makes learning easy. The principles of Forces and Motion are explored by experimenting with inertia, friction, gravity and action-reaction while dropping, sliding, rolling, pushing and pulling things. We’ll study the basic components of air and water and learn Bernouli’s Principle while stacking water drops and sailing soap boats. String telephones are used to demonstrate principles of sound, and electricity and magnetism, levers and gears round out the program. This is one fun course you won’t want to miss! Minimum of four students. |
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SOLAR ASTRONOMY (ages 13 – 18) $150 July 14 – 18 10:00 am – noon This class explores the dynamic action of our nearest and most important star, the sun! We will investigate the tools that solar astronomers use to evaluate our home star, using various spectroscopes to view the fingerprints of light and how those allow us to explore the mysteries of the farthest stars and galaxies, as well as our own sun. We will make sun clocks and solar-motion models, and use solar ovens to make treats. The class will explore how solar storms affect the earth and produce the most beautiful astronomical phenomena of all, aurora. Most exciting, we will use the latest in safe solar-viewing technology to view our own sun directly. Minimum of four students. |
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WINGED THINGS (age 13 – 18) $150 August 4 – 8 2:00 – 4:00 This class is a project based introduction to Aeronautical Physics. Exploring the principles and dynamics of flight, we will build and test models of varying parameters and evaluate their performance. We will begin with paper models, and progress to White Wings, which can be gliders or catapult launched. The instruments of flight we create will also include more difficult building techniques, such as flat-wing strut and tissue models, three-dimensional tissue and strut powered models, water rockets and hot air balloons. There is also a computer-design option from NASA for students to design their own gliders. We will also explore literary selections from the writings of Antoine de Saint Exupery, Charles Lindberg, Amelia Earhart and other pilots. Minimum of four students. |
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Video Production (ages 14-18) $350 July 14 – August 8 Class meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 am to noon Taught by Juan Ignacio Stewart This class will train students on media production as a means of youth empowerment, civic engagement and positive youth development, and will develop the ability of students to analyse, evaluate and produce information in a variety of media forms. The class includes hands on audio and video production work, as well as post-production workshops. Students will work with camera equipment, audio recording devices and equipment, computers and post-production software. During the course, students will produce several student-scripted and produced videos, both as individuals and as part of a production team. The instruction will include enhancing the students writing, reading and communications skills. Minimum of four students. Juan Ignacio Stewart is a principal at Grove Street Media in Boulder. Originally from Antigua, Guatemala, Juan sees film as a powerful tool for change and is dedicated to passing on the knowledge to the youth of today. Juan received a BFA in Film Studies and a BA in International Relations from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and has been working professionally in film and video since 2008. |
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Math (ages 13 – 18) $350 July 1 – August 1 Class meets Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays from 8:30 to 10:00 am Taught by Brooke Huibregtse This class will be designed to assist the student in reviewing or learning math needed for the next school year. Subjects covered, depending on the individual students need, include pre-algebra, algebra I and II, geometry and pre-calculus.The class is taught by Brooke Huibregtse, a PhD candidate at CU Boulder. Brooke earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degrees at CU Boulder, and works there as a professors’ teachers assistant in Statistics. |
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Language Arts and Social Studies (ages 13 – 18) $350 July 1 – August 1 Class meets Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays from 10:00 to 11:30 am Taught by Leanne Soucek Language Arts students will build community, reading, writing and technological skills as we create posts for “readsilient,” a blog to share “reads” that have helped us grow in spite of or even because of challenging times. Students choose reading materials, blogging topics and personal journal prompts. This five week class earns combined “Literature and Composition” credit.Social Studies students are also welcome to create posts for “readsilient” by reflecting upon historical fiction, inspirational biographies, memoirs or autobiographies that have helped them feel a sense of renewal, hope, inspiration, etc. Social Studies students also get to choose areas of study that are of high interest to them. Project ideas are welcome and there may be opportunities for combined Language Arts/Social Studies “mini-field trips” to local museums, cemeteries, libraries, coffee-shops, parks, etc.Long-time Catalyst teacher Leanne Soucek will teach the Language Arts and Social Studies class. For more information on Leanne’s background, please go to: Teacher Bios. |
| This year the Colorado Music Festival and Center for Musical Arts will be operating out of Catalyst High School while their building undergoes renovations. Their camp runs from June 9th – August 9th, 2014, offering music camps, classes and workshops for all ages, abilities, cultural backgrounds and financial means. For more information or to register for their classes, please go to: http://www.comusic.org/summer-at-the-school/ |
Download the Summer Program Registration Form.