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Topics of Exploration for 2024
Keep it Movin' (Gold: 7th/8th grade) Students will explore the evolution of transportation from horse and carriage to modern-day forms of travel and beyond. The curriculum will explore historical milestones, technological advancements, and societal changes related to local transportation.
Mind Matters: Navigating Wellness (Green: 9th/10th-grade) This theme will focus on mental health in Tacoma, Washington, students will explore local mental health services, emphasizing access and affordability. The curriculum will examine various support systems available in the community and address challenges related to mental health resources, including financial barriers.
Up to Code (Blue: 11th/12th grade) Students will create their own websites by learning coding languages: HTML as the building block of their website, Cascading Style Sheets(CSS) to add style to their sites, and JavaScript to add function to their sites. Students will work as a team to create these functional webpages, and to research the topic of their websites.
Summer Academic Challenge (SAC) is a tuition-free four-week enrichment program for Tacoma and greater Pierce County students in grades 7 to 12. With an innovative Project-Based STEAM curriculum, students explore themes in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, and see how the subjects they study in school play out in the world around them. Classes are project-based and require teamwork and collaboration. In addition to time on campus, whether in the classroom, lab, outdoors, or in the library, students attend workshops on writing and oral presentation skills, and participate in field trips and special events. Students participating in the program gain confidence, expand their interests, and become better prepared for the next school year and to meet their long-term academic goals. In fact, over a six-year period (2014–20) at Puget Sound, the one-year retention rate for former Summer Academic Challenge participants (89%) was significantly better than the rate for all other first-year students (83%), including 100% retention of students who participated in two or more Challenges.