Program Overview

This workshop is only open to Harvard-Westlake students. In this 3 day intensive workshop, our panel of college admissions, counseling, and writing professionals will introduce you to the process of preparing a college essay. In addition to giving you valuable information about the current realities of the admissions process, our panel will focus on voice, the elements of your experiences, and interests that form compelling college essays. You will have multiple half hour-long, one-on-one sessions with a member of our panel as you grow your essays from the brainstorming and strategizing stage to a polished final draft. Beginning in the fall, HW Upper School Deans will work with their twelfth-grade counselees, both individually and in small groups, as they craft college essays. This workshop provides a unique opportunity for you to focus solely and intensely on the essay before classes begin in September. Due to the personal attention each student deserves and requires from this workshop, enrollment is limited. Please only register for one session. Please note, Monday classes will end at 12:00 PM. PREREQUISITES: HW Students Only

This workshop is only open to Harvard-Westlake students. In this 3 day intensive workshop, our panel of college admissions, counseling, and writing professionals will introduce you to the process of preparing a college essay. In addition to giving you valuable information about the current realities of the admissions process, our panel will focus on voice, the elements of your experiences, and interests that form compelling college essays. You will have multiple half hour-long, one-on-one sessions with a member of our panel as you grow your essays from the brainstorming and strategizing stage to a polished final draft. Beginning in the fall, HW Upper School Deans will work with their twelfth-grade counselees, both individually and in small groups, as they craft college essays. This workshop provides a unique opportunity for you to focus solely and intensely on the essay before classes begin in September. Due to the personal attention each student deserves and requires from this workshop, enrollment is limited. Please only register for one session. Please note, Monday classes will begin at 1:00 PM. PREREQUISITES: HW Students Only

What do the CEO of the Los Angeles Rams, founder/CEO of Zillow Inc, founder of ZipRecruiter, and CEO of the Huffington Post all have in common? What about about one Kara Nortman, a partner at Upfront Ventures (GOAT, Tinder, Ring)? All are Harvard-Westlake alumni who embody an entrepreneurial spirit. 

HW Inc is a fast-paced week of team-building, innovation, and entrepreneurship. At HW Inc, you will be empowered by business concepts, meet like-minded HW students, and learn about the endless possibilities of entrepreneurship. The week is centered around working with a team to develop your own original social or business venture, and pitching to an alumni panel of venture capitalists and experienced entrepreneurs. Think Shark Tank, but with more coffee.

Past coaches/judges have included a co-founder of Stamps.com, two members of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and venture capitalists from Lowercase Capital, noname Ventures, and Emergence Capital, among others.

Inc on the web is planned by students, for students, and will turn the virtual learning experience on its head. Get ready for an intense and fun week unlike any other camp you’ve attended before!

APPLICATION DEADLINES: all students must apply and be accepted BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THE PROGRAM.

PREREQUISITES: Harvard-Westlake students only. Application required. Students MUST be accepted into the program before registering.

This Advanced Spanish Skills course is for anyone who has taken Spanish II or III and who wants to reinforce Spanish skills. The goal is to fortify the communicative skills:  speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Instruction will address your individual needs and weaknesses in order to prepare you for more advanced work in Spanish. This workshop is recommended for anyone who wants to enroll in Spanish II Honors, Spanish III Honors or who wants to enroll in AP Spanish Language after completing Spanish III.

The course will enable you to become more confident in Chinese interactive activities, especially in listening practice. During the five days’ intensive classes, you will be exposed to a large amount of Chinese authentic audios and videos. You will be provided with methods and tips to understand the materials and improve your overall listening skills. You will also be guided to find answers to the questions that are mainly designed consistent with AP style. The course is open to non-Harvard-Westlake students who have at least two years of the Chinese learning experience in a daily academic setting. As for Harvard-Westlake students, it’s suitable for students who are currently in 1B, 1N, 2 and 3/3H classes.

SAT Math Workshop thoroughly reviews the entire range of mathematical topics, format, and concepts covered on the Math SAT, which requires completion of Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2. There is sufficient practice time during this workshop for you to become comfortable and confident with the necessary algebra, geometry, and arithmetic. All typical problem concepts found on the SAT are covered in depth and put into proper perspective, so that they may be used as effective problem-solving tools, rather than remain as stumbling blocks. Useful problem-solving techniques for approaching a typical SAT are stressed. (Note: this class only reviews for the SAT Math Test, not the SAT Subject Test in math.)

This course is designed to prepare you for the verbal sections of the SAT, as well as for upper-level high school coursework across the disciplines, especially Honors and Advanced Placement English (both Language and Literature). While test-taking strategies will be discussed, the primary focus of the sessions will be the enhancement of the analytical reading and writing skills demanded by both the exam and rigorous high school classes. Working with actual practice tests, as well as independently-designed lessons, your instructor will review key principles of grammar, argument, rhetoric, and style, and teach you how to write a rhetorical analysis essay (a cross-curricular genre of writing that employs close reading skills to examine how writers use language to convey their points of view).

The Harvard-Westlake Summer Jazz Workshop is designed to decode jazz improvisation. Like any new language, jazz requires a complex vocabulary and learning this vocabulary takes time, patience, and lots of practice. Do you love to play your instrument but aren't totally sure what to do when asked to? Harvard-Westlake's Director of Instrumental Music, Shawn Costantino's well-structured and FUN camp will equip you with a skillset to succeed in playing improvised music. Through small group master classes, semi-private lessons, small ensemble playing, and detailed ear training and music theory instruction, you will gain a deeper and more meaningful relationship with melodies, chords, scales, and rhythm, the essential building blocks of becoming an excellent jazz musician. Mr. Costantino will be joined by prominent Los Angeles touring and recording musicians, Mike Rocha and Matthew Yeakley. While open to students in grades 10, 11, and 12, 8th and 9th grade students may audition for placement consideration.

This course will enable you to become more experienced with the skills necessary to become a successful researcher and academic writer. You will look at various types of sources to identify which ones to use and how to use them effectively. We will look at how to approach a research topic and begin work. We will also explore how to gather the information necessary to write a solid research paper and how to construct a convincing argument. You will practice the various steps of academic writing, building up to a complete product. You will produce short writing projects based on materials presented in class. While historical research will be the basis of this course, the skills learned will be applicable for any academic subject.

This 6-week summer course covers a full year of high school geometry. We will concentrate on the study of Euclidean Geometry, while maintaining and enhancing algebraic skills. You will learn the ideas, concepts, and theorems of this branch of mathematics, as they were developed by the early mathematicians. You will also extend your reasoning skills by forming geometric arguments, and you will learn how to apply these principles to solve problems in various situations. The first 3 weeks of the course will concentrate on basic concepts, congruent triangles, parallel lines, and polygons. We will also be concentrating on the techniques of writing proofs during this session. The second 3 weeks of the course will concentrate on similar polygons, the Pythagorean theorem, circles, area, surface area, volume, and coordinate geometry. ELIGIBILITY: This course is open to Harvard-Westlake students who did not take Geometry in the 9th grade. This will allow them to continue their math studies at the Algebra II level in 10th grade. This course is also open to any non-Harvard-Westlake student who has completed 8th grade. A grade will be given at the end of the 6-week course. PREREQUISITES: Harvard-Westlake Students must receive permission of the Harvard-Westlake math department to enroll.

This 6-week summer course covers a full year of Spanish II. In this course, you will continue to improve the skills of reading, understanding, speaking, and writing Spanish. Moving at a faster pace, you practice all topics introduced in Spanish IA and IB and expand your vocabulary. The exploration of Hispanic cultures, oral presentations, and written compositions continues to be the central focus of the program. Great importance is placed on the application of contextualized grammar concepts. Practice of grammar and vocabulary, note-taking and test-taking skills are important aspects of the program. The course is open to any non-Harvard-Westlake student as well as to any Harvard-Westlake student that has completed Spanish I or Spanish 1B and wishes to advance further. For Harvard-Westlake students, this course is a fully accredited course and a placement requirement that will allow you to take Spanish III, thereafter. Please note: If a non-Harvard-Westlake student requires credit for this course, approval from your home school to enroll is required. A grade will be issued at the end of the summer term, but it is at the discretion and policy of the receiving school to accept or deny this credit. You are advised to check with your school's guidance office to determine if credit is allowed.

This 6-week summer course covers a full year of Spanish I. You will begin to study Spanish formally, and the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are all presented within the context of communicative situations. You will learn the grammar and vocabulary necessary to describe yourself and others, school life, sports and leisure activities, food, family relationships, clothing, health, and a variety of other situations. You will also become familiar with the diversity of peoples and cultures that form the Spanish-speaking world. The course is open to any non-Harvard-Westlake student, as well as to any Harvard-Westlake student that has not taken Spanish before or who has taken Spanish 1A and wishes to review and advance further. For Harvard-Westlake students, this course is a fully accredited course and a placement requirement that will allow the student to take Spanish II, thereafter. Please note: If a non-Harvard-Westlake student requires credit for this course, approval from the student's home school to enroll is required. A grade will be issued at the end of the summer term, but it is at the discretion and policy of the receiving school to accept or deny this credit. You are advised to check with your school's guidance office to determine if credit is allowed.

HYBRID MODEL: If we are unable to meet face to face when this class begins, we will begin online and transition to a face to face class once it is safe to do so. If you enroll, you will need to be willing to change to a face to face model when that is safe to do. Class will meet between 8:00 and 12:00 either virtually or face to face.

In this course, we will explore the art of comedy through the craft of sketch writing. Like a perfect pop song, a great sketch is built on well-employed underlying principles. We’ll investigate those comedic principles - “straight” and “absurd,” “high status” and “low status,” “mapping,” “heightening,” the “backoff” - and we’ll explore them by looking at the masters of the form. That is to say, we’ll watch funny videos. But mostly we’ll write. Because there’s no better way to become a comedic master than to have a dumb idea, try to make it work, see what the people think, and then take what’s killing and leave the rest. The workshop will culminate in a performance of our work by professional actors for invited guests.

This workshop is only open to Harvard-Westlake students. In this 3 day intensive workshop, our panel of college admissions, counseling, and writing professionals will introduce you to the process of preparing a college essay. In addition to giving you valuable information about the current realities of the admissions process, our panel will focus on voice, the elements of your experiences, and interests that form compelling college essays. You will have multiple half hour-long, one-on-one sessions with a member of our panel as you grow your essays from the brainstorming and strategizing stage to a polished final draft. Beginning in the fall, HW Upper School Deans will work with their twelfth-grade counselees, both individually and in small groups, as they craft college essays. This workshop provides a unique opportunity for you to focus solely and intensely on the essay before classes begin in September. Due to the personal attention each student deserves and requires from this workshop, enrollment is limited. Please only register for one session. Please note: Monday classes will end at 12:00 PM. PREREQUISITES: HW Students Only

This workshop is only open to Harvard-Westlake students. In this 3 day intensive workshop, our panel of college admissions, counseling, and writing professionals will introduce you to the process of preparing a college essay. In addition to giving you valuable information about the current realities of the admissions process, our panel will focus on voice, the elements of your experiences, and interests that form compelling college essays. You will have multiple half hour-long, one-on-one sessions with a member of our panel as you grow your essays from the brainstorming and strategizing stage to a polished final draft. Beginning in the fall, HW Upper School Deans will work with their twelfth-grade counselees, both individually and in small groups, as they craft college essays. This workshop provides a unique opportunity for you to focus solely and intensely on the essay before classes begin in September. Due to the personal attention each student deserves and requires from this workshop, enrollment is limited. Please only register for one session. Please note Monday classes will begin at 1:00 PM. PREREQUISITES: HW Students Only

During this week long program, you will develop a deeper understanding of your position as a student leader and how to affect change in a diverse community of needs. With an emphasis on experiential learning, you will spend your time facing fun, hands-on learning challenges and activities. Prefect Council alumni will visit the class throughout the week to share their past experiences and give practical advice to the current Council members. It is important that a foundation of common principles and language develops amongst the council in preparation for the demands of the upcoming school year. PREREQUISITES: HW Students who were elected to Prefect Council for the 2020-2021 school year.