Note: According to the Espoo City allocation of lesson hours, students that study a B2 language (8th-9thgrades)have fulfilled their ‘general’ elective hours for 9thgrade, and therefore will not need to choose one for that year. Other students will take either one short (A2 students) or two shorts (non-A2 students) in 9thgrade.

Means of assessment for B2 languages: Students are assessed based on their written and verbal communication skills, projects and presentations (both individual and group-based), as well as class participation, receiving a Finnish numeric grade. In May of 9thgrade, B2 students can choose to take a final Finnish numeric grade or to be assessed on a ‘pass or fail’ basis.

Note: Only for students who do not study an A2 language.

Goals: By the end of this two-year course, students will learn the basics of German language and a bit about the culture of German-speaking countries.

Means of Assessment: Students are assessed based on their written and verbal communication skills, projects, and presentations (both individual and group-based), and class participation.

Note: Only for students who do not study an A2 language.

How can you benefit from learning the language of the country with the longest shared boarder with Finland?

Goals: For those who would like to learn the basics of the Russian language, this option offers you the opportunity.

Means of Assessment: Students are assessed based on their written and verbal communication skills, projects, and presentations (both individual and group-based), and class participation.

Note: Only for students who do not study an A2 language.

Goals: By the end of this two-year course, students will meet the goals of learning basic communication skills in Spanish and learning about the cultures in the 20+ Spanish-speaking countries around the world.

Means of Assessment: Students are assessed based on their written and verbal communication skills, projects, and presentations (both individual and group-based), and class participation.

Did you know that you’re not a monkey, but you are an ape? Or that in our beginning we all really came from Africa? Do you know why we have different skin colors and that one day we could all be the same color? How about that sports are thousands of years old and the first rubber balls were made from tree sap?

Anthropology is the study of humans. It explores different cultures, how humans spread around the earth, why we walk on two legs, when we mastered fire, and how ancient people made hunting spears from rocks and homes from mammoth bones. It discovers how people talk different languages, eat different foods, listen to different music, and have different fun. Anthropology finds that no matter our differences we are all part of the same species, doing things in very similar ways. Come learn about yourself and your species. Come along for the adventure of anthropology!

Goals: We will walk down the path of human evolution from the days when our ancestors left the trees to become two-legged land dwellers that spread around the globe. We explore how humans evolved over time and developed the ability to manipulate the earth in ways it has never seen before, leading us to the advanced and complexed societies of today.

Means of assessment: This elective contains many avenues of learning including outdoor exploration, experimental hands-on activities, data collection, artistic projects and films, along with lectures, notetaking, and discussion. Students will be assessed on their overall participation, effort put into projects, and overall journal quality.

Learn a range of basic Economic and Business Management concepts. We begin in grade 8 with an introduction to Macro and Micro Economics, which develops economic understanding. This includes areas such as supply and demand, GDP and other measures of income/output, balance of payments, taxation, inflation, exchange rates, interpreting information, and differing economies. In Grade 9 we learn business management concepts such as business organization and environment, human resources, marking, operations management and finance. The goal in grade 9 is to apply economic and business concepts in project work to create a business plan of your own.

Goals: To explore the features of different businesses and analyze what makes them successful. To apply knowledge gained to set up a new business idea.

Means of Assessment: Project which examines the features of a chosen business, looking at how it is organized, how structure enables achievement of aims and objectives and the relationship and communication with stakeholders.

This course offers a wide range of knowledge from video basics to photos, from multimedia content creation to distribution(such as television, social media, the press, and the broadcasting world).

Goals: Participants will be able to develop platform-free skills and abilities required to produce media content for various targets e.g. social media, newsroom, etc.

The assessment will be based on a combination of the following:

-The achieved goals-The ability to plan and to produce own tasks and content with the help of the teacher

-The quality of the personal course planner and electronic course diary

-The content and the quality of the self-produced multimedia

-Demonstration of theoretical knowledge gained during the course, and the ability to meet deadlines

-Self-assessment

"You don't take a photograph, you make it!" Learn in this course how to take impressive photographs. You get to know how an SLR camera works. Learn the main elements of photography: how to take account of light, composition, colors, aperture, and depth of field, for example. You will survey the local school area and participate in a photoshoot tour of Helsinki. A visit to a photography exhibition and making a photographic art exhibition are included in the course.

Goal: To learn to take and make impressive photographs.

Means of Assessment: Showing evidence of understanding the basic techniques of photography and skills to convey a message.

The goal of this course is to gather the tools needed for creating a better future. Know your rights and responsibilities! You will learn about several themes:

-Responsible action: Service learning

-Global citizenship education (help by Taksvärkki ry): equality, the social dimension of sustainable development and critical thinking

-Copyrights (help by Kopiosto): academic honesty

-Sustainability (help by Unicef and Plan International): economic, environmental and social

The grounds of assessment is based on student participation and completion of tasks. Students would also receive certificates for their CV/portfolio.

In the first year, students will focus on learning the basics of the C# coding language and will focus on making small projects. Most of the projects will be 2D and text-based, but some 3D principles will also be covered. During the second year, students will build on the skills learned in the previous year and will focus on a larger project.

The elective will focus on what it takes to make indie games (independent games). Focusing on indie game development gives students the opportunity to practice many different sides of game development, which will help them determine their strengths and interests. This will also potentially help them discover what they are interested in pursuing in the future. We will also learn the standards and rules of the game development industry.

Topics that will be touched upon during the elective include the following (the depth will depend on the interest and needs of the class): C# coding, the creative process, problem solving and debugging, 2D and some 3D game art, game music composition, and sound effects, story telling, cinematics, IOS, Android app development, and web development (focusing on sharing their creations), physics and mathematical principles, copyright laws, and UI/UX design.

Goal: To learn to code and make games using some of the same tools as the professionals.

Means of Assessment: Ongoing journal/notebook, portfolio of work, rubrics, and tests and quizzes. Students will be assessed over the creative process. They will keep a notebook/journal that will document ideas, as well as taking notes of new concepts and ideas learned. All projects both big and small will be kept in a digital portfolio. Students will continually self-assess both their notebook and portfolio. The notebook and each projects will also be assessed through rubrics. Tests and quizzes will be used as well. Risk taking will be nurtured so that assessment will be focused on the process and innovation that was used to create rather than how well the final product works.

Want to try out German for one year instead of two? Or would you like to improve the German skills that you already have? If so, consider this elective. If all students who sign up are beginners, this course will teach "tourist German," concentrating on the short dialogue needed when travelling and/or staying a short time in a German-speaking country. If the group has varying levels of German, teaching will be differentiated according to those skills.

Goal: By the end of this one-year course, students will learn the basics of German language or improve the skills they already have.

Means of assessment: written and verbal communication skills, as well as class participation

If you do not take home economics as your "artistic and practical" subject in 8th-9th grade, but still have interest in it, then this may be the course for you.

Goal: Cooking and baking, getting acquainted with national and international food cultures, learning about special diets and more. This 2 year course is based on exercising your practical skills and team work.

Means of Assessment: Based on demonstration of both skills and knowledge.

NOTE: Students cannot take both this and the "artistic and practical" Home Economics course.

How do people think? What motivates someone's actions? How do you learn? Why do different people have different personalities? Does birth order affect who you become? Can someone's behavior be predicted?

Goals: Learn the answers to these questions and more in the Introduction to Psychology elective. We will discuss psychology as a science including the connection between the brain and body, what consciousness is and what affects it, as well as exploring social relationships through understanding conformity, obedience, and group dynamics.

Means of Assessment: A final project and formative quizzes as well as class participation and preparedness.

Engage yourself in practical chemistry experiments explaining and expanding on the chemistry of everyday life. The course will include practical experiments with theory to explain chemistry phenomena.

Goals: This course aims to explain how chemical processes are important in our everyday lives. The course is not a revision course nor an extra course for your regular chemistry lessons.

Assessment: An evaluation statement based on the level of participation in lessons and practical chemistry skills. The assessment of this elective does not affect the grading of the main course.

Does every equation have a solution? How do number systems without a zero work? What is infinity, and can you fit all infinities into one? Can all functions be graphed? If you are interested in the world of mathematics beyond what is taught in the standard course, and you want to learn about the fundamental principles behind mathematics, then this course is for you.

Goals: You will learn to critically analyze assumptions made in mathematics and build the theoretical base for understanding mathematics more deeply. The course is not a revision course or an extra course for your regular mathematics lessons.

Assessment: An evaluation statement based on the level of lesson participation and tasks completed. The assessment of the elective mathematics does not affect the grading of the main course