Course of Study 2015-2016
English >>Middle School Our curriculum is designed to help students navigate the expanding seas of information and communication and to foster an appreciation of the power of language. We ask, “What is worth reading -- and why?,” and we maintain that what is worth saying is worth saying well. We teach texts that represent a range of voices and points of view that offer windows into the experiences of others and mirrors into students’ own experiences. Whether they are grappling with Shakespeare or preparing for a visiting Baird Symposium author, our students consider how texts reflect the human condition and how an author’s choice of genre, form and diction affects meaning. As teachers of writing, we strive to instill in our students a sense of pride in their written work and to give them the tools to make their writing reflect their thinking at its best. Weekly assignments range from critical analyses to personal essays, from journals to blogs, from stories to poems. Through one-on-one conferences, peer critiques, and multiple drafts and revisions, we teach writing as a process, and through the study of vocabulary and composition, we encourage students to experiment with language and style. Every English class also provides substantial practice in speaking and listening skills, as these are essential for effective communication. Through Harkness discussions, formal debates, presentations and impromptu speeches, students learn how to know an audience and build confidence in their ability to think and speak on their feet.
Upper Prep English —Family and Community The goal of Upper Prep English is to teach reading and writing skills through literature in a nurturing environment that encourages students to become comfortable and confident in those skills. Students learn the concepts of plot, theme, setting and character development through their reading of short stories and novels that tap into studies across several disciplines. Grammar, vocabulary and spelling lessons are coordinated with the students’ reading and writing. Clear sentence structure and coherent paragraph development are emphasized as students write expository, narrative and descriptive compositions. The idea of process writing is introduced early in the course, as students learn to be skilled editors as well as capable writers. Students also create a poetry portfolio and present a poetry reading in the spring. Reflecting the theme of “survival within a community” in its broadest global sense, readings include such works as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor, The Giver by Lois Lowry, and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.
English 1 —The Outsider Organized around the central theme of “insiders versus outsiders,” English in Form 1 continues to stress the skills of reading and writing. The literary focus is on vicarious experience -- the fundamental value of literature. In a range of novels, plays, short stories and poems, students read about individuals who push themselves against adversity and forge a set of values. Writing development begins with a variety of frequently assigned small, concentrated and highly organized paragraphs and evolves into larger writing projects, many of which are included in the Creative Writing Portfolio in the spring. The study of grammar, vocabulary and spelling is coordinated with students’ reading and writing. Readings include A Step from Heaven by An Na, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, and Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez.
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English 2 —Making Choices In Form 2, English students meet many of the same reading and writing challenges they faced in their first two years, but at a more sophisticated and complex level. Guided by the central theme of “making choices,” the literary focus is on character development with a gradually increasing emphasis on interpretation. Weekly writing assignments are designed to encourage students to write fuller, more subtle prose through the process approach to writing, with particular emphasis on revision. The study of grammar, spelling and vocabulary continues and is intertwined with the students’ writing. Students are asked to respond creatively to various literary genres and to develop coherent arguments by using direct references to the text. The yearlong autobiography project stresses an anecdotal approach to writing. Readings include To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry; and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare; as well as a wide selection of short stories and poetry.
>>Upper School Our curriculum is designed to help students navigate the expanding seas of information and communication and to foster an appreciation of the power of language. We ask, “What is worth reading, and why?,” and we maintain that what is worth saying is worth saying well. We teach texts that represent a range of voices and points of view that offer windows into the experiences of others and mirrors into students’ own experiences. Whether they are grappling with Shakespeare or preparing for a visiting Baird Symposium author, our students consider how texts reflect the human condition and how an author’s choice of genre, form and diction affects meaning. As teachers of writing, we strive to instill in our students a sense of pride in their written work and to give them the tools to make their writing reflect their thinking at its best. Weekly assignments range from critical analyses to personal essays, from journals to blogs, from stories to poems. Through one-on-one conferences, peer critiques, and multiple drafts and revisions, we teach writing as a process, and through the study of vocabulary and composition, we encourage students to experiment with language and style. Every English class also provides substantial practice in speaking and listening skills, as these are essential for effective communication. Through Harkness discussions, formal debates, presentations and impromptu speeche, students learn how to know an audience and build confidence in their ability to think and speak on their feet.
English 3—The Stories We Tell As memoirist and essayist Joan Didion observes, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” In English 3, we explore storytelling in its many forms. The course uses the lens of storytelling to develop students’ ability to think for themselves, to grapple with abstraction and to read, write and speak with increasing proficiency. Readings, which focus on fellow storytellers across genres and epochs, include The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, The Odyssey by Homer, The Piano Lesson by August Wilson, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, a memoir, and short story and poetry units. Students not only study Page 3 of 61
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the practice of storytelling but also become storytellers themselves. Sentence construction and vocabulary are focal points both in formal study and in practice while students are writing expository and creative prose. Furthermore, each student is required to join Harkness discussions and to practice public speaking.
English 4—Challenging Convention Designed to increase students’ confidence and sophistication as readers, writers, thinkers and speakers, English 4 focuses on texts whose characters or structure challenge convention and asks students to challenge their notions about what a literary analysis, a sentence, a topic of academic discussion should be. Works read include The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Students are challenged to assume leadership roles in discussions and develop their own theses to become more independent thinkers. Particular attention is paid to helping students develop a sentence style commensurate with the increasing complexity of their ideas. To this end, Longknife and Sullivan’s The Art of Styling Sentences complements continued vocabulary study. In addition, all Form 4 students participate in the Speakers’ Forum, an interpretive reading contest. Students in English 4 Honors read additional works, including Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, cover composition and vocabulary at an accelerated rate, and hone strong speaking skills. Designed for those students who have excelled in all aspects of English and require additional challenge as readers, writers and speakers, this course is by department approval.
English 5: Voice and Vision The purpose of English 5 is to help each student discover his or her critical and creative “voice.” The emphasis is on reading a variety of literature to refine the student’s ability to identify, describe and defend thematic ideas, and to show how these ideas are grounded in the text as well as in an author’s individual style. All students are expected to take an active role with responsibility for the direction and topics of the discussion. While each class follows an independent syllabus, together the classes adhere to common skills and objectives as well as to a core curriculum that includes “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, a work by Toni Morrison and one by Ernest Hemingway, poetry and prose of Edgar Allan Poe, concentration on another chosen poet and at least one work by the year’s Symposium author.
Students are required to write analytically and creatively about their reading and to keep a rigorous pace in reading assignments. A portion of the year is devoted to a writing workshop, so that after careful examination of style and technique, students may work on their own personal style – to write so that they reveal themselves as much as they do their ideas. In concert with this, all Form 5 students practice various forms of the personal essay, including (but not limited to) anecdote, diatribe, apology and elegy. Opportunities for public performance and publication of these essays are available for all students.
AP English 5: Voice and Vision Running parallel to the English 5 class, the Advanced Placement sections follow a more extensive bibliography, and the literary analysis, both in class and in writing, assumes a greater depth of reading experience, maturity of mind and the capacity to draw on wider and more independent sources. Furthermore, individual students carry responsibility for leading the seminar occasionally. This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement Examination in English Language and Composition, which they take in May. Generally candidates are drawn from honors sections in English 4, and Page 4 of 61
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others may request placement, but in either case, department approval is required.
Elective: Creative Writing (Fall) Creative Writing Workshop introduces students to the craft of creative and artistic writing, particularly fiction and poetry. Aimed at students interested in the writing process, the course makes extensive use of journal writing and writing prompts as well as feedback and revision activities. Students read and respond to each other’s work in a climate of supportive and lively exchange. The class incorporates substantial writing lab time to devote to generating drafts. Students are encouraged to submit their efforts to epic and various other contests and publications. This course, an elective offered outside the required English curriculum and open to students in Forms 4-6 for one-half credit, meets three times per week during the Fall semester. Students who have already completed one full arts credit may receive half an arts credit for this course.
Elective Journalism (Fall) Journalism is not simply a mode of writing; it is also a mode of thinking. In addition to introducing students to the writing techniques integral to news, feature and sports writing, this course trains them in the more abstract observation and thinking skills required to identify news when it happens. The hope is that students gain a new perspective on their writing and critical thinking skills while wrestling with the accuracy, objectivity and responsibility to an audience that characterize solid journalism. Students can expect weekly article assignments and regular readings of The New York Times as well as The Hartford Courant. The course is a prerequisite for a staff position on the KO News. This course, an elective offered outside the required English curriculum and open to students in Forms 3-5 for 1/4 credit, meets three times every two weeks during the Fall semester.
English 6 Elective: The Invention of America Wendell Berry once said: “If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are.” Berry is part of a tradition of “placed” writers in America including Thoreau, Frost, Faulkner, O’Connor, and Steinbeck. These writers and others helped to both define and create an American identity through their literature and artistry, turning away from Eurocentric expectations towards the landscapes, diverse regional cultures, and expanding cities. By doing so they reflect a national identity first created by many displaced people, those who immigrated to and migrated within this country first towards the invention of this nation. From the principles upon which it was founded, to the politics and people who inhabit it, to its own varied geography, the identity of the United States was slowly but surely shaped into being. This course will take a close look at the emergence of this unique identity through the eyes of its artists and writers from the 19th through the early 20th centuries. While this course will draw mostly from literature, a study of relevant paintings, sculpture, and film will also be included.
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English 6 Elective: The American Dream (Fall) In 1931, James Truslow Adams coined the phrase “the American Dream” and described “a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” Whether fully embraced or attacked as delusion, this dream has been a motivating force in our civilization. Even when denied, the dream is distinctly American. There are many books, songs, plays, and movies that have celebrated, questioned and denounced this vision. We explore the American Dream, past and present, to better understand and assess the “truthiness” of this ideal. Works studied include Horatio Alger’s “Ragged Dick,” Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” Edward Albee’s “The American Dream,” Stewart O’Nan’s “Everyday People,” Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Larry Watson’s “Montana, 1948,” and contemporary music and culture.
English 6 Elective: American Misfits (Fall) What is the voice of contemporary America? Are we prepared to reduce our experience to 140 characters, or is there more to be said about modern American life? This class will examine some of our finest “misfits” -- writers who were unafraid to push their audience to engage with literature in a new way. Whether through the often confounding revelations of Faulkner’s Bundren family in As I Lay Dying, the uncomfortable truths of Flannery O’Connor’s terrifying short stories, or Art Spiegelman’s visually arresting tale of his parents’ Holocaust survival in the Maus novels, we’ll take on what the voice of the American misfit has been -- and in what ways it will challenge future readers.
English 6 Elective: Literature of Survival (Fall) What is the relationship between survival and literary production? How can writing and reading be tools for contesting destructive assumptions about race, gender, socioeconomic status, and religion? The texts that this course explores -Jeffrey Eugenides’ “The Virgin Suicides,” Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening,” Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca,” Manuel Puig’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” and Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” for example -- question the world around them. In many cases, this questioning led to large-scale social change; in others, it led to alienation. But these authors refused to be silenced. Through reading, writing, and research, students in this course learn to explore how their voices can and should be heard, as well as how reading can be a tool for self-discovery. This course emphasizes revision of all written work, semester-long reflection and self-evaluation, identification and implementation of individual goals, and development of reading, research, and writing processes.
English 6 Elective: Satire from Voltaire to Colbert (Fall) In this course, students will delve into what makes for good scholarly satire. Through the examination of various literary forms employed by notable satirists, students will become adept at recognizing the elements that contribute to this form of humor including parody, sarcasm, and irony. We will study such works as Voltaire’s Candide, Swift’s A Modest Proposal, Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, poetry by Dorothy Parker, essays by Fran Lebowitz, as well as modern day television humorists including Stephen Colbert and other contemporary satirical media sources. In addition to practicing analytical reading and writing skills, students will attempt to find, develop, and Page 6 of 61
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unleash their inner critic.
English 6 Elective: Shakespeare (Fall) This course examines each of William Shakespeare’s genres of drama, by studying one example of comedy, tragedy, romance and history. By reading a variety of plays including The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Tempest, and, if time permits, Henry V—students improve their ability to understand Shakespeare’s language, to picture the plays on stage and to recognize common themes, motifs and ideas. Emphasis is on appreciating and understanding the plays. In addition, students undertake a variety of written assessments, both creative and expository, as a way of evaluating their improved understanding of all things Shakespeare.
English 6 Elective: Honors Classics of Social Criticism (Fall) A few pieces in our literary tradition have shaped the tenets of our culture, reflected our mores and related to generations the values that we uphold. In a world where some of those traditions are being questioned, others being reviewed and renewed, this course returns to several of the classics, some ancient, some more contemporary. We consider what the authors valued in their societies and what they questioned. Students read extensively and independently to engage in frequent Harkness discussions and create original theses in their writing. Our exploration begins with a play by Aristophanes, “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer, short stories by Mark Twain, a play by William Shakespeare, several films by Howard Hawkes, “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” by Milan Kundera, poetry by Emily Dickinson, and “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner. Designed for those students who have excelled in their study of AP English 5, admission to this course is by department approval only.
English 6 Elective: Honors Senior Seminar (Fall) This course studies the work of a renowned living author and his or her life and literary environment. It also examines the critical assessment of the author’s work and those writers who influenced his or her style and focus. Independent discussion, extensive writing and peer teaching are fundamental to the course as a means for developing a mature understanding of the symposium author. The course culminates with the author’s visit to the School as part of the annual Warren Baird English Symposium. Students meet with the author and participate in a master class -- rich opportunities to question and discuss with the author the careful and thorough perspectives that they have developed in their semester’s study. Designed for those students who have excelled in their study of English, admission to this course is by department approval only.
Senior Thesis The Senior Thesis, the culmination of the long-range objectives of the English program at Kingswood Oxford, requires students to use all of their acquired reading, writing and thinking skills in an independent research paper with a substantial literary component. An assigned thesis advisor works with a small group of students in class to cover topic selection, methods of research and technical procedures, while the student pursues his or her independent research and writing. All Form 6 students are required to write a Senior Thesis during the third quarter.
English 6 Elective: Senior Thesis/Alfred Hitchcock — Master of Suspense (Spring) Page 7 of 61
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Suspense in movies, the dramatization of a film’s narrative material or the most intense presentation possible of dramatic situations, is what keeps us interested in the spectacle. It is what compels us to return again and again to the darkened room of the cinema. For 53 films, Alfred Hitchcock worked at perfecting this particular art form. After an introduction to the study of film as art form, we will analyze an array of Mr. Hitchcock’s great films, including “Shadow of a Doubt,” “Strangers on a Train,” “Rear Window,” “Vertigo,” “The Birds,” “North by Northwest,” and “Psycho,” among others. Students will be responsible for writing one short analysis and one film analysis of their choosing.
English 6 Elective: Senior Thesis/Comic Conventions (Spring) How have we come to our present comic form, the situation comedy? Studying the art of low comedy from the Roman playwright Plautus to the radio comedies of the 1920s and 1930s, students learn how television comedy works. After observing several programs and considering their recipes of character, jokes, flavor, and formula, students try their own hands at developing original episodes from rough story line to teleplay. Reading, viewing, editing, planning, acting, and making fun are skills the class must master.
English 6 Elective: Senior Thesis/Descendants of Holden (Spring) Beginning with what is often referred to as the bible of coming-of-age literature, “The Catcher in the Rye,” students in this class look at youth angst and exploration through the lens of the iconoclastic teen film. Sure, this genre is often unrealistic and ridiculous, and of course these popcorn movies could be seen as little more than representative of our culture’s decay. But that would underestimate the subtle genius of the teenage mind and heart. Through close and critical viewings of “Rebel without a Cause,” “Breaking Away,” “Donnie Darko,” “Pretty in Pink” and “Thirteen,” among others, students examine why the legacy of Holden Caulfield remains so present in contemporary storytelling. Above all, students question and reflect upon themselves; though these films are spiced with popular actors, set to bestselling soundtracks and costumed with must-have clothing, the universal themes of first love, self-doubt, racial and gender identity, social acceptance, and rebellion against authority resonate with authenticity and verisimilitude.
English 6 Elective: Senior Thesis/Mockingbird Revisited (Spring) Harper Lee, author of the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, has a new book coming out in July 2015, to the delight of many of her fans. This course will revisit her original masterpiece with a more sophisticated critical and historical perspective than may have been offered in middle school. Next, we will read and study the soon-to-be-published Go Set a Watchman,which takes place 20 years after Mockingbird, and involves the adult Scout visiting her father. In addition, films, documentaries and journalistic sources will provide the context of historical events in small Southern towns during the 1930s and the 1950s, the settings of the two novels. And of course we will watch the Oscar-winning movie based on her landmark book.
English 6 Elective: Senior Thesis/Monsters Inc. (Spring) “By monster I mean some horrendous presence or apparition that explodes all of your standards for harmony, order, and ethical conduct.” -- Joseph Campbell, “The Power of Myth.” This course explores the dynamics of horror, past to present, with special attention to monsters as manifestations of cultural values. What does a particular culture label as “monstrous” and why? What makes a successful monster at a given time? What exactly have certain authors (and filmmakers) captured (or unleashed)? Toward answering such questions, we explore history, myth, literature, art and film. We begin in the Dark Ages with the shadowy monsters slain Page 8 of 61
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by Beowulf and end with a movie genre that just won’t die – the slasher film. Works studied may include John Gardner’s “Grendel,” Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” Katherine Dunn’s “Geek Love,” Stewart O’Nan’s “The Speed Queen,” Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are,” and George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.”
English 6 Elective: Senior Thesis/Novels and Their Film Adaptations (Spring) Is the book always better than the movie? What makes an adaptation successful? This course considers the challenges involved in converting novels to film. Must one be faithful to plot, or are there more important issues inherent in adaptation? What pressures does Hollywood bring to the process? By examining four novel and film pairs --“The Natural,” “Fight Club,” “Deliverance” and “True Grit” -- the class tackles some of these questions to define the qualities of a successful adaptation.
English 6 Elective: Senior Thesis/Presidential Character (Spring) When Americans vote for the president, how can they make an intelligent choice? Political scientist James David Barber suggests that the character of a president, formed in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, predicts how the president will perform in the office. Barber’s “Presidential Character” examines the early lives of 20th and 21st century presidents, with emphasis on their high school and college years. His biographies then analyze the events of each presidency in terms of that president’s character type. By combining political science and psychology, Barber offers a theory of prediction that is intriguing and controversial. Students are asked to assess the accuracy of Barber’s predictions and develop their own predictions.
English 6 Elective: Senior Thesis/Tales from Africa (Spring) The creative expression of the spoken and written word captures stories that enlighten us about different times, different cultures and different voices. Journey through the history and cultures of South Africa by hearing folklore, reading literature, and viewing film. This survey course will include tales recorded through centuries of storytelling, novels covering a tumultuous time in history, and films that bring to life on screen pivotal moments in South Africa’s journey towards a true democracy. Students will gain an insight to the varied creative voices in South Africa, the stories that they tell, and the manner in which their messages are shared.
Science No human endeavor has been as successful as the scientific method. The spirit of innovation may be a natural consequence of the complexity originating in the nervous system, but the substantial progress in every field of modern science is rooted in a sturdy, globally accepted design. Our courses are structured to grant each student access to the foundational principles of the scientific process. Our excellent facilities, infused with natural light, provide optimum conditions for inquiry and the development of an evidence-based perspective of modern science.
>>Middle School Upper Prep: Life Science This course is designed around the Upper Prep theme, Parts of a Whole. The students will study the make-up of living things with the main focus being the human body. The units of study will include cell structure, human biology and genetics. Once the students understand the structure and function of their body, the emphasis will be to study the Page 9 of 61
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human impact on the earth. We will study environmental issues resulting from human activity and the impact these activities have on the earth, resulting in discussions and development of ideas on ways to reduce our impact and help the earth. All areas are studied through scientific inquiry, which involves hypothesizing, conducting labs/activities, making observations, collecting data, analyzing that information, and finally, drawing conclusions.
Form 1: Earth Science This course incorporates the Form 1 theme of questioning by exploring three central questions of Earth Science: • • •
What makes the earth and moon unique within our solar system? How has the dynamic nature of earth’s interior shaped the Connecticut geology? o This exploration culminates with a Form trip to investigate the state's geology. What predictions can we make about the future weather/climate in Connecticut and the world?
Lab work and the use of models enhance the student’s grasp of the topics investigated.
Form 2: Introductory Physical Science This course helps students develop the concepts of matter and energy and their interrelationships. Students develop skills in observation and laboratory technique and knowledge of how to analyze experimental data. Through the correlation of abstract ideas with concrete situations, students begin to develop the atomic model. A large emphasis is placed on laboratory work throughout the year.
>>Upper School
Earth and Environmental Science / Honors This lab course utilizes basic biological, chemical and physical principles to investigate a wide variety of ecological circumstances and interactions, including the origin of the solar system, stellar evolution, the creation of the Earth and Moon system, the causes of global climate patterns, the rise of life on Earth, taxonomy, phylogeny, population dynamics and ecosystem energetics. These topics are studied through the lens of evolution. The study of origins will be complemented by a trip to the Natural History Museum in New York City prior to March break. Using both academic and experimental methods, students also examine universal, global, regional and local ecological conditions, with a focus Page 10 of 61
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on enhancing a student’s understanding of the human impact on the environment. Required for students in Form 3, with general and honors sections with department approval.
Biology This general biology course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the basic concepts of cell biology, human anatomy and physiology, genetics, evolution and current topics in molecular biology and genetic engineering. This course includes a lab; laboratory work mirrors the course work and promotes careful observation, analysis and synthesis of data, and drawing sensible conclusions. Open to students in Form 4.
Biology Honors Much of this lab course employs a cellular-biochemical approach to basic biological processes. Emphasis on the molecular basis of biology represents an increase in the depth of topics covered. Cell structure and function, respiration, photosynthesis and molecular genetics make up the first section, followed by vertebrate anatomy and physiology. Genetics and evolution are overlying themes throughout the course. Open to students in Form 4. Prerequisite: department approval.
AP Biology This lab course follows the first-year college curriculum in inorganic biology. Emphasis is on molecular-cell biology and organismal and population biology with particular emphasis on regulatory mechanisms. While little quantitative ability is demanded, there is considerable abstract and conceptual reasoning. Substantial independent study and laboratory work are required. Students who enroll in this course take the Advanced Placement Examination in May. Open to students in Forms 4-6. Prerequisites: Biology and Chemistry and/or department approval.
Chemistry This general chemistry course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the basic concepts of atomic structure, bonding and molecular properties based on current atomic models. The course also explains qualitative and quantitative relationships in chemical reactions and states of matter. This course includes a lab; laboratories promote careful observation, analysis and synthesis of data, and drawing sensible conclusions. Demonstrations provide visualization of concepts. Open to students in Forms 5-6. Prerequisite: Algebra 1.
Chemistry Honors This lab course deals with the same spectrum of topics as the general chemistry course but at a greater depth and faster pace using a more mathematical approach. Reaction kinetics, equilibrium and acid-base chemistry are also covered. The laboratory program is more extensive and more quantitative. Open to students in Forms 5-6. Prerequisites: Algebra 2 (can be concurrent) and department approval.
AP Chemistry This lab course follows the first-year college curriculum in inorganic chemistry. While intended to be a second chemistry
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course, it may be taken, with permission, by students with no chemistry background. Designed to prepare students for the Advanced Placement Examination, this rigorous course covers the same spectrum of topics as the introductory course at a considerably more sophisticated level. Students engage in substantially more independent laboratory work and apply increasingly complex quantitative reasoning skills. They also develop a systematic approach toward study that allows them to organize data or facts within a conceptual framework. Students who enroll in this course take the AP Exam in May.Open to students in Forms 5-6. Prerequisites: Precalculus (can be taken concurrently) and department approval.
Physics This general physics course includes the topics of kinematics, dynamics, energy, thermodynamics, waves, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics. Students are meant to develop quantitative skills and to obtain a better understanding of the physical universe as well as everyday phenomena. This course includes a lab. Open to students in Forms 56.Prerequisites: Algebra 2 either completed or taken concurrently.
Physics Honors This lab course covers the same range of topics as the general physics course, but at a greater depth and faster pace to allow for additional material. Emphasis is placed on developing quantitative skills and an understanding of everyday phenomena from a scientific and mathematical viewpoint. This course also calls for more independence and creativity in the laboratory. Open to students in Forms 5-6. Prerequisites: Precalculus either completed or taken concurrently and department approval. Students enrolling in Physics Honors are not eligible to follow this course with AP Physics.
AP Physics 1 AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course that explores topics such as Newtonian mechanics (including rotational motion); work, energy and power; mechanical waves and sound; and introductory, simple electrical circuits. This course includes a lab; substantial laboratory time is devoted to inquiry-based investigations that provide students an opportunity to sharpen reasoning skills, develop lines of evidence and apply science practices toward the development of a practical understanding of natural phenomena. Students taking AP Physics 1 should have completed geometry, algebra II and precalculus (which can be taken concurrently). Some topics included in the AP Physics 2 curriculum, such as electromagnetism, may also be covered in this course. Students who enroll in this course will take the Physics 1 Advanced Placement exam in May. Prerequisite: department approval.
Marine Biology (Year) The main focus of this lab course is the ecology of the marine environment. Students use classroom-tank ecosystems as a base of study for the ways in which marine organisms interact with each other and their physical environment. A semester-long project in ecosystem design and collaboration with the creative arts department on fish classification are two highlights of the semester. Students should emerge from the course with a better understanding of their role in preserving our natural resources and the issues facing our oceans. Open to students in Forms 5 and 6. Prerequisite: Biology.
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Forensic Science (Fall) The role of the scientist in the judicial system has become increasingly important. Many unsolved crimes come to justice with the help of science and technology. “Science” is a key witness in our court system. This course is designed to give students an opportunity to put science and problem-solving skills to work. It provides a realistic view of how a real forensic science specialist (or police officer) deals with the preservation, identification, collection and analysis of evidence found at a crime scene. Students compare and contrast what a forensic scientist experiences versus what students see on television shows like “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” Students delve into basic units in physical evidence, trace evidence, blood typing and spatter analysis, toxicology, forensic anthropology, DNA evidence, fingerprint analysis and arson. Case studies (real and fictional) put the content learned to work. Open to students in Forms 4-6.
Psychology: The Brain and Behavior (Fall) Ever wonder how the brain works? Or how you learn? Or why certain behaviors persist while others don’t? The Brain and Behavior is an introduction to the scientific study of human behavior. Topics include the biological basis of behavior, memory, sensation, and perception, thinking and learning. Students learn how a psychological perspective provides insight into human behaviors. They read various theoretical perspectives, learning to employ research methods that allow them to become knowledgeable readers of psychological research and findings. In this course, students will cultivate the ability to think critically about topics in psychology. Open to students in Forms 4-6.
Psychology: Thoughts, Emotions and Personality (Spring) Ever wonder about why we express certain emotions the way we do? Or what influences our personality? Or how groups can affect an individual’s behavior? This course serves as an introduction to mental processes. Topics include motivation, emotions, stress, personality and abnormal and social psychology. Students will be taught how a psychological perspective provides insight into cognition, emotions and personality. Additionally, they become knowledgeable readers of psychological research and findings. The goal is to teach students how to think critically about topics in psychology. Open to students in Forms 4-6.
Mathematics Mathematics is a discipline with broad applicability throughout the natural and social sciences: Whether we are modeling climate change, forecasting financial markets, or securing Internet sites, we are using math. Yet there is also a more subtle beauty in mathematics: an elegance arising from its interconnectedness and simplicity. We strive to develop logical, creative-thinking students who can apply technology and hands-on techniques to real-world and abstract problems. Our learning environment fosters active participation, self-discipline, and perseverance. Our program begins in the Middle School, where math is presented as an active and exciting subject. Working in groups, in pairs or alone, students explore a problem-centered curriculum; how to observe relationships and patterns in complex sets of data; and learn that asking "why" and "how" leads to deep understanding of the material. In the Upper School, students continue to strengthen their reasoning skills and their ability to manipulate and apply mathematical concepts. After completing geometry and two years of algebra, students may select courses from a rigorous curriculum that includes Precalculus, Calculus, Statistics, Discrete Mathematics, and Computer Science, with AP options in Calculus, Statistics, and Computer Science. Page 13 of 61
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>>Middle School Upper Prep Mathematics In Upper Prep Mathematics, students are asked to look for patterns, estimate, comprehend data, reason and problem solve. Students interact with teachers to do hands-on, rich experiments and must be prepared to be part of an active learning process. Working in pairs, in larger groups and on their own to discover new methods of solving problems, students deepen their understanding of mathematics. They are often asked to justify their answers and thoughts. “How?”; “Why?” and “What if?” are just as common as “What is the answer?” Students learn how to discuss, conjecture, validate, generalize, extend, connect, and communicate. As a result, students develop a deep understanding of concepts and the inclination and ability to reason and make sense of new situations. Students learn about algebra, geometry, measurement, number, and operations. There is an emphasis on proportional reasoning and being able to connect key concepts and big ideas. Instruction is integrated so that Upper Prep students understand and recognize the relationships between different topics in mathematics.
Form 1 Mathematics This course continues the work begun in Upper Prep mathematics, adding a more in-depth look at topics important in the understanding of algebra and number. Students extend their understanding of proportional reasoning by developing an understanding of congruence and mathematical similarity. They are challenged to understand why procedures work and to discover rules for operating with integers, three-dimensional geometry and simple algebraic processes. They review rational numbers and how to use them to make comparisons. Students also participate in an intense investigation of linear relationships. They learn the symbolic representation of patterns, the transforming and solving of simple equations, and the graphic representation of equations. Students use all of these skills to solve abstract, contextual problems. Students are expected to build on and connect to prior knowledge in order to build deeper understandings and new insights. This course does all of this through a pre-algebra lens.
Form 2 Beginning Algebra This Form 2 course begins the formal study of algebra. Standard algebra topics—multistep equation solving, linear equations, exponential equations, and quadratic equations—are covered. Additionally, students discover the Pythagorean Theorem and explore several different proofs of the theorem. Students connect types of functions and contextual situations, and they are expected to be able to decipher each situation and understand the relationship between them. This course continues at the same level and pace as the Form 1 and Upper Prep math courses. Students in this class will continue their study of algebra in Form 3.
Form 2 Algebra 1 Algebra 1 builds on the algebra topics developed in Form 1 Mathematics, with a significant increase in pace and expectation. This high-school level course focuses on linear, inverse variation and quadratic functions. The study of linear functions emphasizes solving equations in one variable and systems of equations in two variables, including inequalities. The quadratic portion of the course includes solving by factoring and the quadratic formula.
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Additionally, students analyze distributions, design representations and interpret statistical results. The course includes the laws of exponents and the simplifying of radical and rational expressions. Algebra 1 is designed for students who possess the necessary background, motivation and intellectual development to handle the increased complexities of a regular one-year Algebra 1 course. Department recommendation is required. Students who have attained a B average, combined with the teacher’s recommendation, will be allowed to enroll in Geometry in Form 3.
>>Upper School Algebra 1 This course focuses on the development of precise and accurate habits of mathematical expression. The topics include graphing and solving linear equations and inequalities, systems of equations, factoring, manipulating polynomials and an introduction to rational, radical and quadratic equations. Students learn how to use the graphing calculator as an effective problem-solving tool and explore data analysis with spreadsheets.
Geometry Geometry provides students with a thorough exposure to Euclidean geometry in two and three dimensions. This course begins with an introduction to inductive and deductive reasoning and the role of conjecture in uncovering properties of polygons and parallel and perpendicular lines in the plane or in space. The Pythagorean Theorem, the nature of similarity, the circle, and area and volume are investigated in detail. Students use both technology and simple tools to create models to uncover geometric properties and to justify their conclusions. The course concludes with an introduction to trigonometry.
Geometry Honors This course provides a rigorous and in-depth study of the material covered in Geometry with emphasis placed on logical reasoning and problem solving. Additional topics in trigonometry, including the Laws of Sines and Cosines, are covered. The course includes investigations in coordinate geometry and an introduction to vectors. Department approval required.
Algebra 2 Topics studied in Algebra 2 include linear, quadratic, polynomial, rational, exponential and logarithmic functions, conic sections, sequences and series. Students work to develop their problem-solving abilities, to solidify their skills in applying the properties of algebra, to use the graphing calculator as an effective problem-solving tool and to build a foundation for future study.
Algebra 2 Honors This honors-level course offers students a rigorous and in-depth exploration of the topics covered in Algebra 2. Students are expected to be able to move quickly, and there is significant emphasis placed on independent work and sophisticated problem solving. The course begins the sequence that culminates with Advanced Placement Calculus. Department approval required.
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Functions and Trigonometry This course emphasizes the development of important algebraic techniques while introducing many of the major topics of Precalculus, including polynomial, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions. Reasoning and problemsolving skills are emphasized throughout the year. This course provides students with a foundation for continued studies in Precalculus, Statistics, Discrete Math or other quantitative courses in college.
Precalculus This course prepares students for a rigorous course in calculus. Students in Precalculus should want the type of challenge that this course affords and are expected to work independently. Topics include trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic, polynomial and rational functions and their graphs. The course concludes with investigations of sequences and series and topics in analytic geometry, particularly the conic sections.
Precalculus Honors This course begins where Algebra 2 Honors finishes. Students complete a detailed study of trigonometric functions and their applications. In addition to the remaining topics covered in Precalculus, the focus of the course during the last quarter is on the introduction to calculus, including the derivative and its applications, in preparation for Advanced Placement Calculus. Department approval required.
Statistics Statistics offers students an introduction to the basic concepts of statistics and probability. Topics include graphical displays of data, measures of central tendency and variability, the elements of experimental design and observational study, and the fundamentals of probability, random variables, probability distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and linear regression. This course focuses on the many applications of statistics in the natural and social sciences and makes extensive use of the graphing calculator and the computer. Open to students in Form 6 who have completed Algebra 2 and students in Form 5 with department approval.
AP Statistics This noncalculus-based course encompasses the material covered in a first semester college-level statistics course. The conceptual themes that students are exposed to are exploratory analysis of data, planning an appropriate data-collection study, producing models using probability and simulation, and using statistical inference to guide conclusions. Students use statistical modeling tools to solve a variety of problems in economics, the physical and biological sciences, law, geography, and political science. The course is designed to prepare students for the Advanced Placement Examination in Statistics, which they take in May. The course makes extensive use of the graphing calculator and the computer. Open to students in Forms 5-6 with department approval.
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Calculus This course covers the traditional topics of differential and integral calculus. Students begin the year with a review of families of functions and trigonometry before moving on to the study of limits, continuity, the derivative, the definite integral and their many related applications in the social and natural sciences. Algebraic and problem-solving skills are reinforced throughout the year, preparing students for continued study of calculus in college. Department approval required.
AP Calculus AB This course begins with topics in differential calculus, including limits, continuity and techniques of differentiation, followed by applications of the derivative in problem solving, identical to those in Calculus BC.
The second half of the course covers topics in integral calculus, beginning with Riemann sums and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and techniques of integration, and ends with the consideration of a range of applications of the integral. Students in this course take the Calculus AB Advanced Placement Examination in May. Department approval required.
AP Calculus BC This course is designed to cover all of the material of the first two semesters of a college calculus course. The focus is on the derivative and integral and their applications, including maximum and minimum problems, velocity and acceleration, related rates, the differential and linear approximations, areas and volumes, and curve sketching. Work with conic sections; polynomial, rational, trigonometric and exponential functions; and parametric equations and polar equations is involved. Separable differential equations and sequences and series also are part of the course. Students in this course take the Calculus BC Advanced Placement Examination in May. Department approval required.
Multivariable Calculus The course begins with the study of vectors, lines, curves and surfaces in three dimensions as well as partial derivatives and their applications, double and triple integrals and applications, and, time permitting, an introduction to line and surface integrals (Green’s, Gauss’ and Stokes’ theorems). The latter portion of the course includes a review of separable differential equations as well as an introduction to linear homogeneous and nonhomogeneous differential equations. The course integrates the study of mechanics, which students have covered in physics, with the application of calculus to physical concepts. Projects and labs combining physics and calculus are included. Department approval required.
AP Computer Science (Full Year) This is an advanced-level computer science course for those who have completed Introduction to Computer Science. Following the Advanced Placement Computer Science A curriculum, the Java language is used to present “programming methodology with an emphasis on problem solving and algorithm development.” It models a college-level, first semester in computer science and includes an introduction to data structures and data abstraction. Students who enroll in this Page 17 of 61
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course take the Advanced Placement Examination in May. This yearlong course is offered every other year, and will be offered in 2016-17.
Discrete Mathematics 1 (Fall) This course provides an introduction to the applications of contemporary mathematics to real-world problems. Topics include linear programming, decision paths and circuits, scheduling optimization, recursion, growth and decay, and fractals and chaos. Students are exposed to a variety of problem-solving strategies and techniques, with emphasis on applications from the business world, government, and social and biological sciences. Students use graphing calculators and computers to model problems presented in the course. Open to students in Form 6 who have completed Algebra 2 and students in Form 5 with department approval. This Fall semester course will not be offered in 2015-16.
Introduction to Computer Science (Fall) This elective is an entry/intermediate-level computer programming course that introduces the basic principles of generating computer code with clarity and elegance. Classroom projects include textbook exercises, simple text-based gaming, and fundamental graphics. Program structure, conditionals, looping, and style are presented in this course using the Java programming language. Since Java is based upon object-oriented modeling and problem solving, this course covers the fundamentals of using the OOP approach with Java: objects, classes, methods, data types, application, and applet design. This course work provides a possible lead into further studies in the Advanced Placement Computer Science course.
Probability and Contest Math (Fall) What are the odds? This course attempts to answer that famous question in a variety of settings. We will use examples from history, science, and cinema to unpack the math behind probability. Over the course of this semester, students will develop their ability to problem solve both independently and in groups. We will cover topics such as Combinatorics, Simulation, Expected Value, and Conditional Probability with Bayes Theorem. We also will spend time preparing for various math competitions. This course is open to anyone who has completed Algebra 2 and will require strong logical thinking.
Advanced Computer Science: Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (Spring) This elective is an advanced-level programming course that allows students to explore algorithms and artificial intelligence using the Java programming language. During the first half of the course, students examine different methods of algorithm design while also implementing some of their own algorithms to solve problems correctly and efficiently. In the second half of the course, students explore artificial intelligence and examine how machines can think like a human brain. Throughout the semester, students design and work on individual programming projects under the guidance of the instructor. Prerequisite: completion of Advanced Placement Computer Science or completion of Introduction to Computer Science and department approval. This semester course is offered every other year and will not be offered in 2015-16.
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Discrete Mathematics 2 (Spring) This Spring semester course continues the introduction to the many applications of contemporary mathematics in the areas of business, government, economics, and social and biological sciences. Students explore methods of voting, fair division, game theory and mathematics as they apply to sharing, rational decisions, and greed and cooperation. Students investigate mathematical models used in studying population dynamics and look at natality and mortality rates, density dependence, predation and sustainability. Calculators and computers are used to model problems. Open to students in Form 6 who have completed Algebra 2 and students in Form 5 with department approval. This Spring semester course will not be offered in 2015-16.
Introduction to Engineering (Spring) Build a bridge -- and get over it. This course studies the engineering involved in constructing bridges. Students will be introduced to the engineering design method and focus on analyzing a problem, solving the problem, and safety testing. They will explore the history of bridges including bridge design, disasters, and construction, and they will learn how to create and test models. The students will construct bridges of varying scales and analyze the cost involved in the building process. Each bridge will have a goal that the students will need to consider when building their bridge. Students will collaborate and work in teams on the projects. They will gain an understanding of architecture as they learn about the different bridge designs.
Game Theory (Spring) Games, in the mathematical sense, are all around us. Every decision you make represents a choice among many possibilities, and game theory is the study of how we as humans make those choices. We will spend most of the semester playing and discussing different types of games, such as sequential move games, simultaneous move games, zero-sum games, repeated games, and bidding games. In addition, we will cover topics such as dominant strategies, Nash equilibrium, mixed strategy equilibrium, and backwards induction. Game theory has wide applications across many disciplines as well as in daily life, so this course will make use of hands-on applications. This course will enhance the way you think about the world and will inspire you to make better, more rational decisions. This course is open to anyone who has completed Algebra 2 and will require strong logical thinking.
Introduction to Web Design (Spring) This elective introduces the basics of Web design and development. Students learn a variety of Web development tools and how they work together to create dynamic, user-friendly Web pages. These tools range from learning how to write code in several languages to creating user interfaces to designing attractive templates for a Web page. For final projects, students work closely with the instructor or other interested faculty members to create a dynamic site to be used the following year as an academic tool for other courses. This course has no prerequisites, although students are encouraged to have taken Introduction to Computer Science. This semester course is offered every other year, and will not be offered in 2015-16.
Physical Computing: Sensing and Coding the Material World (Spring) Interactive Art: Creative Code, Controllers, and Circuits Page 19 of 61
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This course will introduce students to a new way of interacting with computers, from desktops and laptops to smartphones and microcomputers. We will begin by asking the question, “How do we, as humans, interact with the physical world?” For instance, how do we “sense” the world around us, and how might we apply such principles to computer hardware and software? Once students understand that our actions can be measured by changes in energy or more simply interpreted as changes in numeric value, we will learn how to build interactive modular devices that are able to respond to various sources of input (e.g., light, sound, touch, etc.). Students will use microcontrollers, breadboards, and sensors in conjunction with the code they will develop using Arduino’s integrated development environment (IDE). Physical computing takes a hands-on approach to learning with a focus on creative expression. Students will be building circuits, writing computer programs, and integrating sensors in an effort to interact with the physical world around them. This course may be of particular interest to those students who have taken Design Technology, Coding, Electronic Music, or Robotics in the Middle School. Open to Forms 3-6. No prerequisite.
History History always seems like a strange subject to those who are very young. Could it really matter what happened to people and nations in the distant past, certainly long before today’s students arrived on the scene? As parents and teachers, however, we know better. There may be no more important subject for young people to study than history. Our students learn to appreciate as well as to critique historical events. To read knowingly, to write effectively, to think objectively and to speak authoritatively: These are the goals we have for our students as they come to understand the past on their way to a bright future.
>>Middle School Upper Prep: Geography and Culture This course studies the earth and the relationship of people with the earth. Students become familiar with the questions and tools of the geographer, learn about maps and globes, and develop a mental map of the world. The course looks at how the physical environment has influenced people and how people have changed the earth. Students study people and cultures from ancient and modern times and look at ways of building a comparative mosaic of the variety and forms of cultural expression. By investigating ancient civilizations, reading about growing up in different cultures and exploring the role of mythology in society, students expand their understanding of the world in which they live. Writing assignments vary from creative pieces to analytical essays. Readings include textbook, literature, poetry and myth. The year concludes with a portfolio project in which students research a topic and express their learning through writing, maps, graphs, art and presentations.
Form 1: American History This course traces the nation’s journey from its origins through the dawn of the modern era. Using primary and secondary sources as well as historical fiction, students compare the diverse geography and cultures of the first Americans and consider the history of the contact and conflict among Native American, African and European cultures during the colonial age. Topics include a study of the nation’s colonial life, the path to revolution and independence, Page 20 of 61
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and the creation of a constitutional government. In the second semester, students examine America’s industrial and geographical expansion and the social, political and economic forces that divided the nation during the Civil War. The year concludes with the beginnings of America’s recovery from that war and its emergence as a modern nation. Throughout the course, students evaluate the ideas and ideals that have guided America’s journey. The use of historical imagination and the critical evaluation of varying historical perspectives are emphasized.
Form 2: Comparative Governments In this course, students explore America’s emergence as a modern nation with special attention to current events and their relationship to the past. Students examine major issues of the 20th century as America evolved from an isolated agrarian nation to an international superpower in the atomic age. The course begins with a comparison of political and economic systems, a study of the three branches of American government and a consideration of the fundamental rights of American citizens. Other topics include America’s urban and industrial growth, isolationism and imperialism, evolving political institutions, rapid social change and the ongoing struggle for civil rights. In the process, students analyze contemporary global issues and America’s place in the world. By evaluating primary-source materials such as documents, letters, political cartoons and video footage, as well as literature, art and a variety of secondary sources, students engage fully in the learning process. With step-by-step guidance from teachers, students complete a fully documented research paper on a topic of their choice.
>>Upper School
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Empires and Republics Beginning with a look at the emergence of civilization in early Mesopotamia and its development in Egypt, this course examines in detail the major ancient civilizations of India, Greece and Rome. Students explore the political, intellectual, economic, religious and artistic contributions of each culture, seeking to compare civilizations and empires, in particular, and to trace the causes of their rise and decline. In-depth study of Greece gives students a chance to focus on their individual areas of interest. The course examines Golden Ages and assesses the differences between empires and republics, as well as the contributions of significant individuals. The growth of the great world religions—including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam— is also traced. To end the year, students discuss the effects of Rome’s fall, discovering the cultural and political transitions from Ancient to Medieval times in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The course studies the rise of Islamic empires as well as the foundations of feudal states in Europe, and then examines the conflicts between these two societies, making connections between societal issues today. Goals of the course include developing an ability to construct and defend an argument; using details to support generalizations; increasing speed, comprehension and discrimination in reading; and perceiving parallels and contrasts in historical material. Required for students in Form 3.
Modern World Studies The course focuses on selected comparative historical themes from both western and nonwestern cultures, from 1500 through World War II. Along with major events, personalities, philosophical ideas and scientific developments, this course examines the social, political, religious, economic and military aspects of a variety of areas in the modern world. Through reading, extensive essay writing, class discussion and research projects, students expand their understanding of varied historical cultures with the overall goal of developing a greater appreciation for the differences in the people who make up our ever-changing world. Required for students in Form 4.
U.S. History A survey of the United States from 1492 to the present includes a treatment of major themes in American political, social, military, religious, cultural and economic history. While students examine events, people and movements in the American experience, consideration also is given to the interpretation of these specifics.
Original research is encouraged by the use of primary-source documents. All U.S. History students write a term paper. One leading goal of the course is to build interest in history as an academic discipline and a source of enjoyment. Some students take the Advanced Placement Examination in May. Required for students in Form 5. Under special circumstances and with department approval, a student may take this course during the senior year.
AP U.S. History The history of the United States, from pre-Columbian to present, is studied with frequent use of primary-source materials and varying historiography. Because all students in AP U.S. History take the AP Exam in May, the demands Page 22 of 61
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for reading, writing and research go beyond those in the regular sections. Students taking this course must expect additional summer reading to prepare for the class and must commit significant extra time to U.S. History during the year. An extensive and fully documented term paper is required. Open to students in Form 5 after consultation with their Modern World Studies teacher and with department approval.
AP Economics (Year) An introduction to fundamental microeconomic and macroeconomic theory gives students a basic background in the subject. Students begin by examining the development of capitalism and exploring basic economic concepts such as supply, demand and opportunity cost. After this introduction, the focus moves to the behavior of individual firms and individual markets, concentrating on profit-maximizing habits in the economy. Graphic analysis, the use of economic models and the economic philosophies of Smith, Marx, and Keynes are emphasized. Students use these ideas when examining measures of economic performance such as GDP, inflation, and unemployment. Graphic models are used frequently to measure the health of the economy and then to formulate corrective monetary and fiscal policies. The course concludes by looking at the impact of international trade on the economy. This course prepares students for the AP Exams in both microeconomics and macroeconomics, which they take in May. Open to students in Form 6.
AP Political Science (Year) Students are introduced to the study of politics. Philosophers including Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Marx are explored. Students then examine the origins of the American political system. The course focuses on the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the U.S. government. Topics in public opinion, interest groups, the media, elections and political parties provide an analysis of contemporary politics. Reading in the course is extensive, and tests and papers are designed to integrate large amounts of material, thereby developing study and research skills appropriate to college work. Assignments also include “practical politics,” in which students attend town board meetings, view CSPAN, and create campaign playbooks. Students take the U.S. Government and Politics Advanced Placement Examination in May. Open to students in Form 6.
Elective: China Through Film (Fall) Film as a visual media creates all kinds of questions about how observers construct history and learn about culture. This course explores contemporary Chinese life and 20th century history as seen through the director’s lens. The content is built around a series of Chinese language films centering on social themes and political issues. The themes include the challenging lives of migrant workers, environmental issues, the contemporary urban experience, international tensions, economic inequities, globalization questions, rural society and the rural and urban gap, Chinese nationalism, Chinese schools and education, and women and society. Readings on specific issues related to each film are assigned, and the assessments include short papers and other projects. The films include Beijing Bicycle, To Live, Ju Dou, 1942, The Last Train Home, Please Vote for Me, Mao’s Last Dancer, Blind Shaft, Shower, among others. Open to students in Forms 4-6.
Elective: Cultural Anthropology (Fall) By studying the cultures of nonwestern peoples, students learn to appreciate cultural differences among nations as well as those within the United States. Topics explored include tribal culture, the role of ritual, nonwestern religions, family life and the impact of modernization. Students read several classic pieces of Third World literature. The course is based
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on a sociological approach to the study of the nonwestern world. Open to students in Forms 5-6.
Elective: History of Religions (Fall) To give students an increased understanding and awareness of the world’s diversity, this course offers a historical overview of six of the world’s major religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Students examine basic philosophical similarities and differences by comparing the tenets and dogmas put forth by these religions and their followers. The course incorporates the works of one of the foremost religious thinkers, Huston Smith, through his writings and his video series “The Wisdom of Faith.” The conclusion of this course examines the issue of hatred in the context of religious history. Students must participate actively in discussion and are responsible for classroom presentations and a major research project. Open to students in Forms 5-6.
Elective: International Human Rights (Fall) When the Allies liberated the Nazi concentration camps at the end of WW II, they uncovered the worst state-sponsored genocide in history. They responded by trying perpetrators for “war crimes,” creating the United Nations and promulgating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR marked the first time that the rights and freedoms of individuals were articulated in such detail and made applicable to everyone, everywhere. This course will begin with an overview of Hitler’s rise to power and the steps along the way to the “final solution.” The class will then study other cases of genocide and additional international human rights violations. Each student will conduct independent research on an on-going UDHR violation and propose practical solutions. Students will deliberate their findings in class, and have the option to apply their knowledge at Model UN simulations later in the year if they so choose. The course will use primary sources, secondary sources, first-person accounts, photographs, video, and web sites. Assessments will include tests, essays, debates and a research paper. Open to students in Forms 4-6.
Elective: American Law (Spring) The bedrock on which all societies rest is the rule of law. This course examines the way the American legal system operates. Students begin by learning how law is made in legislatures and courts. Then the class studies the way in which general legal principles are applied to specific facts through the study of various actual and hypothetical cases. The students gain an understanding of the trial process and conduct a mock trial in front of a jury of their peers as their final project. Open to students in Forms 5-6.
Elective: Applied Economics (Spring) This course explores the choices and decisions people make about how to use the world's limited resources. The goal of this course is to equip students with knowledge that is strongly rooted in economic principles so they will be able to differentiate among economic models, understand issues pertaining to global and national economics, gain insight into choices that businesses make, and learn the importance of managing personal finances and planning for future financial security. Open to students in Forms 3-4.
Elective: Sixties (Spring) This course explores the domestic issues that greatly influenced social change in America during the polarized decade of Page 24 of 61
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the 1960s. From the Kennedy administration through Nixon’s first term, the focus is on issues such as the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement and the search for racial, social and sexual equality within the United States. Students are required to prepare in-class presentations as well as written assignments. Open to students in Form 5-6.
Elective: The End of Empire (Spring) The world has been transformed dramatically since the end of World War II. This course seeks to understand the changes—economic, political and social—that have occurred outside the United States since 1945. The collapse of European empires and the consequences for Europe, Asia and Africa are examined. The rise of nationalism, the industrialization of former colonies and disputes about borders provide focal points for discussion. By using primary sources and novels and by participating in group projects, students investigate how these changes affect contemporary political crises in the world beyond U.S. borders. Open to students in Forms 5-6.
Modern Languages In our ever-shrinking world and increasingly diverse country, the ability to communicate effectively in a minimum of two languages is essential to responsible global citizenship. The cultural lessons presented at all levels facilitate the development of crosscultural skills. Ultimately, our goal for our foreign language students is to create opportunities for true leadership and responsibility, both personal and global. We encourage and facilitate participation in foreign travel and study-abroad program, as we believe this is the best way for students to practice their language skills and to test their ability to interact across cultures. Ideally, all students will have enjoyed an international experience prior to graduation.
>>Middle School All Middle School students must choose a foreign language or Latin (Classics) to study, and they are placed in a level based on their background and language mastery. Placement tests are given to new Form 1 and Form 2 students who do not want to start in the beginning Level A course.
Spanish A Spanish A is an introductory course that assumes limited experience with the Spanish language. During the year, students will simultaneously develop speaking, reading, writing and listening skills that will allow them to express ideas accurately and confidently. They will use their new vocabulary and grammar to create authentic skits and dialogues similar to situations they would experience were they to travel to a Hispanic country. Students will be able to greet others, express personal preferences, discuss what they are studying in school, talk about sports, and order foods from typical menus. They will also learn to recognize and manipulate various grammatical structures, including regular verb conjugations in the present tense, expressing negation, articles, adjective agreement, forming questions and basic sentence structures. In addition, through the use of authentic materials, students will be introduced to Hispanic culture throughout the world, and they will use technology, both in the classroom and at home, for an engaging and interactive experience. The course culminates in a fashion show, a simulation designed to incorporate all of the written and oral communication skills developed over the course of the year. Page 25 of 61
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Spanish B Spanish B is the second course in the Spanish sequence. Students continue to develop their speaking, writing, listening, and reading skills in a full immersion environment. They hone their ability to express themselves in increasingly detailed sentences, with special emphasis on communicating clearly in conversation and in writing. Students learn to discuss foods, health, leisure activities, household objects, clothing, and movies. They are challenged to apply new skills in meaningful scenarios, and learning is student-centered and experiential. For example, students participate in a cooking class at a local restaurant, they compare and contrast items at the supermarket, and they give video tours of their homes. They are encouraged to use technology—including blogs, discussion boards, Voicethread, and iMovie—to demonstrate their understanding. By the end of the year, students will be able to describe themselves and others, ask questions, describe actions in the present, and narrate actions from the past.
Spanish C Spanish C is a full-immersion course, where student-to-student interaction is just as important as that of teacher to student. Students start to build more complex and detailed sentences, allowing them to find their voice and express their personality in the target language. By the end of year, they are able to talk about their future plans, discuss their childhoods, and differentiate the preterit from the imperfect tense. Professions, healthy living, community, and travel are other topics that are explored. Students are assessed based on their ability to apply vocabulary, grammar structures and verb conjugations to real-life scenarios, such as interviewing for a job, planning a trip, making baby scrapbooks, giving tours of their town, or filming a gym commercial. Through exposure to varied and culturally authentic materials, students work to achieve a balance in the four core language skills: speaking, writing, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension. Blogs, discussion boards, video and other technology allow students to extend their use of the language beyond the classroom.
French A French A is an introductory course that assumes limited experience with the French language. Students will develop speaking, reading, writing and listening skills that will allow them to express ideas accurately and confidently. They will use their new vocabulary and grammar to create authentic skits and dialogues similar to situations they would experience were they to travel to a francophone country. Students will be able to greet others, express personal preferences, and discuss what they are studying in school. They will also learn to recognize and manipulate various grammatical structures, including regular verb conjugations in the present tense, expressing negation, articles, adjective agreement, forming questions, and basic sentence structures. In addition, students will be introduced to francophone culture throughout the world, and they will use technology, both in the classroom and at home, for an engaging and interactive experience.
French B French B is the second course in the French sequence. After revisiting the topics presented in French A, students will learn to talk about places in a town, manipulate food and restaurant vocabulary, and discuss sports, hobbies, weather, and clothing. Page 26 of 61
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Students will use their more advanced speaking skills to participate in simulation activities, such as a meal in a restaurant and a fashion show. In addition, the course will include a greater number of authentic materials—videos of television programs and movies produced in francophone countries—about which students will share their understanding and opinions using such tools as discussion boards, Prezi, and Voicethread. Throughout the year, students will use new vocabulary and grammatical structures to create longer and more complex pieces of writing. They will learn how to use regular and irregular -IR verbs in the present tense and will their study of the past tense with the formation and usage of the passé composé. Students will continue to develop their communication skills in the four core areas: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
French C French C is the culmination of students' middle school study of French. Their oral language skills have reached the level where student-to-student, authentic communication is possible. Students begin to build more complex and detailed sentences and compositions, allowing them to find their voices and express their personalities in the target language. By the end of the year they will be able to use the future tense and differentiate between the simple past and imperfect verb tenses. Various vocabulary topics are discussed through the medium of current francophone films and popular English films in translation. Students develop their writing skills through the creation of self-directed, creative projects such as writing a fairy tale and creating a vacation scrapbook. Developing students' cultural competency is a primary goal of this course; this is achieved through comparing and contrasting their own culture with those of various francophone countries, in addition to analyzing various authentic materials such as films, images and news footage. Blogs, discussion boards, video and voicethread technology allow students to extend their use of the language beyond the classroom.
Chinese A Chinese A students begin the study of Mandarin Chinese by learning to differentiate between, and accurately pronounce, pinyin and tones, in order to develop a solid speaking foundation. Their knowledge of pronunciation allows them to transition into the study of characters. Emphasis is placed on all four areas of communication: speaking, writing, reading and listening. Chinese A students learn fundamental vocabulary and grammar patterns that allow them to identify and describe a range of topics, such as family members, favorite foods, animals, and hobbies. By the end of the year, students are able to communicate their thoughts and opinions by writing paragraphs in Chinese characters. In addition to building beginner language skills, students develop a deeper understanding of Chinese culture through class discussions and videos.
Chinese B During their second year of Chinese study, students build upon the foundational skills from Chinese A that allow them to communicate more effectively and articulately. They learn more specific vocabulary and more complicated grammar structures that they use to write longer and more detailed paragraphs. They are also able to express themselves in a more effective way verbally, and give brief presentations in Chinese. Chinese B students also start exploring their curiosity about Chinese history and modern culture. By the end of the year, they are able to go shopping for groceries and food, offer opinions on hobbies and sports, and compare and contrast two subjects.
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Chinese C During the final year of the Middle School Chinese curriculum, students solidify their language foundation in preparation for the Chinese 2 course at the Upper School. Chinese C students review material introduced in earlier courses while learning new words and grammar structures to deepen their understanding. They simulate real-life situations such as ordering food and even preparing for a mock job interview. They also learn to translate from English to Chinese and vice versa, while maintaining the integrity of the original sentence. Students also research Chinese holidays and traditions to develop their cultural awareness.
>>Upper School
Chinese 1 Chinese 1 is open to all Upper School students interested in studying Mandarin Chinese. Students begin the year studying pronunciation, tones and radicals and quickly transition into the study of characters. Specific emphasis is Page 28 of 61
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placed on the development of writing and speaking. Students work in the language lab for oral practice to accompany the “Integrated Chinese” textbook series. Discussions on history, culture and issues in modern China give the students a complete context for language study.
Chinese 2 At the beginning of the second year of the study of Chinese, high school students should be able to recognize at least 500 characters and should be comfortable with basic written and spoken Chinese. Continuing in the “Integrated Chinese” series, the second year places particular emphasis on the study of grammar and character acquisition. Written compositions and oral presentations are longer and more detailed. Students continue work in the language lab for oral practice, and cultural discussions permeate all aspects of the course. Prerequisite: Chinese 1 or Middle School Chinese C.
Chinese 3 Students entering Chinese 3 have developed a solid foundation in speaking, reading, writing and listening and can carry on simple but lengthy conversations in Chinese. Our language study this year focuses on the expansion of vocabulary as well as important grammar patterns that make students more articulate readers and writers. Students read authentic texts and newspaper articles and frequently work on listening and oral drills in the language lab. Discussions on Chinese history and culture are present throughout the course, preparing students to engage in meaningful cultural discussions in the target language. Prerequisite: Chinese 2.
Chinese 4 The fourth year of studying Chinese is dedicated to the development of writing longer passages and engaging in more meaningful discussion in Chinese. Students read newspaper articles and other authentic texts and have discussions about the texts in the target language. The “Integrated Chinese” textbook is used in conjunction with outside reading materials to give students a working vocabulary and expand their grammar foundation. Primary-source materials including “The Analects of Confucius” and the 20th century novel “Jia” by Ba Jin give students an appreciation for both traditional and modern literature in this fascinating country.Prerequisite: Chinese 3.
Chinese 5: AP Language and Culture This Chinese course is designed for students who are committed to taking their language skills to the next level. Students continue to use the “Integrated Chinese” textbook series as a guide in the process of character acquisition and supplement with various texts and videos from China. In addition to reading short stories and novels from 20th century authors such as Lu Xun, students watch modern Chinese television shows and continue to discuss Chinese life and culture in the target language. Students who enroll in this course take the Advanced Placement Examination in May. Prerequisite: Chinese 4.
French 1 French, anyone? Absolument! As in all beginning level language courses, students are exposed to the basics of grammar, pronunciation and sentence structure. They learn their new language's vocabulary and idiomatic expressions through the
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use of popular music and interactive games. In this course, students get a glimpse of the cultural and regional diversity in France and the French-speaking world through readings, field trips and short videos. They also learn about notable people, pastimes and landmarks. While learning about life in the Francophone world, students begin to reflect on their own lives, families and schools. They demonstrate their skills and understanding by performing skits, recording podcasts and creating digital stories. Through these activities and experiences, students are building the foundation they need to communicate successfully in their new language.
French 2 / Honors You've got it, now use it! C'est a toi! The second year of French is filled with authentic language, popular music, cultural readings and short writing prompts designed to help students develop their communication skills. They are urged to immerse themselves in the language and take risks by participating in a collaborative writing project, performing a skit, writing and illustrating a story about their childhood, creating a food fair and giving a speech. Through these experiences, students continue to absorb the grammatical structures and vocabulary they need to communicate effectively, and they begin to perfect the pronunciation of their new tongue. In the process, they start to feel more at home in the Francophone world.Prerequisite: French 1 and department approval.
French 3 / Honors Students review second-year grammar and vocabulary and continue with more complicated structures that will complete an overall study of the target language. The new material covers verbs, questions, reflexive and reciprocal verbs, descriptive adjectives, the passé composé and the imperfect, negations, second and third conjugations, double object pronouns, the subjunctive mode, prepositions, demonstrative pronouns, the present and past conditional forms, the future perfect, and “si clauses.” Students will begin to learn the three modes of communication – interpersonal, interpretive and presentational -- as well as the 5 Cs of 21st-century language study: communication, community, comparison, connections and culture. Students learn to strategize better as readers as they extract meaning from a variety of texts in our classroom book, “Imaginez.” A variety of assessments will be used, not all of which are necessarily graded in a conventional manner. Students will use the Internet as a resource for research projects, and they will present to their classmates to demonstrate clearly their French proficiency. Prerequisite: French 2 and department approval.
French 4 / Honors Students continue their study of advanced structures by finishing our primary text "lmaginez." They examine more complex grammatical structures that allow them to communicate at an intermediate to advanced level in the target language using verb forms such as the subjunctive and the conditional, irregular verbs, comparatives and superlatives, the "faire causatif," indirect discourse, even the passive voice. The students will begin to explore the various components of the AP program in French by taking practice tests, listening to radio broadcasts, writing short emails, and engaging in more complex discussions of current events. The class continues its study of authentic literature by reading Flaubert's short story masterpiece "Un Coeur simple," which recounts the story of a poor peasant girl living through the trials and tribulations of life as a housemaid in mid-19th century France. We read another masterpiece of the cannon by Jean-Paul Sartre entitled "Huis Clos,'' a play that challenges every reader on history, philosophy and religion, and then asks us, "What does life really mean?" The students finish the literature component of the course with a work by lonesco entitled "La Cantatrice Chauve,'' a play in which the characters take the reader on a socio-linguistic journey that boggles the mind and dismantles conventional forms of basic communication. Upon completion, the students are prepared for Page 30 of 61
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French 5 Advanced Placement. Prerequisite: French 3 (or 3 Honors) or department approval.
French 5: AP Language and Culture It’s the grande finale. Vive le français! This course provides a college-level experience for students framed by six central themes: contemporary life, personal identity, family and community, world challenges, science and technology, and aesthetics. Students explore each theme in depth via literary texts, surveys, magazine articles, maps, films and music, and podcasts such as Radio France Internationale. Students are also meant to access apps like leParisien.fr with a smartphone. Students learn to identify the theme and goal of a text, maintain a verbal exchange, organize ideas in writing and create an oral presentation about a cultural tradition. They need to be precise in their grammar as they continue to perfect their pronunciation. Students who enroll in this course take the Advanced Placement Examination in May. Prerequisite: French 4 Honors or department approval.
Spanish 1 Studying a language is more than just a matter of grammar. The excitement of any language is learning how to speak, but of course a command of grammar has much to do with the ability to communicate on diverse topics: the cuisine, the geography, the customs and the humor of another culture. Along with the language, students also are introduced to cultural and geographical aspects of Spain, Central America and South America. Ultimately, the emphasis in Spanish 1 is building the elemental foundation of oral and written expression: the vocabulary, the structure of sentences, paragraphs and idiomatic phrases. This year is a stepping-stone for the more comprehensive challenges of Spanish 2.
Spanish 2 / Honors The second year of Spanish continues the work of building a linguistic foundation. Students learn the music of sentences and of questions and answers, the choreography of dialogue, of having fun, of participating in the give-andtake of in-class discourse. The study of culture expands to the study of art, music, literature and poetry. The idea is to experience – to get a flavor of the cultures, to learn to savor the taste of their arts. In the process, students discover the connection between Hispanic culture around the world and the one right here in the Greater Hartford area. Prerequisite: Spanish 1 and department approval.
Spanish 3 / Honors Spanish 3 is where everything comes together. The goal for this year is the solidification of the grammatical structures of Spanish, concentrating on the nuances of real linguistic command. At this level, students do much more writing, tackling longer and more comprehensive readings, beginning literary analysis and developing topical oral and PowerPoint presentations. By this level, students are dealing directly with authentic materials – the arts, literature and cinema generated by the cultures we study. The goal of all of these activities is fluency. All teaching in this level is done in Spanish – no se habla inglés aquí. This course focuses on reinforcing basic skills with a concentration on the finer details of grammar learned in the two preceding years. Prerequisite: Spanish 2 and department approval.
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In Spanish 4, students cash in on the hard work of the past three years. What makes this course different is that now students can really communicate in Spanish in classroom discussions on a variety of topics. This year is more of a team effort as students work more in-depth, sharing ideas and insights through discussions, oral presentations and shared “events.” The goal of this year is a comprehensive and comparative look at the history, art, literature and cinema of the entire Hispanic world. Students are expected to make interpretative conclusions and put these reactions on paper in clear and well-constructed language. Grammar is at once a tool and a weapon for engaging in insightful dialogue with matters of culture. Expectations are high, but the rewards are gratifying. The Advanced Placement Language Examination is the windmill with which the would-be Don Quijotes are training to joust. Aquí se habla español. Prerequisite: Spanish 3 and department approval.
Spanish 5 ¡Vámonos! Spanish 5 focuses on a high level of fluency while exploring the culture of Spain and Latin and South America. In this course, students focus on their ability to communicate in spoken and written Spanish with confidence and fluidity. Students discuss art, literature, history, politics and sports. Spanish comes to life by reading literary excerpts and short stories, putting on plays, watching movies, writing poetry, delivering speeches, singing songs and taking advantage of the wealth of authentic Hispanic materials for reading and listening on the Internet. Examples of topics range from the literature of magic realism to Mexican soap operas, pop and traditional music, recent foreign films and South American club soccer. All units of study substantially increase topical vocabulary, improving the quality and richness of conversation and written expression while refining and perfecting advanced grammar skills. Prerequisite: Spanish 4 with department approval or Spanish 4 Honors.
Spanish 5: AP Language This course is designed for students who really love language. The groundwork is well begun; now is the payoff – by Spanish 5 students not only find that they can speak Spanish, they discover that they have begun to think in Spanish (some of them even begin to dream in Spanish!). The challenge of the Advanced Placement Examination is its precision, its expectation not only of fluency but also of sophisticated analysis of a wide range of current and classical writings. Students are expected to shift seamlessly among aural, spoken and written Spanish, and from taking information in, to processing it, to putting it back out. Students must be able to listen to long dialogues and lectures by native speakers and then turn around and write about them articulately. Students are expected to step up to the challenge of ongoing vocabulary study. With each new reading on the arts, current events, and scientific or business research, students must commit to the necessary topic-specific vocabulary. Students who enroll in this course take the Advanced Placement Examination in May. Aquí se habla español. Prerequisite: Spanish 4 or Spanish 4 Honors and department approval.
Classics Our objective is to provide students with the necessary skills for translating original, unedited works in Latin and Greek and to teach them about the relevancy of the Greco-Roman world to their everyday lives. This is accomplished by rigorous study of the Latin language and by learning about the various facets of Greco-Roman culture. We use a modern, reading-based approach to language study in which students are asked to approach elements of Latin grammar intuitively first, then to achieve mastery through further study, translation, drill and practice. In higher-level courses students will be prepared to read selections from some of Rome’s greatest authors: Cicero, Caesar, Ovid, and Vergil. Classical culture and the western tradition are examined at all levels
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in many ways, including projects, films, and field trips. The study of ancient Greek, which serves as a capstone experience to the study of the classics at Kingswood Oxford, may be added after the successful completion of Latin 3 in the Upper School.
>>Middle School All Middle School students must choose a foreign language or Latin (Classics) to study, and they are placed in a level based on their background and language mastery. Placement tests are given to new Form 1 and Form 2 students who do not want to start in the beginning Level A course.
Latin A In Latin A, students begin to explore the language of ancient Rome—its cultural and historical significance, as well as its contemporary relevance—through a series of lively readings following the life and adventures of Horace, a famous Roman poet writing at the beginning of the Roman Empire. Through study of Latin vocabulary and English derivatives, students learn the benefits of knowing Latin roots as they build a more sophisticated English vocabulary. Students learn through reading, translating, speaking, and listening as well as through playing games and interacting with each other in the Latin language. Students consider aspects of Roman daily life including the Roman family, education, the role of women and the institution of slavery. Additionally, students delve into classical mythology, becoming acquainted with the Titans and Olympians, the Trojan War, and an assortment of other tales culminating in reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Among other projects, students create a myth of their own using various gods, heroes, and other characters from the Greco-Roman pantheon.
Latin B Latin B is designed to build on the language skills and cultural knowledge acquired through the first year of Latin. Students continue their study of Latin grammar and syntax through readings revolving around the Roman poet Horace; they advance their understanding of Latin grammar and vocabulary as they widening their knowledge of English through study of derivatives. Students learn through a range of activities including in-class translation, English to Latin translation, verbal use of Latin, group projects, performance, as well as friendly competitions. In addition, this year students continue their studies of ancient Greek, Roman, and Hellenistic traditions. They begin the year by studying the greats of classical literature in translation, reading Homer’s epic, “The Odyssey” as it appears in the fantastic graphic novel adaptation by Gareth Hinds. They then study the Aeneid, following the legendary founder of Rome as he passes from the raging battles at Troy to meet his destiny in Italy, suffering a passage through the underworld along the way. Students move from fantasy to history by studying some of the Roman greats, like Romulus and Cincinnatus, as represented in selections from Titus Livius’s history of Rome. Finally, they examine Rome’s brutal wars with its dreaded rival, Carthage, and its famous general, Hannibal. They deepen their understanding of this ancient material by engaging in a variety of group and personal projects involving written work, presentation, and art.
Latin C In the third year of Middle School Latin, students prepare for a more rigorous study of Latin at the Upper School through even deeper explorations of Latin grammar, syntax and the life of the Roman poet Horace. They continue to learn Latin through translation, as well as writing, speaking, friendly competition, and Latin-based projects. Students also advance their understanding of English through study of derivatives. In the first semester, students study the history Page 33 of 61
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of Rome from Romulus to the establishment of the republic. They study the end of the republic in depth by taking on a character from the time of Julius Caesar and reenacting senate sessions that followed his death. They learn about republican institutions, upon which we model our own government, and the beginning of the Roman Empire. The emphasis of the second semester lies in Rome’s material remains, Pompeii in particular, as students research and design villas and become acquainted with the materials that were important for day-to-day life in ancient Rome. Roman history and culture are explored through readings of “Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day” among other colorful print and online texts. Finally, students have a chance to study the architecture of Rome’s public and private spaces, examining what a Roman’s day-to-day environment and life were like. They become experts on major urban structures of the ancient city of Rome, eventually building models of important buildings. In doing so, students have a chance to draw from their architectural studies of the Upper Prep elective, Art and Architecture. This survey of ancient art includes Mesopotamia and Egypt, Greece, and Rome, complementing Upper Prep students’ studies in geography and studio arts. Students first study the ancient Egyptian pantheon, learning about gods, goddesses, and Egyptian culture through designing their own tombs and engaging in the mummification process. They learn about the deities and heroes of Greece and Rome as well, creating comics as well as designing and glazing their own blackfigure style Greek plates. Moving from Greece to ancient Italy, students study the lifestyle of ancient Etruscans by examining artifacts from their lives. Finally, they move on to ancient Rome, searching the campus for Roman architectural elements and completing a scavenger hunt through Blue Back square. This study of mythology and ancient art informs the students’ visual analysis of the art and architecture left to the modern viewer. From the Acropolis to the Washington Monument, from Aphrodite to Zeus, students explore the traditions of the western past and its influences on the present.
>>Upper School
Latin 1 The influence of Latin on Western culture and thought, even in today’s fast-paced world, is significant. Students in their first year of study will begin to investigate Latin’s importance and elegance, as they acquire basic grammar and vocabulary in their journey toward reading the original works of great writers such as Vergil, Julius Caesar, and Ovid, among others. In addition, students are exposed to some of the basics of Roman culture, with particular stress on Roman daily life, education, mythology, early history, and public spaces. Throughout the year, the course reinforces the grammatical rules that students encounter in English 3, with particular stress on parts of speech, sentence structure, and the etymological roots of English words. By year’s end, students will have a better understanding of their cultural roots and how Latin and Roman culture remain to this day vibrant, important, and very much alive.
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Latin 2 Starting with a cumulative review of the work done in Latin 1, this course continues to bolster students' knowledge of grammar and vocabulary as they gradually transition from basic grammar to more complex syntax. Students are gradually introduced to reading and translating connected passages in prose and work toward the goal of reading a sustained prose narrative near year's end. More sophisticated cultural topics are investigated, including Greece’s impact on Roman culture or what the private house says about the Roman psyche. Rome’s transition from a republic to an empire is also a major topic as students prepare to read original works from this time period in the next level of Latin. Prerequisite: Latin 1.
Latin 3: Intermediate Latin Literature Like Latin 2, this course begins with a summative review of the grammar topics covered in previous courses. In the first semester, students finish their study of Latin grammar and begin to read unedited Latin written during the golden age of Latin literature. The first author is Rome’s greatest historian, Livy. Through Livy, students learn what it is to spin a tale with style as they become acquainted with many of the literary devices that are still employed in modern literature. After Livy, Latin poetry comes to the forefront with students spending the Spring term enjoying several stories in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” as well as a few selected poems from other Augustan-era greats (eg., Catullus and Horace). Material covered in the final semester provides an introduction to and preparation for the expectations of the Advanced Placement syllabus. This course prepares students for AP Latin by department recommendation. Prerequisite: Latin 2 or its equivalent.
AP Latin: Caesar and Vergil The first half of the year is spent reading Julius Caesar's “The Gallic Wars.” Students investigate Caesar’s nine-year campaign in Gaul, now modern day France, Germany, and Belgium, though his efficient and lucid commentary detailing the causes and outcomes of the wars, individual tales of heroism, and, of course, his own leadership and conquests. The second half of the year is spent reading and translating selections from Vergil’s “Aeneid.” In the early books, students read many of the epic’s most compelling scenes in their original Latin: Aeneas’s wanderings, his description of the fall of Troy, and his ill-fated love with the Carthaginian queen Dido (Books 1, 2, 4). Aeneas then visits his father in the underworld to understand the full measure of the imperial destiny that fate has dealt him (Book 6). Finally, we read in translation of the brutal and savage wars Aeneas must fight to establish his city (Books 7-12). The course discusses the genre of epic poetry, encounters the Homeric precursors to “Aeneid,” and considers Vergil’s impact on the literary tradition. In addition, each book in Latin is accompanied by a discussion of one essential question raised therein. Such questions include the discord between personal choice and civic obligation, filial piety versus individual inclination, and the brutally martial reality involved in establishing and maintaining the Empire. This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement Examination in Latin, which they take in May. Prerequisite: Latin 3 and department approval.
Ancient Greek 1 “Naturally I am biased in favour of boys [and girls] learning English; and then I would let the clever learn Latin as an honour and Page 35 of 61
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Greek as a treat.” – Winston Churchill This intensive course introduces students to the fundamentals of Attic Greek through the use of the text Learn to Read Greek. While acquisition of at least a semester’s worth of college-level Greek language is the primary objective, students also explore how Greek culture has influenced Western thought and traditions from its origins in antiquity all the way to the present day. Comparisons of ancient works of art to such modern ones as painting, writing, and film challenge students as they use their deepening knowledge of classical language and culture to better understand the threads that link the distant past and the modern world. Prerequisite: Latin 3 or Advanced Placement Latin and department approval.
Elective: Mythology (Spring) This course seeks to explore the rich and eternal world of classical mythology. Students will learn about the GrecoRoman pantheon of gods and the age of heroes and will explore these stories using various media such as literature, visual art, music, and film. Additionally, students will be asked to look at myth with a critical eye, investigating and discovering the common metaphors and symbols that occur and how they speak to humanity’s need and production of mythologies. Finally, the class will also trace the history of Greco-Roman mythology from its origins to present day with the aim of learning how different eras have used and interpreted these tales. This course will include projects and readings that sometimes will be completed outside of class. Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Creative Arts >>Middle School The arts represent something far more important than something to do with your hands, or in your spare time, or to wile away the hours while you chat with your friends. They are not only as serious and elevating as anything else we offer in the curriculum, they are an accessible training ground for the kinds of human interaction that will be necessary to flourish in the decades ahead. Our disciplines put a premium on the skills that are needed to answer the challenges of contemporary times, namely: * creative problem-solving; * task analysis and constructive critique in mediums that are intuitive, improvisational, inferential and context-based; * focus on process as its own end, not just as a means to an end product; * holistic articulation: a facile command of many media – not just the linguistic; and * flexibility: the ability to move between realms with confidence. We know that creativity is not just nice; it is necessary. The arts are not just for “the talented” – they are for those who will otherwise leave this place without a healthy skepticism about how “media” delivers a “message,” or how feelings and intuitions can be made manifest. The arts we teach educate the soul as well as the mind.
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UPPER PREP All courses are required for all Upper Prep students. In addition, all Upper Prep students take Writing Technology during this block.
Introduction to Drama (Quarter) In this course, students are exposed to the fundamentals of drama with an emphasis on fun, creativity, teamwork and self-confidence. The initial focus is on the fundamental acting skills of pantomime and improvisation, as students engage in a variety of acting games and exercises. Then, they work on character development, blocking, and overall stage presence, as well as costuming and set construction, while preparing for their final project, a one-act play. All students contribute to all aspects of the production. The course culminates in a demonstration of what the students have learned in front of an audience of their peers. The skills of cooperation and group problem solving are as important as learning how to perform!
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Introduction to Studio Art (Quarter) This course provides an initial experience in the basic visual processes of drawing, two- and three-dimensional design, and critique. The goal of this course is to allow students to explore a variety of artistic materials and techniques while providing them with a basic foundation of the elements of art. Emphasis is placed on individual expression and visual problem solving.
Introduction to Classical Art, Architecture and Archaeology (Quarter) This survey of ancient art includes Mesopotamia and Egypt and centers on Greece and Rome, complementing Upper Prep students’ studies in geography and studio arts. Students first study the classical pantheon, learning about the Greek gods and their peers, their offspring (the heroes) and mere mortals. This study of mythology informs the students’ visual analysis of the art and architecture left to the modern viewer. Timeless tales come to life as students take virtual tours of the Roman Forum, fashion their own archaic Greek pottery and literally “dig in” to the basic tenets of archaeology. From the Acropolis to the ziggurat, from Aphrodite to Zeus, students explore the traditions of the western past and its influences on the present.
UPPER PREP MUSIC BLOCK ELECTIVES All Upper Prep students are required to participate in one of these performing arts groups.
Upper Prep Choraliers (Year, meets twice per week) This course emphasizes the development of individual and ensemble vocal technique. Students are introduced to the ear-training pedagogy of Zoltán Kodály, sight-reading, independent musicianship and study repertoire from various genres and world cultures. The Choraliers present three or four programs throughout the year. The group meets during school.
Concert Band (Year, meets twice per week) This course is open to all woodwind, brass and percussion players. Ensemble skills are developed through varied repertoire. The Concert Band performs during assemblies, evening concerts, and special trips and events. Students in concert band must know how to play a band instrument. Open to students in Upper Prep-Form 2.
String Orchestra (Year, meets twice per week) The String Orchestra is open to all experienced string players (violin, viola, cello and double bass). Ensemble skills are developed through varied repertoire. The String Orchestra performs in KO’s Candlelight Concerts, a spring concert, special events and school assemblies. Selected players also perform with Upper School students. Individual lessons are available on campus during the school day with a visiting professional (privately arranged).Open to students in Upper PrepForm 2.
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FORM 1 All courses are required for all Form 1 students. In addition, all Form 1 students take Life Skills 1 (a health course) during this block.
Art in Every Dimension (Quarter) This course is designed to build upon the foundation formed in Introduction to Studio Art by exploring more complex materials, techniques and concepts while providing avenues for students to fully explore and develop their own ideas and artistic voice. It provides a continued introduction to the approaches and media of both two- and three-dimensional design. Students will build both technical and creative-thinking skills through a variety of studio assignments.
Public Speaking (Quarter) This course is designed to help students overcome their fear of speaking in public and to provide them with the fundamental skills and confidence needed to be good speakers in any setting. Students create a basic speech outline, then participate in a variety of games and exercises designed to improve eye contact, tone, volume, pace, articulation and body language while speaking. Working in pairs, small groups and individually, students speak daily on a wide range of topics, either spontaneously or after more long-term preparation. Through sharing a pet peeve or an embarrassing moment, defending an opinion, delivering a campaign speech or selling a product to the class, students learn to persuade, inform and entertain at the podium in a clear and poised fashion. Required for students in Form 1.
FORM 1 MUSIC BLOCK All Form 1 students are required to participate in one of these performing arts groups. Form 1 students may also elect to participate in both Band/Orchestra and Cantabile.
Cantabile (Year, meets twice per week) Cantabile is the largest of the four middle school choirs. Individual musicianship is an important goal, as members perform repertoire from various periods and countries and commissioned works from acclaimed composers. Students learn advanced sight-reading, ear training, harmony and various vocal technique. This choir works closely in master classes and workshops with visiting composers, conductors, clinicians and guest artists, and it also tours, performs and participates in concerts with professional music organizations, universities and school choral programs. Open to students in Forms 1-2.
Concert Band (Year, meets twice per week) This course is open to all woodwind, brass and percussion players. Ensemble skills are developed through varied repertoire. The Concert Band performs during assemblies, evening concerts, and special trips and events. Students in concert band must know how to play a band instrument. Open to students in Upper Prep-Form 2.
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Jazz Band (Year, meets twice per week) This course is open by audition to woodwind, brass and percussion players as well as pianists, bassists and guitarists. Emphasis is placed on developing skills in the jazz, rock and Latin musical traditions. In addition to ensemble skills, students explore various approaches to improvisation. Open to students in Form 1-2. With the exception of pianists, guitarists and bassists, all Jazz Band members must participate in the Concert Band.
String Orchestra (Year, meets twice per week) The String Orchestra is open to all experienced string players (violin, viola, cello and double bass). Ensemble skills are developed through varied repertoire. The String Orchestra performs in KO’s Candlelight Concerts, a spring concert, special events and school assemblies. Selected players also perform with Upper School students. Individual lessons are available on campus during the school day with a visiting professional (privately arranged). Open to students in Upper PrepForm 2.
Electronic Music (Year, meets twice per week) In this course, students explore music through a wide array of topics, including using GarageBand and other software for beginning composition, creating music for video, text and spoken word, and studying and creating the music of world cultures. Open to students in Forms 1-2.
Octopipers and F2B (Year) These select ensembles perform commissioned works and published music in the jazz, pop, contemporary, Broadway and a cappella genres. Selected by audition, students participate in festivals, workshops, master classes, competitions and various concert venues on and off campus and tour with Cantabile. Students utilize advanced sight-reading, ear training, harmony, vocal techniques and choreography throughout the year. Membership in Cantabile is required. Both ensembles rehearse after school. Octopipers is open by audition to girls in Forms 1- 2, and F2B is open by audition to boys in Forms 1-2.
FORM 2 Form 2 students choose from the Theater and Visual Arts electives, as well as Robotics. In addition, all Form 2 students take Life Skills 2 (a health course) during this block. In addition, Form 2 students are required to participate in one of the Music performing arts groups, and students in Forms 1 and 2 may elect to participate in both Band/Orchestra and Cantabile.
THEATER ELECTIVES Advanced Public Speaking (Quarter) This course is a sequel to Form 1 Public Speaking. After reviewing the speech outline and the basic elements of delivery, Page 40 of 61
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students sharpen their skills as they explore all six areas of speech competition, working alone, with a partner and in small groups. Speech activities include a character monologue, a group choral reading and a parliamentary-style debate, in addition to several individual speeches. This is a creative and challenging course that helps any speaker rise to the next level of competence and confidence.
Acting for Theatre (Semester) A wonderful choice for Form 2 students interested in exploring the art and craft of theatre, this class offers the opportunity to become immersed in the study of acting, theatre, and performance. This course will develop students’ acting skills through improvisation and imagination and enable students to work cooperatively as they learn to develop characters and dialogue. This will be supplemented with lessons in theatre history, text analysis, and scene study. Through games, guided activities, and explorations, students will develop skills of performance, storytelling, and characterization. Working with their peers, students will have opportunities to perform improvisational skits, monologues, and short plays, culminating in a final performance.
VISUAL ARTS ELECTIVES Intro to Studio Art (Quarter) This course provides an initial experience in the basic visual processes of drawing, two- and three-dimensional design, and critique. The goal of this course is to allow students to explore a variety of artistic materials and techniques while providing them with a basic foundation of the elements of art. Emphasis is also placed on individual expression and visual problem solving.
Ceramics (Quarter) This course introduces students to clay as an artistic medium. In this course, students will create projects that are both sculptural and functional. Students will experience a variety of hand-building and wheel-throwing projects designed to develop their technical skill and explore their visual expression. This course is designed for the self-motivated student who can work independently. Open to students in Form 2.
Drawing (Quarter) In this course, students will advance their drawing and design skills through the study of the fundamental elements and principles of drawing, including observational drawing. Using a wide variety of materials and methods, students will be encouraged to develop their own drawing vocabulary, strengthen their problem-solving skills and foster an artistic voice.
Painting (Quarter) This course focuses on visualizing and interpreting images on a two-dimensional surface. It works on the ways in which a three-dimensional world is captured on a piece of paper or a canvas. It engages students with both abstract and representational art – exploring the ways that color, drawing and composition can affect the “meaning” of what we see. Page 41 of 61
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Students will explore a variety of painting techniques and media.
Printmaking (Quarter) This course introduces students to the basic printmaking methods, including intaglio, relief and mono-printing in both a historical and contemporary application. Students will explore each of these techniques, as well as ways in which they may be combined. They learn how to translate their drawings and ideas into prints by exploring mark making while further developing the form and visual content of their composition. Throughout class assignments, focus will also be placed on building and fostering an artistic voice, creative problem solving, and the process of critique.
Sculpture (Quarter) Sculpture students explore ways to construct three-dimensional artwork and consider how an object can represent ideas. A variety of materials and processes are introduced as students design and build their own work. Emphasis is not only placed on physical construction and structure but also on the problem-solving skills needed to work in the third dimension. Students are challenged to create work that communicates their own ideas and are encouraged to find their own artistic voices.
Concert Band (Year, meets twice a week) This course is open to all woodwind, brass and percussion players. Ensemble skills are developed through varied repertoire. The Concert Band performs during assemblies, evening concerts, and special trips and events. Students in concert band must know how to play a band instrument. Open to students in Upper Prep-Form 2.
Jazz Band (Year, meets twice a week) This course is open by audition to woodwind, brass and percussion players as well as pianists, bassists and guitarists. Emphasis is placed on developing skills in the jazz, rock and Latin musical traditions. In addition to ensemble skills, students explore various approaches to improvisation. Open to students in Form 1-2. With the exception of pianists, guitarists and bassists, all Jazz Band members must participate in the Concert Band.
String Orchestra (Year, meets twice a week) The String Orchestra is open to all experienced string players (violin, viola, cello, and double bass). Ensemble skills are developed through varied repertoire. The String Orchestra performs in KO’s Candlelight Concerts, a spring concert, special events and school assemblies. Selected players also perform with Upper School students. Individual lessons are available on campus during the school day with a visiting professional (privately arranged).Open to students in Upper PrepForm 2.
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Cantabile (Year, meets twice a week) Cantabile is the largest of the four middle school choirs. Individual musicianship is an important goal, as members perform repertoire from various periods and countries and commissioned works from acclaimed composers. Students learn advanced sight-reading, ear training, harmony and various vocal technique. This choir works closely in master classes and workshops with visiting composers, conductors, clinicians and guest artists, and it also tours, performs and participates in concerts with professional music organizations, universities and school choral programs. Open to students in Forms 1-2.
Octopipers and F2B (Year) These select ensembles perform commissioned works and published music in the jazz, pop, contemporary, Broadway and a cappella genres. Selected by audition, students participate in festivals, workshops, master classes, competitions and various concert venues on and off campus and tour with Cantabile. Students utilize advanced sight-reading, ear training, harmony, vocal techniques and choreography throughout the year. Membership in Cantabile is required. Both ensembles rehearse after school. Octopipers is open by audition to girls in Forms 1- 2, and F2B is open by audition to boys in Forms 1-2.
Private Instrumental and Voice Instruction Through a cooperative program with area professionals, private lessons are available at the Middle School during the school day. Semester fees and lesson times are arranged directly with the instructors (names and contact information are available from the Concert Band director). Students do not receive academic credit for private instruction.
Electronic Music In this course, students explore music through a wide array of topics, including using GarageBand and other software for beginning composition, creating music for video, text and spoken word, and studying and creating the music of world cultures. Open to students in Forms 1-2.
>>Upper School The arts represent something far more important than something to do with your hands, or in your spare time, or to wile away the hours while you chat with your friends. They are not only as serious and elevating as anything else we offer in the curriculum, they are an accessible training ground for the kinds of human interaction that will be necessary to flourish in the decades ahead. We offer a wide variety of courses in four disciplines: Media Arts, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts. Our disciplines put a premium on the skills that are needed to answer the challenges of contemporary times, namely: * creative problem-solving; * task analysis and constructive critique in mediums that are intuitive, improvisational, inferential, and context-based; * focus on process as its own end, not just as a means to an end; * holistic articulation: a facile command of many media – not just the linguistic; and * flexibility: the ability to move between realms with confidence.
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We know that creativity is not just nice; it is necessary. The arts are not just for “the talented” – they are for those who will otherwise leave this place without a healthy skepticism about how “media” delivers a “message,” or how feelings and intuitions can be made manifest. The arts we teach educate the soul as well as the mind.
MEDIA ARTS ELECTIVES Introductory M.A.: Digital Music 1 (Fall) This course introduces students to a wide range of music-technology applications, including sequencing (recording) with computers, music notation, sound design, and scoring music to video. It also introduces them to the techniques of recording and editing digital sound using computerized software and hardware. Utilizing the flexibility of the 12-station music technology lab, students can work independently and in small groups. Students use GarageBand, Logic Express, and Sibelius, among other programs, to create and develop their own music projects. Prior experience with music is not required. Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Intermediate M.A.: Digital Music 2 (Spring) Building on the skills learned in Digital Music 1, this course provides the opportunity to study such advanced musicproduction topics as composing for acoustic and electronic music ensembles, discovering and using new online music tools, and further explorations in sound design and creating music for video and film. Prerequisite: Digital Music 1, Electronic Music (in Form 1 or Form 2), or permission of instructor.
Intermediate M.A.: Digital Filmmaking 1 (Fall or Spring) In this course, students create digital video projects using Final Cut Pro software. They also learn how to operate digital video cameras. Students learn how to write shot sheets to plan their projects. Proper shooting techniques and shot composition also are stressed. Students are taught how to edit digital video on the computer and how to add a variety of special effects and transitions to enhance their projects. Students learn how to add and balance voice-over and music audio tracks to their work. Other topics include the use of blue and green screens, conversion of analog to digital video, and DVD authoring. Open to students in Forms 4-6.
Intermediate M.A.: New Media 1 (Fall) In this course, students explore concepts of visual communication and begin to apply them to creative expression. This is an elective for students who have an interest in expression through digital technologies such as video, audio, animation, imaging and other media. Developing practical media literacy is a goal of this course. The projects, discussions, and critiques examine and challenge the roles of popular media and how they converge with creativity. Prerequisite: completion of Digital Video Production 1 (Digital Filmmaking 1). Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Intermediate M.A.: Photography 1 (Fall or Spring) This course introduces students to the conceptual and technical aspects of photography and digital imaging. Students learn the basic functions of the camera. They also construct projects around concepts such as documentation, Page 44 of 61
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simulation, and image manipulation. They are asked to utilize aspects such as formalism and aesthetics, as well as critical thinking and personal expression. The School provides all equipment; students do not need to have their own cameras. Prerequisite: completion of Introduction to Studio (or the equivalent). Open to students in Forms 3-6. Preference is given to upperclassmen in the Fall term.
Advanced M.A.: Digital Filmmaking 2 (Fall) Video students work on longer and more complex projects in this course. Students learn how to create storyboards for short plays or original scripts, then direct and video these projects after scouting out proper locations for their shoots. Forming concepts and techniques on how to direct actors is another important component of this course. Learning how to use video to tell a story, either fictional or documentary, is stressed. Students learn the proper techniques for recording live sound, and how to use music, sound effects, and natural and theatrical lighting to enhance their video projects. In the post-production process, students learn how to create animation and use special-effect filters. Prerequisite: Digital Filmmaking 1. Open to students in Forms 5-6.
Advanced M.A.: Photography 2 Honors (Fall) These courses allow for individualized exploration from within the broad range of technical and conceptual possibilities with photography and new media. The classes are designed so that students work on broad independent projects, with regular consultations, discussions and critiques with the instructor. With the advice and guidance of the teacher, students independently explore in-depth topics of media arts from an individualized perspective. These classes meet regularly. Individualized schedules and meeting times are discussed based on specific project needs. Students also are expected to work on projects outside of class as needed. Prerequisite: Photography 1 or New Media 1 and department approval. Open to students in Forms 4-6.
Advanced M.A.: Advanced Music and Audio Production (Spring) This course concentrates on audio production equipment and techniques including microphones, mixers, and speakers as well as recording and editing software. Projects include developing a portfolio of recorded works in various electronic and acoustic media.Prerequisite: Digital Music 2 or department approval.
Advanced Studio Seminar Honors (Spring) This is a course for advanced or post-Portfolio Prep students who would like to chart a more independent course of study. Team taught by two Creative Arts teachers, the course focuses on how one communicates ideas without specifying medium. Since the central aspect is the development and construction of creative content, students can use any of the studio facilities—from computers to table saws—in pursuit of projects whose direction is independently generated and maintained. The seminar is framed by a weekly think tank—critique sessions where students and advising faculty can discuss and evaluate concepts and projects as they unfold. Receives one-half credit. Prerequisite: completion of at least one advanced media arts or advanced visual arts course and department approval. Open to students in Forms 5-6.
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MUSIC ELECTIVES Choral Music: Concert Choir (Year) The foundation of the School’s choral program, Concert Choir, emphasizes the development of music reading, aural skills, healthy vocal technique, and confidence in performance. Students study and perform choral music in various languages from diverse historical backgrounds, working with guest conductors, and professional musicians to master the basic elements of the specific style appropriate to the work. This ensemble participates in the all-school Choral Expo concert in January, the Upper School Choral Fest concert in the Spring, and also performs off campus. Only members of Concert Choir are eligible to audition for the select and a cappella groups (though the two a cappella ensembles are extracurricular clubs and do not receive academic credit). Receives one-half credit. Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Choral Music: Outlook (Year) This select coed ensemble performs in several genres including jazz, madrigal, classical, pop, and multi-cultural. Selected by annual audition, students participate in festivals, competitions and various concert venues both on and off campus. Membership in the Concert Choir is required. Outlook members meet as a group rather than with the entire Concert Choir, but they learn the Concert Choir repertoire in addition to their own music. The singers may also perform in separate a cappella ensembles (Crimson 7 for boys and Oxfordians for girls), but there is no credit for this extracurricular activity. Receives one credit. Open to students in Forms 4-6 by audition.
Choral Music: Voce Novissima (Year) This select girls’ ensemble performs classical and popular music from all genres. Emphasis is on music-reading skills and development of choral musicianship in a smaller ensemble. Students participate in festivals, competitions, and various concert venues both on and off campus. Membership in the Concert Choir is required. Voce Novissima members meet as a group in addition to meeting with the entire Concert Choir, and they learn the Concert Choir repertoire in addition to their own music. Receives one-half credit. Open to students in Forms 3-6 by audition from Concert Choir.
Instrumental Music: String Orchestra (Year) This ensemble is open to all experienced string players (violin, viola, cello, and double bass). In addition to preparation for major concerts, students concentrate on the development of ensemble skills and individual playing techniques. Students perform repertoire in both string orchestra and chamber music settings. Receives one-half credit. Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Instrumental Music: Concert Band (Year, meets three times a week) This performing group is open to all woodwind, brass, and percussion players. Attention is focused on standard repertoire as well as new music and transcriptions for band. The Concert Band rehearses three times a week and performs at evening concerts and on-campus events.Receives one credit. Open to students in Forms 3-6.
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Jazz Combo (Year, meets three times a week) The Jazz Combo, open to advanced jazz students, performs various styles of music within the jazz repertoire and learns advanced concepts in jazz improvisation. In addition to several on-campus performances a year, the combo also performs at the Berklee Jazz Festival or the UMass High School Jazz Festival (calendar permitting). Receives one credit. Entrance by recommendation or audition only.
Wind Ensemble (Year, meets three times a week) The Wind Ensemble is open to advanced wind, brass, and percussion students. Attention is focused on advanced wind ensemble literature as well as transcriptions of well-known orchestral composers. The ensemble performs several times a year on campus and in the community. Receives one credit. Entrance by recommendation or audition only.
Private Instrumental and Voice Instruction Families who seek to arrange private vocal or instrumental lessons may contact Creative Arts Department Chair Todd Millen for the names and contact information of local music professionals who offer these services. Times may be arranged directly with these tutors during or after school.
THEATER ELECTIVES Acting 1: Introductory Skills (Fall) This acting course is designed to introduce students to the basic skills needed of a stage actor. Beginning with an understanding of how to control and utilize the voice and body, this course will use classical and modern techniques to strengthen the actor’s instrument. Using sense memory, characterization, and personalization, the students will begin to develop vocabulary and strategies to achieve effective actions on stage. Receives one-half credit. Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Acting 2: Scene Study (Spring) In this intermediate course, students will strengthen their skills as actors through studying and rehearsal of scenes from important works of drama. Through utilizing these texts, actors will create believable worlds in which communication with their scene partners is the key to achieving their goals. Action, objective, obstacle, physical gesture, and personalization will be emphasized and developed to help actors live truthfully in the moment of the play. Receives onehalf credit. Open to students in Forms 3-6 who have completed Acting 1: Introductory Skills or department approval.
Public Speaking (Fall or Spring) This course offers practice in public speaking emphasizing both style and content. Assignments focus on the elements that make for effective presentation of ideas as well as the skills of effective communication in both prepared and impromptu settings. Several activities, such as debate, speed talking, and story telling lead to greater student independence via daily presentation of material. Formal speeches, including research presentations, political campaigns, personal stories, and instructional lectures will be written, practiced, and presented in class. Open to students in Forms 3-6.
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Winter Musical Theater Production (Winter Athletic Season) Students may participate in the Winter Musical Theater Production in lieu of a Winter sport. Auditions are held in early December, and rehearsals begin the following week. Students are expected to attend five days of rehearsal per week during the after-school sports period. The time will be devoted to learning music, characterization, blocking, and choreography. Students will always be involved in one of the rehearsal settings, or will work on improvisation and ensemble skills to help develop their inner lives for their various characters in the production. There will also be non-performing opportunities for stage managers, production assistants, rehearsal accompanists, backstage crew, and hair/makeup/costume crew. The musical will be performed the weekend before Spring break. Open to students in Forms 36; the cast of the musical is selected by audition only.
Stagecraft (Fall or Spring) This introductory course covers the backstage operation of the theater, including how to hang focus- and cable-lighting instruments and how to set up and operate sound equipment, including microphones, amplifiers, and mixers. Students also learn how to operate the woodworking equipment in the scene shop and participate in building sets for productions in Roberts Theater. They often work with artists from the Goodman Banks Series or other professional dance and theatrical companies that rent the theater. Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Design for Theater (Spring) This course is an introduction to set and lighting design. Students study computer-aided drafting and create designs for classical and one-act plays in addition to studying differing styles of design and composition for individual projects. Lighting design techniques are taught through chosen plays. Open to students in Forms 4-6. Prerequisite: Stagecraft and department approval.
VISUAL ARTS ELECTIVES Introduction to Studio (Fall or Spring) Meant for serious students who have an interest in figurative and abstract painting, this course explores the ways in which color and media affect the meaning of “representation.” While focusing on painting as a task of design as well as observation, this course introduces students to the range of tools and methods that have evolved in modern painting and familiarizes them with a variety of techniques, beginning with brushes and painting knives but extending to more exploratory processes such as staining, impasto, and collage. Assignments deal with flat and textured painted surfaces. Prerequisite: completion of Introduction to Studio (or the equivalent). Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Intermediate Studio: Drawing (Fall or Spring) Meant for serious students who have an interest in figurative and abstract painting, this course explores the ways in
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which color and media affect the meaning of “representation.” While focusing on painting as a task of design as well as observation, this course introduces students to the range of tools and methods that have evolved in modern painting and familiarizes them with a variety of techniques, beginning with brushes and painting knives but extending to more exploratory processes such as staining, impasto, and collage. Assignments deal with flat and textured painted surfaces. Prerequisite: completion of Introduction to Studio (or the equivalent). Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Intermediate Studio: Sculpture 1 (Fall or Spring) In this course, students embark on an exploration of the many facets of contemporary sculpture. It’s for students who love to build things yet aren’t afraid to think considerably along the way. Sculpture 1 begins with a sampling of the methods used to construct sculptural objects, with the ultimate goal of discovering ways to make those objects resonate with meaning or metaphor. Materials include wood construction, plaster carving, and the endless possibilities of working with found objects. As we address conceptual methods for generating 3D art, the focus turns to what happens when an idea is the single driving force behind the creation of a piece of art. Students should bring their thinking!Prerequisite: completion of Introduction to Studio (or the equivalent). Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Intermediate Studio: Printmaking 1 (Fall) This course introduces students to the printed mark, exploring both traditional methods and more contemporary approaches to the graphic arts. Students will explore the creative possibilities as they incorporate drawing, collage, digital arts, and painting and experiment with a variety of processes including, relief, intaglio, collograph, and monoprinting. Emphasis is placed on developing critical thinking skills, as students venture into complex visual ideas and compositions with a goal of fostering an individual artistic voice. Prerequisite: completion of Introduction to Studio (or the equivalent). Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Advanced Studio: Printmaking 2 (Fall) This course continues students’ exploration of Printmaking 1, introducing them to more complex printing methods and building upon their basic printmaking foundation, both visual and conceptual. Students explore different printmaking materials and techniques, including intaglio, relief, monoprint, and artist books. The pace of work is faster, and there are higher expectations with regard to the integration of the form and meaning of each project as well as their use of the basic art elements to produce more dynamic compositions. This course is for self-motivated students who are willing to pursue ambitious and more independent projects. Open to students in Forms 3-6 who have completed Printmaking 1 or department approval.
Intermediate Studio: Painting (Spring) Meant for serious students who have an interest in figurative and abstract painting, this course explores the ways in which color and media affect the meaning of “representation.” While focusing on painting as a task of design as well as observation, this course introduces students to the range of tools and methods that have evolved in modern painting and familiarizes them with a variety of techniques, beginning with brushes and painting knives but extending to more exploratory processes such as staining, impasto, and collage. Assignments deal with flat and textured painted Page 49 of 61
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surfaces. Prerequisite: completion of Introduction to Studio (or the equivalent). Open to students in Forms 3-6.
Advanced Studio: Sculpture 2 (Spring) Cardboard, duct tape, papier-mâché, wood, wire, screws, and paint may all be used to construct sculpture, and in this course, the options are wide open. Students bring their building skills and imagination to the fabrication of forms in space. This course seeks to bring students into the realm of contemporary, constructed sculpture as well as engage them in the use of sculptural materials, installation dynamics, and telling symbolism to create sculptures with a personally significant narrative. Prerequisite: Sculpture 1. Open to students in Forms 4-6 by department approval.
Advanced Studio Seminar Honors (Spring) This is a course for advanced or post-Portfolio Prep students who would like to chart a more independent course of study. Team taught by two Creative Arts teachers, it focuses on how to communicate ideas without specifying medium. Since the central aspect is the development and construction of creative content, students may use any of the studio facilities – from computers to table saws – for projects whose direction is independently generated and maintained. The seminar is framed by a weekly think tank – a critique session where students and advising faculty can discuss and evaluate concepts and projects as they unfold. Receives one-half credit. Prerequisite: completion of at least one advanced media arts or advanced visual arts course and department approval. Open to students in Forms 5-6.
Portfolio Preparation Honors (Year) This course is for dedicated art students. The goal of Portfolio Prep is to produce a balanced portfolio of high-caliber work for college-application submission. In addition to studio work, this honors course also requires a year-long independent drawing series. Throughout the course, students engage in both traditional and experimental means of rendering images, with a growing emphasis on cultivating a personal creative process. By year-end, students will have explored many approaches to straightforward representational drawing, as well as the mysteries, implications, and possibilities of abstraction. Open to students in Forms 5-6 who have completed any Intermediate Studio elective and have department approval.
Technology >>Middle School Upper Prep: Upper Prep Tech (Quarter) This introductory course is designed to expose our youngest students to the technological components they will need to survive as a KO student. They will learn to navigate the KO portal and email system and learn the proper etiquette for being a responsible digital citizen in an academic setting and the greater world. Students will also have opportunities to demonstrate their creativity while exploring many of the tools they will use in their academic classes. Upper Prep Tech coordinates with the Upper Prep Academic Team in order to teach students the tools they will utilize in their classes. Different ways to present material such as PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Slides and Padlet are presented along with the benefits of using each. Students learn how to conduct an internet search, find data and learn how to analyze it using a Page 50 of 61
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spreadsheet. Finally, students learn how to use the Google environment which includes Drive, Docs, Gmail, Sites and Slides. All Upper Prep students take this course in the first quarter of the year in order to ensure that all students have the necessary technological skills to excel in their sixth grade year.
Form 1: Coding (Quarter) This course introduces students to the basics of computer programming with an emphasis on visual storytelling. Students begin by exploring the history of computer science in an effort to better understand our contemporary digital world. Students will then be introduced to rational, analytic, and computational thinking in preparation for learning how to write code to support their creative ideas. Students will explore a variety of programming languages and environments (Blockly, Scratch, JavaScript, and HTML ) to create animations and other digital content. The goal of this course is to explore a variety of languages and environments to better appreciate the ubiquity of code in disciplines as diverse as computer science, art, and engineering. No previous knowledge of computer programming is necessary.
Form 2: Robotics -- FLL (FIRST Lego League) Challenge (Semester -- Fall) This course allows students to be immersed in real-world science and technology challenges, and it represents an entrance platform onto the KO FLL team. Students will help design solutions to a current scientific question or problem and build autonomous LEGO robots that perform a series of missions. The FIRST Challenge Program has three components: The Robot Game, The Project, and The Core Values. Students will engage in all three dimensions of the challenge as everyone contributes to the team's accomplishments. This is a full, Fall semester course. Open to students in Form 2.
Health >>Middle School The Middle School Health curriculum begins in Upper Prep, where students learn about the human body in their Life Science class. Nutrition, the effects of nicotine and caffeine, and adolescent growth and development are a few of the topics covered. In Form 1, students are enrolled in Life Skills 1. This class is designed to introduce students to issues that are relevant to their developmental phase as young adolescents. Students learn about nutrition, self-esteem, managing stress, managing peer pressure, drugs and alcohol, and puberty. Students explore these topics through class discussions, research and independent projects. In Form 2, students are enrolled in Life Skills 2, a course designed to introduce them to topics relevant to healthy social and emotional development. The curriculum covers leadership, language and communication, friendship, technology safety, media literacy, drugs and alcohol, and sexual health, among others. Students explore these topics through class discussions, research, and independent and group projects.
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Freshman Seminar -- VQV Class Vincit qui se vincit. "One conquers by conquering oneself." Beginning in September 2014, Form 3 students will take a weekly seminar, Vincit qui se vincit (VQV). Named for the School's motto, VQV classes are designed to help students "conquer themselves" as they transition into high school. Classes are taught by senior administrators (including Head of School Dennis Bisgaard) and members of the Student Life Team. By the first midsemester mark, students will have been exposed to the following topics: Study Skills and Strategies; Understanding Academic Dishonesty; Digital Citizenship; Exploring a Current Event (Ebola) from Different Perspectives; Building Resiliency and Dealing with Stress; Identity and Cultural Competency; and What It Means to be a Member of the KO Community.
Global Online Academy >>Upper School KO students began taking rigorous, innovative online classes in September 2013 through a partnership with the Global Online Academy (GOA), a consortium of leading independent schools from around the world. Click here for a VoiceThread about what the first cohort of KO students thought about their experience. GOA courses allow students the flexibility to learn at their own pace, at any time of day and from anywhere. They also provide students with opportunities to partner and build relationships with teachers and students from around the United States and the world. In addition, students acquire a host of valuable information and communication technology (ICT) skills, such as setting up video conferences across time zones, working collaboratively on assignments synchronously and asynchronously, using Google+ and Google Apps for Education, and accessing and navigating a learning management system. Here are the GOA courses available during the 2015-16 school year:
Digital Journalism (Year) The Atlas is an online news magazine that is designed, written, and published by students from GOA member schools. This collaborative course focuses on learning the fundamentals of journalistic writing, understanding the historical arc of journalism, and becoming comfortable with online tools such as Twitter, Dipity, Storify, and WordPress that are utilized by news sites around the world. Students will gain applied skills such as layout, blogging, vlogging, and news tweeting as well as the crafting of budget lines, leads, op-eds, features, photo-essays, and graphics. The staff will work as a team to produce frequent content for the site. While school newspapers write for a school community, stories in The Atlas will be geared toward a broader audience, with stories as pertinent to students in Jakarta as they are to students in Minneapolis. Students will have the option of becoming an editor – layout or writing. Students who take Digital Journalism are eligible to continue writing for The Atlas after their course.
Creative Non-Fiction (Fall) This course will focus on shaping real experiences into powerful narratives. Through the study of professional examples and their own work, students will learn how to identify great stories in their lives and in the world around them, how to Page 52 of 61
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develop their own voice through writing, and how to effectively and respectfully write about other people and their experiences. Feedback is an essential component of this course, and students will gain experience in the workshop model, learning how to effectively critique and discuss one another’s writing in a digital environment. In addition, students will have the opportunity to use technology to transform written work into audio experiences.
Digital Photography (Fall) Photography can be a powerful and persuasive tool. This course is designed for students to learn how to give an emotional context to social, political, environmental, and global issues through photography. Students will learn how to prepare for and execute specific types of photographs, as well as the technical elements of digital editing. While students work on photo-based projects they will simultaneously engage in discussions about topics such as the appropriate use of Photoshop, or the ethics of digital advertising. Students will be given opportunities to interpret specific global issues through their own photographs. In addition to taking photographs, students will write descriptions and reflections, and give constructive feedback on their peers’ work.. Students enrolled in Digital Photography must have access to a digital camera.
Filmmaking (Fall) This course is for students interested in developing their skills as filmmakers and creative problem-solvers. It is also a forum for screening the work of their peers and providing constructive feedback for revisions and future projects, while helping them to develop critical thinking skills. The course works from a set of specific exercises based on self-directed research and builds to a series of short experimental films that challenge students on both a technical and creative level. Throughout, we will increasingly focus on helping students express their personal outlooks and develop their unique styles as filmmakers. We will review and reference short films online and discuss how students might find inspiration and apply what they find to their own works. Prerequisite: Students must have access to an HD video camera, tripod or other stabilizing equipment, and editing software such as iMovie, Premiere Pro, etc.
Graphic Design (Fall) This course will explore the relationship between information and influence from a graphic design perspective. What makes a message persuasive and compelling? What helps audiences and viewers sort and make sense of information? Using an integrated case study and design-based approach, this course aims to deepen students’ design, visual, and information literacies. Students will be empowered to design and prototype communication projects they are passionate about. Topics addressed include: principles of design and visual communication; infographics; digital search skills; networks and social media; persuasion and storytelling with multimedia; and social activism on the Internet. Student work will include individual and collaborative group projects, graphic design, content curation, some analytical and creative writing, peer review and critiques, and online presentations.
Poetry Writing (Fall) This poetry-writing workshop explores identity and seeks to answer the question, “How are you shaped (or not) by the community you live in?” Our goal will be to create a supportive online network of writers that uses language to discover unique and mutual understandings of what it means to be a global citizen from a local place. Students will draft and revise poems, provide and receive frequent feedback, and read a range of modern and contemporary poets whose work is grounded in place. Sample assignments include audio and video recording, an online journal, study of performance
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poetry, peer video conferences, a video interview with a renowned poet, collaborative poetry anthologies, and a class publication. All writers will have the opportunity to send their work to international contests and publications.
Architecture (Spring) In this course students will explore the architecture, engineering, and construction of some of the most important buildings from human history. Students will study buildings like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, Stonehenge in England, the Parthenon in Athens, the Roman Aqueduct of Pont du Gard in France, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Alhambra in Spain, and the Gothic cathedral at Reims, to develop an understanding of the evolution of architecture through time. Students will be encouraged to build models of elements of these structures to better understand the construction and engineering behind their design. In the final portion of the course, students will have the opportunity to investigate and build a structure of their choice based on their new understanding of architecture, construction, and engineering. Students will be encouraged to use graphic programs like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape to help create their designs.
Beyond Photoshop: The Art of Code, The Code of Art (Spring) Note: this course is offered through Grinnell College and is taught by a Grinnell professor. Students who complete this course are eligible for college credit from Grinnell and should expect a college-level workload. In the 21st century, artists regularly use computer technology as part of their practice, and that use goes beyond using software tools like Photoshop to make images. Arts practice may involve writing programs that generate artworks, that control devices, or that help artists explore design spaces. In this course, we will explore models of arts computing using the Processing programming language. We will consider programs for both 2D and 3D images, for both still and animated images, and for independent and interactive programs. Along the way, we will also develop skills in computational thinking and consider relationships between the arts and technology. Regular work will include arts programs that will be judged in terms of both aesthetic and program design criteria as well as readings about arts programming. Across the semester, students will assemble a portfolio of projects and analyses. No prior programming experience is required. Prequisite: Students should have taken a course in mathematics that includes the study of trigonometry.
Fiction Writing (Spring) This course connects students who are interested in creative writing (primarily short fiction) and provides a space for supportive and constructive feedback. Students will gain experience in the workshop model, learning how to effectively critique and discuss one another’s writing in a digital environment. In addition to developing skills as a reader within a workshop setting, students will work to develop their own writing identities through a variety of exercises. The course will capitalize on the geographic diversity of the student body by eliciting stories that shed light on both the commonalities and differences of life experiences in different locations. Additionally, we will read and discuss the work of authors from around the globe. Students’ essential responsibilities will be twofold: to act as writers and readers. Both will require participation in discussions of various formats within our online community, as well as dedicated time outside of class reading one another’s work and writing pieces for the workshop.
Music Theory & Digital Composition (Spring) This course focuses on the building blocks of music (scales, chords, keys, intervals, harmonic relationships, rhythm, and Page 54 of 61
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meter) with the ultimate goal of helping students create compositions of their own. Students will use a variety of online resources to build their skills and learn to create and arrange music using various digital media. The intent is for students to craft their own work without resorting to pre-determined, canned, digital samples, but rather to draw from their own intellect the musical tools that can be written down, tweaked, and ultimately performed and recorded. Class members will share their work with others online, offer peer feedback in conjunction with faculty guidance, and begin building a body of their own compositions.
Bioethics (Fall or Spring) Ethics is the study of what one should do as an individual and as a member of society. In this course students will evaluate ethical issues related to medicine and the life sciences. During the semester, students will explore real-life ethical issues, including vaccination policies, organ transplantation, genetic testing, human experimentation, and animal research. Through reading, writing, and discussion, students will be introduced to basic concepts and skills in the field of bioethics, will deepen their understanding of biological concepts, will strengthen their critical-reasoning skills, and will learn to engage in respectful dialogue with people whose views may differ from their own. In addition to journal articles and position papers, students will be required to read Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Introduction to Psychology (Fall or Spring) This course is anchored in scientific exploration, evolving methods of inquiry and interdisciplinary application. Students will explore, and eventually integrate, content through research, critical and creative writing, analysis, and reflection. Students will examine the biological bases of behavior, lifespan development, learning and personality theories, psychological disorders, and social processes.
Medical Problem Solving I (Fall or Spring) In this course students will collaboratively solve medical mystery cases, similar to the approach used in many medical schools. Students enhance their critical thinking skills as they examine data, draw conclusions, diagnose, and treat patients. Students will use problem-solving techniques in order to understand and appreciate relevant medical/biological facts as they confront the principles and practices of medicine. Students will explore anatomy and physiology pertaining to medical scenarios and gain an understanding of the disease process, demographics of disease, and pharmacology. Additional learning experiences will include studying current issues in health and medicine, building a communityservice action plan, interviewing a patient, and creating a new mystery case.
Global Health (Fall) What makes people sick? What social and political factors lead to the health disparities we see both within our own community and on a global scale? What are the biggest challenges in global health and how might they be met? Using an interdisciplinary approach to address these questions, this course hopes to improve students’ health literacy through an examination of the most significant public-health challenges facing today’s global population. Topics addressed will be the biology of infectious disease (specifically HIV and malaria); the statistics and quantitative measures associated with health issues; the social determinants of health; and the role of organizations (public and private) in shaping the landscape of global health policy. Students will use illness as a lens through which to critically examine such social issues as poverty, gender, and race. Student work will include analytical and creative writing; research, and peer collaboration;
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reading and discussions of nonfiction; and online presentations.
Abnormal Psychology (Spring) This course focuses on psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, character disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and depression. As students examine these and other disorders they will learn about their symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments. Students will also deepen their understanding of the social stigmas associated with mental illnesses. This course can be taken as a continuation of Introduction to Psychology, although it is not required.
Biostatistics (Spring) Based around case studies and diagnostics tests in medicine and health, biotechnology, and environmental science, this course allows students to display and communicate statistical data to draw conclusions about current events. Students in this course will receive instruction in biostatistical analysis and research design and will be expected to apply data to answer diagnostics questions. Specific topics discussed will include descriptive statistics, estimation and hypothesis testing, linear and logistic regression, contingency tables, life tables and experimental design. Prerequisite: completion of Algebra 2 or the equivalent.
Medical Problem Solving II (Spring) This course is an extension of the problem-based learning done in Medical Problem Solving I. While collaborative examination of medical case studies will remain the core work of the course, students will tackle more complex cases and explore new topics in medical science, such as the growing field of bioinformatics. Students in MPS II will also have opportunities to design cases based on personal interests, discuss current topics in medicine, and apply their learning to issues in their local communities. Prerequisite: completion of Medical Problem Solving I.
Neuropsychology (Spring) This course is an exploration of the neurological basis of behavior. It will cover basic brain anatomy and function as well as cognitive and behavioral disorders from a neurobiological perspective. Examples of illnesses to be covered include: Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and stroke. Diagnostic and treatment issues (including behavioral and pharmaceutical management) will be addressed. Additional topics include: professional standards and the code of ethics governing all psychologists; psychometrics; and the history of neuropsychology. This course can be taken as a continuation of Introduction to Psychology, although it is not required.
Organic Chemistry in Modern Life (Spring) This course is designed with two goals in mind, one pragmatic and one philosophical. Pragmatically it will provide an absolutely invaluable foundation for further studies in the organic chemistry field, giving students a significant advantage at the beginning of any future course. Philosophically it aims to open an infinite world of discovery of complex molecules—their properties and reactions and applications—which hold the keys to confronting and solving the world’s most challenging, future scientific problems. The emphasis of the course is on stimulating interest in organic chemistry through an exploration of the molecules relevant to modern life. Students can use this course as a springboard for further learning and the beginning of a longer journey. Page 56 of 61
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Arabic I: Language Through Culture (Year) This full-year course will highlight Modern Standard Arabic and some of the spoken dialect of the Levant. With an emphasis on Arabic culture, students will learn commonly used expressions and phrases from the Levant area. Students will develop their skills in listening, reading, writing, forming grammatically correct structured sentences, and, most important, conversation. This will be accomplished through podcasts, videos, culture circle discussions, web conferencing, and collaborations in group projects. In addition, students will have direct conversations with native speakers of Arabic, through a virtual club called “Shu Fe Maa Fe,” where students are required to meet online with their assigned partner and learn about a certain cultural topic every week, such as traditional food, greetings, gestures, values, history and more. Since Arabic is becoming one of the most functional languages in the world, especially in the areas of commerce, business, and trade, students participating in this course can avail themselves of the opportunity to learn the language in a highly stimulating and rich cultural context.
Japanese I: Language Through Culture (Year) This full-year course is a unique combination of Japanese culture and language, weaving cultural comparison with the study of basic Japanese language and grammar. While examining various cultural topics such as literature, art, lifestyle and economy, students will learn the basics of the Japanese writing system (Hiragana and Katakana), grammar, and vocabulary. Through varied synchronous and asynchronous assignments, including hands-on projects and face-to-face communications, students will develop their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. The cultural study and discussion will be conducted in English, with topics alternating every two to three weeks. The ultimate goal of this course is to raise awareness and appreciation of different cultures through learning the basics of the Japanese language. The focus of this course will be 60 percent on language and 40 percent on culture. This course is appropriate for beginner-level students.
Genocide & Human Rights (Fall) Students in this course study several of the major genocides of the 20th century (Armenian, the Holocaust, Cambodian, and Rwandan), analyze the role of the international community in responding to and preventing further genocides (with particular attention to the Nuremberg tribunals), and examine current human rights crises around the world. Students will read primary and secondary sources, participate in both synchronous and asynchronous discussions with classmates, write brief papers, read short novels, watch documentaries and develop a human rights report card web site about a nation in the world of their choice.
This We Believe: Comparative Religions (Fall) A theme-based comparison of the world’s religions yields a deeper understanding both of the diversity of perspectives in our global population and of the truth that is within all traditions. Students in this course will develop a more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices, and learn to engage in effective and productive collaboration with peers around the world. After establishing a foundational knowledge of “the Big Five”—Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—we will then apply a thematic approach, exploring specific characteristics of religion through the lenses of various faith traditions.
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Gender Studies (Spring) This course uses the concept of gender to examine a range of topics and disciplines that might include: feminism, gay and lesbian studies, women’s studies, popular culture, and politics. Throughout the course students will examine the intersection of gender with other social identifiers: class, race, sexual orientation, culture, and ethnicity. Students will read about, write about, and discuss gender issues as they simultaneously reflect on the ways that gender has manifested in and impacted their lives.
Computer Programming I: Java (Year) This course teaches students how to write programs in the Java programming language. Students will develop problem solving and computational thinking skills framed by these questions: How do computers store information? How do they make intelligent decisions? How can they efficiently process large tasks? Students will learn the major syntactical elements of the Java language through object oriented design. The emphasis in the course will be on creating intelligent systems though the fundamentals of computer science. Students will write working programs through short lab assignments and more extended projects that incorporate graphics and animation. No previous computer programming knowledge is necessary.
Multivariable Calculus (Year) Multivariable Calculus will extend the principles and techniques of a first course in calculus to higher dimensions. Students will study vector algebra and functions, matrices, curves in space, arc length and curvature, and velocity and acceleration. This course is meant for students who successfully completed a first-year AP (or equivalent) calculus course. Students must be comfortable using or learning to use new technology.
Computer Programming I: Computational Thinking (Fall) In this one-semester course, students will learn some fundamental concepts that allow programmers to control the way a computer operates. There will be an introduction to the components of a computer, boundaries between hardware and software implementations, and differences among client-server, local, remote, and cloud computing. Students will explore the role of computers in society, business, entertainment, and academia. Hands-on technical concepts will be introduced through the development of some simple websites, so students will be exposed to HTML and JavaScript. Although there will be some programming exercises, this course is designed for students with no previous programming or coding experience.
Contest Mathematics (Fall) This course will cover the mathematics that arises on contests such as the AMC, AIME, USAMO, and Mandelbrot. Although the prerequisites are few, students are expected to be capable and enthusiastic problem solvers who are eager to apply their skills and creativity to a broad range of problems. Students will become more adept at solving math contest problems while learning the mathematics that underlies these problems. Potential topics include: combinatorics, number theory, geometry and trigonometry, and algebra and inequalities. Prerequisite: completion of Geometry or the equivalent. This course is recommended for students with some experience with math contests (such as the AMC).
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Linear Algebra Through Modern Applications (Fall) In this course you will learn about the algebra of vector spaces and matrices by looking at how images of objects in the plane and space are transformed in computer graphics. Some paper-and-pencil calculations will be done early in the course, but the computer software package Geogebra (free) will be used to do most of the calculating in the course. No prior experience with this software or linear algebra is necessary. This introduction is followed by looking at the analysis of social networks using linear algebraic techniques. Students will learn how to model social networks using matrices and to discover things about the network with linear algebra as your tool. We will consider applications like Facebook and Google. Prerequisites: completion of Geometry and Algebra 2 or the equivalents.
Computer Programming II: Advanced Java (Spring) This intensive course uses Java programming language to study programming methodology, algorithms, data structures, procedural and data abstraction, and object orientation. Advanced models for reasoning and solving problems are explored. Topics include number systems, Boolean operations, Control Flow, Looping, Classes and Methods, Arrays, ArrayLists, Recursion, Inheritance and Searching and Sorting. Emphasis is placed on the design, creation, and verification of proper algorithms and programs; on programming methodology, algorithms, and problem solving, providing students with a hands-on, end-to-end experience of structured, object-oriented programming. Prerequisite: Completion of an introductory Java course OR permission from the instructor.
Computer Programming II: Analyzing Data with Python (Spring) In this course, students will utilize the Python programming language to read, manipulate and analyze data. The course emphasizes using real world datasets, which are often large, messy, and inconsistent. The prerequisite for this course is familiarity with and hands-on experience using some high-order programming language, such as Java, C++, VisualBasic, or Python itself. Because of the powerful data structures and clear syntax of Python, it is one of the most widely used programming languages in scientific computing. There are a multitude of practical applications of Python in fields like biology, engineering, and statistics.
Game Theory (Spring) Do you play games? Ever wonder if you’re using “the right” strategy? What makes one strategy better than another? In this course, we’ll explore a branch of mathematics known as game theory, which answers these questions and many more. Game theory is widely applicable in the real world as we face dilemmas and challenges every day, most of which we can mathematically treat as games! We will consider significant global events like the Cuban Missile Crisis, Mandela’s rise in South Africa, or the rise of Nobel Peace Prize winner Sirleaf in Liberia from a math perspective. Specific mathematical ideas we’ll discuss include two person zero-sum games, utility theory, two-person non-zero-sum games, multi-player games, game trees, matrix algebra, linear optimization, and applications of game theory techniques to a plethora of real-world problems.
iOS App Design (Spring) Learn how to build apps for the iPod, iPhone, and iPad and publish them in the App Store. Students will work much like a small startup: collaborating as a team, sharing code, and learning to communicate with each other throughout the course. Students will learn the valuable skills of creativity, collaboration, and communication as they create something Page 59 of 61
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incredibly cool, challenging, and worthwhile.Note: For this course, it is required that students have access to a computer running the most current version of Mac OS X. An iOS device that can run apps (iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad) is also highly recommended.
9/11 in a Global Context (Fall) September 11, 2001, was a tragic day that changed the world in profound ways. In this course, students will explore the causes of 9/11, the events of the day itself, and its aftermath locally, nationally, and around the world. In place of a standard chronological framework, students instead will view these events through a series of separate lenses. Each lens will represent a different way to view the attacks and will allow students to understand 9/11 as an event with complex and interrelated causes and outcomes. Using a variety of technologies and activities, students will work individually and with peers to evaluate each lens. They will then explore the post-9/11 world and conclude the course by planning their own 9/11 memorial.
Applying Philosophy to Modern Global Issues (Fall) This is an applied philosophy course that connects pressing contemporary issues with broad-range philosophical ideas and controversies, drawn from multiple traditions and many centuries. Students will use ideas from influential philosophers to shed light on recent political events such as the global economic downturn and the sweeping revolutions of the Arab Spring, as well as new developments in fields as diverse as biology, cognitive science, and political theory. In addition to introducing students to the work of philosophers as diverse as Confucius and Martin Heidegger, this course also aims to be richly interdisciplinary, incorporating models and methods from diverse fields including history, journalism, literary criticism, and media studies.
Microeconomics (Fall) In this course, students will learn fundamental economic concepts, which will enable them to develop economic ways of thinking and problem-solving skills that they will be able to use in their lives – as consumers, savers, members of the work force, responsible citizens and effective participants in the global economy. Students will deepen their understanding of basic microeconomic theory through class discussion and debate, problem solving, and written reflection. Students will also engage in a stock market simulation. As a culminating activity, students will develop their own business proposals based on sound economic rationale and theory and “pitch” the idea to their classmates for venture capital funding.
Advocacy (Spring) This skills-based course will explore the creativity, effort, and diversity of techniques required to change people’s minds and motivate them to act. Students will learn how to craft persuasive arguments in a variety of formats (written, oral, and multimedia) by developing a campaign for change around an issue about which they care deeply. We will explore a number of relevant case studies and examples as we craft our campaigns. Units will include persuasive writing, social media, public speaking, informational graphics, and more. The culminating project will be a multimedia presentation delivered and recorded before a live audience.
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Comparative Politics (Spring) In 2012, the Economist issued a report entitled “Democracy at a Standstill”. This course uses the comparative model to ask students to consider whether democracy is in fact at a standstill, but more importantly, if and why we should care? By looking at current events, reading scholarly research, analyzing data, conducting personal interviews and engaging in a series of debates, students will constantly re-evaluate their own beliefs and understandings about how power should be distributed and utilized.
Energy (Spring) Students will develop a keen ability to analyze global energy issues. A historical and scientific exploration of fossil fuels gives students the foundation to tackle economic and environmental concerns related to traditional and alternative energy. Students do technical analyses of the rates of depletion of the reserves of major oil-producing countries, and investigate the motivations for an oil-producing nation to become a member of OPEC. Students will take sides in major energy debates on topics like “fracking” or the international movement of energy supplies. In their final project, students present to their peers on all key aspects of an alternative energy source, including technical and economic viability and environmental sustainability.
Macroeconomics (Spring) In this course students will study macroeconomic theory as it relates to domestic and global policies on employment, national income, government spending, and the impact of foreign spending on domestic economies and foreign exchange markets. Students will use real world events and data as case studies in order to develop a better understanding of the driving forces behind domestic and international macroeconomic markets. In the final portion of the course, students will have the opportunity to develop their own solutions to a local/global issue of their choice (such as poverty, environmental pollution, and limited access to education), based on their new understanding of macroeconomic theory.
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