By Vicki Li ’18, Staff Writer

Most schools end mid-June, but Newark Academy’s academic classes end on May 25 this year. Even considering the fact that NA is a private school, that date is pretty early. However, NA students don’t stop learning on May 25, but rather switch to a different and innovative approach to education: June Term. According to the NA June Term website, “June Term is a two-week period devoted to intensive, experiential learning.”  Each course is specifically designed to focus a student’s energies and interests on a particular topic. For example, courses range from 3D Printing, Technical Drawing, and Modeling, a class heavily oriented on learning how to use computer programs, to Paper Art and Design, a more free-lance and artistic class.

During June Term, students go on field trips to expand their knowledge on the course material and meet for about 4.5 hours each day. Students can choose their own course, and each student is graded either  pass or fail. To top that all off, every week there are two fruit breaks, in which students get to go to the cafeteria and pick out healthy brain food. Although June Term may seem like a more relaxed period of the Newark Academy school year, a great amount of work goes into organizing a successful one. The June Term Committee is made up of three juniors and an assortment of faculty members. Last year’s members were Ben Bollinger, Tyler Friedman, and Eva Verzani. This year, led by Mr. Vinikoor, the juniors are Sid Tumu, Ryan Gajarawala, and Jada Smith. The committee works to fulfill the mission of June Term by carefully planning it to make sure runs smoothly. “The committee works to evaluate current courses, add additional courses, consider student input, and enroll students in the courses,” says Ryan. At the end of June Term, every NA student completes a survey that requires them to comment and rate their experience in their respective courses. If you’ve ever wondered where these surveys go, or if they ever get read, June Term Committee is where you’ll find your answer. With students who have actually been through June Term on the committee, student input is valued greatly. The committee want to make sure that students are actually enjoying themselves while learning, and the students genuinely care about the level of satisfaction of their peers. The committee guarantees that the right teachers are teaching each course to further enhance students’ experiences.

Even though June Term is about four months away from now, the committee has already met; in fact, their first session was right after June Term 2016. During their meeting, they discussed past June Terms and considered advice for the upcoming June Term. They also talked about some proposals made by teachers for new June Term courses. For example, last year, the course Happiness was added to the June Term roster, and you can assume that the June Term Committee did the right thing in adding it judging by the positive reviews from the students who took that course. Even if June Term lasts for only about two weeks, there’s a whole year’s worth of preparation behind it.