Elective Courses

HUMANITIES

OPEN TO: 11 & 12 (10TH WITH INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION)

PREREQUISITE: ENGLISH 10

GRADUATION REQUIREMENT: NO

CAPACITY: 30

Humanities is a combined study of disciplines that explore the human condition through history, art, architecture, music, religion, philosophy, and literature.  Students will study different periods of world history and cultures through these related lenses.  As a result, they will gain new skills in communication, creative problem-solving, multicultural awareness, and gain an understanding of how the human experience has been shaped by changing and evolving ideas. Not only do students study the past, but they apply what they have learned to themselves and the future.

GEOGRAPHY

OPEN TO: 9, 10, 11, 12

PREREQUISITE: NONE

GRADUATION REQUIREMENT: NO

CAPACITY: 30

Human Geography introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth's population and surface. Students will employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human social organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice.

WORLD AFFAIRS

OPEN TO: 11, 12

PREREQUISITE: NONE

GRADUATION REQUIREMENT: NO

CAPACITY: 30

Using current events, this elective course focuses on world and local issues  that affect students’ everyday lives, such as economics, government and conflict. This course  uses newspapers, online media, cartoons, and newscasts to support class discussion. Additionally  students participate in group projects, presentations and work with primary source materials and opinion pieces in order to better understand the world around them.

WORLD HISTORY

OPEN TO: 11, 12

PREREQUISITE: NONE

GRADUATION REQUIREMENT: NO

CAPACITY: 30

In World History, students will investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes dating back to 8,000 BCE.  Students will develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources; making historical comparisons; utilizing reasoning about contextualization, causation, and change over time; and developing historical arguments.  

The course provides five themes that student will explore in order to make connections amongst historical developments in different times and places: 1. Interaction between humans and the environment; 2. Development and interaction of cultures; 3. State building, expansion, and conflict; 4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems; and 5. Development of social structures.