Digital creativity shapes the world—now it’s your turn to add your voice and create it! In this course, you’ll explore the fundamentals of digital imaging while learning to use the elements and principles of art to produce meaningful digital artwork. You’ll take and edit expressive digital photographs, experiment with lighting and perspective, practice photo manipulation, and explore digital drawing and animation. You’ll also learn the basics of typography and create a symbolic typographic artwork of your own. Throughout the course, you’ll analyze art for meaning, write reflective artist statements, and use critique to grow your skills. You’ll even discover careers in the digital arts. This course provides elective credit that partly fulfills the high school performing/fine arts requirement.
Art is all around us. In Visual Art II, you will explore it in creative and meaningful ways through a variety of hands-on and digital materials! You’ll use the elements and principles of art and design to create expressive works such as self-portraits, earth art, paper art, Pop Art, digital art, and pieces inspired by cultures around the world. As you experiment with found objects, paper, digital imaging, and a wide choice of 2D media such as drawing or painting, you’ll learn to analyze art, set artistic goals, and clearly communicate your ideas. Whether you’re new to art or building upon past experience, this course helps you grow your skills and creative confidence. You’ll need some art supplies, but you’ll have plenty of choices in what you use.
In the Middle School Intermediate Spanish course, students continue learning grammar and vocabulary skills to help build basic fluency and language proficiency. Explore more of the culture of Spanish-speaking countries through engaging interactive games, videos, and audio recordings, and apply what you learn through written practice, listening, and speaking exercises. This course provides middle school elective credit and is not eligible for high school credit on transcripts.
Prerequisite: Open to 7th and 8th-grade students upon successful completion of MS Beginning Spanish.
Immerse yourself in the beauty of the Spanish language and the richness of its diverse cultures. In the MS Beginning Spanish course, you will learn basic grammar and vocabulary skills to help build your fluency and language proficiency. You will explore the culture of Spanish-speaking countries through engaging interactive games, videos, and audio recordings, and apply what you learn through written practice, listening, and speaking exercises. Develop your writing skills while broadening your exposure and appreciation for Spanish cultural similarities and differences. This course provides middle school elective credit and is not eligible for high school credit on transcripts. Open to 6th and 7th-grade students.
Learning about history allows people to see how far we have come and what awaits us on our path to the future. In this course, students will explore the history of the United States and analyze cause and effect in historical events. They will investigate history by examining the historical, geographic, political, economic, and sociological events that influenced the development of the United States. This course begins with the engaging stories of what brought the earliest American colonists to the New World and ends with the struggles to repair the United States following the Civil War. Engaging in this study allows students to recognize the themes of history that span across centuries and leads to a greater appreciation of the development of the United States and the resulting impact on world history.
Following MS World History I, students will expand their reading and writing skills while continuing the study of history. Studying history helps students connect events from the past to the world around them. In this course, students examine civilizations that have left their mark on history. They join travel agent Mr. Lightfoot on a journey back in time, digging through the past and examining its impact on our world today.
In this course, students discover the mysteries of past civilizations. From the ancient river civilizations to China and its legendary dynasties, different civilizations left their mark on history. In ancient Egypt, students visit the pyramids and find out the secrets of preserving mummies. They will see how the Mayans developed astronomy into a precise science. Students will investigate the difference between the Athenians and the Spartans and journey through India discovering their contributions to medicine, before moving on to Africa to follow the rise and fall of the ancient East African kingdoms of Kush and Axum. Throughout the centuries, and still today, our world is made up of dozens of different cultures.
Students will discover the properties of matter, changes in matter, and energy flow. They will explore the universe and the interactions between the Earth, the sun, and the moon in our solar system. This course prepares students for high school science courses with the introduction of new topics and a review of science basics. Students will learn more about the nature of science, Earth and space science, properties of matter, changes in matter, matter and energy, and energy flow.
Middle School Comprehensive Science II is an integrated science that includes the disciplines of life science, physical science, and earth space science in addition to technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts. The lessons provide real- world connections through the application of STEM problem-solving, science knowledge and engineering practices. Students will explore the foundations of science, including energy, Earth’s changing features and structures, Earth’s history, genetics, heredity, and the organization and interaction of living organisms.
Middle School Comprehensive Science I is the first in a series of three consecutive science classes. It introduces middle school students to the disciplines of life science, physical science, and earth-space science. In addition, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts are integrated throughout the course. The lessons make real-world connections and require students to apply STEM skills like analysis, problem solving, science knowledge, and engineering practices. Students will investigate energy, force, weather, climate, Earth’s systems, and living organisms. This in-depth exploration will build a foundation for concepts covered in Comprehensive Science II and III.
This hands-on course is full of slideshows, applications, videos, and real-world scenarios. Topics covered include real numbers and exponents, geometric transformations and relationships, functions, linear relationships and equations, patterns, and linear systems.
This course is designed to expand student knowledge about the transformation of shapes by sliding, flipping, rotating, and enlarging them on a coordinate plane. Topics covered include rational numbers, equations and inequalities, proportions, geometry, probability of simple and compound events, and statistics.
Students have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of number manipulation by applying it to real-world scenarios. Topics covered include decimals and fractions, ratios, rational numbers, the coordinate plane, area, expressions, equations, inequalities, and understanding data.
Using a motif of heroes, helpers, and hope, students will learn to effectively write narrative, informational, and argumentative pieces and present their ideas clearly and cohesively. They will also work on reading comprehension with units such as a novel/short story study and analysis. Students will explore the world around them, learn about real-life heroes, and create heroes from their own imagination. Authors include Madeline L’Engele, RJ Palacio, and Kristin Levine.
By examining powerful literary and nonfiction texts by a wide array of authors, students build upon their foundational knowledge of reading, writing, and speaking using engaging mentor texts and scaffolded opportunities. Students also fine-tune their writing by planning and producing effective narratives, argumentative essays, and expository essays using guided practice and exemplar texts. Students dive into the world of rhetoric by exploring important historical texts, demonstrating proficiency in identifying effective rhetorical appeals and ineffective fallacious reasoning that weakens communication.
English 8 focuses on laying a strong foundation for literary analysis, persuasive, argumentative, and narrative writing. Students will learn about citing internet sources, writer’s voice, revision, textual evidence, distinguishing between valid and invalid claims, how modern fiction can draw from myths, creative writing, and more. Authors include Anne Frank, Anna Sewell, Sharon Draper, HG Wells, and Edwidge Danticat.