ROPES (Rite of Passage Experience)

At Summit, a private, independent school, students take a giant step closer to graduation and preparation for high school and college by participating in ROPES, a unique second semester project that includes multiple skills: reading, writing, thinking, decision making, researching, summarizing, demonstrating, performing, public speaking, and most importantly taking risks!

Students venture into the community to engage in a brand new life experience, by finding and contacting a professional, asking them to serve as their mentor. In the last years, students have enjoyed exploring symphony conducting, journalism, cooking, cartooning, surgery, firefighting, creating guitars, woodworking, veterinary medicine, and much more.

Research papers and twenty minute presentations, with demonstrations to an audience of over 100 people and three judges, mark the culminating event for each student. Students deliver presentations that are unique, engaging, enthusiastic, confident, knowledgeable, sincere, heartfelt, and thoughtful. The experience not only prepares students for the future, but also gives them a life changing opportunity.