Reading  and  Writing  New  York  City    Ms.  Saraceno  2014-­‐2015  

Course  Description:  This  course  investigates  the  ways  in  which  writers  and  other  artists  have  shaped  our  vision  of  New  York  City  from  its  origins  in  colonial  America  through  the  21st  century.  Although  the  course  will  begin  with  early  visionaries  like  Washington  Irving,  students  will  look  mainly  at  nineteenth  and  twentieth  century  authors  who  have  defined  what  it  means  to  be  a  New  Yorker  –  and  how  contentious  this  definition  has,  at  times,  become.  In  this  course,  we  will  attempt  to  read  a  city  that  is  famous  for  its  refusal  to  be  read,  exploring  the  premise  that  New  York  is  a  city  built  on  tensions  and  contrasts.  It  is  simultaneously  a  place  of  dissolution  and  resurgence,  greatness  and  squalor,  hope  and  despair,  and  countless  other  inconsistencies.  With  each  text  we  read,  we  will  ask  the  questions,  What  are  the  tensions  that  continually  drive  New  York  forward  and  make  it  impossible  to  pin  down?  How  have  these  tensions  shaped  a  mythology?  and  How  has  that  mythology  shaped  the  national  identity?  From  Walt  Whitman's  "Crossing  Brooklyn  Ferry,"  to  Stephen  Crane’s  Bowery,  Nella  Larsen’s  Harlem,  J.D.  Salinger’s  Upper  East  Side,  and  the  punk  rock  of  Patti  Smith,  students  will  explore  the  places,  people,  and  sounds  that  have  shaped  the  image  of  New  York.  In  addition  to  traditional  written  assessments,  students  should  expect  to  complete  a  project  after  spring  break  about  their  personal  New  York  that  may  require  a  significant  research  component.    

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  We  begin  our  studies  with  a  review  of  our  summer  reading  novel,  Let  the  Great  World  Spin,  which  establishes  one  of  the  lenses  with  which  we  will  read  all  other  works:  the  tension  between  public  and  private  lives  in  New  York  City.  This  will  lead  into  our  first  major  unit,  which  explores  the  mythology  of  New  York,  from  its  founding  story  to  the  romanticism  of  E.B.  White’s  classic  essay  “Here  is  New  York.”  From  there  the  course  will  take  a  largely  chronological  approach,  beginning  with  Royall  Tyler’s  The  Contrast,  exploring  what  it  means  to  be  a  New  Yorker  versus  a  New  Englander  and  an  American  versus  a  European.  In  our  studies  of  the  19th  century,  students  will  examine  the  works  of  Whitman  and  Melville  and  examine  how  the  rise  of  a  business  culture  created  alienation  and  angst.  We  will  end  the  semester  looking  at  two  sides  of  the  city,  Edith  Wharton’s  Gilded  Age  and  Stephen  Crane’s  Bowery.      In  the  second  semester,  students  will  begin  to  look  at  New  York  in  the  modern  era  through  E.L.  Doctorow’s  Ragtime.  We  will  examine  how  another  great  tension,  assimilation  and  diversity,  has  shaped  the  City  through  immigration.  This  tension  will  continue  to  be  explored  in  the  work  of  Harlem  Renaissance  writer  Nella  Larsen  and  in  the  works  by  a  variety  of  New  Woman  writers.  We  will  round  out  the  modern  era  with  Post-­‐World  War  II  works  by  J.D.  Salinger  and  the  Beats,  followed  by  the  birth  of  punk  rock  and  hip-­‐hop.  We  will  end  with  a  study  of  the  events  of  

September  11th  and  the  literary  response  to  it.  Throughout  the  course,  students  will  write  in  a  variety  of  genres,  including,  personal  reflection,  literary  analysis,  and  reader  response.      

Educational  Resources  Crane,  Stephen.  Maggie:  A  Girl  of  the  Streets  (Norton  Critical  Editions).  New  York:  W.W.  Norton  

&  Company,  1979.  Print.      Doctorow,  E.L.  Ragtime.  New  York:  Random  House,  2007.  Print.      Larsen,  Nella.  Passing  (Norton  Critical  Editions).  New  York:  W.W.  Norton  &  Company,  2007.  

Print.      McCann,  Colm.  Let  the  Great  World  Spin.  New  York:  Random  House,  2009.  Print.      McInerney,  Jay.  Bright  Lights  Big  City.  New  York:  Vintage,  1984.  Print.      Salinger,  J.D.  The  Catcher  in  the  Rye.  New  York:  Little,  Brown  &  Company,  1991.  Print.      Wharton,  Edith.  The  Age  of  Innocence  (Norton  Critical  Editions).  New  York:  W.W.  Norton  &  

Company,  2002.  Print.        

The  Short  Story  Ms.  Briggs  2014-­‐2015  

Course  Description:  The  short  story  genre  begins  in  the  nineteenth  century,  but  the  form—along  with  fabulist  elements—has  roots  in  the  oral  storytelling  of  Homer,  the  fables  of  Aesop,  and,  in  the  1800’s,  Grimm’s  Fairy  Tales.    In  this  course,  students  will  analyze  short  stories  from  the  literary  canon  alongside  more  contemporary  ones  in  order  to  explore  how  different  authors  have  re-­‐imagined  seemingly  mundane  aspects  of  everyday  life  and,  by  doing  so,  illuminated  extraordinary  truths  about  class,  race,  gender,  and  conflict.    During  class  discussions,  students  will  identify  and  discuss  how  authors  utilize  in  their  short  fiction  specific  narrative  elements—like  poetic  language,  fabulist  plots,  mythic/fairytale  archetypes,  and  improbable  points-­‐of-­‐views.    Students  will  be  encouraged  to  read  texts  closely  in  order  to  pinpoint  how  so-­‐called  realist  writers  also  delicately  color  their  stories  with  touches  of  the  unexplainable  or  even  the  magical  to  great  narrative  effect.    Alongside  more  traditional  writing  assignments  that  explore  the  short  story  genre  through  research  and  literary  analysis,  students  will  write  and  revise  several  stories  of  their  own  design.    Authors  include  Margaret  Atwood,  Amie  Bender,  Karen  Blixen,  Jorge  Luis  Borges,  Ray  Bradbury,  A.S.  Byatt,  Italo  Calvino,  Lydia  Davis,  William  Faulkner,  Edward  P.  Jones,  Franz  Kafka,  Richard  Kennedy,  Jhumpa  Lahiri,  Gabriel  Garcia  Marquez,  and  Cynthia  Ozick.        Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  We  begin  the  year  with  the  summer  reading  book,  Interpreter  of  Maladies,  by  Jhumpa  Lahiri.    After  discussing  the  text,  students  reread  select  passages  and  consider  how  Lahiri’s  use  of  specific,  realistic  details  subtly  communicates  the  subtext  of  each  short  story.    To  prepare  for  their  first  writing  assignment,  students  read  an  excerpt  from  Italo  Calvino’s  Invisible  Cities  and  compare  his  use  of  fabulist  elements  with  Lahiri’s  realistic  ones.    For  the  final  step  of  this  project,  students  create  and  revise  their  own  Invisible  City  using  Calvino’s  “Irene”  as  a  wellspring  of  inspiration.    With  this  introduction  to  realistic  and  fabulist  elements,  students  next  read  Tim  O’Brien’s  The  Things  They  Carried,  which  seamlessly  combines  fact  and  fiction  in  a  moving  collection  about  the  Vietnam  War  and  the  psychological  cost  for  its  veterans.    Podcasts,  brief  film  clips,  and  visual  art  supplement  O’Brien’s  book  as  well  as  help  students  visualize  the  conventional  features  of  the  short  story.  Following  The  Things  They  Carried,  students  will  read  a  selection  of  short  stories  written  by  a  wide  array  of  authors  include  in  Ann  Charters’  anthology  The  Story  and  Its  Writer:  An  Introduction  to  Short  Fiction.  For  this  portion  of  the  course,  students  will  continue  to  write  creatively  as  well  as  refine  the  thesis-­‐driven  essay  on  tests  and  papers.    Near  the  end  of  the  semester,  students  will  be  encouraged  to  submit  one  of  their  creative  assignments  to  the  2015  Scholastic  Art  and  Writing  Awards  (http://www.artandwriting.org/).    

The  second  semester  follows  the  short  story  as  it  develops  in  myriad  ways  throughout  the  twentieth  century.  Continuing  to  draw  from  the  Charters’  text,  students  will  spend  time  with  the  southern  gothic  literature  of  Flannery  O’Connor,  the  suburban  dsytopic  literature  of  Ray  Bradbury,  and  the  experimental  literature  of  Lydia  Davis  and  Ursula  K.  Le  Guin.    The  course  will  also  examine  Louise  Erdrich’s  short  story  cycle,  Love  Medicine,  which,  like  many  of  the  texts  for  the  course,  lends  itself  to  readings  about  gender,  race,  and  religion.    Educational  Resources:  Baxter,  Charles.  The  Art  of  Subtext:  Beyond  Plot.  Minneapolis:                                            Graywolf  Press,  2007.  Print.    Charters,  Ann.  The  Story  and  Its  Writer:  An  Introduction  to  Short  Fiction.                                        New  York:  Bedford/St.  Martin's,  2010.  Print.      Erdrich,  Louise.  Love  Medicine:  Newly  Revised  Edition.  New  York:  Harper                    

                                 Perennial,  2009.  

Lahiri,  Jhumpa.  Interpreter  of  Maladies:  Stories.  Boston:  Mariner  Books,  1999.  Print.  

 O’Brien,  Tim.  The  Things  They  Carried.  Boston:  Mariner  Books,  2009.                                            Print.  

   

The  Dangers  of  a  Single  Story    Dr.  Sabol    2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  In  this  course,  students  read  a  selection  of  writers  from  Africa  and  the  Caribbean.  These  writers  offer  a  corrective  to  a  single  story  that  has  often  been  told  about  these  two  regions  of  the  world  –  a  story  of  war  and  famine  that  the  Nigerian  novelist  Chimamanda  Ngozi  Adichie  has  called  dangerous  because  it  tells  only  part  of  a  much  more  complex  tale  of  people  and  place.  Course  texts  will  develop  and  challenge  this  single  story  with  insight  into  life  during  and  after  colonial  rule,  reflecting  on  the  consequences  of  accommodating  oneself  to  and  resisting  foreign  culture.  Students  read  stories  about  coming  of  age  in  Zimbabwe  and  Antigua,  adjusting  to  life  in  London  after  growing  up  in  Trinidad  and  Sudan,  and  seeing  one’s  homeland  overrun  with  tourists  from  foreign  places.  They  even  hear  from  the  madwoman  in  Rochester’s  attic  as  she  corrects  her  depiction  in  Charlotte  Bronte’s  Jane  Eyre.  Students  can  expect  to  complete  a  project  after  spring  break,  possibly  in  conjunction  with  the  foreign  languages  department.          Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  

We  begin  the  year  with  a  TED  Talk  by  Nigerian  novelist  Chimamanda  Ngozi  Adichie,  whose  reflections  on  the  dangers  of  the  single  story  give  this  course  its  name  and  inform  our  discussion  of  literature  throughout  the  year.  Her  video-­‐lecture  provides  us  with  a  lens  to  focus  our  analysis  of  two  summer  readings,  the  collaboration  between  American  Dave  Eggers  and  Sudanese  Valentino  Achak  Deng  called  What  is  the  What  and  Things  Fall  Apart  by  the  Nigerian  writer  Chinua  Achebe.  After  discussing  the  way  these  texts  challenge  stereotypical  views  of  African  life,  we  read  Jean  Rhys’  Wide  Sargasso  Sea,  a  book  that  sets  about  to  correct  the  depiction  of  the  Caribbean-­‐born  character  named  Bertha  in  Charlotte  Bronte’s  Jane  Eyre.  In  discussing  the  origins  of  her  madness,  we  pay  close  attention  to  issues  of  race,  class,  and  gender.  The  first  semester  closes  with  a  study  of  two  coming  of  age  stories:  Tsitsi  Dangarembga’s  Nervous  Conditions,  set  in  colonial  Rhodesia,  and  Jamaica  Kincaid’s  Annie  John,  set  in  Antigua.  Though  these  stories  depict  the  lives  of  girls  in  vastly  different  regions  of  the  world,  they  raise  similar  questions  about  the  struggle  for  personal  and  political  autonomy.      The  second  semester  begins  with  two  novels  whose  characters  leave  their  homelands  for  a  better  life  in  London,  yet  both  Sam  Selvon’s  comic  Lonely  Londoners  and  Tayeb  Salih’s  darkly  tragic  Seasons  of  Migration  to  the  North  depict  the  difficulties  of  assimilation  in  a  society  with  deep  misgivings  about  immigrants  from  its  former  colonies.  We  look  next  at  a  movement  in  the  opposite  direction,  one  taken  by  wealthy  tourists  to  the  beaches  of  the  Caribbean,  through  the  lens  of  Jamaica  Kincaid’s  personal  narrative  on  Antiguan  life  called  A  Small  Place.  A  documentary  on  Jamaica  called  Life  and  Debt,  by  filmmaker  Stephanie  Black,  brings  added  

depth  to  this  discussion.  The  year  concludes  with  South  African  writer  Nadine  Gordimer’s  dystopian  novel  July’s  People.      Throughout  the  year,  students  write  on  a  regular  basis,  completing  writing-­‐to-­‐learn  activities  that  prepare  them  for  more  formal  assessments,  such  as  essays  and  tests.  In  addition  to  these  traditional  measures,  students  also  complete  a  video-­‐poetry  project  in  response  to  a  Caribbean  poem  of  their  choice  and  other  creative  assignments  designed  to  close  the  distance  between  New  York  City  and  the  rest  of  the  world.  

Educational  Resources:  Achebe,  Chinua.  Things  Fall  Apart.  New  York:  Anchor,  1994.  Print.    Eggers,  Dave.  What  is  the  What:  The  Autobiography  of  Valentino  Achak  Deng.  New  York:  

Vintage,  2007.  Print    Dangarembga,  Tsitsi.  Nervous  Conditions:  A  Novel.  Banbury:  Ayebia  Clarke,  2004.  Print.    God  Grew  Tired  of  Us.  Dir.  Christopher  Quinn.  Perf.  John  Bul  Dau,  Panther  Bior,  Daniel  Abul  

Pach.  Sony  Pictures,  2007.  DVD.    Gordimer,  Nadine.  July's  People.  New  York:  Penguin,  1982.  Print.    Kincaid,  Jamaica.  Annie  John.  New  York:  Farrar,  Straus,  and  Giroux,  1997.  Print.    Kincaid,  Jamaica.  A  Small  Place.  New  York:  Farrar,  Straus,  Giroux,  1988.  Print.    Life  &  Debt.  Dir.  Stephanie.  Black.  Blaq  out,  2007.  DVD.    Rhys,  Jean.  Wide  Sargasso  Sea.  Ed.  Judith  L.  Raiskin.  New  York:  W.W.  Norton,  1999.  Print.    Ṣāliḥ,  Al-­‐Ṭayyib.  Season  of  Migration  to  the  North.  New  York:  New  York  Review  of  Books  

Classics,  2009.  Print.    Selvon,  Samuel.  The  Lonely  Londoners.  Essex:  Longman,  1987.  Print.    Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition: A Paradise Lost; The World before Us Elizabeth Stevens 2014-2015 Course Description This course treats a variety of literary genres, with a dual focus on the unique qualities of each genre and broader unities of characterization and theme. The students confront characters whose

perfect worlds are overturned, by themselves and by others, and who must then re-define their understanding of normalcy and humanity in a new context. Students encounter characters who struggle with their inner demons and hostile environments, extraordinary beings whose ambitions and personalities create conflict and chaos. These characters grapple with issues of identity and with conscience and guilt, all demonstrated in a selection of works across a wide range of times and cultures. Simultaneously, the course offers practice in close analysis of prose and poetry, in a deeper understanding of literary technique, and in the refinement of expository writing. Students write at least one essay for each of the works studied, either timed responses to AP-style prompts or 3-5 page critical analyses developed through a process-oriented approach. They write informally in almost daily focused free-writes and in journal responses that are often shared via online tools. They are also assessed through reading quizzes and tests in class. Topics of Investigation and Rationale: The Quest for a Paradise Lost (Drama and Epic) First semester begins with two summer reading books: John Steinbeck’s East of Eden and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town (which the upper school is also producing as the fall play). Students explore in these two iconic American texts the progression of love and loss across generations, which is rooted in a human experience that grates against normalcy, soars in its quest for greatness, and ultimately resides in the juxtaposition of good and evil, life and death. Steinbeck’s Cathy Ames and Wilder’s Emily Webb suggest the pivotal roles of both villain and victim, identities that will recur in a number of other works in the course; the Biblical foundations are also noted as key to interpretation. Both works offer, too, the backdrop of America’s own journey as a mirror to the ambitions and dreams of the characters; within this apparently traditional framework, students consider the authors’ own experiments with narration and engagement of the reader and audience. Students respond to in-class, timed prompts that define an area of study in each work and then have the opportunity to write, of their own choice, on an element of character, theme, or imagery that unites these two works. The former assessment employs the AP timed free-response questions (one on a work that leads to a “deeper understanding,” and the other on a character who searches for “meaning or personal identity”); the latter enables students to develop close analysis of text. The class reviews Barron’s guidelines for effective essay writing and discuss, here and throughout the year, the necessity of answering the questions asked, organizing logically, writing coherently, including relevant and specific supporting examples, and using effective transition words. Academic standards of appropriate diction, writing clarity, and correct punctuation apply in all types of writing, as more informal writing is a vehicle for the development of more sophisticated work at later times. Students share their work through peer review and discussion in class; in addition, throughout the year, students revise their draft work in response to corrections in order to hone such aspects of their writing as: variety of sentence structure and syntax, appropriate and compelling diction, and the seamless inclusion of supporting evidence through citation. My comments on their writing also aim at the establishment of each writer’s own voice – unique to her and appropriate to the assignment, the medium, and the intended audience – an integral element to the development of each student’s writing over the course of the year. The next work, Aristotle’s Poetics, establishes the ancient conventions of tragedy; this didactic work is coupled with Arthur Miller’s essay “Tragedy and the Common Man” for an introduction

to the evolution of theatrical conventions and characterization in the 20th century. Students read three plays that span the ancient to the modern stage: Aeschylus’ trilogy The Oresteia, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Each of these plays depicts the upheaval of an idyllic order – a patriarchal one at that – which challenges the characters to respond to and cope with the aftermath of acts that extend from the criminal to the ill advised. Students consider the strife between parents and children; the role of vengeance in destroying or restoring peace; and the need to define one’s own identity through action. Familial curses (the house of Atreus), visits by the supernatural (the ghost of Hamlet senior), and tensions posed by race and poverty provide additional contexts for the study of these characters’ struggles. From their reading of Aristotle’s treatise and Miller’s essay, students are asked in one writing assignment to gauge both the applicability and effectiveness of varying definitions of tragedy in relation to these three plays and to explore whether and how theatrical conventions or innovations enhance or limit a play’s artistic quality and appeal to the audience. Students explore how various elements of dramaturgy – the Greek chorus, Hamlet’s discursive soliloquys, or Hansberry’s extensive stage directions – complement the action of the characters. They write on each work through daily journal responses and online forum discussions; analyze imagery, figurative language, and diction in each play; and respond to AP-type prompts that elicit close reading (one example: “From a novel or play, identify a character who, regardless of the consequences, takes a significant risk of some kind. Then, in a well-organized essay, describe the risk and its motivation.”). The semester concludes with two epic tales: Beowulf and John Milton’s Paradise Lost. We review the epic genre, noting the use of blank verse for Milton, and shared epic conventions. Students read Seamus Heaney’s introduction to his translation of the Old English saga in order to understand the choices inherent in text renderings and the innate removal from the original work that results (true also of The Oresteia). Beowulf offers a hero who keeps chaos at bay for others and who conveys the fragile balance always present as he succumbs through time and eventual isolation to the threat in his own kingdom. In the context of the Anglo-Saxon world, students explore ongoing themes of vengeance, maternal love and violence, and role of wealth and status. Paradise Lost, the eponymous text for this semester’s study, introduces the original anti-hero through an exploration of Milton’s great tale of sin and revenge, which mines both classical and Judeo-Christian traditions as well as contemporary conflicts over political and religious hierarchy. Paraphrases of key passages encourage careful reading and close examination of Milton’s syntax and use of figurative language. In keeping with the themes of the term, reading focuses on Satan’s story, and the ensuing loss of Eden, as revealed in Books One through Five, Nine, and Ten. Writing prompts lead to an exploration of the character of Satan, his development, and Milton’s diminution of his status through the use of successive images; concomitantly, they note the parallel fall of man that differs in the possibility of redemption. Student writing focuses equally on imagery and theme. As their Winter Break reading (which falls before the end of the term in January), students explore Emily’s Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, offering them another Satanic figure in the character of Heathcliff. They record online notes on and responses to the identity of this Byronic hero, the loss of his Eden in Cathy, and the role of the narrators Nelly Dean and Lockwood in telling this gothic tale.

Topics of Investigation and Rationale: The World before Us (Poetry and Prose) The second semester opens with a mock-epic in the form of Alexander Pope’s “Rape of the Lock,” which posits the term’s theme of the role of the individual within the context of society, its norms and conventions. Students consider how Pope satirizes petty social skirmishes through their elevation to epic grandeur and how his poetic form – the heroic couplet and the canto – convey his content. As is the case in reading Milton, students learn to discern basic meaning in the text against a backdrop of a heavily allusive style. Students discuss tone and diction as vehicles for satire; they then also write a mini mock-epic of their own, drawing on the texts read earlier in the course. A focus on poetry continues with selected sections of Vendler’s Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology, especially those that review definitions and use of figurative language. Students are assigned poems from the anthology for individual in-class presentation; the range of poets included in the anthology and treated in this unit range from the 16th to the 21st century. They simultaneously keep a poetry journal in which they record responses to assigned reading and to contemporary poems published weekly in various literary magazines, including The New Yorker. The journals document their reactions to poetry and provide material for their own poetry writing. They write poems, inspired by class reading or personal experience, to be shared in class and/or proposed for Venturer, the school literary magazine. An in-class essay asks them to compare two sonnets (one by Wordsworth; the other by Shelley) in terms of structure, imagery, and meaning. The poetry study culminates with an essay-form explication of a poem, chosen from a selection provided in class, requiring discussion of meaning, form, figurative language, sound devices, and theme. These explications are developed in class-time sessions of peer editing and teacher commentary, and they are polished and finished at home. Students return to the genre of satire through Jane Austen’s Persuasion, a novel in which the heroine must resist the advice of others in order to find her own happiness. Students explore the narrator’s voice and satiric style as she lays bare the mores and strictures of early 19th century England, particularly as they pertain to the topics of marriage and mobility within society. Students keep notes in their daily reading journal on a work that reflects both the expectations of the past and the possibility of a new future: the rise of self-made men such as Captain Wentworth, the freedom of women such as Anne Elliot to choose when and whom to marry, and the limitations of a social milieu ever enforcing a status quo of hierarchy and appearances. An in-class quotation test asks students to demonstrate Anne’s growing self-awareness and identity through her interactions with other female characters in the novel; students are asked to identify the context of each quotation, the values or points of view of the character that is described, and how the interaction with this character helps define Anne Elliot’s own sense of self in the novel. The next novel, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, continues the theme of the self within the context of society as students explore the main character Okonkwo’s journey as a result of his own actions and the changes wrought by others. The clash between tradition and innovation – between the world of a Nigerian people and that of European colonists – challenges Okonkwo to define himself as a man and as a leader; students compare this protagonist’s responses when confronted with new facets of culture and belief to those of other characters in texts read earlier who also must embrace or resist the norms of society, as they are and as they shift. In their

writing, students note elements of diction and setting that define this work and explore the point of view of the narrator in conveying the overarching sense of disconnect and loss. As a Spring Break assignment, students read Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss and record notes on one of the following topics: the significance of settings as distinct as the Himalayas and New York; the preservation or loss of identity (in two characters of choice) in a post-colonial world; or the use of various traditions and mores throughout the novel to connote one culture or another. Upon their return to class in April, students assess the overall tone of the work and whether it ultimately produces a sense of hope or despair (judging, too, in this context the applicability of Miller’s comments on the “…belief – optimistic, if you will, in the perfectibility of man”). The last book read as a class is James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, reflecting a more contemporary exploration of guilt and alienation. Students keep a dialectic notebook in which they record impressions, especially on imagery that conveys the protagonist’s increasing isolation, self-denial, and inner decay. Setting is once again key: students explore the possibilities posed by an expatriate life that defies American norms. Continuing the theme of the term, students write, through an AP-style prompt, on the impact of societal constructs on the development and articulation of the individual. The course ends with student choice of two works: Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises or Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony. Both texts address the impact of war and violence and the supposed return to normalcy in the aftermath of military service and sacrifice. Noting how the characters in these novels seek solace in dissolution or ritual, students share via online forum discussion specific passages from the texts that both mine the differences in context and character and those that convey the unities of human suffering and restoration. Students design the prompts that are used for an in-class writing test. Upon conclusion of their reading, students prepare a summary document of ten texts to prepare for the AP test: they review the major characters; key plot points; compelling choices of imagery, setting, and narration; and themes that render these works suitable to a variety of questions for critical analysis. Throughout the second semester, students self-administer practice tests and ask questions about their responses in class. Students enrolled in the course are required to sit for the AP English Literature and Composition Examination in May. Educational Resources: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1994. Print. David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, eds. Aeschylus II: The Oresteia: Agamemnon,

The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides, Proteus (Fragments). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013. Print.

Aristotle. Poetics. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 1997. Print. Austen, Jane. Persuasion. New York: Penguin Group, 2003. Print. Baldwin, James. Giovanni’s Room. New York, NY: Delta Trade Paperbacks, 2000. Print. Desai, Kiran. The Inheritance of Loss. New York: Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 2006. Print. Ehrenhaft, George. AP English Literature and Composition. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, 2008. Print. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Print. Heaney, Seamus, trans. Beowulf. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. Print. Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 2006. Print.  Miller, Arthur. “Tragedy and the Common Man.” New York Times: Books. 14 September,

2014. http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/12/specials/miller-common.html. Milton, John. Paradise Lost and Other Poems. New York: Signet Classics, 2011. Print. Pope, Alexander. The Rape of the Lock and Other Poems. New York: Signet Classics, 2012. Print. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: The Folger Shakespeare Library, 2012. Print. Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York: Penguin Books, 1986. Print. Vendler, Helen. Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. New York:

Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2009. Print. Summer Reading and Outside Reading: Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Penguin Group, 2009. Print. Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Print. New York: Penguin Group, 2003. Print. Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. Various editions.

Wilder, Thornton. Our Town. Various editions.    

   

Pre-­‐Calculus  Ms.  Weber  2014-­‐2015    Course  Description:  This  course  extends  the  concepts  of  algebra  and  coordinate  geometry  and  prepares  students  for  the  study  of  calculus  or  statistics.  In  the  first  semester,  students  engage  in  an  in-­‐depth  study  of  the  numerous  applications  of  trigonometric  functions,  identities,  and  equations.    In  the  second  semester,  students  delve  into  the  exploration  of  functions.    In  both  semesters,  students  are  expected  to  interpret  and  represent  functions  algebraically,  numerically,  and  graphically.    

 Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  The  Honors  Pre-­‐Calculus  course  has  two  main  parts  –  Trigonometry  and  the  study  of  Pre-­‐Calculus  topics.        

Students  will  begin  the  first  semester  by  diving  in  to  the  study  of  trigonometry.    From  its  early  uses  building  pyramids  in  Egypt  and  measuring  distances  between  planets  to  its  current  applications  in  almost  every  branch  of  science  from  optics  and  acoustics  to  radio  transmission,  trigonometry  is  a  rich  and  exciting  subject  of  study.      Their  investigation  will  start  with  the  introduction  of  radian  measure  and  the  unit  circle  as  a  foundation  upon  which  to  develop  a  definition  of  the  six  trigonometric  functions.        They  will  then  explore  topics  in  analytic  trigonometry  including  the  graphs  of  the  six  trigonometric  functions  and  their  inverses.    Next  they  will  move  on  to  study  many  applications  of  trigonometry,  work  on  proving  trigonometric  identities  and  solving  trigonometric  equations.    

The  second  semester  will  focus  on  functions  including  exponential  and  logarithmic  functions,  and  polynomial  and  rational  functions.      Exploring  functions  is  a  means  to  solidifying  the  algebraic  framework  required  for  further  study  of  mathematics  and  to  understanding  growth  and  the  relationships  between  variables,  equations,  graphs  and  the  mathematic,  scientific,  and  natural  conditions    described  by  functions.    Students  will  further  explore  functions  with  an  emphasis  on  critical  thinking,  conceptual  understanding,  and  constructing  arguments  to  support  mathematical  claims.    The  year  will  conclude  studying  sequences  and  then  move  on  to  permutations,  combinations  and  probability.    

The  course  as  whole  will  have  a  strong  focus  on  conceptual  understanding,  problem  solving,  and  discussion.    The  students  will  be  expected  to  justify  their  mathematical  ideas  both  orally  and  in  writing.      

Assignments  and  Assessments:  Assignments  will  include  sets  of  problems,  explorations  with  technology,  and  weekly  cumulative  review  assignments.    Assessments  will  include  problem  sets,  cumulative  reviews,  and  in-­‐class  tests  and  quizzes.    The  students  will  take  a  cumulative  test/exam  in  January  and  a  cumulative  test/exam  in  May.      

 

Grades  will  be  based  on  cumulative  points.    Quizzes  will  count  for  approximately  30%,  graded  homework  for  approximately  15%,  tests  for  approximately  50%,  and  participation  for  approximately  5%.    Projects  as  assigned  will  be  categorized  as  a  quiz  or  test,  depending  on  the  scope.  

Educational  Resources:  • All  required  course  material  will  be  posted  on  MyHewitt.  • Every  student  has  access  to  a  book  for  her  own  use  in  class  which  she  is  not  required  to  take  

home  and  may  take  home  as  long  as  has  it  in  class  each  day.    These  books  are  property  of  the  school.    Precalculus  with  Limits;  Larson,  Hostetler,  Edwards;  Fifth  Edition,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company;  2008.  

Required  Materials:  • Graphing  paper  or  notebooks.  • Pencils,  eraser,  and  collared  pencils.  • Straight  edge.  • TI-­‐84  graphing  calculator.  • Laptop  with  Geometer’s  Sketch  Pad  (license  issued  by  the  school).    No  other  programs  or  

application  will  be  open  during  class  unless  otherwise  instructed.  

Course  Agreements:  • Punctuality  • Preparation  • Growth-­‐oriented  Mindset  • Resepct  

 

Honors  Pre-­‐Calculus  Ms.  Kornblatt  2014-­‐2015    Course  Description:  This  course  extends  the  concepts  of  algebra  and  coordinate  geometry  and  prepares  students  for  the  study  of  calculus  or  statistics.  In  the  first  semester,  students  engage  in  an  in-­‐depth  study  of  the  numerous  applications  of  trigonometric  functions,  identities,  and  equations.    In  the  second  semester,  students  delve  into  the  exploration  of  functions.    In  both  semesters,  students  are  expected  to  interpret  and  represent  functions  algebraically,  numerically,  and  graphically.    This  course  introduces  the  concepts  of  continuity  and  limits  and  is  a  prerequisite  for  the  Advanced  Placement  Calculus  course.    

 Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  The  Honors  Pre-­‐Calculus  course  has  two  main  parts  –  Trigonometry  and  the  study  of  Pre-­‐Calculus  topics.        

Students  will  begin  the  first  semester  by  diving  in  to  the  study  of  trigonometry.    From  its  early  uses  building  pyramids  in  Egypt  and  measuring  distances  between  planets  to  its  current  applications  in  almost  every  branch  of  science  from  optics  and  acoustics  to  radio  transmission,  trigonometry  is  a  rich  and  exciting  subject  of  study.      Their  investigation  will  start  with  the  introduction  of  radian  measure  and  the  unit  circle  as  a  foundation  upon  which  to  develop  a  definition  of  the  six  trigonometric  functions.        They  will  then  explore  topics  in  analytic  trigonometry  including  the  graphs  of  the  six  trigonometric  functions  and  their  inverses.    Next  they  will  move  on  to  study  many  applications  of  trigonometry,  work  on  proving  trigonometric  identities  and  solving  trigonometric  equations.    

The  second  semester  will  focus  on  topics  that  will  prepare  students  for  the  study  of  Calculus  the  following  year.    They  will  begin  with  studying  sequences  and  then  move  on  to  permutations,  combinations  and  probability.    To  solidify  the  algebraic  framework  for  the  study  of  Calculus,  students  will  further  explore  functions  with  an  emphasis  on  critical  thinking,  conceptual  understanding,  and  constructing  arguments  to  support  mathematical  claims.    The  year  concludes  with  a  chapter  on  limits,  where  students  conclude  their  preparation  for  calculus.      

The  course  as  whole  will  have  a  strong  focus  on  conceptual  understanding,  problem  solving,  and  discussion.    The  students  will  be  expected  to  justify  their  mathematical  ideas  both  orally  and  in  writing.    Assessments  will  include  collaborative  problem  sets  and  in-­‐class  tests  and  quizzes.      

The  students  will  take  a  cumulative  midterm  in  January  and  a  cumulative  final  in  May.    These  assessments  will  be  worth  the  same  as  two  in  class  test  grades.  

Educational  Resources:  • Sullivan,  Michael,  Precalculus,  2012,  Boston:    Pearson  Prentice  Hall  

 

AP  Calculus  Ms.  Brennan  2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  The  material  in  this  course  follows  closely,  but  is  not  limited  to,  the  guidelines  of  the  Advanced  Placement  Calculus  AB  syllabus.  Following  a  short  review  of  functions,  trigonometry,  and  graphing,  the  concept  of  a  limit  and  the  definition  of  a  derivative  are  introduced.  The  theory  and  techniques  of  differential  calculus  are  developed  and  applied  to  topics  including  optimization  techniques,  related  rates,  and  the  study  of  change  in  physics,  economics,  and  life  science  models.  Numerical  approximation  methods  and  integration  techniques  are  applied  to  the  contexts  of  areas,  volumes,  and  rectilinear  motion,  again  from  both  theoretical  and  mechanical  perspectives.  The  distinctions  between  anti-­‐

derivatives,  definite  integrals,  and  improper  integrals  are  addressed.    Students  take  the  AP  Calculus  AB  examination  in  May.  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  The  two  major  concepts  of  single  variable  calculus  are  the  derivative  and  the  integral.    The  first  semester  of  Calculus  is  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  derivative  and  its  many  applications.    To  solidify  the  algebraic  framework,  students  will  begin  with  a  review  of  functions  that  emphasizes  critical  thinking,  conceptual  understanding,  and  constructing  arguments  to  support  mathematical  claims.    After  this  brief  review  they  will  tackle  the  concept  of  limits  and  delve,  for  the  first  time,  into  the  realm  of  infinity.    From  this  foundational  work  in  how  functions  behave,  they  will  begin  to  look  at  rates  of  change  and  the  derivative.    We  will  derive  the  basic  derivative  functions  and  work  on  curve  sketching  to  see  how  a  function  and  its  derivatives  are  related.    They  will  then  begin  looking  at  the  many  applications  of  the  derivative  including  connections  to  Geometry,  Physics,  and  Economics  (to  name  a  few).      

The  second  semester  of  Calculus  focuses  on  the  integral,  which  is  loosely  defined  as  the  inverse  of  the  derivative.    This  semester  will  begin  by  finding  indefinite  integrals  by  using  this  inverse  relationship.    The  class  turns  its  attention  to  the  definite  integral  and  its  wide-­‐reaching  applications.      Students  will  work  with  finding  the  area  under  a  curve  and  the  volume  of  rotational  solids.    Here  they  will  derive,  for  the  first  time  in  the  students’  mathematical  careers,  the  area  of  a  circle  and  the  volume  of  a  cone,  cylinder  and  sphere.        

The  course  as  whole  will  have  a  strong  focus  on  conceptual  understanding,  problem  solving,  and  discussion.    The  students  will  be  expected  to  justify  their  mathematical  ideas  both  orally  and  in  writing.    They  will  need  to  interpret  data  in  many  forms  and  use  functions  to  model  real  world  situations.    Assessments  will  include  collaborative  problem  sets  and  in-­‐class  tests  and  quizzes.      

The  students  will  take  a  cumulative  exam  in  April  as  preparation  for  the  AP  Calculus  Examination  in  May.  

Educational  Resources:  • Single  Variable  Calculus  AP  Edition  by  James  Stewart  • http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/2178.html  

 

   

Advanced  Problem  Solving  and  Mathematical  Modeling  Ms.  Brennan  2014-­‐2015  

 

Course  Description:  This  is  a  course  in  undergraduate  level  mathematical  problem  solving  and  modeling.  The  course  will  begin  by  delving  into  common  problem-­‐solving  techniques  employed  frequently  by  professional  mathematicians.  The  course  will  then  tackle  introductory  topics  in  undergraduate  level  mathematics  by  examining  both  standard  and  non-­‐standard  problems  in  each  domain.  Students  will  learn  not  only  to  solve  problems,  but  how  to  construct  a  convincing  argument  for  their  solution.  These  undergraduate  topics  may  include  Logic,  Discrete  Mathematics,  Graph  Theory,  Combinatorics,  Number  Theory,  Geometry,  and  Calculus.  The  focus  of  this  course  is  to  develop  the  critical  thinking  and  analysis  skills  that  will  prepare  students  for  a  broad  range  of  undergraduate  level  mathematics  courses  and  for  their  future  professional  lives.  This  course  will  put  the  skills  learned  in  all  previous  mathematics  courses,  and  in  this  one,  to  true  mathematical  practice.  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  This  course  is  designed  to  give  students  a  strong  foundation  in  problem  solving  and  interpreting  and  expressing  mathematical  ideas  both  in  writing  and  orally.    The  first  semester  will  begin  by  giving  the  students  the  mathematical  language  and  notation  necessary  to  create  a  mathematical  argument.    This  will  lead  briefly  to  the  world  of  logic  where  the  students  will  begin  to  speak  and  write  as  mathematicians.    They  will  learn  how  to  write  an  argument  using  contradiction,  contrapositive,  and  by  cases.    Once  they  have  their  methods  of  arguments,  they  will  begin  looking  at  undergraduate  Number  Theory.    Number  Theory  is  the  study  of  the  Natural  Numbers  (positive  whole  numbers)  and  is  a  good  beginning  for  problem  solving  because  the  problems  are  easily  stated,  though  not  easily  solved!    They  will  look  at  primes,  divisibility,  and  modular  arithmetic.    They  look  at  some  classic  problems,  some  that  have  stumped  the  mathematical  community  for  centuries,  some  new  problems,  and  some  problems  written  by  the  girls  themselves.      

In  the  second  semester,  students  will  tackle  four  mathematical  concepts  that  lead  to  a  wealth  of  robust  problems.    These  principles  are  the  counting  principle,  the  pigeon-­‐hole  principle,  the  principle  of  mathematical  induction,  and  the  well-­‐ordering  principle.    Each  of  the  principles  is  foundational  to  many  branches  of  mathematics  and  can  be  easily  stated.    What  is  truly  surprising  is  that  while  they  sound  very  different,  they  are  mathematically  equivalent!    After  we  have  studied  each  of  these  principles  and  the  surprising  places  they  show  up,  we  will  end  the  year  by  proving  their  equivalence!      

This  course  is  designed  to  introduce  the  students  to  the  beautiful  world  of  advanced  mathematics.    This  course  will  challenge  the  students’  perceptions  on  mathematics.    They  will  be  asked  to  solve  problems  in  a  multitude  of  ways,  to  make  claims  and  to  justify  these  claims  mathematically!    They  will  analyze  many  common  heuristics  and  the  appropriate  places  to  employ  them.      

Educational  Resources:  • The  Art  and  Craft  of  Problem  Solving  by  Paul  Zeitz    • How  to  Solve  It  by  George  Polya    • The  Mathematical  Modeling  Handbook  published  by  Comap  

 

   

Discrete  Mathematics  and  Statistics  Mr.  Burgess  2014-­‐2015  Course  Description:  The  course  will  take  an  in-­‐depth  look  at  numeracy.    How  to  read,  describe,  and  analyze  the  numbers  that  surround  us  will  be  studied  in  depth.    The  students  will  learn  how  to  gather,  organize,  and  represent  data  in  a  multitude  of  ways.    They  will  decide  which  representation  is  best  for  the  particular  goal  they  have.    They  will  discuss  how  the  different  representations  of  the  data  each  tell  a  slightly  different  story.    Students  will  design  their  own  studies,  collect  their  own  data,  and  choose  a  representation  to  present  to  the  class.    There  will  be  a  critical  examination  of  how  statistics  can  be  used  and  manipulated  to  achieve  intended  goals  and  claims.      

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  This  course  begins  the  year  with  an  examination  into  how  data  is  collected  and  displayed  in  preparation  for  later  investigations  into  analysis  and  inference.    Students  examine,  interpret,  and  create  histograms,  stem-­‐and-­‐leaf  plots,  box-­‐plots,  and  number  summaries  as  a  means  to  sort  and  organize  statistical  data.    Students  are  expected  to  be  able  to  recognize  the  merits  and  shortcomings  of  each  manner  of  collecting  data  and  to  be  able  to  determine  when  each  is  most  appropriately  used.    Students  then  begin  an  examination  of  the  methods  statisticians  use  to  collect  data  for  research.    Attention  is  given  to  surveys,  observational  studies,  experiments,  and  other  methods  of  data  collection.    Students  are  encouraged  to  think  critically  and  skeptically  about  how  statistics  are  presented  and  manipulated  by  the  media.      

Throughout  the  course  students  will  focus  on  numeracy  and  how  to  manipulate  and  interpret  the  numbers  surrounding  us.    The  reasonableness  of  the  solutions  will  be  discussed  at  length.    They  will  begin  looking  at  topics  in  discrete  mathematics  that  will  include  graph  theory.    Basic  Number  Theory  will  also  be  examined.    The  students  will  have  a  firm  foundation  that  will  prepare  them  as  they  move  forward  in  their  mathematical  careers.      

Educational  Resources:  • Moore,  David  S.  The  Basic  Practice  of  Statistics.  New  York:  W.H.  Freeman  and,  2000.  Print.  • Paulos,  John  A.  "Beyond  numeracy."  (1992).  • Paulos, John Allen. Innumeracy: Mathematical illiteracy and its consequences. Macmillan, 1988. • Texas  Instruments  TI-­‐84+  Graphing  Calculator  

 

AP  Human  Geography  

Nancy  Gallin  2014-­‐2015    Course  Description:  This AP class meets and exceeds the requirements of the College Board. Students understand and master issues in the variety of disciplines that comprise human geography. Those include but are not limited to geographical and spatial patterns; agriculture, agribusiness and rural land use policies; landscape and landscape architecture; resource and energy development and sustainability; culture, politics, and historical setting; climate, environment, and topography; economics, business finance, and urban planning; demographics and medical geography; statistics; and strategic planning and risk assessment.

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale: Students become familiar with and adept at looking at the world differently. They are introduced to both categories and methods of assessment of knowledge that are quite new to them, such as housing patterns, agricultural practices geared to regional and cultural determinants, theoretical questions such as possibilism, power structures based on wealth and gendered culture, the north/south split, and economic models of growth, to name just a few. In addition to learning new ways of thinking, talking, and writing about topics they have never examined (What is swidden agriculture? Where do we see business agglomeration in Manhattan? Where are break-of-bulk points usually located? Do natural resources determine national wealth?), students must master many models of assessment, so this course requires both vigorous thinking as well as memorization. Essays written in human geography differ from those students are used to and are much more practice-driven; they may include bullet points instead, for example, of exclusively narrative explanations. One of the most important goals of the course is to give students the sense of elation that derives from how much they know about the world and how eager they are to participate  in forming it.    

Assignments  and  Assessments:  Students are expected to consult MyHewitt daily for assignments, test schedule posting, links, and downloads of important and relevant material. Assessments of various kinds occur about every 2-3 weeks or following units. In preparation for the AP exam (Friday, May 15, 8 am), many of the tests are in the multiple choice question format; other assessment types are essays, presentations, and a field study project in the spring.

Participation, including attendance in class, contributes 5% to the grade for each term, and a participation rubric in available on the MyHewitt human geography site. Students meet

approximately 3 times each term to discuss their participation and examine their achievement level in that category.

 

Educational  Resources:  James M. Rubenstein. The Cultural Landscape, An Introduction to Human Geography Howard Veregin, Editor. Goode’s World Atlas, Twenty-Second Edition Barron’s AP Human Geography

Students are expected to access information from the following (among others): agencefrancepresse.com lemonde.fr lefigaro.fr aljazeera.com bbc.com bloomberg.com cntv.cn earth.columbia.edu economist.com ft.com haaretz.com

Course  Agreements:  Students should consult the participation rubric.

 

Southwest  Asia  and  The  Islamic  World  Carey  Jackson  2014-­‐2015    Course  Description:  This regional studies course explores Southwest Asia and the Islamic world from the 6th to the 21st century. The peoples of this region have been deeply engaged in the global histories of empire, trade, and the transmission of ideas and the arts during a period spanning fifteen centuries, so areas ranging from North Africa to Indonesia are highlighted as they interact thematically. The course includes political history, but its focus is on changing social, cultural,

intellectual, and economic processes within societies and patterns of interaction with other societies. The second part of the course focuses particularly on regional case examples from contemporary Judaic and Islamic worlds. Students apply their findings through project-based case studies, real world investigations, and creation of multi-media projects.  

 Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  Students are continually bombarded with images and stereotypes about the part of the world known as the “Middle East.” They should expect to think analytically and challenge assumptions of the Euro-American worldview to form a more multi-faceted understanding of this historically-rich and complex region. This course will first delve into the history of Southwest Asia, ancient civilizations, and the birth of Judaism and Christianity, followed by the rise of a Islamic world system. Then students will study the subsequent wave of European expansion and colonization in the area in order to examine its impact on Middle Eastern nationalism and revolution. The second half of the course allows students to develop their own questions and create projects centering on current issues in regions such as Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Students will engage with primary sources, various texts, guest speakers, film, and contemporary media coverage on a regular basis, as well as visit relevant museums and cultural centers in New York City. By the conclusion of the course, students be equipped to begin to parse and disassemble common tropes about this complicated region. One of the most important goals of the course is to give students a foundational knowledge that will allow them to think and participate in discourse as informed and confident citizens.  

Assignments  and  Assessments:  Students are expected to consult MyHewitt daily for assignments, test schedule posting, links, and downloads of important and relevant material. Major assessments of various kinds occur about every month or following units. Assessments may take the form of quizzes, tests, in-class essays, or projects and papers created at home. Participation, including attendance in class, contributes 5% to the grade for each term, and a participation rubric in available on the MyHewitt History site. Students meet approximately 3 times each term to discuss their participation and examine their achievement level in that category.  

Educational  Resources:  Christopher Catherwood. A Brief History of the Middle East Francis Robinson. The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Islamic World Students are also expected to access information from MyHewitt attachments and online articles.

Course  Agreements:  Students should consult the syllabus and the participation rubric.  

 

Anatomy  Ms.  Wolf  2014-­‐2015  Course  Description:    

The  Anatomy  elective  focuses  on  health  and  disease  in  the  human  body,  and  is  approached  from  a  medical  standpoint.  Students  first  learn  how  each  body  system  works  in  times  of  health,  and  then  learn  to  apply  this  knowledge  to  diagnose  disorders  and  interpret  case  histories.  Students  make  doctor/patient  presentations,  and  group  projects  on  specific  disorders  are  assigned.  The  year  culminates  in  a  surgery  project  for  which  students  create  dynamic  presentations  which  may  include  interviews  with  health  professionals,  patients,  or  the  creation  of  a  video.  All  topics  are  reinforced  with  appropriate  lab  work,  including  several  dissections.  In  addition  the  class  observes  a  cardiac  surgery  or  neurosurgery  via  video  conferencing  at  the  Liberty  Science  Center,  and  specialists  such  as  dermatologists  visit  the  class  to  talk  to  the  students  about  their  specialty.  

 

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:    

This  course  is  designed  for  students  who  are  interested  in  human  anatomy  and  possibly  a  career  in  the  medical  field.  Because  each  chapter  first  discusses  a  particular  body  system  and  then  discusses  disorders  related  to  that  system,  students  get  a  clear  understanding  of  human  physiology  and  are  now  able  to  appreciate  that  the  breakdown  of  normal  integration  of  form  and  function  is  the  basis  for  many  disease  processes.  

In  the  first  semester  students  learn  the  medical  terms  for  the  anatomical  position,  directions,  and  body  planes.    The  Integumentary  System,  Muscular  System,  and  Skeletal  System  are  studied.  Labs  are  performed  once  per  week,  giving  the  students  the  opportunity  to  observe  the  interrelationship  between  physiology  and  function.  For  example,  bones  and  muscles  from  a  chicken  are  identified  to  see  how  they  work  together.  In  past  years  a  parent,  who  is  a  dermatologist  has  made  a  presentation  to  the  students,  focusing  on  the  dangers  of  UVB  and  UVA  rays.  

The  second  semester  includes  several  dissections,  as  the  Nervous  system,  the  Senses,  and  the  Circulatory  System  are  explored.  Students  become  skilled  at  dissection  and  following  written  instructions.  Other  lab  work  (ex.  labs  on  the  senses)  focuses  on  investigations  requiring  critical  thinking.  The  lab  work  culminates  in  a  dissection  of  the  fetal  pig,  which  is  done  as  a  forensic  lab  and  requires  students  to  determine  the  “cause  of  death.”        

Assessments  for  this  course  include  tests,  lab  reports,  several  projects,  and  lab  identification  tests.  

Educational  resources:    

• Text-­‐  The  Human  Body  in  Health  and  Disease-­‐  Thibodeau  Patton  • news  articles  containing  updated  information  about  a  disorder  or  new  treatments  

for  disorders  •  class  visits  by  people  in  the  medical  field    • surgery  at  Liberty  Science  Center  

 

 

AP  Biology  Ms.  Morton  2014-­‐2015      

Course  Description:  This  advanced  placement  biology  course  is  the  equivalent  of  an  university-­‐lelve  introductory  biology  course,  and  prepares  students  for  the  Advanced  Placement  Biology  examination  in  May.  This  course  requires  a  significant  time  commitment  and  ability  for  independent  learning,  and  emphasizes  application  of  knowledge  through  regular  critical  thinking  and  synthesis  activities  in  class.  In  addition  to  content,  students  regularly  practice  several  scientific  skills,  including  but  no  limited  to,  understanding  and  applying  models  of  concepts,  graphing,  analyzing,  and  interpreting  data,  and  argumentation  from  evidence.  Students  will  conduct  a  variety  of  inquiry-­‐based  labs,  and  read  a  combination  of  both  primary  and  secondary  scientific  literature.  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  This  course  will  evaluate  the  four  main  ideas  of  biology,  as  determined  by  the  College  Board,  which  include:    

1. The  process  of  evolution  drives  the  diversity  and  unity  of  life.  

2. Biological  systems  utilize  free  energy  and  molecular  building  blocks  to  grow,  to  reproduce,  and  to  maintain  dynamic  homeostasis.  

3. Living  systems  store,  retrieve,  transmit,  and  respond  to  information  essential  to  life  processes.  

4. Biological  systems  interact,  and  the  systems  and  their  interactions  possess  complex  properties.  

 These  big  ideas  are  organized  and  emphasized  in  a  variety  of  units,  which  broadly  covered  the  topics  of  ecology,  evolution,  heredity,  biochemistry,  cell  biology,  metabolism,  and  physiology.  

Educational  Resources:  • Reece,  Jane,  et  al.,    Campbell  Biology,  8th  Edition,  2007,  Pearson  Benjamin  Cummings.  

   

Physics  Ms.  Farrell  2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  This  is  a  course  in  physics  utilizing  algebra,  geometry  and  trigonometry.  Topics  include  mechanics,  Newton’s  Laws,  work  and  energy,  momentum,  torque,  vibrations  and  waves,  optics,  electricity  and  magnetism,  quantum  mechanics,  thermodynamics  and  special  relativity.  Demonstrations,  hands-­‐on  laboratory  work,  and  virtual  labs  are  included  to  support  the  course  material.    

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  Physics  is  a  course  in  which  students  will  investigate  matter  and  energy  and  their  relationships  in  the  universe.  Students  will  utilize  the  skills  they  have  learned  in  Precalculus  and  Chemistry  to  become  more  knowledgeable  with  the  laws  and  theories  that  exist  in  our  world.  

In  the  first  semester,  students  will  focus  mainly  on  topics  involving  motion.    This  includes  kinematics,  dynamics,  work,  power,  energy,  momentum,  and  mechanics.    The  second  semester  will  focus  on  electricity,  wave  motion,  as  well  as  topics  of  modern  physics.    The  second  semester  also  includes  a  project  in  which  students  will  investigate  an  advanced  topic  in  Physics  and  create  a  lesson  to  teach  it  to  their  classmates.  

Educational  Resources:  • Physics:  Principles  and  Problems  • Laptop  for  PhEt  Applets  • Ti-­‐84  Graphing  Calculator  

   

Honors Physics Ms. Farrell 2014-2015

Course Description: This  is  a  rigorous  course  in  physics  utilizing  algebra,  trigonometry,  and  introductory  calculus  concepts.  Topics  include  mechanics,  Newton’s  Laws,  work  and  energy,  momentum,  torque,  vibrations  and  waves,  optics,  electricity  and  magnetism,  quantum  mechanics,  thermodynamics  and  special  relativity.  Demonstrations,  hands-­‐on  laboratory  work,  and  virtual  labs  are  included  to  support  the  course  material.  Juniors  interested  in  pursuing  a  physical  science  based  undergraduate  major  are  strongly  encouraged  to  take  the  SAT  II-­‐Physics  upon  completion  of  the  course.  

Topics of Investigation and Rationale: Physics  is  a  course  in  which  students  will  investigate  matter  and  energy  and  their  relationships  in  the  universe.  Students  will  utilize  the  skills  they  have  learned  in  Precalculus  and  Chemistry  to  become  more  knowledgeable  with  the  laws  and  theories  that  exist  in  our  world.  

In  the  first  semester,  students  will  focus  mainly  on  topics  involving  motion.    This  includes  kinematics,  dynamics,  work,  power,  energy,  momentum,  and  mechanics.    The  second  semester  will  focus  on  electricity,  wave  motion  and  topics  of  modern  physics.    The  second  semester  also  includes  a  project  in  which  students  will  investigate  an  advanced  topic  in  Physics  and  create  a  lesson  to  teach  it  to  their  classmates.  

Educational Resources: • Physics:  Principles  and  Problems  • Physics:  Principles  with  Applications,  Giancoli,  6th  Edition  • Laptop  for  PhEt  Applets  

• Ti-­‐84  Graphing  Calculator  

French  VI/  Advanced  Seminar  Ms.  A.  Albino  2014-­‐2015  Course  Description:  In  this  course,  students  will  use  their  already  acquired  advanced  language  skills  to  explore  selected  aspects  of  the  French-­‐speaking  world.  They  read  about,  listen  to,  and  view  traditional  and  new  media  in  French  in  order  to  gain  insights  and  reflect  on  themes  such  as  media,  politics,  current  issues,  history,  geography,  art,  film,  music,  science  and  technology.  The  focus  will  be  on  how  these  themes  are  unique  to  each  part  of  the  French-­‐speaking  world  and  inform  its  culture.    In  addition  to  periodical  written  assignments  and  assessments  throughout  the  year,  students  will  be  required  to  complete  a  long-­‐term  multimedia  project  on  a  particular  topic  of  interest,  and  present  it  to  the  class.  Preparation  proceeds  through  several  guided  steps  over  a  number  of  weeks.  Each  student  or  group  of  students:  (1)  selects  a  tentative  topic  and  discusses  it  with  the  teacher  for  feedback  and  approval;  (2)  submits  an  outline  of  the  presentation  for  review  and  comment  by  the  teacher;  (3)  submits  a  draft  presentation  for  review  and  comment;  (4)  finalizes  and  makes  the  presentation  to  the  class.  This  course  is  conducted  entirely  in  French.  The  Advanced  Seminar  class  is  designed  for  students  who  have  completed  the  AP  course  or  possess  outstanding  skills  in  the  language.  Students  focus  on  perfecting  their  writing  skills  comparable  to  a  rigorous  College  level  course.  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  

Semester  I:  • Relationships  • Media  and  technology  • Generations  

Semester  II  

• Traveling  and  Transportation  • The  Nature  and  the  Environment  • Society  

Educational  Resources:  

• Ghillebaert,  Françoise,  “Face  à  face”,  Vista  Higher  Learning,  Boston,  2011  • Siskin,  H.Jay,  “Tâches  d’encre”,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston,  2004  • Web  Audio/Visual  excerpts:  TV5  Monde,  RFI,  France  2,  TF1,  

http://www.lepointdufle.net/    

 

Honors French V/French V Ms. I Toussaint 2014-2015 Course Description:

This  is  a  course  designed  for  high  intermediate-­‐advanced  students  with  a  solid  command  of  French  language  and  grammar.  It  is  designed  to  improve  their  language  proficiency  as  they  use  a  wide  variety  of  materials  and  media  to  explore  themes  of  particular  interest  to  them.  Typical  readings  include  Le  Petit  Prince  by  Saint  Exupéry,  as  well  as  short  stories  from  significant  French  and  francophone  literary  figures  from  the  20th  and  21st  centuries  such  as:  Ghislaine  Sathoud,  JMG  Le  Clézio,  Lamine  Sine  Diop,  Marie  Le  Drian  Jean  and  Léopold  Sedar  Senghor.  A  particular  emphasis  will  be  placed  on  the  role  of  women  in  France  and  the  Francophone  world  which  will  result  in  a  semester  long  project  whereby  students  will  research  and  interview  a  woman  about  her  life.  Classroom  discussions  will  be  will  be  based  on  texts,  documents,  and  short  movies.  All  the  material  will  be  utilized  to  reinforce  the  development  of  reading,  writing,  and  speaking  skills,  to  build  vocabulary  and  to  stimulate  class  discussions.  This  course  is  conducted  entirely  in  French.  

Topics  of  Investigation and Rationale:

Semester I: • The changing society as it relates to global cultures. • Family life in the 21st century • Science and Technology • Extracts of short stories and poems from francophone authors with a particular emphasis

on : immigration, love and relationships and school life. Semester II:

• Leisure time and how it has been redefined. • Work perspectives in the 21st century • The natural world • Extracts of short stories and poems from francophone authors with a particular emphasis

on : the role of women. • Project : women in the francophone world

Educational Resources:

• Mitcschke, Imaginez – le français sans frontières. Vista Higher Learning, 2012. • N. Blondeau, F Allouache. Littérature progressive de la Francophonie. CLE International • Web Audio/Visual excerpts : TV5 Monde, RFI, France 2, TF1, http://www.lepointdufle.net/

 

   

Spanish  IV  Sr.  Velez/Srta.  Kaady    

2014-­‐2015  Course  Description:    

Spanish IV Course Description

In this course, students use their already acquired advanced language skills to explore selected aspects of the Spanish-speaking world. Students are expected to possess advanced skills in the language, such as knowledge of sophisticated grammatical concepts and vocabulary, which enable them to read articles on current events from magazines and newspapers and movies, as well as short stories from significant Hispanic literary figures such as Pablo Neruda and Jaime Sabines. Students choose topics for discussion that focus on personal and social issues. Oral presentations are given throughout the year and are based on texts, documents, and short movies. Students are assessed throughout the year on their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through oral presentations, one-on-one interviews, in-class writing assignments, listening and reading comprehension tests using authentic material, and cumulative exams assessing all four skills each semester. This year students have the opportunity to travel to France and Spain, where they will practice speaking the language with locals, visit a Spanish school, and learn about the culture and language through exciting activities and excursions.  

 

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  

Semester  I:  • Overview  of  authors  and  artists  from  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world  and  their  works  (short  

stories/poems/plays,  short  films  and  paintings)  • Comprehensive  review  of  more  complex  grammar  structures  such  as  the  forms  of  the  past  tense  

and  the  subjunctive.    • Introduction  to  culture  and  civilization  in  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world  (history,  geography,  

language,  economy,  education,  art)    • Students  will  learn  vocabulary  in  order  to  express  themselves  in  depth  on  the  following  topics:  

Feeling  and  living,  and  city  life.      

Semester  II  

• Continuation  of  overview  of  authors  and  artists  from  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world  and  their  works  (short  stories/poems/plays,  and  paintings)    

• Introduction  to  Literary  themes  (extraordinary  behavior,  cultural  diversity  and  tolerance,  societal  expectations  and  stereotypes,  modern  perspectives,  attitudes  about  life  and  death,  solidarity  vs.  solitude)    

• Introduction  to  culture  and  civilization  in  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world  (labor,  education,  society,  gastronomy,  entertainment,  celebrations  and  ceremonies)    

• Students  will  learn  vocabulary  in  order  to  express  themselves  in  depth  on  the  following  topics:    The  influences  of  technology  and  the  media,  generations  in  movement,  and  natural  splendors.    

• Visit  to  the  Metropolitan  Museum  or  El  ,museo  del  barrio    • Cuisine,  culture,  and  history  project  on  Spanish  speaking  region  of  the  world  (Student  who  travel  

to  Spain  will  research  the  area  visited)    

Educational  Resources:    

• Blanco,  José  A,  Tocaimaza-­‐Hatch,,  Cecilia  C-­‐  Sueña,    Boston,  Vista  Hight  Learning,  Boston,  MA:  2015  

• Sueña,  online  supersite  and  workbook    • Kanter,  Abby    –  Encuentros  Maravillosos    –    Audio/DVD  and  Online  material.  New  Jersey:  

Prentice  Hall,  2005  • Chamorro,  César,  Martínez,  Matilde,  Murillo,  Nuria,  Sáenz,  Alejandro  –  Todas  Las  Voces  –Curso  

de  Cultura  y  Civilización    –    Audio/DVD  and  Online  material.  Barcelona:  Difusion,  2010      

   

Spanish  VI/Advanced  Seminar:  Themes  in  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world  Sr.  Gray/Sra.  Martinez  2014-­‐2015    Course  Description:    In  this  course,  students  use  their  advanced  language  skills  to  explore  selected  aspects  of  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world.  They  read  about,  listen  to,  and  view  traditional  and  new  media  in  Spanish  in  order  to  gain  insights  and  reflect  on  themes  such  as  media,  politics,  current  issues,  history,  geography,  art,  film,  music,  science  and  technology.  The  focus  is  on  how  these  themes  are  unique  to  each  part  of  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world  and  inform  its  culture.  In  addition  to  periodic  oral  and  written  assignments  and  assessments  throughout  the  year,  students  are  

required  to  complete  a  long-­‐term  multimedia  project  on  a  particular  topic  of  interest,  and  present  it  to  the  class.  Preparation  proceeds  through  several  guided  steps  over  a  number  of  weeks.  Each  student  or  group  of  students:  (1)  selects  a  tentative  topic  and  discusses  it  with  the  teacher  for  feedback  and  approval;  (2)  submits  an  outline  of  the  presentation  for  review  and  comment  by  the  teacher;  (3)  submits  a  draft  presentation  for  review  and  comment;  (4)  finalizes  and  makes  the  presentation  to  the  class.  The  Advanced  Seminar  class  is  designed  for  students  who  have  completed  the  AP  course  or  possess  outstanding  skills  in  the  language.  Students  focus  on  perfecting  their  writing  skills  comparable  to  a  rigorous  College  level  course.    

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  

Semester  I:  • Families,  Communities  and  Relationships  • Social  Customs,  Values  and  Morality  • Philosophical  Thought  and  Religion  • Heroes  and  Historical  Figures  • Environmental  and  Political  Issues    • Social  Welfare  and  Social  Conscience  

   

 

 

Semester  II  

• Women  and  Men:  a  Gender  Issue  • Alienation  and  Assimilation    • Personal  Beliefs,  Interests  and  Self-­‐Image  • Global  Citizenship  and  Human  Geography  • Family  Structure  and  Communities  • Language,  Literature  and  Film  

 

Educational  Resources:  • Courtad,  James;  Everly,  Katherine;  Gaspar,  Martin  –  Intrigas  –  Supersite  online  material.  

Audio/DVD  online.    Boston:  Vista  Higher  Learning  Company,  2012  • Schmitt,  C.  J.,  Schaum’s  Spanish  Grammar,  4th  edition.  Mc  Graw  Hill  • Bleichmar,  Cañon  Taller  de  escritores  –  supersite  online  material.    Audio/DVD  online.  Boston:  

Vista  Higher  Learning  Company,  2012    • Tarr,  Courtney;  Centeno,  Augusto;  Lloyd  Paul  –  A  graded  Spanish  Review  Grammar  –  New  

Jersey:  Prentice  Hall  Publisher,    2001    

 

   

Spanish  V/Honors  Spanish  V  Sr.  Gray  2014-­‐2015    Course  Description:    This  is  a  course  designed  for  advanced  students  with  a  good  command  of  Spanish  language  and  grammar.  It  is  designed  to  improve  their  language  proficiency  as  they  use  a  wide  variety  of  materials  and  media  to  explore  themes  of  particular  interest  to  them.  Readings  include  articles  on  current  events  from  magazines  and  newspapers,  as  well  as  short  stories  from  significant  Hispanic  literary  figures  such  as  Pablo  Neruda,  Elena  Poniatowska,  Rosa  Montero  and  Gabriel  García  Márquez.  Students  choose  topics  for  discussion  that  focus  on  personal,  moral,  and  social  issues.  Oral  presentations  are  given  throughout  the  year  and  are  based  on  texts,  documents,  and  short  movies.  Besides  classroom  resources  the  class  will  visit  art  museums  in  New  York  to  learn  about  Spanish-­‐speaking  artists  and  follow  up  with  class  discussions  in  the  target  language.  All  these  resources  and  material  are  utilized  to  reinforce  the  development  of  reading  and  writing,  with  a  special  emphasis  on  speaking  and  listening  skills,  to  build  vocabulary  and  to  stimulate  class  discussions.    

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  

Semester  I:  • Hispanic  Culture  in  Europe  and  America  • Mass  Media  in  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world  • Family  and  Women  in  Hispanic  Society  • Reality  and  Fantasy  in  Fiction  • Beauty,  Aesthetics  and  Television  • Personal  and  Public  Identities  

   

Semester  II  

• Economy  and  Education  in  the  Spanish-­‐speaking  world  • 20th  Century  Revolutionary  Movements    • Hispanic  Presence  in  the  United  States  

• Mysteries  of  Love  in  Film,  Fiction  and  Art  • Technology:  Access  and  Impact  in  Everyday  Life  • Immigration:  Different  Points  of  View  

 

Educational  Resources:  • Blanco,    J.  A.,  Revista  Conversación  sin  barreras,  4th  edition.  Vista  • Schmitt,  C.  J.,  Schaum’s  Spanish  Grammar,  4th  edition.  Mc  Graw  Hill  • Revista  Supersite:  www.vhl.com  • Newspaper  aticles  :  www.elpais.com  ,  http://www.hola.com/    • Web  Audio/Visual  extracts:  www.rtve.com,  http://www.ny1noticias.com/  and  

http://www.telemundo47.com/noticias/index.html      

 

   

Latin  IV  Mr.  Kaufmann  2014-­‐2015      

Course  Description:  In  this  course,  students  are  introduced  to  a  variety  of  Latin  poetry  and  prose,  including  the  poetry  of  Catullus,  selections  from  Cicero’s  speech  Pro  Caelio  (which  provide  what  may  be  another  view  of  Catullus’  tantalizing  mistress  “Lesbia”),  and  selections  from  Ovid’s  Metamorphoses.  Myths  such  as  “King  Midas,”  “Orpheus  and  Eurydice,”  “Pyramus  and  Thisbe,”  and  “Pentheus”  introduce  students  to  poetic  devices  and  epic  verse.  Throughout  the  year,  students  work  on  their  retention  of  Latin  grammar  and  vocabulary  and  develop  their  analytical  writing  in  English  through  short  and  long  critical  responses,  and  especially  through  individual  projects.  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  Building  upon  the  foundation  of  their  experience  with  the  readings  of  Martial’s  epigrams  in  Latin  III,  students  may  start  the  first  semester  with  readings  from  the  lyric  poet  Catullus,  one  of  the  most  relatable  writers  from  the  ancient  Roman  world.    Writing  as  a  young  man  in  his  twenties,  Catullus  the  poet  provides  his  readers  with  Latin  that  is  at  once  colloquial  and  sophisticated  in  both  language  and  content;  the  more  Catullan  poetry  students  read,  the  stronger  their  connection  to  (or  at  times,  dissatisfaction  with)  him  becomes.    Moreover,  because  of  their  previous  intensive  study  of  Latin  grammar  and  vocabulary,  students  quickly  develop  an  appreciation  for  the  language  of  the  original,  rendering  translations  as  commentaries  at  best,  and  poor  substitutions  at  worst.  

Following  this,  students  may  move  from  the  poetry  of  the  young  to  the  venerable  rhetoric  of  one  of  Rome’s  greatest  elder  statesmen.    In  Cicero,  students  read  longer,  more  complex  Latin  prose  sentences,  which  the  writer/orator  balances  with  shorter,  more  compact  statements  that  carry  no  less  wit.    To  be  sure,  Cicero’s  Latin  can  be  challenging  for  students,  but  the  reward  is  considerable,  and  at  this  point  in  the  year,  their  Latin  will  have  improved  to  the  point  where  analysis  of  text  is  inherent  in  the  process.  

Students  may  then  take  up  selections  from  Ovid’s  Metamorphoses,  an  epic  poem  containing  over  250  mythological  stories,  ranging  chronologically  from  the  creation  of  the  world  to  the  deification  of  Julius  Caesar.    These  stories,  the  primary  source  for  much  of  what  we  know  of  the  mythology  of  the  ancient  world,  are  entertaining  in  their  own  right  and  are  an  introduction  to  epic  poetry  (lengthy  narrative  poems  examplified  by  Virgil’s  Aenead  and  Homer’s  Iliad  and  Odyssey).  

Projects:  Twice  a  year  students  may  undertake  lengthier  individual  projects  relating  to  their  current  course  work.  For  example,  students  have  analyzed  three  different  scholarly  commentaries  and  three  different  translations  of  three  different  poems  Catullan  poems  that  they  have  read;  each  student  choosing  which  poems  and  which  commentaries  and  translations  she  wishes  to  analyze.  Such  a  project  provides  a  wonderful  opportunity  both  to  better  appreciate  the  resources  available  when  reading  classical  Roman  authors,  and  to  develop  analytical  writing  skills  in  the  context  of  a  more  comprehensive  subject  than  a  typical  assignment  provides.  

 

Educational  Resources:  • Ancona,  Ronnie.  Writing  Passion:  A  Catullus  Reader.  Illinois:  Bolchazy-­‐Carducci,  2004.  

 • Ciraolo,  Stephen.  Cicero:  Pro  Caelio.  3rd  Ed.  Illinois:  Bolchazy-­‐Carducci,  2003.  

 • Jestin,  Charbra  Adams  (and  Phyllis  B.  Katz).  Ovid:  Amores,  Metamorphoses:  Selections.  2nd  Ed.    

Illinois:  Bolchazy-­‐Carducci,  2000.    

• Joffe,  Benjamin.  The  Story  of  Pentheus,  As  Found  in  Ovid’s  Metamorphoses.  New  York  (Privately    Printed),  2013.  

 • Numen:  The  Latin  Lexicon  

http://latinlexicon.org/  (An  online  Latin  dictionary  and  grammar  tool  based  on  multiple  sources,  including  An  

Elementary  Latin  Dictionary,  by  Charlton  T.  Lewis,  and  A  Latin  Dictionary,  by  Lewis  &  Short,  both  classics  in  the  world  of  Latin  dictionaries.)    

 • Pope,  Stephanie,  et  al.  Cambridge  Latin  Course,  Unit  4.  North  American  4th  Ed.  New  York:    

Cambridge  University  Press,  2001.  

(Students  use  the  “About  the  Language”  appendix  for  grammar  reference  throughout  the  year.)    

 • Various  published  translations  to  accompany  all  three  Roman  authors.  

 • Paintings,  sculptures,  and  texts  inspiring  to  and  inspired  by  Catullus,  Cicero,  and  Ovid.  

 

Honors  Latin  V    Mr.  Kaufmann  2014-­‐2015    Course  Description:  In  this  course,  students  explore  some  of  the  variety  and  richness  of  Latin  poetry  in  the  late  republic  and  early  imperial  periods.  Texts  include  selections  from  Lucretius’  De  Rerum  Natura,  Vergil’s  Aeneid,  and  Horace’s  Odes,  with  a  focus  on  the  philosophical,  literary,  and  political  arenas  in  which  these  works  were  composed.  The  impact  of  ancient  texts  on  later  writers,  artists,  and  intellectual  leaders  is  assessed  through  the  consideration  of  numerous  adaptations  (e.g.,  Milton’s  Paradise  Lost  as  post-­‐Vergilian  epic;)  as  well  as  through  the  study  of  recent  critical  appraisals  such  as  Greenblatt’s  The  Swerve:  How  the  World  Became  Modern,  which  addresses  the  significance  of  Lucretius’s  work  for  the  Renaissance.  Throughout  the  year,  students  hone  their  contextual  mastery  of  Latin  grammar  and  vocabulary  and  their  comprehension  of  syntax,  meter,  and  literary  devices.  Students  have  numerous  opportunities  to  convey  their  critical  and  creative  responses  in  a  variety  of  genres  and  for  different  audiences.    

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  In  the  first  semester,  students  study  selections  from  Lucretius’s  didactic  and  philosophical  work  De  Rerum  Natura.  They  consider  the  Greek  antecedents  of  this  work  and,  in  doing  so,  assess  both  the  derivative  and  original  qualities  of  Lucretius’  text,  which  sets  forth  both  the  meaning  of  and  rationale  for  Epicurean  philosophy.  The  significance  of  this  poem  on  later  writers  and  thinkers  finds  expression  in  Greenblatt’s  The  Swerve:  How  the  World  Became  Modern;  this  text  also  provides  a  framework  for  the  discussion  of  the  relevance  of  ancient  texts  to  European  art  and  thought.    Multi-­‐disciplinary  opportunities  include  a  comparison  of  ancient  and  modern  physics.  Students  work  independently  and  collaboratively  throughout  the  semester  and  express  their  thoughts,  research,  and  translation  work  through  analytical,  creative,  and  online  writing.    

In  the  second  semester,  students  read  excerpts  from  Vergil’s  Aeneid  and  Horace’s  Odes.  Again  looking  backward  and  forward,  students  consider  the  Homeric  and  Apollonian  origins  of  the  Vergilian  epic,  while  also  assessing  the  impact  of  Vergil  on  writers  as  disparate  in  time  and  place  as  St.  Augustine  and  Derek  Walcott;  Horace’s  work  borrows  from  Greek  lyric,  while  influencing  such  later  lyricists  as  Auden  and  Owen.    In  conjunction  with  the  AP  English  class,  students  study  the  narrative  framework  of  Book  2  as  a  means  of  memorializing  war  and  its  legacy,  a  theme  common  in  literature,  art,  and  music.  The  

perspective  on  war  shifts  in  the  reading  of  Horace,  who  adopts  both  a  heroic  and  anti-­‐heroic  stance.  Throughout  the  term,  students  refine  their  translation  skills  and  develop  their  own  voice  as  translators;  writing  and  recording  opportunities  of  choice  constitute  the  various  assessments  of  the  students’  mastery  of  these  texts  and  their  resonance  for  the  future.    

Educational  Resources:  • Ancona,  Ronnie.  Horace:  Selected  Odes  and  Satire  1.9.  Illinois:  Bolchazy-­‐Carducci,  

  1999.    

• Boyd,  Barbara  Weiden.  Vergil’s  Aeneid:  Selections  from  Books  I,  2,  4,  6,  10,         and  12.  2nd  edition.  Illinois:  Bolchazy-­‐Carducci  Publishers,  Inc.,  2004.  

• Catto,  Bonnie  A.  Lucretius:  Selections  from  De  Rerum  Natura.  Illinois:  Bolchazy-­‐  

    Carducci,  1998.    

• Translations  of  the  Latin  texts,  chosen  by  the  students.      

• Paintings  and  texts  inspiring  to  and  inspired  by  Lucretius,  Vergil,  and  Horace.        

                     Advanced  Creative  Arts  Seminar  -­‐  Photography  Ms.  Dore  2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  

Advanced Creative Arts - Photography builds upon the study of digital photography and new media technologies established in Advanced Photography & Media Arts. Students explore self-expression through the photographic medium and learn advanced Adobe Photoshop both as a digital darkroom and as new design software. Students analyze both historic and contemporary works of art, illustrate advanced personal themes in their image making, and learn to choose their material based on their concept. Students begin to explore designing their own creative topics and taking advanced leadership in their own art-making process. Course  Requirements:  • Schedule one additional weekly meeting period with the teacher outside of regularly scheduled class

time. • Spend at least one additional period per week working in the digital media lab on current project

editing.  

Educational  Resources:    http://www.icp.org/school/teen-­‐academy    http://whitney.org/    http://pfmagazine.com/    http://www.drexel.edu/westphal/undergraduate/PHTO/HighSchoolContest/    http://www.artandwriting.org/the-­‐awards/                        

Advanced  Photography  &  Media  Arts  Ms.  Dore  2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:    Advanced Photography & Media Arts builds upon the study of traditional analog photography with the introduction of new media technologies. Students explore self-expression through the photographic medium, and are introduced to Adobe Photoshop both as a digital darkroom and as new design software. Students analyze both historic and contemporary works of art, illustrate advanced personal themes in their image making, and learn to choose their material based on their concept. A strong emphasis is placed on both art making and the technical understanding of new media technologies.  

Educational  Resources:    http://www.icp.org/school/teen-­‐academy    http://whitney.org/    http://pfmagazine.com/    http://www.drexel.edu/westphal/undergraduate/PHTO/HighSchoolContest/    http://www.artandwriting.org/the-­‐awards/        

Name  of  Course:  Advanced  Ceramics    Teacher:  Ms.  Vannata  2014-­‐2015    Course  Description:  

This is a challenging hand-building and wheel throwing class for students with previous clay experience. Advanced techniques will be introduced as students explore the formal and technical challenges of complex three-dimensional construction. Experimentation with glaze, mixed media, and porcelain are all part of the curriculum. Students will focus on developing a body of work that expresses their authentic voice. There is at least one museum or gallery visit during the year, and students will also be assigned a research paper.

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  The first semester begins with the creation of projects that necessitate the combination of basic ceramic hand-building techniques (pinching, coiling, slab rolling, scoring and slipping, carving, modeling, building relief layers, etc.) Possible projects and themes include the following: salt and pepper sculptures and the idea of complementary and

inseparable objects in Chinese philosophy, decorative coil bowls from various molds, double-sided self portraits and the theme of contradictions in the works of Robert Arneson; collaborative mosaic mural; creative architecture inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and other notable architects and structures around the world; memory and image transfers on clay; porcelain sculptures expressing personal interpretation of how man transforms the natural world inspired by ceramist Kate MacDowell, Pueblo storyteller figures and the possibilities of relationships, a cross-cultural look at shoes throughout history, and the incorporation of mixed media into clay work. The second semester begins with a unit on intermediate to advanced wheel throwing skills. Girls will draw upon previously learned traditional methods of throwing on electric wheels, as well as develop their own working methods and practices. In the creation of various wheel thrown and altered pottery, girls will learn new techniques, including hollowing and narrowing forms, using tools to create textures and patterns, trimming exterior forms and feet, pulling handles, and attaching additional elements.

Educational  Resources:  • Collection  of  books  in  ceramics  library  (500  Pots,  500  Figures,  500  Bowls,  Shoes:  Past  

and  Present;  Noguchi  and  Japanese  Ceramics;  Mosaics,  Pueblo  Storytellers,  Masks;  Image  Transfers  on  Clay,  Robert  Arneson  and  contemporary  Californian  Ceramics,  etc.)  and  videos  (Wheel  Throwing,  etc.)  

• Whitney  Museum  of  American  Art  • Gagosian  Gallery  • Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  • Museum  of  Arts  and  Design  • Jopanese  Ceramics-­‐  Joan  B  Mirviss  Ltd  

 

 

Upper  School  Handbell  Choir  Mr.  Denver  2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  The  Handbell  Choir  is  a  performance  ensemble  open  to  all  members  of  the  upper  school.  The  group  rehearses  and  performs  handbell  music  of  American  Guild  of  English  Handbell  Ringers  Level  3+,  with  a  great  deal  of  “ensemble  ringing”  and  extended  techniques.  The  class  culminates  in  two  concerts  at  the  end  of  each  semester,  but  there  are  additional  performances  for  the  community  scheduled  throughout  the  year.  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  The  handbell  choir  begins  by  exploring  proper  handbell  technique,  including  basic  ringing  techniques  and  extended  techniques.  Students  will  concurrently  develop  their  facility  as  music  readers,  with  emphasis  placed  on  memorization  of  the  pitches  on  the  grand  staff  and  rhythmic  notation  up  to  and  including  whole,  half,  quarter,  eighth,  sixteenth  and  dotted  rhythms.  Each  class  will  begin  with  a  sight  reading  exercise,  after  which  the  choir  will  rehearse  the  selections  for  the  fall  and  winter  concerts.  Students  are  assessed  in  daily  participation  grades  and  on  monthly  music  reading,  rhythm  skills  and  performance  technique  rubrics.  Grading  and  assessment  is  done  both  via  CourseWeb  and  during  rehearsal.  The  class  has  twenty  four  rehearsals  for  the  fall  concert,  and  then  nine  rehearsals  for  the  Holiday  Concert.  In  addition,  the  class  will  travel  to  the  Jewish  Guild  for  the  Blind  in  December  and  perform  a  special  set  for  the  students  in  the  school  there.  

The  difficulty  of  the  musical  selections  is  noticeably  increased  during  the  second  semester,  taking  advantage  of  the  thirty  rehearsal  period  prior  to  the  Spring  Concert.  Special  emphasis  is  placed  on  meter  and  rhythm  studies,  with  the  note  values  studied  expanded  to  include  all  triplets,  thirty-­‐second  notes  and  the  introduction  of  compound  meter.  The  grading  system  will  continue  as  in  first  semester.  The  final  performance  will  be  the  underclasswomen  in  the  choir,  who  will  perform  the  [processionals  at  the  Hewitt  Commencement  as  they  have  in  years  past.  

Educational  Resources:  • Five-­‐octave  set  of  Schulmerich  Handbells  • Three-­‐octave  set  of  Yamaha  tone  chimes  • Various  Existing  Sheet  Music  from  the  pre-­‐Renaissance  period  to  the  present,  AHM  Levels  3  to  5  • Compositions  and  arrangements  by  the  instructor  • Notation  software:  Noteflight  (freeware,  download)  

 

   

Drama    Ms.  Britt  2013-­‐2014      

Course  Description:  The  Drama  9-­‐12  class  seeks  to  develop  student’s  means  for  self-­‐expression  and  confidence  through  the  arts.  In  the  first  semester  they  will  be  working  on  the  basics  of  directing  and  script  analysis.  They  will  learn  the  tools  to  examine  and  explore  an  already  published  script,  how  to  speak  to  an  actor  and  eventually  work  with  professional  playwright  on  a  new  work.  Through  

scene  work  exercises  using  acting  techniques,  character  research,  script  analysis,  improvisation  and  physical  work  the  class  will  present  a  staged  reading  for  the  upper  school  at  the  end  of  the  semester.  In  the  second  semester  the  students  will  create  their  own  play  or  one-­‐woman  show  using  all  the  techniques  and  tools  from  first  semester.  Together  they  will  write,  produce,  act  and  direct  using  all  the  tools  from  first  semester  and  perform  for  the  upper  school  and  invited  outside  guests.    

 

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  The  Drama  class  9-­‐12  will  be  working  with  the  text  The  Rehearsal  Handbook  for  Actors  and  Directors.  Learning  the  basic  directing  and  acting  tools  and  exercises  needed  for  an  artist.    First  semester  will  be  focusing  on  self-­‐expression  and  the  discovery  of  one’s  own  voice  as  a  director.  We  will  be  working  with  published  plays  and  a  new  work  by  a  professional  playwright,  using  script  analysis  and  imagery  to  create  the  vision  of  the  director;  discovering  how  to  use  the  space  and  find  ones  vision.  Learning  how  to  communicate  with  a  playwright,  designer  and  actors  to  work  together  to  put  on  a  show.    Second  semester  we  will  write  and  create  our  own  play  incorporating  all  of  the  skills  and  techniques  from  first  semester.  Through  ensemble  work,  research,  improvisations,  writing  and  rehearsing,  we  plan  to  have  a  final  performance  of  our  class  work.        

Educational  Resources:  • The  Rehearsal  Handbook  for  Actors  and  Directors  by  John  Perry  • Trifles  by  Susan  Glaspell  • Everything  about  Theatre-­‐  Robert  L.  Lee  • Lessons  for  the  Stage  an  approach  to  acting  –Julian  S.  Schlusberg  • Theatre  Machine  III-­‐Albert  T  Viola  • The  Ultimate  Improv  Book-­‐  Edward  J.  Nevraumont  and  Nicholas  P.  Hanson  

   Websites-­‐  

• http://www.nypl.org/  • Learn  Improv:    http://www.learnimprov.com/    •  Educational  Theater  Association:    http://www.edta.org/adult_html.asp  

 

 Upper  School  Choir  Mr.  Denver  

2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  The  Choir  focuses  on  the  further  development  and  refinement  of  vocal  and  choral  technique  toward  the  goal  of  a  unified  performing  ensemble  of  the  highest  caliber.  Repertoire  is  chosen  from  an  eclectic  variety  of  eras  and  styles,  from  the  13th  century  to  the  present.  Integral  to  the  course  is  the  study  of  basic  music  theory,  terminology,  sight-­‐singing,  and  vocal  production,  as  well  as  the  application  of  languages,  history,  and  other  arts  as  they  relate  to  the  specific  repertoire  being  studied.  The  rehearsal  process  is  geared  toward  the  ongoing  development  of  the  skills  necessary  to  be  fluent,  knowledgeable,  and  confident  singers.  As  Hewitt’s  flagship  choral  ensemble,  the  Choir  is  afforded  extraordinary  opportunities  to  perform  in  concerts,  festivals,  and  international  tours,  and  the  choir  is  frequently  called  upon  to  represent  the  Hewitt  community  at  public  events.    

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  The  year-­‐long  choir  course  is  a  performance-­‐oriented  course,  and  the  structure  of  the  class  is  designed  to  develop  students’  vocal  and  music-­‐reading  skills  in  the  context  of  preparing  for  the  semester-­‐end  concerts.  Classes  begin  with  warm-­‐ups,  a  vital  tool  to  the  safe  and  effective  work  of  the  choir.  These  preparatory  exercises  develop  pitch  placement,  technique,  dynamic  control,  consonant  and  vowel  construction,  blend  and  balance.  After  warm-­‐ups,  the  class  works  on  the  pieces  to  be  prepared  for  concert.  Generally  in  three-­‐part  SSA  textures,  the  pieces  chosen  directly  address  the  growth  needs  of  the  choir,  and  are  culled  from  existing  sheet  music  from  the  pre-­‐Renaissance  to  the  present.  The  music  is  not  confined  by  genre;  the  choir  can  sing  all  eras  of  classical  music,  jazz,  spiritual,  pop,  music  theatre  and  other  types  of  music.  In  the  first  semester,  special  emphasis  is  placed  on  the  proper  development  and  balance  of  tone  across  the  ensemble.  The  semester  culminates  in  two  concerts;  the  Middle/Upper  School  Fall  Concert  and  the  All-­‐School  Holiday  Concert,  both  performed  at  the  Madison  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church.  

The  longer  second  semester  affords  more  opportunity  to  delve  into  both  video  and  audio  recordings  of  other  choirs,  an  exercise  that  provides  modeled  examples  for  emulation  of  many  of  the  aspects  of  vocal  production.  Students  will  watch  and  listen  to  a  variety  of  choirs  from  student  to  professional,  and  they  will  discuss  what  they  hear.  This  will  happen  concurrently  to  the  further  development  of  their  own  work  as  an  ensemble,  and  the  music  that  the  group  learns  will  be  both  more  challenging  to  read  and  to  sing.  As  in  the  first  semester,  their  work  will  be  shared  with  the  community  in  the  Middle/Upper  School  Spring  Concert,  which  is  performed  at  the  Madison  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church.  Other  performance  opportunities  may  present  themselves  over  the  course  of  the  semester.  

 

Educational  Resources:  • Sheet  music  from  the  pre-­‐Renaissance  to  the  present  • Experiencing  Choral  Music,  2nd  edition.  • Video  and  audio  selections  of  various  ensembles.  

 

   

 

   Principles  of  Programming  Mr.  Nauman  2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  The  Principles  of  Programming  course  uses  Processing,  the  open  source  programming  language  and  environment.  Processing  allows  the  user  to  program  images,  animations  and  interactions.  The  program  is  used  by  students,  artists,  designers,  and  researchers  to  explore  concepts  visually.  Students  learn  to  use  computer  science  to  create  elegant  graphics,  visuals,  and  interactive  programs.  Students  will  also  use  Processing  to  interface  with  the  Arduino  microcontroller  to  explore  physical  computing,  enabling  them  to  create  projects  that  can  sense  and  respond  to  the  environment.  This  course  requires  no  previous  programming  experience.  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  During  the  first  semester,  the  focus  of  this  course  will  be  on  learning  the  basic  functions  and  syntax  of  the  Processing  language  and  using  them  for  several  design-­‐based  projects.  The  projects  will  range  in  scope  from  open-­‐ended  creative  graphics  to  interactive  design  solutions  that  will  be  used  for  a  specific  purpose  by  specific  users,  such  as  web-­‐based  instructional  activities  that  will  be  used  by  young  students  to  learn  about  patterns  and  symmetry.  Students  will  learn  to  incorporate  a  range  of  media  types  into  their  projects,  such  as  images,  video,  text,  and  audio  input.  

The  second  semester  will  be  an  introduction  to  object  oriented  programming  as  the  students  learn  to  write  object  classes  and  instantiate  objects  to  organize  their  programs  in  a  more  sophisticated  and  efficient  way.  The  projects  will  use  the  power  of  object  oriented  methods  to  create  interactive  games  and  models  and  simulations  of  natural  phenomena.  The  second  half  of  the  second  semester  will  focus  on  programming  the  Arduino  microcontroller  to  create  designs  with  electroluminescent  wire  and  create  systems  in  which  behaviors  in  the  computer  can  be  controlled  by  sensors  connected  to  the  Arduino.  

Educational  Resources:  • Learning  Processing,  by  Daniel  Shiffman,  is  the  text  for  the  course.  

• http://www.learningprocessing.com/  is  the  web  site  that  accompanies  the  text.  • http://processing.org/  is  the  web  site  where  the  Processing  IDE  can  be  downloaded  and  

provides  many  learning  resources  we  will  refer  to.    

   

Film  Studies  Mr.  Denver  2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  Film  Studies  is  a  year-­‐long  course  designed  to  introduce  students  to  the  major  concepts  of  film  theory.  Students  learn  about  the  major  concepts  behind  filmmaking  while  watching  films  chosen  to  illustrate  those  concepts.  The  students  also  create  film  elements  of  their  own,  including  storyboards,  slide  shows,  color  schemes,  scripts  and  a  five-­‐minute  short  film.  Some  of  the  films  viewed  are  Citizen  Kane,  Casablanca,  The  Seven  Samurai,  and  Lawrence  of  Arabia.  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  Students  will  learn  the  vocabulary  and  concepts  behind  the  semiotics  of  the  moving  image.  They  will  begin  with  the  fifteen  elements  of  a  still  shot,  which  includes  shots,  angles,  light  and  dark,  color,  mise  en  scene,  character  proximity,  camera  proximity,  and  others.  They  will  proceed  to  incorporate  the  study  of  motion  into  their  analysis.,  involving  a  discussion  of  camera  work.  Individual  units  will  look  at  some  of  the  technical  elements  of  filmmaking,  including  directing,  photography,  and  a  larger  unit  on  special  effects.  

The  class  will  travel  to  the  Museum  on  the  Moving  Image  in  November,  at  which  they  will  screen  the  film  Twelve  Angry  Men  and  then  engage  in  a  discussion  with  museum  staff,  after  which  they  will  peruse  the  museum’s  sections  of  the  basics  of  film,  cameras  and  sound.  

In  the  spring,  the  students  will  apply  what  they  have  learned  in  the  creation  of  a  short  film.  Breaking  into  small  groups,  they  will  write,  design,  storyboard,  direct,  act  in  and  edit.  Using  iMovie  for  the  last,  the  students  will  each  submit  her  own  cut  of  their  film  a  screen  it  to  the  class.  

Educational  Resources:  • Understanding  Movies,  tenth  edition,  Louis  Gianetti  • Special  Effects,  Ron  Miller  • Films  screened  will  include:  

o The  Red  Shoes  

o The  Seven  Samurai  o The  4oo  Blows  o The  Seventh  Seal  o Twelve  Angry  Men  o Run,  Lola,  Run  o Casablanca  o Lawrence  of  Arabia  o Citizen  Kane  o Battleship  Potemkin  (sections)  o North  By  Northwest  o Blade  Runner  o Gold  Rush  (sections)  o Decalogue  (Episode  One)  

 

Advanced  Studio  Art  Mr.  Rose  2014-­‐2015      

Course  Description:  Advanced  Studio  Art  (Grades  10-­‐12  -­‐  1  credit)  This  course  is  open  to  students  who  have  completed  Studio  Art  I  or  its  equivalent.  It  maybe  taken  three  times  because  the  curriculum  changes  annually.  Projects  include  figure,portrait,  or  new  media  studies  (alternate  years),  observational  and  creative  painting,  andvarious  types  of  printmaking.  The  focus  for  2014-­‐15  is  new  media.    The  spring  semester  features  a  series  of  individual  projects  with  an  emphasis  on  developing  skills,  meaning,  and  metaphor  and  culminating  in  a  gallery  opening  at  the  Upper  School  Art  Show.  There  are  at  least  two  museum  or  gallery  visits.  Prerequisite:  Studio  Art  I  

Topics  of  Investigation  and  Rationale:  Fall  semester  :  Students  will  explore  contemporary  and  new  media  artmaking  in  three  projects.    First,  they  will  respond  to  the  issues  raised  about  pop  culture  in  the  Jeff  Koons  exhibition  at  the  Whitney.    The  following  two  projects  will  explore  stop-­‐motion  animation  and  body  scanning/3-­‐d  printing.    The  latter  project  will  utilize  3-­‐d  self-­‐portraits  as  raw  material  for  new  sculptures.  

Spring  semester:    Students  will  choose  a  theme  and  make  three  original  works  on  the  theme  before  the  US  Art  Show  in  May.    They  are  expected  to  challenge  themselves  in  terms  of  skill  and  conception.    Non-­‐seniors  will  have  an  additional  project  at  the  end  of  the  year.  

Educational  Resources:  Wide  variety  of  art  historical  references.  Museum  or  gallery  visits.  http://whitney.org/Exhibitions/JeffKoons    

   

Physical  Education  11th  –  12th    Erin  Doolan,  Michael  Gimblette    2014-­‐2015    

Course  Description:  In  grades  9th  –  12th  the  physical  education  curriculum  focuses  on  trimester  electives  that  support  each  student’s  life-­‐long  physical,  social,  and  cognitive  development.  The  electives  range  from  a  foundational  level  to  a  more  advanced  physical  level.    Students  are  encouraged  to  select  an  elective  that  will  provide  the  guidance  to  reach  their  personal  goals.  Each  elective  will  begin  with  an  introduction  to  the  physical  concepts,  skills,  and  literacy  pertaining  to  the  specific  physical  education  course.  This  will  involve  building  on  the  foundation  established  in  4th  –  8th  physical  education.    Students  will  then  be  guided  and  challenged  in  the  application  phase,  in  which  they  will  utilize  the  information  and  skills  learned  earlier  to  perform  at  their  personal  best.  The  students  will  finish  the  elective  with  the  ability  to  continuously  support  their  physical  development  and  engagement  in  an  active  lifestyle.  Electives  that  are  offered  include  but  are  not  limited  to:  performance  analysis,  team  concepts,  and  fitness.