Each person on the Academy team misses our extraordinary students! I, for one, am looking forward to being back in person to check progress on Rubik鈥檚 Cube solving times, see pictures of growing puppies and kittens, and hear everyone鈥檚 latest research interests and favorite jokes.

But even though we miss seeing each other in person, we have been more thankful than ever for technology! It was great to be able to finish out the spring session of Academy virtually and to see ingenious work submissions rolling in. Seeing how adaptable our students and teachers have been to the new format has made us excited to see what masterpieces emerge from our online summer session!

Here are three especially impressive student creations that were submitted during the virtual portion of the spring session:

1. A creative story set within the Harry Potter universe. For their final project for 鈥淗arry Potter: Behind the Words,鈥� which will also be offered this summer, students wrote multi-chapter stories that take place in the same world of the Harry Potter series. In addition to a delightful story, one student also created images by collaging pictures of Lego figures with online graphics. Here is one example, which finds Voldemort swimming in Hawaii:

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2. An excerpt of a poem from the perspective of an object. This was written for 鈥淗ow to Eat a Poem,鈥� a class about sensory poetry for 6 to 9-year-olds. Lucy Blagg, who taught this delightfully creative class, will be teaching 鈥淢ythology of Many Lands鈥� this summer.

I start as a flower.
I鈥檓 tart but not sour.
My favorite season is fall,
That鈥檚 when I grow tall.听

I鈥檒l tell you who I am,
I鈥檓 part of a fruit.
I鈥檓 tasty when you squeeze me,
I鈥檓 small and I鈥檓 cute.听

Believe it or not,
I鈥檓 from this planet.
Let me introduce myself,
I鈥檓 the seed of a pomegranate!

3. An invented species for a virtual 优蜜视频 Aquarium. For their final project in 鈥淢arine Biodiversity,鈥� students designed their own ecosystems, filled them with made-up species, and wrote about the ecological and evolutionary history of the community. Grayson Kent, who taught this and other animal courses, will be teaching Myths & Monsters, Ultimate Guide to Predators, Cenozoic Life and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

It was so difficult to choose just a few projects to showcase our students鈥� creativity, adaptability, and love of learning. To learn more about Summer Academy Online, visit our website and sign up to join us for our . We can鈥檛 wait to see familiar and new faces in a few weeks when the session begins!

Four years ago,听I took my first class at听. It was a film making class and I created a Lego film titled 鈥淣ight of the Living Vacuum.鈥澨齋ince then I鈥檝e done chemistry experiments, learned to meditate and built a Rube Goldberg machine in 优蜜视频鈥檚 various locations.

But of all the classes I鈥檝e taken and all the instructors I鈥檝e had,听Grayson Kent and his classes really stand out. I remember his first paleontology class where I discovered we both loved reptiles and dinosaurs. Grayson is a great teacher not only because he makes the information really engaging, but also because he is so supportive of students.

Grayson鈥檚 classes are interesting and fun. He doesn鈥檛 only lecture to us. We do a lot of activities, like in our Marine Biodiversity class when we made our own sea monsters and marine species. And we watch nature documentaries together, like National Geographic. He brings out lots of fossils every class, whether it be boney fish, whale baleen or even a narwhal tusk (it was a replica) and they never cease to amaze. He even sometimes brings in live specimens for us to check out or听sometimes听taxidermy, like a shark or a small mammal. It鈥檚 always cool. And he tells awesome stories that make the class more exciting and interesting, such as the story of a man who was diving of the coast of an island and an elephant seal came up to him and engulfed his head in its mouth! The seal let go and the diver was unharmed.

The best part about Grayson鈥檚 classes is that he treats me and his other students like equals. His class is like a conversation and not just Grayson telling us things. He is very helpful with whatever you need and he will always hear your ideas and answer your questions without making you feel like it was silly. We both keep reptiles,听and when I lost my beloved pet听Bearded Dragon, he talked to me about losing his Tegu and has been very kind and supportive of me.

Grayson is a good teacher and very encouraging, but he鈥檚 also funny and makes us laugh!听When we were filling out the 优蜜视频 surveys for Marine Biodiversity he told us,听鈥淭his is the opportunity you all get to say how much you hate me and want to get me fired!鈥澨齇f course, I would NEVER want that to happen.

Would your child enjoy a summer of learning with a teacher like Grayson?听听to take advantage of the Early Bird Discount!