ACS Athens Institute for Critical and Creative Thinking

Summer Scholars’ Academy

ACADEMIC GATEWAY PROGRAM

A program for new students entering grades 9 and 10
June 28- July 9, 2010 (9:30 – noon; 1:00 – 2:30 daily)

The Academic Gateway Program is designed to provide an opportunity for

students new to ACS Athens to experience the challenging, student-
centered approach to learning that is at the heart of the ACS Athens
experience. It is also designed to give new students a good sense of “how
we do things at ACS Athens” before they begin formal studies in
September.

The program will be taught as a series of participatory, hands-on (and

“minds on”) seminars and workshops designed to reinforce strategies for
successful learning in the various subjects that comprise the ACS Athens
program (Language/Literature, Humanities, Natural and Social Sciences,
Mathematics, Technology and the Arts), and to help students gain the
confidence they need to be active, critical, creative and skilled learners
prepared for rigorous high school and college study. Students will also be
introduced to the routines, practices and expectations that are important
parts of student life at ACS Athens.

They will explore issues related to the theme of change and begin to think
about planning for the future. The program will help students to develop
the good writing skills, study habits, organizational skills and time
management strategies that are necessary for success in school and in life.
Experienced ACS Athens instructors will provide students with personal
attention as they work on individual and cooperative learning activities.
They will challenge students to think critically and creatively to untangle
complex concepts and explore alternative approaches and solutions to
multi-faceted questions. They will lead students on field study experiences
that extend the classroom to the whole city of Athens. They will
demonstrate that learning can be fun.

Cost: 1000 euros (Minimum of 5 students required for course to run.)

Promoting Critical
& Creative Thinking
The American Community Schools of Athens
Institute for Critical and Creative Thinking
ICCT Summer Academy Programs - 2 C

SAT PREP ACADEMY

A program for students in grades 10 – 11
June 28 – July 9, 2010 (10:00 – 1:30 daily)

¾ Ten intensive daily sessions, led by ACS Athens staff

¾ Classes meet for three hours between 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
¾ Two classes per session: Mathematics /Critical Reading and
Writing
¾ Maximum class size: 7-8 students
¾ Classes will focus on specific test taking strategies, test taking
practice and content review and reinforcement.
¾ Cost: 500 euros (ACS Athens students)

Minimum of 7 students required for course to run. Maximum number of

students who can be enrolled: 15.

Courses for ACS Athens high school credit

HEALTHY CHOICES/HEALTHY LIVING

A program for students entering grades 10-12
June 24 – July 9, 2010 (10:00 – 1:30 daily)

This discussion-rich, project-based course offers an intensive study of the

important health and nutrition topics necessary for all high school students
to know, so that they can make informed choices to promote physical,
mental and emotional health. The student will study such topics as self-
esteem, stress management, abuse, First Aid techniques-CPR, nutrition
and exercise, human sexuality, sex and family planning, substance abuse,
and STD’s. Successful completion of this course will earn students .5
credits and satisfy the ACS graduation requirement for Health.

COST: 500 euros

Minimum enrollment: 5 students. Maximum enrollment: 15 students.
ICCT Summer Academy Programs - 3

ADVANCED ALGEBRA
A course for students who have completed Algebra I
June 28 – July 23, 2010 (10:00 – 1:30 daily)

The summer Advanced Algebra program has been designed for students
who wish to enter Pre-Calculus or IB Math SL in grade 11 and who need to
advance one level in Mathematics to meet the Algebra II requirement in
order to do so. Students who successfully complete the course (including
receiving a satisfactory grade on the final assessment) will receive .5
elective credits, which will be applied towards meeting ACS Athens
graduation requirements.

This course contains both content that reviews or extends concepts and
skills learned in previous grades and new, more abstract concepts in
algebra. Students will gain proficiency in solving linear equations,
inequalities, and systems of linear equations. New concepts include
solving quadratic equations and inequalities, investigating polynomials
and rational expressions. Students will also investigate exponential and
logarithmic functions.

Students will be actively engaged using concrete and virtual materials and
appropriate technologies such as graphing calculators and computer
software. Students will also identify and apply real-life applications of the
mathematical principles they are learning to science and other disciplines
they are studying.

Mathematics has its own language, and the acquisition of specialized

vocabulary and language patterns is crucial to a student's understanding
and appreciation of the subject. Students are encouraged to use correctly
the concepts, skills, symbols, and vocabulary identified in the course.

Problem solving is integrated throughout the different components of the

curriculum. The development of problem-solving skills is a major goal of
the mathematics program at ACS. Instruction in the process of problem
solving will help students develop a wide range of skills and strategies for
solving a variety of problem types.

Minimum enrollment: 5 students. Maximun enrollment 15 students.

Cost: 1000 euros

ICCT Summer Academy Programs – 4

Mime and Movement

Physical Theatre - Circus - Slapstick - Mask work
A course for students entering grades 10-12
June 24 – July 9, 2010 (10:00 – 1:30 daily)
The Mime and Movement Course will include 12 sessions on the following four theater
practices, emphasizing mime as a technique and how movement can be used as a vehicle
of communication in different contexts:

1. Physical Theatre (3 sessions) This part of the course looks at how to use our bodies
for our effects, rather than using props, scenery, or sound.

2. Circus (3 sessions) These sessions aim to develop students’ understanding of mime.

The text which students encounter during this project includes images of the circus, films
about the circus, scenarios for different characters in the circus and circus music.

3. Slapstick (3 sessions) These sessions explore the genre of slapstick / physical comedy.
During this project pupils will develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in mime,
physical comedy and proxemics. Pupils also work on pace and timing skills as well as
character development and their ability to sustain a role. The resources which students
encounter during this project include film clips of slapstick (or images of slapstick) and
musi (eg ragtime).

4. Mask Work (3 sessions) This part of the course introduces the use of masks (trestle
masks) in performance. At the end of the project, students perform in class a short
improvisation involving characters using masks.

Students who successfully complete this course will earn .5 Arts credits, which will be
applied towards meeting ACS Athens graduation requirements.

Minimum enrollment: 6 students. Maximum enrollment 15 students.

Cost: 500 euros
Application Form
Complete and submit the application form no later that June 15, 2010 for Academy gateway
Program and May 15 for all other courses. 200 euro registration fee (applied to course
tuition) due with submission of application. Final payment due on June 15, 2010.

COURSE/PROGRAM:

PERSONAL INFORMAT I O N
Full name:

Telephone: Mobile:

Email:

EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION

Current School:

Current Grade Level: Native Language:

Educational Goals:

Parent’s/Guardian’s Signature: Date:

Applicant’s Signature: Date:

Please return this application via fax or email to:

Ms. Marietta Garbis
ACS Athens - Institute for Creative & Critical Thinking
Tel: +30 210 6393200 x251 Fax: +30 210 6390051
garbism@acs.gr

or submit application directly to Ms. Garbis between 9-4, in the ICCT offices, Arts Center at ACS
Athens .

Deposit and final tuition payments should be made directly to the ACS Athens cashier, in the
Administration Building at ACS Athens.