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Special and Summer Programs
SUPPORT SERVICES
ACADEMIC SUPPORT GRADES 9 TO 12 (USSS01)
Duration: 1 semester or 1 year Credit: None Grade: 9 - 12 Prerequisite: Student Resources Team (SRT) recommendation only Homework: None
Academic Support is a highly individualized program that is based on the educational needs of each student. Instruction may be provided in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, notetaking, test preparation, meta-cognition, planning, and time management. In most cases, parental permission, individualized evaluation and implementation of either an Individualized Learning Plan or an Individualized Accommodation Plan are required for participation in the program. Speech and Language services may also be a part of the class in certain cases. (see Speech/Language Therapy Services USSS09)
SPEECH/LANGUAGE THERAPY SERVICES (USSS09)
(A component of the Academic Support Class) Homework: Light
The speech and language program is designed to provide support to students who have speech and/or language learning deficits. Services, provided by qualified specialists, include identification and remediation of students’ speech and language needs.
The area of speech comprises oral motor skills, articulation or pronunciation, fluency, and voice. The area of language includes vocabulary, grammar, meanings of sentences, pragmatic skills, language organization, and thinking or reasoning skills on which upper school students depend heavily to achieve academic success in all subject areas. Students receive services individually or in small groups. Speech and language specialists collaborate with teachers and parents to address students’ specific needs. Parental permission is required for evaluation and implementation of the Individualized Learning Plan.
INDEPENDENT STUDY (USPC05)
Requests for independent study must begin with an agreement between the student and an instructor who is willing to supervise, support, and evaluate the student; they will propose coursework, projects, and homework load.
ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES
PAMOJA (IB DIPLOMA CANDIDATES)
Full IB Diploma Candidates who wish to take a language or social science course that is not offered as part of the diploma program at TAS may choose to do so through the online provider Pamoja.
Students interested in pursuing a GOA or Pamoja course should speak with their academic counselor and the IB/AP Coordinator prior to course registration. Any student choosing to enroll in a GOA course must take an additional free period to provide a time during the school day to complete coursework and maybe be asked to pay additional course fees.
GLOBAL ONLINE ACADEMY
TAS is a member of the Global Online Academy, a consortium of top independent and international schools that is able to offer courses online. While GOA courses cannot be used to replace in person instruction at TAS, the courses present students the opportunity to take a wide range of elective subjects.
UPPER SCHOOL SUMMER ACADEMY COURSES FOR 2022
Summer Academy credit courses are rigorous and require a significant amount of time for classwork and homework. For that reason approval is required for enrollment in certain of these courses, including Math and Science courses. Credit will not be given for students who miss more than two days of class (one day for 0.5 credit classes). Successful completion of these courses will allow students to advance in the curriculum and receive credit for the course. For Math and Science classes, the required number of year-long courses still applies. Students will have the option of including their grade in their overall GPA or taking the course as pass/fail.
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (SAUSINTER)
Grades: 10 or 11, with priority given to students who are entering their senior year. Duration: 4-6 weeks (depending on Internship) Homework: Light
This class is offered as a part of the Summer Academy program, which gives priority to students who have completed their junior year. Students will explore potential college majors and career paths by working in a business, institution or university department focusing on their specific area of interest. Students enrolling in this course are expected to meet the following requirements.
• Commit to working for four to six weeks in the greater Taipei area • Write a resume and “letter of introduction” that will become part of the application packet • Dress according to the expectations of the business, institution or university department • Meet the work expectations and goals established by the student, mentor and internship coordinator • Submit periodic journal entries / reports to the internship coordinator • Write a formal “thank you” letter at the end of the internship
Interested students should see either the Summer Academy Internship Coordinator, the Director of Summer Academy, or visit the Summer Academy website for the necessary applications.
NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM (NPM) DOCENT CLASS (SAUSSST11A)
Grades: 10-12 Duration: 4 weeks Homework: Moderate
Once again, this outstanding class will be offered to prepare students to act as National Palace Museum junior docents for our TAS visitors. Students will be required to learn a significant amount of historical and art-related information and be able to speak about these topics with confidence and poise. Students who complete this course will be able to give guided tours of the National Palace Museum to TAS guest authors, visiting speakers, and other special visitors to the school. Given the exciting possibilities that this class affords, as well as the level of knowledge and responsibility required of successful applicants, this class is limited to 10 students who will be chosen by a faculty committee after submitting an application. Class meets daily from 9:00am-4:00pm. Successful completion of this course satisfies either the Public Speaking or Performing/Visual Arts graduation requirement, but not both.
FILM PRODUCTION 1 (SAUSART16)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 4 weeks Homework: Moderate
This course focuses on the four most basic phases of filmmaking: Development, Pre-Production, Production, and Post- Production. Students will also be exposed to basic elements of design, composition, and visual storytelling, while analyzing all of the language systems of filmmaking including cinematography, editing, sound, story, and ideology. These skills will be applied to filmmaking exercises and the creation of full short films. Students may also have off-campus, on-set opportunities for filming.
Although not required, students are encouraged to bring their own cameras. Successful completion of this course satisfies the Performing/Visual Arts graduation requirement and allows students to enroll in Honors Film courses with instructor approval.
HONORS FILM PORTFOLIO (SAUSART16H)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 4 weeks Homework: Moderate
The Honors Film Portfolio course is designed to help students further develop foundational skills, professional work habits, and create a portfolio of films suitable for college admission. During the course, students will have the opportunity to assume at least one of the significant production roles, i.e., Producer, Writer/Director, Director of or Photography during a production. Producing high-quality films requires guidance, a skilled and dedicated team, equipment, great locations, actors, and large concentrations of time, which is precisely what the portfolio class will provide. Students will leave the portfolio class with high-quality assets for a film in which they played a major role, as well as assets from all the other films that they helped to produce during the course for them to edit. This fast-paced course will provide real-world production experience. It will challenge students to plan their films, manage a budget, coordinate logistics, and ultimately communicate and execute their creative vision.
Enrollment in this course requires prior completion of Film Production 1 or instructor approval. Upon successful completion, students will receive one Honors Visual Arts credit.
DRAWING FUNDAMENTALS AND ART PORTFOLIOS (SAUSART230)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 2 weeks (Session 1 only)
Learn to draw in 2 short weeks. This course is tailored to both beginners as well as advanced art students interested in building their portfolios. This course provides you with a strong drawing foundation so you can draw stilllifes, figures, and landscapes comfortably from observation using a variety of drawing mediums. The course will also cover perspective drawing, experiment with 2D design principles and hone visual communication. More advanced students will be pushed to complete drawings that are portfolio ready, meaning the drawings demonstrate strong technique, clear concepts and bold artist expression. Successful completion of the course fulfils 0.5 credits towards the Performing/Visual Arts graduation requirement.
INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE (SAUSART450)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 2 weeks (Session 2 only)
Students are introduced to the concepts of architecture through designing, drawing, and model-making. They will develop their visual problem-solving skills, learn about spatial organization, think like artists, and push their creativity when working on assignments. They will explore various kinds of relationships between people and built forms, as well as consider the impact of sustainability. Assignments will explore fundamental design principles that outline the elements of architectural design similar to those found in university. Computer software such as AutoCAD and Autodesk 3ds Max are introduced as additional artistic tools. Successful completion of the course fulfils 0.5 credits towards the Performing/Visual Arts graduation requirement.
PUBLIC SPEAKING, RHETORIC & DEBATE (SAUSPSF02)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 4 weeks Homework: Moderate
The ability to express, defend, and compare ideas is critical regardless of one’s profession or field of study. Most students, however, do not receive extended, formal training in effective public speaking and sound argumentation. This course fills that gap in many courses of study, introducing students to the skills necessary to both successfully express themselves and defend their ideas. Students will be taught how to properly organize speeches, how to make good rhetorical choices, and how to have exceptional poise and fluid delivery. They will also be introduced to the structure of arguments and taught how to effectively construct, refute, and compare between them. Students will get extensive experience delivering both prepared and extemporaneous, both informative and persuasive, speeches. Students will also have frequent opportunities to debate questions of fact, value, and policy. Successful completion of this course satisfies the Public Speaking graduation requirement.
THEATER ARTS (SAUSART06)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 2 weeks (Session 1 only) Homework: Light
The Theater Arts Summer course is created for students who have no theater background but, in a fun way, wish to improve their ability to communicate. The Theater Arts Summer course will develop the skills and techniques for you to become a powerful speaker while exploring your creativity potential. There will be a variety of projects, including short ensemble and scene work, and from the process you will become a confident leader, problem solver, and of course, dynamic communicator. Successful completion of this course satisfies 0.5 credit in Performing/Visual Arts graduation requirement.
THEATER ARTS AND PUBLIC SPEAKING (SAUSPSF03)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 4 Weeks Homework: Light
The first two weeks of this course is Theater Arts and second two weeks is Public Speaking, Rhetoric & Debate. Successful completion of this course will satisfy the full Public Speaking graduation requirement.
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (SAUSSCI231)
Grades: 9-11 Duration: 2 weeks (Session 1 or Session 2) Homework: Light to Moderate
The Introduction to Scientific Research course is designed for high school students who are interested in understanding how scientists investigate real-world problems. Students will research, plan, design and test a series of hands-on science projects in all three major scientific disciplines: Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The main goal of this course is to introduce students who have never taken a research course to the research process and provide them with an opportunity to apply a logical approach to scientific questions. This course is ideal for 9th or 10th grade students who are looking for a solid foundation in research methods and data evaluation before they take another research course later in high school or in college. Successful completion of this course grants 0.5 credit as a Science Elective.
UNITED STATES HISTORY (SAUSSST03A)
Duration: 4 weeks Grade: 11-12 Homework: Moderate
This course is designed for rising Juniors who are seeking to free up space in their course schedules. This rigorous four-week course will cover the same material as the 11th grade year-long US history course, including a research essay. Students will learn about the history of the United States from before colonization through the election of 2016. Assessments will include written work, presentations, projects, and discussion. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. Successful completion fulfills the graduation requirement for US History.
ROBOTICS ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Successful completion of one Robotics and Engineering Course fulfills the Upper School graduation requirement for Computer Science and Robotics. Successful completion of any two courses (4 weeks) will allow a student to enroll in Level 2 Computer Science and Robotics courses when accompanied by a teacher’s recommendation.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (SAUSCSR014)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 2 or 4 weeks (Session 1 and/or Session 2) Homework: Light
A first course in Mechanical Engineering. Students will learn to use CAD software to study the principles of mechanical engineering and learn to build their designs using our lab’s state of the art CNC (Computer Numeric Control) fabrication capabilities. Students will study, design, and build many common mechanisms as well as study gear design and gear ratios, pulley and sprocket systems, lift mechanisms, projectile launchers, and mechanical arms. Students will learn about transmission of power in a mechanical system including motors, servos, lever arms, springs, and pneumatic systems. Students in this class will be trained to operate and maintain all of the equipment in the lab and learn state of the art fabrication methods, including water jet cutting, aluminum TIG welding, multi axis CNC milling, 3D printing, and lathe operations.
This course assumes no prior knowledge of robotics or programming. However, this class can also be tailored for students already with experience in these fields. Students may take this course in either Session 1 or Session 2, or both sessions. For students wishing to take this course in both Session 1 and Session 2, the second session of this course will be a continuation of the first: Students will design and build new projects extending their knowledge and skills gained from the first two weeks.
INTRODUCTION TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A HANDS-ON APPROACH (SAUSCSR07)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 2 weeks (Session 1) Homework: Moderate
This course, offered only in the summer, is an introduction to Artificial Intelligence; students will learn how Artificial Intelligence is transforming and impacting their lives and they will be exposed to exemplary use cases like self-driven cars. This class will also discuss the future of Artificial Intelligence as well as ethical considerations with this new technology. Finally, students will work on individual and team projects to get handson experience with Machine Learning and Intelligent Agents using Python. One such project is seeing the road using Computer Vision (which is the basis for self-driven cars).
MICROCONTROLLER ELECTRONICS (SAUSCSR015)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 2 weeks (Session 2) Homework: Light
This is a first course in Robotics focusing on electronic control systems and physical computing. Students in this course will learn computer programming and electronics as they relate to the Arduino microcontroller. Students will learn to use common digital and analog sensors, such as switches, light sensors, pressure sensors, and accelerometers to collect data from the physical world and control actuators such as motors, servos, led lights, pneumatic pistons, stepper motors, speakers, and display panels. This course assumes no prior knowledge of robotics or programming.
PROGRAMMING FOR GAME DESIGN (SAUSCSR016)
Grades: 9-12 Duration: 2 weeks (Session 2) Homework: Moderate
This course is an introduction to computer programming where students primarily focus on creating user interactive 2D games using Java and the Processing programming environment. Students learn about variables, strings, arrays, ArrayLists, Boolean algebra, text processing, regular expressions, loops, control statements, methods, parameters, return values, classes, constructors, creating and animating game objects, incorporating event listeners and using various Java libraries. The course culminates in a project where students can create a new interactive game of their own design.
OTHER US FOR-ADVANCEMENT/CREDIT SUMMER COURSES – 4 weeks
HONORS ALGEBRA 2 (SAUSMAT070) HONORS ADVANCED ALGEBRA 2 (SAUSMAT071) HONORS GEOMETRY (SAUSMAT041) HONORS BIOLOGY (SAUSSCI07) HONORS CHEMISTRY (SAUSSCI11) HONORS PHYSICS (SAUSSCI22)
US NON-CREDIT SUMMER COURSES
EXPOSITORY WRITING (SAUSENG31A) – 2 weeks or 4 weeks
Duration: 2 weeks (Session 1 and/or Session 2) 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 pm Grades: 9-12 Homework: Moderate.
This class has proven to successfully prepare students for the writing demands in the Upper School.
For further information please contact the Summer Academy office at 0277509900, ext. 892, email to summeracademy@tas.edu.tw or check the TAS Summer Academy website:
