*Career Choices (P)
Career Choices (aka Get Focused Stay Focused) is an initiative designed to provide every student with the necessary information and experiences to develop college and career readiness skills as well as facilitate the development of an online 10-year Career and Education Plan.
This Curriculum utilizes the Career Choices and Changes workbook, allowing students to discover who they are, what they want, and how to get it. The course is broken down into three sections:
Section One: Who Am I?
Section Two: What Do I Want?
Section Three: How Do I Get It?
*APEX Health (P)
Health is a valuable, skills-based health education course designed for general education in grades 9 through 12. Health helps students develop knowledge, attitudes, and essential skills in a variety of health-related subjects, including mental and emotional health, social health, nutrition, physical fitness, substance use and abuse, disease prevention and treatment, and injury prevention and safety. Through use of accessible information, realistic interactivities, and project-based learning, students apply the skills they need to stay healthy. These skills include identifying and accessing valid health information, practicing self-management, identifying internal and external influences, communicating effectively, making healthy decisions, setting goals, and advocating. Students who complete Health build the skills they need to protect, enhance, and promote their own health and the health of others. The content is based on the National Health Standards (SHAPE) and is aligned to state standards. One semester course.
👍 *APEX College and Career I (P) - Popular Grade 10
High school students have many questions about the college application process, what it takes to be a successful college student, and how to begin thinking about their careers. In College and Career Preparation I, students obtain a deeper understanding of what it means to be ready for college. Students are informed about the importance of high school performance in college admissions and how to prepare for college testing. They know the types of schools and degrees they may choose to pursue after high school and gain wide exposure to the financial resources available that make college attainable. Career readiness is also a focus. Students connect the link between interests, college majors, and future careers by analyzing career clusters. Students come away from this course understanding how smart preparation and skill development in high school can lead into expansive career opportunities after they have completed their education and are ready for the working world. Students who complete College and Career Preparation I have the basic skills and foundation of knowledge to progress into College and Career Preparation II, the capstone course that provides hands-on information about the transition from high school to college and career. One semester course.
*APEX College and Career II (P) - Popular Grade 11
High school students have many questions about the college application process, what it takes to be a successful college student, and how to begin thinking about their careers. College and Career Preparation II builds on the lessons and skills in College and Career Preparation I. The course provides a step-by-step guide to choosing a college. It walks students through the process of filling out an application, including opportunities to practice, and takes an in-depth look at the various college-admission tests and assessments, as well financial aid options. College and Career Preparation II also instructs students in interviewing techniques and provides career guidance. Students explore valuable opportunities such as job shadowing and internships when preparing for a career. Students who complete this course obtain a deeper understanding of college and career readiness through informative, interactive critical thinking and analysis activities while sharpening their time management, organization, and learning skills that they learned in College and Career Preparation I.College and Career Preparation II prepares students with the knowledge and skills to be successful in college and beyond. The course is based on the American School Counselors Association National Standards for school counseling programs. One semester course.
*APEX Creative Writing (P)
Creative Writing is an English elective course that focuses on the exploration of short fiction and poetry, culminating in a written portfolio that includes one revised short story and three to five polished poems. Students draft, revise, and polish fiction and poetry through writing exercises, developing familiarity with literary terms and facility with the writing process as they study elements of creative writing. Elements of fiction writing explored in this course include attention to specific detail, observation, character development, setting, plot, and point of view. In the poetry units, students learn about the use of sensory details and imagery, figurative language, and sound devices including rhyme, rhythm and alliteration. They also explore poetic forms ranging from found poems and slam poetry to traditional sonnets and villanelles. In addition to applying literary craft elements in guided creative writing exercises, students engage in critical reading activities designed to emphasize the writing craft of a diverse group of authors. Students study short stories by authors such as Bharati Mukherjee and Edgar Allan Poe, learning how to create believable characters and develop setting and plot. Likewise, students read poetry by canonical greats such as W. B. Yeats and Emily Dickinson as well as contemporary writers such as Pablo Neruda, Sherman Alexie, and Alice Notley. Studying the writing technique of a range of authors provides students with models and inspiration as they develop their own voices and refine their understanding of the literary craft. One semester course.
By taking a Creative Writing course, students find new approaches to reading and writing that can affect them on a personal level, as the skills they gain in each lesson directly benefit their own creative goals. Students who are already actively engaged writers and readers learn additional tools and insight into the craft of writing to help them further hone their skills and encourage their creative as well as academic growth.
👍*APEX Ethnic Studies (P)
Multicultural Studies is a one-semester elective history and sociology course that examines the United States as a multicultural nation. The course emphasizes the perspectives of minority groups while allowing students from all backgrounds to better understand and appreciate how race, culture and ethnicity, and identity contribute to their experiences. Major topics in the course include identity, immigration, assimilation and distinctiveness, power and oppression, struggles for rights, regionalism, culture and the media, and the formation of new cultures. In online Discussions and Polls, students reflect critically on their own experiences as well as those of others. Interactive multimedia activities include personal and historical accounts to which students can respond using methods of inquiry from history, sociology, and psychology. Written assignments and Journals provide opportunities for students to practice and develop skills for thinking and communicating about race, culture, ethnicity, and identity. One semester course.
Apex Exploring Computer Science (P)
Exploring Computer Science offers a focused curriculum designed around foundational computer science concepts, including computer systems, programming, networks, and data management. The course also introduces students to foundational computer science skills such as coding, troubleshooting, and being a responsible digital citizen.
Course topics include the history and impact of computers; careers in computer science; computing laws and ethics; bias and equity issues in computing; algorithms and coding; data storage, organization, and analysis; hardware and software; robotics; networks and the internet; cybersecurity and online safety; website design; and the use of abstraction in computing. Students discover new concepts through guided instruction and confirm their understanding in an interactive, feedback-rich environment.
*APEX Geography and World Cultures (P)
Geography and World Cultures offers a tightly focused and scaffolded curriculum that enables students to explore how geographic features, human relationships, political and social structures, economics, science and technology, and the arts have developed and influenced life in countries around the world. Along the way, students are given instruction on how to read maps, charts, and graphs, and how to create them. One semester course.
*APEX Geography and World Cultures Honors (P)
Geography and World Cultures Honors is a robust, one-semester course that explores how geographic features, human relationships, political and social structures, economics, science and technology, and the arts have developed and influenced life in countries around the world. Along the way, students are given rigorous instruction on how to read maps, charts, and graphs, and how to create them. Geography and World Cultures Honors is designed as the first course in the social studies sequence. It develops note-taking skills, teaches analytic writing, and introduces students to the close examination of primary documents. One semester course.
*APEX Financial Literacy (P)
Financial Literacy offers an engaging, scaffolded curriculum that introduces key topics and principles necessary to financial literacy. The one-semester course covers earning and spending; savings and investing; credit and debt; protection of assets; and financial planning and decision-making. Through real-life scenarios and hands-on activities, the course explores choosing among banking and investment options, shopping for an auto loan, choosing among career and college options, financing options for continuing education, planning for retirement, and creating and living within a budget.
*APEX Media Literacy (P)
Media Literacy teaches students how to build the critical thinking, writing, and reading skills required in a media-rich and increasingly techno-centric world. In a world saturated with media messages, digital environments, and social networking, concepts of literacy must expand to include all forms of media. Today's students need to be able to read, comprehend, analyze, and respond to non-traditional media with the same skill level they engage with traditional print sources.
A major topic in Media Literacy is non-traditional media reading skills, including how to approach, analyze, and respond to advertisements, blogs, websites, social media, news media, and wikis. Students also engage in a variety of writing activities in non-traditional media genres, such as blogging and podcast scripting. Students consider their own positions as consumers of media and explore ways to use non-traditional media to become more active and thoughtful citizens. Students learn how to ask critical questions about the intended audience and underlying purpose of media messages, and study factors which can contribute to bias and affect credibility. One semester course.
*APEX Psychology (P)
Psychology provides a solid overview of the field's major domains: methods, biopsychology, cognitive and developmental psychology, and variations in individual and group behavior. By focusing on significant scientific research and on the questions that are most important to psychologists, students see psychology as an evolving science. Each topic clusters around challenge questions, such as “What is happiness?” Students answer these questions before, during, and after they interact with direct instruction. One semester course.
*APEX Sociology (P)
Sociology examines why people think and behave as they do in relationships, groups, institutions, and societies. Major course topics include individual and group identity, social structures and institutions, social change, social stratification, social dynamics in recent and current events, the effects of social change on individuals, and the research methods used by social scientists. In online discussions and polls, students reflect critically on their own experiences and ideas, as well as on the ideas of sociologists. Interactive multimedia activities include personal and historical accounts to which students can respond, using methods of inquiry from sociology. Written assignments provide opportunities to practice and develop skills in thinking and communicating about human relationships, individual and group identity, and all other major course topics. One semester course.
*APEX AP Psychology (P)
AP Psychology provides an overview of current psychological research methods and theories. Students will explore the therapies used by professional counselors and clinical psychologists and examine the reasons for normal human reactions: how people learn and think, the process of human development and human aggression, altruism, intimacy, and self-reflection. They will study core psychological concepts, such as the brain and sense functions, and learn to gauge human reactions, gather information, and form meaningful syntheses. Along the way, students will also investigate relevant concepts like study skills and information retention. The equivalent of an introductory college-level survey course, AP Psychology prepares students for the AP exam and for further studies in psychology or life sciences.
*Apex Reading Skills and Strategies (P)
Reading is a course is designed to help the struggling reader develop mastery in the areas of reading comprehension, vocabulary building, study skills, and media literacy, which are the course's primary content strands. Using these strands, the course guides the student through the skills necessary to be successful in the academic world and beyond. The reading comprehension strand focuses on introducing the student to the varied purposes of reading (e.g., for entertainment, for information, to complete a task, or to analyze). In the vocabulary strand, the student learns specific strategies for understanding and remembering new vocabulary. In the study skills strand, the student learns effective study and test-taking strategies. In the media literacy strand, the student learns to recognize and evaluate persuasive techniques, purposes, design choices, and effects of media. The course encourages personal enjoyment in reading with 10 interviews featuring the book choices and reading adventures of students and members of the community.
*Apex Writing Skills and Strategies (P)
Writing Skills and Strategies develops key language arts skills necessary for high school graduation and success on high stakes exams through a semester of interactive instruction and guided practice in composition fundamentals. The course is divided into ten mini-units of study. The first two are designed to build early success and confidence, orienting students to the writing process and to sentence and paragraph essentials through a series of low-stress, high-interest hook activities. In subsequent units, students review, practice, compose and submit one piece of writing. Four key learning strands are integrated throughout: composition practice, grammar skill building, diction and style awareness, and media and technology exploration. Guided studies emphasize the structure of essential forms of writing encountered in school, in life, and in the work place. Practice in these forms is scaffolded to accommodate learners at different skill levels.
👍 = Student Recommended
*Indicates semester-long course
👍 Applied Digital Skills
Applied Digital Skills is a Grow with Google Program designed to allow students to practice life skills while building projects using Google’s Suite of apps. Digital literacy skills are at the core of the Applied Digital Skills course and are a key to success in any number of careers and jobs available today or in the future. This course provides learners with critical thinking and digital skills to solve problems in work and life.
Community-Based Education
Community-based Education provides students with the opportunity to meaningfully engage with and contribute to their local community. This Community-Based Education course supports the skill sets that employers have been asking of our graduates: collaboration, empathy, humility, research skills, service above self, and multiple other 21stCentury skills. It creates natural opportunities to form relationships with self, peers, and community. The goal of this course is to encourage volunteerism within the nonprofit organizations of Nevada County.
English Seminar
In-person course - English Seminar is a class that supports student success in English including reading, writing and grammar skills. Students will use programs like Fast Forward and No Red Ink, as well as teacher-selected curriculum, to help them meet the California State Standards in English Language Arts and to help them achieve career and college readiness. Students will be recommended for this class based on teacher feedback, test scores, and their level of success in their high school English classes.
Exploratory Work Experience
This course connects Career Technical Education Pathways to student interests through the Edmentum e Dynamic courses. It prepares students for career training and post-secondary choices that fit the needs of the growing and changing economy. Students will gain relevant 21st-century workplace skills.
Literature Lab
Literature lab is designed to increase students' joy for reading. Students choose from an abundance of district approved titles to increase their understanding and retention of literature by reading challenging text, improving critical thinking skills and improving writing skills in the interpretive, analytical and evaluative domains. This course may be repeated for credit.
Math Seminar
In person course - Math Seminar is a class that supports student success in Algebra/Integrated Math completion. Students will be recommended for this class based on teacher feedback, test scores, and their level of success in Algebra/Integrated Math courses.
👍 NPA Strong
NPA Strong elective is driven by student choice within the social emotional learning framework. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has five broad and interrelated areas of competence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Students will be using the on line platforms from BASE education and EverFi.
👍 North Point 101-104
One unit of NPA 10X (101, 102, 103, 104) is required each year as it serves as an orientation. Every NPA student will earn at least 1 credit in NPA 10X each semester. This orientation will earn a student 1 elective credit. Up to 5 elective credits per semester are approved for NPA 10X.
Peer Tutor
Topics covered will be self-discovery, individual learning styles and strategies, diversity issues, the fundamentals of communication, test-taking procedures, and effective listening methods. Students will orient themselves to the tutoring program by being involved in tutoring observations, role-playing, and learning ways to assess their own tutoring sessions. Students will be required to participate as Peer Tutors on campus, during the school day. Credits would be assigned according to the number of hours worked per week. Students will be required to fill out an application and obtain a teacher recommendation in order to qualify. Administrative approval is required.
Psychology
This psychology course introduces students to the people and theories of psychology, the methods of research used in psychology, the relationship between biology and behavior, the basic mental processes of perception, memory and learning, the understanding of motivation, goal setting, stress and stress management, the understanding of sleep, dreams, and sleep disorders, and a better understanding of oneself and others. Additionally, students will gain an understanding of the study of personality (theories and people), infancy and childhood - human development, adolescence and adulthood - human development, abnormal psychology (mental disorders), and psychotherapy (methods of treatment).
Targeted Learning Lab
The targeted learning lab course will be assigned to students as an academic intervention and support. After a tier 1 assessment is taken by students, a targeted group will be assigned. The Curriculum will be assigned by subject as needed for on-time academic intervention considered tier 2 or 3. This variable credit class may be used to address any learning loss.
👍Social Justice
In this course, students will increase their understanding of family history, as they gain a better understanding of themselves. They will learn the relationship between history and present day events. Students will foster a greater understanding of others and demonstrate involvement with the community.
Work Experience
Work Experience Education (WEE) is designed to link the school curriculum with the world of work. Students will demonstrate job seeking skills, skills for keeping and advancing on the job, and skills for making a positive impression when leaving a job. Students will understand wage systems, payroll deductions, taxation, insurance benefits, basic business operations and personal money management. Students will demonstrate an awareness of career opportunities and will utilize the career decision making process to identify career choices and develop a plan of achieving career goals. Students may earn up to 10 credits per semester through a combination of hours on the job and related classroom assignments. A maximum of 40 credits may be earned in WEE. This course is for students who are in grade 11 or 12.