Financial Algebra

Ever wondered, "How do I create a budget?" or "What's the secret to mastering debt?" Want to unravel the mysteries of taxes and insurance, and discover the keys to paving your way through college expenses? In this course, you will be using skills you have previously learned in Integrated Math 3 (or Algebra II) to deepen your knowledge on personal finances. Get ready to transform your understanding of money, making it not just about equations but about owning your financial future with confidence! Students can opt to take this class at the Honors level Prerequisites: Integrated Math 2 or Algebra 1

Crime Literature

Starting with the birth of detective fiction, one of the most popular literary genres, and moving to creative nonfiction, we will consider the appeal of stories about grisly murders and trace an arc from a more comfortable belief in the nature of justice to suspicion about police powers. Coinciding with this increased suspicion is a movement away from white detectives and white victims, to crimes targeting people of color, who were legally barred from giving testimony (and thus seeking legal redress) for much of the country’s history. Do stories give us cathartic release when a bad guy is punished? Is there some sort of poetic justice in exposing the inequities of the past even if the murderers have gone free? And what does crime fiction’s popularity suggest about our relationship to our criminal justice system, about our perception of its workings, and about the larger American tenet of equality before the law?

This class will have a particular focus on the skills of reading and creative writing.

Student Directed Project – SDP

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

Religious Studies: Myth, Ritual, & Culture

Do you ever wonder why people from very different religious backgrounds might peacefully coexist, while others from mostly similar backgrounds find themselves in conflict? In this course, students will explore a wide range of belief systems, religious and spiritual ideologies, learning about the origins, practices, and adaptations over time. Investigations into how belief systems shape contemporary politics, government, and society will also be explored.

Advanced History: Theories of Punishment (Honors)

What aspects of culture and politics promote criminal justice reform? How can the United States achieve an effective justice system that protects public safety while also confronting issues related to restoration for those impacted by crime, both the victim and the accused? Is the prison industrial complex used by the government and industry to address social, political and economic challenges? In this course, students are introduced to criminology and penology. Students will examine historical trends, current programs related to reform, and examine the psychological impact and role that poverty, lack of mental health services, addiction, trauma, and education has had on the lives of incarcerated people. They will participate in forums led by people whose work or volunteerism is connected to addressing existing issues within the system and engage in field-based experiences. Students will explore topics of choice and design viable solutions.

Discrete Mathematics and Linear Algebra

This course introduces two interconnected areas of modern mathematics and the shared ways of thinking that link them. Students explore discrete topics such as counting, probability, patterns, and finite systems while also learning how these ideas can be represented and analyzed using vectors, matrices, and systems of equations. Special emphasis is placed on common tools across both disciplines, including mathematical modeling, logical reasoning, matrix representations of data and networks, and optimization. Throughout the course, students apply these connected ideas to problems in computer science, economics, and data analysis, seeing how discrete structures and linear algebra work together to describe patterns, make predictions, and solve real-world problems. Students can opt to take this course at the Honors level. Prerequisites: Integrated Math 2 or Algebra 1

Integrated Math 2: Algebra, Geometry, and Data Science

Integrated Math 2 students expand their algebraic reasoning and understanding of mathematical models including quadratic equations and exponential functions. Students also explore probability and build upon their knowledge of transformations, congruence, and similarity while developing logic skills through conjecture, argument, and proof. Investigations in this course build connections between all topics covered. Prerequisites: Integrated Math 1 or Algebra 1. Offered at the Honors and Standard levels. Honors level requires departmental recommendation.

Media & Its Influences

From the printing press to widespread use of social media, the creation of news content has been defined and redefined by the technology of its historical time. Using today’s media landscape, students will examine what qualifies as news, what ethical questions are presented in journalism, and how we are impacted today by those that craft, manipulate, and distribute the message. Students will use different media tools and platforms to question, challenge, and deconstruct media messages and their biases. Students will become better equipped to read the world and understand the news.

English 10: American Literature

What does it mean to be American? From the perspectives of indigenous people to the revolution that defined our independence to slavery and its legacy to the very cases contended today in the Supreme Court, we address the range of Americanism, the beautiful and the sordid. Students write, read, debate, create, reflect, act, film, craft, and present as ways of asking big questions, answering the questions with specific evidence, and acknowledging the complexities of those answers. Readings include fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, and drama, and writings ask students to question the literature, its language and its purpose. Students hone their thesis development skills, practice finding and incorporating meaningful, interesting evidence, and build their analytical reasoning, and they bring these skills to all of their work.  Myth and Meaning in American Literature  In this course, we turn to great American writers whose work articulates contemporary America, and we use these writings to ask the questions: What does it really mean to be American? What are the myths about America and how do they show up in literature? How do those myths shape our understanding of characters and their actions? How do these myths evolve? How are they being disrupted? How do authors create characters and narratives who wrestle with America’s past? How do these characters and narratives help us face their futures? Identity in American Literature How does love show up in the world? How do self-love and friendship and romantic love and love of place show up in our world and in literature? What happens when love isn’t there? How does love help us understand ourselves better? There are myriad tangible and intangible ways that love helps us define ourselves and our world -- from large scale identifiers like nation and religion, to the little things, like choosing what shoes to wear in the morning. In this term, we look at America through a range of lenses, and all of these lenses ultimately help inform our own perspectives of who we are and why we believe the things we do.

English 9: Power and Perspectives

Throughout both the Power and Perspectives trimesters, students read, write, act, create, listen, watch, wonder, debate, and present; they work independently and collaboratively, use their questions as starting points for their work, and employ technology to deepen their learning. Ultimately, they find ways to connect the characters and themes to their own lived experiences and to the world today. Readings can include fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, and drama, and we read some as a full class and others in small groups; students reflect on and question the texts in a range of writing assignments, anything from scripts for podcasts to analysis of themes to creation of a missing chapter or a PSA. The work stretches their imagination as well as their analytical skills, writing styles, and ability to craft meaningful products.  Power In this trimester course, we question the nature of power and reflect on the ways we ourselves use our power and respond to power. In our readings, we look at the intersection of power and our characters’ gender, age, race, political beliefs, socio-economic reality, or experience; we wonder about the relationship between power and fate; and we ask why some characters let power compromise their beliefs while others use their power for good. Perspectives This course is designed to introduce students to the complex nature of perspective and bearing witness in literature. Through the examination of various texts, students will engage in close reading and critical analysis. They will explore the ways in which different characters and narrators shape the story and influence reader engagement. Students will also learn to examine the relationship between form and content, exploring how different writing techniques can influence our understanding of characters and events. In addition to close analysis of texts, students will also engage in discussions, writing assignments, and projects that encourage them to reflect on their own perspectives and experiences. Through these activities, students will explore how perspective is shaped by cultural, historical, and personal factors and understand the importance of witnessing and engaging with these perspectives as they understand their world. By the end of the course, students will have a deeper understanding of the role of perspective in shaping meaning in literature, and will be equipped with the skills necessary to analyze and engage with texts in a critical and thoughtful manner.

Statistics

This course includes the gathering of data and a variety of sampling techniques, hypothesis testing, frequency distribution, normal distribution, correlation, linear regression, theoretical distributions, and inferential statistics. This course asks students to consider questions such as these: How is data summarized so that it is intelligible? How should statistical data be interpreted? How can we measure the inherent uncertainty built into statistical data? Students will be asked to collect, analyze and interpret real data to answer real questions in their areas of interest. Students can opt to take this class at the Honors level. Prerequisites: Integrated Math 3 or Algebra 2 and Geometry

Advanced Math Topics (Honors)

In this course, students will be asked to grapple with a range of topics that extend beyond fundamental calculus topics. Topics covered may include but are not limited to l’Hospital’s rule, linear approximations, differentials, Newton’s Method of Approximation, center of mass, arc length, surface area, and differential equations. Students will be asked to think creatively and apply their knowledge to complex real-world problems and extend their knowledge of fundamental calculus topics. Students taking Advanced Calculus or others with a strong interest in pursuing advanced mathematics at the college level are strongly encouraged. Class offered at the Honors level only Prerequisites: Advanced Calculus or departmental permission