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OUR CURRICULUM
YOUR PASSION
FOCUS ON
FOCUS ON
International Relations
Medicine & Public Health AP BIOLOGY
STATISTICS
AP CHEMISTRY
AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT/ECONOMICS
INTRODUCTION TO STUDIO ART
INTRODUCTION TO CONVERSATIONAL ARABIC
ADVANCED TALMUD
CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
AP CALCULUS AB
COMPARATIVE RELIGIONS
CLASS, GENDER AND RACE / MEDIA & ADVERTISING
HISTORY OF THE SOVIET UNION
High school is a powerful time of exploration— when teenagers consciously shape their identities, cultivate new and existing passions, and become more defined versions of themselves. JCHS implements an academically challenging and developmentally appropriate curriculum that ensures exposure to areas of intellectual inquiry, aesthetic expression, spiritual development and physical exercise. Students generally maintain a minimum course load of seven courses in grades 9 through 11 and six courses in grade 12.
TYPICAL STUDENT SCHEDULE BY YEAR
GENETICS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
FILMMAKING
JEWISH ETHICS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE HUMANITIES
ELECTIVE COURSES THAT ALIGN WITH STUDENT AREAS OF INTEREST These are some examples of elective courses that might fit a student’s interest
FOCUS ON
Performing Arts
Exploration
Social Justice WORLD LANGUAGE
AP COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES CREATIVE WRITING PLAYWRITING AND SCREENWRITING DANCE MUSIC WRITING AND PRODUCTION ACTING I ACTING II AP ART HISTORY
SCULPTURE PSYCHOLOGY ASTRONOMY HEBREW CREATIVE WRITING DANCE POWER AND PERCEPTION ENGINEERING AND ROBOTICS HISTORY OF SAN FRANCISCO
MATH & SCIENCE
JEWISH STUDIES
FOCUS ON
To accommodate and empower more choices by its students, JCHS offers a range of elective courses. Those who wish can take a deeper dive into a given subject area about which they are passionate—for example, science or art, social justice, computer science—JCHS course offerings allow students to immerse themselves in what they want to learn while demonstrating to selective colleges and universities authentic academic depth.
9th GRADE
10th GRADE
11th GRADE
FROM ANCIENT TO MODERN: ARCHETYPES IN LITERATURE
MODERN WORLD LITERATURE
AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE
12th GRADE
AMERICAN LITERATURE OR
SENIOR SEMINAR: ENGLISH OR
US HISTORY
THE PAST IN THE PRESENT
AP ENGLISH LITERATURE
OR
AP US HISTORY
MATH YEAR 1
MATH YEAR 2
MATH YEAR 3
PHYSICS
CHEMISTRY
BIOLOGY
TANACH I
JS ELECTIVE
JEW IN THE MODERN WORLD
MISHNA & GEMARA
INTRODUCTION TO RABBINIC LITERATURE
YEAR 1
SENIOR SEMINAR: JEWISH THOUGHT OR
JEWISH THOUGHT HONORS JS ELECTIVE
YEAR 2
YEAR 3 *
UP TO 3 ELECTIVES
UP TO 3 ELECTIVES
PSYCHOLOGY WOMEN, SLAVES AND MINORS JEWISH ETHICS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS
V&P ARTS COURSE **
AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CLASS, GENDER AND RACE / MEDIA & ADVERTISING
ELECTIVES***
Electives are drawn from all departments
UP TO 1 ELECTIVE
UP TO 4 ELECTIVES
PHOTOGRAPHY OTHER REQUIREMENTS
FRESHMAN SEMINAR
* Two year-long courses through at least level three. Three years recommended. ** Students take a Visual & Performing Arts course during 9th or 10th grade.
*** Students typically take between 4-8 electives over their four years at JCHS. The number of electives changes year by year.
SENIOR KEYSTONE PROJECT
Math & Science
Humanities
6 CREDITS REQUIRED
6 CREDITS REQUIRED ENGLISH 4 CORE
HISTORY 2 CORE
Jewish Studies
World Language
Visual & Performing Arts
4 CORE 2 ELECTIVES
HEBREW OR SPANISH 2-3 CORE
1 CORE
6 CREDITS REQUIRED
SCIENCE 3 CORE
MATH 3 CORE
2-3 CREDITS REQUIRED
1 CREDIT REQUIRED
CORE FROM ANCIENT TO MODERN: ARCHETYPES IN LITERATURE MODERN WORLD LITERATURE AMERICAN LITERATURE
SENIOR SEMINAR IN ENGLISH
THE PAST IN THE PRESENT
US HISTORY
AP US HISTORY
ALGEBRA BC
PHYSICS CHEMISTRY
GEOMETRY ADVANCED
GEOMETRY
BIOLOGY
TANACH I INTRODUCTION TO RABBINIC LITERATURE
JEW IN THE MODERN WORLD
ALGEBRA II
AP LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION
MISHNA & GEMARA
PRE-CALCULUS AP LITERATURE & COMPOSITION
PRE-CALCULUS HONORS
SENIOR SEMINAR: JEWISH THOUGHT
HEBREW I
HEBREW ULPAN I
SPANISH I
INTRODUCTION TO STUDIO ART
ACTING I
HEBREW II
HEBREW ULPAN II
SPANISH II
PHOTOGRAPHY I
DANCE I
SPANISH III
PLAYWRITING & SCREENWRITING
MUSIC WRITING & PRODUCTION
HEBREW III HEBREW IV
SENIOR SEMINAR: JEWISH THOUGHT HONORS
HEBREW ULPAN III
HEBREW V
SPANISH IV AP SPANISH LANGUAGE & CULTURE
HEBREW VI STATISTICS
AP CALCULUS AB
HEBREW LITERATURE & LANGUAGE Ulpan: Ulpan is for students with documented language learning differences
ELECTIVES AP ART HISTORY
CREATIVE WRITING
AP BIOLOGY
AP PHYSICS
ADVANCED RABBINIC LITERATURE
ADVANCED TANACH & MEFARSHIM
AP COMPARATIVE GOV / ECONOMICS
HISTORY OF SAN FRANCISCO
AP CHEMISTRY
ASTRONOMY
ADVANCED TALMUD
AP EUROPEAN HISTORY
HISTORY OF THE SOVIET UNION
AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A
BIOTECHNOLOGY & GENETICS
PSYCHOLOGY
AP COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES
ENGINEERING & ROBOTICS
CLASS, GENDER & RACE / MEDIA & ADVERTISING IN MODERN AMERICA
AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
INTRODUCTION TO CONVERSATIONAL ARABIC
ACTING II
FILMMAKING
ADVANCED METHODS
ADVANCED PLAYWRITING & SCREENWRITING
PHOTOGRAPHY II
JEWISH ETHICS & SOCIAL JUSTICE
WOMEN, SLAVES & MINORS
AP MUSIC THEORY
PRINTMAKING
COMPARATIVE RELIGIONS
POWER & PERCEPTION
AP STUDIO ART
SCULPTURE
MISHNA & GEMARA
THE SHOAH
INTERMEDIATE STUDIO ART
TANACH II
CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
TANACH II ADVANCED
ENGAGING ISRAEL
= new courses for JCHS
JEWISH SPIRITUALITY
JCHSSignature
Programs
Signature programs at JCHS bring academic learning, student passions, community service and social justice into focus. JCHS offers a curriculum designed to prepare students to be active global citizens in a complex, diverse, and fast-paced world. For more information about each of these programs, go to jchsofthebay.org.
EVERLAB
With the inauguration last year of the EVERlab program, JCHS has piloted a groundbreaking hands-on integration lab, which uses the principles of design thinking to encourage students to coalesce their ideas about seemingly disparate subject areas.
FRESHMAN SEMINAR
Our freshman seminar helps students learn how to build relationships, make healthy decisions, manage stress, and improve executive functioning and study skills.
JOURNEYS
The JCHS Journeys combine learning with a multi-day experiential adventure designed to teach life lessons on the road.
SENIOR KEYSTONE PROJECT
The senior Keystone Project is a culminating educational exercise that provides students with the opportunity to design and implement a multi-faceted project on the topic of their choice, demonstrating the culmination of four years of learning at JCHS. Each senior then presents their Keystone Project to the school community.
TEFILLAH
Students begin each morning in a structured reflective setting. Tefillah options are selected by students quarterly. Options range from creative experiences to art, yoga to discussion, formal prayer to journaling.