<p>It seems like it's the time of the year when folks might be looking for summer programs for their hs kiddos. We are looking for something for DD. She has spent the last three summers at an intensive music camp program (with both classes and recreational things in the schedule). She would like to do something different this year. She would love to find some program that would not focus on music but might still have a wind ensemble or orchestra to play in too. She is interested in many different things...I think she might like something like a law forum, or maybe forensics, or something. I guess what I'm saying is that any suggestions would be appreciated. She got some info re: programs at U of Miami...but said the south in the summer is not where she would like to be. So...any ideas??? DD is currently a hs junior.</p>
<p>If she's interested in volunteering, I suggest Landmark Volunteers (<a href="http://www.volunteers.org%5B/url%5D">www.volunteers.org</a>). My daughter did this program last year, and had a tremendous experience. There are two-week volunteer opportunities available all over the country. Last I checked, next summer's offerings were not up on the website, but you can get an idea from last year's offerings. I do recall that one of their volunteer offerings is at Tanglewood.</p>
<p>I tried the link for <a href="http://www.volunteers.org%5B/url%5D">www.volunteers.org</a> and I got the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council. Any chance the site has changed?</p>
<p>Try volunteers.com.</p>
<p>Thank you...it was .com</p>
<p>here's a link to math/science camps. That won't help Thumper's daughter, but might be of interest to someone else:
<a href="http://www.ams.org/employment/mathcamps.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.ams.org/employment/mathcamps.html</a></p>
<p>Texas137, can you recommend a computer summer camp for 13 to 15 years kids? Thanks.</p>
<p>Here's the Hoagies site. The only debate camp I saw was at Michigan State, but there may be others.
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/summer.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/summer.htm</a></p>
<p>Here's the Johns Hopkins site which lists a lot of choices under the "Summer Programs for Debate"</p>
<p><a href="http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/linkA3.htm%5B/url%5D">http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/linkA3.htm</a></p>
<p>I'll second the endorsement for Landmark. My son did the 2 weeks at Tanglewood and got to see some fabulous concerts and scrub chairs at the Ozawa Shed as well! He really liked it.</p>
<p>There is a great book of summer programs out out by Yale Daily News/Kaplan..called Summer Programs for HS Students or some such thing. It is well organized by location, program type, etc....</p>
<p>t1388 - did your child do any of the talent search programs? My son took a summer programming course thru Duke TIP at age 13, which was very worthwhile. JHU has one too. And if you child gets proficient enough to be invited to USACO camp <www.usaco.org> at some point, that's a fabulous program. I'm not really familiar with the options in btwn., but I know they are out there. Someone else may have more experience. Some computing camps are pretty specialized. Is your child interested in something specific, like programming, game design, web-design, something else?</www.usaco.org></p>
<p>Sorry, my post is in the wrong thread.</p>
<p>Texas137, thank for your information. My son did Visual Basics last year and learned to code Basics in 2 weeks. However the camp had too much free computer gaming time. I am looking for more programing oriented camps. I don't think he is good enough to do the USACO camp yet So it is something in between. Please advise if anyone had any experience with computer camps.</p>
<p>Thumper, you might look into Education Unlimited (educationunlimited.com). I believe that they have some public speaking, theater, performing programs. My son did one of their academic prep camps at Stanford and I was impressed by the counselors and organization. They have programs at a number of different sites.</p>
<p>My daughters are going to be doing a 2-week French immersion at Concordia Language Villages. Then one heads off to soccer and a tournament in Hawaii. The other is looking for good dance camps--any suggestions? I would also be interested in good creative writing programs. I have the Johns Hopkins catalog with writing courses and they all sound wonderful, frankly--has anyone had any personal experience?</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion about the book on summer programs.</p>
<p>You might want to look at Centre for Talented Youth Ireland (CTYI) </p>
<p><a href="http://www.dcu.ie/ctyi/sitemap.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.dcu.ie/ctyi/sitemap.htm</a> </p>
<p>also. They take American students there, and my son had a really good experience there last summer. There is a wide variety of courses at CTYI.</p>
<p>I'd suggest you consider the summer program at Phillips Exeter Academy, in New Hampshire. Lots of interesting classes that aren't offered at your standard high school (e.g., The United Nations, global economics, architecture, archaeology, etc.), several music ensembles, great faculty (including college professors), top-notch facilities, prep school/college dorm living, etc. Admission is only slightly competitive. Not cheap, but they do give out substantial financial aid if you qualify.
<a href="http://www.exeter.edu/summer%5B/url%5D">http://www.exeter.edu/summer</a></p>
<p>t1388 - sounds like you are looking for something pretty academic, maybe to learn Java or C++? I just Googled "computer camp" plus "programming" and got a bunch of hits that looked interesting. You could probably narrow it down even further if you added the specific language that he's interested in. C++ was previously the language on the AP exam, and is still preferred by a lot of serious programmers. But the AP exam has just switched to Java, so you may find more camps offering that. (you're right - USACO camp is only very advanced programmers. But it's something to work towards!)</p>
<p>Any programs on government besides JSA</p>
<p>Programs I've done that were great:
-CTY (but this is mostly for younger students, 16 is the oldest you can be)
many classes to choose from, great way to learn stuff you normally wouldn't see in the classroom, a LOT of fun!
-International Seminar Series: Service Learning in Paris
community service in the morning, classes (in french of course!) in the afternoon, open to all levels of french, best for students who can communicate in french enough that they could get by
- Stanford University Math Camp
great program, choose from number theory/topology, small program (only about 40 students), advanced math, research project, guest lectures, trips on the weekend, random activities, a lot of fun</p>
<p>My daughter did the Duke TIP program for two years and loved it. After her junior year, she did the Youth Theological Initiative at Emory. They take about 50 students of all different religions with an interest in theology. All who are selected to attend receive full tuition, room, and board paid by the Eli Lilly Foundation. My daughter enjoyed it and it broadened her horizons -- plus it was a "different" item to file under summer experiences.</p>
<p>Does your state have a Governor's School Program?</p>
<p>NJ has a pretty established program with perhaps 5-6 different schools in various areas: technology, arts, government, etc.
Admission is competitive but worth the hassle to get in. In NJ, students apply in junior year H.S. for attendance the following July. Residential 4 week program, all expenses paid. </p>
<p>Our son is now a freshman in college but Governor's school was one of his most valued experiences to date. He was an instrumentalist in the Arts School. He has maintained close friendships with 5 others from the program; all are very accomplished and motivated kids. In fact, he's home on break this WE and catching up with one of his GS buds tonite.</p>
<p>Probably each state runs its GS differently but it might be something to look into if your student has a passion in a certain area of study.</p>