Summer Assignments
Summer Assignments for 2025 - 2026 School Year
All students are required to read the Theology selection, as well as 1-3 books for English. Students must also complete a writing assignment on their English book(s). Students may not use the Theology selection for their essay. All assignments should be completed by the first day of classes.
Please click below to print a PDF version of this list.
For All Students - Theology Book Requirement
All students are required to read Maximilian Kolbe Saint of Auschwitz by Elaine Murray Stone prior to the start of classes on August 11.
Maximillian Kolbe: Saint of Auschwitz - Elaine Murray Stone (128 pages)
*Essay cannot be done on this selection
If you are having difficulty finding this book, it is also available for $9.95 through Paulist Press and Books A Million. Students may also purchase digital versions to read if needed.
Required Essay Assignment - English Summer Reading
Seven Gifts of Christ Essay
After completing your English summer reading, compose a five-paragraph essay which uses three of the Seven Gifts of Christ to analyze, to compare, or to contrast with characters in your Summer Reading works. Pick characters to discuss in your essay from each work you read (not including Maximillian Kolbe: Saint of Auschwitz). If you have only one work, choose a different character for each gift. If you have two works, pick a character from each work and a third from either work. If you have three works, choose a character from each work to connect to the gifts. The connection does not have to be literal; you can apply your interpretation of how the gifts manifest in the work. You can also choose to explore how a character does the opposite of the gifts. The title must be formatted correctly (underline or italicize) and you must give examples from the work to support your claim. Do not just summarize the plot; make a point.
Gifts of Christ
- Truth
- I will seek to understand the truth in all situations
- I will be truthful in the way I act, and respond, and accept truth around me
- Beauty
- I will seek beauty in all things and in all situations
- I will find the beauty of God's creation and wonders around me
- Goodness
- I will exhibit goodness as God's example during my daily life
- I will seek goodness in learning situations and remember to see God's likeness and goodness even in my opponents
- Affability
- I can be kind and treat others the way I would want to be treated
- I can treat others with respect, and I can be approachable and friendly
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- I embrace the wisdom and knowledge that my mentors and teachers have to offer, and I understand that I can learn from their knowledge and experiences
- I am humbled with the knowledge and talents I have, and I understand that I can always learn more
- Prudence
- I embrace learning from others, and I understand the importance of sharing my knowledge and talents by teaching others as well
- I can be prudent in making ethical decisions by using my Catholic faith and values as a moral compass
- Fortitude
- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
- I will seek courage in difficult situations in pursuit of what is true, beautiful and good
For English Classes
- Freshman - College Prep
- Lord of the Flies - Golding
- Freshman - Honors
- Lord of the Flies - Golding
- Princess Bride - Goldman
- Sophomore - College Prep
- Of Mice and Men - Steinbeck
- Sophomore - Honors
- The Jungle - Upton Sinclair
- A Raisin in the Sun - Hansberry
- Sophomore - AP Seminar:
- The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald
- Their Eyes Were Watching God - Hurston
- The Scarlet Letter - Hawthorne
- Junior - College Prep
- Great Expectations - Dickens
- Junior - Honors
- Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
- The Picture of Dorian Gray - Wilde
- Senior College Prep:
- Animal Farm (Orwell)
- Senior Honors:
- Long Day’s Journey Into Night - O’Neill
- Waiting for Godot - Beckett
- Oedipus Rex - Sophocles
- AP Literature:
- Brave New World - Huxley
- Klara and the Sun - Ishiguro
- Sense and Sensibility - Austen
- AP Research:
- They Say, I Say - Graft and Birkenstein
- AP Language and Composition:
- Great Expectations - Dickens
- Jane Eyre - Bronte
- Frankenstein - Shelley
AP Summer Assignments
Senior College Summer Tasks
All seniors should be completing the college tasks assigned by the Student Services department in the spring. Click HERE to view the tasks, which includes the college essay prompts.