Middle school students can choose one of the following programs below.

Choice 1: Engineering Your Way to the Finish Line: Instruction will include a hands-on problem-based engineering curriculum utilizing radio-controlled cars. This curriculum will challenge students to collect sample data and make inferences from original data. Students will also apply geometry principles in models that apply the Pythagorean Theorem and right triangle trigonometry. Students utilizing radio-controlled cars will rigorously study real-world problems addressing area and measurement and ratios and proportions. The curriculum is rigorous with investigative reasoning applying mathematical problem-solving techniques in real-world situations. Parents will be invited to the competitions.

Choice 2: Drone Racing This course is designed to introduce students and teachers to the exciting world of flying First Person View (FPV ) drones. Students will learn the fundamentals of drone safety, flight mechanics, and radio control. They will also gain hands-on experience repairing and flying their own FPV drone.

Choice 3: Write on Sports Students will complete two projects by the end of camp: a print-based feature story and a video project both about sports-related topics of their choice. We will have four guest days in which students will meet and interview athletes and professional sports journalists/broadcasters.One of the guest events will be attending a Jackals baseball game in Patterson where students will interview players before the game and then stay to watch the game. Students will write and film shorter spot stories about the guest events.

Choice 4: iBlocks Mars Colony: It is the not-too-distant future and humankind is getting ready to take the next great step in space exploration: a colony on Mars! Intrepid individuals with skills in various STEAM areas are called to assist in planning and building the future colony, and the most daring of them will live there as the very first Martians! During this course, students will research space exploration, Mars, and survival essentials before planning for a historic trip to populate a new planet. Students will need to plan and build solutions for the essentials — habitat, transportation, communication, and more. Together, we can bring humanity to the next era of its development.

Hillside Public Schools

Summer Academies 2024-2025 by Grade

Pre-Kindergarten 4

Kindergarten - 3rd Grade

4th - 5th Grade

6th - 8th Grade