Interest: Hands On

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Interest: Hands On

10th
11th
12th
Visual Arts

Advanced Sculpture

Interests: Hands On
This course builds off your interests and success from Sculpture 1 and provides the opportunity to improve in technique. You will deepen your understanding of a chosen process through rigor and self-direction. Exhibiting completed artworks with intention and concept is required. Prerequisites: Sculpture and recommendation from the Visual Art Department Head.
10th
11th
12th
Visual Arts

Advanced Drawing + Painting

Interests: Hands On
This course builds off your interests and success from Sculpture 1 and provides the opportunity to improve in technique. You will deepen your understanding of a chosen process through rigor and self-direction. Exhibiting completed artworks with intention and concept is required. Prerequisites: Sculpture and recommendation from the Visual Art Department Head.
10th
11th
12th
Visual Arts

Advanced Ceramics

Interests: Hands On
This course builds off the foundational skills from Ceramics and provides the opportunity to expand on hand-building and wheel-throwing practices. You will explore your point of view as a ceramicist by creating a portfolio inspired by a theme or chosen process. Research into how and why artists have and continue to use clay as a method of expression and functionality will support your studio practice.  Prerequisites: Ceramics and recommendation from the Visual Art Department Head.
10th
11th
12th
Visual Arts

Ceramics

Interests: Hands On
This course is dedicated to the exploration of how a ball of clay can lead us toward complex ideas and functional objects. Based on hand-building techniques and wheel throwing students will focus on form, structure, making mistakes, and idea development. By exploring the cultural connections of food and community and the rituals they were created for, students will build vessels and tableware for a social gathering. There will be time for students to design their paths as their skills and confidence grow to give them more control over the objects they envision. Prerequisites: Intro to 3D or by the recommendation from the Visual Art Department Head.
10th
11th
12th
Visual Arts

Drawing + Painting

Interests: Design, Hands On
Building on your prior knowledge of drawing and painting, you will expand your technical skills and work with new materials in this course. Concepts and subject matter for your work will come from your interests, and you will have the opportunity to design your own studio practice at the end of the term. Regular discussion of The World of Art and Art History will provide context for our work. Critiques, documentation, and presentation will be essential elements of the class, emphasizing process and product. Prerequisites: Intro to 2D or by the recommendation from the Visual Art Department Head.
10th
11th
12th
Visual Arts

Installation Art

Interests: Architecture, Design, Engineering, Hands On
How does place affect and define our sense of being? How can we intentionally and artistically alter these places? This course pulls from a history of artists changing our surroundings indoors/outdoors and in physical community space and virtual spaces. You’ll work collaboratively to create these installations/interventions and collaborate with the participants/audience. Regular discussion of The World of Art and Art History will provide context for our work. Critiques, documentation, and presentation will be essential elements of the class, with an emphasis on both process and product. Prerequisites: Sculpture or by the recommendation from the Visual Art Department Head.
10th
11th
12th
Performing Arts

Foundations of Costume & Fashion Design

Interests: Design, Film, Hands On, Research
Open to first and second year designers, this studio course will initiate and develop their understanding of the principles of costume design, fashion design, and the construction skills needed to create clothing. Drawing from many disciplines and utilizing a variety of skills and technology, students will learn to research and visually communicate their ideas through a series of projects. Students will explore the visual communication, history, and impact of clothing both on the stage and in everyday life in addition to gaining the skills and techniques needed to create their own clothing. Skills involved in this course include research, collage, sketching, digital sketching,  figure drawing, pattern reading, sewing (machine and hand), painting, and craft.  Students interested in taking more than one art class should reach out to the registrar or the Head of Performing Arts to discuss possible options. Two Term Course No Prerequisite Required. Open to grade levels 10,11,12
10th
11th
12th
BVR-X
English
Global History & Social Sciences
Mathematics
Modern Languages
Performing Arts
Science
Student-Directed Projects
Visual Arts

Student Directed Project – SDP

Interests: Architecture, Business, Design, Engineering, Film, Hands On, Health, Law, Literature, Politics, Psychology, Research, Social Justice, Social Sciences, Sports
A Student-Directed Project empowers students to do an in-depth exploration of a topic of interest throughout the term. The student designs, plans, and leads their research project in collaboration and with the guidance and support of a coach (faculty advisor). It allows students to delve deeper into their passion and to be the designer of their own learning. There is a wide range of Student-Directed Projects; they are multi-disciplinary, non-linear, and most importantly, student-created and led. That’s what makes them so interesting. Here are some examples of past projects:
  • Creating an architectural model using 3D architectural software
  • Through their eyes: Photo and interview series of veterans
  • Robosub electromagnetic linear accelerator
  • Acoustic pinger for Robosub
  • Virtual Reality game for visually-impaired persons
  • Creating a concept album
  • Dispute: Landlord-tenant board game
  • Multimedia journalism: Producing a podcast series
  • Perplex: English and Theater Study
  • Sensors and fiber optics: Building a fiber optic dress
  • Haptic technologies: Force-Feedback Virtual Reality
  • Applications of integrals to analytical continuation of functions
10th
11th
12th
9th
Performing Arts

Beatmaking and Electronic Music

Interests: Design, Hands On
This course is for students who are interested in creating electronic music and is open to both beginners and those with experience in music production. Through a series of independent projects, students will utilize these tools to create their own beats and express their own artistic vision. In addition to creating their own music, students will gain an understanding of the origins and cultural impact of pivotal electronic music throughout the term including hip-hop and house music. The class will cover various facets of digital music, focusing on recording and editing in Abelton Live, and the science and technology behind electronic music production. Students will also have opportunities to share, discuss, and analyze electronic music that they choose themselves. No music experience is necessary. One Term Course No prerequisite Open to Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
10th
11th
12th
9th
Performing Arts

Beginning Guitar/Piano

Interests: Hands On
Have you always wanted to learn how to play the guitar or piano? Did you teach yourself how to play a few chords, but want to take the next step? This practical, non-performance-based course is designed for students with little to no previous guitar/piano experience. After choosing to focus on either piano or guitar, essential skills are taught in a fun, supportive setting that allows students to develop at their own pace. The idea is to get you playing right away. Chord-reading and note-reading are taught to both pianists and guitarists so you can work with chord charts or written sheet music. By the end of the course, you will be able to play simple popular pieces, including songs that you choose yourself. This course can be taken more than once. One Term Course No prerequisite Open to Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12
10th
11th
12th
Performing Arts

Advanced Costume Design and Construction (Honors) (BVR-X)

Interests: Design, Film, Hands On, Research
Advanced Costume is a one-term, process-to-production course designed to prepare students for 2 public performances at Beaver. The course begins by focusing on script analysis and design, and then students work as costume technicians and designers to bring the play to fruition with the Advanced Theater Acting and Advanced Tech Theater and Design classes. Costume roles can include design, draping, construction, craft, and wardrobe. Students entering this class should be highly motivated and interested in an intense and exciting experience that requires a great deal of commitment. Recent productions include She Kills Monsters and Humpty Dumpty. One Term Course: Winter Term  Prerequisites: Costume and fashion Design Studio and permission of the instructor. Open to Grade Levels: 11, 12
10th
11th
12th
Performing Arts

Chroma

Interests: Hands On
Chroma is an ensemble that offers instrumentalists an in-depth study of expansive ensemble works across a wide range of musical genres. This ensemble is open to all instruments including strings, woodwinds, brass, and rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass, percussion). Students will study and play a broad selection of intermediate and advanced repertoire with a focus on building technical skills while exploring the cultural and historical context of the repertoire. This course utilizes custom arrangements, taking components from the classical music tradition as well as contemporary styles such as pop and jazz as vehicles to develop students’ technique and creative processes. Class material will integrate music theory, instrumental technique, and rehearsal/performance skills. The ensemble will perform in formal mandatory concerts throughout the year. Weekly individual instrumental lessons are not required but are available on campus to students for an additional fee. Students who are on financial aid at Beaver have the same percentage of aid applied to private lessons. Students interested in taking more than one art class should reach out to the registrar or the Head of Performing Arts to discuss possible options. Two Term Course Prerequisite: Instrumental Ensemble II, Ikonoclastic or placement audition. Open to Grade Levels: 11, 12

Beaver Country Day School admits qualified students of any race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, handicap status, national origin or ethnicity to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, handicap status, national origin or ethinicity in the administration of its educational, admission, financial aid, athletic or other school-administered programs or policies.