Summer Progams
Summer Programs
We offer a variety of enriching opportunities in the summer both inside and outside the classroom. Our goal is to provide a Christian, educational, challenging, and fun-filled summer experience to our students.
Summer Camps 2023
Arma Dei Academy is pleased to offer the following camps and clubs for the summer of 2023! See below for details and registration information. Most camp fees are billed through FACTS soon after registration closes and are non-refundable.
Instructor: Miss Ashley Wright
When: June 26 - 30 from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Cost: $270 per student
REGISTER
All the World's a Stage is a 5-day theatre education and performance camp that will introduce students to
Shakespeare's life and works. Studying Shakespeare enriches the imagination of a student with stories of grace and redemption, and allows students to play with language and actively engage in storytelling from page to stage. We will spend the week preparing and then performing an abridged production of Hamlet! For any questions, please get in touch with Miss Ashley Wright (awrightred@gmail.com).
Instructor: Mrs. Janell Turner
When: June 12-14 from 5:30-7 PM
Cost: $100
REGISTER
Minimum of 8 students, maximum of 20 students
Instructor: Mr. Caleb Knedlik
When: June 26-30 from 1:00 - 3:30 PM
Cost: $125
In this weeklong course for beginning and intermediate players, Arma Dei Chess Champion Caleb Knedlik
teaches students the main attacking strategies in chess, in the hope that students will consistently be able to recognize attacking opportunities in games of beginning or intermediate complexity. Students will learn common attacking strategies, including but not limited to: back-rank checkmates, discoveries, pins, double checks, bishop long diagonals, danger levels, double attacks, two rook checkmates, and promotion. Students will not only learn these attacking strategies but they will also be introduced to tools for further development once the course is complete. Students are expected to know the basic rules of chess before beginning the course. (minimum of 5 students, maximum of 20 students). For questions, please contact Mr. Knedlik (cknedlik@armadeiacademy.com).
Instructor: Mr. Caleb Knedlik
When: June 12 - 16 from 1:00 - 3:30 PM
Cost: $125
REGISTER
In this weeklong course for beginning and intermediate chess players, Arma Dei Chess Champion Caleb Knedlik will teach students a handful of major chess openings in the hope that students will consistently be able to establish playable positions against even experienced players. Students will learn the main opening concepts as well as strategies and tools for further development on their own once the course is complete. The openings to be studied this year will include: The King's Indian Defense, The Vienna, The Scotch, The London System, and the Grunfeld Defense. (We will also review openings taught in last summer's course, including the Sicilian Defense, the French Defense, the Spanish, the Italian and the Queen's Gambit Declined.) Students are expected to know the basic rules of chess before beginning the course.
Instructor: Mr. Caleb Knedlik
When: July 17- 21 from 1:00 - 3:30 PM
Cost: $125
In this weeklong course, Mr. Caleb Knedlik teaches students the basic elements of the modern short story in thehope that students will grow in their capacity to explore deep and perennial truths about human nature through the production of a form of art that is widely appreciated and enjoyed: the short story. The course will include the reading of some of the most famous short stories ever written, including "Araby" by James Joyce, "Indian Camp" by Ernest Hemingway, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor, "The Tell- Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe and "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D H Lawrence. Students will also compose their own short story, exploring a perennial aspect of human nature that is important to them in a form that is moving and memorable. For questions, please contact Mr. Knedlik (cknedlik@armadeiacademy.com).
Instructor: Mrs. Karen Asher
When:
Week #1: June 19-23 from 10:45 am-12:45 pm
Week #2: June 27-30 from 10:45 am-1:15 pm
Week #3: July 17-21 from 10:45 am-12:45 pm
Cost: $275 per week
REGISTER
Instructor: Ms. Rachel Gaspar
When: June 26 - July 25
Cost: Contact instructor for details
REGISTER via email (levelupliteracyprogram@gmail.com)
Level Up Literacy Program exists to develop students’ confidence and love of reading by building their phonological awareness, fluency and comprehension skills. Through individual, leveled tutoring, we use a systematic approach to directly teach phonemic awareness and phonics skills and develop students' orthographic processing skills. We guide students' practice of these skills as they read in context. Lindamood Bell’s Seeing Stars curriculum is the backbone of this instruction. We also offer specific comprehension instruction through Lindamood Bell’s Visualizing and Verbalizing curriculum. For questions, please contact Ms. Rachel Gaspar.
Instructor: Mrs. Karen Asher
When:
Week #1: June 19-23 from 9:00 -10:30 am
Week #2: June 27-30 from 8:30 -10:30 am
Week #3: July 17-21 from 9:00 -10:30 am
Cost: $165 per week
REGISTER
Instructor: Caleb Brasher
When: June 12 - June 16 | Full-Day Session: 9:00am-4:00pm, Half-Day Mornings: 9:00am-12:30pm, Half-Day Afternoons: 12:30pm-4:00pm
Cost: Full-Day Session: $500 per student / Half-Day Session: $300 per student (sibling discounts apply, scholarships available)
REGISTER by June 11 (minimum of 8 students)
The Knight School is thrilled to offer Summer Chess Camp to the Arma Dei Academy students this Summer! Our super-fun Chess Camp is the perfect way to pack your summer full of devastating chess tactics, hilarious zany videos, high-energy chess tournaments, and so much more! Each day of camp, we party our way towards chess excellency with our dizzying array of activities--like our signature Toast Games, "Tracker", and everyone's favorite "Chessmaster Says!" Students of all ages and skill levels are invited to join. Camp fees even cover an official TKS Chess Set, Summer Camp T-Shirt, our colorful tactics bands, and free replacement pieces for life! Join us this Summer as we roll out a brand-new Summer Chess Camp experience! Each session of camp will feature a different high-level chess opening, complete with its own Tactics Band! Featuring some of the most famous chess openings, such as the Queen's Gambit, the Italian Game, and the Fried-Liver Attack, beginners and advanced students alike are sure to have a blast at one of our week-long Summer Chess Camps! We can't wait to see you at this spectacular chess-travaganza!
Instructor: Mrs. Brittany Conklin & Mrs. Barbara Tornow
When: 9:30 AM - 12PM
- Week 1: June 5-7
- Week 2: June 19-21
- Week 3: June 26- 28
- Week 4: July 10 - 12
Cost: $150 per week
REGISTER
Instructor: Mrs. Leah Ross and Mrs. Catherine Kochie
When: June 20-22 from 9:30 AM- 1PM
Cost: $180 per student
REGISTER
Saddle up, cowboys and cowgirls! In the Wild Wild West Camp, students will sing and dance to western songs, “camp out on the trail,” make (and eat!) our own bread, griddle cakes and biscuits, churn butter, create a travel diary of the westward trail, create other western-themed art projects, and learn all about the early settlers of the Wild West! For questions, please contact Mrs. Leah Ross (lross@armadeiacademy.com), or Mrs. Catherine Kochie (ckochie@armadeiacademy.com)
(minimum of 2 students, maximum of 10 students)
Summer Reading, Math, & Latin
A child’s summer should be filled with adventure, learning, growth, and wonder. What better way to start the adventure than by diving into a great book?
What is required?
Students entering grades 3-8 will have one required book to read (see the list below). Each teacher will have a graded activity based on the book during the first week of school. Students should be ready to discuss the characters, setting, main idea, themes, key details, and overall plot of the book.
- 3rd: The Cricket in Times Square (Seldon)
- 4th: Door in the Wall (de Angeli)
- 5th: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg)
- 6th: The Magician’s Nephew (Lewis)
- Students are also invited to explore the world of Narnia further by reading The Horse and His Boy (Lewis), but this is not required.
- 7th: The Hobbit (Tolkien)
- 8th: Treasure Island (Stevenson)
Tolle Lege: Take up and read!
All students K-8 are encouraged to compete against one another in our annual Tolle Lege reading contest. Students who read at least 1000 minutes over the summer will be able to participate in an ice cream party during the first week of school. Awards will be presented for the students who read the most minutes in their grade, as well as the top three readers in the school overall. Here are a few guidelines:
- Reading minutes must be entered through the parent portal between June 1-5, July 1-5, August 1-5, and on August 13 in order to count for the contest.
- Students entering grades 3-8 should only keep track of the minutes they personally read.
- Students entering grades K-2 may also include minutes someone else reads to them.
- While audiobooks are wonderful, students may only count audiobook minutes if they are reading along at the same time.
- Students are not required to read from a certain list of books, but rather are free to read what interests them and fosters a love for reading and learning. Parents are encouraged to guide their children toward literature that points them to the True, Good, and Beautiful. If you’d like ideas for what to read, please refer to the Banquet of Books list.
- An optional form for tracking your reading minutes is attached for your convenience.
Enjoy the adventure!
Each school year, students work hard memorizing math facts and strengthening problem-solving skills. This math ability can be compared to a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets. The opposite is also true; the less it is used, the weaker it gets. Studies have found that students who do not practice math over the summer lose 2 to 3 months of ability. Working on math over the summer, even 5 to 10 minutes a day, helps prepare your child to start the next school year well!
Each grade-level teacher has put together a review packet that covers the math content from this past year to help students retain their abilities over the summer. In addition, if you have specific materials you would like to use (e.g., a workbook, app, or website) that strengthens your child’s skills, please feel free to use them as well. There are countless resources for math practice online: IXL.com, khanacademy.com, weareteachers.com/math-card-games, etc.
While reviewing math content and practicing skills is optional over the summer, we strongly encourage students to spend 10 to 20 minutes a day, four days a week, engaging with math materials. Students benefit most from a little practice most days throughout the break. It is not beneficial for students to wait until the second week of August to spend multiple hours completing the summer packet all at once. Those students who complete the summer review packet and turn it in to their new grade level teacher on the first day of school will be treated to a donut party during the first week of school. Please note that we will NOT be tracking minutes through the Parent Portal this year.
Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Practice and dedication help one grow in his or her proficiency in math, and we are grateful for your help in continuing this over the summer.
Math Packets:
New students entering grades 5-8 are asked to attend a 1/2-day Introduction to Latin on Thursday, August 3, 2023 from 9 am - 12 pm. Please register HERE.