By Bill Ulrich ’14, Staff Writer

After Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshman have completed their end of term assessments as well as AP/IB Exams, this spring, they will not immediately go on summer vacation; instead, students will spend another two weeks at school in a new term: the June Term.  For these two weeks, students will spend all their time at school focusing on one course instead of the traditional five.  This one course will cover a very small field where passionate students can really learn from their teacher.  Students are currently selecting their course for the June Term, and are still very unsure about what to expect in June.

The June term has been in development for a long time, and was ultimately the product of the 2007 Strategic Plan.  The Plan

called for an inspiring educational program that would be distinct form other independent schools of the area.  The June Term Committee, a subset of the Curriculum Committee, has been in charge of arranging the June Term expectations of courses. As is the case with many committees, it is made of both students and faculty members. The June Term mission statement pledged that the courses “provide opportunities for students to pursue their passions and discover new interests through offerings that combine intellectual rigor with the ingenuity of focused, experiential learning.”  Then, in order to critique each course, the June Term Committee met with teachers to make sure they met expectations.

Students have a vast selection of over 22 different courses.  Recently, the June Term course options were released to the high school students via an online catalogue. As promised, the courses are very diverse.  They range from studying opera to examining breakthroughs in chemistry to looking into modern international affairs.  Mr. Griffin, a member of the June Term Committee said, “Students should not expect to sit at a desk in the same room for five hours,” referring to an off-campus component to many of the courses.

In the last few weeks, NA opened up June Term registration. Juniors were impressed with the variety of the courses, but slightly confused about what, exactly, would occur during the June Term.  Arjun Arora ’11 said, “I’m not sure what will happen in the June term, but I hope it will be educational and fun.”  Many students do not wish for the June Term to be too difficult and are happy that it is based on a pass/fail grade rather than a letter.  “Ultimately,” Mr. Griffin said,  “we [the June Term Committee] hope that the courses will combine a seriousness of purpose with a sense of fun.”