During this course, students will cover the fundamentals of problem solving, program design, algorithms, and programming using a high-level language (Java). Students will build and program robots in laboratory sessions, and develop skills in mechanical computer-assisted design (CAD) as they work in teams to build simple and complex robotic devices. Students will apply concepts learned in physical science and physics classes to mechanical devices using a variety of hands-on activities culminating with their participation in the global FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition during the second semester. The class will also explore usage of robotics in modern business and industry and examine how robotic devices are affecting our lives and shaping our culture. No previous computer programming or electronics experience is necessary.
*This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.
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.
English 200 continues the course of study begun in the freshman year. Skills learned the previous year are refined, expanded, and enhanced. Basic grammar is reviewed and new material introduced throughout the year. The lower division writing sequence continues with a review of paragraph writing, which leads into the year’s emphasis on descriptive, narrative, and expository essay writing. Students will write approximately 10-12 papers in a variety of rhetorical modes. The writing becomes not only more formal, but increased in length as well with students writing multi-paragraph expository essays by the end of the first quarter. The reading of literature includes all the major genres: novel, drama, poetry, short story, and essay; however, the study of literature shifts from an organization by form to an organization by themes that reveal an insight into the human condition.
The purpose of freshman English is three-fold: 1) to master certain grammatical material that will aid in the discussion of composition, 2) to begin a systematic approach to writing, and 3) to identify certain literary concepts in a variety of literary genres. To achieve these goals, English 100 presents the incoming students with a course of study that exposes them to the forms of literature: the short story, non-fiction essay, poem, drama, and novel. Freshman English also presents the students with various writing assignments that will start them on the process of building a personal writing style. The subjects for these assignments move from the students’ own experiences to topics related to their reading, and the movement during the course of the year is from narrative and descriptive writing to writing that is more expository in nature. Writing assignments generally will progress from one-page papers at the beginning of the year to longer essays at the end of the year. By the end of the course, the student will have written approximately 10-12 papers in a variety of rhetorical modes including creative, descriptive, narrative, expository, and literary analysis writing. The student will also have completed at least one multi-paragraph expository essay.
English 300 covers the literature of the United States from the Puritan Era to the present. All the forms of literature which have been studied specifically in themselves during the first two years are now studied as they emerge historically through the imaginative lives of major U.S. authors. This course complements the study of American History, which is also taken during the junior year. The students’ writing aims at greater and greater control over the expository essay and specifically at developing analytical theses on literature. Students will write at least twelve papers during the year in various rhetorical modes including the personal narrative (at least 1), the expository essay (5-7), the synthesis essay, the timed quick-write, and the creative composition. After consulting with their teachers, students taking this course may opt to take the AP Language and Composition examination. Both this course and the honors course prepare students to pass the Junior Writing Exam taken in the second semester. Students who do not pass this exam with an acceptable score must take Literature and Composition: Non-fiction during the senior year.
This course offers students a journey through major innovative dramatic works while asking students to create their own dramatic works on contemporary themes as related to the works studied in class. Using Aristotle’s Poeticsas the basis for form and structure, works will be chosen from Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Nightto the lyric drama of Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Contemporary playwrights will include Tennessee Williams’ Streetcar Named Desire, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt,and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Students prepare a final project including a portfolio and/or a dramatic presentation of their own works.
This class will be offered pending adequate enrollment.
This course is offered outside of the 9:00 am – 3:00 pm school day. Meets Monday nights from 6:00-9:00 pm.
NOTE: This course is not being offered for the 2023-2024 school year. It may be available the following year.
In this course we will do an in-depth study of modern authors, contextualizing these voices as they fit into our cultural identity. In this one semester course, we will read short stories, creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and song lyrics. We will examine the narrator and the self, analyzing the way American individuality has shifted American literature. We will identify and analyze literary devices and structures in popular texts, and use these as models for our own creative writing. Formal grammar and vocabulary lessons will focus on clarification of voice. In addition to standard 5 paragraph analytical essays, we will write creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and a multi-genre research paper.
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, Garageband, Soundtrap, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, TinkerCAD, OnShape, and Blender. The learning of traditional art and design principles will be integrated into students’ creative work and the course will culminate with a digital portfolio.
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, Garageband, Soundtrap, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, TinkerCAD, OnShape, and Blender. 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, and student documentary films. Student work will culminate with a digital portfolio.
The Cambridge Latin Course, Units 1 and 2, open the door to the Latin language and literature for the beginning student through adapted readings about a Roman family living in Pompeii. Students will engage in the following activities: reading Latin aloud and silently; asking and answering Latin questions about the readings; translating Latin sentences into English and vice-versa; memorizing and using vocabulary; developing listening and speaking skills; studying the history and origin of English words derived from Latin; and learning about the customs, history, and mythology of the ancient Romans, especially as they have affected our own culture today. The aims of the course are: to teach students to read Latin accurately and confidently; and to familiarize students with life in the early Roman Empire.
