AP® Primers and College Essays!

List of 13 items.

• AP® 2D Art

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  This 30 hour asynchronous course is designed to provide students who are considering taking AP Art & Design with information about the course outline, College Board expectations, course content (the big ideas), scoring guidelines, and college board art terminology. Students will learn the inquiry process by making a work of art and discussing it with peers in comments and providing feedback online intended to teach practice, experimentation, and revision and begin to understand the ‘synthesis’ of ideas, materials, and process.
  
  Session 2: June 17 - June 28
  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.

   

  About the Instructor

  Mrs. O'Donoghue is currently teaching AP® Art & Design, Advanced Art, Intermediate Art, Drawing 2, Drawing I, and Media (a foundational art course introducing students to a variety of materials and processes) at Berkeley Preparatory School. She has a Master’s of Fine Art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor’s of Fine Art from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her experiences include working in a variety of positions in education over the past 20 years as a Secondary Art Teacher, K-12 Art Teacher, Art Instructor (college) and Program Coordinator for International Studies. She has taught in Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, Tampa, and Malaysia. Mrs. O'Donoghue is the faculty sponsor for the Berkeley Chapter of the National Art Honor Society. We volunteer at arts organizations, create community art service projects, install exhibitions, fundraise, and paint murals with local elementary schools. She has been showing work locally and internationally since 1992. Mrs. O'Donoghue believes everyone is born with an innate creative ability and that art is a process of exploration and discovery. 

   

   

• AP® Calculus AB

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  The AP® Calculus AB summer enrichment program will review all necessary Precalculus topics in order to ease the transition into an AP Calculus AB math course.  The course will include but not be limited to the following topics:  algebraic, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions; conic sections; sequences and series; polar coordinates; graphing; introduction to limits and other elementary concepts of calculus.  Students enrolled in this program are required to have graphing calculators for classroom and assignment activities.
  
  

  Session 1: June 3 – June 14

  Session 2: June 17 – June 28

  Session 3: July 8 – July 19
  
  

  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.
  
  The course will be instructed by an experienced member of the Berkeley Preparatory School mathematics department.

• AP® Chinese Language and Culture

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  Are you unsure if AP Chinese is right for you? Would you like to get oriented to the course with a seasoned instructor who has an inside look on the exam? Look no further! The AP® Chinese Language and Culture summer enrichment program is for you! This course is designed to support students who want to ensure a smooth transition into the Advanced Placement language course. This course also provides direct instruction and practice with all the tasks involved in the Advanced Placement Exam. Students will explore the six themes of the curriculum, including sample subthemes and core vocabulary as well as advanced language functions. Additionally, test-taking strategies for the multiple-choice interpretive portion of the exam will be reinforced using the thinking skills that are used by the College Board when creating the exams. Significant attention will be given to rubric criteria for the Email Response, the Story Narration, the Simulated Conversation and the Cultural Presentation questions. Strategies for the multiple choice section will also be reviewed. Students will complete the course with a comprehensive understanding of how their examples will be scored and what needs to be accomplished in order to earn a passing score (3 or higher) on the AP Exam. They will also receive specific and individualized feedback by an experienced AP teacher and reader in order to maximize their potential and bring their language skills to the next level. Students will receive support and guidance to complete additional summer work if assigned by their school/teacher.
  
  Session 1: June 3 - June 14
  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.
  

  
  About the Instructor
  The course is instructed by a Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division Mandarin Chinese language teacher, Mr. Daniel Allegri, who is passionate about the subject and has taught AP® Chinese Language and Culture for more than ten years. Additionally, the instructor has served as an AP reader for the College Board for the past three years and has served on the AP Chinese Language and Culture Development Committee for the past four years, in addition to his work at Berkeley. At present, the instructor serves as the high school co-chair for the AP Chinese Development Committee. 

• AP® Computer Science A

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  Are you unsure if AP® Computer Science A is right for you? Would you like to get oriented to the course with a seasoned instructor who has an inside look at the exam? The AP® Computer Science A summer enrichment program is designed to support students who want to ensure a smooth transition into the Advanced Placement Computer Science A course. This course provides direct instruction and practice with all the tasks involved in the Advanced Placement Exam. Students will learn all the necessary skills to be successful in this course. AP® Computer Science A is taught in the Java programming language, so this course will introduce students to all the main topics of Java that are covered on the AP® Exam. We will look at many examples of how the AP® Exam is constructed and students will have the opportunity to practice both multiple choice and free response style questions. Students will complete the course with a comprehensive understanding of how their free response questions will be scored and what needs to be accomplished in order to earn a passing score (3 or higher) on the AP® Exam.

   

  Session 1: June 3 – June 14

   

  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.

   

  About the Instructor

  The course is instructed by Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division Computer Science teacher, Mr. Vincent Cimmino, who teaches the AP Computer Science A course at Berkeley Prep, with a pass rate above 90%.

• AP® English Language

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  This course offering will help students prepare for success in AP® Language by introducing them to the central concepts of the rhetorical situation and rhetorical strategies and by introducing the students to each of the three essay prompts on the AP® Language Exam.  In addition, students will become familiar with types of questions that will be on the multiple-choice section of the exam.  Students will receive feedback on the practice essays they write.
  
  Session 1: June 3 - June 14 (Mrs. Alexander)
  Session 2: June 17 - June 28 (Mr. Brandt)
  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.
  
  About the Instructors
  Susan Alexander has taught at Berkeley Preparatory School for seventeen years, serving the last seven as the English Department Chair. Susan is a Columbia University Teachers’ College Klingenstein Fellow, holds an M.A. in English Education, and enjoys helping students develop confidence and skills in close reading and analytical writing. Last spring, Berkeley AP students earned an average of 4.25 on the AP English Language and Composition class. The state and global average was 2.85.
  
  Tom Brandt has taught English at three independent schools, spending the last twenty at Berkeley Preparatory School.  He has taught AP Language for ten years, and he has served as an AP Reader for all of those years.  He holds a B.A. in English Literature, an M.A. in English Literature, and an M.F.A. in poetry.

• AP® English Literature

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  This course offering will help students prepare for success in AP English Literature and Composition through instruction in literary analysis with a focus on close reading figurative language, thesis development and defense, and understanding theme and characterization within a sociopolitical context.  Students will be introduced to each of the three FRQ essays on the AP Lit Exam and learn the essential writing skills necessary for each one.  In addition, students will become familiar with the types of questions that will be on the multiple-choice section of the exam.  Students will receive feedback on the practice essays they write.
  
  Last spring, Berkeley AP students earned an average of 4.16 on the AP English Literature and Composition exam. The state and global average was 3.26.
  
  Session 1: June 3 - June 14 (Mrs. Marcantuono-Polstra)
  Session 2: June 17 - June 28 (Mrs. Alexander)
  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.
  
  About the Instructor
  A member of the Upper Division English Department for over 17 years, Danielle Marcantuono-Polstra is passionate about helping students maximize their potential as writers thinkers and creative human beings. She has taught various courses from English 9 and 10 to AP English Literature and Composition, and an elective on the social and moral value of empathy. As the faculty coordinator of the Hoover Writing Center, she has helped Middle and Upper Division students develop important study, organizational, and writing skills. She has a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and Performance Studies from Muhlenberg College and a MAT with a concentration in Instructional Design from the University of Southern California. She is also a proud Berkeley parent!
  
  Susan Alexander has taught at Berkeley Preparatory School for seventeen years, serving the last seven as the English Department Chair. Susan is a Columbia University Teachers’ College Klingenstein Fellow, holds an M.A. in English Education, and enjoys helping students develop confidence and skills in close reading and analytical writing. Last spring, Berkeley AP students earned an average of 4.25 on the AP English Language and Composition class. The state and global average was 2.85.

• AP® European and AP® U.S. History

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  The AP® European and AP® U.S. History summer enrichment program will prepare students for all facets of these specific Advanced Placement exams. Test-taking strategies for the multiple-choice portion of the exams will be reinforced using the historical thinking skills that are used at the College Board level when creating the exams. Significant attention to rubric writing for the Long Essay, Document-Based, and Short Answer questions will be instructed and practiced. Students will leave with a comprehensive understanding of how their examples will be scored and what needs to be accomplished in order to earn a passing score on the AP exam (which is a score of 3-5). In-depth instruction will occur before giving students the opportunity to construct their own LEQ, DBQ, and SAQ that will be scored by a certified and experienced AP grader.
  
  

  Session 1: June 3 – June 14

  Session 2: June 17 – June 28

  Session 3: July 8 – July 19

  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.

   

  About the Instructor
  The course is instructed by a Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division history teacher, Mr. Jason Toy, who has taught AP European History, United States History, and U.S. Government and Politics for the past twenty-five years, with a consistent pass rate above 90%. Additionally, the instructor has served as an AP grader for the College Board for the past fifteen years.

   

   

• AP® French Language and Culture

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  The AP® French Language and Culture summer enrichment program is designed to support students who want to ensure a smooth transition into the Advanced Placement language course as well as provide direct instruction and practice with all the tasks involved in the Advanced Placement Exam. Students will explore the six themes of the curriculum, including sample subthemes and core vocabulary as well as advanced language functions. Additionally, test-taking strategies for the multiple-choice interpretive portion of the exam will be reinforced using the thinking skills that are used by the College Board when creating the exams. Significant attention to rubric criteria for the E-mail Response, the Argumentative Essay, the Conversation and the Cultural Comparison questions will be instructed and practiced. Students will complete the course with a comprehensive understanding of how their examples will be scored and what needs to be accomplished in order to earn a passing score (3 or higher) on the AP Exam. They will also receive specific and individualized feedback by an experienced AP teacher and reader in order to maximize their potential and bring their language skills to the next level. Students will receive support and guidance to complete additional summer work if assigned by their school/teacher.

   

  Session 1: June 3 - June 14
  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.
  

  
  About the Instructor

  The course is instructed by a Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division French language teacher, Madame Harb, who is passionate about the subject and has taught AP® French Language and Culture for the past twelve years with a consistent pass rate above 95 percent and an average score of 4.5. This class will be taught strictly online via Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, and the course will be conducted entirely in French.

• AP® Latin

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  The AP® Latin summer enrichment program is designed to support students who want to ensure a smooth transition into this literature course as well as provide direct instruction and practice with all the tasks involved on the AP® Exam. Students will explore the epic poems that inspired Vergil’s Aeneid as well as background information for Caesar’s conquest of Gaul in his De Bello Gallico. A comprehensive review of grammar, stylistic devices, and metrical scansion of poetry will also be provided. Additionally, test-taking strategies for the multiple-choice portion of the exam will be reinforced, with particular emphasis on the development of sight-reading skills. Significant attention will be given to the rubric criteria for both the translation section (using the “chunking” grading system) and the long essay, including how to write an effective thesis statement and cite Latin evidence. Students will complete the course with a comprehensive understanding of how their work will be scored and what needs to be accomplished to earn a passing score (3 or higher) on the AP® Exam. They will also receive specific and individualized feedback from an experienced AP® teacher to maximize their potential and bring their skills to the next level. As part of this course, students will also be able to complete and receive support for additional summer work if assigned by their school/teacher.

   

  Session 2: June 17 - June 28
  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.
  
  About the Instructor

  The course is instructed by a Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division Latin language teacher, Ms. Sarah McDaniels, who is passionate about the subject and has taught AP® Latin for the past nine years with a consistent pass rate of 100 percent and an average score of 4.9. 

• AP® Physics

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  This ten-day AP® Physics Primer is a course designed to help students master the essentials, providing a robust foundation in key concepts and skills to excel on the AP® exam. Students will learn what to expect on the exam. Algebra skills will be assessed and shored up with a solid mathematical base, like rearranging equations and working with vectors – vital for topics such as forces and motion. Additionally, the course covers the specific language and keywords used in AP Physics exams, preparing students for the types of questions they will encounter. Practical applications form the core of the second week, with sessions on graphical analysis and linearization of data, experimental errors, and lab equipment familiarization. Additionally, students will learn about the lab equipment they will need to be familiar with on the AP® exam. Through this hands-on approach, students will not only prepare for AP® Physics but also gain a deeper appreciation for the subject, setting a strong foundation for their future studies.
  
  

  Session 1: June 3 – June 14

  Session 2: June 17 – June 28

  Session 3: July 8 – July 19

  
  

  *The first and last days of instruction will be in person, on Berkeley's campus, while the rest of the days will be online via Microsoft Teams.*

  
  About the Instructor
  The course is instructed by a Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division physics teacher, Mr. Andrew Vandenberg, who has taught AP® Physics 1, AP® Physics 2, and AP® Physics C for the past ten years, with a consistent pass rate above 90%. Additionally, the instructor has served as an AP® grader for the College Board for the past five years. The instructor has a master’s degree in physics on the topic of quantum spin exchange.

• AP® Spanish Language and Culture

  Register Now
  
  The AP® Spanish Language and Culture summer enrichment program is designed to support students who want to ensure a smooth transition into the Advanced Placement language course as well as provide direct instruction and practice with all the tasks involved in the Advanced Placement Exam. Students will explore the six themes of the curriculum, including sample subthemes and core vocabulary as well as advanced language functions. Additionally, test-taking strategies for the multiple-choice interpretive portion of the exam will be reinforced using the thinking skills that are used by the College Board when creating the exams. Significant attention to rubric criteria for the E-mail Response, the Argumentative Essay, the Conversation and the Cultural Comparison questions will be instructed and practiced. Students will complete the course with a comprehensive understanding of how their examples will be scored and what needs to be accomplished in order to earn a passing score (3 or higher) on the AP Exam. They will also receive specific and individualized feedback by an experienced AP teacher and reader in order to maximize their potential and bring their language skills to the next level. Students will receive support and guidance to complete additional summer work if assigned by their school/teacher.
  
  

  Session 1: June 3 – June 14 (Señora Luz Marina Engel-Peñaloza)

  Session 2: June 17 – June 28 (Señora Luz Marina Engel-Peñaloza)

  Session 3: July 8 – July 19 (Señora Victoria Álvarez)

  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.
  

  
  About the Instructors

  The course is instructed by a Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division Spanish language teacher, Señora Luz Marina Engel-Peñaloza, who is passionate about the subject and has taught AP® Spanish Language and Culture for the past twelve years with a consistent pass rate above 95 percent and an average score of 4.5. Additionally, the instructor has served as an AP reader for the College Board for the past five years. 
  
  The course is instructed by a Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division Spanish language teacher, Señora Victoria Álvarez, who is passionate about the subject and has taught AP® Spanish Literature and Culture for the past four years with a consistent pass rate of 100 percent and an average score of 4.8. This class will be taught strictly online via Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, and the course will be conducted entirely in Spanish.
  
  
  

• AP® Spanish Literature and Culture

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  The AP® Spanish Literature and Culture summer enrichment program is designed to support students who want to ensure a smooth transition into the Advanced Placement literature course as well as provide direct instruction and practice with all the tasks involved in the Advanced Placement Exam. Students will explore the eight literary movements that frame the course and the six themes of the curriculum, including sample subthemes as well as core literary devices. Additionally, test-taking strategies for the multiple-choice interpretive portion of the exam will be reinforced using the thinking skills that are used by the College Board when creating the exams. Significant attention to rubric criteria for both the Short Answer and the Essay questions will be instructed and practiced. Students will complete the course with a comprehensive understanding of how their examples will be scored and what needs to be accomplished in order to earn a passing score (3 or higher) on the AP Exam. They will also receive specific and individualized feedback by an experienced AP teacher and reader in order to maximize their potential and bring their skills to the next level. As part of this course, students will be able to complete and receive support for additional summer work if assigned by their school/teacher.
  
  

  Session 2: June 17 – June 28 (Señora Victoria Álvarez)

  
  This class will be taught strictly online via Microsoft Teams. Students will meet as a group and individually with the instructor, who will provide comprehensive and personalized feedback for each portion of the exam.
  
  About the Instructor
  The course is instructed by a Berkeley Preparatory School Upper Division Spanish language teacher, Señora Victoria Álvarez, who is passionate about the subject and has taught AP® Spanish Literature and Culture for the past four years with a consistent pass rate of 100 percent and an average score of 4.8.  

• Starting the College Essay

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  The College Essay is one of the most significant and stressful parts of applying to college. This workshop helps students eliminate that stress and walk away with completed compositions, all before the senior year officially begins.
  
  

  In this course, students will identify, understand, and practice the essential skills of the college application essay, including storytelling through description, editing for impact and concision, and developing a reflective voice.  Students will learn how to read a prompt, develop a narrative with a clear line of reasoning, and read model essays to learn how to craft an essay that reveals important aspects of their character and social and emotional growth.  Students will start multiple drafts of different essays over the course of the week and receive feedback on each essay both on an individual basis from the instructor and through workshop. All classes will be taught by current Berkeley faculty members of the UD English Department.  As an added bonus, participants will get individual feedback on their writing and leave with a thoughtful and authentic application essay.
  
  All participants must bring a notebook along with a laptop, tablet, or iPad to each session. Mobile devices will not suffice. 
  
  Weeks 5, 6, and 7
  
  About the Instructor

  A member of the Upper Division English Department for over 17 years, Danielle Marcantuono-Polstra is passionate about helping students maximize their potential as writers thinkers and creative human beings. She has taught various courses from English 9 and 10 to AP English Literature and Composition, and an elective on the social and moral value of empathy. As the faculty coordinator of the Hoover Writing Center, she has helped Middle and Upper Division students develop important study, organizational, and writing skills. She has a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and Performance Studies from Muhlenberg College and a MAT with a concentration in Instructional Design from the University of Southern California. She is also a proud Berkeley parent!
  
  Tom Brandt has been working with summer programs for the last twenty years, teaching various classes including SAT Prep and Bridge program and supervising the before and aftercare programs.  He has taught at Berkeley for the same twenty years, and he currently teaches AP Lang, Ninth Grade English, and serves as the Chair of the Honor Council and supervises the SAT/ACT Prep Program.  He has earned an MFA in Creative Writing, an MA in English Literature, and a BA in English Literature, and served on the board of several national and regional writing center associations, and he has participated in the AP Reading for the last ten years.