Summer 2023 Course Offerings

Each course earns a student one (1.0) credit, unless otherwise noted by an asterisk (*). Courses earning one or one-half credit will appear as graded courses on a student transcript and will factor into student GPA calculation.
 

Day students who reside in the geographic vicinity of Georgetown Prep are expected to attend summer classes in person. Any student who feels he cannot attend class in-person for any reason must receive the approval of the teacher and Dr. Maginnis before enrolling.

Resident students who do not reside in the vicinity of Prep are welcome to attend classes virtually with the approval of the teacher and Dr. Maginnis.

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Geometry
This course is intended to accelerate the curricular progression for rising sophomores. This course is by invitation only; a student must have excelled as a freshman in Intermediate Algebra or Algebra, and must have shown the requisite level of mathematical fluency and ability to be considered for enrollment by the Department. A student must enroll in Algebra 3 as a sophomore following successful completion of the course.
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Mr. Bill Whalen

Theology III
This summer Theology course is designed for rising juniors who would greatly benefit from increased flexibility in their school-year schedule. The course will focus on Christian ethics, both personal and social. Students will engage the questions of what it means to be virtuous and how to make ethical decisions by drawing on the classical philosophical traditions, social psychology, and the Christian spirituality. Through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching, students will also examine what it means to live a faith that does justice.

This summer class covers the academic coursework of Theology III, but students are still expected to be in contact with the teacher throughout the school year, during which time additional spiritual components of the course (e.g., service reflections) will be completed. (Prerequisite: Theology II and approval of both the Academic Dean and Theology Chair via the Theology III Application)
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Mr. Julius Tangwe

Introduction to Trial Law*
So you think you want to be a trial lawyer? This course will provide valuable insight into the legal process leading up to and through trial of a civil case, including legal ethics. The course will focus on key elements of a winning case, including the client intake interview, pre- litigation strategy decisions, motions practice, the discovery process, effective opening statements, direct and cross examination of witnesses and persuasive closing arguments. The class will meet for 3 weeks, Monday - Friday, 9 am - 12 pm, June 12–30. Active class participation, case reading and some writing assignments will be required. Enrollment is limited to 18 students. This course is for enrichment only; it will appear on a student’s transcript but no grade or credit will be assigned.
Cost: $1500
Instructor: Mr. Errol Patterson
Mr. Errol R. Patterson is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Baltimore School of Law school where he teaches Civil Procedure. He has over thirty years of trial law experience.  

A Taste of Francophone DC*
Culture, Cuisine, and Commemorations in the Nation's Capital - Become a culturally competent and culinary diplomat in one week by exploring DC's French-speaking countries, cuisines, and commemorative sites in the Nation's Capital. A taste of Francophone DC will introduce students to the countries, cultures, food, and chefs of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Haiti, and Senegal. Learn about a country in the morning, sample its cuisine in a local restaurant at lunch, and visit a local commemorative site related to that country in the afternoon. The French press called gastrodiplomacy "the culinary soft power." Come learn why, and tour the French-speaking world right here in Washington. A bientôt! 
Cost: $800
Instructor: Ms. Kirsten Keppel

Pre-Advanced Placement German Preparation Workshop*
Politics in the Bundestag - Students will immerse in the life of political parties in the German parliament, called the Bundestag. They form political parties, discuss and debate important issues of the world today, run elections and create expertise groups to advise the government. The “Bundestag” is the frame story of this Pre-AP course in the summer. Students who successfully completed their German II course and are interested in taking AP German in the fall are invited. The course expands on previously learned grammatical, communicative and cultural concepts, which were taught in German II and German Honor. At the same time, it is also designed to prepare the students for the AP course by the way that students will work through the German III content while practicing the AP formats; these are interpersonal and presentational speaking and writing as well as reading and hearing of AP style texts. The course is a necessary prerequisite for the upcoming AP class in the fall. This course is for enrichment only; it will appear on a student’s transcript but no grade or credit will be assigned.
Cost: $1500
Instructor: Mrs. Erika McGinn
 

Day students who reside in the geographic vicinity of Georgetown Prep are expected to attend summer classes in person. Any student who feels he cannot attend class in-person for any reason must receive the approval of the teacher and Dr. Maginnis before enrolling.

Resident students who do not reside in the vicinity of Prep are welcome to attend classes virtually with the approval of the teacher and Dr. Maginnis.

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Pre-Advanced Placement World History Preparation Workshop*
The purpose of the OPTIONAL summer class is to provide a leg up for rising sophomores taking AP World History in the fall so that they hit the ground running and feel confident in their preparedness to take a demanding AP curriculum. The course will introduce students to the structure, language, periodization, 6 primary themes, AP website and resources, and geographical regions of the AP curriculum. However, the majority of the class will focus on the two AP essays, document-based and long, so that students understand the rubrics and necessary skills to build strong and persuasive essays. We will work with lots of documents which are at the core of any history course, helping students to understand the importance of contextualization, bias, purpose, causation, comparison, and change and continuity over time. This course is for enrichment only; it will appear on a student’s transcript but no grade or credit will be assigned. Students should expect three full weeks for completion of this course.
Cost: $1500
Instructor: Mr. Marcos Poole

Honors Chemistry
Summer Honors Chemistry is an accelerated introductory chemistry course. The course will cover the foundations of chemistry including atomic structure, gases, bonding, the periodic table, the mole concept, stoichiometry, and an introduction to acids and bases, kinetics, and equilibrium. This course is designed for motivated students who want to accelerate their science studies and have more opportunities to take AP Science courses, such as AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics, and AP Environmental Science. Any student who must attend virtually should be prepared to take oral assessments via Zoom. In addition, these students should expect to complete in-person labs and an in-person final exam upon returning to campus. Prerequisite: Students must receive the recommendation of their 9th grade math and science teachers.
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Dr. Kim Rehwoldt 

Computer Science Fundamentals
This computer science fundamentals course teaches the foundations of computer science and basic programming, with an emphasis on helping students develop logical thinking and problem solving skills. Once students complete this course, they will have learned material equivalent to a semester college introductory course in Computer Science and be able to program in Java. The course utilizes a blended classroom approach. The content is fully web-based, with students writing and running code in the browser. By the end of the course the students will have developed a number of programs. This course will prepare students to take the AP Computer Science A course.
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Dr. Ramon Tusell

Honors Physics
This course will follow traditional subjects of classical mechanics.  The students will start by learning the concepts of kinematics.  We will then show the connection between kinematics and force by showing the relationship between acceleration and net force.  Once we cover these topics we will start to talk about rotational motion and how this is connected to our previous topics.  We will learn about torque, moment of inertia and angular acceleration.  Next we will learn about simple harmonic motion and its connection to wave motion.  During the last section of this course we will learn the principles of electric force, electric field, electric potential and electric potential energy.  We will make connections between the gravitational fields and electric fields. This course will cover the same content as a full year Honors Physics course at Prep.
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Dr. Ramon Tusell

Theology II
This summer Theology course is designed for rising sophomores who would greatly benefit from increased flexibility in their school-year schedule. The course will serve as an introduction to the Bible. Students will examine its formation, history, content, and relevance, both in a historical and contemporary context. In this course, students will actually examine the Biblical text in an attempt to discover who wrote the stories, why these stories were written, how the stories have been redacted, what is the deeper meaning of these texts, and how are these stories relevant today.

This summer class covers the academic coursework of Theology II, but students are still expected to be in contact with the teacher throughout the school year, during which time additional spiritual components of the course (e.g., service reflections) will be completed. (Prerequisite: Theology I and approval of both the Academic Dean and Theology Chair via the Theology II Application)
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Mr. Bradley Boyle

Latin II
This course covers all of the same material as the course during the school year, but at a faster and more dedicated pace. This class is perfect for sophomores in Latin I who find that they really enjoy the material, or freshmen who want to speed up their progress through the departmental progression. It should be noted that Advanced Placement Latin is the fourth year course; any student who starts Latin as a sophomore can only reach the AP level by taking a summer course. Like Latin I, Latin II combines the study of grammar, vocabulary, and translation. By focusing on five weeks of rigorous study, the student can move directly into Latin III – a translation, culture, and history based course. This course does not complete the Latin requirement; every student must enroll in Latin III the following school year.
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Dr. Bob Brewer

Latin III
This course covers all of the same material as the course during the school year, but at a faster and more dedicated pace. This class is perfect for juniors who just completed Latin II, or for sophomores who would like to advance directly to the AP class as juniors.  In addition, the Prep Latin department offers Latin V for those students who take AP as juniors and would like to take another year of Latin.
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Dr. George Hendren

Introduction to New Testament Greek
New Testament Greek is an intensive introduction to the Koine dialect of the New Testament and Septuagint. This course is intended for students with little to no background in Ancient Greek, and covers material similar to that found in the college-level introductory sequences for Ancient Greek. Students will leave New Testament Greek prepared for intermediate (second-semester) Attic Greek at the college level, and capable of reading extended passages from the New Testament with the infrequent aid of a dictionary.
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Dr. George Hendren

Algebra II Bridge Class*
This is a math academic support course, meant to help rising juniors prepare for the Algebra 2 curriculum. Designed for students who struggled in both Algebra 1 and Geometry, this course aims to give students the skills and confidence to be successful in the junior and senior year math curricula, as well as on the important standardized tests taken in those years. This course will run for four weeks, ending on 8/4; class will meet for synchronous sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with Tuesday and Thursday reserved for independent student work. This course is for enrichment only; it will appear on a student’s transcript but no grade or credit will be assigned.
Cost: $1500
Instructor: Mr. John DeCaro

Geometry Bridge Class*
This is a math academic support course, meant to help rising sophomores prepare for the Geometry curriculum. Designed for students who struggled in Algebra, this course aims to give students the skills and confidence to be successful in the sophomore year curriculum and beyond. This course will run for four weeks, ending on 8/4; class will meet for synchronous sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with Tuesday and Thursday reserved for independent student work. This course is for enrichment only; it will appear on a student’s transcript but no grade or credit will be assigned.
Cost: $1500
Instructor: Mr. John DeCaro

Spanish II
This summer Spanish course is designed for students interested in fulfilling their modern language requirement ahead of schedule. It is an intensive, fast-paced course that will reinforce and build upon the language skills acquired in Spanish I. The present, present perfect, preterite and imperfect tenses will be employed in a variety of integrated reading, writing, speaking and listening activities. The subjunctive mood, the conditional and the future tense will also be introduced. The main goal of this course is to develop a higher proficiency of communication skills in the Spanish language. Students will also deepen their understanding of the rich cultural traditions of Spanish speaking countries. Prerequisite: Spanish I or Honors Spanish I. 
Cost: $2000
Instructor: Mr. Matt Fitzgibbons

Summer Theology II and Summer Theology III
There is a special application process for these courses. If accepted, the student will receive a private registration link. 

Theology II - Application

Theology III - Application

Dr. Erik Maginnis
Academic Dean, Latin Teacher, Faculty
emaginnis@gprep.org
301-214-1229