Latin 3 Prose is an advanced level language course for the serious student who has mastered the basic elements and concepts of Latin 1 and 2, and those students wishing to continue their Latin study, but not as Advanced Placement. The Latin Prose student completes the learning of Latin forms and grammar, concentrating on use of infinitives, subjunctive verbs, gerunds, and gerundives within the classical Latin periodic sentence in Roman prose writers such as Cicero, Livy, and Pliny. Students will encounter the genres of history, commentary, and oratory.
NOTE: LATIN 3 PROSE is offered in the Fall of odd years (2025, 2027,etc.)
DANCE 1A is a special section of the introductory survey course designed for dancers with at least one year of prior dance training in any style. DANCE 1A(P) will include physical practice in the techniques of ballet, jazz dance, and social dance, with a greater focus on technical proficiency and performance skills. Students will study dance history, dance composition, and improvisational techniques. Through written work and class discussions, students will learn to analyze dance performance as an art form through a critical, informed, and appreciative lens. Students will work collaboratively to explore dance elements and perform choreography both in class and in public performance. To be approved for the special section of DANCE 1A(P), students must audition in person, by video or get approval from the Dance Director. Contact the Dance Director for more information on audition requirements.
Communication about many serious issues in the modern day is often marked by a distinct lack of nuance, reliability, and articulate expression. Competitive Speech and Debate is a course designed to help build the skills necessary to communicate effectively and persuasively in today’s world. Student will build all the necessary skills to do credible research, critically organize their thoughts, and compose writing that effectively articulates their point of view. Students will employ the skills they learn in competitive settings to receive feedback from a wide range of audiences, understanding the nuances of communicating their thoughts to diverse groups.
Some of the outcomes for students who take this class are:
- Advanced Communication Skills
- Critical Thinking Proficiency
- Confidence in Public Speaking
- Collaborative and Ethical Discourse
- Adaptive Leadership and Civic Engagement
UC/CSU Subject G Approval
This course is offered outside of the 9:00 am – 2:45 pm school day.
Honors Biology is designed to challenge and engage students with a strong interest in the life sciences. This course covers a wide range of topics within biology, focusing on advanced concepts, critical thinking, problem solving, and hands-on laboratory experiences. Students will delve into the intricacies of the natural world, from the molecular level to ecosystems, and explore the relationship between living organisms and their environment.
UC/CSU Subject D Approval
Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
Latin 4 Poetry is an advanced level language course for the serious student who has mastered the basic elements and concepts of Latin 1 and 2, and those students wishing to continue their Latin study but not as Advanced Placement. The Latin Poetry 3/4 student completes the learning of Latin forms and grammar, concentrating on use of infinitives, subjunctive verbs, gerunds and gerundives as used
by Roman poets such as Catullus, Ovid, Vergil and Martial. Students will encounter the genres of love poetry, myth, epic and satire.
NOTE: LATIN 4 POETRY is offered in the Fall of even years (2024, 2026, etc.)
Latin 3 Poetry is an intermediate level language course designed for those students who have acquired satisfactory competency during their first two years of language study. The course builds upon the skills and material covered in Latin 1 and 2. It reviews all major grammatical structures and introduces a broader scope of grammatical knowledge. Latin 3 students will acquire greater confidence in their ability to read and translate Latin through the love poems of Catullus and the mythological stories of Ovid.
NOTE: LATIN 3 POETRY is offered in the Fall of even years (2024, 2026, etc.)
Study of the cultural, political, geopolitical, economic, and religious factors involved in global events from the Age of Exploration and Conquest to the present day. Mastery of basic historical content, the ability to analyze and interpret both primary and secondary source materials, note-taking and research skills will be developed. Writing skills for the Social Sciences, including the development of a formal thesis, the defense of that thesis through in-class writing and a formal research paper, and identifying historical significance are a major focus. Students will also be able to trace the roots of global inequality and consider the major world events of the 20th century that continue to form our modern world.
This course meets Monday-Thursday for 50 minutes (8:00 am – 8:50 am). Students who will have morning practice or another morning commitment for the whole year that would prevent them from coming to class at 8:00 am should not take this class, as regular attendance is required.
This class is offered outside of the 9:00 am – 2:45 pm school day. Zero period Modern World History classes will be of average size. Courses offered during the 9:00 am – 2:45 pm school day will be double the average class size, team-taught by two teachers.
Applied Chemistry (Physical Science) is an alternative chemistry curriculum that presents chemistry as a powerful way of thinking, rather than a static body of knowledge. In Applied Chemistry, students engage with four important issues of 21st century science: energy sources, environmental challenges, life and medicine, and material design. The focus is to use core concepts and ideas in chemistry as tools to understand these issues and the current efforts to solve them. Students build understanding of chemical ideas and phenomena in interactive activities with relevant topics, laboratory investigations, design challenges, analysis skills, and cost-benefit evaluations.
Applied Chemistry does not satisfy the prerequisites for future honors or AP classes. Students who successfully complete this course can appeal for admission to honors or AP.
UC/CSU Subject D Approval (pending)
Spanish for Heritage Speakers 1 Honors will develop the language and literacy skills of heritage speakers. Students in this course come from Spanish-speaking family backgrounds. They speak and understand Spanish in the home, and they demonstrate some skills in reading and writing Spanish.
The course will build upon the deep knowledge that heritage speakers of Spanish bring to the language classroom. With a focus on the formal registers of Spanish, this course will advance a student’s proficiency in Spanish for multiple contexts–academic, professional, and personal. Special attention will be given to building vocabulary for specific contexts, using advanced grammar, strengthening formal composition skills, and deepening academic reading ability. In this course, students will increase their knowledge of a variety of topics including but not limited to topics such as identity, communities, world challenges, and literature from the Spanish-speaking world.
Taught exclusively in Spanish, this course is designed for heritage speakers only.
Upon successful completion of this course and the course final exam, students are recommended to enroll in further Spanish courses, such as Spanish for Heritage Speakers 2 – Honors.
*Class receives honors weighting in SI weighted GPA and UC/CSU GPA calculations
At a pivotal moment in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus asks his disciples “Who do you say that I am?” The confusion that ensues among his followers is emblematic of the struggle that Christians and non-Christians alike have had throughout history to answer that very question. In this course, students will be challenged to offer their own unique contributions to the discourse on the identity of Jesus. They will grapple directly with the question Jesus posed to his disciples by developing responses based on multiple and intersecting paradigms: the personal, the historical, the theological, and the anthropological to name just a few. Effectively engaging with the course will lead to greater skills in the areas of critical thinking, cultural competency, and religious imagination, among others.
