All Summer EDGE Academic Programs

View the full course list.

High School Courses Session 1: Half Credit

Art I: Composition/Drawing

Grades: 10–12
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 1: June 17–June 28
Credit: Half-Credit
Phase: AC
Anticipated Instructor: Kristin Morrison
Cost: $650

Register Now
Students will explore forms of visual communication using traditional drawing media in this foundation course. Training improves observational skills, media, and compositional proficiency to give students the tools to effectively express their concepts in art and design. Projects apply the creative process of critical inquiry, research, experimentation, and reflection. Students develop their ability to critically evaluate their work and the work of others through individual and group critiques.

Economics

Grades: 10–12
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 1: June 17–June 28
Credit: Half-Credit
Phase: Honors
Anticipated Instructor: Bill Sutherland
Prerequisites: This course is an elective open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This course is open to students in College Prep, Accelerated, and Honors Social Studies courses. Due to the intensive nature of the summer session, the course will follow the Honors curriculum. Successful completion of Economics is a requirement for all students.
Cost: $650

Register Now
This is an introductory survey course in economic theory and practice. This course will cover the following topics: how economic decisions are made, opportunity cost, the rationing of resources, the role of supply and demand in our economy, the function of the price system, government intervention in the marketplace, economic cycles, causes of inflation and unemployment, measuring economic growth, and economic systems. Graphs will be used to illustrate these concepts. We will also discuss how to use economic indicators to explain how consumers, producers, and the government interacts with one another for the betterment of society. The class will also study and discuss current economic conditions, problems, and events.

U.S. Government & Civics

Grades: 11
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 1: June 17–June 30
Credit: Half-Credit
Phase: Honors
Anticipated Instructor: Kevin Walker
Prerequisites: This course is designed for rising juniors. This course is open to students in College Prep, Accelerated, and Honors Social Studies courses who have obtained teacher approval. Due to the intensive nature of the summer session, the course will follow the Honors curriculum.
Cost: $650

This course is a survey overview of the formal and informal structure and processes of the U.S. Government, with a special emphasis on how students can participate in government and enact

change. The course aims to prepare students to play an active and informed role in civic society. Topics covered include the principles of government; the founding and creation of the U.S. government; federalism; political parties; the electoral process; mass media; interest groups; voting rights; the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; civil liberties and civil rights; foreign policy and national defense.

Prerequisites: This course is designed for rising juniors. This course is open to students in College Prep, Accelerated, and Honors Social Studies courses who have obtained teacher approval. Due to the intensive nature of the summer session, the course will follow the Honors curriculum.

U.S. Sports History & Culture

Grades: 12
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session: June 17–June 28, Half Credit (Session 1) and July 8–July 12 (Session 2 – Independent Study/Virtual) *Courses will break for the July 4th holiday
Credit: Half-Credit
Phase: Honors
Anticipated Instructor: Kevin Walker
Cost: $800

Register Now
All students in research courses engage in an iterative research process. Students consider research framing and questions, thesis development, source analysis and evaluation, and research organization. The research process also prioritizes revision, peer-editing, and presentation to an authentic audience. United States History Through Culture utilizes history, sociology, anthropology, and political science in an examination of formal and informal athletic competition and its role in illuminating and expanding students’ understanding of United States history through sports topics. Beginning with a comparative study of how sports are positioned by societies and governments, the course initially focuses on the role of athletic competition in democratic and undemocratic societies. The course then studies how athletics and sports journalism intersect with flashpoints in United States history, including equality and civil rights movements, migration and urbanization, labor relations, globalization, and the changing nature of media.

High School Courses Session 2: Half Credit

Art I: Color

Grades: 10–12
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 2: July 8–July 19
Credit: Half-Credit
Phase: AC
Anticipated Instructor: Kristin Morrison
Cost: $650

Grades: 12
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 2: July 8–July 19
Credit: Half-Credit
Phase: Honors
Anticipated Instructor: Bill Grebe
Prerequisites: This course is designed for rising seniors. This course is open to students in College Prep, Accelerated, and Honors Religious Studies courses who have completed Morality & Social Justice.
Cost: $650

Named after the classic spiritual guide of our patron, St. Francis de Sales, this required senior course is designed to challenge the students with questions of vocation and Christian living. In light of Gospel values, the student is presented with the vocational possibilities open to him in today’s world. He is assisted in discerning and naming his own gifts and accepting his weaknesses as he is called to respond generously and lovingly to God’s call. The student will be guided to examine personal identity, relationship, intimacy, generativity, and love as components of all vocations.

Prerequisites: This course is designed for rising seniors. This course is open to students in College Prep, Accelerated, and Honors Religious Studies courses who have completed Morality & Social Justice. Due to the intensive nature of the summer session, the course will receive HN credit.

Modern Global History

Grades: 11–12
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 2: July 8–July 19
Credit: Half-Credit
Phase: AC
Anticipated Instructor: Steve Fera
Cost: $650

Register Now
Modern Global History examines the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of three major international themes: Globalization, the question of Human Rights, and the impact of and reactions to the role of the West, particularly the United States, in the post-Cold War environment. The collapse of the Soviet Union is marked as a key turning point in world history. This course uses a thematic approach to content delivery and relies heavily on inquiry and analysis of primary and secondary source documents. Learning from a variety of perspectives is a major focus of this course.

High School Courses Session: Full Credit

Geometry

Grades: 9–12
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 1: June 17–July 19 (Courses will break for the July 4th holiday from July 3–July 7)
Credit: Full-Credit
Phase: Honors
Anticipated Instructor: Shannon Murray
Prerequisites: Successful Completion of Honors Algebra I with a grade of "B" or above.
Cost: $1,300

Register Now
The first three-quarters of this course will be a rigorous and thorough excursion into plane and solid Euclidean geometry, including an examination of geometry as an axiomatic system and the role of a variety of types of formal mathematical proof. The first quarter will deal with mathematical logic and rules of inference, angles and triangles, congruency, geometric inequalities of the triangle, and perpendicularity. The second quarter will cover parallelisms, quadrilaterals and their properties, the Pythagorean Theorem, and similarity. The third quarter will be devoted to the study of circles and spheres, arcs and sectors, areas and volumes, and coordinate geometry techniques. Formal and informal proof techniques will be utilized throughout the geometry content. The geometry portion of the course terminates after three quarters so that the fourth quarter of the summer session can be devoted to topics from Algebra 2, including the basic properties and operations of radicals, an introduction to fractional exponents, completing the square to find the center and radius of a circle, operations with rational expressions, and determining the domain of a rational expression. Additional topics from analytic geometry will be included if time permits.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Honors Algebra I with a grade of “B” or above.

Morality and Social Justice: Session 1 Hybrid • Session 2 Virtual*

Grades: 11
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 1: June 17–July 19 *Courses will break for the July 4th holiday
Credit: Full-Credit
Phase: Accelerated
Anticipated Instructor: Michael Finocchiaro
Prerequisites: This course is open to students in College Prep, Accelerated, and Honors Religious Studies courses who have completed Sacred Scripture and obtained teacher approval.
Cost: $1,300

Living a moral life is a key component of living a Christian life. This course will describe the Catholic approach to morality and social justice within the context of the student’s building of a committed relationship with Jesus Christ and a deeper response to God’s call to become a holy people. After considering issues dealing with personal moral decision-making, this course will focus on the Church’s teaching that working for justice is an integral part of living the Gospel message and cooperating in building the Kingdom of God. Students will be challenged to live a justice-centered lifestyle that promotes the common good. This course will also rely on the wealth of Biblical and ecclesial teachings, which identify the Church as a driving force in social reform. Each student will be encouraged to incorporate the principles of both social justice and morality into their daily lives as is consonant with Salesian spirituality. In this manner, all students will be exhorted to become morally and socially responsible persons living Jesus according to the Roman Catholic tradition.

Prerequisites: This course is open to students in College Prep, Accelerated, and Honors Religious Studies courses who have completed Sacred Scripture and obtained teacher approval. Due to the intensive nature of the summer session, the course will receive AC credit.

*During Session 1 (June 17–June 28), students enrolled in this course will have the option to attend class on campus at Salesianum or virtually via Zoom. During Session 2 (July 8–July 19), all students will attend class via Zoom.

Pre-Calculus

Grades: 10–12
Time: 9 AM–12:30 PM
Session 1: June 17–July 19 (Courses will break for the July 4th holiday)
Credit: Full-Credit
Phase: Accelerated
Anticipated Instructor: Dan Kegelman
Prerequisites: Successful Completion of Accelerated Algebra II with a grade of "B" or above.
Cost: $1,300

The Pre-Calculus course is intended to provide solid preparation for the student who intends to continue his study of mathematics at the college level. This full-year course includes a thorough study of trigonometry plus coverage of topics essential to the study of Calculus, namely: polynomial, rational, logarithmic, exponential, and inverse functions; graphical analysis, curve sketching, trigonometry, and the circular functions, polar coordinates, trigonometric form of complex numbers, an introduction to limits, counting theory (combinations and permutations), and, time permitting, an introduction to the derivative.

Prerequisites: Successful Completion of Accelerated Algebra II with a grade of "B" or above.

Workshops

Creative Writing

Grades: 7–9
Time: 9 AM-12 PM
Dates: June 17–20
Anticipated Instructor: Mr. Joe O'Brien
Cost: Free

Register Now
The second annual Salesianum Creative Writing Workshop is an opportunity for students to experiment with different forms of writing. Each day, a different Salesianum teacher will talk about a style of writing he or she loves, including short stories, songs, comic books, and movie scripts. Students will then be given time and resources to create their own pieces in a fun, collaborative environment!

Note: This is a grant-funded workshop is designed specifically for boys.

Freshman Workshop

Grades: 9
Time: 9 AM-12:00 PM
Date: July 22–August 2
Anticipated Instructor: Nate Baxter-Math, Mark Quinn-Reading & Writing, Dave Freeberry-Salesian Gentlemen
Cost: $550.00

Math & Problem-Solving
These sessions will build the foundation necessary for successful study of Algebra. Students will study topics focused on increasing their number sense and conceptual understanding of pre-algebra concepts. Students will become familiar with the properties of mathematics; order of operations; the language of algebra; solving one-step and two-step equations; solving inequalities; adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing rational numbers and integers; working with fractions, decimals and percentages; and ratios.

Reading & Writing
These sessions will strengthen the writing skills necessary for interdisciplinary success at the high school level. Students will work collaboratively to enhance their understanding of the components of effective argumentation through close examination of the stages of the writing process. Participants will strategically brainstorm, develop theses, build text-based claims, and outline long-form arguments. Strategies for active reading, approaches to giving & receiving peer feedback, and strategies for oral communication will also be addressed.

Transforming Into a Salesian Gentleman: Preparing to Enter High School
These sessions will help with the transition from middle school to high school by exploring various modules to assist incoming freshmen, focusing on executive functioning skills. Topics such as learning styles, growth mindset, managing stress, organization, time management, and study skills will be covered. We will also provide a brief overview of our mission and how we approach religion at Salesianum through our Salesian identity.

SAT Prep

Grades: 9–12
Time: 9 AM-12:00 PM
Dates: July 22–August 2
Anticipated Instructors: Dan Kegelman
Cost: $550

Register Now
Enrolled students will take both Math and Reading, Writing, & Language sections. Students may take a Summer EDGE course for credit and the SAT prep courses in the same summer. SAT Prep Workshop does not correlate with academic credit.

Middle School Workshops

Nailing the High School Placement Test: Session 1

Grades: 6–8
Time: 9 AM-12:00 PM
Dates: July 22–July 26
Anticipated Instructor: Kristen Potts
Cost: $300

Register Now
Many private high schools require students to complete a High School Placement Test (HSPT) for acceptance and placement to determine scholarship eligibility. These schools include but are not limited to Salesianum, Padua, Tower Hill, Tatnall, Wilmington Friends, Sanford, Ursuline Academy, Caravel Academy, and more. Prepare your Middle School student to be successful on the entrance exam! Salesianum School Summer Edge is offering a Test Prep Course. The goal is to provide middle school students with the skills needed to improve their scores. We provide a thorough review of test content, test-taking strategies, and test timing for the exam along with essay prompts. Students will receive several practice tests, as well. The Summer Edge HSPT Test Prep Course will be administered over the course of a 15-hour week. Help your student to feel confident in their high school entrance exams!

Nailing the High School Placement Test: Session 2

Grades: 6–8
Time: 9 AM-12 PM
Dates: July 29–August 2
Anticipated Instructor: Kristen Potts
Cost: $300

Back