Coding is a prerequisite for Senior year AP Computer Science. The eleventh grade coding elective focuses on coding in the Python programming language. We start the course by discussing how programming languages and compilers work. We then cover the essential building blocks of Python which are variables and data types, conditional statements (if, else-if statements) and loops (while, for, foreach, nested). We also discuss functions, strings, and lists which will provide us with most of the tools we need to write fairly powerful programs. In the second semester, we discuss various concepts of modern technology, computer and data science. The essential building blocks of Python covered in the second half of the year include lists, 2D lists, nested for-loops, dictionaries, and functions. Throughout the year, each concept is supplemented with multiple coding examples both in class and for homework. There are no quizzes or exams, but each semester there is a final project with a required presentation.

This course introduces students to the splendid variety of forms that poems and fiction may take. Students will write and submit ungraded work on a weekly basis and review each other’s drafts using the workshop model. They will respond to each other’s work vocally in class and sometimes in writing. They will explore different poetic forms by reading models of great poets, historical and contemporary, and review theories of the short story through the eyes of Edgar Allen Poe, Nataniel Hawthorne, Sherwood Anderson, Raymond Carver and more contemporary masters of the craft. Evaluation will be based on class participation, completion of weekly assignments in a timely manner, and submission of a final portfolio of 8-10 poems or 3 short stories–or some equivalent combination of the two.

The primary concern of cultural journalism is with the arts and creative work, and with the individuals, institutions and policies that make or enable that work. The arts are usually understood to include literature, visual arts, music, film, theatre and dance, photography, architecture and design. They cover both ‘high culture’ (many of the traditional art forms) and ‘popular culture’ (once known as folk art). Culture also extends to mass entertainment in the form of popular films, radio, television and computer games. A broader definition might include everything from gardening and gastronomy to urban planning and innovative tech startups.

The Junior music elective’s first quarter is built around a counting game. By the end of the quarter, students will be able to compose, notate and record a one-minute “name” piece. In the second quarter, the students will explore the roots of musical expression in Western Art Music from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. In the third quarter, students will learn how to compose and perform an original piece of music called a Fugue. In the final quarter, students will study Romanticism and music of the early 20th century. While the course is appropriate for all students regardless of level of experience, the course will provide groundwork for students interested in taking the senior honors music theory elective.

Life through the lens: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a photographer? Would you like to learn how to use studio lights or how to take photos with a “real” camera instead of just a phone? Sign up for the Photo elective and you’ll get to experience all of this and much more. Photographs are visual currency. They can be powerful tools for social change as well as artistic outlets for everyone. In this weekly class, we will learn how to see differently using our cameras (camera phones are fine too)! We will study famous photographs that have impacted our society and you’ll also make our own stunning images, which will be exhibited in the school and at Celebration of the Arts. We will learn basic photoshop and will work with both digital and traditional film photography, printing in the darkroom and on the gallery-quality inkjet printer.

Is it better to be unjust than just if you can get away with it? That's the central question of Plato's Republic, the foundational work of Western philosophy and undoubtedly one of the greatest of all philosophical texts. In this junior elective, we will work through Plato's Republic slowly over the course of the entire year. In the process, students will develop foundational skills of reading difficult philosophical texts and producing rational arguments in response to such questions as: What is justice? How should a society be organized? What is the appropriate relationship between men, women, and children? Is art and poetry good for us? What is the happiest form of life?

Robotics is an elective for students on the robotics team. They will use this class time to work on the robot and prepare for the various competitions throughout the year.

Theatre Arts examines the elements of playwriting, acting, directing, design, dance, movement, voice and speech. Students will learn how these elements are brought together within a process that ultimately leads to a live theatre production. The course will also analyze the function and meaning of theatre. This will strengthen the student’s understanding of the various personnel, equipment and disciplines that are required to produce a play. To meet these objectives, students in Theatre Arts will study some theatre history, archetypes in dramatic literature, the philosophy behind theatre movements, as well as participate in theatrical exercises, readings and class activities.