Upper School Summer Work
Summer English 2023
We require students to do summer reading to help them maintain their reading skills over the summer, engage their imaginations, and provide a common learning experience for students in the opening days of school. Additionally, the required texts for each grade are linked thematically to the courses and help students and teachers establish a conceptual framework for the school year. At every grade level, students will read; see below for details.
Ninth Grade English
Please watch the ninth grade summer reading video in full, and then choose at least one of the teacher-recommended books to read. Once you have watched the video and made your selection, you can use the links below to purchase one or more of the books.
- James Baldwin Go Tell It on the Mountain
- Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights
- Octavia Butler Bloodchild and Other Stories
- Daphne DuMaurier Rebecca
- Moshin Hamid Exit West
- Kazuo Ishiguro Never Let Me Go
- Peter Mayle A Year in Provence
10th Grade English
English X
Choose one of the following books to read. As you read, think about the power of language. Be prepared to discuss and write about your text at the start of school.
John Green The Anthropocene Reviewed
Kendra James Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School
Celeste Ng Our Missing Hearts
Trevor Noah Born a Crime
George Orwell 1984
Kevin Wilson Now Is Not the Time to Panic
Simon Winchester Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
English X: Environmental Focus
Please read the assignment expectations in this document: Summer Reading Assignment
11th Grade English and Social Studies
12th Grade English
Summer Social Studies 2023
Advanced Studies in United States History with a Political Lens: Students who have registered for this course, please see assignments.
AP U.S. History: Please see assignments.
Advanced Modern American History: Please see assignments.
Summer Language and Culture 2023
French V
Students who have registered to take French 5 will read Le Racisme expliqué à ma fille by Tahar Ben Jelloun. (ISBN: 9781547900404)
<<Un enfant est curieux. Il pose beaucoup de questions et il attend des réponses précises et convaincantes. On ne triche pas avec les questions d'un enfant. C'est en m'accompagnant à une manifestation contre un projet de loi sur l'immigration que ma fille m'a interrogé sur le racisme. Nous avons beaucoup parlé. Les enfants sont mieux placés que quiconque pour comprendre qu'on ne naît pas raciste mais qu'on le devient. Parfois. Ce livre s'adresse d'abord aux enfants : ils n'ont pas encore de préjugés et veulent comprendre. Quant aux adultes qui le liront, j'espère qu'il les aidera à répondre aux questions, plus embarrassantes qu'on le croit, de leurs propres enfants.>>
Advanced Spanish IV: Students who have registered for Advanced Spanish IV, please see summer assignments.
Summer Math 2023
Please see below summer math assignments below. Math course placement for 2023-24 is listed on your report card in the math comment. If you are still unsure which math class you are enrolled in, email Douglas Gorham.
The following courses do not have summer assignments: Introduction to Statistics A (Social Justice), Introduction to Statistics B (Sports Analytics), The Mathematics of Finance and Multivariable Calculus.