STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES SEMESTER ELECTIVES

CREATIVE WRITING
Our Creative Writing elective is a semester-long course which offers our 7th and 8th grade students a framework through which they can grow as writers and create finished pieces for publication. The course will explore short stories and vignettes, poetry, and other works of fiction and non-fiction. Writing will be approached as a process, and students will follow the stages of this process. Creative writing is a journey of self-discovery, and each student will explore his/her own ideas throughout this class. Students will work with others, both to gain writing insights and to help create a writing community where experience and stories are shared. Group exercises and activities will encourage collaboration with sensitivity and wholeness. All reading and writing assignments are age appropriate for middle school students.
Length of Course: Semester

COMMUNITY SERVICE-POWER OF ONE
The Community Service: Power of One course, provides service learning opportunities to empower students to make meaningful contributions to their community and the world. Through organized activities, the students will become proactive citizens who experience the value of reaching out to those in need. The students will be guided into becoming responsible global citizens and making a positive difference in the lives of others.
Length of Course: One Semester

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
In Design Technology students learn about the work of designers and develop an understanding of the design cycle. They combine practical workshop and technological skills with creative thinking to design, make and evaluate products and artifacts. Students are encouraged to develop their own projects and are guided to hands-on design and building using a range of different manufacturing techniques and processes. Strands within Design Technology that students may choose to focus on include: woodworking; mixed material (wood/metal/plastic); 2D and 3D CAD & CAM (computer aided design & manufacturing); graphic design; coding; video production; and electronics.
Prerequisites: None
Length of Course: One Semester
Note: This course may be repeated

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY
This course equips students with a foundational understanding of disruptive innovation and the impact of emerging technologies such as web 3.0, energy storage, blockchain, AI, robotics, and biosciences. It explores the influence of megatrends like climate change, technological advancements, and urbanization on the global landscape, highlighting both opportunities and challenges in society, politics and business. Projections indicate that growth will be driven by emerging countries, with automation and globalization affecting employment, migration patterns, international relations, and the need for sustainable practices. The program emphasizes independent critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity to prepare students to thrive and succeed in the future.

Length of Course: Semester


FINANCIAL LITERACY
The Middle School Personal Financial Literacy Semester One course will help students build core personal finance skills and learn real-world strategies to manage their finances effectively. Topics include decision making, budgeting, saving, consumer skills, preparing for high school, and more. By the end of this course, students will have a basic understanding of financial literacy topics and a foundation in the skills necessary to successfully navigate the financial responsibilities in life.
Length of Course: Semester
Note: Course can be repeated

MATH LAB FOUNDATION
The 7th-grade math lab foundation is a course intended to support and enhance mathematical skills such as arithmetic operations with integers and fractions, order of operations, rates and percentages, measurement, and basic geometry. Through active learning and real-life applications, students will develop a stronger number sense and mathematical thinking, effective problem-solving strategies, and math fluency. This course provides a great opportunity to revise and strengthen mathematical concepts and skills.

MATH LAB ENRICHMENT
The 7th-grade math lab enrichment is a course intended to expand, widen and explore in depth mathematical concepts which involve arithmetic operations with integers and fractions, order of operations, rates and percentages, measurement, and basic geometry. Through active learning and real-life applications, students will develop a stronger number sense and mathematical thinking, effective problem-solving strategies, and math fluency. This course provides a great opportunity to extend and enrich mathematical perspectives, as students connect mathematics with other subjects in a functional and realistic manner.

WORLDVIEWS
Our Worldviews elective enable younger students (13/14 years old) to explore some of the ways in which we construct our personal and group identities, develop an understanding of the human and natural world, and how this affects our ability to interact with each other. Students will look at how our worldviews are shaped by individual thinkers and also look at how big events can alter the way we think, feel, and understand. Some of the influential thinker students will encounter in this class include Socrates, Ken Robinson, Plato, Edmund Gettier, William James, and Jennifer Nagel.
Length of Course: Semester