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Rye Country Day runs several distinct summer tracks rather than one camp. Summer Session offers academic coursework for rising Grades 5 through 12 and is open to students from any school. Wildcat Mini-Camps serve rising Kindergarten through Grade 8. June sports and conditioning camps prepare athletes for the fall. ACTION is a separate July program for public school students. Global Studies runs June travel for rising Upper School students.
Academic Programs: Summer Session and ACTION
Summer Session is the academic backbone. It gives rising fifth through twelfth graders room to develop a specific interest, explore something new, earn advanced credit, or shore up a subject that needs strengthening. Importantly for families still considering RCDS, it is open to qualified students from any school, not just enrolled Wildcats. Classes run small, between four and twelve students, and a course needs at least four enrollments to run at all. Families can sign up for as many or as few non-conflicting classes as they want.
ACTION is a different program entirely, and it is frequently misunderstood. It is an academic enrichment program for highly motivated public school students entering Grades 7, 8, or 9, drawn from local communities that may not have access to programs like this. It runs mornings, Monday through Friday, for the month of July. One day each week moves off campus, and the summer always includes a Broadway play alongside a second academically enriching trip. If your child attends RCDS or another independent school, ACTION is not the program for them.
Academic summer work tends to pay off most when it is chosen deliberately rather than as a default. Our guide to how summer programs help middle schoolers prepare for high school covers how to make that call.
Camps for Younger and Athletic Students
Wildcat Mini-Camps let rising Kindergarten through Grade 8 RCDS students ease from the school year into summer alongside friends and familiar teachers. June Sports Camps serve rising Grades 5 through 12, built around teammates preparing for the fall seasons rather than general recreation. June Strength and Conditioning runs as a week-long camp with the Director of the Fitness Center, focused on athletic performance and personal fitness. Sport-specific camps in youth football, girls’ volleyball, and boys’ lacrosse round out the athletic offerings.
June Travel Through Global Studies
Each summer the Global Studies program runs June travel for rising Upper School students, and the school aims for every student to have at least one global experience during their high school years. RCDS arranges two to three such experiences annually. Past programs have taken students to examine border issues in El Paso, sustainable and alternative energy in Iceland, Classics languages in Sicily, and civil rights history in the American South. A Costa Rica program run in partnership with Ecology Project International has students collecting data on leatherback sea turtles and three monkey species. These are Upper School opportunities, so younger families should treat them as something to look forward to rather than apply for now.
Thinking about RCDS for the fall as well as the summer?
Summer Session is open to students from any school, which makes it one of the few genuine ways to see the campus in action before you apply.
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| Program | Who it serves | Shape |
| Summer Session | Rising Grades 5 to 12, any school | Academic courses, enrichment or for credit |
| Wildcat Mini-Camps | Rising Kindergarten to Grade 8, RCDS students | Camp-style transition into summer |
| June Sports Camps | Rising Grades 5 to 12, RCDS students | Fall-season preparation with teammates |
| June Strength and Conditioning | Student athletes | Week-long performance and fitness camp |
| ACTION | Public school students entering Grades 7 to 9 | July mornings, academic enrichment |
| Global Studies June Travel | Rising Upper School students | Two to three international or domestic programs each year |
| Sport-specific camps | Varies by sport | Football, girls’ volleyball, boys’ lacrosse |
Which Program Fits Your Child
Summer choices show up in applications later, though not in the way families expect. Admissions readers notice coherence rather than volume, a point we cover in our piece on extracurriculars in private school admissions.
Choosing the Best Summer Program at RCDS
The useful question is not which program is best but which one matches where your child actually is this year. A rising sixth grader who needs momentum in math wants Summer Session. A rising ninth grader preparing for a varsity season wants June camps. Families weighing the school more broadly can talk it through with our New York consultants.
Plan the summer with next year in mind
We help families choose summer programs that build real skills rather than padding a list.
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