Letter from Peter I. O'Connor, Director of the Summer Program

Welcome, prospective students, to Portsmouth Abbey's Summer Program 2008: Excellence and Enrichment Web site.

Since 1943 the Summer Program has introduced young students to the unique spirit of education that has always been a part of Portsmouth Abbey School.  The universal character of this program is rooted in the celebration of learning that is proper to the classroom, an awakening of the uniqueness of each student through participation in enrichment activities, and the importance of athletics in fostering a healthy sense of the body.  It has always been the hope of this program that these three elements would be viewed as equal paths toward wisdom and the fullness of experience.

This year the Summer Program is from Sunday, June 29 through Saturday, July 26, 2008.  It is a wonderful time to take some interesting courses, participate in a series of unique enrichment activities, and simply play in what is arguably one of the most beautiful areas of the country.  Summer in Rhode Island is full of promise and expectation as the long year gives way to something richer and more deeply satisfying.   It is always a moment that not only brings out the very best in the students and teachers in their desire to learn, but fosters a genuinely mutual relationship that might partly explain the enduring friendships and memories that spring out of this deeply shared experience.

What will make this Summer Program particularly unique for rising 7th through 10th graders beyond its privileged position on the shores of Narragansett Bay and the excellent courses that emphasize reading, writing, and public speaking are the hands-on enrichment activities of Plein Air Landscape Painting and Environmental and Marine Sciences.   In the Plein Air class students will receive an introduction to painting landscapes on location or nearby the Abbey campus. The focus of the activity will be drawing and painting from observation. Students will learn to study the world closely.  They will be given the opportunity to try different drawing and painting techniques. Classes will include demonstrations, relevant art history, and a chance to be outside studying and painting the unique southern Rhode Island landscape. In the Environmental and Marine Sciences class the students are initiated into an understanding of the different marine environments through trips and activities on the bay, an excursion to a salt marsh, a boat trip to Prudence Island, and seining in the bay and nearby estuaries.  The formal participation in each afternoon enrichment activity is designed to change the perspective of all the students in terms of how they see the complex relationship between water, landscape, and the environment, while providing a formative experience that will draw the students together as a community over the course of the four week program.

Whether in seminars, exploring marine environments, trying new painting techniques, sailing a boat in Newport, playing Frisbee on Rhode Island's beautiful beaches, walking the historic Freedom Trail in Boston, feasting on a real New England clam bake in Martha's Vineyard, riding the roller coaster at Six Flags, participants will delve into subjects and activities with instructors who are passionate about what they do and who genuinely wish to share that enthusiasm with students.

I look forward to seeing you on campus this summer!

Sincerely,

Peter I. O'Connor, Director of the Summer Program
Office:  401.643.1253
Home:  401.683.6881
Cell:  401.835.0581
poconnor@portsmouthabbey.org

Please go to the Drop Down Menu at the top of this page for more information about our Courses, Daily Schedule, Athletics & Recreation, Admissions Information, and Online Registration.

2008 summer Program Dates:  June 29 through Saturday, July 26, 2008
For rising 7th through 10th graders