TEEN DAY isn’t an independent endeavor, we rely on our community! We are proud to be apart of such a connected locality. These groups donate, offer loans of equipment, provide information on curricular, have hosted events with/for us, and so much more!
Thank you to the following:
Moose Lodge
Purity Ice Cream
Kristen Grace and Brendan Wyly Family Fund of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County
Panera Bread
Loyal Order of Moose Lodge #666
Cornell Center for Materials Research
Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers
CHESS
Free Science Workshop
Ithaca Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Ithaca College Department of Writing and the Humanities and Sciences
Maguire
Why These Donations Matter
Monetary donations aren’t the only thing we’re receiving from the continued contributions of these organizations. We’re also creating a connected community here in Tompkins County. By supporting each other, we ensure more opportunities and resources for the fine people who live here. Thank you to everyone who has supported our program.
TEEN DAY is hosting our very first auction this November! The proceeds from this fundraiser will go toward providing high-quality educational experiences, financial support for students, and compensation for professors. So what can you do to participate?
Donate!
Donations are still needed for our auction. Consider the following:
products your company makes
gift cards/certificates, services (eg. massage, lessons/classes, yard work, cleaning, tutoring, editing, photography, web design, etc.)
handmade items (eg. soaps, knit/crochet/weaving, fine art, pottery, woodwork, etc.)
events/experiences (a day at a spa, tickets to a local concert/show, a stay at a local B&B or AirBnB, a guided nature walk, a spot in a class, etc.)
other things you think people might enjoy
If you’re not sure whether your donation will work for our auction, please email TDBoard@teendayithaca.org to ask!
The auction will take place entirely online, starting at at noon on Sunday, November 3, 2024 and closing at 9pm on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Items will be available for preview in advance of bidding. Check back frequently, as we will be adding items as they come in! Be sure to bid on your favorites, from handmade pottery to construction work to party entertainment to a night out on the town!
Share!
Alert your friends and family! Post on your social medias! Let everyone know about TEEN DAY’s upcoming auction! Let people know about the specific item or items YOU donated to the auction, so they can come take a peek. We don’t want anyone to miss out!
Wanna support TEEN DAY but don’t want to participate in the auction? We have you covered. Donate online here.
TEEN DAY Ithaca still has some spaces available in 2024-2025 programming! If you are/have a teen ages 12-18 looking for a place to find independence, community, and academic rigor, TEEN DAY may be just the spot. All of our classes begin next week.
We have a spot in the all-day Tuesday program available! Choose from eight classes in four periods to create the schedule that’s best for you. This year we offering Modern Literature, Creative Writing, World History: Our Modern World, Physics of Space, Illustration and Fine Art, Algebra I, Being a Citizen, and Life Science.
Tuesday slots don’t open up often, so you should grab it SOON!
“Reacting to the Past is an active-learning pedagogy of complex role-playing games. Reacting promotes engagement with big ideas, and improves critical, practical, intellectual, and academic skills.”
In the Fall semester, we will run Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolution in New York City, 1775-1776. Patriot and Loyalists forces struggle to control and direct the populace of New York City in an effort to deliver the city to either the Revolutionary forces or the British.
In the Spring semester, we will run Rousseau, Burke, and Revolution in France, 1791. Participants will strive to craft a constitution for a new France, struggling to balance the need for defense from foreign invasion, revolutionary ideals, and the needs of the common citizen.
**We have decided to open up our Latin II class to Latin I students as well with the goal of getting beginning students up-to-speed with our more advanced cohort in advance of offering Latin III in 2024-2025.**
In Latin II, students will expand their knowledge of basic Latin grammar and vocabulary. Major grammar topics that will be covered include five new verb tenses, passive verbs, and the uses of the ablative case. Our Latin readings will describe the day to day life of a young Roman as he explores life in Rome, travels the ancient world, and assumes the responsibilities of adulthood. These readings will also give us an opportunity to explore the tumultuous history of the late Roman Republic and Rome’s complicated relationship to Greece and Greek culture. This course follows the Oxford Latin Course.
Join us in preparing for and participating in Model United Nations conferences. These conferences are a simulation of the United Nations and other international bodies, which allow students to take on the roles of diplomats around the world. They seek to promote awareness of the many issues facing the international community, and to give students the opportunity to engage in critical thinking about how to address those issues. Students or “delegates” must step into the shoes of the country or position they are assigned. Participants research their assigned country, write a country position paper for submission, get to know their particular role/committee, and finally, spend the weekend as a part of a simulated delegation! (highschoolers only)
Spanish III will continue to build on the foundational blocks of Spanish I and II. Participants will continue to develop their proficiency in speaking, listening, writing, and reading by interacting with each other and the instructor. Through practice in class and homework assignments, participants will grow their vocabulary and move forward into other verb tenses. There will be a key focus on reading and writing proficiency in Spanish as well. We’ll try to use Spanish as lingua franca of the class and enhance the learning process out side of classes limits.
We will be doing algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and even some calculus. We will not be applying theorems and formulas handed down from above. Instead we will make our own conjectures, prove theorems, and use these core concepts to study new types of mathematical objects like fractals, matrices, and dynamical systems. We are also not restricted to the traditional pen and paper used for mathematical reasoning (or even our TI-89s and phone calculators). We will program with Python and use it as a tool for computational thinking.
We need your help to keep educational options open to ALL the youth and families in our community that rely on them.
This year, TEEN DAY has received more applications for financial aid than we have available through our scholarship fund. For the first time in our history, we are having to tell applicants we are unable to meet their requests. For some, this has meant eliminating courses they had hoped for in 2024-2025. For others, it has meant facing the possibility they cannot participate at all.
The Board is committed to finding ways to bolster our scholarship fund over the summer to enable a second round of funding for families that really need it. There are several ways you can support these efforts:
Have dinner with us…TWICE!
Sunday, June 30 between 4 and 8pm: Head to Panera Bread at 728 South Meadow St. in Ithaca, NY. Present a copy of our fundraising flyer (below or from social media) or enter the code “FUND4U” on any kiosk when ordering, and TEEN DAY will receive 25% of sales!
Sunday, July 21 between 4 and 7pm: Head to the Loyal Order of Moose at 367 Elmira Rd. in Ithaca, NY. Your choice of chicken or eggplant hot off the grill with salt potatoes and coleslaw…all for $15/person! For tickets, keep an eye on the website and social media, or email admin@teendayithaca.org.
Make a direct donation. Your one-time donation of $25, $50, $100 or more OR a recurring monthly donation of $20 or more would go a long way toward securing accessible programming for all. Checks can be made out to “TEEN DAY Ithaca” and mailed to 120 Third St., Ithaca, NY 14850 or donate online.
Encourage friends and family members to donate. Forward this email and/or share our social media posts (Facebook/Instagram), telling people why YOU value TEEN DAY.
If you haven’t taken the time to flip through TEEN DAY’s full-day offerings for 2024-2025, you are MISSING OUT! We fine tune our offerings every year, and this lineup could be our finest yet. Choose from history and civics courses to science and math to English and Art.
Wanna… – Plan your next mission to Mars? Gotcha covered. – Brush up on your modernist literature? Absolutely. – Illustrate your autobiography? On it. – Start earning credits toward college? May as well.
We’ve decided to open a few more slots for next year to try and accommodate anyone who’s interested in joining TEEN DAY for 2024-2025. If you haven’t registered already, now’s your chance!!
Set your next year on the right track by joining TEEN DAY for the all-day Tuesday program or for a la carte classes on Thursdays in 2024-2025!
Tuesday participants pick four of eight amazing classes: from a two-in-one course of Academic Writing available for college credit to our popular Being a Citizen course to your academic basics like Algebra I and Life Science.
Thursdays at TEEN DAY allows you to pick anywhere from one to four classes, but YOU choose just the ones you need to supplement your academic plans. Step into one of our foreign language classes, join our award-winning Model United Nations team, or try on one of our new courses this year: Reacting to the Past (a role-playing based exploration of historical events) and Precalculus!
submitted by Pat Sewell, Introduction to Philosophy instructor
The Tompkins County Board of Elections has announced a contest to design a 2024 “I Voted” sticker for students in grades 6-12. The winning design will be placed on thousands of stickers to be handed out to all voters in Tompkins County this November.
Last year’s winner was created by Dakota Tseng from New Roots, pictured here.
Given the incessant doodling I have seen on notes and homework, I am certain there is a winning design within the TEEN DAY ranks. Submissions are being accepted until May 1st.
Rules for entry and link to submit your art can be found here.
TEEN DAY Ithaca is in the process of hiring teaching staff for 2024-2025, and we’d love to connect with YOU!
There is typically no demand for specific credentialing. Classes are/have been taught by professors, graduate students, undergraduate students, professionals, and enthusiasts of all stripes. We strive to find people who are, yes, comfortable in a room full of teens and confident in offering instruction on a subject. However, what we look for most of all are people who are passionate about what they’re doing. Whether it’s Algebra or Art, we’re after people who ware willing to share their excitement about a topic with our participants. Most of our courses are offered 1 day/week on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Contact admin@teendayithaca.org for more info or to apply.
SPANISH INSTUCTOR:
We offer three levels of Spanish language courses at TEEN DAY. At present, courses utilize the Español ¡En Vivo! Instructional Spanish Workbooks for grades 9-12 as a framework for the course; however, instructors preferring a different curriculum for the course(s) are invited to suggest other options when applying.
The ideal candidate will move through this rotation each year, teaching the relevant coursework. There is a lot of room for creative interpretation and outside-the-box instruction in all areas. Instructor applications will also be accepted for next year’s Spanish III course without the intention of teaching for TEEN DAY for the full rotation.
TEEN DAY is a homeschool enrichment program for 12 and ups. A full day of classes is offered on Tuesdays between 9am and 3:30pm. Classes are available a la carte on Thursdays. You can find out more on the website: http://teendayithaca.org.
Classes are/have been taught by professors, graduate students, undergraduate students, professionals, and enthusiasts of all stripes. We strive to find people who are, yes, comfortable in a room full of teens and confident in offering instruction on a subject. However, what we look for most of all are people who are passionate about what they’re doing. Whether it’s Algebra or Art, we’re after people who ware willing to share their excitement about a topic with our participants. For dual enrollment purposes, this role requires a Master’s degree in English, English Education, Composition/Rhetoric or a related degree. Candidates with related degrees must have at least 18 credits of English at the graduate level. Most of our courses are offered 1 day/week on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Academic Writing is offered 2 days/week on Tuesdays AND Thursdays.
Most of our educational areas at TEEN DAY operate in a three-year rotation, allowing most participants to take most classes, regardless of when they enter the program. Our writing rotation consists currently of Academic Writing (dual enrollment w/ Tompkins Cortland Community College; TWO days/week), Creative Writing, and Journalism.
The ideal candidate will move through this rotation each year, teaching the relevant coursework. There is a lot of room for creative interpretation and outside-the-box instruction in all areas. Instructor applications will also be accepted for next year’s Academic Writing course without the intention of teaching for TEEN DAY for the full rotation.
TEEN DAY is again offering a sexual education course based on the Our Whole Lives (OWL) curriculum for 8th, 9th, and 10th graders. The class is offered once every three years, so sign up for this round before you miss your chance.
What is Our Whole Lives? Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive sexuality education program that helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives not only provides facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. OWL resources are based on the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education produced by the National Guidelines Task Force, a group of leading health, education and sexuality professionals assembled by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. OWL regards parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children. All parents of participants enrolled in this course will be required to attend a parent orientation and an end-of-semester group meeting. https://teendayithaca.org/our-whole-lives-2023/
When is it being offered? This Spring semester, January 18 – May 9, 2024.
TEEN DAY Ithaca 