Required Weekend visits allow NCSSM Online students to build a learning community within their class and with other students in the program.

 

 

NCSSM Online courses include Saturday visits at the NCSSM campus (once per semester, twice for some courses), which fosters students being a contributing member to a learning community.

 

Sharing Experiences

While on the NCSSM campus, students both socialize and complete team building activities and work on problem solving activities, conduct hands-on science activities in the NCSSM laboratories, and participate in extracurricular investigations of current topics via lecture, hands-on learning, and field trips.

 

With NCSSM Online, students coming from all across North Carolina and with diverse socio-economic backgrounds and varied life experiences, the residential experience helps students learn to understand, respect, and appreciate each other’s similarities and differences while working toward a common goal.

 

Transportation and Lodging Options

Limited space is available for distant students to stay overnight on campus Friday night, with priority given to students living beyond 150 miles from campus. NCSSM can pick up and drop students off from the Durham Amtrak station or Durham bus station (Greyhound/Megabus).

 

Weekend Dates

Visits occur on Saturdays. The dates of these events are determined prior to the start of the school year, and do not occur over major holiday weekends.

 

 

2013-2014 Academic Year

Fall Course	Fall Weekend	Spring Course	Spring Weekend
Advaned Chemistry	September 28 November 2	AP Chemistry	February 15 March 22
Applied Finite Math	September 28	AP Physics B	February 15
Climate Change Biology (Fall)	September 28	Climate Change Biology (Spring)	February 15
Computational Chemistry	September 28	Green Environmental Geology	February 15
Genetics and Biotechnology (Fall)	September 28	Intro to Applied Chem and Engineering (Spring)	February 15 March 22
Intro to Applied Chem and Engineering (Fall)	September 28 November 2	Intro to Western Political Thought	March 22
Intro to Computational Science	September 28	Genetics and Biotechnology (Spring)	March 22
Ecocriticism	September 28 (Supplemental)	AP Environmental Science	March 22
Forensic Science (Fall)	September 28 (Supplemental)	Partial Derivatives, Multiple Integrals, and Vector Fields	March 22
		Forensic Science (Spring)	March 22 (Supplemental)
Advanced Environmental Science	November 2	Science, Catastrophe, and Culture	March 22 (Supplemental)
AP Calculus AB	November 2	AP Calculus BC	No weekend
Forensic Accident Investigation and Material Evidence (Fall)	November 2	Computational Biology	No weekend
Intro to International Relations	November 2	Computational Medicinal Chemistry	No weekend
Applications of Calculus/Vector Functions	November 2	Forensic Accident Investigation and Material Evidence (Spring)	March 22
Advanced Physics	No Campus meeting, see course description for extended weekend webinars.

 

Vehicles on Campus

Limitations are placed on students bringing a vehicle to campus for program events.

 

NCSSM Online students, by advanced written permission of their guardians and NCSSM, may bring a vehicle to campus for 2012-13 online weekends or summer symposium. Policies and guidelines will be provided to parents and students---students must provide their keys to school officials when they arrive on campus; these will be returned to them when the event is over. Students may not use the vehicle during the event for any reason. NCSSM’s policy forbids students to drive to campus or have a car on campus, even temporarily, without advanced permission.

 

Students in the Into to Applied Chemistry and Engineering learn how to tweak a variety of ingredients to make household soap.

 

 

Check-In and Check Out

Students with advance permission to stay overnight arrive between 6-8 p.m. Friday. Students arriving Saturday arrive between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. The program ends by 5:30 p.m.

 

Things to Bring and Campus Visitation Rules

We send our standard list of “things to bring” and highlights of rules for students that need to stay overnight.  We will alert students of “special” items to bring related to the weekend programming.  Teachers will alert students of any academic materials to bring related to their course.  Towels and bed linens are not provided; therefore students must bring your own. 

 

Campus Visitation at Other Times

NCSSM Online is its own place, so contact with the residential school is not essential except on the NCSSM Online Orientation Weekend and the two required weekend experiences per semester. NCSSM Online has developed a visitation policy for the residential campus that provides equitable access for all NCSSM Online students, both those who live nearby and those who live far away.  However, prospective students interested in a tour our special admissions events should contact the admissions office.