New Course Offerings 2026 - 2027

Percussion Class

Grades: 9-12   Credits: 1    Length: Year  Expectation Level: 3

Prerequisite: Audition or successful completion of 8th grade Concert Band    

This is the first level of performing bands for percussionists at SHS and will perform in concerts with the Concert Band. Percussion students who do not have previous high school band experience are placed in this band to bring their playing skills to a more advanced level in a fun working environment. Students learn and perform various styles of concert band music, ranging from traditional band music to contemporary styles and composers. Performances are mandatory and include (but are not limited to) concerts in December, March, and May, as well as performance in the Scarborough Memorial Day Parade. Students enrolled in the Percussion Class are eligible to audition for District and State Honors Music Festivals.

Text and materials: Select Concert Band literature; pencils, accessories for maintenance and performance on their instrument. Student-owned instruments are expected to be in excellent working condition at all times.

Expectations: Focus and effort during rehearsal time, home practice and live or recorded performance tests. Instruments must be in good playing condition.  Students must have and use accessories properly (reeds, valve oil, maintenance supplies).  Concert attendance is mandatory.

Video Production II

Grades: 9-12   Credits: .5  Length: Semester  Expectation Level: 3

Prerequisite: Video Production I

Video Production II is for students who have taken Video Production I and wish to expand upon the basics learned in that course. Students use advanced film techniques and take part in longer and more advanced video productions, including producing the school’s Red Storm news on a regular basis. 

Text and materials: Teacher provided supplemental materials, students use WeVideo to edit videos.

Expectations: Students continue to learn about film techniques, expand on their knowledge of video production and continue to learn about techniques in writing, producing/shooting and editing. Students will demonstrate the ability to create a variety of film genres to add to their video portfolio.

Divergent Perspectives in Reading and Writing

Grade: 12 Credits: 1    Expectation Level: 2

Prerequisite: Department Approval

This course is designed for students who need to further develop their skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Practical language skills are directed to areas needed for success in career and community life: Technical writing, reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and oral presentations. Literary selections offer a sampling of works from around the world with an emphasis on comprehension and relevance to community life.

Expectations: Students are expected to have regular attendance and to keep a three-ring notebook or a folder for directions, handouts, and returned essays. They are expected to keep weekly journals and, whenever possible, to bring their laptops daily for writing.     

 Memoir and Identity Seminar (SEMESTER 1 only)

Grade: 12 Credits: .5  

Expectation Level: 3 and 4 options offered

Prerequisite: Department Approval, Students must be enrolled in a Semester 1 and Semester 2 seminar for English credit

Memoir and Identity provides students with the opportunity to read and write memoirs. Strategies for effective personal narrative writing will help students develop their voices as writers and better understand their authentic selves. Reading selections include full-length memoirs, short essays, poetry, film, graphic novels, and other autobiographical texts. “Identity is partly culture, partly upbringing, but mostly the choices you make in life” (Briggs).

Level 3 Expectations: Daily class participation is required, so students must have a willingness to think, listen, and discuss in class. Students must also come to class prepared to learn. This means having all completed assignments and materials in hand. Assignments are to be completed in a thorough, timely manner. Homework is assigned regularly and will be essential to class discussion the following day. In addition to homework, students will also complete long-range assignments.

Level 4 Expectations: Students in this course are expected to be independent readers and strong writers who are highly motivated. Students enrolling in this course should have an above-average mastery of reading, vocabulary, and grammar prior to taking this class. Students must also be willing to participate actively and thoughtfully in class discussions as consistent participation in class is critical. Students will write formal papers that are polished through multiple drafts and writing workshops. Additionally, students will be required to construct on-demand responses to prompts.

Psychology and Sociology in Literature Seminar (SEMESTER 1 only)

Grade: 12 Credits: .5  

Expectation Level: 3 and 4 options offered

Prerequisite: Department Approval, Students must be enrolled in a Semester 1 and Semester 2 seminar for English credit

Psychology and Sociology in Literature examines the complex relationship between fiction, psychology, and society. A text’s narrator, characters, social structures, and language gives one access to conscious and unconscious motivations residing in the author, character, and reader. “Like the physical, the psychical is not necessarily in reality with what it appears” (Freud).

Level 3 Expectations: Daily class participation is required, so students must have a willingness to think, listen, and discuss in class. Students must also come to class prepared to learn. This means having all completed assignments and materials in hand. Assignments are to be completed in a thorough, timely manner. Homework is assigned regularly and will be essential to class discussion the following day. In addition to homework, students will also complete long-range assignments.

Level 4 Expectations: Students in this course are expected to be independent readers and strong writers who are highly motivated. Students enrolling in this course should have an above-average mastery of reading, vocabulary, and grammar prior to taking this class. Students must also be willing to participate actively and thoughtfully in class discussions as consistent participation in class is critical. Students will write formal papers that are polished through multiple drafts and writing workshops. Additionally, students will be required to construct on-demand responses to prompts.

Power, Protest, and Persuasion Seminar (semester 2 only)

Grade: 12 Credits: .5  

Expectation Level: 3 and 4 options offered

Prerequisite: Department Approval, Students must be enrolled in a Semester 1 and Semester 2 seminar for English credit

Power, Protest, and Persuasion asks students to read, write, and think critically about the world around them. They will use the concepts of rhetoric to understand propaganda and dissent in connection to political and social power. They will use 20th century historical context to understand texts and connections to our world today. “Story telling is the essential human activity. The harder the situation the more essential it is” (Tim O’Brien).

Level 3 Expectations: Daily class participation is required, so students must have a willingness to think, listen, and discuss in class. Students must also come to class prepared to learn. This means having all completed assignments and materials in hand. Assignments are to be completed in a thorough, timely manner. Homework is assigned regularly and will be essential to class discussion the following day. In addition to homework, students will also complete long-range assignments.

Level 4 Expectations: Students in this course are expected to be independent readers and strong writers who are highly motivated. Students enrolling in this course should have an above-average mastery of reading, vocabulary, and grammar prior to taking this class. Students must also be willing to participate actively and thoughtfully in class discussions as consistent participation in class is critical. Students will write formal papers that are polished through multiple drafts and writing workshops. Additionally, students will be required to construct on-demand responses to prompts.

Villainy and the Study of Character Seminar (SEMESTER 2 only)

Grade: 12 Credits: .5  

Expectation Level: 3 and 4 options offered

Prerequisite: Department Approval, Students must be enrolled in a Semester 1 and Semester 2 seminar for English credit

Villainy and the Study of Character delves into villain character types in stories, films, and other media. Students explore the dark side of human behavior by understanding why villains are made more often than born.   We ask: What personal, familial, social, technological, political, and scientific contexts create shadow archetypes?  Is villainy a false persona?  Can villains ever attain true self?   In the works we encounter, "All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes…human beings divide their personalities into components, selectively sharing only certain components of their selves."  In Villainy, "Nobody can fall so low unless he has great depth" (Jung).

Level 3 Expectations: Daily class participation is required, so students must have a willingness to think, listen, and discuss in class. Students must also come to class prepared to learn. This means having all completed assignments and materials in hand. Assignments are to be completed in a thorough, timely manner. Homework is assigned regularly and will be essential to class discussion the following day. In addition to homework, students will also complete long-range assignments.

Level 4 Expectations: Students in this course are expected to be independent readers and strong writers who are highly motivated. Students enrolling in this course should have an above-average mastery of reading, vocabulary, and grammar prior to taking this class. Students must also be willing to participate actively and thoughtfully in class discussions as consistent participation in class is critical. Students will write formal papers that are polished through multiple drafts and writing workshops. Additionally, students will be required to construct on-demand responses to prompts.

Foundations of Science

Grades: 9-12   Credits: 1   Length: Year   Expectation Level: 2

Prerequisite: Teacher Recommendation Required

Foundations of Science is an introductory course for students with limited or interrupted educational backgrounds that has been developed to to help students necessary language skills, foundational understandings, and scientific practices to be successful science learners at SHS. The curriculum covers major components of introductory science concepts that will help establish a solid foundation to succeed in further SHS science courses.

Text and materials:  Laptop access

Expectations: Regular attendance, maximum effort, there will be minimal homework.

Introduction to Biology and Chemistry

Grades: 10   Credits: 1   Length: Year   Expectation Level: 2

Prerequisite: Environmental Science Teacher Recommendation Required

Introduction to Biology and Chemistry is a foundational course meant to provide support for students who have struggled significantly with science. It is designed to provide the basic principles of both biology and chemistry, and to prepare students to take a college prep laboratory science course their junior year.  Topics of study include the practice of science, basic concepts in chemistry, basic concepts in biology, and applications within the human body

Text and materials: Laptop Access

Expectations: Students should expect to participate daily in class and to complete group and individual work. Students should have regular attendance, maximum effort and be willing to spend some time outside of class completing homework.  In order for teachers to provide as much individualized instruction and support as possible, this class is capped at 15 students maximum.