Bobcat Stories

Bosque School students often take advantage of summer break to learn and grow in new ways, both at home and away; this summer was no exception. Here are a few of the fun and challenging experiences our students had this past summer.

Due to Bosque School's partnership with St. John's College, two Bosque School students are invited to a week-long residential program in Santa Fe every summer, with their costs covered by a scholarship valued at $1,400. This year, two seniors, C.J. and Micah, were selected to attend St. John’s Summer Academy, which is modeled after St. John’s discussion-based, interdisciplinary approach to teaching great books. Summer Academy helps students hone their reading, critical thinking, and discussion skills in classes led by St. John’s faculty. Two sophomores, Audrey L. and Zander, also participated in the same St. John’s programs this summer.

C.J. chose to take a week of Shakespeare, poetry, and philosophy, for which he read (in advance) Aristotle’s Poetics, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oedipus Rex, and various sonnets. Like St. John’s college students, they met in the college’s seminar rooms, around a big oak table, and discussions were based entirely on the source material. C.J. liked that constraint, as it kept the focus on the shared text and created an environment where all questions were welcome and relevant. Scheduled reading times several times a day, full access to the library and bookstore, and a choice of workshops after classes—such as archery, acting, theater, or field play—were all designed to replicate the actual experience of undergraduates in college, particularly the methods of the Great Books program.  

Micah’s course was titled "The American Experiment," with a focus on American democracy, as well as general texts on the philosophy of democracy. His classmates discussed the problematic issues of democracy—such as the tyranny of the majority—while acknowledging that it’s challenging to address such structural problems without undermining democracy as a whole, as few or no other systems of government have proven to be superior. He read Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, Plutarch on the Spartan leader Lycurgus, which was a great flashback to Ms. King’s 9th-grade humanities class, John Locke’s On Nations, parts of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg and Inaugural addresses, and a number of Martin Luther King’s speeches. 

His classmates had diverse viewpoints across the political spectrum—including a New Mexico Nationalist who believed in single-party communism and state independence. While the students were supposed to keep the in-class discussion on the readings, a large part of the program was to be an open and honest discussion about their opinions, creating many passionate conversational opportunities in and beyond the seminar room. Micah appreciated the chance to meet people from other countries who spoke different languages, explore his interest in law and politics, and get a taste of college life, all of which have made him more excited about actually attending college next year.

Alex '26 traveled to Colorado Springs in June to attend the Air Force Summer Seminar, a week-long program designed for high school rising seniors interested in attending the Air Force Academy. The camp is an excellent preparation for being a cadet, as students were exposed to Air Force aerospace engineering facilities, the airfield, and introduced to cool possibilities, such as their glider program. The first night, Alex experienced a simulation of boot camp: being roused at 5 am to clean the room, get dressed, line up, and go to the flag to sing the national anthem. Alex saw the Academy’s excellent athletics facilities and got to do an advanced ropes course in harnesses. He also faced an engineering challenge: designing a plane out of styrofoam and competing to see whose plane would glide the farthest. 

Alex has been considering the Academy since his dad went there and served in the Air Force for four tours. This highly selective program allowed him to get an overall sense of what it’s like to be a cadet, which is definitely very different from civilian life. 

Brooklyn B. ‘26 spent some of her summer at UNM, attending “Q Camp,” a selective camp sponsored and run by Sandia Labs that focuses on quantum computing, math, and physics. This month-long camp included lectures on quantum physics and chemistry, culminating in a project in which Brooklyn and a partner assembled an optical laser apparatus involving microscopic tweezers. They used these tweezers to grasp silica bead particles, which are approximately one micrometer in length. They also did a variety of experiments, including manipulating milkfat globules and red blood cells. This technology has real-world applications, especially in the medical field. Her poster and presentation won third place out of the ten teams presenting. 

Two Bosque School juniors (who also happen to be good friends), Mackenzie and Jade, had a blast at Oxbridge New York. This month-long program based at Barnard College offers coursework in “majors” and “minors.” Mackenzie chose Advertising and Media for her major and Creative Writing for her minor. Jade chose Musical Theater and Fashion. All the courses involved extensive hands-on activities, including meetings with professionals, visits to various companies, workshops, and other venues, as well as the creation of projects and performances. Their teachers were all working professionals, and their fellow students came from all over the world. From the very first day, Mackenzie and Jade enjoyed great freedom to explore the city, taking in everything from the Moulin Rouge to a Mets game. The students were also taken on a long list of New York must-see field trips, including Chelsea, Times Square, a U.N. tour, the High Line, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Coney Island, as well as numerous museums and bookstores.

Both Jade and Mackenzie especially enjoyed the college tours of Columbia and New York University, as well as living in a Barnard dorm with resident assistants who currently attend New York colleges. The experience not only affirmed their desire to attend college in New York City but also opened their eyes to the amazing professional and artistic opportunities the city offers. They had fun, made good friends, and also now have networking connections for potential future internships.

Carson M. ‘27 went to Boston to attend Harvard University’s Pre-College Experience, where he took Chemistry. It was more challenging than he expected: intensive and fast-paced, but very rewarding, as it paid off in his overall knowledge of science, which he now uses every day that he’s back at school. Topics included nuclear fission and fusion, as well as an introduction to organic and biological chemistry. The program offered a variety of weekend events to choose from, but students also had considerable freedom to structure their own time. Carson visited sites all over Boston, using the subway, including restaurants on the bay and museums. Carson especially appreciated the Colonial architecture throughout the city.

On the West Coast, in the big city of Los Angeles, sophomore Brooklyn M. had a great week making music at the Summer Music Camp Program at Colburn School. Together with her partners, she recorded a total of eight songs featuring original harmonies and lyrics, utilizing top-of-the-line studio equipment and resources. One song was mixed and mastered 25 times, with 30 vocal tracks. This song, “BIG CITY,” released under Brooklyn’s artist name, “Lynnie,” was released on Spotify and is available for all to stream! It is about a healthy break-up and a young woman coming of age in the city. Brooklyn was thrilled to collaborate on complex music with other talented and ambitious young artists and hopes to release another song soon.