Curriculum

Language Arts

List of 15 items.

8th Grade English

Reviews basic grammar skills, honing sentence, paragraph, and essay writing craft. Teaches close reading and thorough examinations of diction, characterization, and tone, as well as major themes and recurring symbols important through literary and human history.
9th Grade English

Develops close reading skills using texts from various time periods and genres with the goal of understanding the work and examining the ways the author creates meaning and effect. Encourages students to write frequently with a focus on critical analysis.
Critical Reading & Analytical Writing

Explores the prose, poetry, essays, and history of countries around the world. Teaches students to read and re-read texts with a critical eye, judging them on merits of logic, meaning, organization, and the beauty of language. Also teaches thoughtful writing.
AP English Language

Covers the knowledge and skills of a college-level writing and rhetoric course. Students learn to identify, compare, critique, and produce arguments. The majority of readings will be non-fiction, with topics relating to ethics, politics, and social issues.
Advanced American Literature

A survey of United States literature from the colonial period to the present. The course emphasizes and celebrates the rich diversity of written forms and cultural perspectives that constitute historical and contemporary American voices.
Advanced Poetry

Encourages students to explore poetry through writing, performing, and recording opportunities. Includes master classes with poetry performance masters. Also invites students to correspond with other young poets around the globe and to publish through a youth anthology.
Protest Rhetoric

Explores the rhetorical underpinnings of protest movements and the literature surrounding them. Covers a variety of literary works from the middle of the 19th century to the present day, identifying the ways they critique prevailing power structures and ideology.
Major Authors
Unlike broad surveys, Major Authors courses consider selected authors in depth. Students approach texts primarily from a formalist perspective (i.e. “close reading”) informed by history, biography, and social concerns (e.g. race, gender, class, etc.). Recent offerings include:
- Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald
- J.D. Salinger and Flannery O’Connor
Travel Writing

Surveys the genre of travel writing beginning in the mid-1800s with authors like Mark Twain and Lady Sheil, through its peak in the first half of the 20th century with authors like Freya Stark and T.E. Lawrences, and going up to more modern day writers like Rory Stewart, Bruce Chatwin, and Jan Morris.
Modern African American Voices

Explores theories of African American literature including 20th century cultural criticism and the American modern protest movement of the 1960s. Emphasizes the fiction and poetry of writers such as Chesnutt, Dunbar, DuBois, Hughes, and Hurston.
Contemporary African American Voices

Explores theories of African American literature through various contexts, including the Black Arts Movement. Emphasizes the contemporary literature of Cornell West, Spike Lee, Essex Hemphill, India Arie, Ernest Gaines, Nikki Giovanni, John Singleton, and Haki Madhubuti.
Comparative Literature: Victorian Times

Examines the theories, experiences, and practices of 19th century British and French literature and visual art. Considers the ways in which art transcends formal, national, linguistic, and temporal boundaries. Advanced French students may read, write, and discuss in French.
Adaptation

Explores the process of adapting works of literature for film. Beyond assignments related to reading literature and reviewing films, challenges students to go through the process of adapting literature to film, including screenwriting, shooting, and editing.
Monsters, Devils, & Madman

Monsters are often marginalized. Arguably, this is for the best. Who really wants Frankenstein's monster living in their neighborhood? However, especially when we consider the archetypes of the monster, the devil, or the madman in works of literature, the margins become complicated. What is the difference between devils and angels, madness and sanity, monster and normal? These are questions we will tackle as a class with some of literature's most popular monsters.
Literary Theory

Literary Theory studies not just works of literature but how works of literature are read. Different interpretive communities have become popular over time, enough that the seventies and eighties has been referred to as the "Theory Wars" in academia. Imagine the psychoanalytic critics squaring up against the feminists and deconstructionists in a campus parking lots across the world. While we won't be forming camps and fighting over how to read, necessarily, the class will be an exercise in applying different lenses to popular texts in Western Literature.

History

List of 17 items.

Social Studies

Builds critical thinking and improves communication skills, particularly in writing and speaking. Develops a physical, cultural, and historical understanding of world geography.
World History

Explores major events from the paleolithic period to the European Renaissance. Emphasizes political, economic, social, philosophical, scientific, literary, and artistic interrelationships across time and place. Requires writing, research, problem solving, and critical thinking.
AP European History

Introduces modern world history through a focus on European cultures and empires. Builds skills in analytic writing, primary source research, and comparison of secondary sources. Requires completion of various written assignments, class debates, and historical simulations.
20th Century World History

Examines the political, social, economic, and cultural developments of the 20th century.
AP United States History

Introduces US history through the study of historical materials and documents, including maps, tables, and images. Focuses on historical narrative, analysis of historical events, examination of historical theory, and essay composition. Teaches both factual knowledge and analytical skills.
The Constitution & American Government

Introduces the philosophical foundations of the Constitution and its main themes: popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and federalism. Teaches the basics of American politics, including discussion of political parties, voting rights, the electoral process, and the media.
Constitutional Law & Civil Rights

Examines the Constitutional principles used to protect civil rights and liberties, and traces the evolution of those protections through Supreme Court cases and historical context. Emphasizes the interplay of Constitutional text, judicial doctrine, and Constitutional decision making.
United States Issues

Examines major contemporary issues in the US, such as healthcare, income distribution, and political polarization.
Global Issues

Examines contemporary issues such as globalism, terrorism, climate change, demography, and poverty.
Historical Methods

Enables students to engage in research using primary sources. Entails visiting archives in the Birmingham area and grasping the methodology of history. Requirements include participation and a research paper based on original sources.
Intellectual History I

Examines the intellectual origins of liberalism, its role during the American Revolution, and it Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian interpretations that defined 19th and 20th century America.
Intellectual History II

Examines the fracturing of liberalism during the 1960s and 1970s, the rise of “neoliberalism” during the 1980s and 1990s, and the possible end of American liberalism in the first half of the 21st century.
Diplomatic History

Focuses on major diplomatic events such as the Congress of Vienna, the Paris negotiations of 1919, and the diplomacy following World War II through the eyes of diplomats such as Henry Kissinger, Harold Nicholson, and George Kennan.
Ethics & Contemporary Politics

Introduces students to popular works in the fields of ethics and politics by authors such as Plato and Aristotle. Explores the relationship between ethics and politics, applying timeless ideas to present-day challenges and proposing different models for an ethics-based political community.
Ethics & the Modern Economy

Introduces important theoretical concepts from the disciplinary perspectives of economics and sociology. Encourages students to explore economic systems and to develop moral frameworks within which to critique markets, economic institutions, and public policy.
Tolstoy's War and Peace

Explores Leo Tolstoy’s classic, emphasizing the historical context of the novel and how the story helps to develop the author’s unique philosophy of history.
1950s Film History

Allows students to ‘see’ 1950s history through film. Areas of study include juvenile delinquency, McCarthyism, race relations and changing societal views on gender and women's role.

Computer Science & Engineering

List of 9 items.

Introduction to Computer Networking

Introduces the fundamentals of how computer networks function and what it takes to build and maintain them. Teaches students to design, manage, describe, illustrate, explain, and troubleshoot all of the systems and services in a home or small office computer network.
Introduction to Computer Programming

Introduces the Java programming language, the NetBeans IDE, and the fundamental concepts in all computer programming languages. Taught in a hands-on environment.
Introduction to Linux

Introduces students to all aspects of a Linux system, used by most servers and universities for housing math, statistical, deep learning, biological, genetic, and physical simulation systems.
Web Design

Teaches students to code web pages using content, style, and interactive programming. Covers HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Challenges students to build their own WordPress web blogs.
Algorithm Design

Introduces the design and analysis of algorithms. Topics include cellular automata, prime testing and generation, generating and manipulating permutations, graph algorithms, sorting, and RSA encryption. Requires prior knowledge of programming, but includes an introduction to Python.
Introduction to Engineering: 3D Design

A semester-long multidisciplinary class where students practice the iterative nature of design to learn how to build dynamic systems with computer-aided design (CAD) and produce final products with computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and 3D printers. Students will progress from simple static objects to a fairly complex dynamic design as their final project, all the while polishing skills in Fusion 360, Adobe Illustrator, and systems that drive the CAM devices.
Introduction to Engineering: Electronics

A semester-long multidisciplinary class where students will learn the basics of electronics and circuitry. We will start with the basic concepts and simple designs and work our way to designing more complicated systems. We will create circuits that link sensors and other input devices to microcontrollers, that require some computer programming, to drive output devices such as LEDs and motors. By the end of the course, the goal is to be able to design and create a multi-input and multi-output system, usually an object avoidance vehicle
Advanced Topics in Computer Science

Investigates current topics in computer science. Students learn to build clusters out of 5-8 raspberry pis and use this cluster to distribute calculations, create fractals, break encryption schemes, and study other problems that lend themselves to a distributed model.
AP Computer Science A

Builds on Introduction to Computer Programming, challenging students to advance from creating simple games to understanding the intricacies of Object Oriented Programming and design strategies, problem solving methodologies, data structures, and algorithms design.

Mathematics

List of 17 items.

Foundations

Introduces the rudiments of algebra, including integer, decimal, and radical arithmetic; exponents and radicals; linear equations; basic set theory; number theory; elementary counting principles; linear inequalities; absolute-value equations; and quadratic equations.
Algebra I

Introduces the basics of algebra, including linear/absolute-value equations/inequalities; functions/relations; systems of linear equations/inequalities; polynomial arithmetic/factoring; quadratic functions/equations; arithmetic/geometric sequences; exponential functions/modeling; radical expressions/equations; and rational expressions/equations.
Advanced Algebra I

A fast-paced, in-depth introduction to the basics of algebra, including linear/absolute-value equations/inequalities; functions/relations; systems of linear equations/inequalities; polynomial arithmetic/factoring; quadratic functions/equations; arithmetic/geometric sequences; exponential functions/modeling; radical expressions/equations; and rational expressions/equations.
Geometry

Introduces the axiomatic system of Euclidean geometry. Teaches students to use logical and creative mathematical reasoning to confirm parallel, perpendicular, congruence, inequality, and similarity relationships. Develops coordinate geometry and problem solving techniques.
Advanced Geometry

An introduction to Euclidean geometry. Students will study triangles, constructions, polygons, congruence, inequalities, similarity, right-triangle trigonometry, circles, vector geometry, and mass-point geometry. All studies will be carried out in two and three dimensions. Rigorous argumentation and clarity of expression/thought will be goals in topic mastery along with numerical geometric proficiency.
Algebra II & Trigonometry

Designed to build on previously studied algebraic and geometric concepts. Abstract and graphical reasoning skills are developed emphasizing: linear systems, algebraic and transcendental functions, complex numbers, and analytic trigonometry.
Advanced Algebra II & Trigonometry

A fast-paced course designed to build on previously studied algebraic and geometric concepts. Abstract and graphical reasoning skills are developed emphasizing: linear systems, algebraic and transcendental functions, complex numbers, and analytic trigonometry. Additional topics may include conic sections and sequences and series.
Precalculus

Builds on the skills learned in Algebra II, examining polynomial, rational, trigonometric, logarithmic, and exponential functions with respect the their basic properties and standard geometric transformations. Requires skill in algebraic, numerical, and graphical analysis.
Advanced Precalculus

Builds on the skills learned in Algebra II, emphasizing domain, range, transformations, intervals of monotonicity, and other functional properties. Additional topics may include parametric representations, polar coordinates, vectors, conic sections, and limits.
Calculus

Introduces differentiation and integration of algebraic and transcendental functions of one variable. Topics include limits, continuity, rules of differentiation, applications of derivatives, the (in)definite integral, techniques of integration, and applications of the definite integral.
AP Statistics

Introduces statistics, teaching students to perform exploratory data analysis, experimental design, pattern anticipation, and statistical inference. Emphasizes working with data and statistical reasoning to draw conclusions. Prepares students for the AP Statistics exam.
AP Calculus

Examines limits, continuity, derivatives, integrals, differential equations, and series and sequences. Emphasizes application of concepts to real-world phenomena. Prepares students for the AP Calculus BC exam.
Numerical Analysis

Teaches students to solve problems from various fields of mathematics using computer analysis. Topics may include numerical differentiation and integration, solutions to nonlinear equations, fractal generation, and encryption techniques. Also covers numerical linear algebra.
Multivariable Calculus

Teaches the calculus of three variables and vector calculus. Topics include vectors, functions of several variables/partial derivatives, the gradient, potential functions/conservative vector fields, line integrals, double/triple integrals, cylindrical/spherical coordinate systems, and more.
Linear Algebra

Examines row-reduction, matrix equations, linear transformations, invertibility, LU-factorization, subspaces of Euclidean space, dimension, rank, determinants, vector spaces, null and column spaces, linear independence, eigen-theory, algebraic and geometric multiplicity, and more.
Ordinary Differential Equations

Explores ways to model everyday processes using differential equations. Topics include first and second order differential equations, series solutions to differential equations, Bessel’s equation, the Laplace transform, and systems of first order equations.
Discrete Mathematics

Introduces knot theory and various topics in discrete mathematics (the study of the properties of integers), including set theory, combinatorics, sequences, calculus of finite differences, number theory and group theory, graph theory, and apportionment.

Modern and Classical Languages

List of 26 items.

Spanish I

Teaches the content knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to communicate at a novice-high level in Spanish. Focuses on the top 100-150 frequently used words and structures (days of the week, months of the year, seasons, and basic weather and color terms).
Spanish II

Builds on Spanish I, reviewing the top 100-200 most frequently used words and expanding to the top 200-300. Exposes students to a variety of vocabulary, grammar, and cultural topics through extensive reading incorporated in the curriculum.
Spanish III

Builds on Spanish I and II, teaching students to communicate at an intermediate-mid level in Spanish. Focuses on the top 300-350 frequently used words and structures, and exposes students to a variety of vocabulary, grammar, and culture through extensive reading.
Spanish IV

Builds on Spanish I through III, ensuring confident use of everyday Spanish language. Reviews the top 300-400 most frequently used words and expands to the top 400-500. Exposes students to a wide variety of vocabulary, grammar, and cultural topics.
AP Spanish

Explores intermediate to advanced Spanish linguistics, focusing on syntax, morphology, semantics, and pronunciation. Coursework covers grammar and pronunciation practice as well as analysis of sentence structure and the use of different tenses and moods.
Advanced Spanish Linguistics

Explores intermediate to advanced Spanish linguistics, focusing on syntax, morphology, semantics, and pronunciation. Coursework covers grammar and pronunciation practice as well as analyzation of sentence structure and the use of different tenses and moods.
Spanish Through Film and Literature

Through Spanish film and literature, teaches mid and high-intermediate level students to enjoy and appreciate the Spanish language and associated cultures. Challenges students to produce a variety of written and verbal responses and to give class presentations.
Chinese I

Introduces students to the top 80-100 frequently used words and structures, as well as common Chinese characters (ideograms). Provides the introductory cultural knowledge, cross-cultural awareness, and international perspective necessary for understanding the Chinese language.
Chinese II

Teaches students to communicate at a novice level through greetings, inquiries, introductions, and descriptions using the top 150-250 frequently used words. Encourages students to research Chinese culture and to interact with one another using common Chinese etiquette.
Chinese III

Teaches students to communicate at an intermediate level through simple conversations and social interactions using the top 250-350 frequently used words. Familiarizes students with Chinese value systems, as well as the importance of cultural awareness and global citizenship.
Chinese IV

Teaches students to communicate at a mid-intermediate level through simple paragraphs and essays using the top 350 to 600 frequently used words. Familiarizes students with Chinese literature and arts, and the concepts of cultural multiplicity and cultural permeability.
Chinese V

Teaches students to communicate at a high-intermediate level through spontaneous, cohesive, and fluent discourse using the top 600 to 1200 frequently used words. Encourages students to develop a sense of national and international identity, broadening their cultural horizons.
Advanced Topics in Chinese

Teaches advanced students how to craft artistic literature (music, poetry, essays, novels, etc.) using the Chinese language.
AP Chinese

Full-year course equivalent to a second-year (or fourth semester) college course. Strengthens skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in Chinese. Encourages students to develop an awareness and appreciation of contemporary and historical Chinese culture.
Latin I

Introduces students to the top 244 frequently used words in classical Latin literature through the reading and translation of texts adapted from well-known Latin authors. Students have the opportunity to take the National Latin Exam in the spring.
Latin II

Introduces 202 more frequently used words in classical Latin literature through the reading and translation of texts adapted from classical, medieval, and Renaissance Latin authors. Students have the opportunity to take the National Latin Exam in the spring.
Latin III

Introduces 75 more frequently used words in classical Latin literature through texts adapted from Renaissance and early modern authors. Challenges students to translate unadapted authors, including Caesar, Catullus, Cicero, and Vergil. Students have the opportunity to take the National Latin Exam in the spring.
Latin IV

Focuses on the texts Commentarii de Bello Gallico by Julius Caesar and Aeneid by P. Vergilius Maro. Students are encouraged to take the College Board’s AP Latin exam in May. Students also have the opportunity to take the National Latin Exam in the spring.
AP Latin

Provides a review of Latin grammar and vocabulary. Allows students to read, discuss, and enjoy texts by Latin authors they help select (i.e. Catullus, Cornelius Nepos, Cicero, Petronius, and Ovid). Students have the opportunity to take the National Latin Exam in the spring.
Introduction to Ancient Greek

Introductory course in Ancient Greek focuses on developing the ability to read Greek fluidly through learning basic Greek grammar, building a working vocabulary, and reading a variety of ancient Greek authors. Students have the opportunity to take the National Greek Exam in early spring.
French I

The students begin to develop communicative proficiency with an emphasis on acquiring basic vocabulary and establishing a structural foundation, principally in the verb system, beginning with the present time frame and eventually, slowly, moving into the past and future tenses. Early on, the students will read brief stories, then short chapter books that are designed for beginners.
French II

After reviewing what they learned in level I, French II students continue to grow their communicative proficiency via slightly more advanced readings and more attention to grammatical structures embedded therein. They will also explore a variety of cultural contexts that include the entire French-speaking world. Film study comes into play at this level as well; for both linguistic and cultural benefits.
French III

Level III continues the trend of increasing active vocabulary, structural mastery, and cultural literacy. More advanced reading material and more French-language films (along with students’ film reviews) are introduced at this level. In addition to honing skills in practical communication, students learn to express themselves hypothetically.
French IV

We begin with an in-depth reading of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s 1943 novel, Le Petit prince (“The Little Prince), both for its universal messages and for its historical context. We view several landmark films at this level that ask challenging moral and ethical questions, including Au Revoir les enfants (Louis Malle, 1987), Jean de Florette and Manon des sources (Claude Berri, 1986), and La Rue Cases-nègres (Euzhan Palcy, 1983) that takes place in Martinique in the 1930s. We also begin to study French poetry.
AP French Language and Culture

The course is designed to give the students the best chance to do well on the AP exam. This training is intensive yet rewarding because, even if a student decides not to take the AP exam, they will have improved their communicative proficiency through practicing for the four free-response elements of the exam: the email response, the persuasive essay, the guided conversation, and the cultural comparison. The students also create their own blogs and post articles throughout the year. As always, film study figures prominently in the program.
French VI

This course is offered only when there are students who are eligible to take it. The students engage in both individual and group projects/activities that we decide on together at the beginning of the year. In addition to reading literary texts, we also explore the Francophone media worldwide, especially where journalists report on events and issue pertaining to the United States. If the students so desire, we embark on a study of French history from the Paleolithic period to the present day. This journey is supplemented by literature and film. Students also continue the blogs they began building in level V.

Physical Education

List of 6 items.

8th Grade Physical Education

Encourages knowledge of, and participation in, sports and other athletic activities.
9th Grade Wellness & Fitness

Teaches understanding of cardiovascular and muscular fitness in a hands-on environment. Introduces many additional health topics through lecture and guest speakers.
10th & 11th Grade Physical Education

Encourages students to develop their individual athletic ability through a sport or other physical activity requiring cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, and flexibility.
Introduction to Athletic Training

Introduces basic knowledge of sports injuries and respective treatments in a hands-on learning environment where students will learn to use supplies required for the athletic training profession. Introduces many additional health topics through lecture and clinical experience.
Intro to Kinesiology & Exercise Science

Description coming soon!
Advanced Sports Medicine

Description coming soon!

Science

List of 13 items.

8th Grade Science

Introduces chemistry, physics, and environmental science. Requires the submission of a Science Fair project and research papers that address content and laboratory work conducted in class. Teaches critical analysis and experimental design related to the scientific process.
Biology

Introduces cells as the structural and functional units of life, followed by an overview of the various kingdoms. Emphasizes patterns in life histories, special adaptations, basic life processes, sources of variation, plant physiology, reproduction, and growth.
Chemistry

Explores the chemical properties of matter. Students conduct lab experiments while learning chemical formula and equation writing, stoichiometric calculations, gas laws, bonding, kinetic molecular theory, and thermochemistry. Introduces nuclear and organic chemistry.
Conceptual Physics

Introduces mechanics, electricity, magnetism, and optics through lab work. Prerequisites: All Algebra courses.
Physics

Introduces mechanics, electricity, magnetism, waves, and optics through lab work. Prerequisite: Precalculus.
AP Biology

An advanced survey of Biology with a focus on cellular and molecular concepts, this course is aligned with the College Board’s requirements for an AP Biology class. Topics covered include cellular respiration, photosynthesis, gene expression, and other physiological topics related to living organisms.
AP Chemistry

Focuses on thermochemistry, oxidation-reduction reactions, equilibrium, reaction rates, electro chemistry, and kinetic molecular theory from the experimental and lab development perspectives. Prepares students for the AP Chemistry exam. Prerequisite: Chemistry.
AP Environmental Science

Uses principles of ecology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and economics to teach the mechanics of nature and human impact on the environment. Provides hands-on learning through class laboratory assignments and field studies. Prerequisites: Biology, Chemistry, and Honors Math.
AP Physics

Introduces mechanics, electricity, and magnetism. Prerequisite: Calculus.
Anatomy & Physiology I

Examines anatomy and the physiological processes related to function, organization, and homeostasis within the human body. Topics include: cytology, histology, and the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, digestive, and respiratory systems. Prerequisites: Biology and Chemistry.
Anatomy & Physiology II

Builds on Anatomy and Physiology I, covering the respiratory, cardiovascular, lymphatic, immune, nervous and urinary systems. Prerequisites: Biology and Chemistry.
Infectious Disease

Requires students to use critical thinking and problem solving skills to analyze case studies and propose solutions. Topics include infectious particles, modes of transmission, immunological response, treatments and cures, pandemics, and the socioeconomic and cultural implications of infectious diseases.
Forensic Science

Requires students to use critical thinking and problem solving skills to analyze example crime scene evidence. Topics include fingerprinting, handwriting, blood splatter and typing, and toxicology.

Visual & Performing Arts

List of 27 items.

Photography I

Introduces basic photographic, compositional, and lighting principles using a 35mm SLR camera. Teaches students how to capture images with BW film, process, and print. Student photographs are mounted and showcased in a student art show at the end of the semester.
Photography 2

Builds on Photography I, teaching students how to capture images on color C41 film and print them using archival materials, Fiber Base BW and Endura Metallic RA 4 papers. Student photographs are mounted and showcased in a student art show at the end of the semester.
Introduction to B&W Photography

Introduces students to the process of shooting on BW film. Teaches custom, professional printing techniques in the darkroom to achieve optimum image quality.
Digital Photography

Builds on Photography I and II, teaching students how to capture images with a Digital SLR camera. Student photographs will be printed using archival paper and ink, mounted, and showcased in a student art show at the end of the semester.
Yearbook Layout & Design

A second-semester course, teaching students to use the Balfour program to create unique pages to be published in the school yearbook. Encourages students to choose page backgrounds, content, and themes, as well as text and captions for the pages.
Art History

Employs critical, theoretical, and methodological perspectives and approaches to examining visual arts from the Paleolithic era to the present. Equips students with the visual literacy necessary to navigate the contemporary experience. Requires writing and class participation.
2D Design

Comprises research, design, fabrication, documentation, and exhibition. Explores the design process through various approaches to drawing and painting still lifes, landscapes, portraits, and the human figure. Teaches through historical examples and student production.
3D Design

Comprises research, design, fabrication, documentation, and exhibition. Invites students to explore a number of materials from fiberboard and hot glue, to virtual design and 3D printing, to traditional ceramic hand-building techniques of pinch, coil, and slab.
Illustration

Comprises research, design, fabrication, documentation, and exhibition. Explores the illustration of texts ranging from tweets to novels. Uses the history of illustration as an anchor but incorporates digital as well as traditional media. Introduces professionals in the illustration field.
Drawing Methods

Comprises research, design, fabrication, documentation, and exhibition. Explores the definition and methods of drawing and the design process through various media and techniques. Teaches how to create space and form through mark making, value, perspective, and color.
Painting Methods

Comprises research, design, fabrication, documentation, and exhibition. Explores the definition and methods of painting through various painting media and techniques. Uses contemporary and historical examples and design process to gain understanding and skill mastery.
Sculpture Methods

Comprises research, design, fabrication, documentation, and exhibition. Presents students with technical and conceptual problems to solve through sculpture, using a number of materials.
AP Studio Art

Functions within the structure of the College Board’s AP portfolio requirements, but develops differently for each student. Designed for group critique and dialogue. Includes field trips to local and regional studios and institutions. Requires teacher approval.
Drama

Teaches basic skills in communication, time management, writing, and theater etiquette.
Acting I

Introduces the basics of acting (concentration, relaxation, observation, and characterization) through daily improvisations and theater games. Culminates in the performance of short scenes in an Acting Showcase. Encourages students to attend local theater performances.
Acting II

Builds on the basics learned in Acting I, encouraging students to continue developing their acting skills. Delves into classical and modern material, comedy and drama. Requires students to create a monologue book to serve as audition material. May be repeated.
Stagecraft

Introduces the basics of set construction, scenery, and lighting design. Gives students the opportunity to build, paint, light a set, and serve as stage crew for a major production during the semester. Students also set up lights, sounds, and media for Town Meetings. May be repeated.
Play Production

Students spend the first semester reading and critiquing one act plays, and the second directing a one act play of their choice in the annual One Act Play Festival. They are expected to hold auditions, cast roles, lead rehearsals, and organize production.
Musical Theater

Introduces musical theater, encouraging students to establish a book of musical numbers appropriate for college, community, and professional auditions. Culminates in a Musical Theatre Showcase at the end of the semester. May be repeated.
Music History

Examines the unique composers associated with each historical time period in Western Art music, ranging from Medieval to present day. Teaches the specific musical devices used by composers, and develops critical listening skills that enable consideration of classical music.
Musical Ensemble

Encourages students to hone their instrumental skills and to perform selected classical musical works for chamber music ensemble. Requires completion of research and listening assignments, class presentations, and self-evaluations. Private lessons are encouraged.
Contemporary Music Ensemble

Provides students an opportunity to rehearse and perform selections from popular genres with an ensemble (i.e. guitar, bass, drums, keys, vocals) of classmates. Teaches basic music fundamentals, ear training, and popular music history. May be repeated multiple semesters.
Advanced Contemporary Music Ensemble

Builds on the skills learned in Contemporary Music Ensemble, requiring a high level of proficiency in the areas of reading, improvisation, execution, and ear development. Challenges student ensembles to perform difficult selections of music with accuracy and consistency.
Recording Arts

Teaches the fundamentals and physical properties of sound related to the process of achieving “studio quality” recordings. Challenges students to use computer-based recording technology (MIDI) and analog based recording technology to produce digital and acoustic music.
Choral Literature & Conducting

For second-semester juniors and seniors who have taken Music History. Examines masterworks of the choral repertoire, requiring students to use both a conductor’s approach and a musicological approach to considering various pieces presented in class.
Introduction to Music Theory

Introduces essential and fundamental skills of music theory, including intervals, chords, harmonizations, musical terminologies, standard musical notations, and four-part writing. Also teaches sight-singing, ear-training, and music dictation. Prepares students for AP Music Theory.
AP Music Theory

Develops understanding of theory, harmony, composition, musicianship, and score analysis. Requires students to listen, perform, create, and analyze music from the Common Practice Period (1600-1900) and other styles/genres. Prepares students for the AP Music Theory exam.

About

Welcome to Springs

Admissions

Apply to Indian Springs

Academics

An Indian Springs Education

Boarding

Boarding at Indian Springs

Student Life

Experience Our Campus

Support Springs

Giving at Indian Springs

Admissions

Apply to Indian Springs

Academics

An Indian Springs Education

Boarding

Boarding at Indian Springs

Student Life

Experience Our Campus

Support Springs

Giving at Indian Springs

Curriculum

List of 5 items.

8th Grade

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Graduation Requirements

Language Arts

List of 15 items.

8th Grade English

9th Grade English

Critical Reading & Analytical Writing

AP English Language

Advanced American Literature

Advanced Poetry

Protest Rhetoric

Major Authors

Travel Writing

Modern African American Voices

Contemporary African American Voices

Comparative Literature: Victorian Times

Adaptation

Monsters, Devils, & Madman

Literary Theory

History

List of 17 items.

Social Studies

World History

AP European History

20th Century World History

AP United States History

The Constitution & American Government

Constitutional Law & Civil Rights

United States Issues

Global Issues

Historical Methods

Intellectual History I

Intellectual History II

Diplomatic History

Ethics & Contemporary Politics

Ethics & the Modern Economy

Tolstoy's War and Peace

1950s Film History

Computer Science & Engineering

List of 9 items.

Introduction to Computer Networking

Introduction to Computer Programming

Introduction to Linux

Web Design

Algorithm Design

Introduction to Engineering: 3D Design

Introduction to Engineering: Electronics

Advanced Topics in Computer Science

AP Computer Science A

Mathematics

List of 17 items.

Foundations