By Anna Hope Emerson ’16, Staff Writer

While students from other schools spend the month of June cramming for exams, Newark Academy students participate in June Term, two-week courses of experiential learning. In the words of Anu Sharma ’15, one of three students on the June Term committee, “June Term gives students a chance to explore a new subject or topic without having to commit to it for a whole year.” Since its inception three years ago, June Term has received very positive feedback from students and teachers alike. This year, the June Term committee consists of Mr. Griffin, Anu Sharma, Andrew Huang, and Betsy Peinado.

One very popular aspect of June Term classes that differentiates them from other courses is their pass/fail grading system. No tests are given, making the courses as stress-free as possible in order to promote students’ interests in a given subject. Paige Cooper ’16, a sophomore, summed up the feeling of many students when she said, “Because there’s no stress about grades, you can focus much more on what you’re doing.” Referencing her June Term course last year, Chinese Culture, she said, “It was a very hands on and dynamic learning experience, and I loved that.”

This year, six new courses have been added to the June Term catalog. The Future of Food, taught by Ms. Gordon and guest Hannah Gordon, will show unique perspectives on how food has changed in the past and is continuing to change today. Documentary Filmmaking, taught by Mr. Milani and guest Mark Brody, is a course in which students will create their own short documentaries from start to finish in small groups. The Newark Academy Book Publishing Bootcamp will simulate a publishing house, in which students will act as guest staffers for the online literary magazine Five Quarterly to produce e-chapbooks in Fiction and Poetry. Ms. Gabb and Ms. De Santa will teach important, professional skills in the departments of Editorial, Marketing, and Arts. Ms. Hone’s “No Guts, No Glory!” class will focus on dissection and provide hands-on experience with vertebrate biology. Betsy Peinado ’15, of the June Term committee, described the new course STEMtastic as a “particularly cool course that will expose students to different aspects of science, technology, engineering, and math.” Finally, Mr. Torson and Mr. Reed will teach a course focusing on war technology and tactics throughout history, entitled “History of Military Strategy.”

Many old June Term favorites have been removed in order to allow the program to delve into new subject matter. Mr. Torson, who taught Outdoor Sculpture for the past two years, spoke avidly about his new upcoming June Term, for instance.“I found an outlet to teach something that I am very interested in,” he said, “but I just want to clarify that this course is not a glorification of war. It is about strategies and tactics used to wins battles that have shaped the course of mankind.” With activities ranging from strategic games, such as Risk and Diplomacy, to studies of both Eastern and Western war art, this course allows students to dive into a topic with a different and more intense approach than a regular class.

Overall, June Term thus far has been and will continue to be an incredibly dynamic learning experience for the students and faculty alike.