Issues & Ideas
This class provides students with insight into social issues and allows them to develop an understanding of these issues as a well as to articulate ideas in response. Students are encouraged to engage in these issues through open debate, position papers, projects and critical analysis questions. The ultimate objective of this course is to provide students with the self confidence and opportunity to participate within substantive debates and conversations that will enable them to construct thoughtful positions on social issues.
Language Arts
Within language arts, reading becomes a window into real-life experiences which allows students to empathize, criticize, analyze and formulate ideas about literature that they are reading. Students read a broad range of literature that exposes them to a variety of authors and characters from around the world. One novel is read each session. Students also read selected short stories to improve their reading comprehension and to enhance vocabulary. They receive frequent practice in writing various types of literary essays, and they are given the opportunity to learn note taking and summarizing techniques. In order to build confidence in oral presentation of ideas, students work in literacy discussion groups to study chosen selections.
Algebra
Within algebra, mathematics is taught hierarchically, and basic algebraic concepts are taught in steps. A reality-based approach is used to illustrate algebraic methods and techniques. Students work collaboratively as they develop their math skills. Students are encouraged to ask questions while they work on problems together.
Physical Science (Seventh Grade)
This course provides students with an intensive overview of waves in their different forms: sound waves, water waves, vibrations, earthquakes, light and radio waves. Various class experiments and cooperative group projects are used to help students gain a greater understanding of the concepts taught in this class.
Physical Science (Eighth Grade)
This course provides students with an intensive overview of energy in its various forms. Students will study and build simple machines such as levers and pulleys. They will also learn how to use and manipulate measurements of energy through calculations. Class experiments and cooperative group projects are used to help students gain a greater understanding of the concepts taught in class.
Computer Applications
This course is designed to help students optimize their computer skills. Students focus upon word processing, internet research, and multimedia presentations.
Entrance Exam Prep
This is a class that helps prepare eighth grade students for the conventions of taking an entrance exam. This course has been designed to provide students with exercise and practice tests that will familiarize them with different college preparatory high school entrance exams.
High School Counseling
This class provides students with the information to make informed future choices about high school. Students learn about the different choices in the public, parochial, independent day and boarding schools sectors. They learn about financial aid options and how to navigate through the application process. Students also study statistics on different high schools performance in standardized testing, attendance rates, and graduation rates. Each student compiles a journal of reflections and research on their schools of interest.
Junior Achievemet — Marketplace and Globalization
In this class students will explore the life of products, ideas, and trends of their choosing to discover how they impact the world economy, local regions and cultures, and the shape of modern globalization today. Students will write a term paper which reports their findings. The Global Marketplace theme provides practical information about what makes international trade work and how it affects students daily lives. In the International Marketplace students will examine how people and cultures throughout the world are connected through trade. The It’s my business component requires students to use critical thinking to learn entrepreneurial skills that support positive attitudes as they explore and enhance their career aspirations.
Visual Arts
This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of drawing. Students learn the basic approaches to realizing a drawing through a series of assigned projects. Students work to establish a firm foundation in basic compositional tools and materials, and then explore different methods of realizing the final piece by challenging themselves to come up with unique, personal solutions to their drawings.
The skills emphasized in this class include line quality, proportion, scale, color, and tone. Students also learn about symbolism in art and the emotional power and effect of utilizing certain techniques and applications. Several project choices related to art that express aspects of the students’ own experience as well as their cultures and communities will be used as thematic guideposts.
Drama
This course is designed to introduce students to a wide range of theatre games and improvisation techniques. Students have the opportunity to use abstract movement in order to explore their surroundings and learn how to relax and focus. They also spend time learning how to work on the physical manifestation of emotions, as well as how to study lines. At the end of each session, there are student performances of scenes and/ or plays that are either assigned or chosen by students.
Careers in Creativity
This is a course that exposes the eighth grade students to the various professions available in creative careers. Students explore and discuss career opportunities from fashion and furniture design, advertising and marketing, to food and floral design. The students each select and begin research on a position of interest to them, a project that is ongoing throughout the year.
Physical Education
This class is intended to improve students self-esteem, overall health and well-being. High Jump believes that physical education can contribute to the total curriculum and promotes health as a priority. Activities are designed to include both male and female students, regardless of abilities and experience, but with the objective of learning good sportsmanship. The instructor is asked to comprehensively cover low-intensity sports (such as dodgeball and kickball) to those sports that are more skill-demanding (such as basketball and volleyball). Outside of the required setting, students have taken initiative to create an intramural group that exposes their peers to soccer and basketball during the summer and volleyball workshops during the school year.
During 2006 school year, High Jump’s goal is to further promote physical education, health and well-being. This expanded program will create a more effective physical education program that further accommodates our diverse student body while making students aware of the importance of physical empowerment and knowledge. The program will use the National Standards for Physical Education as a guideline while using the programs mission as a base.