Competitive Speech and Debate (8) 8th period

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.

Game Design and Development (8) 8th period

Game Design and Development is an introductory science and technology laboratory course where students will learn basic coding skills while utilizing the popular gaming platforms Unity and Roblox to create their own video games.  Students will explore multiple programming languages, including but not limited to C-Sharp, C++, Lua, and JavaScript.  Students will be introduced to fundamental concepts such as: variables, looping, conditional statements, functions, 3D modeling, graphics, and the algorithms that make computers work.  Students will demonstrate critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills in hands-on collaborative lab experiences.

UC/CSU Subject D Approval (pending)

 This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.

 

Latin 4: Poetry (Love and Hate)

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 (Love and Hate)

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.) 

Spanish for Heritage Speakers 1 – Honors

Heritage speakers are individuals who have a strong linguistic, familial and cultural connection to a language other than the one used in their formal education.

Spanish for Heritage Speakers 1 Honors 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 Heritage Speakers 2 – Honors.

 

Religious Studies 475: Sports and Spirituality

Students in this semester-long course explore spirituality through the analogy of sports.  Students will determine how human beings encounter the Holy in the midst of everyday life with emphasis on athletic experiences as an athlete and/or as a fan (of specific athletes, teams, and/or sporting events).  Students will also examine the relationship between competitive, organized athletics and elements of communal religious practice and purpose.  Included is a study of embedded meaning associated with the movement of the human body, an analysis of ritual practice, a survey of major events where sports and religious practice intersect, and a differentiation between religious practice and personal spirituality.  Ultimately, students will come to know more deeply the ways in which one relates to the Holy or the Transcendent in the course of their own faith journey, and how personal faith contributes to communal practice and celebration of what is Holy and Transcendent.

Physical Education 316: Foundations in Kinesiology 2

Foundations of Kinesiology is a course that introduces students to the field of Kinesiology and its overall relationship with exercise science, sports performance, and sports psychology.  This UC/CSU approved College Prep Elective (“G”) course will be taught in two one-semester courses allowing maximum flexibility in scheduling.  Students do not have to take Foundations of Kinesiology 1 to take Foundations of Kinesiology 2.

While each course will share common threads in training, nutrition, sports, psychology, and basic human anatomy, each course offers a slightly different approach to discovering the keys that improve performance.  Both courses will involve some physical activity.

Foundations of Kinesiology 2 will concentrate on “why” the body moves by understanding the relationship between fitness principles of exercise and how to improve sports performance.  Foundations 2 will also introduce to students the vocations/careers associated with the field of Kinesiology.

*This class will be offered pending staffing availability and adequate enrollment.

Physical Education 315: Foundation in Kinesiology 1

Foundations of Kinesiology is a course that introduces students to the field of Kinesiology and its overall relationship with exercise science, sports performance, and sports psychology.  This UC/CSU approved College Prep Elective (“G”) course will be taught in two one-semester courses allowing maximum flexibility in scheduling.  Students do not have to take Foundations of Kinesiology 1 to take Foundations of Kinesiology 2.

While each course will share common threads in training, nutrition, sports, psychology, and basic human anatomy, each course offers a slightly different approach to discovering the keys that improve performance.  Both courses will involve some physical activity.

Foundations of Kinesiology 1 will concentrate on “how” the body moves by investigating human movement and understanding the benefits of kinesiology.  Foundations 1 will explore the purpose of exercise and sports nutrition.

*This class will be offered pending staffing availability and adequate enrollment.

Multimedia Design 1A

This is an introductory computer art and design course with a focus on 2D and 3D graphics, sound and video-editing software. Coursework includes a variety of design projects created with software programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, Logic, FL Studio, Soundtrap, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, TinkerCAD, and game design in Roblox. The learning of traditional art and design principles will be integrated into students’ creative work and the course will culminate with a digital portfolio.

Multimedia Design 1B

This class further develops skills learned in Multimedia Design 1A with a focus on utilizing 2D and 3D graphics, sound and video-editing software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, Logic, FL Studio, Soundtrap, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, OnShape, Blender, and game design in Roblox and Unity.  The development of effective narrative structures will be emphasized so that students learn to use the various media to create intentional works with meaning.  Particular attention will be paid to the design process and students’ conscious development of their own creative process.  Sample projects include stop motions, animations, music videos, special effects,  student documentary films, and the creation of video games.  Student work will culminate with a digital portfolio.