High school students will engage in a 4-week rotation of courses, or (one) 4-week course in Robotics, or four weeks of Theater.

Integrated Pathway to Justice includes:
Poetry: Students will spend time exploring poets and poetry. They will analyze types of poetry, create their own, and participate in a Poetry Slam.

K’Nex: Students will build an amusement park. The goal of the activities is to build multi-step problem-solving skills while developing students' creativity. Students may also engage in reflection activities to support their thinking throughout the sessions.

Junior Achievement: Junior Achievement High School Heroes provides leadership development opportunities to high school students who will deliver financial literacy lessons in our Hillside elementary schools.

Broken Laws, Financial Literacy, Criminal Justice: Students will study a component of the law and engage in research to solve the following problems: How can we change the law to make our society better for everyone? In what ways can our criminal justice system use reforms?

Four-week courses (stand-alone):

Martian Habitat: In the year 2052, Earth has suffered an environmental disaster. Robots are sent to Mars to prepare for human habitation to save the human race. Students will design and program a robot to clear Martian rocks and 3d print a habitat for humans to live in. No previous skills/coding experience is required, only a willingness to learn. Four-week course

Fast Food and You: In collaboration with SparkMath you will have the opportunity to think critically about how fast food impacts you and your community.

Theatrical Arts: Students will work together to design a Theatrical Revue to be performed. Time will be spent on acting, singing, dance techniques, and scene work. All of these will then be combined for a performance of music, dance, and scenes. Some time and attention will also be given to basic technical elements of theater. This program will play to students’ strengths, allowing them to work to gain more skills and confidence in all areas of performing arts - experience or not!

Vanguard Team: Students will be trained in assisting with summer tech issues, creating support videos for new students & teachers, problem-solving, and supporting the district technology department. Four-week course

Chemistry of Cooking: This course addresses the chemical processes involved in cooking. Students will learn about chemical oxidation, fermentation, and the role of proteins, fats, sugars, and leavening agents in food, among other topics. Students will perform food chemistry-based experiments both in the kitchen and chemistry laboratory.

Small, individualized lessons:

Band Lessons - students can have 15-30 minutes of individualized lesson time or partnered lesson time with similar instruments (Woodwind, Brasswind, Percussion, and Strings) leading towards an ensemble practice and small performance

Music Theory - Advanced music lessons utilizing music terminology and computers to create larger multi-part compositions

Hillside Public Schools

Summer Academies 2024-2025 by Grade

Pre-Kindergarten 4

Kindergarten - 3rd Grade

4th - 5th Grade

6th - 8th Grade

9th - 12th Grade (Comet Summer Series)