Summer Semester Returns!
Eaglebrook returns with its Summer Program, featuring academic courses, outdoor activities, and competitions.
Over the course of four weeks, Eaglebrook’s Summer Program introduces ten- to thirteen-year-olds to dormitory and boarding life, unique electives, and field trips throughout the Northeastern United States. The Summer Program allows younger students to get a glimpse of the Eaglebrook experience while encouraging creative, hands-on learning. With more than a dozen electives, students can try different arts and crafts, recreational American sports, and public speaking classes. From stone carving to Wiffle Ball, participants can try a variety of activities around campus. Using Eaglebrook’s extensive facilities, students participate in a wide range of activities on the athletic turf, in the swimming pool, and on the tennis courts, and utilize resources offered during the school year. Director of the Eaglebrook Summer Semester Program Brian Rose ’98 believes that providing children with access to these facilities allows them to develop confidence and grow both inside and outside the classroom.
Rose articulated that the program is a “perfect blend of school and camp,” as students attend both academically based field trips and amusement parks, including the Boston Museum of Science, Brownstone Adventure Sports Park, and Six Flags.
In a typical week, students attend three daily classes, including two academic courses and one elective on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, students go on field trips such as visiting the Basketball Hall of Fame, exploring Boston, and trying whitewater rafting. On Sundays, students enjoy a more relaxed day, having brunch and spending time around campus.
In addition to classes and field trips, students participate in athletic periods, snack time, evening activities, and reading periods. This year, the students are divided into teams—Elephants, Bulldogs, and Sharks (EBS)—to compete in a summer-long reading challenge to promote reading habits among younger children. In addition to reading challenges, other events, including team trivia, dodgeball, and Field Day nurture teamwork and collaboration among students. Rose emphasizes that the structure of the reading periods, study hall, and field trips fosters students' growth in time management, balance, and independence.
Aside from reading periods, evening activities encourage students to build deeper connections with one another outside the classroom. Evening activities range from playing dodgeball and tennis matches to swimming sessions. Other nights feature more relaxed gatherings, including fun group times in the dorms. Rose recalled that one of the attendees had previously said he disliked school. After attending the Summer Program, the student changed how he viewed learning. Stories like these, he believes, truly exemplify the program’s success, demonstrating how participants gain personal growth alongside academic enrichment.
Rose also added that the goal of the Summer Program is for students to gain “exposure and enrichment” to boarding school life. Instead of specifically progressing in a subject or sport, the Summer Program focuses on encouraging students to become more independent, responsible, and confident while providing “fun and engaging opportunities for [students] to build strong connections with one another,” Rose said. For international students in particular, the Summer Program helps them immerse themselves in a different part of the world while communicating with students from diverse backgrounds. This exposure strengthens their English while they experience New England culture and interact with peers.
Through the wide range of students that attend, incoming Eaglebrook students in the fall who attend Summer Semester get a sense of what to expect during the school year. Specifically, students gain insight into building structured routines. Eaglebrook English teacher Zack Mandell ’00 shared how the program helps students understand “the value of free time and how time management is necessary in any kind of structured environment.” With Summer Semester’s systemic schedule, students undergo a more casual version of the typical school year. In addition to structured routines, students live in dorms with roommates, interns, and faculty residents. Despite homesickness being common among the students, Kodai Goodrow ’22, an Eaglebrook Summer Semester alumnus and current Summer Semester intern, shared how he helped students cope with being away from home, seeing that they feel more “comfortable to share and talk to [interns] when they are homesick.” Interns often approach students and quickly build strong connections with them. Goodrow described how students are always “very excited to see [him]” and created nicknames such as “LeBron when [he] plays basketball with them.” Through board games and conversations in the dorms, evening activities, and classes, interns forge a strong bond with the students. Similarly, Michael Hioe ’23, an Eaglebrook alumnus and current Summer Semester intern expressed similar sentiments as he emphasized how he “enjoys talking to [the students] in the common room and playing games with them.” The bonds between the students and interns build trust and lasting friendships.
Among the students, despite the prevalence of technology in many children's lives, Hioe shares that the students have “done a good job interacting with each other through classes, sports, and in the dorm.” Instead of being on their phones, he also noted how the students often “played card games or spent time talking in their friends’ room”, emphasizing how it was rare for “kids to be alone on the phone in the room.” Through ample interactions, students develop friendships beyond the four weeks they spend on campus. Throughout the courses, evening activities, and field trips, students become more comfortable interacting with other students despite their different backgrounds and cultures.
Goodrow, a returning alumnus, also gained new perspectives while serving as an intern. From planning the arrival of the students, supervising dorms, to mentoring the younger students, Goodrow has reflected on viewing the Summer Program from the faculty perspective and has also given him a deeper understanding of the responsibilities that come with overseeing the dorm.
Through the amalgamation of outdoor adventures, hands-on electives, dorm life, and meaningful relationships, the program fosters curiosity, independence, and lasting personal growth that extends beyond their four weeks spent on the Hill.
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Rose articulated that the program is a “perfect blend of school and camp,” as students attend both academically based field trips and amusement parks, including the Boston Museum of Science, Brownstone Adventure Sports Park, and Six Flags.
In a typical week, students attend three daily classes, including two academic courses and one elective on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, students go on field trips such as visiting the Basketball Hall of Fame, exploring Boston, and trying whitewater rafting. On Sundays, students enjoy a more relaxed day, having brunch and spending time around campus.
In addition to classes and field trips, students participate in athletic periods, snack time, evening activities, and reading periods. This year, the students are divided into teams—Elephants, Bulldogs, and Sharks (EBS)—to compete in a summer-long reading challenge to promote reading habits among younger children. In addition to reading challenges, other events, including team trivia, dodgeball, and Field Day nurture teamwork and collaboration among students. Rose emphasizes that the structure of the reading periods, study hall, and field trips fosters students' growth in time management, balance, and independence.
Aside from reading periods, evening activities encourage students to build deeper connections with one another outside the classroom. Evening activities range from playing dodgeball and tennis matches to swimming sessions. Other nights feature more relaxed gatherings, including fun group times in the dorms. Rose recalled that one of the attendees had previously said he disliked school. After attending the Summer Program, the student changed how he viewed learning. Stories like these, he believes, truly exemplify the program’s success, demonstrating how participants gain personal growth alongside academic enrichment.
Rose also added that the goal of the Summer Program is for students to gain “exposure and enrichment” to boarding school life. Instead of specifically progressing in a subject or sport, the Summer Program focuses on encouraging students to become more independent, responsible, and confident while providing “fun and engaging opportunities for [students] to build strong connections with one another,” Rose said. For international students in particular, the Summer Program helps them immerse themselves in a different part of the world while communicating with students from diverse backgrounds. This exposure strengthens their English while they experience New England culture and interact with peers.
Through the wide range of students that attend, incoming Eaglebrook students in the fall who attend Summer Semester get a sense of what to expect during the school year. Specifically, students gain insight into building structured routines. Eaglebrook English teacher Zack Mandell ’00 shared how the program helps students understand “the value of free time and how time management is necessary in any kind of structured environment.” With Summer Semester’s systemic schedule, students undergo a more casual version of the typical school year. In addition to structured routines, students live in dorms with roommates, interns, and faculty residents. Despite homesickness being common among the students, Kodai Goodrow ’22, an Eaglebrook Summer Semester alumnus and current Summer Semester intern, shared how he helped students cope with being away from home, seeing that they feel more “comfortable to share and talk to [interns] when they are homesick.” Interns often approach students and quickly build strong connections with them. Goodrow described how students are always “very excited to see [him]” and created nicknames such as “LeBron when [he] plays basketball with them.” Through board games and conversations in the dorms, evening activities, and classes, interns forge a strong bond with the students. Similarly, Michael Hioe ’23, an Eaglebrook alumnus and current Summer Semester intern expressed similar sentiments as he emphasized how he “enjoys talking to [the students] in the common room and playing games with them.” The bonds between the students and interns build trust and lasting friendships.
Among the students, despite the prevalence of technology in many children's lives, Hioe shares that the students have “done a good job interacting with each other through classes, sports, and in the dorm.” Instead of being on their phones, he also noted how the students often “played card games or spent time talking in their friends’ room”, emphasizing how it was rare for “kids to be alone on the phone in the room.” Through ample interactions, students develop friendships beyond the four weeks they spend on campus. Throughout the courses, evening activities, and field trips, students become more comfortable interacting with other students despite their different backgrounds and cultures.
Goodrow, a returning alumnus, also gained new perspectives while serving as an intern. From planning the arrival of the students, supervising dorms, to mentoring the younger students, Goodrow has reflected on viewing the Summer Program from the faculty perspective and has also given him a deeper understanding of the responsibilities that come with overseeing the dorm.
Through the amalgamation of outdoor adventures, hands-on electives, dorm life, and meaningful relationships, the program fosters curiosity, independence, and lasting personal growth that extends beyond their four weeks spent on the Hill.
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